x
Breaking News
More () »

ABOUT KENS 5

The KENS 5 Story

It was February 15, 1950, when a group of television pioneers went on the air with KEYL. Broadcasting from what is now called the Tower Life Building, the station began its rich history of serving San Antonio. In 1954, the station was purchased by the Express-News Company and the call letters were changed to KENS, which stood for K-Express-News-Station.

For more than 70 years, the people of KENS 5 have strived to be the best, most trusted news and entertainment source for generations of San Antonians. The station brought many firsts to South Texas television, including being the first station with a helicopter, the first with its own Doppler radar and the first to air a morning news program in San Antonio. Today, KENS 5 continues to set the standard in local broadcasting and is recognized by its peers for excellence and innovation.

Over the years, KENS 5 has worked to transform local news. KENS 5 cameras have brought history into San Antonio viewers' homes. Whether KENS 5 was covering Pope John Paul II's visit to San Antonio, or the historic flooding in South Texas, or the annual Fiesta celebrations, KENS 5 has gone to great lengths to bring the news home to you.

Today, KENS 5 focuses on what’s really important to San Antonio, and that often includes good news and information that you can use about our community. Our signature franchises include Neighborhood Eats, Texas Outdoors and Made in SA. Our news brand has been modernized and is affectionately known within the station as The KENS Lens.

The KENS Lens

At KENS 5, we put people first. We hire the very best and work hard to make our station a great place to work. In our news coverage, we focus on telling the stories of the people of San Antonio.

We connect with our community with initiatives such as KENS Cares, which focuses on helping non-profits throughout our city, such as the San Antonio Food Bank and Communities in Schools. We are committed both as a team and individually to serving our community. Every week, KENS 5 anchors and staff are out in the city serving on boards, speaking to groups and volunteering.

Our newscasts are fresh and modern. We dare to be original in a world where local news has become a bit of a cliche. By focusing less on typical news stories that only affect a few, we make room for stories that make you smile, make you think or make you smarter.

Finally, KENS 5 has a rich history in this community, and we honor the pioneers who came before us by expecting and demanding excellence of ourselves in everything we do. We push ourselves daily to be the very best we can be. For our efforts, the station has been honored as the most watched in San Antonio along with numerous awards for our journalism and community engagement.

The Digital Age

KENS 5 was an early adopter of digital platforms as a way to inform and engage with our community. KENS 5’s digital team provides news updates and original content online. We invite you to join us on all of our digital channels:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kens5

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kens5

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kens5

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/kens5

KENS5.com and the KENS 5 app provide instant access to the latest news in our city, and KENS 5+ extends our programming to Roku and Fire TV.

Regardless of how you follow KENS 5 News, we know you have many choices, and we’re proud so many in South Texas turn to and trust in KENS 5.

About TEGNA

KENS 5 is owned and operated by TEGNA Inc., an innovative media company that serves the greater good of its communities. Across platforms, TEGNA delivers relevant and trusted content by telling empowering stories, conducting impactful investigations and providing innovative and unparalleled solutions for advertisers through TEGNA Marketing Solutions. For more information, visit www.TEGNA.com.

Mission and Coverage Priorities

MISSION

TEGNA’s purpose is to serve the greater good of our communities.
We will provide the news and information that people need to function as effective citizens.
We will seek solutions as well as expose problems and wrongdoing.
We will provide editorial and community leadership.
We will seek to promote understanding of complex issues.
We will be advocates for our communities.

DIVERSE VOICES

At TEGNA, you will find people from all backgrounds, interests and abilities, united by a common purpose to make a difference in our work, our company and our community.

We are committed to making editorial decisions with input from a variety of voices that reflect our community. We seek sufficient understanding of the communities, individuals and stories we cover to inform the public. We are persistent in pursuit of the whole story.

DIVERSITY STAFFING REPORT

At TEGNA, we believe that attracting a talented and diverse workforce is one of the keys to our success. We strive to create for our employees an environment which offers professional and intellectual challenges, which encourages innovation and creativity, and which rewards success and effective teamwork. Read our latest EEO Diversity Report .

Ethics, Standards and Practices

ETHICS

TEGNA is committed to the highest ethical standards and dedicated to the principles of truth, independence, fair play and integrity. These principles apply to everything we do, from gathering content to reporting and producing content. Read TEGNA’s Principles of Ethical Journalism .

TEGNA journalists observe the following principles:

INDEPENDENCE

We will remain free of outside interests, investments, business relationships or personal relationships that may compromise the credibility of our news reports.
We will seek to avoid potential conflicts of interest and promptly disclose any that arise.
We do not accept gifts, meals or entertainment from any individuals or organizations that may be covered by our stations.
We do not allow sponsors of news to determine, change or restrict content.
We do not make political contributions, participate in political advocacy or publicly share political views.

TRANSPARENCY

We are transparent about paid or sponsored content.
We clearly identify and differentiate commentary from news.
We will explain our journalistic processes to our audience.

PUBLIC INTEREST

We will uphold and defend the First Amendment.
We will be vigilant watchdogs of government and institutions that affect the public.
We will fight to insure the public’s business is conducted in public.

FAIRNESS

We will treat people with dignity, respect and compassion.
We will be fair with people unaccustomed to dealing with the media. (*)
We will seek all sides relevant to a story.
(Also diverse voices)

INTEGRITY

We will act honorably, transparently and ethically in dealing with news sources, the public and our colleagues.
We will obey the law.
We will not skew facts, distort reality or sensationalize events (ETHICS).
We will not manipulate images or sound in misleading ways.
We will not present images that are reenacted without informing the audience.
We will use hidden cameras or similar techniques only if there is no other way to tell a significant story effectively, and only with news management approval.
We will respect the copyrights of others.

VERIFICATION & FACT-CHECKING

We report the news accurately, thoroughly and in context on all platforms. We vet sources, verify facts and challenge assumptions before reporting news. We hold factual information on all platforms to the same standards of accuracy.
We are honest. We do not mislead sources, story subjects or the public.
We attribute information received from others, and we are transparent with sourcing. We do not plagiarize.
We do not misstate our identity or intentions. We keep our word.
We do not intentionally slant the news.
We value being right over being fast.

UNNAMED SOURCES

We will use unnamed sources as the sole basis for reporting only as a last resort when it best serves the public’s right to know, and only with prior news management approval.

CORRECTIONS

We will make corrections promptly and proportionate to the original reporting.

CONTACT US

MASTHEAD/EDITORIAL LEADERSHIP

Click here to meet our Editorial Leadership team

ACTIONABLE FEEDBACK

We value feedback from our community, including story ideas as well as comments and corrections on our coverage. Click on the appropriate link below to route your feedback to the correct team in our newsroom.

Contact Information

NEWSROOM CONTACT INFORMATION

Connect/Contact

Trust Project Participation

TEGNA is proud to be a participant in the Trust Project. The Trust Project is an international consortium of news organizations collaborating to use transparency to build a more trustworthy and trusted press. For more information visit https://thetrustproject.org/ .

For all content licensing inquiries, please contact our representatives at TEGNA@nimia.com

Before You Leave, Check This Out