Raycom Media | Principles & Practices

by Katherine J Hart

Courtesy Raycom Media

Raycom Media is a broadcasting and television production company. It is one of the nation’s largest broadcasters with regional cable deals and exclusive digital media rights to the Atlantic Coast Conference college athletics. Rraycom owns and operates Raycom Sports, Tupelo-Honey Productions and Broadview Media. The company affiliates with national broadcasting leaders like ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX and MNTV for local news. This network reaches 37 regional television markets with 48 different stations, is watched in 12.6% of U.S. television households, and is viewed in 18 states. (1)

Contact

Raycom Media Inc., RSA Tower 201 Monroe St. 20th fl., Montgomery, AL 361404. Telephone: 334-206-1400. Fax: 334-206-1555. http://www.raycommedia.com

Courtesy Raycom Media

Paul McTear, President and CEO

Courtesy Raycom Media

Wayne Daughery, Executive Vice President and COO

Jeff Rosser, Don Richards, Leon Long, and Brad Streit are all Television Vice Presidents

History
Raycom Media was created in 1996. Bert Ellis formed the Ellis Communications group in 1992 with control over 13 television stations and two radio stations. Ellis then went on to purchase Raycom Sports, a marketing firm that had already been in business for 15 years. The merge to become Raycom Media occurred after Ellis sold his share to a growing media group that had ownership in the South and Midwest region of the country. Three parties, including Federal Broadcasting’s TV Group, Retirement Systems of Alabama and the original Raycom Media came together to expand their broadcasting power. This new Raycom Media corporation joined with Malrite Commuications in 1998 and acquired The Liberty Corporation in 2006. Lincoln Financial Sports was also bought by Raycom Sports in 2007 and the company continues to look for ways to grow today. (2)

Raycom Media, Inc. Current Events

September
September 7, 2012, Raycom Sports announced the start of the “Ultimate Road Trip” Contest. This event ran from September 8 to November 8, 2012 and was sponsored by Chevrolet and the ACC. The ACC Road Trip Driven by Chevy is a television program on Raycom Sports and it launched this sweepstakes. Two grand prize award trips for the 2012 Country Music Awards in Nashville, Tennessee were up for lottery as well as speciality prizes that were drawn throughout the two months. Fans entered online by visiting the site, www.theACC.com/RoadTrip or going to www.Facebook.com/theACC. The promotion rewards those who tune into the weekly program and linking the love of football to the love for country music. The ACC Road Trip Driven by Chevy program highlights the traditions, campuses, and tailgates of the ACC college games and has been honored with Emmy Awards and Telly Awards. The host, Tommy Kane brings a comical narrative with spunky energy to the inside look of what makes every college in this conference unique and fun. (3)

Courtesy Raycom Sports

October
On October 10, 2012, Raycom Media released a statement on the website titled “Proud of Our Management Diversity.” The main page of the company website highlights the initiative to stay involved in the communities it serves, and to provide various viewpoints on news and local issues. This goal is in constant progress, and as the news release states, Raycom is successful in this work. The National Association of Black Journalists has recognized Raycom Media as having the highest diversity index of all broadcast groups surveyed. 31 of its 179 television newsroom managers are people of color, and overall, at least 60% of the companies stations have one person of color or more in a ranking position. Raycom had made an effort, starting in early 2012 to work with the National Association of Black Journalists to focus on the promotion of the people of color perspective. According to Bob Butler, Vice President of NABJ, Raycom is the only television group to welcome the diversity initiative and create such quick progress across their companies leadership portfolio. (4)

November
WXIX-TV, a Raycom owned station in Cincinnati, Ohio is making news of its own for some bad reasons. On November 14, 2012, Tricia Macke, a co-anchor for the evening newscast, was suspended by her station for making remarks that have been interpreted as homophobic. The comments were written on Facebook and were directed at Rachel Maddow, the MSNBC host. Bill Lanesey, the general manager of WXIX-TV kept Macke off air for two days as she worked to mend the controversy. The GLAAD division in the Ohio area demanded a response from the vocal news anchor. Tricia Macke apologized online for any offense caused by her comments, and she made it clear that her words in no way reflected the opinion and position of her employer, WXIX-TV, and more broadly, Raycom Media. (5)

Raycom Media Networks Current Events

Raycom Sports: Raycom Sports is the most prominent division of Raycom Media Inc. With owned television rights to the Atlantic Coast Conference, ACC, since the 1980s, Raycom Sports is the central viewing station for these college football and men’s basketball games. A sublicensing agreement was met with Raycom Sports and ESPN in 2012 that Raycom will be the national syndicator for the ACC conference and this deal will continue until at least 2027. Raycom Sports created the Belk Bowl, a tournament featuring the Big East versus the ACC leagues. Raycom is involved in the operations of these games and also organizes the ACC Championships. Ken Haines and about 50 employees working under him, run Raycom Sports in Charlotte, North Carolina. (3)

Courtesy Louisville Cardinals

September 9, 2012: Viewers express unhappiness with Raycom’s coverage of Clemson University football games. Commercials for local business often interupted the video feed, and even some blank screens have appeared during the broadcast. Fans of ACC football worry that this quality professionalism from the network will lower the status and reputation of the league overall.

October 26, 2012: Business Journalist, Erik Spanberg, in Charlotte, NC speculates that the new network Speed, a News Corp. owned property could grow in the Charlotte area to become an all-encompassing sports channel. This would mean new competition for Raycom Sports who is also based in Charlotte. Raycom Sports provides general sports news and specializes in ACC college athletics. With Speed moving into the area, Raycom Sports could lose viewers.

November 20, 2012: Raycom Sports recieved six nominations for the 27th Annual Midsouth Regional Emmy Awards. The winners will be announced in January 2013. “Havoline Football Saturdays in the South,” “Kings of the Court,” and “ACC Road Trip” were nominated this year.

Bounce TV: Bounce TV features programing of movies, sports, documentaries, and original television shows that are all centered on African American perspective. It is the first broadcast network of its kind and was founded by Martin Luther King III, Will Packer, and Rob Hardy, along with many other contributors. Currently the station hosts its own shows such as Back Stage Pass, Off the Chain, and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. (6)

September 26, 2012: On the network’s one year anniversary, the company has seen great growth and has expanded to Detroit, Phoenix, Minneapolis and Orlando. IT has reached an estimated 80% of African American homes and at least 60% of all U.S. television households. The station will start airing African American focused movies, such as Monster’s Ball and Pride coming up soon this year. (7)

October 3, 2012: Bounce TV announced it will be premiering its newest series, “Off the Chain”, hosted by Rodney Perry.

November 7, 2012: Bounce TV announced that they will air their first boxing telecast and will continue airing matches throughout the season.

Raycom Media Program Current Events

Right this Minute: Raycom created this weekday television show that covers news and pop culture. This program is interactive in that it is paired with a website and video blog. It is different than most telecasts in that its material is supplied by citizen journalists. Most of the video is supplied by cellphone, webcam, digital cameras, and Skype feeds from average people all over the world. Viral video sensations are highlighted on the show and it is up to date and current for new viewers to relate to. Interestingly, this program is a cooperation of Cox Media Group, Raycom Media Inc. and E.W. Scripps Company, along with MagicDust. (8)

September 4, 2012: The program expands into seven more markets in its second year in production. It will now be available in Detroit, Denver and San Diego which spreads its reach to about 30% of U.S. TV homes and 45 TV markets.

Sources