FOX 26 anchor Caroline Collins first showed off the setup Sept. 16, revealing how she anchors while also handling duties traditionally divided among producers, directors and other control-room staff. Since then, journalists across the country have weighed in, with some warning the model could stretch already-busy newsroom employees too thin.
FOX 4 Dallas anchor and consumer reporter Steve Noviello questioned whether asking journalists to take on more technical roles could further erode the product stations are trying to save.
“Why aren’t people watching like they used to? Because we don’t deliver the same product that we used to,” Noviello wrote, arguing that the “craft” of storytelling is disappearing.
Telemundo 51 Miami reporter Jessenia Hati Barrett called the workload overwhelming and warned that expecting one person to perform so many roles could hurt quality and create a mental health burden. Former FOX 26 meteorologist Lena Dziechowski was more blunt: “I’m sorry, WHAT? This is… quite literally insane.”
Retired TV producer and newswriter Roy Santoro also criticized the model, arguing that journalism should remain focused on “facts, investigation and story telling” rather than piling technical responsibilities onto anchors.
But not everyone sees the shift as a bad thing.
Former FOX 7 Austin anchor Lauren Petrowski said Monday that she had an “unpopular opinion”: She thinks the setup is “pretty cool.”
“It looks incredibly stressful, and I’m sure it is a huge learning curve,” Petrowski said. Still, she argued that local news is changing as more viewers consume information on their phones and stations try to reach them with limited resources.
More FOX 26 anchors are now showing viewers how the system works. On Tuesday, Rashi Vats posted her own walkthrough, explaining that she anchors and hosts while also directing, handling audio, routing video feeds, bringing in Zoom guests and managing graphics.
“So this is the future of local news,” Vats said.
Collins, meanwhile, has continued documenting her progress. Over the weekend, she acknowledged being intimidated when she first saw what she called the new “one-woman show,” but said she was beginning to get the hang of it.
She also clarified that she still anchors FOX 26’s 10 p.m. newscast from the station’s main studio. The new set sits in the newsroom and is designed so an anchor can also handle producing, directing and audio responsibilities.
By Tuesday, Collins said her fifth day running her own show was going better than any before it.
“This is the way of the future,” Collins said. “I’m glad I’m getting trained on it, and I’m going to know how to do this.”
FOX 26 did not respond to Chron’s request for comment about the setup.