‘Next With Kyle Clark’ Dominates Denver’s News at 6 p.m. By Being Different–FREE READ

By Paul Greeley, 817-578-6324, Paul@NewsBlues.com

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The 6 o’clock evening news on KUSA, Tegna’s NBC affiliate in Denver, branded as 9News, is different than most newscasts at that hour in Denver and, for that matter, in most markets around the country.

The title for example. That’s different. It’s not 9News at 6. It’s Next With Kyle Clark.

In Denver, the titles of the evening news at 6 from KUSA’s competitors are straightforward and traditional, CBS News Colorado at 6 on KCNC, and Denver 7 News at 6 on KMGH. Both are an hour long.

And not many local TV newscasts give the anchor top billing. That’s very different and unusual in local TV news.

“As for the name of the program, we hoped it would be a nod to both what’s next in terms of each evolving story and what’s next in local TV news,” says Kyle Clark, a 17 year veteran at KUSA.

Clark is the managing editor of Next With Kyle Clark and anchors KUSA’s nightly newscasts at 9 and 10.

Next With Kyle Clark is coming up on its eight-year anniversary in August.

My interest in Next With Kyle Clark started with an article in Westword, a website about the Denver scene. Other than that article, little has been written about Next With Kyle Clark. Which is surprising given the clamor that local TV news needs to be different.

I talked to Clark about how Next began, what makes it different, how it’s been marketed over the years and how it’s performing.

Mark Cornetta, KUSA’s GM, says Next With Kyle Clark has performed well since it began, according to Comscore, “delivering 55% of the Adults 18+ and Adults 25-64 in the time period as compared to the other two news programs. Said another way, it delivers a larger audience than the other two newscasts in the time period combined. It also ranks as either the #1 or #2 news program year to date when compared to all newscasts in the market.”

Clark says in 2016, the impetus for Next was born from frustration with the typical TV news product, what he refers to as the litany of tragedy model.

“We’re going to tell you the 10 worst things that happened today, then weather and sports, good night.” Clark says. “We were ready for something that felt a little bit more context-rich, that wasn’t so depressing, something that was more of a reflection of everyday life.”

He says a few folks got together and took the idea to the management at Tegna.

The idea Clark pitched to Dave Lougee, Tegna’s president, (Lougee is retiring as Tegna’s president in August), was to “cover stories with richer context, perspective and analysis than what you typically get in local TV news, a step beyond just the hits and runs and errors that you would see in a standard newscast.”

Lougee told him “You should do it. If it doesn’t work, do something else that’s new,” Clark says.

“They were hugely supportive,” Clark says. “Local management was very supportive. So the decision was made to replace our existing traditional 6 p.m. newscast with Next.”

Within six months, 70 percent of the preexisting audience had left, he says.

“Two years later, it became the most watched show in town,” Clark says.

“When Next was launched in 2016, we quickly realized the best way to market it was to let Kyle extemporaneously speak about it,” says Enrico Meyer, KUSA’s marketing director.

“We developed themes around the show’s original tagline of Smart, Funny, and Unapologetically Honest that Kyle would “riff” about,” he says. “The creative felt true to the show and the experience you would get every night. Through the years while the show has evolved, the heart of the creative hasn’t. It’s still focused on Kyle in an unscripted format.”

What makes Next different than the other two traditional competitors in that time slot is to make a show “that wasn’t driven by what feels like the faux urgency of everything being breaking news,” Clark says. “There’s no sense in us replicating what you can see elsewhere.”

What Clark had in mind for Next was a show that covered stories that were in the news, “but with richer context, perspective and analysis than what you typically get in local TV news.”

What makes Next different than most local TV newscasts can be defined by what viewers won’t see: No breaking news, no repetition, no sports, and typically, just a minute or so of weather unless conditions warrant more time.

“We don’t have the chopper over the scene of a house fire, and we’re not talking about the car crash,” he says. “We’re talking about bigger societal issues, policy issues, accountability, transparency within the workings of power structures in Colorado.”

Clark says Next is more of a celebration of life in Colorado.

“The best things, the most challenging things, the most frustrating things, the most amusing things, the absurdities, that’s all kind of built into the show,” he says.

