Sinclair Introduces "The National Desk"

Broadcasting from Washington DC The National Desk marks a notable foray into national news reporting for the company which is best known for its approximately 190 television stations that it owns operates or provides sales services across the country and its sizable investment in local news As Sinclair39s Senior Vice President of News Scott Livingston indicated in an interview for this piece that Sinclair looks forward to drawing upon its reporters and stations throughout the country to bring the most pressing news stories of the day to a national audienceTo this point Livingston continued quotIt is about the pulse of America it39s being able to take our viewers on a journey to the intersection of news and their community and offering an understanding of how news impacts them which is really importantquot And for those designing The National Desk a comparative strengthamp8212relevant to the major news networksamp8212is Sinclair39s extensive base of journalists who live and work in the communities from which they report As Livingston put it quotYou39re going to a reporter that39s been in the market for ten years and they39ve been covering for instance Seattle for a decade And we can get their perspective on what39s really happening there on the groundquotAs for the show39s personnel The National Desk will be hosted by Jan Jeffcoat who39s previous anchor experience stretched to major markets like Chicago Houston and Washington DCamp160 Jeffcoat will also be joined by Cayle Thompson who previously worked at a Sinclair station in Seattle at the show39s live desk Furthermore Livingston described having all but finalized Sinclair39s hiring of a team of 25 new editors and producers who will work on The National DeskA key feature that separates Sinclair39s approach from that of many of its competitors in national news is its choice to broadcast The National Desk in the morning rather than in the evening As Mark Ginther Sinclair39s director of news and operations described quotAs you39re planning out your daymorning is a time when you39re still optimistichere39s somebody that39s going to help you get organized for your day by pointing out some of the things that are going onquot There is also the thoughtamp8212as Livingston suggestedamp8212that mornings are a time when there might indeed be less competition for a potential viewer39s attention quotMorning is the longest period of time without your phone It39s the longest period of time where you39re unpluggedquot It39s at that time Livingston suggests that potential viewers are best poised to focus on which news stories are most relevant for both their own lives as well as the country atlargeAlso differentiating The National Desk from many of the news space39s current mainstays is what Livingston and Ginther describe as its focus on providing context rather than commentary Unlike evening cable news shows marked first and foremost arguably by their tendency to prioritize strong opinions and personalitydriven reporting The National Desk will endeavor to do the opposite and instead keep the emphasis on more level reporting It is partially for this reason that Sinclair is optimistic that it will be able to reach a broad audience of viewersAs such in a time period that has witnessed a balkanization of the news media along ideological lines Sinclair looks to join a handful of other news media projects and personalities that have positioned themselves in opposition to this trend In a news environment in which those who identify The New York Times as their primary source of news break for the Democratic Party 917 and those who are loyal viewers of Fox News lean towards the Republican Party 936 Ginther describes an altogether different guiding approach for The National Desk quotWe don39t really care what your biases are because we don39t cater to them If you have a TV you39re going to want to watch usquotLastly as various commentators continue to discuss the perceived disconnect between New York and Washingtonbased journalists from the rest of the country a reality that may be even more true in 2020 than it was in 2016 Ginther suggests that the local news foundation of The National Desk may provide a partial antidote As he puts it quotAs you look at competitors they focus a lot on Washington DC and New York Again the Sinclair strengthamp8212having stations in so many markets like San Antonio Texas which is one of the largest cities in the country and Las Vegas Nevada which is one of the fastest growing communitiesamp8212we39re going to get to the heartlandquotClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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Sinclair Introduces "The National Desk"

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Erich J. Prince

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