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WMAQ, WLS and WBBM (I'm sure WFLD too, didn't check them because Peacock, CBSN and ABC are fast to access) definitely had all hands on deck...even the stations from Milwaukee were covering it in full, with WISN sending their chopper into Illinois. There's no excuse for NN to not have covered this outside Paramount Global apparently having them by the you-know-whats to fulfill that Blue Bloods contract. Just throw the syndication deals at Reelz, Ovation, INSP...anyone that counts as 'cable', and call it a day with entertainment programming already.

NewsNation could’ve easily simulcasted WGN’s live coverage. WGN is one of the top news stations in the country, why not tap into that resource? MSNBC and NBC news now utilized WMAQ (NBC5) effectively. ABC News Had WLS’ (ABC7) coverage. CBS had WBBM (CBS2) Where was NN???? Granted it was July 4th & we realize that staffing numbers were low, but This story literally is in your backyard!! and you are still MIA as far as news coverage! NN the writing is on the wall…

There has been chatter about CBS O&Os possibly dropping channel numbers in favor of branding such as "CBS News New York". But a new paint job for WCBS's Chopper 2 shows a "CBS 2 News New York" branding: https://www.instagram.com/p/CfuXtkDO6S7/ Chopper 2, which the station shares with WNYW, has not had branding on it for many years. If the new graphics are indeed launching this fall, it would make sense that they paint the chopper in advance in order to get shots for opens and promos. (I doubt the mouthful "CBS 2 News New York This Morning" will be the actual newscast title format.) I'm not a fan of dropping channel numbers so I'm happy that this seems to not be happening. I hope the upcoming look is much more well thought out than the current group package, which felt sloppy and dated the day it launched.

I’ve always thought that the website rebranding was more of a way to connect the stations’ often glitchy websites to the CBS News website, and in turn drive internet traffic to the national side of things. There has not yet been definitive evidence of dropping local branding wholesale. AFAIK, the only mentions made about dropping local branding were comments on this website, and that was nothing more than speculation. Of course, my theory is also speculation (they could theoretically drop local branding on air and online while keeping it in the sky), so I wouldn’t take this as a sign of anything until we have a better idea of the upcoming new look.

Upon further research, it appears that the majority of 10PM newscasts running on CBS duolopies are being rebranded as CBS (City Name) News Now, or something similar. KBCW, KSTW (both resurrecting evening newscasts), WKBD, WPSG, WTOG, WUPA, WBFS (9PM instead) and WSBK's newscasts are all being rebranded under the Now branding. As of now, there does not appear to be any changes for WLNY, WPCW, or KCAL.

I agree that this is not indicative of a rebrand of the station, but potentially, a rebrand of its newscasts. You could, however, be correct in that this is simply a new, 10pm newscast that will simulcast on the OTT CBS News Boston and OTA on WSBK.

Sook does not care if the writing is on the wall or not. At long as there's cash to suck from the Nexstar stations, NN will live on, as a parasite.

In perhaps a sign of wider things to come, WBZ/Boston is (yet again) launching a 10pm newscast airing on sister-station WSBK/Boston on July 18. It will be titled "CBS News Boston Now on TV38." I've included a screenshot from the station's TitanTV program schedule. Could this be a sign of a full rebrand from WBZ News? While it could certainly be part of the "hybrid, local-to-national multiplatform newscasts for several of the company’s CW, independent and MyNetwork TV-affiliated stations" that CBS Stations is launching, the branding is odd. If it's just going to air on TV38, why include the station's brand in the title?

The Newsroom ‘Live Desk’. Not too bad….

I know this isn't the PIX thread but you are absolutely right. PIX has yet to recover from dropping Watkins and Tong on the weekdays. I think Fox 5 hasn't recovered the 10 PM slot in quality since Rosanna Scotto and moreso John Roland left the evenings. Nick, Mike, Inez and Rosanna are fine, but a major problem that the 4:30-7 slot has is it's high anchor turnover. It seems like there's a new team every 3 to 4 years. What the 7-10 slot needs is a strong Mike Jerrick, Greg Kelly, Karl Stefanovic type personality to sit next to Rosanna.

Reporter Dan Rice offered a small peek of Chopper 2's new paint job: https://www.instagram.com/p/CfuXtkDO6S7/ The other side of Chopper 2 got the Sky Fox branding as CBS 2 and Fox 5 share the helicopter. (Discussion as to whether this previews the upcoming CBS O&O graphics should be kept on this thread.)

I just checked the listings for CW Philly (WPSG) for that day, and similarly, its 10PM newscast is being rebranded as CBS Philadelphia News Now. It's listed as a full hour, but I suspect it'll still be a half-hour and just replay it again at 10:30.

Don't forget there have been controversial hires made at NewsNation, especially with some coming from Fox News and that one ABC exec who seems to find himself in the news more than covering it.

Website had one story posted during the event, don't think YT ever had anything, what Nexstar's affiliates were doing at the time has no bearing on this conversation (except that NN had WGN right there) and it's not like they haven't pre-empted the midday syndication before to break in. There's literally zero reason for NewsNation to have stuck with reruns outside of they weren't staffed for the holiday to do this, which again makes no sense. Whomever was working WGN that day should've had the ability to go live on NN with the coverage. If you're getting annoyed with the conversation around NewsNation, be upset at them or block this thread so you don't see it.

Robb was playing 2nd string for lack of a better term and was passed over for Bill Ritter. So I get it. WFOR offered him a job and he took it. He also stated he felt that the anchors had no input on the broadcasts and he wanted to be more involved. That being said, this hurts. Robb Hanrahan always seemed like the most genuine male anchor WABC had during the 1990s and early 2000s. Bill Ritter's fine and professional and stuff, but I really loved Robb and the outpouring of support, you can tell how much he was loved. It sucked to see him retire after his literally to death experience and after all that to see him alive and healthy again, just to die < 24 months later, sucks. I'm going to miss him and I'm pretty sure all over New York, Miami and Harrisburg he will be eternally missed.

I don’t know if it’s fair to make that assessment of all of the teams. I agree about Steve. I think being paired with Lori and falling flat shows that he only attributed to Dari’s issues. I personally enjoy Rosanna and Bianca. Dan and Tashanea have only been together for a couple of weeks. Weather and Traffic wise on Good Day with Mike and Ines - they have been with the team for at least 15 years each. Nick has been on for years. Audrey as well. I think it’s a strong team. Reporter wise, they are younger - but even some young talent like Teresa Priolo, Robert Moses have over 10 years with the station.

Fox 5 may not stand out these days, but I think they benefit from WPIX going through several anchor/personnel changes every few years (especially in the morning). PIX’s newscasts have always been inferior to their Tribune/Nexstar counterparts in Chicago and LA, but they at least used to have some character. They now have newscasts that are even more bland and uninspiring than Fox 5. IMHO, they never fully recovered after dumping Jim and Kaity from evenings, and that’s worked to Fox 5’s benefit.

Didn't want to give up the cushy 100,000+ extra viewers Blue Blood delivers!

WJZ 1995 the big switch.