CW 26 in Chicago is teaming up with news organization Block Club Chicago to launch a weekly half-hour show dedicated to covering more than 100 neighborhoods in Chicagoland in-depth and in long-form.
According to the organization’s website, “On the Block” will be hosted by journalist Brandon Pope and Jon Hansen will serve as coordinating producer.
“Our partnership with Block Club Chicago affirms our commitment to producing diverse local content that represents the city as a whole; it also gives us an opportunity to be innovative within the local news landscape,” said Afua Owusu, Director of News & Local Content for CW26 and The U.
The show will tell stories of people often ignored by legacy media, according to Shamus Toomey, publisher and one of three co-founders of Block Club. “We are absolutely thrilled to team up with Weigel Broadcasting and get these stories out to a wider audience.”
“On the Block” airs on The U at 7 p.m. Thursdays, 8 a.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m. Sundays. The program is broadcast on CW26 at 10 a.m. Saturdays and on WWME/ME TV Chicago at 7 a.m. Sundays. An encore of the prior week’s episode airs on The U at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays.
“Social media has played an important role in how people access the news, and with ‘On the Block’ we are taking some of the visually compelling themes and amplifying those for television. You won’t see any anchors reading a copy behind a desk,” added Owusu.
The show will make its debut in April.
