It’s All News to KCAL : Channel 9 Expands Coverage With 6:30 p.m. Broadcast

What? No sports or weather?

With the competition engrossed in network news and syndicated shows like “Family Feud” and “Studs,” KCAL premieres a new news program this week aimed at the serious consumer of local news.

Starting Monday night, the Disney-owned channel will go up against the syndicators as well as ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS news offerings to provide “First 9 News at 6:30,” a half an hour of local news and features. In a move away from the traditional local news format, the program will have no regular sports or weather segments, but will be heavy on live camera shots and traffic reports.

“We believe that 6:30 is an underserved time period,” said KCAL news director Bob Henry, adding that until the late 1980s, when the networks insisted on moving their newscasts to 6:30, most local stations ran their news then. “There currently is no local newscast available at that time.”

KCAL research shows that viewers who previously watched local news at 6:30 did not all switch to network news when the national broadcasts took over the time slot, Henry said.

Adding “First 9 News” will mean that KCAL, which already broadcasts news for three hours from 8 to 11 p.m., will blanket its air with news for the entire evening, with the exception of an hour of “Love Connection” between 7 and 8 p.m. Leading into the new show at 6 will be syndicated reruns of “The Golden Girls.”

“We don’t have to answer to any network commitments, and we are twice the size of (competing independent stations) staff-wise,” said Jerry Dunphy, who will anchor the newscast with KCAL’s Pat Harvey. “Both of those give us the opportunity to go on the air any time we want, and stay on as long as needs be.”

The idea, Harvey said, is to use the first portion of the program for a fast-paced recount of the day’s events, followed by features and in-depth reports in the time that normally would go to weather and sports.

“We’re going to come out of the blocks hard and fast, and the first seven to nine minutes may go by pretty quickly,” Harvey said. “We’re going to have (rotating) segments each night on lifestyles, money, health, and those will run maybe two minutes.”

According to Henry, the newscast will include a heavy emphasis on regional news, with reports from Orange County, Ventura County and the Inland Empire.

The broadcast will include coverage of major sports or weather stories, Henry said. But, he said, in-depth segments on those subjects are already available on KCAL’s other news programs, as well as on competing stations.

Live shots and use of the station’s helicopter are expected to be staples of the program, although the principals insist that the desire for live coverage will not drive the producers’ choice of stories.

“Los Angeles is a large city, with lots happening,” Henry said. “We think there’s plenty going on at 6:30, and we have enough units that we can be in several places.”

The station already has a crew based in Orange County, Henry said, and is considering adding bureaus in other areas outside of Los Angeles.

Dunphy, who will be anchoring for 2 1/2 hours daily when the new show is added, said he sees the project as vindication of KCAL’s maverick decision to fill its evening air time with news.

“Two years and three months ago when we started this prime-time news period, (other news directors) were all saying that we couldn’t do it, that it was a foolish venture,” he said. “And now the news department is more than paying for itself on the strength of those newscasts.”

Indeed, at a time when most other news operations are cutting back, KCAL is adding staff for the new program, hiring editors, producers and support staff, according to Henry. At the same time, however, existing staff will be asked to pick up the slack. On-air talent in particular will feel the impact of the new show, because its ranks will not be increased.

Henry predicted that the new show will be watched primarily by people who arrive home from work after 6 p.m., after the evening newscasts on the other local stations have finished with news and have moved on to weather and sports.

The station is not expecting the new program to blaze onto the scene and beat the networks: according to Henry, KCAL officials will be pleased if it brings in ratings of three or four points. Disney has not set a time frame for the program to become profitable, but Henry said he expects the parent company to stick with the broadcast until it can turn a profit.

“I don’t think we’re going to set it on fire,” said Dunphy. “I think we’ll start modestly, and I think we’ll see if a well-produced and well-presented half-hour can pay for itself.”

“First 9 News at 6:30” premieres Monday at 6:30 p.m. on KCAL.