Fox 21 News will be going head-to-head for the first time with the region's longer-running stations KBJR-TV and WDIO-TV by starting a 6 p.m. news broadcast today.
The 3-year-old station and News Tribune news partner has had a 9 p.m. broadcast that doesn't butt up against either station's newscasts.
"I think the market is ready for something new," said Jason Vincent, Fox 21 news director. "The timing felt right to get into the market when there is this energy for a new newscast. We're just finding that we have so much news that we want to tell our viewers, we just don't have enough time to do it."
Vincent said the goal of the additional newscast is to make it different from what viewers see at 9 p.m. The stations added a daily segment focusing on health, and the lead story will be shot live in the newsroom.
"In this market, there is a tendency to carry over too much from 6 p.m. to (the late broadcast)," he said. "We're going to try to not be that kind of station."
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The station also reshuffled its personnel and made a new hire. Weekend weather forecaster Bonnie McLaughlin will be hosting the health segment, and her former position will be filled by Sam Ryan, who most recently interned at KMSP-TV in Minneapolis. Beth Jett and Nick LaFave will anchor both newscasts.
Steve Goodspeed, WDIO-TV's news director, said the station has no plans to alter what it's doing in light of new competition.
"Selfishly, you'd like to be the only news station in town," Goodspeed said. "It makes it easier. But I firmly believe the community is better served, the more news outlets there are and the more sources of information there are."
KBJR and Range 11 received a 9 rating and a 21 share, and WDIO/ WIRT-DT2 had an 11 rating and a 25 share, according to the May market share reports for local early evening newscasts,
"I think clearly by those two numbers, there is a lot of room," Vincent said. "Those two (stations) have been neck and neck for a long time. I think there is room to grab those viewers and convert them to Fox fans."
John Hatcher, a journalism professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth, said it's not about how many news outlets are available -- it's about how many people are reporting the news.
"When you think about Duluth overall, you hope that you have enough people out there doing reporting," he said. "Overall, when you look at Duluth, in theory it's good news. It's good when you have another outlet bringing more information. The more people competing, it keeps all of (the) journalists on (their) toes and a competitive environment. It means (they will) push for more stories."
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