WPXI moves morning news start time
Pittsburgh:On Tuesday, June 1, WPXI-TV will be the first local station to have a regularly-scheduled newscast before 5:00 a.m. The station will start airing news at 4:30. WPXI's news director, Mike Goldrick, claims the move is giving "people what they want". "There's an audience out there that we believe is looking for news, weather and traffic at 4:30 in the morning," he told the Post-Gazette. WPXI executives have been debating the change since January when NBC made "Early Today" available at 4:00 a.m. for stations who wanted to start news at 4:30. As a result, the one-hour broadcast on PCNC beginning at 7:00 a.m. will be reduced to a half-hour format and will repeat at 7:30.
The top brass at KDKA-TV and WTAE-TV are studying results from other markets before expanding their morning news. Currently, neither station has plans to do so.
Readers’ Forum
I think a newscast at 4:30 a.m. is crazy! It’s bad enough all three stations start their early morning news shows at 5am. Keep “Early Today” at 4:30 and start the morning news at 4:56 am.
J. P. - May 28, 2010 at 08:17 am
I feel bad for the anchors/reporters/producers/camera people… that means they got to get up 30 minutes earlier… and go to bed 30 minutes earlier. Since it’s the news directors idea… I think they he should be getting up at that time too. News at 4:30AM? nuts.
justin - May 28, 2010 at 10:50 am
What in the world could be “breaking news” at 4:30AM that wouldn’t be “New at 11”??? Maybe the daily overnight shooting, fire, or car accidents are all I can think of. Besides, half the morning news is a rehash of the 11PM news anyway. I agree that news that early is “nuts.”
deerejohn - May 28, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Why is a newscast at 4:30A any crazier than the early afternoon casts that local stations have be doing for years? Who really watches these early morning ‘casts? Commuters, parents getting their kids and themselves ready for another day etc. I think that its a cool idea from a viewer’s perspective… but it should be interesting to see how long it’ll take for advertisers to be convinced that its a good idea. And, that’s what will help or sink this idea.
Rick in DC (Hometown: Pgh) - May 28, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Can the station please do something about the guys they have on who always white shirts?
rick - May 28, 2010 at 3:47 pm