To compete in local news arms race, KCAL expands to 7 hours of morning TV
From 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, KCAL Channel 7 will be the biggest news channel in Kansas and the 14th largest in the country. It will have its programming extended from 5 to 7 p.m. on weekdays, from 7 to 9 p.m. on weekends, and from 8 to 9 p.m. on Monday mornings. That means KCAL will now offer the largest morning newscast, news on top of its news broadcast and have an additional hour of entertainment programming.
The move to another day of the week will cost KCAL $5.9 million in 2012, including the $3 million that it paid for KCAL-TV in June, according to the Kansas Department of Commerce.
KCAL’s local content has suffered in recent years as the television ratings have declined since the late 1990s.
It’s no secret that the local news in Kansas has declined in recent years, and this is a direct result of the contraction of the local news market. Local stations in Topeka and Kansas City have lost their local news anchors in recent years as there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to cover these stories.
I am not surprised that KCAL wants to expand its morning newscast, but the fact that it would add 3 hours of morning newscasts has created a public outcry that now seems inevitable.
The problem with KCAL’s move is that the public still believes that television is still an art form and that local news anchors still have a role to play. They were once the best in the business at doing this kind of show, and they still are great at it.
It’s sad that you have to choose between local news and quality entertainment. But local news anchors are a dying breed. The only reason the TV media is paying such attention to them is because there is a growing anti-news bias in America.
That’s why this week, the top three newscasts will be on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News. CNN and MSNBC get 20 minutes and FOX gets 30 minutes to fill.
The news is better on cable and the shows are more up to date with the news
