There has been a nationwide, slow, unstoppable erosion of local studio
production that continues today. Kid shows were the first to go,
studio-audience talk shows soon followed, even simply produced cooking
shows were axed. Stations have been bought up by big companies and the
bottom line has become a station manager’s bottom line if he or she is
to retain the position. Today’s studio production almost totally is
automated. Dehumanized. No camera operators, minimal lighting and
sound, fewer stagehands, fewer engineers, and practically no one but a
lone “director” operating a remote control board that switches the
cameras to about three basic shots. Profits dictate and the ledger’s
bottom line has taken the heart out of locally produced programs.
A.