The new morning show on KTVT Dallas-Fort Worth will debut July 8. Madison Sawyer and Carmen Blackwell anchor CBS News Texas Mornings, which runs 5 to 7 a.m., and chief meteorologist Scott Padgett handles the weather.
Blackwell joined the CBS stations recently after her stint at WKYC Cleveland.
Segment “The Desk” sees assignment editor Ashley Moss sharing breaking stories with viewers as the information enters the newsroom.
“We are thrilled to show viewers the innovative breaking news concept, ‘The Desk’, and the revamped morning show and talent lineup which aligns perfectly with the fresh, dynamic approach our audience has asked for,” said Raquel Amparo, president and general manager of KTVT-KTXA, known as CBS Texas.
CBS News and Stations owns KTVT-KTXA.
CBS Texas conducted what it called an “industry community survey,” where viewers came into the newsroom and weighed in on what they wanted to see in a morning newscast. Viewers said they wanted more positive news, investigative stories and education/school-based reports. One result of the survey is the “Good News Unit” at CBS Texas.
“As part of CBS Texas’ commitment to evolving with our community’s needs, we combined a formalized research study with a fun viewer survey to gather insights for our upcoming reimagined morning newscast. We loved the idea of including them in our process,” said Amparo. “We genuinely and authentically want to serve our audience with information they find useful. To do that, we needed to actively listen. Launching this community survey and involving the community accomplished that mission.”
Some of the viewers who took part in the survey will attend the show premiere, as CBS Texas will have a live audience that day only.
Meagan Harris, KTVT-KTXA VP of news and creative content, said of the new program, “If you look at your everyday life, everything is customizable. Why shouldn’t the news be built in the way you want to view it? We will continue to listen to our audiences and leave room for the show to evolve.”
