Merit Street Media To Launch Two News Programs

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‘Morning on Merit Street,’ ‘The News on Merit Street’ to debut Feb. 26

Merit Street Media, overseen by Dr. Phil McGraw, launches in February.
Merit Street Media, overseen by Dr. Phil McGraw, launches in February. (Image credit: Merit Street Media)

Merit Street Media, the new network from Dr. Phil McGraw, will debut two news programs: Morning on Merit Street and The News on Merit Street, the company said Thursday.

Morning on Merit Street will be co-hosted by Dominique Sachse and Fanchon Stinger and will air from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET weekdays. The News on Merit Street will feature senior anchor Kris Gutierrez and co-hosts Lyndsey Keith and Loni Coombs and air weeknights 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET.

The two new shows join Dr. Phil Primetime when the network launches February 26 in partnership with Trinity Broadcast Network. With current broadcast and cable distribution, Merit Street Media is expected to reach 65 million households. 

Like most morning news programs, Morning on Merit Street will cover the latest news while also offering a lifestyle-focused approach with such topics as health, fitness, parental advice, financial guidance and more. Sachse comes from NBC affiliate KPRC Houston, and she also hosts her own YouTube channel and a podcast titled “Over 50 & Flourishing.” Co-host Stinger spent 12 years as an evening news anchor at Fox affiliate WXIN Indianapolis and another 11 at Fox-owned WJBK Detroit. Morning on Merit Street is executive produced by Andrew Scher, who previously oversaw daytime syndicated talk shows ABC’s Tamron Hall and CBS Media Ventures’ The Doctors, which was executive produced by McGraw and his son, Jay. 

The News on Merit Street’s Gutierrez comes to the network after years spent at KPRC Houston, NBC-owned KXAS Dallas Ft. Worth and Fox News. Co-host Keith previously was at Newsmax, while Coombs is a former Los Angeles County criminal prosecutor. The News on Merit Street is executive produced by Leslie Marcus, who comes from The Doctors, Warner Bros.’ entertainment news magazine, Extra, and Fox affiliate KSWB San Diego. 

Merit Street Media, overseen by McGraw and chief operating officer Joel Cheatwood, is located in Dallas-Fort Worth and includes a state-of-the-art news studio on its five-acre property. McGraw previously hosted and executive produced daytime syndicated talk show Dr. Phil, which was produced and distributed by CBS Media Ventures and aired from September 2002 to May 2023. 

Paige Albiniak
Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.