New Year brings new newscasts
January 1, 2024Beginning January 8, two local stations will add to their supply of local newscasts.
WPXI-TV (11) will have another newscast air on WPGH-TV (53) this time in the morning. This will be the third newscast in the news share agreement between Cox Media and Sinclair Broadcast Group since 2006 when Sinclair ceased producing their own 10:00 p.m. news. The new 7:00 – 8:00 a.m. broadcast on Fox 53 will be a continuation of the WPXI broadcast and will take an hour of the 3-hour broadcast of The National Desk from Sinclair’s Maryland headquarters.
Back in September, Paramount promised Pittsburgh an 8:00 p.m. newscast on the new KDKA+ (WPKD-TV DT 11; PSIP. 19). They will deliver on that promise, albeit a month or two later than planned, next Monday as well.
Before you ask, “How many news broadcasts do you think we need in this town?” Let me just offer this… Nobody is expected to watch every hour of every newscast a station pumps out. It’s there if you need a news update, a weather forecast. If you miss it at all the other times, then it is there when you might be able to catch it. As we have said before, there is evidence that fewer syndicated daytime talk shows and the like are being distributed to the local outlets and most people appreciate the local information available when they need it most.
Local content was always a priority until “consultants” decided not. That snowball started rolling shortly after or around consolidation. (IMO) I hated to see local radio die, I was a part of it.
I used to think there was already way too much local news, but I get it. In 2024 local news is one of the few differentiators that sets a local station apart from what can be found on a multitude of web streams.