WLIW gets four new series from partner Newsday

Long Island’s WLIW is broadcasting four series produced by Newsday Media Group, a newspaper turned multimedia company also serving Long Island.

The NewsdayTV series started airing Tuesdays in November and December on WLIW, which is part of the WNET Group. They are then shared on Thirteen’s YouTube on Fridays and can also be streamed on NewsdayTV.

The programs also air on WLIW-FM on the second and fourth Sundays of each month.

The new series include business program It’s Your Business Long Island, documentaries from Newsday Investigates, in-depth local news coverage with Island Insider, and Out East with Doug Geed, a showcase of Long Island’s East End.

“All four of these programs really get into the hallmarks of what you find on public media and that we are always working to bring to our audience,” said Diane Masciale, VP of WNET Station Group, which includes WLIW. “… All of these programs in and of themselves are educational.”

The series arrive on WLIW at a time when public media stations across the country are dealing with the congressional rescission of money for CPB. 

“It’s really the perfect public-private kind of partnership that’s a model for the path forward for public media stations in the face of great disruption, as we know, with the defunding, the erosion of local journalism and the changing media consumption landscape,” Masciale said. 

‘A true partnership’

Reporters from Newsday, which has received 19 Pulitzer Prizes, have appeared on WLIW for years, Masciale said. 

Discussions about expanding that partnership kicked off with the 2023 launch of the NewsdayTV streaming service, according to Masciale. 

“I believe very strongly that the more we can do in partnership with the right partners, the more we can serve our audiences in ways that we couldn’t if we were doing it alone,” Masciale said. 

“I’m constantly noodling and trying to find ways to do that and looking for opportunities, and when I saw that NewsdayTV was launching, ding-ding-ding, immediately I thought, ‘Oh, well, this would be a natural extension of the partnership we already have,’” she added.

Figuring out the specifics of the partnership included working through standards and practices that are different for a public media station compared to a commercial station, Masciale said. She pointed out a NewsdayTV show that focuses on restaurants and dining and wasn’t the right fit for WLIW. 

“We can’t say, ‘This is the best hamburger on the planet, and you have to go to wherever to try it out,’” Masciale said. “That’s a call to action that is something that is prohibited by public media guidelines.”

The series that WLIW did pick up fit public media’s high standards, she added. 

“Of course, we review every program, make sure there are no issues, and thus far it’s been great,” Masciale said. 

No money is changing hands between WLIW and Newsday, Masciale said, but the partners could eventually share any potential revenue yielded by the shows. Both organizations are contributing in-kind resources from staff for the partnership. 

“Newsday is not for hire by us,” Masciale said. “This is a partnership, a true partnership, in all senses of the word.”

Masciale said there is no projected end date for the partnership. 

“It’s open-ended,” she said. “We have an agreement to continue doing this for as long as we can all continue to do it, as long as it makes sense for our audiences and for our organizations.”

Newsday‘s President and Owner Pat Dolan said in a news release that the outlet was thrilled to share the content with WLIW’s TV and radio audiences. 

“Newsday and WLIW share the same deep commitment to strong local journalism,” Dolan said.

The four series 

It’s Your Business Long Island debuted on WLIW Nov. 11. A recent episode focused on affordability. Published on Thirteen’s YouTube channel Nov. 14, the episode had received more than 370 YouTube views by Dec. 19. 

Other topics featured on the show include the housing market, home prices and small businesses, according to Masciale. 

The first Newsday Investigates half-hour documentary focused on more than 100 women found dead in Long Island since the 1970s. Titled Newsday Investigates: The Forgotten, it aired on WLIW Nov. 18. The Nov. 21 Thirteen YouTube video of the story had 1,530 views as of Dec. 19. 

Newsday Investigates will focus on different topics each month, with an upcoming episode examining school systems across Long Island, Masciale said. 

One change required to adapt the shows for WLIW was adjusting the documentaries’ lengths, Masciale said. 

“If it’s not a standard length for broadcast, the guts of the documentary will air in its entirety, and we’ll do an intro and a conversation after the documentary to fill out the time,” Masciale said. 

For example, Newsday reporters Shari Einhorn and Sandra Peddie discussed the story at the end of The Forgotten documentary. 

Island Insider, which launched on WLIW Dec. 9, is a traditional news and public affairs show that takes an in-depth look at issues and news involving Long Island, such as politics and education, Masciale said. 

“To have a news organization like Newsday, that is an award-winning news organization, covering these topics with journalists from across their organization and across Long Island and the region, I think is also a perfect fit for public media,” Masciale said.

Newsday had previously wanted to produce Island Insider but launched it as a result of the WLIW partnership, Masciale said.

Out East with Doug Geed is scheduled to make its WLIW debut Dec. 23. A news release describes the show as taking “viewers on a journey through the unique places that define Long Island’s East End.” That includes the agriculture and small businesses of the area, such as wine tasting at local vineyards.

The series is similar to other public media programs that focus on special aspects of communities, according to Masciale. 

“Out East with Doug Geed is really quintessential Long Island,” she said. “Long Islanders are very Long Island proud and really cherish what makes Long Island special. Doug Geed does a really great job of focusing on all of the wonderful things that make Long Island what it is. … He focuses on the people, places and things that make Long Island such a special place.”

Masciale views teaming up with the right partners to enhance programming as a “formula for success.” 

“We just have to bring content to our audiences where they are in the ways that they want to consume it,” Masciale said. “That’s very challenging from a financial standpoint and also from a resource standpoint. So these partnerships allow us to do so much more than we would ever be able to do on our own.”