DES MOINES, Iowa—With the importance of broadcasters being continuously expressed during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Meredith Local Media Group is prepared to serve their communities with the latest news and information—COVID-19-related and beyond—throughout the situation.
Meredith says that all 17 of its stations across all of its markets remain open and operational. In the event that a station had to close, Meredith would keep all markets on the air and online via its hubs in Phoenix and Atlanta. Stations, meanwhile, have contingency plans, including producing news broadcasts from alternate locations.
“Our stations are taking a number of preventative measures to do our part in flattening the curve, including asking all reporters, photographers and multimedia journalists to work remotely when possible; anchors staying at least six feet apart during newscasts and using several locations on the news set and in the newsrooms; and advising all other employees not critical to news production to work from home,” said Patrick McCreery, Local Media Group president.
Meredith is also providing local coronavirus updates every hour via mobile news apps and social channels. Special newscasts are also being added in some cases to fill previous network programming that has been cancelled.
“Our number one priority is the health and safety of our employees, and we also believe it is of the utmost importance to continue to provide the public with high-quality journalism they can trust during this time,” said McCreery.
