Local TV stations have long promoting their news and other programming to audiences. But how well have they marketed their brands? How well are they positioning their programming in a media environment increasingly filled with targeted channels and streaming services? What do leading media industry marketers suggest TV stations do to enhance their marketing?

The station group taps Jonathan Forsythe as managing editor of its Verify anti-disinformation iniative. He will oversee the daily content production of Verify, including segments for television, web articles, social content and other products. He is also responsible for recruiting and managing Verify’s team of journalists, producers and audience-engagement specialists as well as working with Tegna stations to source story ideas and co-produce content.
WDIV’s Evening, Late News Top-Rated In 2020

Consistent branding that resonated with viewers, effective synergy between broadcast and digital and a simple, free marketing tool helped WDIV have a 2020 to remember.

Kamala Harris’ inauguration is an inspiring sign of progress — but it’s also a reminder of how challenging it is to increase racial diversity in the highest ranks of leadership. Sadly, the television station business stands as a sobering example.
WXIN-WTTV Hosting Town Hall Tonight On COVID Vaccine
Covering the weather that included more than 500 storms and related weather events, Pat Shingleton, “The Weatherman,” Manship’s ABC affiliate WBRZ Baton Rouge, La., is “closing his umbrella” on Friday, Jan. 28. “My forecasting approach incorporated the protection of life and property and when it wasn’t serious, let’s have some fun….” For 45 years he […]
Hearst Television’s NBC-CW duopoly of WPTZ-WNNE Burlington, Vt., has added Alice Kang to the NBC5 News evening team as a news anchor. She joins anchors Brian Colleran and Stewart Ledbetter, and chief meteorologist Tom Messner. A native of Chicago’s north shore, Kang joined the WPTZ in August 2018 as the morning anchor for NBC5 News […]

Sinclair’s The National Desk, a three-hour morning news program, debuted today on Sinclair’s 190-plus stations. Promising commentary-free news coverage from both local and national perspectives, the program is based out of WJLA’s studios in Washington.
Consumer Content Producer Opening In Sunny Locale

New jobs posted to TVNewsCheck’s Media Job Center include an opening for a consumer producer at the NBC-Telemundo duopoly in San Francisco.
Tegna’s CBS affiliate WUSA Washington, D.C., announced that Tony Perkins will be taking over as host of Get Up DC!, its morning show. Perkins has been a part of the Get Up DC! team for more than a year. Comedian Reese Waters, who has been host of Get Up DC! for the last three years, […]

State capitols across the country are under heightened security after the siege of the U.S. Capitol last week. Above, a member of the Pennsylvania Capitol Police stands guard at the entrance to the Pennsylvania Capitol Complex in Harrisburg, Pa., on Jan. 13.
Telemundo’s KVEA Los Angeles has named Marcos Mora weather anchor for its weekend newscasts, Noticiero Telemundo 52 a las 6 PM y 11 PM, alongside News Anchor Sandra O’Neill, Sports Anchor Saul Rodriguez and a team of reporters. Celia Chavez, KVEA president and general manager, said: “We are excited to have Marcos join the Telemundo 52 […]
Sinclair-owned CBS affiliate KUTV Salt Lake City, Utah, has hired Jamie McGriff as an anchor-reporter effective Jan. 11. She comes from Mobile, Ala., where she woke up bright and early every day for the morning news. She has also had stops in Memphis and Texas. McGriff will anchor the 4 p.m. news with Jim Spiewak […]

Bridging the Great Health Divide is an ambitious new experiment in collaborative journalism that Gray Television plans to start rolling out in March. Supported by $200,000 from the Google News Initiative, its multiplatform coverage will take a fresh look at the longtime health disparities in both Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta, two sprawling regions where health indicators and outcomes are far worse than the national average — and where the group has more than 25 TV stations serving affected communities.

Sinclair’s ABC affiliate in North Carolina’s Triad is debuting 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts on Jan. 18.

Margaret Kreger Ashburn has been assistant news director for the last two years at the Graham Media NBC affiliate in Roanoke, Va.

Is on-demand streaming the future of local TV news? For Scripps ABC affiliate KGUN Tucson, Ariz., OTT is not just a convenience for viewers. It’s an opportunity to experiment aggressively with new programming driven by new technology — and a way to deepen ties with the community.
Jennifer DelGado has joined Fox O&O WTTG Washington as weekend evening meteorologist. Effective Jan. 18, she will report the weather for the station’s Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening newscasts at 4, 5, 6, 10 and 11 p.m., as well as the newscasts on co-owned WDCA. In addition, she will serve as a field reporter for […]
WREX Employees Get Personal in ‘Dear 2020’ Podcast

He joins the Telemundo Orlando outlet from KTLM Harlingen, Texas, to oversee multiplatform news operations.

She takes over Feb. 1 at the NBC affiliate in Columbia, Mo., owned by the University of Missouri.
Marketing ‘WGN Morning News’ Is Always Unpredictable

WGN’s daily morning news show has had a decade-long ratings reign among 25-54-year-olds in Chicago. Its successful formula is a humor-laden, laid-back news take drawing on the long relationship between its veteran anchors.

Sinclair’s Providence, R.I. NBC affiliate postponed an airing of its public affairs show 10 News Conference after the host, Gene Valicenti, came under fire on social media over the weekend for claiming that three incoming female lawmakers of color were striking a “fierce pose” in a picture taken on the steps of the State House.
Telemundo-owned KBLR Las Vegas has hired Claudia Simonés as an anchor-reporter for Noticiero Telemundo Las Vegas. Simonés will anchor on weekdays at 5 and 5:30 p.m. Her on-air debut is on Jan. 4, 2021. Simonés joins KBLR after working at Telemundo’s KSTS San Jose, Calif., as a reporter since 2019. Previously, she worked at various Entravision […]

It was a year unlike any other in most of our lifetimes, and RTDNA wanted to take a moment to recognize and thank the journalists who have gone above and beyond this year.