At WCPO, we focus on local issues that matter to you.
But we know that significant news takes place outside our region. To provide you with coverage of those topics, we rely news partners that specialize in national and international news.
One news partner is ABC. The network doesn't own WCPO or make decisions for our station. But if we want to show coverage of a national event, ABC is normally the one who provides us with that coverage.
One of the most talked about news stories right now is the impeachment hearings. Public hearings take place Wednesday and Friday of this week.
When the hearings begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday, we will feature live coverage on TV and streaming on our website and mobile app. A lot of time goes into making decisions like airing the hearings, and we don't take these choices lightly.
We will air ABC's live broadcast for a few reasons:
- Regardless of whether you feel the impeachment hearings are completely justified or a total sham -- or if you're somewhere in the middle -- the hearings are incredibly newsworthy. Only two presidents in the more than 200 years of this country’s existence have been impeached. Important details about our country’s leaders could emerge.
- Among our core beliefs is defense of the First Amendment and open government. Sharing live coverage of these hearings brings transparency to this process.
We do not know how long the hearings will air each day, but we plan to air them in their entirety. We think it is important to shine a light on this process.
It is likely these hearings could be ongoing during at least some of our regular newscast times. If that happens, at noon and 4 p.m., we still will bring you a local newscast. Those newscasts won’t air on our regular TV channel. Instead, they will air on our website, mobile app and our streaming apps such as Roku or Amazon Fire.
At the end of the hearings, you can expect summary stories outlining the day’s biggest developments. The reporting for these stories will come to us from our news partners at ABC or CNN. Our team will review these stories to make sure they meet our standards of fairness.
We understand that there are many strong opinions about the impeachment process. Our goal is to tap into the resources we have available to bring you fair and accurate reporting.
If you have questions about our decisions or reporting, please contact me.
Mike Canan is the Senior Director of Local Media Content at WCPO. Contact him at mike.canan@wcpo.com. Follow him on Twitter or Instagram at @Mike_Canan.
