Local broadcast newsrooms have a tall task ahead. Diminished news consumption in traditional methods, different audience expectations and technological advancements are forcing newsrooms to rethink strategy and change their game plan. 

I asked four news leaders a question: What trends can we expect in 2025 for local TV news? Their thoughts and predictions show that traditional methods editorial and operational methods need adjusting to meet the needs and expectations of a complex audience. Here’s what they said.

1. ‘Push, publish, stream and share’

“Local news must embrace a push, publish, stream and share mentality, delivering stories instantly across multiplatform rather than relying on what we know as traditional appointment viewing.” – Kelly Frank, president and general manager, KYW, Philadelphia

“There will need to be a greater look at meeting people where they are in digital spaces. Which means figuring out how to produce content for all platforms — not just television.” – Vicki Bradley, station manager, WTXL, Tallahassee

“Local newsroom staffers must think of themselves as newsroom factories in 2025 distributing its local content on multiple platforms and segmenting that content based on demographic and psychographic data. As viewers shift and the revenue follows, local stations have to continue the pivot to streaming.” – Princell Hair, former president, Allen Media Broadcasting

“The media landscape is evolving. Fast. But I believe that change is exciting for station groups and newsrooms focused on differentiating quality content. I think stations and reporters will be looking at ways new technology can help story gathering and storytelling. We’ve dipped our toe by incorporating things like Google Pinpoint, but what’s next? Where do we go from here?” – Lee Zurik, senior vice president, news strategy and innovation, Gray Media

2. Community-focused storytelling

“Expect a continued emphasis toward on-the-ground journalism. Audiences seek connection and stories that uplift and unite their communities. Journalists in the community will matter because it shares the best of their communities. At CBS, we see and understand that value and have already placed an emphasis on community journalism.” – Frank, KYW 

“I think we will all continue exploring these new storytelling techniques but will also continue to look at ways to engage diverse audiences and integrate digital platforms to meet evolving viewer preferences.” – Zurik, Gray

3. Building trust, more transparency and accountability

“Newsrooms must prioritize transparency, visually and verbally connecting audiences to sources and facts to combat ‘fake news’ narratives and people’s assumption of media bias. Taking viewers through the journey with us on the streets will be key.” – Frank, KYW

“Local news stations will need to spend a fair amount of time in 2025 regaining the trust of their audiences following this year’s election cycle. And the best way to build that trust is through transparency.” – Hair

4. AI: Experiment and implement

“More news organizations will embrace AI — and how it can help their organizations work more efficiently. In some newsrooms, people already use AI for the creation of digital stories, or even something as simple as transcribing interviews. There is still much to be looked into and researched on the extent we want AI in our newsrooms.” – Bradley, WTXL

“Local newsrooms will continue to look for efficiencies in 2025 whether it’s through the use of artificial intelligence, consolidation or simply doing more with less.” – Hair

5. An increase in mergers

“Conventional wisdom is that the new regulatory environment in 2025 will prompt an increase in M&A (mergers and acquisitions). While M&A is necessary for the survival of some stations, especially in the smaller markets, it could mean that there are fewer independent voices in each market. It is therefore incumbent on the stations left in those markets to hold themselves to the highest standard of journalism.” – Hair

6. New relationships: Local broadcasters + professional sports

“Local sports rights for professional teams will continue to go ‘back to the future’ in 2025 and revert to local stations as the RSN (regional sports network) model continues to evolve. This will allow the local stations to build new relationships with fans and the teams benefit from broader distribution.” – Hair

7. The need for multiskilled journalists

“As tech-savvy talent continues to enter newsrooms, being adept at shooting, editing and storytelling across platforms will be a major priority.” – Frank, KYW