News

Networks are planning special reports Monday for coverage of the total solar eclipse, a celestial phenomenon when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun.

The eclipse will move across Texas to Maine, temporarily shrouding those areas in darkness, while other parts of the country will notice dimming and twilight.

Here’s a rundown of network plans.

ABC News. Eclipse Across America, airing at 2 p.m. Et on ABC, ABC News Live, the National Geographic Channel and other platforms, will be anchored by David Muir and Linsey Davis, reporting from Burlington, Vt. Nat Geo’s Mariana van Zeller, Nat Geo Explorers photographer Cristina Mittermeier and astrophysicists Jedidah Isler and Ved Chirayath will be on hand to show viewers how to safely observe and photograph the eclipse, and will provide the science and history behind the event. Correspondents will be fanned out in 10 cities, from Mazatlán, Mexico, to Houlton, Maine,...

NewsNation is adding a three-hour morning show to its weekend lineup, part of a series of programming moves.

Morning in America with Hena Doba will debut on January 27, airing Saturdays and Sundays from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Et. Paid programming, reruns and religious fare have been airing in that time period.

Starting on January 22, the network will debut a new weekday lineup. Elizabeth Vargas Reports will move up an hour to 5 p.m. Et, switching places with The Hill moderated by Blake Burman. The Hill will air at 6 p.m. Et.

Other changes: The weekday edition of Morning in America will air from 6 a.m. Et to 9 a.m. Et, with Markie Martin as solo anchor. Adrienne Bankert will become NewsNation’s special projects anchor and will start a new series on faith in America, One Nation Under God, to debut in February. NewsNation Live with Marni Hughes will air from 9 a.

CNN anchor Sara Sidner told viewers that she is being treated for stage three breast cancer, even as she continues in her network duties.

In a segment on CNN News Central, Sidner fought back tears as she relayed her experience.

“I have never been sick a day in my life. I don’t smoke. I rarely drink. Breast cancer does not run in my family,” she said. “And yet here I am with stage three breast cancer. It is hard to say out loud.”

She said that she is in her second month of chemotherapy treatments and will undergo radiation and a double mastectomy.

“Stage three is not a death sentence anymore for the vast majority of women, but here is the reality that really shocked my system when I started to research more about breast cancer, something I never knew before this diagnosis. If you happen to be a Black woman,...

Connell McShane, a longtime anchor at Fox Business Network, will join Nexstar Media’s NewsNation as an afternoon anchor, leading coverage between 3 p.m and 5 p.m. each weekday.

He will start Monday September 25 and will be based in New York. Nichole Berlie, who had anchored that time slot, will move to 1 to 3 p.m. eastern.

“The mission statement at NewsNation is to be a source of unbiased news coverage, which is what I’ve always tried to be,: McShane said in a statement. “This seems like a perfect match, and I can’t wait to get started.”

McShane previously served as anchor and chief national correspondent for Fox Business Network. His work included numerous trips to China and Eastern Europe. He has also covered top business, economic, and political stories such as the rise of inflation and the future of drone technology.

Mr. McShane joined Fbn as a...

Breaking news at NewsNation: The cable net is about to go round-the-clock during the work week.

The Nexstar-owned cable news outlet said today that it will launch a 24-hour weekday programming schedule on April 24. The new sked will include a new live four-hour weekday programming block called NewsNation Now.

Airing from 1-5 p.m. Et Mondays through Fridays, NewsNation Now will cover the day’s top headlines with live reports from network correspondents around the country. It will be anchored by a rotation of journalists from 1-3 p.m. Et, followed by anchor Nichole Berlie from 3-5 p.m. Until a permanent anchor is named, guest anchors will include weekend anchor Natasha Zouves, chief Washington correspondent Blake Burman and correspondents Markie Martin, Keleigh Beeson and Brooke Shafer.

“From the start, our mission has been to inform and enlighten our viewers with balanced news programming and we will continue...

NewsNation relaunched on Monday, not that you would know it from these TV ratings.

According to Nielsen, NewsNation’s first primetime back on the cable airwaves drew just 37,000 total viewers, on average, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. In the key news demo, adults 25-54, the average across those three hours was only 8,000.

It gets worse: Ashleigh Banfield’s new program settled for a mere 17,000 total viewers at 10 p.m., according to Nielsen. Just 5,000 viewers aged 25-54 tuned in to that hour.

The NewsNation channel was previously known as WGN America, prior to the rebranding announced in January. Wgna was not always wall-to-wall news, airing just a two-hour primetime newscast under the “NewsNation” banner. (The primetime segment has since been renamed “NewsNation Prime.”)

