New Bilingual Show High on WJLA's 'Agenda'

WJLA Washington and NewsChannel 8 have dominated industry news of late amid Sinclair's planned acquisition of their parent, Alibritton, and talk of the broadcast group expanding the cable channel beyond the Beltway. Taped in English and Spanish, Agenda airs monthly on NewsChannel 8 and WZDC. The 30-minute program, which airs on Saturdays, sees host Danny Vargas break down issues such as immigration, racism and sequestration, with panels and special guests. Agenda arrives as more Hispanics are consuming news in English. Launching with modest promotion, ratings for Agenda are low; it gets around a 0.3 or 0.4 in households, though Bill Lord,WJLA VP and general manager, notes that weekend ratings on the cable network are not high to begin with.