LAist and CBS Los Angeles have started a partnership to strengthen local news coverage for area residents.
LAist reached out to CBS Los Angeles early last year to inquire about a partnership. LAist VP of Programming Jeff Rowe said the radio station wanted to amplify local news because of its importance to the community, and breaking news is a specialty of CBS Los Angeles station KCAL News.
Under the agreement, LAist can access audio from CBS Los Angeles’ live newscasts, online livestreams and coverage of press conferences.
KCAL News provides more local coverage than any other area TV station, which appealed to Rowe.
“We do work with other local news services, some of the hyperlocal services across the city, but this is clearly the biggest,” Rowe said.
Rowe said most NPR news stations typically don’t specialize in breaking news. LAist traditionally focuses on longer-form storytelling, he said.
“Arguably a muscle that public radio is underdeveloped on is breaking news,” Rowe said. “And why is that the case? Just the resources.”
The partnership, which started last fall, also allows CBS Los Angeles to combine its strengths with LAist to produce impactful news coverage, said Matt Goldberg, CBS Los Angeles news director, in the press release.
“We are committed to delivering essential news and context to the communities we serve, and we know LAist shares this same goal,” Goldberg said.
‘Coverage at a completely higher level’
In partnering with KCAL News, LAist wanted to gain the ability to use the station’s audio in radio broadcasts and its digital content on the LAist website. LAist also wanted to expand its breaking news coverage. It has already seen positive results with its reporting on the recent wildfires.
“This gave us the ability of providing coverage at a completely higher level,” Rowe said. “… We would not have the resources to have … six, eight reporters across the city. We just don’t have the staffing.”
Rowe said there are no do-overs with breaking news, which is why LAist felt the urgency to lean into KCAL News during the natural disaster.
LAist is also unable to cover as many news conferences as KCAL News can. With their new partnership, LAist can now take news conferences live that it otherwise couldn’t, Rowe said.
In addition, the agreement allows CBS Los Angeles access to LAist reporters as expert voices, which enhances KCAL News’ local stories and expands LAist’s brand. Rowe said that so far three LAist reporters have been on KCAL News: Housing Reporter David Wagner, Correspondent Nick Gerda and Associate Editor Gab Chabrán.
Partnerships like this one are a great way for NPR stations to enhance their coverage, according to Rowe.
“I think it’s something that … all NPR news stations should really highly consider,” Rowe said. “And I think it’s a way for all local NPR news stations, or just news stations, to really expand their newsroom.”