Sun to launch daily television news talk show

Sunday, June 27, 1999 | 9:23 a.m.

Point of View Vegas, a topical and innovative daily news television talk show that will serve as an extension of the Las Vegas Sun's in-depth coverage of issues and events, will debut July 12.

Veteran newsman Mark Shaffer, moderator and executive producer of the half-hour show that will air on Las Vegas 1, says he will strive for quick-paced telecasts that feature interesting guests in an entertaining format.

"We will have the newsmakers and the Sun reporters who cover them present the issues that people want to know more about -- whether it is a front-page story or an interesting back-page story," the broadcasting veteran of 22 years said.

"But we don't always want to be serious. We'll discuss the top issues but at times we'll lighten up and try to have fun while still being informative and interesting. After all, this is Las Vegas."

POV Vegas will air Monday through Friday at 5 p.m. on Cox Cable channels 1 and 39. The show will be repeated at 6 and 8 p.m.

"This is a Las Vegas Sun program," Shaffer, 39, said. "We will be working closely with Sun editors and reporters for a team concept to further the level of coverage of key issues."

Sun Managing Editor Michael J. Kelley called the show "a perfect vehicle to extend the Sun's expertise in local issues" to a broader television market.

"The Sun is the paper in Las Vegas that not only reports the news of the valley, but also explains to its readers what the effects of that news are," Kelley said.

"This daily show will coincide with the Sun's daily publication. It is something that to my knowledge is not being done elsewhere. It will be a wonderful addition to the knowledge base that valley residents rely on to make judgments about public events that have an impact on their daily lives."

Kelley said viewers should find the show "an engaging, instructive and useful tool that they will come to rely on more and more."

POV has been in the works since December.

"This show is an expansion of our business plan -- the first of two programs to be added this year," said Bob Stoldal, general manager of Las Vegas 1, the only local 24-hour news network.

"It will provide people insight into critical issues. And because it will do that on a daily basis, there is no program like it in Las Vegas."

Shaffer is an award-winning former South Carolina newsman whose TV news coverage of "Hugo: Storm of the Century" won the 1990 Houston Film Festival Silver Medal. He sees POV Vegas as an opportunity to make ground-breaking advancements in local television.

"We will try to have a broad format," Shaffer said. "We will be in constant evolution, experimenting with concepts to find out what appeals most to the viewers. And we'll quicken the pace of these types of shows."

POV Vegas Producer Veronica Meter, who has worked at four local TV stations, most recently KLAS Channel 8, says the show will be divided into three or four segments, which will make it possible to feature several topics or, if a big news event warrants it, a single topic.

"If a big story is developing on a particular day, we will get it on POV Vegas that night," she said. "Unlike the newscasts, we will have the ability to go more in depth with evaluation by community experts and Sun reporters."

Re'Male James, the show's assistant producer who also has worked for Channel 8 and CBS in New York, said that properly packaging such a program is essential to its success.

"We will incorporate as many elements as possible -- interesting graphics and video -- to go along with the most interesting guests to make it intriguing and lively," he said. "And we will keep it topical."

And because of the segment format, the show can tackle not only the day's hard issues, but also the fun issues like show business -- though in a newsy way.

"The show business industry is very big and important news in Las Vegas, and we will aggressively try to get some big-name guests," Shaffer said.

"But we won't be looking for the celebrity who is breezing into town to shoot a movie just to attract viewers. We want guests who can discuss topics with long-term impact on Southern Nevada. Such a show-business issue could be a discussion on the plans to build movie studios locally."

And explaining how issues will impact the daily lives of Southern Nevadans will be a recurring theme that POV Vegas producers hope will draw a steady stream of regular weeknight viewers.

"The point we will drive home is explaining how the issues affect people," Meter said. "How does a 5-cent hike on water affect you? How does growth affect you?

"We don't want to just comment about what is going on, we want to bring the viewers into what is going on."

POV Vegas also will feature an interactive segment through the Sun's computer websites at vegas.com and lasvegassun.com. This will include surveys, viewer feedback and links to resource sites.