Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns Pittsburgh’s WPGH-TV, Channel 53, and WPNT-TV, Channel 22, tries to break into the morning news game with the Monday premiere of "The National Desk” (7-9 a.m. weekdays on WPGH). The broadcast will draw reports from journalists at Sinclair-owned stations with news departments nationwide, from WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C., to KOMO-TV in Seattle. Pittsburgh’s WPGH hasn’t had its own news department since the early 2000s when Sheila Hyland anchored a local newscast. Sinclair first gutted Channel 53’s news with the ill-fated "News Central” (2002-06) and after ratings cratered, Sinclair farmed out production of its 10 p.m. newscast to WPXI-TV. Sinclair execs say this new project isn’t comparable to "News Central,” which fed centralized, national content to local stations. "The National Desk” will instead draw from local stations, which is perhaps more similar to WGN America’s evening news block, "News Nation,” which launched in September to disappointing ratings. (The 10 p.m. hour of "News Nation” will be replaced by a "Larry King Live”-like talk show, hosted by Ashleigh Banfield, on March 1.) "Our show might be a little more fast-paced and about not just the ‘what’ but ‘why should I care?’” said Jan Jeffcoat, "The National Desk” anchor. A former local news anchor in Chicago and Charlotte, N.C., who’s also played a reporter/anchor on NBC’s "This is Us,” Jeffcoat describes "The National Desk” as a headline news service. "We’re gonna go all around the country and the world,” Jeffcoat said. "We hit a lot of different topics of the day and we’ll get a local perspective on national stories. We’re not flying correspondents around the country. We actually have people on the ground in those cities.” She gave the example of the Christmas Day bombing in Nashville and tossing to a reporter who was born and raised in Nashville. "The National Desk” won’t have an in-studio meteorologist, instead relying on meteorologists at Sinclair stations nationwide. Sinclair stations that produce news will have local cut-ins. Since WPGH has no news department (and presumably WPXI is busy with its own news and morning show cut-ins), Pittsburgh viewers will see additional coverage from "The National Desk” during those local cut-in times. "The National Desk,” which will originate from Sinclair’s Hunt Valley, Md., headquarters as "News Central” did, will not be driven by political punditry and will not feature Sinclair’s conservative editorials that the company has forced its nighttime newscasts to carry. "What I liked about this show is it was not opinion-based,” Jeffcoat said. "I’m not a commentator.” And "The National Desk” will mostly stick to news. Don’t expect to see cooking segments or weight loss tips. There are no plans post-pandemic for actors to swing by the studio for an interview to promote their newest project but Jeffcoat said entertainment news may have its place. "Sometimes a movie will be newsworthy. I don’t want to say no to anything or anybody,” she said. "You have to be nimble when you do a show like this.” You can reach TV writer Rob Owen at rowen@triblive.com or 412-380-8559. Follow Rob on Twitter or Facebook. Ask TV questions by email or phone. Please include your first name and location.