TV, radio and newspapers: Des Moines media history
The Des Moines Register has been publishing since the mid-19th century.
Des Moines residents might have noticed a change in local late-night news TV programming.
KCCI took over producing the 9 p.m. newscast on KDSM FOX 17 on Jan. 1. KCCI announced the partnership with KDSM FOX 17 on Jan. 9, according to KCCI’s Creative Services Director Kristen Joyal. It replaces a similar partnership with WHO 13 that’s been in place since KDSM eliminated its own news department in September 2008.
“Our collaboration with KCCI enables us to deliver a robust local newscast anchored by journalists our audience knows and trusts, while expanding access to timely and relevant community news,” KDSM FOX 17 General Manager Joseph Tracy said.
KCCI has aired a 9 p.m. newscast on its MeTV sub-channel since 2016. It will continue broadcasting on MeTV, while offering the newcast on KDSM, Joyal said. The lead anchors for the 9 p.m. newscast are Ben Kaplan and longtime station anchor Stacey Horst.
“The same trusted reporters and anchors on KCCI 8 News at 9 on FOX 17 are the same you’ll see when you join at 9 p.m. on MeTV,” Joyal wrote in an email to the Register. “It is another platform giving Central Iowans the expanded access to the news they need to accommodate their busy lifestyle.”
What happened to WHO 13 News at 9 p.m.?
While the WHO-produced 9 p.m. newscast is no longer available on FOX 17, fans can still see their favorite anchors from the NBC affiliate.
WHO premiered a new 9 p.m. newscast Jan. 1 on its WHO 13 Plus app and WHO13.com. It’s also offered over the air on Iowa’s Weather Channel, WHO 13.4.
The new streaming newcast offers the same news, weather and sports, but will come with “a few new twists,” WHO 13 News Director Rod Peterson told the Register.
“WHO 13’s 9 p.m. news has long been an important part of Central Iowa’s information landscape,” Peterson wrote in an email. “Now, we’re bringing it home — making it easier to watch for viewers both inside and outside our traditional broadcast area.”
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
