Los Angeles will have a local 24-hour cable news network starting today. Spectrum News 1 kicks off today at 5 am, mirroring a format by its 26-year old sister channel Spectrum News NY 1 (formerly NY 1 News).
Several Latina journalists were hired for the launch.
Giselle Fernandez helps kickstart Spectrum News 1 with “The Beat on 1,” a weekday morning newscast airing from 5 to 9 am. The former NBC and CBS network anchor will also host “LA Stories,” a weekly one-hour documentary-style show featuring in-depth interviews with local Southern California newsmakers.
Spectrum News 1 is putting a lot of faith in local politics. Daisy Espinoza will executive produce “Inside The Issues,” a one-hour political program that will run Monday to Thursday at 7 pm. Espinoza is a former EP at Telemundo 52 in Los Angeles.
Spectrum plans to do more in-depth coverage of news within the diverse communities in the L.A. area and has stationed MMJs in the different cities each will cover.
Among the hired MMJs:
Catalina Villegas Toso – Will cover the entertainment and housing beat across West Los Angeles. She joined Spectrum from WFDC in Washington, D.C., where she was an anchor and producer.
Lydia Pantazes Garcia – A Senior Video-Journalist, she’ll cover the San Fernando Valley. She arrives from KRON 4 in the S.F. Bay Area, where she was a reporter.
Iliana Guevara – Will cover civic issues and lifestyle beats in East Los Angeles and Downtown Los Angeles. She was previously a freelance producer and director for short and feature documentaries.
Kristen Lago – Will cover the entertainment and sports beat in East Los Angeles and Downtown Los Angeles. She was previously a writer/reporter for The Los Angeles Rams and a digital reporter/anchor for Get Sports Focus.
Sarina Sandoval – Will cover state politics. Before Spectrum, she spent two years as a reporter, anchor and producer KTVL News 10 in Medford, Oregon.
Spectrum also hired Belkis Rivera as Bureau Chief for Orange and Riverside county, overseeing four reporters. She was previously an assignment desk editor at Telemundo 52, where she worked for almost 11 years.
The company hired 125 new employees for the launch of Spectrum News 1.
* Story updated to include Rivera and the number of hires.