CINCINNATI—E.W. Scripps Company has announced that it is rebranding its “Newsy” free 24/7 OTA news channel to “Scripps News,” launching Jan. 1, 2023.

Newsy, founded in 2008 as a provider of news content to online services, was acquired by The E.W. Scripps Company in 2014. A year ago—Oct. 1, 2021—it was launched as a free over-the-air network, available with a digital antenna, as well as on streaming platforms.

In announcing the change, Scripps said “the combined operation will better and more efficiently serve national audiences and Scripps local stations.” Like Newsy, the new channel will remain the country’s only free 24/7 TV news service, available over-the-air, Scripps said. As of November 2021, Scripps claimed nearly 84% of U.S. households were within Newsy’s signal.

“Newsy, the Washington Bureau and our Local Media national news desk have produced impactful journalism, from documentaries and specials to investigative enterprise and day-to-day reporting,” O’Brian said. “We will take the best practices and grow our audience through consistently unique and meaningful news coverage.” 

Kate O’Brian will assume the title of executive vice president, Scripps News division, and report to Adam Symson, Scripps president and CEO. She also will continue to oversee Court TV. O’Brian has served as head of news in the Scripps Networks division since April 2021 and was previously senior vice president at ABC News and president of Al Jazeera America.

“In the creation of Scripps News, we are leveraging the company’s collective resources and building upon the equity of the Scripps name and stellar reputation for journalism,” Symson said. “The American people need greater access to free, quality local and national journalism produced by a company committed to fact-based news and information. Since the company’s inception more than 140 years ago, we have served audiences with the highest ethics and standards of independent journalism. The rebrand, merger of resources and reorganization reflects our company’s longstanding commitment and belief that journalism is central to our mission.”

Scripps News journalists will operate out of headquarters in Atlanta, with bureaus in Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Missoula, Nashville, New York, Phoenix, Seattle, Tampa and Tulsa. The Scripps News Washington Bureau will continue to cover the capital and produce investigative and enterprise stories for all Scripps outlets. Scripps News also will draw upon reporting from Scripps local newsrooms.

SAN FRANCISCO—With dozens of information platforms to choose from (and a proliferation of often-less-than-objective sources out there) how do modern TV news outlets plan to tackle the 2022 election this November?

For every station group and news broadcaster prepping for this year’s midterm elections, one fact stands immutable: Objectivity reigns supreme. Only second to that are the technology choices and newsgathering trademarks that a network will employ to better connect with viewers and strengthen that loyalty. 

What sets some election coverages apart from others depends on the network’s core priorities. 

From the Ground Up
For news network Newsy, the priority is about reporting and producing from the ground up. Rather than seeing itself as a bells and whistles organization, the head of the Scripps news group said her election coverage team is focused on contextual stories, solid reporting, deep dives into political profiles and live election news coverage.

“The hallmark of Newsy is that it’s a nonpartisan, news-driven channel focused on communicating with our audience through the visual medium, which means beautifully produced packages that appeal to viewers all over the country,” said Kate O’Brian, head of national network news group at E.W. Scripps Co., which produces the Newsy channel. 

Newsy is unique, she said, because it provides a linear stream available in every possible distribution method (except cable) and is free everywhere. “For the consumer, no matter what story we’re doing, we bring something that others are not able to bring free: 24/7, live content,” she said.

That will dovetail directly into the network’s 2022 election coverage. The journalists within the network’s 14 bureaus are reporters and producers who are local to those bureaus, O’Brian said. In addition to a national producer and political reporter, the network has reporters across the country in places other people don’t—Phoenix, Nashville, Seattle, Denver and more. 

“That creates a kind of coverage for us that is deeper and broader, which gives us and gives our audience an advantage,” O’Brian said. Newsy also has a partnership with 61 local Scripps television stations as well as an additional group of reporters providing additional political coverage.

When it comes to the visual look of the network’s November election coverage, Newsy will shortly roll out the “Inform Your Vote 22” moniker. The network also plans to differentiate itself by covering stories that may be passed over by other networks, O’Brian said. “It’s why we chose to put our bureaus in these random places—it’s not a random choice. [Those bureaus] represent the country.” 

Intersection of Data and Graphics
Heading into the November elections, Telemundo finds itself faced with a delightful challenge: how to best cover a significant number of election races involving Latina politicians.

“One of the things that NBCUniversal has done is to make diversity one of its strongholds,” said Jeffrey Liebman, director of news operations for Telemundo. “This [election] year it’s important to be covering Latina races.”

Telemundo will work with the other networks under the NBCUniversal banner —including the NBC News Group, MSNBC, CNBC and others—by pooling resources when it comes to election data graphics. The network uses several Vizrt Engine graphics platforms for graphics creation; datamining for onscreen graphics and charts is handled through the NBC technology department. “We want the entities to work together so that our election environment is streamlined,” Liebman said. 

