Race Relations

Since 2008 I’ve thought the world’s greatest and only problem was its economy.  I saw the banking industry nearly take down an American economy; and yet, with  all our economic problems, they pale when we consider the underlying problem of race relations.  The economy can be fixed, new medicines can be invented to make us healthy, but there seems to be no remedy for the bigotry that dwells within each of us to some degree.

Real Interest And Commitment

I believe there’s a great need for Las Vegas television stations to penetrate the minority communities and draw from those communities their needs for information, news and news analysis to become more and more part of our community.  A recent poll of Hispanics shows that more than 80% of Hispanics would rather watch and listen to news in the English language than in Spanish.  That will make our job easier.  But we will not forget that the news needs of the minorities must be met within in-depth analysis following our news reporters infusing themselves into the minority communities with real interest and commitment.

Useful To All Of You

We will continue to test and experiment on the news and information needs of Southern Nevada. We know you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a princess. But we’re ready to kiss a lot of frogs.  We will be adding considerable substantive news programming that we hope will inform and educate you about most of the issues facing all of us.  We’ll get it wrong many times, but given time and your continued suggestions, even though they sometimes are brutal and filled with four letter words, we think given a reasonable time, we’ll be able to produce a product useful to all of you. 

7PM News

The 7 PM news—I know this is causing Wheel and Jeopardy great heartburn—that we’ll no longer broadcast those shows.  But as badly as I hate for our viewers to move to Channel 8, they will be broadcasting those programs at the same time that we broadcast them.  It’s my strong belief that there are so many Las Vegans who do not reach home in time to see the 6 O’clock news that a one hour news broadcast from 7 to 8 will satisfy those needs.

Our Next Move

In the last four years I’ve slowly replaced syndicated programming with news.  Access Hollywood was the first to go and was replaced by Ralston.  Judge Judy was the second to go and the 4 O’clock news was expanded to an hour.  Our 12:00 news was expanded from one half hour to an hour, as we eliminated paid programming.  Our next move in August will be to begin a 3 PM one hour news broadcast.

Add Three Hours

When I graduated from Las Vegas High School in 1956, NBC and CBS did a fifteen-minute news broadcast each night.  ABC had only become a national network a few years before.   Both NBC and CBS thought long and hard about expanding the evening news from fifteen minutes to thirty.  They were concerned that there were not enough interesting subjects to fill thirty minutes. Nearly 60 years later we do news from 4:30 in the morning to 7; 12 to 1; and 4 through 6:30PM that includes NBC Nightly. Ralston Reports at 7:30PM and then news at 11PM.  We believe there’s enough news of substance to add three hours to that.

News Programs

Nevada’s minorities have become the majority and for some reason the new minority, formerly the majority, hasn’t wakened to the influence and importance this new majority has in our society.  I need help to develop news programs that will respond to EVERYONE’S needs.  I am open to all suggestions; my office number is 657-3142 and my home phone is (406) 933-9999 until September 10, and thereafter in Las Vegas at 222-2298.  Don’t call before 5 AM, or after 11 PM.