|
Starting Saturday, PBS will air the weekly show “Horizons” on
science and technology issues. The new show “Compass Points”
will focus on foreign affairs Sunday. Both programs will be
taped in advance during the week, enabling PBS to save money by
cutting back on weekend staff, said Sara Just, senior executive
producer for “NewsHour.”
The weekend newscast averaged 827,000 viewers per show, roughly
1 million less than what “NewsHour” gets during the week,
according to the Nielsen company.
The Republican-controlled Congress, responding to President
Donald Trump's wishes, eliminated funding for PBS and NPR in
July. The president has complained about news programming on
public broadcasting being biased against conservatives.
During Sunday's finale, highlights aired by PBS illustrated
important news stories that broke over weekends — Hamas' attack
on Israel in October 2023, the assassination attempt on Donald
Trump in summer 2024, and Joe Biden's exit from the presidential
race on a Sunday a few weeks later.
Asked if the weekend newscasts could return if a future
government restores funding to PBS, Just said, “I never say
never, but this is not a temporary decision.”
Also in response to funding cuts, PBS shut down a bureau in
Arizona that had enabled “NewsHour” to update its broadcasts for
West Coast viewers. But Just cautioned against interpreting the
moves as an indication the weekday newscast is in any danger.
Through TikTok and YouTube, the broadcast is seeing more
exposure for its journalism, she said.
“I don't see that program at risk in the near future,” she said.
Both “Horizons” and “Compass Points” will be 30-minute
broadcasts. William Brangham will host “Horizons,” which will
focus on a single topic each week, such as artificial
intelligence, climate science or medical advances. Each episode
of “Compass Points,” with Nick Schifrin as host, will also
concentrate on one topic, PBS said.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
|
|
