“Know My Neighborhood” airs live from different neighborhoods once a month during KSAT’s hour-long 6 p.m. newscast. The initiative started in October 2023.
Just about every city and town, large or small, is made up of neighborhoods. What neighborhood you live in is usually determined by a variety of factors such as housing costs, schools, ethnicity, income, etc. And what concerns the residents have in one neighborhood can be different than the concerns of another.
Crime might be the main issue in one neighborhood, while traffic, taxes, schools, infrastructure and homelessness might be the main concerns in another.
How do you know? You go and talk to the people who live there.
That’s the goal of “Know My Neighborhood,” a new initiative by KSAT, Graham Media Group’s ABC affiliate in San Antonio.
“We have conversations with the people that live in these neighborhoods,” says Sean Talbot, KSAT’s assistant news director. “We find out from them what are their concerns, what are their issues, what do they love about where they live, what do they want people to know about their area.”
“Know My Neighborhood” airs live from different neighborhoods once a month during KSAT’s hour-long 6 p.m. news. It started in October 2023.
Talbot says they go to neighborhood association meetings and talk to elected officials for background, but all the on-camera interviews are with people who live in the neighborhoods because “we feel that’s very important because these are their stories,” Talbot says.
The “Know My Neighborhood” segments are anchored by the station’s normal 6 p.m. anchors, Steve Spriester and Myra Arthur.
“This is a grassroots effort to tell the stories, the hopes and the fears of the people we serve,” Spriester says. “What we hope is that while we may be separated by miles, or blocks, or even city limits, there is much more that unites us and our dreams for our community’s future, than what divides us.”
The locations where Spriester and Arthur host the “Know My Neighborhood” segments are well-known local spots where people gather, like roller rinks, popular eateries and theaters.
Nate Mills, KSAT’s creative services director, says the locations give the “Know My Neighborhood” segments a lively feeling, “to show we’re part of the community, like college game day, you have your college game day desk and there’s people interacting in the background.
Mills says when they first started “Know My Neighborhood”, “we didn’t really do a large promotional effort behind it because we wanted it to grow organically. Once we started seeing growth and seeing people chiming in, we really hit the go button on promotion.”
Mills says in addition to a constant image campaign on the air, the station gives the segments a push on digital and social, targeting social posts to those neighborhoods.
Mario Orellana, KSAT’s news director, says they typically spend a month working on every episode.
“Everything is done ahead of time, all the packages are shot and edited,” Orellana says.
Orellana says the “Know My Neighborhood” project has energized the newsroom.
“So many people want to be a part of it,” he says. “That’s a great thing for us because it shows that we are a team.”
Mills says the station has seen upticks in the 6 p.m. ratings on days when the “Know My Neighborhood” segments air.
“We put it in the six o’clock for a reason because we want to make sure we’re growing that that newscast,” he says.
The station says the feedback has already been heartwarming and positive:
“I want to thank you for a very well-done segment of Know My Neighborhood series tonight. I moved to San Antonio from Denver 8 years ago and fell in love with the area. Your story was very informative and respectful towards the community. I just wanted to say Thank You.”
Bob Vargas
“This is what news should focus on communities and what we can do to change issues here locally as a city.” — Gris Guerrero
“What a great series! I cannot wait to get to know our real city better. Great job KSAT.” — Kim Dahle
CLICK HERE to go to KSAT’s Know My Neighborhood page on its website to see all of the segments and shows.
CLICK HERE to see new jobs posted to TVNewsCheck’s Media Job Center including openings for a media engineer supervisor, a national advertising sales account executive and a broadcast maintenance technician.
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