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Honestly it was better when it was the WGN Superstation. Simulcast the WGN Morning News and 9pm news again. Run Blue Bloods and ITHOTN reruns during the day. I’m sure that’ll get them higher ratings than what they’re getting now. Problem solved. Money & dignity saved.

What about localized versions of (classic) game shows? A game show could be designed such that the same questions/clues/puzzles could be used with the ground rules being that all all are taped at the same time/date. (Think a localized version of the $25,000 Pyramid or the British show Countdown (where each game is truly different and all depends on random draw made by the participants…) If there wasn’t dependence on secrecy of questions (e.g., Countdown) a portable set could be created that travels between locales for taping. Keep prizes small (two nights at downtown hotel with Dinner - or exchange between cities - a New York version has 2 nights at a DC hotel and vice versa. Or in the case of Countdown, a Teapot…) Just an idea…

The breaking point has arrived. It's just that group owners (and some managers who refuse to adapt because "it's always been this way") won't change. Or they are straight up ignorant (Hilton Howell said that there hasn't been any great resignations at Gray.... I'm sure he's talking out of his ass, or maybe because he runs three insurance companies in addition to running Gray, he has no idea what really is going on there). I think a change will come, but it's going to take younger people at the top to make that change. That unfortunately won't happen for another 10-25 years, and by then, it'll be too late. In lots of these markets, there are independent filmmakers and theatre actors. I'd love to see a station produce a good quality drama or sitcom on a local level (or maybe as a group to share costs). It's amazing what good quality you can get with today's technology and some creative minds. Of course, someone has to pay for the production crew, for the actors, etc. But I'd imagine on a local level, for someone who is looking for a platform and a big break, you can produce something much cheaper than a network level series since it's not all big name actors or crew. Some of these stations are in states where tax film incentives are great. Or, maybe as an alternative, look at some PBS stations, many of whom do a far better job at producing non-news local content than the vast majority of commercial TV stations (maybe because PBS stations aren't owned by hedge funds so they have room to be creative and respond to their communities). One of my favorite shows from a PBS member is "Check, Please!" which originated at WTTW Chicago but has been licensed out to other PBS members as well. A show like this would work well for a commercial level too, if the creators were willing to license it to commercial stations, and it wouldn't take too much resources to put it either. Programming like this is far more useful to a local audience than "Local Steals and Deals" or a commercial for Power Swabs inside of "Podunk Living". And if you play it the right way, it can be easily monetized (maybe only feature restaurants willing to pay – might not be ethical, but a more entertaining way to make a buck than the crap stations put out now). Just, something has got to give. The status quo cannot and should not continue.

Funny you mention Bozo. David Arquette bought the character last year and is looking to bring him back to the limelight. That said, I don't see any evidence that local TV stations are part of the equation. As for local stations making more diverse programming, I think the last major push for that kind of thing came from USA Broadcasting, who used WAMI in Miami as model for CityVision, which was supposed to be a group of stations emphasizing locally produced programming. Unfortunately, the WAMI experiment was a ratings disaster, and the rest of the USA stations abandoned the idea of a big local push in favor of just being run of the mill independent stations at a time when The WB and UPN were pushing those out, and Barry Diller gave up on the whole experiment within a few years, selling the stations to Univision to form the basis of Telefutura, now called UniMas. I can imagine the failure of the CityVision concept left a massive stink over the concept of local programming outside of news and pay-for-play, and it's probably why stations haven't been more daring. Still, that was in the late 90s and early 2000s, when cable was at its peak and internet video was barely a thing. Maybe it'd work better today, but I can still imagine some executive thinking back to CityVision and saying "Nope! Not again!"

Even better...

I'm pretty sure I remember seeing those on Giant Octopus' original website back in the day.

Meanwhile, Nexstar is still forcing their affiliates to have their footage credited as "NewsNation" when sent to their respective affiliate news services. Case in point, the deputy who was shot in Clark County, Ohio...the footage was likely shot by WDTN. Will it ever see the light of day on NewsNation itself? Or is it just another way to boost the ego of this "news" operation in it's futile quest for more viewers?

Forget whether Americans really want them or not, do people at the stations themselves want these extra newscasts? Especially when stations are already short-staffed and most certainly aren't adding extra bodies for these (both because people don't want to work there and because companies don't want to hire extra labor — it's a two-way street)? If anything, stations should be dumping newscasts outside of core hours to help give their staff a break. Mornings, noon, 6, and 11pm are all you really need. The 9ams, 3pms, 4pms, 7pms, weekend morning shows of the world can go if you don't have the staff. Not only is it overkill and repetitive, but it's a lot of work when most stations are stretching their staffs thin. If you have to make your people pull double shifts to get both the morning and evening shows on the air, that's a problem. If you have college interns anchoring your weekend morning show because no one else wants to do it, that's a problem. Although I'll argue that syndication has not been very compelling the past few years and has gotten pretty cliche. It's either "talk show with big name celebrity" or court show. There's no ifs, ands, or buts. These companies really need to do something different. I'd also love to see a local station do something other than news or pay-for-play, but unfortunately local stations stopped being daring and creative once quirky local individuals sold their stations to hedge funds. (I will give Graham Media Group credit in San Antonio, KSAT can and has produced a lot of non-news local shows in the past couple of years, mostly for their digital platforms but they'll air it on TV as weekend filler, most notably Texas Eats)

Yeah, I also think Elliot Rodriguez stinks. He can’t hold a candle to Antonio Mora. Honestly, I’m asking how the hell he is still on CBS4. Must be Nepotism. M-Fin’ Nepotism. The moment he’s finally gone, likely by retirement, I’ll start watching CBS 4 again.

