PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Beginning Saturday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m., WPTV will air a weekly half-hour newscast focusing on the Treasure Coast.
WPTV Treasure Coast News will feature the big headlines of the week, breaking news, weather, sports and more in Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties.
WPTV's Meghan McRoberts will anchor the newscast and will be joined by WPTV's Treasure Coast reporter Derek Lowe, as well as contributions from WSTU, the TCPalm, ESPN 106.3 FM and WPSL.
McRoberts spoke with Adam Neal, executive editor and news director of the TC Palm, on Friday about what viewers can expect from the newscast.
"It's exciting that we can take our longstanding partnership and really focus on the Treasure Coast and hopefully provide more content to our readers," Neal said.
Neal, who lives in Vero Beach and has worked with the TC Palm for 19 years, said the TC Palm will be contributing some of its premium-subscription content to the newscast.
He said the newspaper has more than 20 journalists spread out from Sebastian to Hobe Sound reporting on a variety of issues from water-quality concerns to growth and development.
"The Treasure Coast is different than South Florida," Neal said. "We are more slow growth, or they call it smart growth. But they want to make sure that it stays the Treasure Coast, so we really put a lot of time and effort into what happens with growth — the new growth that's happening, as well as what's happened over the last few years."
"I think that's why we live here, though," McRoberts, who has worked at WPTV since 2013 and lives in Stuart, added. "You know, like, if you live on the Treasure Coast, you're here because you like the fact that it is — it still feels like a small hometown, but there's a lot to do."
McRoberts also noted that there's "a ton of news" throughout the Treasure Coast.
"I feel like some of the biggest stories or the most impactful or even, like, quirky stories, I feel like there's always, like, a Treasure Coast tie," she said.
McRoberts said she believes WPTV Treasure Coast News will allow "more room to get more diverse stories into an entire newscast."
Neal agreed.
"We're excited that we are able to provide some of the stories," Neal said. "We're excited that you're able to provide some of those stories, and just the more spotlight and more information we can give to the Treasure Coast region, to me, it's a win-win."
