The amount of news airing on local stations has risen for the fourth year in a row, according to Part II of the annual RTDNA-Hofstra University study. This year, the average is up 12 minutes to 5 hours, 30 minutes daily.

More than 45% of all television stations said they increased the amount of news in 2011. Only 1.5% of stations reduced the amount of news they run; a slim majority, 53%, said they ran the same amount of news in 2011 as they did in 2010. According to the study, Fox-affiliates were the most likely to have added news, followed by CBS-affiliates.

Additionally, 31% of stations plan to increase news in 2012. 60% plan to keep the same amount of news coverage, and 9% are not sure, the study says.

Part I of the study found that TV news staffing is way up, with more hiring expected. Read the full results of Part II after the jump.

PartII