As a news organization, Telemundo knows that much of its viewership is situated on the coasts, so the network is prepping for the ability to program news late into the night for West Coast viewers.

“What was very successful in the last election was the tremendous amount of data we were able to use to really tell stories and convey to viewers what the status of the election numbers were,” he said. Oftentimes, the minute-by-minute returns that were coming in were driven by augmented reality storytelling, he said. 

This year, the Telemundo team has expanded that AR graphics team which plans to take advantage of the cavernous, two-story, glass foyer that hosts the Telemundo news space in Miami, which also serves as a production hub for other NBC properties. “That area gives us a lot of creative freedom that has proven ideal for things like AR,” Liebman said. “If a news program requires a camera frameup of a wide expanse, that open space offers a breathtaking background for any number of creative possibilities,” he said. 

AR options may include an augmented reality version of Capitol Hill—appearing in the Miami building’s circular rotunda with its wide, winding staircase—in which the roof of the virtual Congressional dome flips open to reveal animated election numbers and statistics inside.

The network also plans to make prodigious use of LED flatscreens in its election staging.  “They are wonderful for storytelling and can be used easily as touchscreens,” Liebman said. “The significant use of AR graphics and LED technology ends up being much less expensive than constructing a huge stage,” he said.

But even if you can put a lot of magic on the screen, the bottom line will always be about the content. “It’s about numbers and how NBC parcels out those graphic numbers in both English and in Spanish,” he said. “And it works.”

Providing Context
For Sinclair Broadcast Group, its 2022 election coverage will showcase its commitment to providing context that goes beyond a typical 15-second news sound bite. Its “Beyond the Podium” segments that will air as election coverage kicks off will showcase meaningful content that separates Sinclair from its competitors, said Scott Livingston, senior vice president of news for the station group.

“As it has done with previous news coverage, Sinclair stations will take advantage of social media platforms to gather our viewers’ questions for candidates, allowing for a more direct conversation from the local communities that Sinclair serves,” Livingston said. “We will also stream as many candidate press conferences and forums in real time on our digital platforms,” Livingston said, in an effort to provide unmatched coverage on every platform in every market.

Sinclair’s Capitol Hill bureau will provide daily stories on key topics and issues impacting the country while local resources will be leveraged to provide comprehensive coverage in important swing states. “We will also provide live coverage from Capitol Hill with our national interactive mapping to track the results across the country and the impact on the balance of power in Congress,” Livingston said

Sinclair will also continue its “Connect to Congress” series, a multimedia initiative that kicked off in February that enables members of Congress in Sinclair’s news markets to speak directly to their constituents on a regular basis through their local TV news stations. The program relies on broadcast, digital and social media technologies to get viewers answers to local issues. 

Telemundo, Newsy and Sinclair share challenges facing nearly every news outlet come election night: breaking through the noise of so many virtual platforms. The way forward, each said, is to unearth fresh content for viewers and knowledgeably expand that news across platforms with the penultimate goal of helping the electorate make informed decisions. 

ATLANTA—The E.W. Scripps Company has appointed veteran media executive Vanessa Strouse to the role of vice president and head of digital for Newsy and Court TV, effective June 20, 2022.

Strouse will be responsible for the overall digital and social media strategies for the news group. She will report to Kate O’Brian, head of the News Group, Scripps Networks.

“Vanessa has more than two decades of experience building brands and growing audiences,” O’Brian said. “She will be an integral part of the Scripps Networks News Group, leading the digital team to develop new methods of connecting with our audiences through our digital and social media platforms.”

Prior to joining Scripps, Strouse spent four years at Yahoo, one of the largest digital media organizations in the United States. Most recently, she served as Yahoo’s vice president and head of audience development and content strategy. In that role, Strouse oversaw content development, distribution strategy and audience acquisition for Yahoo’s media portfolio, including Yahoo Finance, Yahoo News, Yahoo Sports, Yahoo Entertainment, Yahoo Lifestyle, Autoblog, Engadget, Makers and Built By Girls. She created and executed an audience development strategy for Yahoo’s social platforms. She also served as general manager for Autoblog and Engadget.

Strouse led operations for Yahoo Finance in 2018, launching live programming and leading the over-the-top (OTT) and linear distribution strategy for Yahoo Finance Live.

In 2007, Strouse launched Fox Business Network, which included hiring teams and launching 14 shows in four months. She spent a decade at Fox Business Network, leading the creative teams for all programming.

Strouse also led the graphics team at MSNBC and worked as a producer, writer and booker for CNBC, covering a wide variety of stories.

Strouse earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from California State University-Long Beach. She lives in New Jersey with her family.

