2 El Paso TV Stations Drop News Operations

El Paso is in danger of becoming a “news desert”, according to the chair of the communications department at UTEP. This follows the announcement that two local television stations, CBS4 (KDBC) and KFOX14, will shut down most, if not ALL of its

news operations.

The two stations are both owned by Sinclair Broadcasting. For years they have shared a building. In more recent years they’ve shared a team of reporters, videographers and production staff. The real differentiator has been the lead anchors of each respective station.

The changes will happen quickly, according to Sinclair Broadcasting spokesperson Jessica Bellucci.

“Beginning August 5, we will be making changes in the way we produce news”, Bellucci said. “In the short term, CBS 4 will continue to air its 10 p.m. newscast, adding a simulcast of KFOX14’s newscast in other dayparts.”

The next part of what Sinclair had to say leaves many more questions than answers. Bellucci went on to say, “A re-conceptualized newscast will debut on CBS4 later this year.”

Bellucci didn’t elaborate on the “re-conceptualized newscast”. But, in other markets where Sinclair owns television stations, they’ve been replacing local newscasts with a national program called ARC, produced out of Cincinnati. Or, in another example, Sinclair shut down news operations of its affiliate in Tulsa. They replaced it with a newscast from Oklahoma City, more than a hundred miles away.

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This doesn’t sit well with Richard Pineda, the chair of the Communications Department at UTEP. Speaking to Bob Moore of El Paso Matters (LINK: ) (on which this article is based) , Pineda warns of a “news desert” effect.

“The news ecosystem in El Paso is nowhere as rich as it should be, given its size  (and) location on the US-Mexico border”, Pineda tells EP Matters.  Pineda says this has the “potential to create a ‘news desert’, undermining community engagement and democratic discourse.”

This is part of a larger trend in media. El Paso used to have two daily newspapers. It’s now down to one. Many “legacy” news operations like print and television have shifted the priority from their local news coverage to place more emphasis on digital. This is why I, a radio DJ, am writing a story about the death of local journalism. I will pause five minutes to let the irony of that settle in.

(5 minutes later…)

KDBC and KFOX have courted controversy before since being owned by Sinclair. A 2019 study by the American Political Science Review found that “stations bought by Sinclair reduce coverage of local politics, increase national coverage and move in the coverage in a more politically conservative direction”.

In 2017, Sinclair garnered attention and ridicule after requiring the anchors in each of their TV markets to read a pre-written statement decrying “fake news”. I know TV journalists who had the choice to either read the politically charged statement or look for a new job.

John Oliver had a field day with this one…

That is…eviscerating.