KDOC to Aim for Substance

What will things be like on Orange County’s local news station? The effects of the economic recession will help focus election coverage, according to Michelle Merker, news director at Anaheim-based KDOC Channel 56. “I think this year, just because the issues involved are so close to home,” newscasts will focus more on what the candidates are saying rather than how they’re saying it, Merker said.

While KDOC uses CNN footage for national coverage on its nightly Monday through Friday newscasts, Merker said the station plans to produce stories gauging local reaction to national election issues.