WESH Orlando debuts the daily political program Commitment 2012: Extra Oct. 8 through
Election Day, offering viewers in DMA No. 19 an additional 30 minutes a day of
local coverage. The 12:30 p.m. show leads out of a newscast and replaces paid
programming.
Hosted by anchors Jason Guy and Meredith McDonough, along
with WESH political reporter Greg Fox, Commitment
2012: Extra include live conversations and debates with local candidates,
election news and developments from the campaign trail.
The program is an extension of parent Hearst TV's Commitment
2012 initiative, which features a minimum 12 minutes' airtime for daily
political coverage per weekday and, where possible, on weekends, on the Hearst
TV news stations in the month leading up to Election Day.
"WESH 2 News has always taken our role seriously when
it comes to informing and educating our viewers before they head to the ballot
box," says Bob Longo, WESH news director. "This important election
season, we're giving viewers an even greater chance to learn about the
candidates asking for their votes and the issues so important to our
community."
Jim Carter, president and general manager of WESH, says the
program provides an opportunity to dig deeper on vital issues. "It's an
important to give viewers more perspective and showcase issues and local races
that typically don't get enough attention," he says. "It's an
opportunity for us to be really in-depth on a daily basis."
