I know I've expressed my concern over the years about how unfortunate it has been to see the decline of local radio and television. Perhaps it's the idealist in me that really valued the way a broadcast license was once treated. Local programming and ownership was justified, and regulated, because the license was considered something the public owned, a scarce resource, and therefore something that the licensee was obligated to respect.
So back in the day, the FCC could require that blocks of time would be required to set aside for local stuff. A great staple of this time slot for many years was the evening magazine-style show. I remember in Cleveland that the dominant one on when I was a kid was called "PM Magazine" on what used to be the CBS affiliate (they're Fox now). I would go as far as to say that it had a lot to do with why I cared so much for Cleveland, despite living in the scary inner-city, because it showed what the city really had to offer. Most shows like that are long gone now.
Imagine my surprise when we were channel surfing here in Seattle, shortly after moving here, to see Evening Magazine on the local NBC affiliate. While the host has hair appropriate for the 80's show I remember, it generally has the same format, and the quality of the segments is really quite excellent. It's mostly lighter fare, of course, but so what? It beats the crap out of the Inside Edition crap that's on right after. We've seen quite a bit of stuff on there that led us to say, "Oh, we need to check that out!"
I'm honestly completely shocked that this show is still on the air, and I think it would be a shame if they decided to can it. I have no idea what it costs to produce a show like that, but I bet it's cheaper than most news programming. I dig it because it's a little slice of what I thought was neat about TV growing up, and the kind of thing I always fancied myself doing if I stayed in TV.
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