KUSI News is the branding used for the local newscasts of KUSI-TV, an independent television station in San Diego, California. The station signed on September 13, 1982, as a general entertainment independent outlet, and it has operated without a major network affiliation for most of its history.[1] Nexstar Media Group completed its acquisition of KUSI-TV from McKinnon Broadcasting on September 1, 2023.[2]
Design and History
The KUSI News wordmark is documented in a federal trademark filing. The mark consists of the letters “KUSI” with a star imposed between the letters U and S, followed by the word “NEWS.”[3] A separate trademark registration for the word mark “KUSI” was filed by McKinnon Broadcasting Company in 2006 for television broadcasting services.[4]
An earlier trademark filing for “KUSI NEWS” lists Nexstar Media Inc. as the owner and describes the mark as including a single star with five points.[5] The station’s general branding has historically included a “9/51” designation, denoting its channel position on San Diego cable systems (channel 9) and its virtual channel 51.[6]
KUSI-TV launched its news department in September 1990 with an hour-long 10:00 p.m. newscast, becoming the first San Diego station to begin producing local newscasts since XETV’s news department folded in 1972.[1] The station’s slogan has been “More Local News,” reflecting its emphasis on local content.[7]
Meaning and Symbolism
The star element in the KUSI News logo has no publicly documented symbolic meaning beyond its placement within the call letters. The call sign itself has been noted in station references as deriving from the letters “U.S.” within the word, though this interpretation is not formally documented in trademark records.[8]
Typography and Design
No designer or agency has been publicly credited for the KUSI News logo. The trademark filing describes the mark in standard character form, meaning the protection covers the word arrangement itself rather than a specific stylized rendering.[4] The visual presentation of the logo has varied across the station’s broadcast graphics and on-air presentation over the decades.
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