Daytime News Show ‘Crime Watch Daily’ to Investigate Uber in Debut Season
“Crime Watch Daily,” the first crime show to air in daytime syndication, will investigate Uber drivers, among other hot-topic cases, in its freshman run, which bows Sept. 14.
The panel of producers and personalities told reporters what types of crimes to expect on the series at the Television Critics’ Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills on Wednesday.
Uber — which “Crime Watch Daily” will dig deep into, in regards to drivers with criminal background working for the service — is one of many companies, scandals and public figures, such as Joey Buttafuoco, to be explored through multiple-part investigations. The panel explained the wide range of upcoming content as “murders, mysteries and drama.”
The host is Matt Doran, and the entire producing team and staff have a news background, including “20/20″ and “Dateline” alums. “We’re not out to exploit people, we’re not out to exploit stories,” exec producer Jeremy Spiegel said when asked about the sensationalism of stories, given that the show is competing in the daytime space.
The group said that while the series will entertain, the purpose is to give an in-depth look into headlines — exactly four to six stories per hourlong episode.
“It feels to us to be very much a new genre of show in the crime space,” Spiegel added. “It’s not formulaic, it’s not large drawn-out stories, but we’re giving you the story behind the story.”
Part of the longer-form investigation is partnering up with local news stations, as 42% of Tribune-owned stations in 29 markets covering 98% of U.S. households will air “Crime Watch Daily.”
“The daily syndicated show will partner with local affiliates to cover stories. We’ll share materials, we’ll share resources…we are aligning ourselves with all of their newsrooms,” Spiegel explained. “Local news will do a two-minute story. We’ll have the five-to-six minute investigation to back it up. They’re contributing stories and assets to us. We will manufacture them into larger investigations.”
Mentioning that local partners call multiple times per day with news pitches for the daytime talker, creator and exec producer Lisa Gregorisch-Dempsey said, “This is content that leads the news.”
Gregorisch-Dempsey and Spiegel exec produce with Spiegel. Doran will host, alongside correspondents Michelle Sigona, Andrea Isom and Jason Mattera.
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