Newsroom Profile: FOX59 and CBS4
July 1, 2026
This column is part of the Indianapolis Public Editor project, a pilot program designed to test whether the presence of a public editor who analyzes local coverage can elevate audience trust in journalism and promote media literacy.
Owned by the Nexstar Media Group and affiliated with the Fox network, the FOX59 newsroom provides local Indianapolis viewers with more than 100 hours a week of local broadcast news programming, in combination with CBS4’s newsroom.
Since FOX59 (WXIN) began producing news for CBS4 (WTTV) in 2015, management said, both stations are thriving. Nexstar Media Group took ownership of Tribune Media stations, including FOX59 and CBS4, in 2019. Combined, they have 140 staff members, including 40 on-air journalists. The two local channels share a building, promotional resources and operations.
As one newsroom, the leadership of FOX59 and CBS4 say they can better serve Central Indiana audiences with larger staff and more resources. For example, they have seven meteorologists in their newsroom, more than any other station in the market.
Station leaders told me they believe media consolidation has helped, not hurt, their ability to serve news consumers.
In this newsroom profile, I spoke with news director CJ Hoyt to understand the challenges the station has navigated in the last five years. Spoiler alert: FOX59 still faces the same obstacles as other local news media outlets, but is leaning into digital technology in an attempt to secure its spot in the local TV news market.
FOX59 competes with WTHR for the top spot in the Indianapolis local broadcast news market, depending on which hour of the newscast you’re comparing. The broadcast hour makes a difference. When it comes to total monthly online visitors, FOX59 (WXIN-TV) is the leader in the Indy TV news market for its digital content. CBS4 has a smaller footprint, programming 25 hours a week of news.
In a recent media preferences report by researchers at Michigan State University, FOX59 anchors Angela Ganote and Rafael Sánchez were both named as trusted messengers in journalism statewide.
“There’s a human connection that is kind of the precursor to what we’re seeing on social media,” Joy Mayer said. She is the founder of Trusting News, a nonprofit resource that helps journalists build credibility with audiences. “People tend to trust somebody they see as a trusted messenger for information; an anchor often serves that role.”
TV news stations have certain advantages over other media, when it comes to brand loyalty, said Mayer. More casual news consumers watch TV, so it has a broader audience reach than print, online and radio, she said.
Business model puts weight on management, leaves reporters free to do stories
Local TV news stations are commercial outlets, supported by advertisers to fund operations and newsroom staff. FOX59’s revenue comes primarily from sponsorships and commercials that run during their newscasts. One example of a sponsorship viewers see in newscasts is the Peterman Brothers logo in the upper right hand corner of the weather broadcast. Ratings influence how much news organizations can charge advertisers.
But Hoyt says he tells his on-air talent to focus on quality because ratings are too mercurial.
“We have goals for our newscasts: how we want them to look, the kind of content that we want to speak to, how we want to connect with our audience and the communities in Central Indiana—they’re responsible for meeting all those marks,” Hoyt said. “If the ratings go up or down, that’s not something that’s on them because ratings can change for any number of reasons.”
Hoyt is the buffer between the financial side of the business and the newsroom as those revenue interests are kept separate from news content decisions.
Dan Spehler, FOX59 evening news anchor and political director, said, “Our newsroom managers do a great job sorting through the many story ideas they get presented with every day to come up with a coverage plan for the day ahead, and generally, I think we get a good deal of latitude to cover a wide range of important topics in the news.”
Consolidation has allowed FOX59 and CBS4 to cover more content than anyone else in the market, Hoyt said. There were no jobs eliminated when the two stations combined in 2015, but since then the economy and technology adjustments have led to staff cutbacks.
In 2019, according to the IndyStar, more than two dozen employees at both stations were laid off, after Nexstar acquired FOX59 and CBS4.
Hoyt acknowledged that their newsroom headcount has decreased some in the last five years due to technology advancements. The role of running the teleprompter was given to the anchors. These days, they use a version of AI, voice recognition software, to run the teleprompter. The outlet has cut back or transitioned staff into digital news roles as well.
“I bristle at the suggestion that having one newsroom produce newscasts for two stations damages quality or credibility,” Hoyt said. “I would point to our newsrooms and say, ‘what has been damaged?’”
He counts the 100 hours of weekly newscasts FOX59 manages, specials, debates distributed statewide, documentaries and sports coverage as proof that consolidation has made them a leader in the market. It is a misconception that content is created exclusively for either FOX59 or CBS4, he said. Although it might be produced and showcased differently, content is evaluated for its usefulness and relevance to all audiences.
The digital era presents challenges for all news outlets; FOX59 is no exception
The digital era holds both challenges and opportunities for the station. The number of people who tune in to watch a live local TV news broadcast is declining, even when you count the number of people who stream that broadcast.
TV news outlets tend to attract an older demographic, so one challenge is reaching more people and younger audiences, who get their news from social media and web searches. Because of this shift, and like other traditional news outlets, FOX59 has reorganized their staff to meet viewers where they consume news.
