On New Year’s Day, three CBS-owned California television stations will air something not seen much in recent years among the Golden State’s major TV stations: an investigative documentary report examining the inner workings – and dysfunction – of the California statehouse investigated. in Sacramento.
The half-hour news special, “California’s Fentanyl Fight: Politicians V. Parents,” debuts Jan. 1 on KCAL-TV Los Angeles, KPIX-TV San Francisco and KOVR Sacramento, across linear and streaming platforms. The program comes from CBS News California Investigates, a unit created in March with the aim of investigating systemic problems in California’s capital. It’s part of a larger effort to emphasize reporting on public policy issues and use the CBS News platform and reporting resources to hold lawmakers in Sacramento accountable.
For CBS News California correspondent Julie Watts, her investigation into the Legislature’s failure to address the fentanyl crisis raging in the state has led her to meet parents who have lost their children to an overdose of the synthetic opioid drug. Watts came to understand that parents’ voices must be heard.
“About 50% of our legislature is brand new or has been around for less than two years, so you have a huge group of first-year legislators who are learning for themselves how California’s capital really works. So for me, I’m not just opening the eyes of Californians,” says Watts Variety. “I think it’s going to have a big impact on those lawmakers as well, especially now that there’s word about the release of this special to say, ‘Hey, for the first time in a long time, we’re paying attention.’”
Watts worked on the special for a year. She details the issues standing in the way of California’s Democratic supermajority in the state, and how that contributes to lawmakers’ inaction.
The more Watts spoke to parents who lost children to fentanyl, the more she realized that “California’s capital is really complicated and complex” and that capturing the personal stories of loss would help bring the policy debates and political maneuvering to a general audience to translate.
“The unique thing about this special is that these are real people who have no policy experience whatsoever, right?” says Watts. “It’s truly spectacular to see how California’s capital works through the eyes of real people… The parents opened their homes, opened their hearts and they really helped tell the story.”
Like all stories Watts tells in communities statewide, she is always looking for what touches real people in all three of her markets: Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento.
To help her with her investigation, Watts turned to data through a new AI tool created by the nonpartisan newsroom CalMatters. The Digital Democracy database allowed her to analyze thousands of votes in California and hours of videos of hearings.
As a mother, Watts finds it “amazing” at the number of parents who become “unintentional” activists after the devastating death of a child.
“I can imagine what it would be like to lose a child and have a purpose in its passing,” she says. “That’s what they did here.”
The special will stream live on CBS Los Angeles (KCAL-TV) at 12 p.m., CBS Sacramento (KOVR-TV) at 4 p.m. and CBS Bay Area (KPIX-TV) at 5:30 p.m. on CBS’ linear and streaming channels.