Media News

New Dallas news channel launches with anchors Brett Shipp, Charles Divins

Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to Charles Divins.

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Dallas is getting a new news outlet from Spectrum Networks, starring two broadcast veterans. Spectrum News 1 will represent a new platform servicing Dallas-Fort Worth, anchored by Dallas reporter Brett Shipp and Dallas native Charles Divins.

The channel will feature hyperlocal news, politics, weather, and original local content, and will launch across Texas October 16.

In addition to Dallas-Fort Worth, the programming will extend to Wichita Falls and the Southern and Western regions in Texas, adding to Spectrum's existing coverage of Austin and San Antonio.

Shipp and Divins will serve as weekday anchors.

Cater Lee, Spectrum News 1's VP of News and Content, says in a statement that they're excited to bring hyperlocal news and content to customers across the state.

"Spectrum News has been covering the Austin and San Antonio regions since 1999," Lee says. "Our journalists do more than report on the news; they live, work and are actively engaged in the communities they serve. This deeper understanding allows us to better cover the stories that take place every day in Texas neighborhoods."

Spectrum News 1 is available exclusively to Spectrum customers. Their policy is to invest in more boots on the ground local reporting and that includes more than three dozen journalists embedded in communities in San Antonio, Austin/Waco, Dallas-Ft. Worth/Wichita Falls, Harlingen, Corpus Christi, El Paso, and the Rio Grande Valley.

That coverage includes political anchor Karina Kling and political reporter Reena Diamante, who cover the state capitol in Austin; and D.C. Bureau Reporter Margaret Chadbourn, who will cover the congressional delegation and Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

Coverage includes local news, politics and public affairs, community news, general-interest content, weather, and sports.

Political programming includes a nightly political show, "Capital Tonight," with Anchor Karina Kling, at 7 pm; and a weekly public affairs program, “In Focus,” hosted by Dr. Nicole Cross, on Sundays at 9:30 am.

The schedule will be:

Mondays-Fridays at 5 am, "Your Morning on Spectrum News 1" covers the top stories of the day with Divins and anchor Alex Stockwell, plus weather from meteorologists Ricky Cody and Dan Robertson.
Weekdays at 12 pm, Dr. Nicole Cross will anchor "Your Afternoon on Spectrum News 1," with meteorologists Mary Wasson and Adrienne Vonn.
Weekdays at 5 pm, Shipp will join Nicole Cross as co-anchor of "Your Evening on Spectrum News 1." Shipp will also anchor the 9 pm newscast. Weather reports at 5 pm and 9 pm will be from Chief Meteorologist Burton Fitzsimmons and meteorologist Emily Borchard.
Local high school, college, and professional sports will be covered by sports anchor Travis Recek.
Weekends at 7 am, Todd Boatwright will recap the top news of the week on Saturdays and Sundays on "Your Weekend on Spectrum News 1."
Weekend evening news will be covered by Stef Manisero on Saturdays at 5 pm, and Agustin Garfias on Sundays at 5 pm. Meteorologist Lauren Due will cover weather on Saturdays and Sundays.

Shipp has more than 30 years of experience in local news, including 22 years as an investigative reporter with WFAA-TV. He left WFAA in 2017 to run for Congress before starting his own media company, Brett Shipp Media.

Divins, a Dallas native, returns to his Texas roots and joins Spectrum News 1 after six years as morning anchor at WDSU-TV in New Orleans. Prior to WDSU, he was the host of NBC’s LXTV "1st Look" and KNBC’s "YourLA" in Los Angeles, and he also served as a co-host of the nationally syndicated morning show, "Daily Buzz."

Spectrum News 1 will be available exclusively to Spectrum video customers on channel 1. Spectrum’s award-winning local news and original content also is available on the recently launched Spectrum News App, available to all Spectrum residential customers including internet-only.

Spectrum Networks is a series of 24/7 news and sports networks owned and operated by Charter Communications, Inc., a broadband connectivity company and cable operator serving more than 30 million customers in 41 states.

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Politics News

Dallas narrows down field for new city manager to 4 candidates

Photo by R K on Unsplash

This is an Dallasite's sign to launch that small business they've been dreaming of.

After six months without a city manager, the city of Dallas has narrowed down the field of replacements to four semifinalists including one serving as current interim city manager, plus candidates from Fort Worth, Michigan, and Georgia.

Dallas has been without a city manager since May, when previous city manager T.C. Broadnax left to take a job with the city of Austin. Since that time, Broadnax's former chief of staff Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has served as interim city manager.

The city retained Baker Tilly, a consulting firm, to recruit and compile candidates. (Baker Tilly famously erred in the brochure it created for the position by featuring a photo of the Houston skyline instead of Dallas; they've since replaced it with Dallas.)

A spokesperson for Baker Tilly did not respond to inquiries but according to D Magazine, an email listing the candidates has been sent to the Dallas City Council.

The semifinalists include:

Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, Dallas’ current interim city manager
William Johnson, an assistant city manager in Fort Worth
Mark Washington, the city manager of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Zachary Williams, a county chief operating officer in Georgia

All have more than 25 years' of public administration experience and have worked in similar capacities in their respective cities.

Before working in Fort Worth, Johnson was Baltimore’s transportation director and Atlanta’s deputy chief operating officer and public works commissioner.

Washington worked in Fort Worth and Austin before becoming Grand Rapids’ city manager.

Williams has mostly worked in Georgia at the county level, including serving as county manager in Fulton County and chief operating officer in DeKalb County.

Tolbert began working for the city in 1998, first as the city manager’s assistant and later in the aviation department. Broadnax hired her as his chief of staff in 2017.

Unlike the Mayor and the Dallas City Council, the city manager position in Dallas is not elected but is instead appointed by the city council, and is tasked with executing policies, overseeing the annual budget, and managing staff at city hall.

The council’s Ad Hoc Committee will choose finalists, introduce them to the public, and make an offer in early 2025.

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