KCRG in Cedar Rapids, IA is the latest station to expand its morning news to a 4:30 a.m. start time. The ABC-affiliate is planning to debut its new early morning newscast on January 3rd.
The expanded newscast will feature KCRG’s current morning team of anchors Ashley Hinson and Nicole Agee with meteorologist Kaj O’Mara.
“More and more people are starting their days earlier,” says KCRG’s news director Kara Kelly. “We realize that they need to have important local information at the start of their day and it’s our duty to make sure our viewers can receive that news and weather from a trusted source.”
On Tuesday, KCRG posted a promo video for the expanded newscast on its Facebook page. In the video, Hinson, Agee, and O’Mara playfully discuss what the newscast should be named. After listing options like “The Get the Day’s Forecast and Know How to Dress the Kids for School News,” the morning news team settles on “KCRG-TV9 First News.”