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WATE, Channel 6, is expanding its 5 p.m. newscast.

Starting Oct. 12, the ABC affiliate will feature an hour of news beginning at 5 p.m.

The newly expanded newscast will lead into the station's 6 p.m. news, which will continue with co-anchors Gene Patterson and Lori Tucker.

Currently, WATE airs a half-hour of news at 5 p.m., which traditionally pulls solid ratings; WBIR, Channel 10, has been airing an hour of local news for more than a year; WVLT, Channel 8, presents a half-hour of local news at 5:30 p.m., with "The Andy Griffith Show" as a lead-in.

The 5 p.m. hour will be "a little bit different than" what viewers will see at 6 p.m., says Gwen Kinsey, general manager for WATE.

"We try to approach, in a really aggressive way, big stories, really getting juicy with them, really getting into detail. ... It can be frustrating when you're trying to (tell) that meaty story in a minute or a minute and a half.

"Doing the 5:30 (expansion) will really let us take the handcuffs off."

WATE news director Jamie Foster says the new hour will allow reporters to be more in-depth with local subjects. Softer features and entertainment news will not be part of the mix.

But, weather and sports will also be part of the hour, with more of an emphasis on local high school sports, Foster says. Also the lead story at 5 p.m. may not be the top story at 6 p.m., he says.

With local news being produced from 4 p.m. through 7:30 p.m. weeknights, does Knoxville need another half-hour of it?

"If it's just (filler) then it's all too much," Kinsey says. "That's how we want to be different. We don't just want to put (filler news) in there. We want to take what we think is the really important story of the day and really dig deeper going into that."

WATE has no plans at present to bring back its noon newscast, citing that noon newscast audiences are shrinking anyway. A much larger audience can be found at 5 p.m.

With the expanded news, WATE will shift some of its other programming. "Judge Joe Brown" will air in an hour block at 9 a.m.; "Judge Judy" will also have back-to-back episodes starting at 7 p.m.

Entertainment magazine "Inside Edition" can be seen at noon, with "The Insider" at 12:30 p.m.

Terry Morrow may be reached at morrowt@knoxville.com or 865-342-6445. His blog can be found at http://blogs.knoxnews.com/knx/telebuddy/. He contributes to "Live At Five At Four" on WBIR, Channel 10, and "The Marc & Kim & Frank Show" on WWST-FM, 102.1.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel
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