The senior fixed income analyst for Wachovia Capital says that the tough economic times are hammering old media like television broadcasting as they have in the past. But when the rebound comes (who knows when?), television stations should prosper from having embraced digital technology.

The head of KSCI and parent AsianMedia Group thinks he may have found a way to serve the many diverse Asian communities in Los Angeles while improving his bottom line: lease the digital spectrum to third-party programmers and create a "suite" of targeted channels for Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos, Armenians and others.

It's not easy changing public television, but the former president of NBC News is giving it a try as the new CEO of New York City's Thirteen. He is seeking to expand the station's aging audience by revitalizing the schedule and providing programming that is quicker to move from conception to air.

According to its senior VP, the nascent television service Sezmi will make money for participating TV stations through fees it pays them to lease digital spectrum as well as offering them the ability to present their Internet content directly to TV sets and offer hyper-targeted ad opportunities.

The local Internet researcher and consultant says that TV stations must see the Web as more than just an online extension of their broadcast service and embrace all that the new medium can do. That means a new brand, classifieds and directory listings. He also warns that the Web is rapidly morphing from a take-it-or-leave opportunity for TV stations into a competive threat.

The head of the small Block Communications' station group thinks stations can prosper in a down economy by creating "special projects" that generate revenue that they don't have to share.

The head of New York's Metropolitan Television Alliance is working to make sure the city's broadcasters get all the information they need to decide on how and where their towers will live in the post-9/11 digital world.

Just like their large-market counterparts, Bill Duhamel and his KOTA Rapid City, S.D., face business challenges, including declining national ad revenue and the prospects of more expensive regulatory burdens from the FCC plus no chance of enjoying the synergies of a duopoly.

The largest pure-play TV station group’s CEO says it will weather the current economic downturn with an emphasis on local programming expansion, digital opportunities and increasing retrans revenue.

The commissioner disagrees with his fellow Republican, Chairman Kevin Martin, over new rules and proposals that would require more community outreach and local programming by broadcasters.

The new president of CBS Television Distribution isn't satisfied with his company's status quo as the No. 1 syndicator--he plans on reinventing it for the new multiplatform age.

With Chapter 11 behind him, and supportive backers in Silver Point Capital, the CEO of the group with stations in nine markets is able to concentrate on growing the stations rather than meeting the incessant demands of shareholders and creditors.

What can a man who gets his morning news from his Wii game console and watches network shows on his iPod tell TV broadcasters about marketing and monetizing new media? A lot, said Promax/BDA, when it put Jonathan Block-Verk in charge of its future.

After 10 years of working with broadcasters to develop and grow Web sites, WorldNow is evolving to offer stations more flexibility and opportunities for them to share in revenue from syndicating content on the Net.

The association is working hard to bring the content distribution business to its annual Vegas convention, according to the show's chief organizer. That business Includes TV syndication, long the staple of NATPE.

LIN's online guru is going beyond basic TV station sites, developing local microsites offering politics, entertainment and search to stay ahead of competitors that include Google and Yahoo!

The new head of the 23-station TV group says big changes in the media marketplace are demanding big changes in the ways that stations do business. At Gannett, that means more AEs and news producers on the street, close cooperation with the newspapers on the Web, mobile broadcasting and an interactive relationship with viewers.

The operator of 11 stations in five medium and small markets believes he has discovered the formula for growth: shared news services plus duopolies plus locally produced sponsored programming.

With top-rated news stations in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, a radio network and cable channel, the small station group is well on its way to being the dominant electronic news presence in in the state. Now, the challenge is becoming No. 1 on the Web and in mobile.

The president of the bilingual, bi-cultural network for digital stations says that he has the answer for stations unsure of how to approach the 2009 transition. With a new programming chief on board, his goal is to get LATV’s music and lifestyle programming mix into every TV market.

For aficionados of the two-finger eye poke, the Chicago independent airs Stooge-a-Palooza every Saturday night. For the big syndicators, it provides a viable alternative to the No. 3 market's network affiliates.

The president and chief activation officer of Chicago-based media buyer Starcom USA says local broadcasters must join national media in supplying more precise viewing data and do all that they can to "streamline" the buying process.

Retro TV Network's executive VP explains how stations can move quickly into the digital future with "classic" TV shows supplemented with the local and syndicated programming unique to the market.

The chief research for TNS Media says that ad spending on TV and other traditional media will be about the same this year as last year. But there is hope for all media, including spot. Auto sales (and auto ad spending) have to rebound to eventually.

The station group is pushing into new media on several fronts. "We have aggressive expectations and put more money into our digital strategy than anyone else that I know," says the executive leading the charge.

