-By Katy Bachman

Telemundo is stepping up its local news presence by ditching a regional approach for one in four of its markets. On Monday (Feb. 1), Telemundo debuted locally focused newscasts in Dallas, Houston and San Jose, Calif. The locally focused newscasts in Phoenix will begin airing Feb. 15.

Formerly, early and late newscasts for KXTX-TV in Dallas (5 p.m. and 10 p.m.), KTMD-TV in Houston (5 p.m. and 10 p.m.), KTAZ-TV in Phoenix (5 p.m. and 10 p.m.) and KSTS-TV in San Jose (6 p.m. and 11 p.m.) were produced regionally out the Telemundo Production Center in Fort Worth, Texas. The individual stations offering increased coverage and more local content in a new format hosted by local personalities produce the enhanced newscasts.

The change is part of the group's broad news strategy announced last December to invest in the news product across both the network and the 16 owned-and-operated stations. A local strategy could also help Telemundo stations compete more directly with Univision stations, which are top-ranked in those markets.

"The Telemundo stations are committed to making a difference in each of the communities we serve, and a rich and relevant local newscast is an important reflection of that commitment," said Ronald Gordon, president of the Telemundo Station Group. "We are very excited to strengthen our local presence, and to deliver our viewers a quality product that provides important local news and information.