CINCINNATI—In preparation for an October launch as the country’s only free, over-the-air live 24/7 news network, Newsy has unveiled a new programming lineup, and revamped its news teams.

A pioneer in the news streaming business, where it is already available on nearly every major OTT and connected TV platform, Newsy will be launching over-the-air in about 90% of all U.S. TV homes, including all major markets, on October 1. 

For the OTA launch, it will be getting distribution on Scripps-owned broadcast stations’ spectrum as well as that of other broadcasters. Newsy is owned by The E.W. Scripps Company. 

To develop and deliver Newsy’s live coverage and primetime programs, Newsy has hired a number of new executives. 

Tracy Carmony, director of live news, will lead the development and execution of the network’s live, rolling daypart-based coverage out of Atlanta. 

Jason Potts, director of programs, will oversee Newsy’s primetime programs and Zach Toombs has been appointed deputy director of programs.

In addition, Newsy’s programming will be overseen by veteran newsmakers, including Brian Donlon, executive producer of weekday morning live news, Adrienne Carr, executive producer of weekday dayside live news, Magdalena Cabral, executive producer of weekday nightside live news, and Patrick Griffin, executive producer, weekends. 

Previously, Scripps announced Ethan Nelson as head of program development and Christina Hartman as head of news standards at Newsy and Court TV. Kate O’Brian is head of the news group for Scripps Networks, which includes Newsy and Court TV, and Eric Ludgood serves as head of Newsy. 

. 

CINCINNATI—E.W. Scripps has announced plans to take Newsy, its OTT news network, over the air, setting an Oct. 1 launch of an OTA Newsy network. According to Scripps, this will make Newsy the only American news TV network with ubiquitous OTT and OTA distribution.

The decision is designed to serve what Scripps calls “the growing OTA market of cord-cutting self-bundlers.” As of its launch, Newsy will be available over the air to at least 80% of U.S. TV homes, carried primarily by Scripps-owned ION stations and select Scripps local TV stations and those of other station groups, Scripps said.

“As TV viewers ‘self-bundle’ by combining free television with subscription video-on-demand services, Newsy will build on its success in OTT by joining the other Scripps Networks in the over-the-air marketplace to bring these viewers high-quality, free news programming,” said Lisa Knutson, Scripps Network president.

Newsy will be headquartered in Atlanta, with nearly a dozen bureaus across the country, including in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Denver and Phoenix. It will continue to use resources from Scripps Washington Bureau and Scripps’ local TV stations.

Kate O’Brian will serve as Newsy’s head of news.

For more information, visit www.scripps.com.  

CINCINNATI—Newsy is moving in to more U.S. homes, as E.W. Scripps has signed distribution agreements with several cable companies for the multiplatform national news network. Closing deals with Comcast, AT&T, Spectrum and other services, Newsy currently covers nearly 26 million subscribers.

Newsy, which gained traction first on OTT service providers like Sling TV and YouTube TV, provides daily coverage of U.S. news and stories from around the world with an aim at reaching millennials.

Comcast transitioned approximately 6 million subscribers to Newsy in October. Scripps signed a long-term carriage agreement with Comcast that projects to bring Newsy to 10 million Comcast subscribers by the fourth quarter of 2018. In addition, Scripps renewed its broadcast television retransmission agreement with Comcast, which now includes seven Scripps legacy stations beginning Jan. 1, 2020.

According to Scripps, these deals put Newsy on track to reach about 40 million U.S. households by the end of 2018.

CINCINNATI—Newsy, the national news network focused toward millennial audiences, has been predominantly located on OTT services, but now it is expanding into the cable and satellite marketplace. E.W. Scripps, which owns Newsy, has announced the acquisition of carriage contracts from the Retirement Living Television cable network.

As a result of the deal, Scripps will take over RLTV’s carriage agreements for about 26 million subscribers and reprogram the network with Newsy’s lineup of shows. The transition from RLTV to Newsy is expected to take place over the next few months. Scripps forecasts that Newsy will be available to about 40 million cable and satellite subscribers by the end of 2018.

“Newsy has already made a name for itself among millennial news consumers who rely on over-the-top television,” said Adam Symson, president and CEO of Scripps. “Now we’ll be reaching Americans with cable and satellite service who are looking for a fresh approach to news coverage.”

The financials of the deal are not yet finalized. The acquisition’s purchase price will be based on the number of subscribers that come under contract with the cable companies and convert to Newsy, with the price being no more than 93 cents per subscriber. The final purchase price could go as high as $23 million.

LOS ANGELES—Verizon Digital Media Services and the Newsy national news network have struck a deal that will allow Newsy video content to be readily available for Verizon Digital Media Services Uplink Video Streaming customers. Users will be able to access Newsy content from its library to add directly to their video streams.

