TVSpy told you in May WXXV was planning to launch a local newscast on its FOX and NBC channels. Tonight’s the night the shows for the Gulfport, MS, stations will debut.
The NBC subchannel will air its newscast at 5:30 and 10:00 p.m., while the FOX affiliate will air a 9:00 p.m. show. WXXV’s newscasts will compete with the only other local news in the market on ABC affiliate WLOX.
“Our station needed local news for the future growth of our company,” WXXV general manager Bobby Edwards told The Mississippi Press. “We have 40 employees who all live here locally. We want to be relevant to the local area and to be relevant you have to have local news.”
News director Lon Tegles and his newsroom have spent the last five weeks preparing for tonight’s launch.
The shows will be anchored by Joe Sullivan and Jennifer Tubwell, chief meteorologist Ashley Feaster, meteorologist Russ Pappas who will give morning weather updates and multimedia journalists Nick Patrick, Shevaun Bryan, Sarah Duffey and Kiersten Voorhees.
Edwards told The Mississippi Press, the stations would not initially air a sports segment.