Cox/Raycom/Scripps Show Plans Soft Launch

RIghtThisMinute, the new syndicated news show being launched by Cox, Raycom and Scripps, will debut on select stations within those groups in September, with plans for national syndication in 2012.

“We’ll be making it a very focused launch so we hit good stations in good markets,” says Bill Miller of Phoenix-based MagicDust Television, a partner in the one-hour, daily show.

Cox, Raycom and Scripps — which will create and own RightThisMinute — have yet to announce their select launch stations. But the show won’t actively be marketed beyond stations in those groups for 2011, Miller says.

Counting all their stations, Cox, Raycom and Scripps cover 30% of U.S. households.

Miller, however, says he expects the show — a fast-paced program aimed at younger, digital-savvy viewers — to go nationwide in 2012, most likely airing late afternoons leading into more traditional newscasts.

RightThis both distinguishes itself — and complements — local newscasts by covering a wider range of subjects, with a style that appeals to consumers who often turn to the Internet for news, Miller says.

Miller, a founding partner of MagicDust, comes from a broadcasting background. He is a former GM at KTVK and KASW, Belo’s Phoenix stations. Before that, Miller was COO of MAC American Communications, overseeing the company’s media businesses.

MagicDust produced the syndicated NASCAR Angels, which ended its four-season run last September. The company has been developing RIghtThisMinute in the time since.

Magic Dust and the three station groups are partners in the venture, although Miller won’t disclose the financial terms of their agreement.

According to the partners, the show will incorporate mobile, social media and citizen journalism.

A newsroom for the show is being built from the ground up with the latest in Internet newsgathering technology at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.