Everything you wanted to know about local news but were afraid to ask. OK, so it's not everything. And judging by the ferocity of opinion in the questions that come in for the online TV Q&A column, nobody is afraid to ask these questions. So you'll have to forgive me for resorting to a cliche in the lead, but I've been watching a lot of TV news this month, and it was bound to have a (detrimental) effect. Here we go:

Q. Why do all the highly promoted sweeps stories air at 5:45 p.m.?

A. It's all about sustaining ratings. There's a lead story at 5, 5:30 and 6 p.m., so 5:45 is the optimal place to try to hook viewers and keep them watching until 6. (Some stations also target 5:15 p.m. to maximize every quarter-hour.)

"People are so busy right now as we move through an hour of news from 5 to 6 o'clock, the one thing I want to do is make sure people are engaged as long as they possibly can be," said WPXI news director Corrie Harding. "It's the best place to put something."

Q. Why stay on a breaking story beyond the point where there's anything new to say?

A. At a panel discussion last month at Point Park University, sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Council, the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania and the Society of Professional Journalists, KDKA assistant news director Anne Linaberger said stations that don't stay on a breaking story put their ratings in peril.

"When a big story happens, you get on with it and stay on with it until the big story is over," Linaberger said. "When I've been at stations that go on with a story and go away from it, you can look at the ratings the next day and you can see viewers migrated over to another station because they wanted more information."

Q. Why so many Steelers stories as news?

A. Viewers want to know about the Steelers, especially when something like quarterback Ben Roethlisbeger's motorcycle accident happens, the news directors said. It's what people talk about and what they want to see reflected on TV.

WTAE news director Bob Longo said Roethlisberger's accident gave his station's Web site its biggest one-day spike in page views ever.

"Normally we hear a lot of complaints immediately when we bust into programming," WPXI's Harding said of Big Ben's accident. "In that case, it was an hour or so before we started to hear people say, 'Give me my soap opera back.' "

Viewers love to point fingers at TV for pandering, but stations will do it only if it works. Like it or not, Steelers stories work.

Q. Why does TV news pander to the lowest common denominator?

A. WTAE's Longo rejects the notion that TV news is the only media that panders.

"Can TV news pander to the lowest common denominator? Of course. Can newspapers? Have you seen The [New York] Daily News lately? Sure they can. So can Web sites. Rupert Murdoch makes billions doing that," he said. "I don't think local TV panders, but I do think local TV is local and should embrace all things local, from features to breaking news to Ben Roethlisberger falling off his motorcycle."

While video may sometimes be salacious, other times it has its place, the news directors argue. And they're right.

"Would coverage of Hurricane Katrina have been the same if it was all print?" Harding said. "There is a component of the story television paints better than anyone else."

KDKA features reporter Dave Crawley, who moderated the panel, made this salient point: "Newspapers and magazines can tell the story better than anyone else. TV can take you there better than anyone else."

Q. What's next for TV news?

A. "If you want to know anything about what's happening in the future, ask a neighborhood 13-year-old, because those will be the media consumers of the future," said Pamela Dennis, news director at WJAC in Johnstown. "I interview a lot of twentysomethings for jobs, and I would say 98 percent of them say they get their news from the Internet. They don't go to television news stations, they go to the Internet, which will continue to grow and develop."

WTAE's Longo said a recent trip to a media lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology offered a glimpse at what might be, including translucent paper that can display the day's news and then be rolled up and tucked under your arm while commuting on the bus, just like a print newspaper.

"There will continue to be work for journalists, and I think the news-on-demand world will be more than it is right now," he said. "It will be big companies owning lots of niche markets. It won't be the 'NBC Nightly News' at 6:30, it will be millions of people watching throughout the day. Or not."

Sims changes shifts

I've been away a lot of weekends this fall and hadn't noticed Vince Sims missing from the morning weekend anchor desk on WPXI, but I had noticed him reporting more on weekdays.

Last week, a viewer asked about Sims' status for the TV Q&A column, and WPXI's Harding said he wants to transition Sims from a weekend anchor to a weekday reporter who will also do fill-in anchor work.

"I had to make sure we're seeing enough of Vince," Harding said. "I want him to be exposed to as many people as he can be."

While some industry watchers may put a negative spin on a move off the anchor desk, Harding said it was not a demotion, and Sims said he was enthusiastic about the change.

"This all came about during contract negotiation time. It was a mutually agreed-upon schedule change that was beneficial to both sides," said Sims, who has been at Channel 11 for four years. "This is something I wanted. I enjoy my weekend shift and I enjoy anchoring, but this is just a better time slot position" that allows him to work Monday through Friday.

The move also gives Sims, who did sign a new contract, an opportunity to do more fill-in anchoring on higher-profile weekday newscasts.

Kimberly Easton and Lori Houy are among the reporters who have been sitting in for Sims at the anchor desk.

"There's nothing permanent yet" on the weekend morning anchor slot, Harding said. "This is to help me get through the November [ratings period]."

WPXI's specials

Channel 11's second 50th anniversary special, "WPXI: 50 Years of News," will premiere at 10 p.m. tomorrow. The show, which WPXI did not provide for review, will repeat on WPXI at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, 1:30 p.m. Dec. 8 and 6 a.m. Dec. 25. The program will also air on PCNC at 8 p.m. Sunday and 10 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.

We reported in September that for this year's "Celebrate the Season Parade" (9 a.m. Nov. 24), Channel 11 will bring in a star of NBC's "Heroes," Pittsburgh native Zachary Quinto, who will play Spock in the upcoming "Star Trek" movie.

Other stars in the parade will include Peter Tork ("The Monkees"); singer Bianca Ryan ("America's Got Talent"); former Pittsburgh Steelers Louis Lipps, Dwight White and Dwayne Woodruff; game show host Ty Treadway ("Merv Griffin's Crosswords"); actress Cindy Morgan ("Caddyshack," "Tron"); local recording artists Vanessa Campagna and Margot B.; and Mr. McFeely with Purple Panda ("Mister Rogers' Neighborhood").

"Channel 11's Carol Sing" airs at 8 p.m. Dec. 8 on WPXI. This year it won't be live, but it will include a few new acts while "the majority of it will be best-of in keeping with our 50th anniversary celebration," said WPXI program director Mark Barash.

Channel surfing

Former "Trading Spaces" host Paige Davis returns to the TLC series when a new season begins in January. ... Verizon has reached a deal with NFL Network to provide its broadband customers who also subscribe to FiOS TV or DirecTV through Verizon with free access to NFL Network Game Extra. The service gives viewers access to live online broadcasts of Thursday and Saturday NFL games from multiple camera-feeds. Access it and get details at verizon.net/nfl.

TV Q&A

This week's TV Q&A responds to questions about the writers' strike, "The Unit" and Marty Griffin's sources. Read it at post-gazette.com/tv/questions.