Our speaker at Lincoln South Rotary Club on October 25, 2024 was Shannon Booth, Vice President and General Manager of 10/11.
Shannon said she tells the staff when she leaves for Rotary that she is going to Rotary and will come back with the report card of what the Rotarians and guests shared with her about their work.
She said today she would be talking about where 10/11 is, where they are going, even though they don't really know. There are new ideas coming forward constantly but the team has an innovative spirit.
Shannon started by telling us how she came from a small town in Northwest Iowa to become the General Manager of TV station. She had a family that was divided in their allegiance to professional sports teams.Her mom and sister were Lakers fans while dad and brother were Celtics fans. She became a Detroit Pistons fan and she had a couple of images with Pistons player Isiah Thomas.
She thought going into sports broadcasting would be in line with her interest. She earned a scholarship at Iowa State and earned a Journalism in Mass Communications degree. She worked at a number of stations starting with the campus station at Iowa State.
She got a call and he said "Lincoln is yours if you want the GM position". He didn't say "Lincoln, Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney, North Platte, half of Scottsbluff, 17 towers and 4 farms".
Channel 10/11 is part of the Gray Media Group. Nationally they have local stations in 114 TV Markets; the most #1 and #2 Stations, they have ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. They have the most Telemundo Markets and a digital ad agency.
Omaha has a General Manager, the rest of the stations in Nebraska are managed through Lincoln. There are specialized managers in many areas in Lincoln such as Directors of News, Digital, Sales, Operations, etc.
Shannon wanted to talk about the overview of the market.They focus on 2 separate markets and 3 different news brands. Shannon shared a promo video where we could see the different brands:
- Lincoln 10/11 - We're Up To Get You Going - the promo had clips including up to get you going, before you go, up for the morning forecast, we're up for what's now and what's next
- Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney Local 4 - Local 4 - Local For You - 100 Local Stories A Week - committed to covering at least 100 local stories, local stories from local people from a local perspective
- North Platte News 2 - Before We Go Live - Before We Break News - Before We Forecast - so you can learn more, plan for and protect what matters to you
They sell commercials into these TV Stations:
- 1011 - CBS Affiliate in Lincoln & Beyond
- Local 4 - NBC in Hastings Serving the Tri-Cities
- MeTV Nebraska
- The Nebraska CW
The stations have websites, News apps, weather apps and CTV Apps. They do strategic pairings throughout the market area. There are three types of programming:
- Network Programming - mandatory CBS, NBC programming
- Syndicated programming - purchased programming such as Wheel and Jeopardy to bring in viewers
- Local Programming - local staff covering our local news
Revenue is generated by:
- Local direct ad sales
- Local-sold digital
- Regional and National Advertisers
- Tower leases
- Crop revenue (own 4 farms)
- Documentary Content purchased from our local programming
- Diginet Bandwidth - can sell what they do not use
- Retransmission (carriage) agreement - cable stations, satellites pay for the content
- Political Advertising - currently round the clock operations
Big pieces of expenses
- People - best brought in - 115 FTEs (70 in Lincoln, 30 in Central 15 in North Platte)
- Technology
- 3 control rooms
- towers
- power stations
- 3 digital markets
- managing both CBS and NBC - introduces challenges
- redundant fiber
Research indicated that trust in 10/11 is highest in the country. So it was recommended that they move to streaming. So, they have launched streaming content for Crime Stoppers, Husker N Report, Morning Pulse, BBB report. This content may not be available in any other format.
Shannon believes in change and innovation and in a positive working culture. They have created space for innovation and trying things - no fear. If someone has an idea they can try it and measure viewership. They do not want anyone to be afraid to try something.
She is hoping to double the support of the nonprofit community. They currently do a lot - but she was able to get some corporate support to bring in more. They have branded that expanded promotion as Show You Care.
BIO:
Shannon currently serves as Vice President & General Manager for Gray Media Group. She manages several digital and streaming products and a network of TV stations, including 10/11 in Lincoln, Local 4 serving Lincoln and the Tri-Cities, and News 2 in North Platte.
She previously spent 18 years at KCRG in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and also spent time at KWWL, WHO, KTIV and WOI. Shannon received a Journalism and Mass Communications degree from Iowa State University.
Besides being a member of Lincoln South Rotary, Shannon is president of the board for the Heartland Cancer Foundation, a volunteer for Tabitha Hospice, past chair for the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and an Executives 33 graduate with Leadership Lincoln. She was a 2023 Inspire Award nominee and previously served as an ambassador for Friendship Home.