FIRST ON THE BLOG: The Rio Grande Valley… home to the southernmost area in Texas. Home to the Texas, USA/Mexico border and home to just really two local news operations, KGBT and KRGV (because KVEO barely produces any local news and KFXV-LD barely airs news as well). This news involves KGBT and possibly its push to fight back in ratings against long-time leader, KRGV.
According to “Indominus Jose” on Twitter, KGBT 4 will bring back a local newscast at Noon, starting Monday August 3rd. And with KGBT 4 replying back, it’s CONFIRMED.
Action 4 News at Noon will return on KGBT 4 for the first time in what seems like years now, ever since former owners at Barrington Broadcasting, canceled the local newscast, possibly due to budget cutbacks and the recession, at the time. This will become a half-hour newscast, as it will lead towards The Bold and The Beautiful at 12:30 p.m. And with this addition, KRGV 5 (ABC) will finally have some competition during the 12:00 Noon timeslot, even though KRGV 5’s Channel 5 News at Noon, runs for a full hour.
If you’re looking for a late throw-back Thursday, then here’s a talent open from 2007 when KGBT 4 did air a newscast at 12:00 Noon, featuring Lacie Lowry (who’s now at KWTV 9 – CBS in Oklahoma City) and forecaster Larry James (who suddenly retired in 2008 after a 43-year career at KGBT 4. He didn’t retire though, management let him go without explanation.):
I believe that the same people who are on Action 4 News Sunrise, weekday mornings from 5:00-7:00 a.m., Dan Joseph, Nicole Hickl and StormTracker 4 Meteorologist Victoria Marshall, will also helm the new 12:00 Noon broadcast on KGBT 4.
And I believe that this is part of new owner Sinclair Broadcast Group’s ambitions to expand local news coverage to the once-dominant station. I say, good for Sinclair on this one.
changingnewscasts.wordpress.com 
If they cancelled their noon newscast because of the recession why do TV stations cut newscast during recessions? News is going to happen anytime rain or shine. You would think news would be protected from cutbacks because of the recession because news is going to happen recession or not. Bad weather makes news, disasters makes news, crime makes news recession or not. As a matter of fact more bad things happen during a recession and more news would happen during a recession so you would think news would not take a hit during a recession.
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But if stations didn’t have the money, then they couldn’t produce it at a specific timeslot of their choosing. Stations usually reserve money for the more high-profiled newscasts in the more viewed timeslots.
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Didn’t know that Lacie worked down there in the Brownsville Area.
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According to that particular clip, YES.
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I tell people I worked at KGBT-TV News back when it was a good station….in fact, the dominant news operation in the Valley.
Mal Casanova told a hot-shot news anchor that he hired out of Houston to be news director–Michael Morgan–that he did not want to be #2 in a two-station market.
KGBT owned the ratings, therefore the $$$ game and spent to maintain its dominance. Then came a new owner, Tom Draper, who overpaid for the station, and then tried to show how smart he was by cutting the investment in the news product. Then he sold the station, and the new owners cut some more. And so on…through several owners.
While this happened, KRGV established news rating dominance to such an overwhelming degree that more people watch the 5 am news on Channel 5, than the 10 pm news on Channel 4.
Guess who is making all the $$$ in English TV news???
Yes, KGBT is not even #2 in this market, and it will be a long, long time before they ever become more competitive.
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Wow. Very interesting to know.
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I look forward to looking at this, especially since now I have the time because they fired me!
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Wait a minute… are you the Marcy Martinez that used to work for KGBT?
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