The CEO of the inter-industry nonprofit would like to set another record in donated media in 2008, but recognizes that it may be tough with inventories in broadcast television expected to be tight and all TV committed to using spare spots for DTV awareness.

The president of the No. 2 Spanish-language network says it will continue challenging No. 1 Univision for viewers, but its real goal is making money for parent NBCU by developing multiple revenue streams from the Web, a second channel and the syndication of original programming.

In some markets, the broadcast group can offer advertisers TV and radio; in others, two TVs; and in one, Milwaukee, it can deliver TV, radio and a major daily newspaper. And don't forget the Web, says the CEO.

The NATPE president is not getting hung up on the loss of CBS Television Distribution and the Fox affiliates meeting. He has too much to do making sure the annual conference stays at the cutting edge of video.

The small-market station group emerged from Chapter 11 last month a new company and better broadcaster, says the new CEO. During bankruptcy, it launched news in five markets and made plans for adding news in two others. “We were well positioned to come out of bankruptcy because of the things that we did in bankruptcy,” he says.

Despite a slow start, Program Partners' Colbert believes the much-heralded game show will eventually gain traction and take its place among its TV ancestors, Wheel and Jeopardy.

That the affiliates are not in open revolt as the network experiments with digital distribution of primetime programming is evidence that Sweeney's cooperative strategy is working. She says the affiliates are already participating in the online streaming of primetime shows and they may become partners in a cable news channel.

The former president and current NCTA chairman may still be perceived as cable, but the COO of Landmark Communications is as much newspaper and broadcasting and becoming more and more online every day.

And it will likely get them, says the political ad spending analyst. But there will be so many political dollars in 2008--perhaps $3 billion--that broadcasters who get the lion's share may not even notice.

At first glance, the election map doesn't look that exciting, what with most of the Senate races in less populated states and relatively few gubernatorial races. Nonetheless, candidates and their backers could drive political ad spending to record levels, perhaps $3 billion.

Congress charged the NTIA with making sure that nobody is facing a blank screen when analog broadcasting ceases on Feb. 18, 2009. The head of the Commerce Department agency is confident that none will. Kneuer also says he has the technical resources to help settle the great white spaces debate now raging at the FCC.

Six years after they lost their broadcast tower to the terrorist attacks, TV stations in the largest DMA have managed to restore adequate analog service, but they still don't know if they will be able to deliver digital signals to all their viewers after the February 2009 analog cut off.

While broadcasters wring their hands about the DTV transition, the president of CEA appears supremely confident that the country will get past the February 2009 analog cut-off with little disruption or complaint. Unfortunately, he says that CEA's cooperative spirit with broadcasters on the transition does not extend to white spaces.

With the messy departure of two top executives this summer behind him, the CEO is now focused on improving operational efficiencies and meeting the digital needs of broadcasters--on the air and online. It also helps that third-quarter spot is stronger than expected.

Unlike its first two incarnations, says CEO Jason Elkin, the latest New Vision is buying TV stations in small and medium markets with the idea of holding them for a long time and being a significant part of what he believes to be local TV's promising future.

The publicly traded TV station group could continue to spin off its collection of CW affiliates one by one or merge with another group where it might come out on top, says the co-founder and COO.

With a mission statement like that, the head of the Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution should go far in partnering with broadcasters on off-network and first-run syndication projects. But right now Werner's big challenge is making sure that the Web-bred TMZ meets its high expectations this fall.

The head of national spot buying for the Mindshare agency says TV stations are continuing to ignore the difficulties of buying spot and that by doing so they are giving advertisings one more reason to shift to other media. TVB's ePort may be "too little, too late."

The sometimes outrageous DJ-turned-corporate suit is shaking things up at the New York Times TV stations he bought in May. Right now, that means eight markets. But with the backing of Oak Hill equity fund, his presence may soon be felt in many more.

In an interview with TVNEWSDAY Contributing Editor Marianne Paskowski, the head of cable's principal lobby concedes that convincing Congress to rewrite retrans regs will take some time.

"It," of course, is broadcasting, and, according to the man who runs the TV side of the family-owed company, the plan is to carry on and grow in the spirit of the late Cy Bahakel who founded it a half century ago. The business is still fun and would be even more so, Babb says, if he could find more stations in markets like Florence-Myrtle Beach, S.C.

As a member of the Democratic minority, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps has effectively pushed an anti-consolidation, public interest agenda and supported tough indecency enforcement. Imagine what he'll do if he becomes a member of the majority...or the chairman.

