Eight, Arizona PBS launches expanded news, public affairs lineup

Cronkite News
January 26, 2015

Eight, Arizona PBS, part of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, is debuting a dramatically expanded news and public affairs focus, featuring in-depth news and analysis covering Arizona, the nation and the world.

Starting Jan. 26 on Eight HD, the new lineup features a concentrated two-and-a-half-hour block of news and analysis with BBC World News America, Cronkite News, Arizona Horizon and PBS NewsHour.

• 4:30 p.m. – BBC World News America with anchor Katty Kay provides up-to-the-minute news that goes beyond the headlines with in-depth reports on the major international stories of the day.

• 5 p.m. – Cronkite News features breaking news and enterprise reports and investigations by Cronkite students across the state and from Cronkite’s Washington bureau, focusing on critical public policy stories impacting the region.

• 5:30 p.m. – Arizona Horizon with host Ted Simons digs deep into the key topics with in-depth interviews of Arizona newsmakers.

• 6 p.m. – PBS NewsHour with anchors Judy Woodruff and Gwen Ifill offers in-depth and nuanced national news coverage that has made it one of the most-trusted and respected news programs for nearly 40 years.

The new lineup marks the first major initiative at Eight, Arizona PBS since the Cronkite School assumed operations of the 53-year-old television station in July 2014. According to Christopher Callahan, Cronkite School dean and university vice provost, the new lineup provides an important alternative news source for Arizona viewers.

“Arizonans now can easily get a significant block of in-depth regional, national and international news and analysis on one station, uninterrupted and commercial-free,” Callahan said. “We hope the new lineup will provide an important resource to help keep Arizonans informed on the most important issues at home and around the globe.”

Arizona PBS and Cronkite also are reinventing the Cronkite News digital site to include Arizona Horizon and other public media offerings in addition to Cronkite News reports from Phoenix, Washington and Los Angeles.

New scheduling on Eight, Arizona PBS also includes changes to Charlie Rose and the PBS Kids daytime programming lineup. For complete television listings, visit http://www.azpbs.org/schedule.

Arizona PBS reaches nearly 1.9 million households across 80 percent of the state. With more than 1 million viewers weekly, Eight consistently ranks among the most-viewed public television stations per capita in the country. For more information, visit azpbs.org.