CBS Atlanta is expanding its evening news programming.
The station is adding an hourlong 5 p.m. weekday newscast starting Monday, according to a news release. The newscast will precede CBS Atlanta’s existing flagship 6 p.m. evening broadcast.
Sharon Lawson will anchor the 5 p.m. newscast, with meteorologist Dagmar Midcap and Orelon Sidney reporting traffic. The 5 p.m. newscast will have headlines of the day but will be lighter than the 6 p.m. show, with more lifestyle-oriented packages.
The addition of the newscast is the latest update to CBS Atlanta’s programming schedule since its launch in August.
Last year, CBS took over national programming on the once-independent WUPA-TV and began building a local news operation from the ground up. Atlanta News First, once known as CBS46, ended its affiliation with CBS midway through last year and transitioned to an independent station, which now runs more than 90 hours of local news a week.
To build its newsroom, CBS Atlanta hired about 70 people across editorial, production and digital teams, and implemented a virtual/augmented reality studio for both its local news and weather operations that is the first of its kind in the market.
The station is slowly expanding its news hours where programming is needed, said CBS Atlanta’s President and General Manager Tom Canedo. The 5 p.m. hour felt like the natural place to expand.
“The 6 p.m. had such a great response, and what the data was showing us is that the viewers wanted more early evening news prior to CBS Evening News (at 6:30 p.m.),” Canedo said.
In February, CBS Atlanta debuted its first weekday morning newscast, filling the 6 a.m. hour.
Sharon Lawson will continue to anchor the 6 p.m., along with Sam Crenshaw on sports and Midcap as meteorologist.
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