Sinclair owned Medford, Ore., CBS affiliate KTVL will change how it does local news on May 12.
Digital content producer Taylar Ansures told Jefferson Public Radio in Oregon that the gm at KTVL broke the news to the Medford station’s newsroom on Thursday.
Sinclair told TVSpy it is changing the way the station is producing news “to ensure the station’s long-term success. Beginning May 15, The National Desk, which provides real-time national and regional news from Sinclair’s television stations across the US, will air during KTVL’s regularly scheduled news time periods, with an opportunity for local news cut-ins in the newscast.,” Sinclair said. “TND offers an alternative choice for news, and has grown exponentially over the last year, reaching nearly 3 million viewers per week, across all dayparts. ”
Ansures added, “They were planning to keep the entire community, all of Southern Oregon in the dark, all of our viewers in the dark, until our last day, until our last broadcast.” He also said the closure at KTVL will affect 17 people.
Sinclair said other stations affected are Sioux City, Iowa CBS station KMEG, WGFL in Gainesville, Fla., and KPTM in Omaha, Neb.