| The National News Desk | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | TND |
| Genre |
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| Presented by |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Production locations | WJLA-TV studios,Rosslyn,Arlington, Virginia |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time |
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| Production company | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Original release | |
| Network | Sinclair Broadcast Group stations |
| Release | January 18, 2021 (2021-01-18) – present |
| Related | |
| News Central Circa News (social media accounts) | |
The National News Desk (TND; originallyThe National Desk from January 2021 to September 2024) is a daily Americantelevision news program produced by theSinclair Broadcast Group. The program premiered nationally on January 18, 2021, and utilizes the journalistic resources of Sinclair's news operations throughout theUnited States, as well as original content. It originates from the studios of flagship stationWJLA-TV in theWashington, D.C. market.
In June 2020, Sinclair announced it would launch "a headline news service" that would air weekday mornings (6:00–9:00 local time) and rely on news-gathering services of Sinclair's stations as well as original content, similar in format toNewsNation Prime produced byNexstar Media Group forNewsNation.[1]
The program would be titledThe National Desk, and Sinclair tapped veteran news anchorJan Jeffcoat to host the program. It launched on January 18, 2021, and airs on Sinclair'sCW andMyNetworkTV-affiliated stations along with its independent andFox-affiliated stations without any local newscasts or news share agreements.[2][conflicted source?]
The National Desk largely replacedpaid programming,televangelism, andsyndicated programming on those stations, reportedly saving Sinclair money in the long-run. The morning block also served as the replacement for Sinclair's attempt at non-educational children's programming,KidsClick, which had ended two years before.[3]
On May 4, 2021, Sinclair announced an evening expansion ofThe National Desk on September 27. The two-hour evening block airs after network primetime in the Eastern and Central time zones, while leading into it in the Mountain and Pacific time zones.[4]
On November 15, 2021, ABC affiliateWATM-TV inAltoona, Pennsylvania begin airingThe National Desk in place of where local newscasts would normally air, making it among Sinclair's first "Big Three" affiliated stations to airThe National Desk. Prior to this, it was airing a newscast produced from LMA partnerWJAC-TV in nearbyJohnstown, Pennsylvania.[5] Another LMA sister station, Fox affiliateWWCP-TV in Johnstown, will airThe National Desk during WATM-TV's network commitments with ABC.[citation needed]
A weekend edition of the program was launched on Saturday, March 5, 2022, anchored by Eugene Ramirez, who also anchors the live desk during the weekday evening edition.[6]
Recently, several "Big Four" stations owned or operated by Sinclair have replaced their local newscasts withThe National Desk. On April 3, 2023,The National Desk began airing onWPMI inMobile, Alabama,WEYI inFlint, Michigan,WACH inColumbia, South Carolina andWGXA inMacon, Georgia (some local newscasts were retained on all of the above stations). On May 15 of that year,The National Desk was added onWNWO inToledo, Ohio,KTVL inMedford, Oregon,KPTH inSioux City, Iowa,WGFL/WNBW-DT inGainesville, Florida andKPTM inOmaha, Nebraska, as those news operations were shuttered.[7]
The National News Desk is described by Sinclair as a "comprehensive, commentary-free" news program, despite Sinclair historically requiring its local stations to broadcastconservative opinionmust-run segments.[8][9]University of Utah professor Josh McCrain described the program's coverage of political issues as "very partisan" and stated that the program was being viewed by older American voters, a very politically active demographic that tends to watch television more than younger adults.[9][10]
The program has been accused byMedia Matters for America of airingCOVID-19 misinformation,[11] inviting commentators from "anti-immigrant" organizationFAIR,[12] repeatedly airing aNational Taxpayers Union falsehood regarding the cost of theINVEST in America Act,[13] promoting efforts to counter inclusion ofcritical race theory in public schools,[14] and concealing interviewees' support ofRepublican efforts to restrict voting while discussingelection security.[15][16][17]
The National News Desk has distributed multiple stories based on videos manipulated by theRepublican National Committee. In one instance, a video distributed by the organization purported to show American presidentJoe Biden soiling himself.[9]
Common segments onThe National News Desk includeFact Check Team, whichfact checks issues currently in political discourse (originally called the "truth squad team");[18][8]Spotlight on America, with reporting from Sinclair's investigative team on important issues impacting Americans;[19]Pulse of America, featuring local reports from Sinclair stations across the country;[8]Live Desk, an anchor who presents breaking news and developing stories;[20] and a weather segment at the end of each half hour for the morning program, and at the end of each hour on the evening edition, featuring reports from Sinclair meteorologists reporting on their local region, in a cycle around the United States. The weather section can be replaced with local weather, news, or other programming for a specific market.[21] The weekend edition is a summary of notable stories from the weekday editions, and is presented by the weeknight anchor.[22]
The program airs on Sinclair's ad-supported local news streaming service NewsOn, along with the live video section of nearly every Sinclair station site and app, allowing it national availability. The program does not air on Sinclair stations in every market due to network commitments or lack of asister station entirely.[8]
The program covered the2024 United States presidential election on November 5, 2024 with an extended edition starting in prime time and into late night, airing on its usual stations and pre-empting a simulcast ofNexstar Media Group's cable news networkNewsNation carried by the CW on its network affiliates.
The National Weather Desk launched on September 26, 2022 as a half-hour spinoff ofThe National News Desk.[23] The program features an extended look at top weather stories, a national forecast, local weather-related stories from Sinclair stations, explainers about weather events, and weather-related photos and videos from viewers. The last portion of each program is a cut-in to allow stations to present local forecasts or other content.[24]
The program gained notice at launch for having five times as manyTwitter followers asNewsNation after its first week (compared toNewsNation, which had been on the air for five months). However, the social media accounts under "@Circa" had existed since 2012 for Sinclair's defunctCirca News service. That service was discontinued on March 26, 2019, with Sinclair keeping its existingsocial media accounts alive and repurposing them under the new "@TND" handle quietly two months later and buildingThe National Desk concept around the dormant accounts, along with retaining most of the Circa-era follower base who had not stopped following the accounts. NewsNation in contrast had started fresh social media accounts, rather than transitioning its followers from those following it under the channel's former branding of WGN America.[25][26]
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