Building a News Department on the Cheap

WKPT Tri-Cities, Tenn.-Va. (Market 96), has brought it's News Deparment back to life.

The station, did a local newscast produced in house from 1969 until 2002. Now the station has rebuilt its news department using all local people (i.e. cheap labor that you don't have to move into the market).  

It's been done under the direction of veteran anchorman Jim Bailey, who joined Holston Valley Broadcasting in January of last year as director of TV news and public affairs.

“Over the past few months we’ve built a homegrown news team,” Bailey tells TVNewsCheck. “Our assistant news director, all of our reporters, my co-anchor and our meteorologist are all from the Tri-Cities area."

George DeVault, WKPT’s general manager, who is also president of Holston Valley Broadcasting, praised Bailey’s efforts in re-building a local news team. “We’ve been producing eight-minute news briefs anchored by Jim Bailey for several months while the new full team was being assembled,” DeVault said. “Now we again have a traditional television news department such as we had from 1969 to 2002. Kingsport again has a full-service television station with ‘People you know…. News you need!’ 

H/T TVNewsCheck ​