News operation
As of December 2021, WNEM presently broadcasts 35 1/2 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with six hours each weekday, three hours on Saturdays, and 2 1/2 hours on Sundays), and produces an additional 10 hours of newscasts for its MyNetworkTV subchannel (with two hours each weekday).
In addition to its main facilities, the station operates a Genesee County Bureau at the Wade Trim Building on Saginaw Street in Downtown Flint. This had been located in Mundy Township's Gateway Center[1] until October 2008.[18] WNEM-TV operates their own weather radar, known as "First Warn 5 Pinpoint Doppler Radar", on the eastern side of MBS International Airport which is also streamed live on its website.
WNEM broadcasts news at 4:30, 5, 6 and 9 a.m., noon, 5, 5:30, 6 and 11 p.m.[19] On weekends, they broadcast a morning show at 8 a.m. Saturday and a two-hour show at 7 a.m. on Sunday. Weekend evenings includes local news in the 6 p.m. hour and an 11 p.m. broadcast. While on WNEM-TV 5 Plus, its news department has an hour-long news at 10 p.m. every day of the week[20] plus a 7 p.m. half-hour on weeknights.[21]
WNEM-TV produced news segments for then-sister radio station WNEM (1250 AM); this ended after Meredith donated the station to Ave Maria Communications, which adopted a Catholic radio format.[22] WSGW 790 AM in Saginaw now rebroadcasts the 6 p.m. news. WNEM-TV 5 Plus previously rebroadcast the main channel's weeknight 6 o'clock newscast at 7, but this has since been replaced by a live newscast at 7.
In 2006, WNEM-TV entered into a news share agreement with Fox affiliate WSMH for their existing nightly prime time broadcast at 10 on that station.[1] This came about after that station's owner, the Sinclair Broadcast Group, shut down its News Central operation as well as WSMH's news department. Originally entitled TV 5 News at 10 on Fox 66, the WNEM-TV-produced program recently added new graphics and was renamed Fox 66 News at 10. On Monday nights during the newscast, the "Fugitive Files" segment aired. On April 27, 2015, WSMH dropped WNEM's hour-long 10 p.m. news from their primary channel in favor of a new 10 p.m. show produced by the now Sinclair-managed WEYI, while WNEM moved that program to its WNEM-TV 5 Plus subchannel.[20]
In August 2009, the station began carrying obituaries following its weekday morning, noon and 6 p.m. shows. This service began after local major newspapers in the region including The Bay City Times, The Saginaw News, and The Flint Journal reduced publication to three times a week in June 2009.[23] At first, a free service when it was launched, WNEM-TV began charging $100 per obituary in September 2009. As of October 19, 2009, over 700 obituaries appeared on the channel and its website, obitmichigan.com.[24] WNEM-TV became the second television in both Michigan and the United States, after WJBK, to air obituaries on a daily basis.
On November 21, 2011, WNEM-TV aired allegations of sexual abuse against U.S. Representative Dale Kildee that were criticized as politically motivated and a breach of journalistic ethics. An attorney for the station said that the broadcast was protected as it involved a public official and that no actual malice was intended.[25]
