Dear WVBR Listeners:

You may have noticed that when you tune in for WVBR News, you are hearing WVBR's new national newscasts from ABC. I would like to take this opportunity to explain the reasons for the station's affiliation with ABC and what this change means for your local news coverage.

In the last few months, WVBR News has reevaluated the way in which we cover local news at Cornell and in the Ithaca community. Our previous format of reading short newscasts from Associated Press copy in the mornings and afternoons failed to serve WVBR News' mission of providing comprehensive local coverage. To better devote our resources to finding, developing and reporting on local stories, we decided to contract with ABC for our national coverage. This choice frees our newscasters to become Ithaca's local broadcast news reporters. Our listeners will be the beneficiaries of this new format, as you will soon hear news coverage geared specifically to Cornell and the Ithaca area.

While listener feedback has been mixed about the new system, I want to assure you that as the next Cornell semester begins, WVBR News' reports will bring you local news and features at the same time as the ABC newscasts. In this way, when you tune in to WVBR for your news, sports and weather in the morning and afternoon, you will hear new and improved local news features alongside a premier national newscast.

Please bear with us as the WVBR News Department continues to transition to this new format. In the next few weeks, the local reports may be sporadic as we adjust various aspects of this initiative.

If you have any questions or comments about the new format, you may write to me either through the WVBR.com contact form or by e-mail at newsdirector@wvbr.com. Thank you for listening to WVBR and for allowing us to serve you as “The News Source for Tompkins County.”

Sincerely,

Robert Schur
WVBR News Director

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