Hyper-local news station aims to better connect people with local issues

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As newsrooms across the country are cutting staff and budgets, Southern California is set to get a new 24-hour news station focused on in-depth, hyper-local news. Spectrum Networks will debut November 16 with original programming focused on the region. The new news channel joins organizations such as CALmatters, which focuses on California policy and politics, in covering issues that directly affect Californians.

The new station, Spectrum News 1, will air in-depth news content, with a deep focus on local politics and coverage of stories that matter most to local communities. It will also include “Inside the Issues with Alex Cohen.” The one-hour political program will take an in-depth look into one political issue each night including interviews with the newsmakers and pundits. It will give the audience background on the issue as well as implications of potential outcomes. Cohen is an NPR veteran who most recently hosted the local edition of “Morning Edition.”

Spectrum recently announced Amrit Singh as anchor and senior political correspondent for Spectrum News 1. He will also serve as senior correspondent for “Inside the Issues with Alex Cohen.”

“The pieces that I do with the show will amplify some of the conversations and set-up some of the round tables we might be doing. There will be opportunities for me to go and take these lofty policy ideas and connect them to real people,” said Singh. “And since we have an hour to set up these pieces, it will be somewhat more engaging, different than what we see in local news.” Singh joins Spectrum after five years as the chief political correspondent and culture editor for REVOLT TV.

Spectrum News 1, available exclusively to Spectrum subscribers, will have 30 reporters embedded in communities across Southern California to give viewers a more in-depth look into the stories behind the headlines. Other shows slated to debut next month are “LA Stories,” a weekly show focused on Southern California newsmakers, “The SoCal Scene,” a weekly show about local culture and a nightly news magazine.