Viewers of the 6pm news on WGBA in Green Bay, Wisconsin, aren’t greeted by anchors anymore. Instead, a recent broadcast began with a quick check of the weather. Then the NBC affiliate switched to a series of prerecorded segments, presented by reporters in the field.There was a piece about a sheriff suspending licence-plate readers, one on power plants, and an interview with a head coach of a high school football team.The clips, which also play on a continuous feed on the station’s website and social media accounts, represent a new vision for local news by EW Scripps Co, one of the largest owners of TV stations in the US. The Cincinnati-based company, which dates back to the namesake founder’s first newspaper in 1878, last month announced a sweeping plan to remake its local news operations around streaming.The strategy is designed to address audiences who have drifted away from regular TV viewing, a shift that impacts ratings and ad dollars. The company’s solution is to largely tear up the traditional format of chummy anchors on the evening news in favour of a steady stream of reporters, many of them recording and editing their own content.
