In a July 10, 2007 article on the TVNewsday website [1], editor Harry A. Jessell interviews Patsy Smullin, the owner and president of California Oregon Broadcasting, Inc. (COBi), the longest, continuously independent broadcast group in the West and one of the three oldest in the country. Smullin talks about the importance of service to the communities in which COBi owns stations, and frames responsiveness to viewers as one of the hallmarks of a successful small market TV station.

Here's an excerpt from the TVNewsday article and the Smullin interview transcript:

California Oregon Broadcasting Inc. now owns two NBC affiliates (KOBI and KOTI) in Medford-Klamath Falls, Ore. (DMA 141); the Fox affiliate (KLSR) in Eugene, Ore., (DMA 120); a cable system serving small communities north of Medford, Crestview Cable Communications; and a video production company specializing in HD, COBI DigitalHD.

What small-market broadcasting used to be, according to Patsy, is a lot more profitable. Now, staying in the black means strategic partnerships and relentless searches for operational efficiencies, she says.

One thing Patsy has not yet sacrificed at the altar of efficiency is service—to the industry or to her communities...

How is business these days in markets 120 and 141?

It’s difficult, but doable.

I love broadcasting. I love the localism side of it, the power of the tube to help in communities.

The days of making a lot of money are history, but as long as we can stay in the black and can afford to do new things every year, I’m happy and my managers are happy. We attract managers who love that old-fashioned community involvement.

Your have this legacy of adopting new technology, moving into new media. What are you doing?

Primarily, we’ve been entering into more partnerships. In Eugene, we get our news from the CBS affiliate and here we deliver news to the Fox affiliate.

We are looking at many more partnerships in the upcoming year that I’m not ready to talk about just yet. Like everybody else in small markets, we’re looking to combine forces and do new things.

What are some of the tricks to [staying "in the black" financially"]?

Having to be much more efficient than you ever thought possible, having to worry about things like, “Am I paying for this phone call or are you?” I mean it gets down to being extremely efficient, making sure that the people that you bring in to manage your stations understand that and that they’re not part of the old school where there was lots of money.

As far as I’m concerned, it’s more important than ever that you get exceptionally good people. So if you’re going to spend money, that’s where it should be.

One of the regulatory ironies is that the FCC allows duopolies—and the efficiencies that flow from them—in large markets, but not in small markets like yours. What do you think Washington could do to make your business a bit easier?

Well, it gets too complicated to go into issue after issue, but I would just want Washington to recognize that small markets do still exist and that there are television stations that are incredibly responsive to the viewers.

For instance, when you called, I was talking to several viewers who are upset that our main anchor, after 20 years, went into the banking business.

It’s not fiction. It’s fact that stations in smaller communities are working darn hard to do all those things that Congress thinks are so important in terms of staying in touch with the viewers and doing lots of localism, lots of public service.

Click here for an edited transcript of Smullin's interview with Jessell on the TVNewsday website. [2]
NOTE: Registration (FREE) on the TVNewsday website is required to access this article.

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