"Started in 2004 by the Sacramento chapter of the nonprofit California Common Cause, the group has focused on trying to get local TV newscasts to spend more time on politics....

"We see ourselves as somebody who's finally watching the store," Smith says. "These broadcast TV stations receive lucrative FCC licenses to use the public airwaves, so we have to ask, 'What are we getting in return on this investment?' "

The answer, say members of the group: reports on crime, accidents, weather-related events and celebrities."

From Media Savvy: They're Watching" by Sam McManis, Sacramento Bee, Dec. 11, 2007.  http://www.sacbee.com/107/story/557386.html