Gray TV has added a bureau reporter in South Dakota’s capital city, fulfilling another part of the pledge the company made in getting the FCC to approve a waiver to purchase a second Sioux Falls station.
Austin Goss started with Gray last month as the Pierre bureau reporter. The South Carolina native and Indiana University graduate will cover state politics and general news in the Pierre area, according to his bio.
Pierre is part of the Sioux Falls market. Goss’ reports will air on Gray’s ABC and NBC affiliates in Sioux Falls and its ABC and FOX affiliates in Rapid City.
Opening the bureau was one of the pledges Gray made in its successful bid for a waiver to buy NBC affiliate KDLT/46.1 (Sioux Falls), which is now operated alongside Gray ABC affiliate KSFY/13.1 (Sioux Falls). The deal required a waiver of the FCC’s top-four ownership rule and ended up being the only such waiver ever granted before a court order reverted the FCC to its previous ownership rules.
Other parts of the commitment included adding newscasts and a new weather system and combining KSFY and KDLT’s transmitter networks so ABC and NBC have wider coverage.
Goss competes with KELO-TV capitol bureau reporter Bob Mercer. KELO, a Nexstar station, is the CBS affiliate for both the Sioux Falls and Rapid City markets.