Upon its relaunch and the addition of Banfield’s show, the channel also added “NewsNation Early Edition,” hosted by Nichole Berlie at 6 p.m. Et, and “The Donlon Report,...

WGN America is rebranding as NewsNation in March when the cable network adds new programming. The move is the next step in the channel’s mission to compete with cable news leaders CNN and Fox News.

Two new hour-long shows are joining the roster, bringing the total hours of daily news content on the network to five: “NewsNation Early Edition” will be hosted by Nichole Berlie at 6 p.m. Et, and “The Donlon Report,” will follow at 7 p.m., hosted by current WGN America anchor Joe Donlon.

Berlie has been the Nexstar Media Group channel’s weekend anchor since last year.

“I’m excited to be a part of the NewsNation team and thrilled to be part of ‘Early Edition,'” she said in a statement. “Our mission of delivering fact-based, unbiased news is resonating with viewers, and I’m looking forward to building on NewsNation’s solid start with this expansion.

Nexstar’s WGN America will rebrand itself NewsNation as of March 1 when the cabler expands its volume of daily newscasts to five hours a day.

The move is another commitment from Nexstar to turn WGN America into a full-fledged news channel. WGN America launched a three-hour primetime newscast on Sept. 1. The plan is to add news hours at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Earlier this month, Nexstar tapped veteran journalist Ashleigh Banfield to host a 10 p.m. talk show that also begins March 1. At that time, Nexstar executives said the arrival of “Banfield” would coincide with an expansion of news programming.

“Rebranding WGN America as NewsNation underscores the network’s clearly defined mission of delivering fact-based and unbiased news, while making it easier for viewers to find this new informative source for news,” said Sean Compton, president of Nexstar’s networks division. “At the same time, expanding our news programming...

Nexstar Media Group announced Tuesday its anchor and correspondent lineup for Wgn America’s forthcoming primetime broadcast, “News Nation.”

The company revealed the three-hour nightly program, premiering Sept. 1, will be anchored by Joe Donlon and Marni Hughes. The breaking news anchor will be Rob Nelson and the meteorologist will be Albert Ramon. On the weekends, “News Nation” will be anchored by Rudabeh Shahbazi and Nichole Berlie along with Aaron Nolan on breaking news and Gerard Jebaily as meteorologist.

Together, according to a release, they’ll deliver “fact-based, unbiased news coverage” with the help of Nexstar’s 5,400 journalists in 110 national newsrooms. The program will air in traditional primetime hours, from 8 p.m. Et to 11 p.m. Et and content will be available around the clock on a yet-unreleased mobile app called NewsNationNow.

Also Read: Fox News' Brian Kilmeade Calls Out Double Standard on Social Distancing for Protesters

According to Nexstar, cable...

News Nation, the three-hour prime-time block of live news debuting September 1 on Wgn America, has set its on-air talent lineup.

Anchoring weeknight broadcasts from 8Pm to 11Pm will be Joe Donlon and Marni Hughes, accompanied by breaking news anchor Rob Nelson and chief meteorologist Albert Ramon. All bring considerable experience in various local markets — Donlon at Wgn in Chicago, Hughes at Kcpq in Seattle, Nelson at New York’s Wabc and Ramon at Kvue in Austin.

The weekend team will be led by anchors Rudabeh Shahbazi and Nichole Berlie, breaking news anchor Aaron Nolan and meteorologist Gerard Jebaily. Correspondents in four major cities were also named: Tom Negovan in New York; Nancy Loo in La; Markie Martin in Dallas and Brian Entin in Miami. Negovan and Loo are both Wgn vets. Martin was at Koco in Oklahoma City and Entin joins from Wsvn in Miami.

Nexstar Media Group, which took...

Wgn America has set the anchor team for the nightly three-hour newscast that is coming to the primetime lineup of Nexstar Media Group’s cable network as of Sept. 1.

Wgn America is set for a radical primetime makeover from a focus on scripted entertainment series to three hours of a nationally focused news. “News Nation” has been billed as a traditional just-the-facts newscast that will be fueled by the news resources of 110 Nexstar TV newsrooms around the country. Nexstar has hired about 130 additional journalists to produce the “News Nation” block that will originate from Wgn-tv in Chicago.

The primary Monday-Friday anchor duo will be Joe Donlon, a Wgn Chicago veteran, and Marni Hughes, who signs on after an eight-year run as an evening news anchor at Fox affiliate Kcpq-tv Seattle. ABC News and Wabc-tv New york alum Rob Nelson will serve as breaking news anchor. Albert Ramon, formerly of Kvue-tv Austin,...