TVNewsCheck “pauses” operations

The eighteen-year-old publication’s future is uncertain 

In an era where the future of linear TV is increasingly in question, so are the publications who cover the business.

TVNewsCheck is the latest one to call it quits more or less Monday, announcing it is temporarily suspending operations. This means its website won’t be updated and newsletters will no longer be sent out. Instead, it is focusing on its events business. 

“It’s no secret that the media industry is facing the most challenging environment it has ever known, finding itself in need of adapting to fragmentation and the demands of a multiplatform media universe. Each day, we have endeavored to share with you the story of that transition, the incremental successes and the casualties among the organizations that comprise this industry”, a statement TVNewsCheck released on its website.

Founded as TVNewsDay by former Broadcasting & Cable editor Harry Jessell in 2006 (the same year this website started), TVNewsCheck not only featured original content and videos on the television side of the media business, it was a voice for an increasingly downtrodden broadcast industry, being vocal in support of retransmission consent for stations and for deregulation. TVNewsCheck featured regular pieces from two former Chicago television executives, Hank Price of WBBM-TV and WLS-TV’s Emily Barr.

While I frequently disagreed with Jessell’s industry stances, he did provide a case for why the need for local broadcasting and linear TV is still important.

With the decline of traditional TV and radio use as the business continues to fragment, numerous trade publications dedicated to covering both mediums have shuttered over the fifteen years, due to the decline of advertising revenue. Last year, the radio trade website All Access closed after 28 years. Other publications – either online or print closing during this time include Media Life, Electronic Media/TV Week, TV Media Insights, Radio & Records, Mediaweek, TV Barn, TV By The Numbers, and Chicagoland Radio & Media, to name a few.

In July 2022, longtime Chicago media columnist Robert Feder announced his retirement, leaving an unfilled void. Other media writers such as Lewis Lazare and Phil Rosenthal are no longer active.

Even the future of T Dog Media is in question since I published this statement on Facebook last July. With the recent passing of my father, it is not known if I will be able to continue with this enterprise given the time, cost, and effort needed to put into this site, made more difficult due to my caregiving duties and probably even more so as I will take on a new employment opportunity very soon. Is it worth putting in the time and effort to write about a declining industry I’m increasingly souring on due to layoffs, clueless execs, and decreasing career prospects? This is a question I will have to answer soon. But I’ll keep you posted – hopefully, I can continue through the Presidential election.

Usually when you see a statement like this, “pausing” is a way of saying the publication is closing its doors – but at least it’s keeping a foot in that door for a possible return. Let’s hope that’s the case.