Ten stations in the CBS group, independents and The CW affiliates, premiered nightly newscasts on July 18. WLNY New York, WPSG Philadelphia, KTXA Dallas-Fort Worth, KBCW San Francisco, WUPA Atlanta, WSBK Boston, KSTW Seattle, WTOG Tampa, WKBD Detroit and WBFS Miami debuted one-hour newscasts that air seven nights a week. The programs run at 9 p.m. at WLNY, KTXA and WBFS, and 10 p.m. at the rest.
The newscasts include both hyper-local content produced in each market, and content produced at the CBS Local News Innovation Lab in Dallas-Fort Worth. Originating at the Innovation Lab, the weekday editions of these newscasts are anchored by Tom Hanson, who is joined by meteorologist Collin Myers. Weekend newscasts are anchored by Trason Bragg, who will be joined by meteorologist Brittany Rainey.
CBS Stations has hired 28 additional news professionals for the new newscasts, including anchors, reporters, meteorologists, producers, directors, editors and managers.
“This is an exciting time for our group as we marshal our team at the CBS Local News Innovation Lab and newly hired colleagues across the country to create this ambitious model for producing newscasts that deliver a mix of hyperlocal and national stories,” CBS Stations president Tom Canedo said. “Congratulations to Andrea [Parquet-Taylor, VP and The CW and independent stations news director], our team members at the lab and everyone in our local markets who is helping us bring our vision to life.”
CBS Stations has been boosting the group’s news presence for some time. KCAL Los Angeles recently announced plans to launch a seven-hour morning news block. WWJ Detroit launches a full news operation this fall, and 9 a.m. newscasts are coming to most company-owned CBS stations this fall. These commitments will increase the number of hours of local news produced by CBS Stations from 30,000 in 2021 to nearly 47,000 hours by the end of this year.
Parquet-Taylor called it “an honor to be part of creating something that’s so unique and designed to provide the kind of local-to-national and even global storytelling that defines CBS News and Stations. We are pleased to have assembled an outstanding team of seasoned professionals, including my talented co-pilot (assistant news director) Josh Barlow, to serve as the backbone of this exciting venture.” ■
