WSHM-LD - News Operation

News Operation

In October 2005, WSHM established a news department and began producing local newscasts from its Springfield studios using Grass Valley's "Ignite" control room system. Originally, CBS 3 News aired Monday through Saturday nights at 6, Sundays at 6:30, and every night at 11 all for a half-hour in length. Initially after entering the local newscast race in the Pioneer Valley, it struggled to make a dent in the ratings of longtime market leader NBC affiliate WWLP and established ABC affiliate WGGB.

According to Nielsen ratings, this station grew substantially across the board during the May 2009 sweeps period to within decimal points of WGGB in several key demographics. Compared with the area's other stations, WSHM tends to have a flashier format with more fast-paced coverage. It also has a smaller news operation compared with Springfield's other stations and most other big three affiliates. Although it still does not offer a weekday morning show (unlike most CBS stations), the station has begun offering an updated morning weather forecast on its Facebook page.

Fending off a challenge by WGGB, WSHM debuted the area's first prime time newscast on August 18, 2008. Known as CBS 3 Springfield Non-Stop News at 10, the twenty minute program aired in a commercial-free format on its local weather channel seven nights a week and was also originally streamed live on its website. The launch beat Fox affiliate WGGB-DT2 which started its own nightly prime time show at 10 on September 8. At some point in time for an unknown reason, WSHM's 10 o'clock broadcast was dropped. On August 24, 2009, it began airing a thirty minute newscast on weekday afternoons called CBS 3 Springfield News First at 4. It was the first Pioneer Valley station to make such a launch and currently remains the only local newscast seen in the time slot.

In September 2010, it began to carry select live UMass Minutemen sports programming on its local weather channel. Around this time, the station began promoting there would be top stories of the day and a full weather forecast shown in the first five minutes of all newscasts before a commercial break. To go along with the changed format, a new logo debuted with an updated music package and graphics theme identical to sister station WFSB. In the past during weather forecast segments, this station had been exclusively using WFSB's weather radar. Known as "Early Warning Pinpoint Doppler", this is based on top of a terminal building at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

Eventually, live NOAA National Weather Service radar data from several regional sites was added and the combined sources are currently branded on WSHM as "Pinpoint Doppler". Boston's CBS affiliate WBZ-TV shares resources with WSHM for coverage of Eastern Massachusetts and this station does the same for western areas of the state. Along with CBS News, it is also a CNN affiliate. Clear Channel Communications-owned radio stations WHYN-AM 560 and WHYN-FM 93.1 partner with WSHM for severe weather coverage and winter weather storm closings.