As part of an effort to make it a 24/7 operation, in addition to strengthening the content seen by viewers on the West Coast and in Hawaii, PBS NewsHour has launched PBS NewsHour West.
The operation will be based at the Phoenix-based home of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
The opening of the bureau, made possible with the support of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, will allow for NewsHour’s nightly broadcast to better serve audiences on the West Coast and online, and to continue its expansion into a 24/7 news operation.
PBS NewsHour anchor and managing editor Judy Woodruff and PBS NewsHour executive producer and WETA/Washington, D.C. SVP Sara Just welcomed the addition of the Phoenix-area West Coast hub.
“As news cycles continue shrinking, and America’s appetite for fair, contextual and trustworthy reporting intensifies, PBS NewsHour West at ASU’s Cronkite School of Journalism will allow us to better serve our audiences across platforms and time zones,” Just said. “With a team located at the Cronkite School and Arizona PBS, we will have an ideal perch from which to better cover the important issues in the west with alacrity and insight and serve our West Coast audiences even better.”
Cronkite School Dean and Arizona PBS CEO Christopher Callahan added, “PBS NewsHour has a long history of setting the standard for broadcast journalism. We are honored to be a part of this great partnership, and we look forward to helping NewsHour deliver critical news coverage to communities across the Western United States.”
At its launch, slated for later in 2019, the PBS NewsHour West team will consist of up to six positions, which includes a correspondent who will serve as West Coast anchor.
Several factors played into the PBS NewsHour’s decision to open PBS NewsHour West at ASU. The university journalism program was one big plus. ASU is also the home to Arizona PBS.
Plus, the bureau will allow for NewsHour to work more closely with PBS stations and other media partners on the west coast, where more than 20% of NewsHour’s audience resides; in winter months, Arizona is an hour ahead of the Pacific coast and just an hour behind the East Coast with respect to prime-time programming.
When news warrants, the PBS NewsHour West team will update PBS NewsHour’s 6pm Eastern broadcast for West Coast audiences, also carried in some cities as late broadcasts on radio, television and streaming platforms.
“Through strategic investments, CPB is working to strengthen and expand public media’s local, regional, and national journalism capacity,” said CPB President/CEO Pat Harrison. “With CPB’s funding for the establishment of a Western bureau, PBS NewsHour will be able to better serve audiences with late-breaking news, and cover stories of western importance with greater depth across all platforms.”
Under the leadership of Just, who joined as executive producer in September 2014 after more than 25 years at ABC News, PBS NewsHour has seen growth and expansion across platforms.
