Maybe it is just because of where I live (Connecticut) but this is a little bit hard for me to believe, primarily because so many local TV stations do such a poor job reporting the news, it is hard to imagine that consumers of news have an appetite for more. Full story here

Broadcast TV Stations Outpaced Newspapers in Interactive Sales in 2009

NEW YORK, April 20, 2010 -- Web sales growth at broadcast TV stations outpaced newspapers in 2009 as broadcasters gained ground against their principal in-market competitors and posted an 8.7 percent share of all local online advertising, according to a report released today by the Television Bureau of Advertising at a press breakfast at Gannett Broadcasting’s offices in New York. Total online ad revenue for stations hit $1.1 billion last year, a 10% increase over the previous year, and the report forecast that revenues would grow another 21 percent in 2010.

Jack Poor, VP – strategic planning at TVB, said, “In a year where the IAB reported flat internet revenues, the performance of local TV stations is quite stunning.”

“Benchmarking: TV Web Sites Defy Gravity” examines revenue sources, growth rates, site traffic and other interactive issues and offers benchmarking for stations in large, medium and small markets. The research was conducted by Borrell Associates, which tracks interactive advertising for more than 4,400 local websites in the U.S. and Canada through voluntary submission of data. This is the fifth year Borrell has conducted the benchmarking report for TVB. This year’s report focuses on data submitted by 573 TV stations.