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other TV groups are definitely going to copy this format for their own stations, why invest money in a set/production crew/reporters when you can have a screen behind you and a microphone? 2013 used to be a better time for podcasting, now that it's gotten more mainstream; it just looks cheap as hell. if broadcast TV is going to regress to low budget podcasting then what's the point of broadcast TV anymore? major change needs to happen.

Truly a sad day last Friday. I hope whatever treatments are out there, even the experimental ones, Bill will be able to get the best possible care. Sad, but understandable that they've already replaced the 6PM newscast image. Seems that as of today they've also redesigned the page. I hope if anyone here who works at ABC7NY reads this: please fix the page so you can scroll down beyond the current day's newscasts. Even better would be an option to select a date, as some of us like to go back even further and on the previous layout, that meant endless scrolling.

If this really was as sudden of a change as we're led to believe, then I'd imagine a successor just isn't an immediate priority. Vacation time and such are weird in the summer, so if they do want to give her a co-anchor, they may just wait until the fall.

I think the best bet/most likely would be David, if they actually do replace. I also wouldn’t mind seeing Sandra get a chance.

On Monday Lee and Ryan commended Liz and noted that they and the show were in good hands with her at the helm. I imagine they’ll clarify soon. David would be great with Liz at 6 but Liz is more than capable and talented to hold it down solo.

Any idea if the plan is for Liz to permanently be solo at 6pm? If not, what’s the word on who is likely to get the spot?

I posted about this in the corporate thread, but it looks like Nexstar is rolling out the podcast format going forward. In this case, it actually replaces newscasts and may be a side effect of their recent bloodletting. Podcasts simplify the production process to the point where the hosts can literally run the show themselves.

More likely: someone said/thought they changed the master rundown template but did not successfully change the master rundown template.

someone cued the wrong file

Making a new graphics package and rolling it out to your stations that you own is cutting costs?

Monday night, the 6pm had the short, talentless intro (which I thought would be used going forward). Tonight the full talent intro (with Bill) returned.

Canada After nearly three-quarters of a century on air, Hockey Night in Canada is no more. Rogers and CBC couldn't agree on a new sublicensing agreement to air NHL games on CBC. Therefore, it looks like games will only be aired on Sportsnet and Citytv for the foreseeable future. https://www.cbc.ca/sports/cbc-nhl-hockey-night-in-canada-ends-9.7236977

In an eerily similar fashion, Bill Ritter’s predecessor, Bill Beutel, stepped away from the anchor desk — first from the 11pm, then from the 6pm — and then took on a special corespondent role until he fully retired. Though it wasn’t publicly disclosed, he had begun showing early signs of dementia, even on air, and died of Lewy Body Disease just three years after retiring. During his retirement tribute on WABC, you could see some confusion in his face and Diana Williams gently pointing out to him that all the people in the studio were there for him. Before he stepped away from anchoring, there were a few times where he would stop mid script and his co-anchor would jump in to continue the story. On a national level, Diane Sawyer (GMA, WNT), Meredith Vieira (Today), Barbara Walters (20/20, The View) and Tom Brokaw (NBC NN) left their anchor/host roles at their networks and transitioned into special corespondent / contributing anchor roles.

But corrected to And now Nexstar had to switch it’s voiceovers on most stations to SpotVoice to cut costs, just like Gray recently did when they switched it’s graphics on most stations to GrayONE to cut costs Nexstar will roll out it’s format

With the exception of like Tom Skilling or Judy Woodruff, I don't know that I can name many anchors who stepped away from the desk and said they'd be back for special projects and reports who actually followed through. Having gone through this myself with family, if this was me, I'd never want to set foot back in the office. That said, he might like his co-workers and what he does enough to be motivated to stay busy and sharp as he navigates this. Just sad all around though. This is one of the worst ways to go.

1. Why did you start each sentence with but? (I'm aware English probably isn't your first language) 2. What does the VO change have to do with GrayONE? 3. I'm sorry but that MOD-03 open is just too high-quality for the cheap podcast format, like it's so jarring to go from professional news graphics to something that was only meant to be watched on phones.

