NEW YORK: NBCUniversal is hiring up to do more news. The organization this week it was adding 130 more people to the rosters of its 10 owned-and-operated TV stations, mostly in the news departments.
Valari Staab, NBC’s TV station group, said much of the ramping up will take place over the next month. In addition to the new hires, the stations will produce more than 1,200 additional hours of local news a year on each station’s primary broadcast channel, including:
~ An hour-long 5 p.m. newscast on WNBC-TV in New York.
~ A 30-minute noon newscast on KNBC-TV in Los Angeles.
~ A 30-minute noon newscast on WMAQ-TV in Chicago.
~ Two 30-minute newscasts at 4:30 and 11 a.m. on WCAU-TV in Philadelphia.
~ A 30-minute newscast at 11 a.m. on KNTV-TV in the Bay Area.
~ A 30-minute newscast at 11 a.m. on KXAS-TV in Dallas-Fort Worth.
~ Two hours of news on Saturday and Sunday mornings on WTVJ-TV Miami
~ A 30-minute noon newscast on KNSD-TV in San Diego, Calif.
Further, NBC will establish investigative reporting or consumer units in five markets, including WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. A total of 15 new vehicles will be added to the newsgathering fleet, and 14 more will be upgraded with live news capability. Twenty new cameras and other new gear will be purchased, and at least four stations will get new sets, including WNBC. Select markets will get more chopper hours, and all 10 stations will have promo departments restored.
“We want our stations to enterprise stories and truly produce differentiated, high quality local news content; and we want them to make it available to our audiences in as many ways as possible – on TV, online and on the go,” said Staab. “With these investments, our stations will be even better equipped to serve their markets.”
The company said it has increased local news programming at its 10 stations by more than 2,200 hours since the Comcast/NBCUniversal merger was approved early this year.
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