CBS Texas has launched a newly revamped morning news show.
Chief meteorologist Scott Padgett anchors the newscast. He joins co-anchor Madison Sawyer and recently announced co-anchor Carmen Blackwell, who was hired from WKYC in Cleveland, Ohio.
Viewers will also be introduced to a new initiative, The Desk, and assignment editor Ashley Moss. The Desk is unique in that Moss will be on camera live following breaking stories and sharing them with viewers as the information enters the newsroom. Moss joins CBS Texas from KFOR, Oklahoma City’s NBC affiliate, where she was a reporter and fill-in anchor.
“We are thrilled to show viewers the innovative breaking news concept, The Desk, and the revamped morning show and talent lineup which aligns perfectly with the fresh, dynamic approach our audience has asked for,” said Raquel Amparo president and general manager of CBS Texas.
CBS Texas said viewers’ input from a recent survey was combined with industry data-backed research to increase audience engagement.
The survey questions were broad and ranged from how long viewers wanted to watch the morning news to the tone of the newscast, the most important topics they wanted to hear about, and even the wardrobe they felt the anchors should be wearing.
“As part of CBS Texas’ commitment to evolving with our community’s needs, we combined a formalized research study with a fun viewer survey to gather insights for our upcoming reimagined morning newscast. We loved the idea of including them in our process,” said Amparo. “We genuinely and authentically want to serve our audience with information they find useful. To do that, we needed to actively listen. Launching this community survey and involving the community accomplished that mission.”
Examples of those incorporated results are viewers wanting to see more “good news,” investigative stories and education/school-based stories, to name a few. Because of this, investigative reporting will continue to be a central part of the morning newscasts, making it the only one in Dallas-Fort Worth with weekly appearances of investigative journalists. CBS Texas has also launched a dedicated “Good News Unit” of journalists who will report on positive community stories, and a dedicated education beat that will focus on various issues such as how school board decisions impact local students, the segment will include increased student interviews and perspective.
“If you look at your everyday life, everything is customizable,” added Meagan Harris, vice president of news and creative content of CBS Texas. “Why shouldn’t the news be built in the way you want to view it? We will continue to listen to our audiences and leave room for the show to evolve.”