Ed Kosowski, who last week was appointed vice president of news at Denver duopoly KDVR–KWGN, says that he plans to shift the stations’ focus from entertainment to hard news.
“If you look at my track record, I’m very hard news oriented,” Kosowski, who comes to Denver from CNBC, told the Denver Post recently, adding that he sees “huge opportunities to come in with a fresh set of eyes.”
KDVR-KWGN previously employed Carolyn Kane, a veteran of reality shows and infotainment programming, as VP of content overseeing the stations’ move towards lighter fare. Shortly after Kane joined KDVR-KWGN, the CW-affiliate rebranded itself as “The Deuce” and dumped the long-standing 9 p.m. newscast in favor of the 7 p.m. 18-to-34-year-olds-centric “News on the Deuce.”
KWGN is set to undergo a brand overhaul in July and Kosowski, along with new anchor Jeremy Hubbard, plans to reboot KDVR-KWGN as a destination for news.
KDVR-KWGN has an uphill climb if its wants to compete with perennial ratings winner KUSA, as well as KCNC and KMGH, but that seems to be okay with Kosowski.
“I’d much rather be a scrappy underdog than the long-time market leader whose ratings are declining,” he told the Post.