KXAN, Nexstar’s NBC affiliate in Austin, Texas, has introduced a weekly newsletter to keep residents informed on the top political news of the week. “It really made sense because our station has such a strong history of covering politics,” says Kate Winkle, KXAN’s digital director.
KXAN, Nexstar’s NBC affiliate in Austin, Texas, has introduced a weekly newsletter to keep residents informed on the top political news of the week. “It really made sense because our station has such a strong history of covering politics,” says Kate Winkle, KXAN’s digital director.
Since 2011, KXAN, Nexstar’s NBC affiliate in Austin, Tex., has been airing a weekly half-hour program, State of Texas, Sunday at 8:30 a.m., the only statewide network-affiliated show focused on Texas politics, according to KXAN.
State of Texas also airs on Nexstar stations across 14 markets in the state:
KXAN/KNVA (Austin)
KTSM (El Paso)
KIAH (Houston)
KDAF (Dallas/Ft. Worth)
KVEO/KGBT (Harlingen, Weslaco, McAllen, Brownsville)
KSAN/KLST (San Angelo)
KMID/KPEJ (Midland)
KLBK/KAMC (Lubbock)
KAMR/KCIT/KCPN (Amarillo)
KTAB/KRBC (Abilene)
KFDX/KJTL (Wichita Falls)
KYLE/KWKT (Waco, Temple, Bryan)
KETK/KFXK (Tyler/Longview)
KTAL/KMSS/KSHV (Texarkana, Shreveport)
In November 2022, KXAN launched an email newsletter to keep Texas residents informed on the top political news of the week.
“We launched it very strategically in November when bill filing opened up when people are just starting to think through the fact that the next session is coming up,” says Kate Winkle, KXAN’s digital director.
Winkle says the station saw a huge interest in politics during the election.
“Our goal is really to increase awareness about what’s going on with the legislature because there are thousands and thousands of bills,” she says.
The content for the newsletter is generated primarily from KXAN’s State of Texas program and from reporters at Nexstar’s other Texas stations.
Recipients who have signed up to get the weekly newsletter can click on any of the stories to link to the full story on KXAN’s website or any of the other Nexstar stations’ websites where the story originated.
CLICK HERE to see an interactive version of KXAN’s newsletter from Jan. 7.
One of the advantages of the newsletter is its ability to track which stories get clicked the most. “Analytics like that can also help us better understand our audience not only for future newsletters, but also for how we are covering things on air and online,” Winkle says.
One of the top stories in 2022 came from Nexstar’s KAMR Amarillo, concerning new laws going into effect in Texas in 2023.
Even though it’s only been a couple months since the newsletter was launched, “I was pleasantly surprised today when I looked and saw how many people had been signing up,” Winkle says. “It really made sense for us because our station has such a strong history of covering politics. This newsletter allows us to be able to add extra context to catch people up for their week. That really helped us to be able to serve viewers better.”
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