This is an extension of the partnership that Verizon Digital Media Services and Newsy have had since 2016, in which Verizon has powered the streaming and syndication of linear and on-demand video content from Newsy. Now, Newsy’s video content will be readily available for publishing via the Verizon Digital Media Services platform, as well as give publishers access to the Newsy sales team.

Newsy creates video news segments on world and national news, policy, culture, science and technology with an aim toward millennial audiences. It also produces the 24/7 Newsy Live linear news channel.

CINCINNATI—Recently you hear more about cable networks branching out to OTT, but Newsy is going the opposite way, as it has announced a partnership with Cincinnati Bell Inc. that will make the news network available to cable television audiences.

Newsy will be located on channel 508 for Cincinnati Bell Fioptics subscribers and will feature Newsy Live, an updated feed of the latest news headlines. This is Newsy’s first carriage with a cable TV network.

Newsy’s OTT service is currently available on Sling TV, Roku, Watchable from Comcast, and Apple TV.

CINCINNATI—OTT news channel Newsy, which is owned by E.W. Scripps, has announced that it will now be offering news briefings on Amazon’s Alexa platforms, including Amazon Echo. Newsy will distribute Flash Briefings to Alexa, pre-recorded shorts. Newsy follows in the footsteps of NBC owned television stations, you began using Flash Briefings last week.

TV Technology’s sister publication B&C has the full story.

CINCINNATI—OTT video news brand meets OTT on-demand TV service as Sling TV has announced that it will now offer Newsy, a video news brand geared toward Millennials, as part of its “Best of Live TV” package.

As part of the offering, Sling TV will feature Newsy’s lineup of updating on-demand content, including coverage of world and national news, culture, technology, science, policy and other stories. Subscribers will also be able to receive Newsy’s live stream in the coming months.

Newsy, a subsidiary of The E.W. Scripps Company, is available as part of the Sling TV’s “Best of Live TV” package and supported on all Sling TV devices.

CINCINNATI—Over-the-top video news service Newsy is taking up roots in our nation’s capital, announcing the establishment of a Washington D.C. office. Newsy, who focuses primarily on reaching millennials, already has offices in Columbia, Mo., Chicago, New York and Cincinnati.

Zach Toombs, director of news, will head the D.C. team. Coverage will span issues like income inequality, energy, immigration, poverty and student load debt. The office will be based out of the Scripps Washington Bureau.

One reason Newsy gave for expanding to Washington was to better cover the 2016 presidential campaigns. Related to that, the news service recently launched a new interactive video experience, “Buying Democracy,” that explores the links between big-money donors and 2016 presidential candidates. The data will be updated throughout the campaign as finance data becomes available. “Buying Democracy” is currently live at Newsy.com/buyingdemocracy.

Newsy is available in both on-demand and linear formats on OTT services, mobile, and through its website. Newsy is owned by The E.W. Scripps Company.

CINCINNATI—Capitol Broadcasting Company and OTT video news service Newsy have come to terms on a deal that will see Newsy’s daily news videos play across Capitol Broadcasting’s WRAL.com, WRAPSportsFan.com and HighSchoolOT.com.

This deal adds on to Newsy’s online presence. The millennial-focused digital news service also is features on more than 30 Raycom websites and has distribution across OTT platforms, including Apple TV, Watchable from Comcast, Pluto TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Google Chromecast.

Capitol Broadcasting is a communications company that owns stations throughout North Carolina.

CINCINNATI – Raycom Media will begin publishing content from Newsy across its 30-plus owned-and-operated news channel websites.

Newsy is the over-the-top video news service targeting Millennials. It a wholly owned subsidiary of The E.W. Scripps.

“Newsy provides a fresh perspective on the day’s news, with an editorial focus that is very targeted at — and performs well with — millennials,” said Joe Fiveash, vice president of digital for Raycom Media. “We believe that Newsy adds an important layer of national and world news depth to our already robust offerings across Raycom markets. In addition to providing relevant news to our consumers, it provides sought-after video placement opportunities for our advertisers.”

After a successful trial run on the website of its Memphis-based station, WMC Action News 5, Raycom said it sought a larger distribution of Newsy videos across its properties. The agreement secures placement of multiple Newsy videos in the daily video module on each of Raycom’s news channels’ websites. Raycom Media stations cover 13.1 percent of U.S. television households.

E.W. Scripps acquired Newsy for $35 million in December of 2013. Newsy is based in Columbia, Mo., home of the Missouri School of Journalism. It was a five-year-old startup at the time. It generates revenue from advertising on its digital platforms, and selling news and original content to media companies such as AOL/Huffington Post, Microsoft, Mashable and now Raycom; and syndicating its content.