Nexstar to launch ‘unbiased’ nightly newscast

Nexstar Media Group, which bought Tribune Media in September, is launching a nightly threehour national newscast on cable channel WGN America beginning this summer.

Competing with established cable news networks such as CNN and Fox, “News Nation” will be broadcast to more than 75 million homes from new facilities being built at WGN’s studios on West

Bradley Place in Chicago. The program will air nightly from 8 to 11 p.m. EST, employing reporters from local Nexstar TV newsrooms across the U.S. to provide content.

Irving, Texas-based Nexstar is positioning the network as an “unbiased national news” alternative to the current offerings on cable.

“No one else is delivering news in prime-time,” said Sean Compton, executive vice president of WGN America. “Others are airing entertainment programming, sports programming or opinion shows, which creates a great opportunity for WGN America to provide an alternative in this daypart.”

In addition to the newscast, “News Nation” will update stories 24/7 online. Newcast anchors have yet to be named. Nexstar plans to hire 120 employees in Chicago dedicated exclusively to producing the newscast.

Nexstar has been shaking up the properties it acquired as part of its $4.1 billion purchase of Tribune Media, which created the nation’s largest TV chain, with 197 local stations.

The shift to a prime-time news network puts WGN America in a crowded but potentially lucrative field. Perry Sook, the chairman and CEO of Nexstar, said “News Nation” is positioned to compete against established news networks “without incurring incremental operating expenses” by using the 5,400 journalists already employed at local Nexstar TV stations.