Top priorities for the station are sharing videos on social media and delivering content through on-demand channels on Roku and Amazon Fire TV. Anchor Cameron Ridle moved from morning coverage to a digital role, where he focuses on connecting with people who do not consume traditional TV news.
FOX59 doubles down on weather coverage, dismisses bias accusation
There are two audience complaints the station wants to address: no, they aren’t influenced by political bias, and yes, they will cut into your favorite program to deliver breaking weather updates when necessary.
According to the recent Reuters Institute Digital News Report, 74% of respondents in the United States think media owners and parent companies influence coverage. That perception is no different for FOX59. They get complaints that their news is influenced by their ownership or their affiliation with the national Fox News network.
“We’re not given guidance from a corporate office about what stories we should be covering or how we should be covering it,” Hoyt said. FOX59 is not owned by the Fox News channel, they are an affiliate, which means they can broadcast FOX’s national content, while also producing local news content and advertising.
Despite being an affiliate of the Fox News brand, Hoyt said, it’s not often viewers will ask about their relationship to FOX News Channel. When they do get those questions, he points out that all decisions in content are made at the local level.
Nexstar, their corporate ownership, also does not exert any philosophical influence over the stations’ content, he said. Their operations are managed on the local level by the general manager and the news director.
And speaking of political bias, Hoyt said that as long as they get complaints about being both too liberal and too conservative, he knows that they’ve found the ideological middle ground they strive for. The station is regularly criticized for choosing to give all sides an opportunity to speak to an issue.
Mayer, from Trusting News, said this complaint tracks with her research. When she talks to the public, political bias is often named as the reason people don’t trust the media.
“I don’t doubt that, anecdotally, a lot of newsrooms hear from people on both sides of the political spectrum, but when it comes to trust in the news, along political lines, there’s just no doubt that it skews more heavily on the right. People on the right don’t feel well understood and reflected by what they see in journalism.”
Trust is also declining among independents and moderates, she said.
Viewers will also call into the station to complain when tornado warnings cut into popular programming. Hoyt said the stations will never back away from severe weather coverage because their Federal Communications Commission license requires that they serve the safety of their viewers.
“So, that’s a complaint we get pretty commonly, but it’s just not one that we’re ever going to be able to give them the answer that they’re looking for,” he said. “We will be on the air when there’s a tornado warning threatening the people of Central Indiana.”
Recruiting people of color to top TV news management positions is still a challenge
In terms of mirroring the diversity of the community, FOX59 leadership takes into consideration the needs of their urban and rural audiences. Indianapolis is diverse, with about 15 percent of the city’s population identifying as nonwhite. The counties surrounding Marion County and comprising the rest of the market are overwhelmingly white. The station aims to reflect the entire market, not just Indianapolis, Hoyt said.
“It’s easier to find diversity in on-air talent than it is newscast producers or managers,” he said.
That trend is supported by research by the Radio Television Digital News Association, which reported in 2021 that one in five news directors are people of color. Hoyt regularly recruits for all positions from National Association of Black Journalists conferences, but doesn’t get many candidates of color for newscast producer or manager roles.
Hoyt said he believes that since demonizing the news media became a popular trend, attracting diverse talent has become harder.
“I think there’s a greater degree of trust in a local newsroom than there might be in a national newsroom, but it’s still impacting the choices that people are making about whether or not to get into our industry at all,” Hoyt said. He says he knows that the stations he manages can do a better job to “bring all of the perspectives that are necessary to run an effective newsroom.”
FOX59 anchor Spehler said he has daily conversations with staff in the newsroom about what his station is covering and how they’re covering it.
“Our team is incredibly proud of the work we’re able to do in our communities, and in TV news, every day presents its own set of challenges and opportunities,” he said. “Sometimes, we’re highlighting the ways our local communities are recovering from severe weather or another tragic event in their neighborhood. We’re often able to give a voice to those who might be struggling to find a solution to an issue that’s been impacting their community.”
Hoyt says he wants audiences to know that the reporters he manages face the same challenges as local residents. “We don’t live in some kind of mansion on the hill that separates us from the difficulties that everyone in Central Indiana faces on a day to day basis,” he said. “We face them too, and it’s why so many people in this newsroom care about the news that we do.”
You can join me at my next “News & Nibbles: Let’s Talk Media” event at the Michigan Road branch of the Indianapolis Public Library, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., Monday, July 6. (6201 Michigan Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268)
I’d love to hear from you. Please send your questions about Indy’s media ecosystem to indypubliceditor@poynter.org, or reach out to let me know if you’d like me to come speak to your community group. Your input helps strengthen Indianapolis’ local journalism.
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The Indy Public Editor is a grant-funded pilot project run by the Poynter Institute. This column is edited by Kelly McBride and copy edited by Lauren Klinger. The project is managed by Nicole Slaughter Graham with support from Amaris Castillo.