Guay, Petelin excited to ‘blaze that trail’ on KDKA+ 8 p.m. newscast
When KDKA-TV initially announced its plans to launch an 8 p.m. newscast on KDKA+/WPKDTV in 2024, the reactions of many local news consumers were summed up by this commenter who wondered, “Does a market the size of the Pittsburgh area need this much news coverage?”
It’s a reasonable question, especially given the fact that WPXI-TV is also debuting a new 7 a.m. show on Fox 53 the very same day.
“Why not?” responded Jessica Guay, who will be anchoring the novel primetime newscast premiering Monday on both KDKA+ and cbsnews.com.
“This is what we love to do,” she continued. “We love to tell stories and tell them in different ways, as they’re developing and get different angles. This is an opportunity to get all the stories in a day, not just what was on at 5 or 6.”
That’s the premise on which everyone involved with “Primetime News on KDKA+” wants to deliver.
The show’s creative cabal includes Guay, KDKA news director
Shawn Hoder, “Primetime” producer John Fauss and meteorologist Ray Petelin — all of who sat down for a chat with the Post-Gazette earlier this week to discuss what will be the Pittsburgh market’s first 8 p.m. news program.
“This is something that hasn’t been done here yet,” Petelin said. “We’re excited to blaze that trail and give Pittsburghers that next option and a different type of newscast at a different time. I think people are going to like what they see.”
Both Guay and Petelin will appear on this fledgling 8 p.m. show and the 10 p.m. news on KDKA+, which was once “Pittsburgh’s CW” before KDKA decided a rebrand was necessary after the former WPCW-TV officially dropped its CW affiliation in September 2023.
Now that folks are getting used to the KDKA+ moniker, Hoder believes “we have the chance to give them some original programming” that will likely feature “extra stuff that you may not get on the 6 o’clock news.”
“Not everybody is home now at 6, 5 or 4,” he said. “Busy moms or dads have gym to take their kids to, or violin lessons. They may have missed some very important, pertinent information. Now that they’ve had dinner, they get to be informed, entertainedand engaged.”
Hoder enlisted Fauss to help realize his vision for “Primetime News on KDKA+.” The Charleston, West Virginia, native is a relatively new KDKA employee who had already collaborated with Guay quite a bit as a photographer and reporter, respectively, at WCHS-TV in Charleston.
Fauss said that he has been studying KDKA’s other shows in an effort to ensure “Primetime News on KDKA+” is “a little melting pot” of the station’s best ideas and a few unique touches courtesy of himself, Guay and Petelin.
“Nothing’s off the table for me,” he declared. “We want to explore and experiment, but at the same time inform and be transparent with the community.”
You would be hard-pressed to find a Pittsburgh TV newsperson who is more giddily transparent with viewers than Petelin. He’s always striving “to be accessible to people,” which he accomplishes
through everything from sharing holiday-themed family photos on Facebook to his regular “Hey Ray” segments that showcase both his affability and scientific acumen.
“If you give me a chance to talk about weather and science, I’m going to do it,” Petelin said. “Our audiences are constantly changing. There are some people who sit and watch the entire night of news. We appreciate and thank them very much for that. This is an option for the people who can’t get the earlier newscasts.”
January 2024 also happens to mark a decade since Guay landed her first journalism job and three years since she arrived at KDKA. Getting to anchor her own newscast is “something I’ve been working toward for years,” and she’s even more excited to be at the helm of a show that’s “such a big deal for KDKA and all of us.”
Guay hopes that Pittsburghers check out “Primetime News on KDKA+” so she can keep them updated on “the best stories of the day at a really great time.”
“I just think this is going to be a really great way to keep our viewers informed,” she said. “Having this amazing time slot is going to be a great way to continue to grow and evolve as a station. Why wouldn’t you want to be a part of that?”