TV Weenies have been pulling the material in their news and sports broadcasts off the wires and out of newspapers for years. Even at the national level, if you want to know that will run on the major alphabet nitworks, pick up a copy of the New York Times.
What is different is that now they are considering having one joker do the deed for all stations -- from Bangor to Bakersfield -- with a complete loss of local identity. Since local coverage is the main reason most people tune into the local yokels in the first place over a national sportscast such as ESPN, this latest cost savings measure is indeed a sign of desperation.
An interesting web site here:
All kinds of history of how complicated electronic networks once were. When they had this monopoly, they could (and did) charge lots of money for advertising.
All gone now. The web has destroyed the entire model.