ST. GEORGE — A fledgling TV station based in St. George is offering viewers local news programs in English and Spanish, a move prompted by the area's growing Hispanic population.
"We test everything before it goes on the air," said Ben Spencer, consultant to KCSG-TV, a Broadcast West station owned by St. George auto dealer Stephen Wade. "It's always the end result of research. If it is what our viewers want, then we give it to them."
Among the viewer requests were better quality video/audio and much more local news, he said.
The Deseret Morning News is a partner with KCSG-TV, sharing news stories and offering live, on-air reports that tie into the next day's edition of the newspaper. That form of "media convergence" is the wave of the future, said Spencer.
"The real benefactors of partnering with other media are the viewer and reader," he said.
According to research results compiled for KCSG, seven out of 10 people in Utah feel a "strong connection" with the southern end of the state, he said.
"Several business owners wanted to know more about our Spanish programming," said Spencer. "We have reporters who are local Hispanics who produce a 30-minute newscast in Spanish that airs three times a week."
Among those helping to produce the Spanish-language newscast is Rosa Martinez, who also publishes a weekly bilingual newspaper in St. George. She sees the station's commitment to the Hispanic community as one that is "very important."
"We try to talk about issues that are important to all of us," said Martinez. KCSG staff members who speak Spanish assist in producing the news program.
Upgrading the station's equipment and signal is a top priority. It was necessary to move the station's headquarters from a location on Main Street in downtown St. George to one high on Skyline Drive just below the red hills to improve the signal.
Dave Cory, KCSG chief engineer, said the station never went off the air during the complicated move.
"We're improving a lot of links with this move. Our signal will be a lot more reliable," said Cory. "This move was an ideal opportunity to replace the old wiring and buy new equipment. It allows us to expand so that we're covered by all the cable and satellite companies."
The move also meant bundling compressed digital wiring and using a wider bandwidth, he said.
"Every television station in the country will have to go to digital cable," said Cory.
Several Utah journalists anchor and report local news each weeknight at 9 p.m. on the station that bills itself as "Southern Utah's News Choice."
"The appetite for local news is incredible," said Spencer. "To satisfy our viewers, our signal has to be equally as strong in the far corners of Iron County as it is in downtown St. George. Although our research is grounded in Iron and Washington counties, we also reach Price, Kanab, Moab and Delta. It's even possible for us to go into Wendover and parts of Arizona."
Lead anchor Tamara Lee is a Southern Utah University graduate, as is reporter Russell Wilde. Sports anchor Nate Dowdle is a University of Utah alumnus, while reporter Aapree Hancey is a southern Utah native who graduated from Brigham Young University this year.
The only real outsider is weather anchor Adam Stiles, a graduate of Washington State University, whose enthusiasm for southern Utah doesn't end with the area's great weather.
"We're cultivating a TV experience here," said Stiles, who spends much of his free time at one of the city's nine golf courses. "We're making a concerted effort to give our viewers what they want."
And people are beginning to take notice, said Lee, who also reports and produces special prime time programs.
"People want this station to succeed," she said. "We have a lot of cheerleaders. People are watching us, they know we're here."
Working at a fairly young station like KCSG-TV gives the staff a chance to really shine, said Stiles.
"It's nice. We can cater to our viewers' needs, and we're not stuck in a format," he said. "We're very much open to suggestions. We're doing it all for the community."
Among the highlights planned for KCSG weather watchers, said Stiles, is a service called "my backyard forecast," which delivers weather reports focused on a viewer's street address.
Plans also include several prime time town hall meetings on upcoming local election issues, a special series on the growing pains facing area cities and towns and unique stories on southern Utah's immigrant communities.
KCSG-TV can be seen on cable channel 6, on channels 4 and 16 over the air, and on DISHNetwork channel 37. The station's Web site is kcsg.com.
E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com