The “Cantonese Newscast” on KTSF Television (Channel 26, Digital 27) will celebrate two decades of in-language news reporting Friday (Feb. 6), the station announced today.
The first newscast, on Feb. 6, 1989, was inducted into the permanent collection of the Paley Center for Media (formerly the Museum of Television and Radio) last July. It was the first, live local Chinese-language newscast in the United States.
KTSF chief editor and award-winning anchor, Mei-Ling Sze, a newscaster from Hong Kong made her debut on the “Cantonese Newscast” 20 years ago and continues to anchor the 7 p.m. newscast.
“The strength of KTSF news is, from its inception, to provide an authentic narrative of the Chinese American experience,” she said.
Less than four months after its launch, the Tiananmen Square protests dramatically unfolded in China. KTSF quickly became a critical resource of up-to-the-minute news coverage and analysis for the Bay Area, including mainstream TV stations.
Today, KTSF is the only U.S. television station to broadcast nightly, live news programming in Cantonese and Mandarin. The “Cantonese Newscast” airs weeknights at 7 p.m. and Saturdays at 6 p.m. The “Mandarin Newscast” airs weeknights at 10 p.m. and Sundays at 6 p.m.