New York FOX owned station WNYW has announced a “Summer Schedule” which promises both anchor changes and revamped news format starting June 5.
“Our new summer schedule continues our mission to bring unconventional local news to New York,” said VP and news director Byron Harmon in a statement. “Local news doesn’t have to be all gloom and doom.”
Called “FOX’S Fresh 5,” the schedule swaps current 5:00 p.m. co anchor Ernie Anastos with Steve Lacy to sit alongside Dari Alexander. Anastos replaces Lacy as solo anchor at 6:00 p.m. while meteorologist Audrey Puente will “step outside her usual role of meteorologist and serve as a reporter, along with entertainment reporters Simone Boyce and Christal Young.”
The station will also debut a three episode documentary summer series called “FOX Docs” looking at three major issues facing New York City. There’s no word what those major issues are. The docs will air on the 5:00 p.m. show and on weekends as well as on the station website.
In a mediabistroTV-esque move, WNYW will show viewers how the news cake gets baked in a segment called “Backstory.” The press release promises viewers will get to see the news get built “from the moment we receive a news tip, all the way to the editing process and finished story.”
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In addition to the format changes, WNYW will begin airing hourly news updates on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 9:00 a.m. until Noon.
The fifth element is an entertainment show after the 10:00 p.m. newscast called “Friday Night Live” which will incorporate “a lively, energetic mix of entertainment, nightlife, food and wine segments, musical performances and celebrity guest interviews.”