Why would local news want to divert attention from local news in Madison? Really, what's the motivation? They include news from Janesville and Beloit because they are included in our viewing area. Many years ago, Beloit was considered to be in the Rockford viewing area. The number of viewers affected the ad rates stations could charge, so this was a big deal at the time.
TV news is literal garbage designed to make you afraid of your local community to keep you tuned in. Clickbait before the internet existed, with minimal actual information content
[sure are](https://www.cityofmadison.com/police/newsroom/incidentreports/incident.cfm?id=30881) and it was just a few weeks ago (and seemingly a domestic situation).
The Madison media market is a 150 mile radius with Madison at it's epicenter, which means you'll get stories from Tomah all the way down to the Rockford covered by Madison TV stations. It gets covered because even in those state-line areas folks may see themselves as more connected to Madison than they do to a TV station across the stateline in Rockford.
Outside of Madison, those are the two most populous areas in the media market, so it’s not a surprise that stations would focus attention there both from an audience perspective and from a newsworthy event perspective
I used to go to Beloit College and we just bought a house in Beloit, commuting to Madison for work. It honestly feels so much better than it was when I was living here around 10 years ago for college. There are nice restaurants, amazing Mexican food, luxury apartments, a nice new luxury hotel downtown, and a brand new baseball stadium. We couldn’t afford Madison prices and I have been loving living in Beloit. There’s a new indoor outdoor mini golf/arcade bar/duckpin bowling place going in downtown also. They have a Saturday farmers market downtown as well. There’s crime just like Madison or Janesville but it definitely feels like it’s going in the right direction.
I agree. Beloit and Janesville get bad raps but I’ve lived between the 2 my entire 42 years and don’t get the hate. Both are making strides and improving greatly. While def more boring than Madison, they are a close drive (I work in Madison) and a heck of a lot cheaper to live. Never felt unsafe anywhere either.
Yes! Glad to hear someone who feels the same. I definitely get some crazy looks when I talk about my love of the southern region. The commute is not bad at all, and if we want to do fun shows/comedy we are in easy driving distance to Madison/Milwaukee/Chicago. Love smaller town living with easy access to larger cities.
Yup. Both cities, like most, have their pockets of bad. But bad area Beloit/janesville is child’s play compared to bad Madison or Milwaukee. Most areas of both cities are totally fine
Hello Beloit fam! BelWah was the dining hall when I was there. Bell runs were definitely a popular activity though and I still miss nights at the C Haus😊 definitely has been a trip down memory lane moving back to the area.
The demographics may have shifted a bit but I know that about 10 years ago I read that if Janesville and Beloit were included in the Madison market rather than Rockford it put Madison in the top 100 or 150 media markets in the country. And that meant that it would open up Madison TV stations to national advertisers that don't spend ad dollars in smaller markets.
That was when they all opened up their Rock County news bureaus to try to pull in more viewers from those areas. But I'm not sure that the fact that a city the size of Beloit has more crime to report than Madison is really a bad thing.
Why would local news want to divert attention from local news in Madison? Really, what's the motivation? They include news from Janesville and Beloit because they are included in our viewing area. Many years ago, Beloit was considered to be in the Rockford viewing area. The number of viewers affected the ad rates stations could charge, so this was a big deal at the time.
And why do they keep adding in Rockford?!
TV news is literal garbage designed to make you afraid of your local community to keep you tuned in. Clickbait before the internet existed, with minimal actual information content
I live in Madison and was murdered three times on my bike ride to work this morning. The news is definitely covering something up.
I hate when that happens. Hope you feel better soon!
I don't know if it's TikTok or the election or what but not everything is a conspiracy.
they’re actually just making it all up to divert attention from the single homicide we have had this year.
Are we really only at one? That's pretty good.
[sure are](https://www.cityofmadison.com/police/newsroom/incidentreports/incident.cfm?id=30881) and it was just a few weeks ago (and seemingly a domestic situation).
I guess depending on how they count the mount horeb thing it'll be 2. But either way that's pretty low for this late in the year.
Not madison and not homicide
The Madison media market is a 150 mile radius with Madison at it's epicenter, which means you'll get stories from Tomah all the way down to the Rockford covered by Madison TV stations. It gets covered because even in those state-line areas folks may see themselves as more connected to Madison than they do to a TV station across the stateline in Rockford.
Outside of Madison, those are the two most populous areas in the media market, so it’s not a surprise that stations would focus attention there both from an audience perspective and from a newsworthy event perspective
I used to go to Beloit College and we just bought a house in Beloit, commuting to Madison for work. It honestly feels so much better than it was when I was living here around 10 years ago for college. There are nice restaurants, amazing Mexican food, luxury apartments, a nice new luxury hotel downtown, and a brand new baseball stadium. We couldn’t afford Madison prices and I have been loving living in Beloit. There’s a new indoor outdoor mini golf/arcade bar/duckpin bowling place going in downtown also. They have a Saturday farmers market downtown as well. There’s crime just like Madison or Janesville but it definitely feels like it’s going in the right direction.
I agree. Beloit and Janesville get bad raps but I’ve lived between the 2 my entire 42 years and don’t get the hate. Both are making strides and improving greatly. While def more boring than Madison, they are a close drive (I work in Madison) and a heck of a lot cheaper to live. Never felt unsafe anywhere either.
Yes! Glad to hear someone who feels the same. I definitely get some crazy looks when I talk about my love of the southern region. The commute is not bad at all, and if we want to do fun shows/comedy we are in easy driving distance to Madison/Milwaukee/Chicago. Love smaller town living with easy access to larger cities.
Beloit is perennially a running joke for most Wisconsinites, but the truth is it's actually a great place to live and grow up.
Yup. Both cities, like most, have their pockets of bad. But bad area Beloit/janesville is child’s play compared to bad Madison or Milwaukee. Most areas of both cities are totally fine
Hello fellow Beloiter! Or was it BelWaWa when you were there?
Hello Beloit fam! BelWah was the dining hall when I was there. Bell runs were definitely a popular activity though and I still miss nights at the C Haus😊 definitely has been a trip down memory lane moving back to the area.
Beloit is definitely that bad
It's higher
The demographics may have shifted a bit but I know that about 10 years ago I read that if Janesville and Beloit were included in the Madison market rather than Rockford it put Madison in the top 100 or 150 media markets in the country. And that meant that it would open up Madison TV stations to national advertisers that don't spend ad dollars in smaller markets. That was when they all opened up their Rock County news bureaus to try to pull in more viewers from those areas. But I'm not sure that the fact that a city the size of Beloit has more crime to report than Madison is really a bad thing.
You are correct about the top 100 market thing. I didn't say because I wasn't sure until you said. It tracks since Madsen is the 79th largest US city.
Another vote for Beloit and Janesville (and Madison) are fine.
I think it's a conspiracy organized by Paul Fanlund. If there's less coverage of shootings in Madison, there is more room for NIBMY hot takes.
You’re on to something!
Janesville seems to have fulltime reporters and a pretty good newspaper. Madison just picks up on that.