One feature of Next “that sets it apart from others is that we’ve brought commentary back into the local news space,” Clark says. Not the cable news model of commentary that sets people apart and against each other, but commentary that unites people with shared values, he says.

“We don’t advocate for candidates,” he says. “We don’t advocate for parties. We don’t advocate for policies. We advocate for transparency, fairness, accountability and access for the public to see what government is doing.”

“We wanted the show to be smart, funny and honest as possible and to have it be a show that respected viewers’ intelligence,” Clark says.

And viewers respond.

 “Accountability. Humor. Humanity. It’s your hallmark. And no one does it like Next.” Ben

“Way to go reporting the facts! I wish more news outlets did this!   Thank you! Your show is so appreciated.”  Denise

“I just want to express my appreciation to Kyle Clark and the 9 news team for the evening program. It is so informative and specific to our local regions. Thank you very much for your hard work and dedication to keeping us informed.” Karen

“Kyle, Just watched your news program, as we try to do every evening, and wanted to let you know that we always appreciate your perspective. It’s refreshing and needed, in the weird media world we have today, to have a newscast that always strives to present information in an unbiased and factual way. You never shy away from bringing important stories across the political spectrum to your fellow Coloradans. Thanks for believing in the importance of credible journalism, we appreciate it!”  Vicki

“Kyle: Thanks for shining a light into the dark corners of our state where conspiracy untruths hide. Without 9News we would be surrounded by rumors and lies that could drag us into the swamp. Please keep looking into things that try to hide from the light.”  Bill

    “Kyle – I stopped watching local Denver news years ago until I stumbled upon ‘NEXT with Kyle Clark’. All the news seemed SO negative! I believe you even said this on air – NEXT is all about reporting positive as well as what we need to be aware of – which might NOT all be positive news! Now – I look forward to watching NEXT on a regular basis and getting the ‘real’ news that’s happening in our local communities! I appreciate your honesty … including all the good that is also happening with non -profit organizations.” Melanie

“We leave space at the end of the show every day for critics to write in and tell me how horrible I am and how terrible the show is,” Clark says. “That’s one of the best parts of the show.”

Could a newscast like Next be done in other TV markets?

Corporate and station management would need to be on board, he says.

“But I think the basic model of what we’ve done could be replicated in any other market,” Clark says. “What are your viewers asking for that you’re not currently meeting? And who do you have in the building, whether they work in news, weather, or sports who might be able to meet that need, and then build something that feels local.”

Clark says the viewers guide what he does every night.

“It’s a lot of work. It’s also tremendously rewarding.”

NOTE: I asked Kyle Clark if he would share some episodes of Next along with some comments as to why. Thanks, Kyle.

March 22, 2023 – To give you an idea of how we cover breaking/developing news on Next, this is the show from the day of a school shooting in Denver and manhunt for the shooter. It includes a Word of Thanks campaign benefiting a youth anti-violence non-profit and a commentary on the toll of these shootings on the psyche of young people.

June 21, 2024 – A recent show where we added a tongue-in-cheek “race” between our reporter and an RTD light rail train after we’d reported on weeks of slowdowns in Denver’s train system and RTD’s reluctance to tell the public what was happening. This show also includes our Friday tradition we’ve had from the start – heading to a random place in the community to ask people about the good news in their lives. A chance to set aside the headlines at the end of the week and hear what matters most to our neighbors.

June 12, 2024 – A recent show including a one-on-one conversation with a GOP congressional candidate and state legislator who attempted to explain why he supported his girlfriend’s right to an abortion but voted against abortion rights in the State House. The program also includes two day-turn reporter stories that aimed for slightly deeper angles – on the prevalence of crashes along a busy highway and why the state’s expensive firefighting helicopters weren’t being used to fight the first major fire of the summer.

May 7 2024 – Fact-checking false claims made by a local university about protesters, struggles to clear migrant encampments, a mention of our viewers’ Word of Thanks microgiving campaign that fully funded a memorial + a scholarship for a student who died saving others from a school shooting, and a live brass band in studio to “respond” to some viewer feedback that “if bullshit were music, you’d be a brass band”