Nexstar Media said it will build a centralized local news operation in Washington, D.C. and that its stations in the region will be expanding the hours of news they broadcast.
WDVM-TV in Hagerstown, Maryland, and WDCW-TV in Washington, D.C, will brand themselves as DC News Now. Both stations will operate from a new newsroom and studio facility on Wisconsin Avenue and new bureaus are being opened in Hagerstown and Frederick, Maryland, and Chantilly, Virginia.
The combined operation will be staffing up as WDVM, an independent station, launches a new nightly newscast at 9 p.m., expands its morning news by an hour and adds a 30-minute nightly sports highlight show at 11 p.m., and CW affiliate WDCW launches a new nightly newscast at 10 p.m. ET.
Together, the stations will be airing more than 67 hours of local news weekly.
Ben Dobson has been named news director for the two stations. He ha been VP and news director of New England Cable News, NBC10 and Telemundo Boston since 2018.
“Bringing these two television stations together, adding more news hours, and creating three locally based satellite news bureaus to serve Washington, D.C., and parts of Maryland and Virginia, is a tremendous opportunity,” Dobson said. “We are building something from the ground up at a time when more and more viewers are turning to local news organizations as their primary source of information they can trust.”
Nexstar said the move demonstrates it commitment to local news.
“The demand for local news, weather, and information in Maryland and Northern Virginia, and in the immediate Washington, D.C., area has never been greater. We will be hiring more journalists and critical support personnel, significantly expanding our digital news capabilities, and building upon our strong legacy of providing high quality local news to the communities we serve,” said Andrew Alford, president of broadcasting for Nexstar.
“We are extremely excited about this expansion, particularly because it enables us to launch new newscasts while also establishing three new satellite news bureaus from which we can deliver live news directly from within local communities in Maryland and Northern Virginia,” added David Bangura, VP and general manager of the stations. “These bureaus will give WDVM-TV and WDCW-TV a way of connecting to the community as never before.” ■
