Newsy, which was launched by E.W. Scripps Co. as an over-the-air network in October, said it will relaunch its news program The Why, on January 10.
The Why, which will air at 10 p.m. on weeknights, is hosted by Tatevik Aprikyan, who will provide deep dives into topics in the news. It replaces the first hour of Evening Debrief, which will appear from 11 p.m. to midnight.
Newsy started out in 2008 online with the intention of being a fact-based service that provided “News with a Why.” The Why was originally launched in 2017 as a two-hour nightly news show devoted to in-depth storytelling. It stopped appearing in June 2020.
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“This is a special opportunity at Newsy,” said Aprikyan, who has been a reporter or anchor for stations affiliated with ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. “We are going to provide viewers with the kind of information that offers insight into the complex issues of the day. It’s the kind of work that journalists live for. It’s a chance to make a difference for our audience.”
Originally from Armenia, Aprikyan’s family moved to Seattle when she was five years old. She speaks Armenian, Russian and French and has been an advocate for children's health, serving on the board of directors for non-profits providing humanitarian relief to orphaned children around the world.
Her new broadcast will originate from Newsy’s studio in Chicago.
“This will be unique programming for primetime viewers,” said Eric Ludgood, head of Newsy. “Tatevik is an experienced journalist with great story-telling skills and a knack for engaging audiences.”
Hank Mendheim will serve as executive producer of The Why. He was most recently executive producer of WLS-TV’s Windy City Live in Chicago. He previously produced news and entertainment programming for A&E, Bravo, Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, Lifetime, Animal Planet, Sundance Channel, Hallmark Channel, Oxygen, MSNBC and The Weather Channel.
In addition to over-the-air TV, Newsy is available online at Newsy.com and streams on a variety of devices and platforms including Apple TV, Fire TV, Pluto TV, Roku, Samsung, Sling, Vizio and Xumo. ■
