KSTS San Francisco Expands Local News

NBC-owned Telemundo affiliate KSTS San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (DMA 6) on Tuesday announced that on June 2 the station will launch two new weekday morning newscasts – the market’s only Spanish-language local morning news – designed to deliver local breaking news, weather and traffic as well as stories of interest to the Bay Area’s Latino community.

Additionally, the station will be debuting a new state-of-the-art high-definition studio, adding nearly 20 new anchors, reporters and others to the team, launching live weather coverage to its evening newscasts and working more closely with sister station, KNTV, including sharing key bilingual talent, local programming and newsroom resources.

“We saw a need in the market to provide Hispanic viewers with relevant local news and information when they need it, especially in the mornings,” said Rich Cerussi, president-GM of both KSTS and KNTV. “By making these strategic investments at Telemundo 48, we will ensure we meet our viewers’ high expectations.”

Taking effect on June 2 are:

New Morning Newscasts — Noticiero Telemundo 48 Primera Edición will air weekdays from 5 to 7 a.m. Additionally, the station will also launch another half-hour of weekday morning news from 10 to 10:30 a.m., Noticiero Telemundo 48. Both will be anchored by Lorena Domínguez and Juan Francisco Ramírez.

Dominguez previously worked in the market as the weekend anchor for KDTV San Francisco. Most recently she was a segment producer and reporter for Time Warner Cable’s Deportes in Los Angeles. Ramírez will be making a transition to news anchor after being KSTS’s sports anchor for more than a year. Earlier in his career, Ramírez was the morning show co-anchor at KUVS Sacramento

Also joining the Noticiero Telemundo 48 Primera Edición team will be Lucrecia Borchardt as morning weather and traffic anchor. Borchardt began her career in San Jose, Costa Rica, where she worked at several stations as an anchor and reporter. She moved to San Francisco in 2010 where, until recently, she was a radio host and often presented the weather and traffic segments on KDTV San Francisco’s Al Despertar.

Journalists Lucero Benítez and Katherine Orozco will also join the morning team as multimedia reporters. Until recently Benítez was reporting for KNSO Fresno, Calif., where she helped launch a newscast for the Central Valley — shooting, writing and editing her own stories. Orozco has been with KSTS since this February as a multimedia journalist. She joined the station from KAKW Austin, Texas, where she also worked as a multimedia journalist and regularly produced, shot, edited and reported general assignment stories.

Local Weather Additions to Evening Newscasts — Noticiero Telemundo 48 at 6 and 11 p.m. will benefit from the addition of a locally produced weather segment, making KSTS the only Spanish station to provide viewers in the Bay Area with live weather updates during the evening newscast, according to the station.

Gabriella Dellán will be joining the station as evening weather anchor. Dellan previously worked at KSTS from 2011 to 2013 and returns after a year at KUVS Sacramento.

Additionally, the station will debut a new consumer investigative segment, “Telemundo Responde,” in which reporter Alonso Castillo will investigate tip-driven stories that affect the Latino community. Castillo joins the station from Vme TV, a PBS-style variety service for Hispanic audiences. At Vme, Castillo also worked as a correspondent for the show De Buena Fuente and was host of the investigative political program Washington en Vme.

With these additions, KSTS will now produce three-and-a-half hours of local news each weekday. “These are very exciting times for Telemundo 48,” said Juan Miguel Muniz Guzman, the station’s VP of news. “The additions to our team and our local news coverage will make us a must-see in the market.”

All of the station’s newscasts will originate from a new, state-of-the-art, high-definition studio, equipped with new technology including LED lighting and an array of multi-functional LED monitor walls.

In addition to the infusion of resources, Telemundo 48 will now benefit from a stronger working partnership with KNTV, including select shared content of interest to the local Latino community. This shared programming includes:

• Comunidad del Valle, KNTV’s public affairs show hosted by Damian Trujillo, now airs on both stations . The show is taped both in English and in Spanish and will air first on KSTS Saturdays at 5:30 p.m. and then on KNTV on Sundays at 3 p.m.. “Comunidad del Valle” is the longest running public affairs program in the Bay Area. The show features influential members of the Latino community.

• Class Action, KNTV’s educational segment with Jessica Aguirre will also be featured on Telemundo Noticiero 48. Class Action brings together educators, policymakers and families to explore solutions to the challenges facing schools in California. As the daughter of immigrant parents, Aguirre is fluent in Spanish and deeply involved in organizations that promote literacy and help stem the Latino achievement gap.

• Telemundo Responde will share resources with KNTV’s Investigative Unit that comprises 15 members.

• KSTS will also have access to KNTV reporters who are fluent in both English and Spanish including reporters Jodi Hernandez, Damian Trujillo and Kris Sanchez.