The TV station group may no longer be the star of the show, but, says the group head, it is still throwing off cash for investments elsewhere and helping to get cable carriage for the cable networks.

The longtime small-market broadcaster is looking for TV stations undaunted by new media rivals. He also believes the NAB is finally getting itself together.

The innovative North Carolina broadcaster believes that it is imperative that every TV station be streamed on the Web in its entirety and he thinks he's found a regulatory model to make it happen--cable.

The key to success is to arrive at the market with the product at the very moment customers arrive with the demand, says the head of the TV group. That's why it's taking the lead in local HD news, with WSOC Charlotte this week becoming the group's fourth station to offer the service.

CEO Walter Ulloa wants to expand his portfolio of Univision and Telefutura Spanish-language stations through duopolies and new markets.

Just like broadcasters in New York, Los Angeles and other top markets, the president of the small-market station group is rolling out HD news and eyeing retrans revenue. He only wishes he could own two stations in a market, too.

The fifth-generation family-owned media business has made some recent additions to its TV portfolio because, says its president and COO, it thinks they are a good fit for its long-term strategy.

The president of the professional society is working on several fronts at the same time, including reporters' access, government regulation, ethical standards, diversity and member education. The good news is local TV news keeps growing.

In his first nine months as CEO, the former CFO seems to be successfully carrying out the strategy of controlling costs through duopolies and hubbing, while seeking new revenue through retrans and aggressive local and Web sales. And it doesn't hurt that the stock price is up 171%.

The SNTA president is approaching the upfronts with what he feels is a powerful pitch for advertising in syndication--more likeable and persuasive personalities, more live viewing and less clutter.

The CEO of Columbus, Ohio-based Dispatch Broadcast Group believes it can continue to prosper by focusing on the Web, digital channels and local content. All it needs is a little help from the government in the form of multicast must carry.

The operator of four West Virginia stations has learned a lot of lessons in the past six years, the most important that local trumps everything else. And while he's optimistic about the future, he would be more so if the FCC would allow small-market duopolies and if his fellow small-market broadcasters would share ideas and technology.

Battling Time Warner for retrans fees in Spokane, Wash., the small-market broadcaster believes he will eventually triumph and other broadcasters could too if they could learn to support each other.

Even as he puts the final touches on a revamped lineup that will debut next month, the new MNT president says he is looking for reality and game shows and other unscripted programming for the fall.

The president of the Fox O&Os has seen it all and is still looking for that next show or innovation to give his stations a competitive edge.

The president/COO of the station group insists he still loves broadcasting, even though it is pouring time, energy and money--lots of money--into the launch of a Web/newspaper venture that aims to dominate political journalism. Politico.com debuted today.

The media consultant says TV broadcasters are in for a rough time unless they find a way to interact with viewers and produce hyperlocal programming for the markets within their markets.

Best known these days for his public battles with cable operators, the CEO of the nation's ninth-largest TV station group is more excited about developing a whole new business--broadcasting pay programming to viewers on the go.

With the backing of Bob Pittman's equity firm, the Barrington CEO is building a new-and-improved TV group on the idea that broadcasters have been leaving far too many ad dollars on the table in markets like Peoria.

The CEO of Quincy Newspapers Inc. says that after 115 years in newspapering and nearly 60 in broadcasting the family-owned company is undaunted by the new media and would like more of the old.

Operating four TV stations in markets as small as Sioux City, Iowa, and sitting in the inner circle of the NAB gives the Citadel Communications president a good perspective on broadcasting's challenges and how Congress and the FCC may help meet them.

Outbid for the Emmis TV stations that he managed, Bongarten treamed up with the Diamond Castle fund to build a new TV station group. With the purchase of the Bluestone group, they're off to a fast start.

The Katz Television president thinks that, without the heavy political spending, national spot revenue for 2007 with be off as much as 10% from 2006. But he also believes he can grow the other ad categories and better exploit his client-stations' increasingly attractive Web sites.

The CEO of the six-station group sees new media offsetting at least some of the expected losses in national spot, calls for an "alignment of interests" with the networks on Web offerings and is "pumped" about a new multicasting channel he's getting ready to unveil.

As head of a four-station TV group and active member of the NAB and MSTV, Liz Burns is working hard to keep up with the rapidly changing business and to shape Washington broadcast policy.

The third-generation Minnesota broadcaster sees enough upside in the TV station business for any fourth-generation broadcaster in the industry pioneering family.

The CEO of the 40-station group discusses how it is pursuing digital dollars on the Web, its bold move to spark a local programming renaissance with Variety TV and more.