All-News TV Channel for Orange County

Orange County will have its own 24-hour local news channel by Labor Day, according to plans announced Thursday by Freedom Newspapers Inc., parent company of the Orange County Register.

The company wants to hire television staff and build studio facilities in the Register’s Santa Ana building by summer. So far, three cable-system operators, covering about half the county’s 400,000 cable homes, have agreed to carry the service, according to Alan J. Bell, president of Freedom’s broadcast division.

The service will be called Orange County Cable News, Bell said.

While there would be some world and national coverage, the emphasis will be on Orange County news stories and features, which Bell said are given little play on Los Angeles television news programs. There would be live coverage of some news events and some high school sports, he added.

Although the channel represents a “partnership” with the Register, Bell said, “This is not simply a newspaper that is reading its columns on the air.” The channel would be supported by advertising.

Orange County-based KDOC Channel 56 currently offers a half-hour nightly news program. It is the only TV station in the county offering a local news broadcast.