The traditional media’s coverage of Time Warner’s announcement it would impose caps on their broadband customers has been headline news in some cities, barely mentioned in passing in others.

By far the most intense coverage was found in Rochester, New York where it has led newscasts for several days and garnered “above the fold” coverage in the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle Friday.  Rochester’s daily newspaper also planned special weekend coverage to survey customer feelings about the end of unlimited Internet for the Flower City.

WROC-TV made Time Warner’s plan their lead story earlier this week, talking with a typical younger user of the web who now devotes at least an hour or two daily on the Internet, and how the rationing plan will impact her use of Road Runner.

WHAM-TV was back late in the week to gauge how much customer outrage local residents were feeling towards Time Warner.  It was quite a lot.  The number one rated newscast in Rochester led with the story on their 5:00pm newscast:

And WROC-TV was back on the story as well later in the week, this time pondering exactly how customers will be able to gauge how much they are already using the Internet:

But in other areas, the story has generated considerably less media scrutiny.

In Austin, Texas, only Time-Warner-owned cable channel News 8 Austin devoted significant television coverage to the story, weighted heavily to the company’s position on bandwidth usage and a single customer protesting the event in an unflattering soundbite.

The Austin American-Statesman covered the story in greater depth, also from a political angle because of a written protest from a mayoral candidate released on his website.

In San Antonio, KSAT-TV provided a written account of the metered bandwidth plan, but no video to share.  The station also provided a poll to ask if residents are planning to switch providers over the change.  As of this writing, the poll attracted about 1,000 respondants with 50% planning to cancel service.  WOAI-TV delivered a straightforward report on the plan in their April 2nd newscast, along with their own poll, asking customers if they favored the plan.  A whopping 92.8% said they didn’t.  The comments attached to the report from viewers were overwhelmingly hostile.

KABB-TV, the local Fox affiliate, mentioned the cap briefly on its April 1st newscast with few details.  The San Antonio Express-News gave the story detailed coverage, and reader comments numbered over 130, virtually all extremely upset with the cable company.  With a story headlined Big Internet Usage Could Cost You Big Bucks, it was a story noticed by local readers.

KENS-TV also gave the issue short shrift, but it did not escape the attention of viewers who threw their own two cents into the story’s comments section.

Greensboro, part of North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad, had some excellent coverage on the issue with more than a recitation of the Time Warner press machine.  WGHP-TV, the area’s Fox affiliate, raised skeptical questions about just how consumers will be able to easily track their usage by remembering to visit the Road Runner “gas gauge.”  They were also the only station to point out that even if customers may not be the “heavy users” Time Warner labels them today, it’s only a matter of time before even moderate users of the Internet break through the caps.

WXII-TV, the NBC affiliate, had some of the best coverage of all, making it a top story and going into the issue in great detail from all angles.