Big news out of Canada. With the new national Canadian tv deal set to take effect next season CBC has announced that Rogers will no longer sublicense Hockey Night in Canada to them, and so for the first time in its history CBC will not air the NHL: https://www.cbc.ca/sports/cbc-nhl-hockey-night-in-canada-ends-9.7236977 In its place will be various other sports (with a Canadian focus), as unlike the previous deal they get to keep whatever ad money comes their way: https://mediacentre.cbc.ca/announcement/5709/cbc-radio-canada-ramps-up-commitment-to-sports-coverage-and-canada-s-athletes-including-new-weekend-programming/

And now KODE got its new graphics, format and music package and a new voiceover! But as Gray changed graphics to GrayONE, Nexstar changed voiceovers to SpotVoice.

that’s great that you’re expressing your opinion. So was I, though, I didn’t feel the need to write a paragraph explaining how expressing opinions works. Back to Bill — he’s not “that bad already”. Watch last week’s newscasts leading up to the announcement. Watch his interview on Good Morning America. Not knowing there’s a health issue, he just comes off at times a guy in his 70s who’s likely nearing retirement and, like anyone in their 70s, not as sharp as they were 10, 20, 30 years ago. “Gracefully gone into the sunset” - think of the message that sends to millions of Americans and their families dealing with this disease. Diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer’s and still feeling great and able to work — doesn’t matter. Just go off into the sunset and give up doing what you love. It’s a great thing Bill is doing and it’s great that ABC is supporting him, in my opinion.

This is absurd. There will come a point he cannot do even that reporting and when it comes, it will end. But having lost multiple family members to the ravages of dementia, I can say with painful first-hand experience that were there someone of a comparable familiarity to Mr. Ritter to those relatives, it might have eased the early pain and fear momentarily. Understanding what's happening and realizing the diagnosis itself is not an immediate sentence to be banished from the world they knew. The immediate isolation while they retain the memories and the ability to communicate is devastating. Reports on Alzheimer's will be hard to watch for many. Hell, I've been through it and they'd be hard for me, triggering painful memories. But it's important that we understand that there is still so much value someone with a disease like that can bring even if their decline is inevitable. While I'm sure ABC, or any network, would love complete overlap between shows, the reality is, especially over weekends, that people are not tuning in to each broadcast and paying the kind of attention folks on board like this do.

Had no idea his farewell announcement was pre-recorded. Makes sense, I guess.

I know that one's been around for a long time, but how long has it been simulcast on broadcast? Way back during Hurricane Michael, they picked up the slack for WMBB in Panama City when they took on a direct hit from Hurricane Michael. They should have embraced OTT way back then, only doing so in the past year or two and even going as far as REVERSING some efforts. Another one I caught on to...KRQE in Albuquerque doing "Fox 505 Feed" in place of their morning newscasts. A lot of these efforts may have been going on a while, they've just been squandered by being limited to the web and facebook, only now they're going all-in with them, sadly at the expense of staff and existing content.

I was thinking the same thing. Being tht it was recorded I thought they’d go back live to the team but maybe everyone was too emotional.

Good to hear about her reaction. Hopefully they or another account posts that video soon. Interesting that they didn't show Bill interacting with his colleagues, or reaction from his colleagues, regarding his announcement after he made it on Friday. It would have been nice to see everybody wish him well after 20+ years of working together. But I respect his decision to close out the broadcast with just him and the viewer personally alone. I think it's fair. With so many examples of news employers mistreating their employees, it's nice to see an organization respect their talent so much that they take every effort possible to mention his departure.

His reports will surely be infrequent, his will be a unique perspective, said reports will be scripted with as many takes as needed to record, and if he does appear at the desk for a de-brief, everyone involved, including the viewer, will be aware of the circumstances and be understanding. I really don't get the hate. So what if it's only a year or two? I'm not sure I'd be putting money on many local news staples to be viable beyond that timeline, so why should the expectations for this to be any different? As for the reading of notes, that's being mature and proactive. He knows he's not 100%, so he's doing something that helps him retain info better. Hell, many healthy newscasters that are half his age should be taking more notes, these days. Similarly, folks are within their right to express the opinion that you're coming off as more than a little callous, especially as someone who is almost completely unaffected by this. None of us outside of market #1 are regular WABC viewers, so Bill going on local TV and trying something unique like this isn't going to ruin or make our day. If he, his bosses, co-workers, family, and (die-hard) viewers don't have a problem with this, then it is kind of a you problem.