Every night, Rob Mignogna records every 6 p.m. newscast in Boston and studies how each station covers the day's stories. Then he writes about them on his blog.
"I am more into news than I am into sports. I am hopelessly addicted to anything related to the Boston news scene," says Mignogna, 28, who moderates spirited debates about Boston TV on his online forum, Boston TV News (groups.msn.com/BostonTVNews). His site has 600 registered members who dissect every detail about the local stations, from ratings figures to on-screen graphics to the shuffling of anchors.
Mignogna may seem like an extreme viewer, but he represents a growing subculture of people who take their obsession with local news to a new level by relentlessly blogging about it. They're mostly young men - teenagers and twentysomethings whose devotion to local news counters widely held industry beliefs that young people get most of their news from the Internet. A Harvard University study released last month found that people between ages 12 and 30 prefer to get their news online. But the same study found that these young people were twice as likely to get their daily news from television. They may say they want their news from the Web, but they actually get it from TV.
In Boston, at least three local websites have become well-read sources of information and commentary about local TV news, and all are run by young men. Young people are also posting comments on others' blogs. They talk about the anchors and reporters with the fondness and familiarity that most people use to describe friends and family, and they are engrossed in the lives of the anchors and the behind-the-scenes goings-ons at the stations. Some bloggers go beyond posting their opinions: They act as reporters, calling station employees to find out if tips they've received are true.
Lou Ureneck, chairman of the Boston University journalism department, sees a similarity between these local media blogs and men's interest in sports radio. "We know that men tend to be more engaged into the Internet than women, and that may account for this on some level," he says. "It sounds a little like sports talk radio. This is a very positive development. It shows engagement with the news, critical thinking, and a sophisticated level of media savviness."
When Natalie Jacobson signed off from WCVB-TV (Channel 5) after 35 years on the air, the bloggers posted tributes and a newsreel from YouTube to honor her. When anchor David Wade abruptly left WFXT-TV (Channel 25) in July, TV fans culled news items about him and speculated about where he may go.
"Bostonians are very opinionated. Everything here is really extreme," says Michael Page, 16, who blogs on hinghamweather.com, which has a subsection called "Boston TV News: The Scoop."
Page updates his site daily with links and stories from other media sites. Sources at the local stations also send him morsels of internal happenings.
"I'm a weather weenie at heart. Rarely do I watch news to see what is going on. I like to see how they all cover it," says Page, who aspires to be a meteorologist. "Everyone watches the news for the most part. People are always in tune to what is going on. To sort of know what is going on behind the camera is what I think is really neat."
Of his TV news blogging fixation, he says a lot of it has to do with the anchors and the connection they make with viewers like him. "They are on TV, and people develop a relationship with them. We are interested in learning more about them," Page says.
These TV news fanatics have become such a presence - or a nuisance - on the Internet that they command the attention of some station officials and reporters, although some won't publicly admit they actually read these sites.
"We all deny we pay a lot of attention to it, yet we all know about it," says Bill Fine, president and general manager of WCVB, who occasionally reads what the bloggers have to say. "Some are right on target. They have some interesting insights when they are evaluating the shows. If you read them enough, you kind of get a sense of who knows what they are talking about."
During the summer, Brendon Geoffrion, 15, has spent about four hours a day watching all the daytime and evening newscasts on WHDH. His voice lifts when he talks about that station in particular. He regular sends e-mails of praise to the station news anchors, Frances Rivera and Randy Price, and comments on the Boston TV blogs.
"I'm obsessed," he says. "There is just something about news. It's like a hobby for me."
The same goes for David Goodman, 21, a student at Emerson College. Every day, he logs on to read what other Bostonians have to say about the country's seventh largest news market. He also logs onto an industry site called TVSPY.com to look for news.
"I like watching the differences between the newscasts to see the quality or lack thereof. I am that crazy," says Goodman, who is a fan of WCVB. He says he usually doesn't comment "unless I really need to vent about something I've seen."
That's why Mignogna says he began his site - so "us news geeks could talk about the Boston news scene and what is going on behind the scenes."
Mignogna works full-time in marketing for a property management firm in Manchester, N.H. But he spends 15 to 20 hours a week moderating his site. He has posted interviews with local anchors. Last year he scored an interview with former WHDH anchor Caterina Bandini.
"It's on the level of a part-time job," Mignogna says. "I do have a full-time job, but I am honestly watching the boards throughout the day. When I go home, I will scan through each of the newscasts at 6:30 p.m., and I will have my laptop next to me."