-By Katy Bachman

Baltimore may be adjacent to Washington, D.C., but its identity is distinct, defined by a diverse population. Poised for growth, the market is also preparing to open a convention center and hotel and is expecting an influx of 60,000 people by 2010.

In contrast to many TV markets, Baltimore TV viewing grew in May. WBAL, Hearst-Argyle Television’s NBC affiliate is the undisputed news leader, ranked first at 5, 6 and 11 p.m. since 1984. Hearst’s only two radio stations are also in Baltimore. News/Talk/Sports WBAL-AM and WBAL-TV recently combined forces to win the pre-season broadcast rights to pro football franchise the Ravens.

Morning TV news is a horse race, with CBS-owned-and-operated WJZ jostling for the top with WBAL. WJZ also tends to win noon, while No. 3 contender, Scripps’ ABC affiliate, WMAR, cut back its noon news to a half hour. Sinclair Broadcast Group’s Fox affiliate, WBFF, offers the market’s only three-hour local morning news, as well as 5:30, 10 p.m. and more recently 11 p.m. newscasts. In June, WBFF, became the first local outlet to broadcast its news in high def. Meanwhile, cable provider Comcast faces heightened competition from Verizon FiOS, which counts 100,000 local subs.

While CBS and Clear Channel have the biggest radio portfolios in Baltimore, Radio One, the nation’s largest African-American radio group (headquartered in nearby Lanham), has the No. 1 and No. 3-ranked stations. With a black population of 28 percent, the market supports no less than five Urban radio stations and two Gospel stations.

Tribune-owned Baltimore Sun announced recently it will cut about 100 jobs, more than half in the newsroom, the third year the paper has trimmed resources to stem losses. Despite cuts, the paper is planning a radical redesign by the end of September.

Clear Channel is the dominant out-of-home company with bulletins, buses, taxis and transit shelters. JC Decaux has the advertising at Baltimore-Washington Airport.

Vital Stats:

* TV DMA Rank: 24
* Population 2-plus: 2,711,640
* TV Households: 1,095,490
* No. of TV stations (Net/Ind/Public/Local Cable): 9/5/3/0
* No. Wired Cable Households: 776,820
* Radio Metro Rank: 21
* Population 12-plus: 2,255,100
* No. of Radio Stations (rated): 32
* No. of Newspapers (Daily/Weekly): 7/34

The Numbers:

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