After nearly eleven years on traditional television, Jana Shortal’s flagship show Breaking the News is officially getting pulled off the airwaves and moved to streaming. The decision marks a massive shift for KARE 11’s evening broadcast lineup. While station executives call it a routine digital move, the decision, coming just days after the openly queer anchor publicly called out college football star Arch Manning, has left viewers asking tough questions about the real reason behind the transition.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Shortal announced at the end of Monday’s broadcast that Breaking the News would air its final week on traditional TV before moving exclusively to KARE 11+. The show will continue as a live weekday program at 5:30 p.m. beginning Oct. 5.
The decision means the show itself is not going away. Instead, viewers will have to find it on KARE’s streaming platform, connected TV services, and mobile apps. Shortal appeared emotional while breaking the news to viewers.
“Kare 11 has made the decision to take Breaking The News off the air at the end of this week,” Shortal said via Facebook. “But that said, this work will continue as our show will move to streaming on Kare 11 Plus weekdays at 5:30 early next month.”
She also explained that she still intends to continue the work that made the show important to her.
“I am so proud of the show we were able to produce with a team who did it for one reason, and that was you,” Shortal continued. “We laughed and cried together, and we covered some of the most consequential events in Minnesota history.”
Breaking the News has been a different kind of program for KARE 11 since its debut. Shortal has used a more relaxed style than the traditional local news format, giving the show room for longer conversations and perspectives.
That makes the timing of the announcement interesting because Shortal had recently spoken publicly about another media story involving a prominent college football player, Arch Manning.
The anchor criticized Manning after the Texas quarterback laughed at a press conference while discussing an AI-generated video that showed his head coach, Steve Sarkisian, appearing to slap ESPN’s Holly Rowe.
Shortal called Rowe one of the best sports journalists in the business and said Rowe had taken the high road by accepting Manning’s apology. But Shortal also argued that the issue went beyond Manning.
“Yeah, real funny,” Shortal said. “Arch apologizing is the right thing to do, and he did it.”
She then pointed toward the other people who were laughing during the exchange. “But the other reporters and the University of Texas staff who heard laughing for that entire exchange, well, that’s also a huge issue,” the KARE 11 reporter said.
Shortal argued that if people wanted to protect women working in sports, those who laughed should also acknowledge what happened. Manning laughed on September 14; Shortal’s criticism came three days later, on September 17.
Despite the suspicious nature of her move to streaming, station management maintains that the roster shift comes down to pure numbers rather than on-air fallout. KARE 11 has consistently framed the decision as a strategic move to boost its digital presence.
The station says streaming minutes watched increased by 104% in 2025 and that it is on pace to surpass that number in 2026. General manager Doug Wieder pointed to shows such as Breaking the News as part of that streaming growth.
KARE 11 is giving Shortal’s show a different future
The move also comes with a broader change to KARE 11’s evening lineup. Starting Sept. 28, KARE 11 News at 6 will expand to a full hour. Meanwhile, Breaking the News will continue as a weekday program at 5:30 p.m., but only through KARE 11+.
News director Matt Kummer said the streaming format will give Shortal and her team more freedom with their storytelling, interviews, and perspectives. That could allow the program to keep the identity it built over the years without being tied to the traditional broadcast schedule.
For Shortal, the immediate focus appears to be keeping the show going, and the anchor also thanked the audience that helped keep Breaking the News on the air for nearly 11 years.
“It has been the honor of my career to do this show on this station with you. I hope you’ll come with us next month to streaming. For now, I just want to say thank you,” Shortal said. “You absolutely made all of my television dreams come true by watching Breaking the News.”
So while the timing has naturally brought the Manning controversy back into the conversation, the confirmed change is simpler: the show Breaking the News is leaving broadcast television, but Shortal and her team are not leaving the show. From next month, viewers will just have to watch it somewhere else.