Nexstar Media’s “NewsNation” Debuts Tonight at 8 PM ET on WGN America, Reaching 75 Million U.S. TV Households
“NewsNation” Broadcast is the Largest Launch of Traditional, Unbiased Journalism for Prime-Time National Cable Television in Over 24 Years
Live Daily Three-Hour Newscast Features 150 Dedicated Reporters and Staff; Will Leverage the Knowledge of 5,400 Local Journalists from Nexstar’s 110 Award-Winning Newsrooms
CHICAGO, IL and IRVING, TX (Sept. 1, 2020) – Representing the return of traditional, trusted, fact-based news reporting to cable television, “NewsNation,” a three hour prime-time national newscast, debuts tonight at 8 p.m. ET on WGN America, Nexstar Media Group, Inc’s (Nasdaq: NXST) wholly-owned cable network which reaches approximately 75 million U.S. TV households. NewsNation will air from 8 p.m. ET to 11 p.m. ET, seven days a week.
NewsNation will bring viewers breaking news and live video of the day’s most important national news stories and issues, as well as the most impactful regional and local news from across the U.S. NewsNation’s digital team of reporters and producers will also deliver news twenty-four hours a day through NewsNation’s digital properties and its new mobile app, NewsNationNow.
NewsNation will feature a newly-hired staff of 150 reporters, producers, writers and photo-journalists dedicated exclusively to the newscast, and will draw on the local and regional expertise of Nexstar’s 5,400 local journalists in 110 award-winning newsrooms across the country. To generate awareness of the company’s new national primetime newscast, Nexstar is backing the launch of NewsNation with $100 million of local market promotion across its 196 local television stations, social media, and select radio and cable outlets nationwide.
“A lot has changed in the many years since the last launch of a national cable news network,” said Perry Sook, Nexstar’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Most importantly, the programming on other cable news networks is now dominated by shows built around opinion and analysis — not always facts. NewsNation is committed to bringing American consumers the fact-based news that impacts their lives without the opinion or bias of ‘talking heads’.”
Mr. Sook continued, “Fact-based television news reporting is by far the most trusted and valued news source for consumers and NewsNation’s focus on bringing unbiased reporting of the day’s most important news to a national audience represents a return to the core values of journalism. In addition, our three-hour newscast will enable our reporters to delve more deeply into the stories of the day and explain the full range of issues shaping the news. We believe the launch of NewsNation will appeal to viewers across the country who have been looking for fair, balanced, objective journalism.”
“Our new state-of-the art studio and newsroom, combined with the expertise of our 150 dedicated reporters, producers, writers, and photo-journalists, and the 5,400 local journalists in Nexstar’s 110 newsrooms across the country, including news bureaus in 20 state capitals, affords NewsNation the flexibility to deliver live coverage of the day’s most impactful news from wherever it occurs—from San Diego to Burlington, and Portland to Miami,” said Sean Compton, Executive Vice President of WGN America. “Our anchors can move seamlessly to locations nationwide and get the story from reporters who get to the scene first and bring fact-based context to their reporting.”
The weekday NewsNation team is led by veteran journalists Joe Donlon and Marni Hughes, breaking news anchor Rob Nelson, and chief meteorologist Albert Ramon, who collectively bring nearly 80 years of experience in television news to their roles and who have covered everything from Presidential, state, and local elections, to hurricanes and the recent COVID-19 pandemic. The weekend NewsNation team is led by anchors Rudabeh Shahbazi and Nichole Berlie, breaking news anchor Aaron Nolan, and meteorologist Gerard Jebaily.
Full team bios and headshots can be accessed at: https://wgnamerica.com/news-nation-bios/
Jennifer Lyons, WGN America’s Vice President of News, added, “We have assembled a great team of award-winning journalists who bring decades of television news experience to NewsNation and are focused on the mission of bringing unbiased news coverage to a national audience. With the general election just a few months away, the pandemic still going on, social justice issues taking center-stage in cities across the U.S., and the potential for major weather events to impact local communities at any time, the launch of the first new national fact-based news program since 1996 will resonate with viewers across the nation. Viewers are increasingly seeking a national newscast that informs and educates them with facts rather than soundbites, all without telling them what to think. Tonight, NewsNation begins delivering exactly that.”
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About Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
Nexstar Media Group is a leading diversified media company that leverages localism to bring new services and value to consumers and advertisers through its traditional media, digital and mobile media platforms. Nexstar owns, operates, programs, or provides sales and other services to 196 television stations and related digital multicast signals reaching 114 markets or approximately 38% of all U.S. television households (reflecting the FCC’s UHF discount). Nexstar’s portfolio includes primary affiliates of NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, MyNetworkTV and The CW. Nexstar’s community portal websites offer additional hyper-local content and verticals for consumers and advertisers, allowing audiences to choose where, when and how they access content while creating new revenue opportunities. Nexstar also owns WGN America, a growing national general entertainment cable network and a 31.3% ownership stake in TV Food Network, a top tier cable asset. For more information please visit www.nexstar.tv.
Media Contact:
Gary Weitman
EVP & Chief Communications Officer
Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
312/222-3394 or gweitman@nexstar.tv
Investor Contacts:
Joseph Jaffoni, Jennifer Neuman
JCIR
212/835-8500 or nxst@jcir.com