Spectrum Networks is planning to use its U.S. footprint to report national news.
In a previous version, TVSpy wrote that Spectrum was launching a national newscast, but it has actually just named Spectrum News NY1 journalist Annika Pergament a national anchor who will anchor the breaking news or national content.
Led by Sam Singal, Spectrum Networks’ vp of editorial and content, Spectrum’s team of journalists will report on national news and its impact on Spectrum’s communities.
“Grounded in the trust we have built by telling stories about the issues that affect our viewers’ daily lives, we are implementing a comprehensive news strategy that will allow us to continue to meet the growing needs of our audience,” said Alison Hellman, svp of content, strategy and marketing for Spectrum Networks.
Spectrum is basing its new venture on a 2021 survey by Front Row of 10,000 Spectrum News viewers, who that said they rated Spectrum News as more trustworthy than other local TV news channels by a margin of more than five-to-one.
“I am excited and honored to take on this new role,” said Pergament. “I’ve spent my career helping inform New Yorkers about the news that impacts their lives. Now I will have the opportunity to do that for audiences around the country, working with my colleagues across the Spectrum Networks’ footprint to bring our audience the day’s top stories across all of our platforms. The news business is changing rapidly and I am eager to be at the forefront of that evolution.”
“The network has grown to the point that there are local Spectrum channels now, like NY1, in more than 30 different cities and the company is now going to launch a national newsroom,” Pergament’s co-anchor Pat Kiernan said. “And in looking for our national news anchor, they came knocking on our door.”
Pergament joined NY1 in 1994 covering politics and later City Hall and the Manhattan beat. She briefly left the station in 2001, but came back a year later as business anchor and producer of the Fortune Business Report.