It won't be. This is an isolated incident with a cable headend in Des Moines. But it was very disturbing to see.

WBRZ reporter Earl Phelps will do his last story July 24. He's leaving after six years at the station to join the Delta News complex in Greenville, Miss.

I'm not liking the trend of filling programming gaps with news news news to the point of fluff and repeats.

The NOW aka NewsCentral 2 REPLACED the 9 pm WCBS newscast on WLNY in DMA 1. There is no other newscast on WLNY.

The better-performing newscasts on the non-CBS stations aren’t going anywhere. That goes for WPCW’s 10pm news and all newscasts on KCAL 9. I’m pleasantly surprised that WSBK kept their 8pm, which makes sense since they’re the only Boston station carrying news at that hour.

Two comments: 1) It seems like they are going about this backwards. I think you should start with local and then cut over to CBS NewsCentral. 2) What a jarring difference in picture quality between the national feed and what they have in Seattle. Is CBS really that cheap? Can't they send over a used camera from one of their other stations?

Because the NOW brand wasn’t meant to replace existing newscasts. As if those black and gold graphics weren’t ugly enough on their own. Paired with that green CW logo

Whether or not we are, I’d rather ask myself Not whether America really needs all these newscasts, but rather whether Americans WANT them? Are Americans really asking for the end of syndication as we know it?

There’s a bit of personality at WCBS to be fair - Marcia Kramer certainly adds a local flavor but overall I tend to agree with you. - WABC’s vibe is an unusual combo of familial and tabloid. As much as I dislike the increased opinion segments, visual mess, and Disney corporate synergy, it still feels like the default for me. Coverage all across the Tri-State - they go all out, highest use of copters too. -WNBC is straight to the point but has the appeal of local-born talent and 30 Rock gravitas. Coverage is a little more focused on the boroughs, with a strong Jersey presence. Collaboration with WNJU reporters has been great, providing coverage into communities overlooked by everyone else. -WPIX targets straphangers and the NY1 demo. Used to have the Daily News connection which though diminished still feels present. -WNYW is a bit dull but I think has been targeting a tone similar to WABC’s tabloid/human interest take. At least they’re coming up with interesting branding like “The Noon” -WCBS is just…there. It’s visually polished but the tone is wooden and really feels cookie-cutter. Editorially there’s an overemphasis on Westchester and Long Island. I feel like they were stronger when they could lean on the Always-On WCBS 880 / 1010 WINS synergy, but that’s faded. The reporters and anchors are all…fine? But the overall vibe is just generic and not targeted to the market.

As I said before CBS local's problem is that it feels like a generic corporate model duplicated across many cities with no uniqueness to individual cities. Even though NBC ABC and Fox all replicate models across O&O's, each station has its own distinct feel. Fox 29's Mike Jerrik is uniquely Philly as Fox 5's Greg and Rosanna were uniquly New York. WNBC stands apart from WTVJ because of its use of Rockefeller Center and the christmas tree, ice skating rink and close residence with national NBC News. Not to mention the CBS local reporters (especially in NYC) don't stand out and just seem like transplants from different markets.

I don't like how they added the city/region's names to the newscast titles for a program that is much less local.

Look who joined the rest of the country in airing the January 6th committee hearing today. Hi NewsNation.

Bozo the Clown can't even save this channel... ...unless we see where he really stands on the issues.... If Krusty the Klown was a republican....

Hopefully this will result in N12 New Jersey becoming Jersey centric again with LI stories, paid for stories and other fluff kept to a minimum. In its current state, it is no longer a go to for NJ news.

After the TVNC report regarding the workplace environment at News 12, owner Alice launched an internal investigation which led to GM Jacques Natz's ouster https://tvnewscheck.com/journalism/article/news-12-gm-jacques-natz-ousted-after-internal-investigation/

Just when you think things can't get any more worse at News Nation than what it is already been....

if I wanted to watch them again, it will only be from 6-10am, 5-7pm and whenever the hell Prime is on, but now that program is in danger if Megyn Kelly officially joins. Plus, I'm not sure if the 11pm hour will be even better. I feel so bad for Marni Hughes. Just like Rudabeh Shahbazi, I hope she gets to leave soon and escape from this madness.

So basically News Nation is the reject news channel? Interesting approach. And so much for "NO OPINION, JUST NEWS" programing.

So we’ve officially gone from “all facts, no opinion” to “here’s every rejected, big-mouth talk show host with an opinion that didn’t even attract good ratings on the big networks. Also, Blue Bloods.” Social media sycophants do not create credibility. If that’s the case, then you might as well say that Alex Jones is a credible journalist because people like him on social media. It should not be surprising that Chris Cuomo’s social media comments are filled with people who could care less about journalistic ethics. Twitter has a block button, and it would not surprise me if Chris uses it. As for Megyn Kelly, she has under 500k subs on YouTube. That’s respectable, but compared to other current affairs channels out there, it pales in comparison. If she can’t generate more subscribers on YouTube despite her fame, she won’t magically generate viewers for a network with distribution/content/editorial/behind the scenes issues from the beginning. Long story short, Nexstar will spend 8 figures to make 7. Oh well.

Breaking news will not exist for them.

That's easy, it'll never have breaking news. It's not live.

Yes, it was solely for unified branding.

Retirement? During a non-sweeps month? How did he manage to pull THAT off?

Man, that's sad. Jon Loufman is a fixture of Cleveland TV. I think he's been on every station (starting as a fill-in meteorologist) before getting permanent roles on WKYC and WOIO. He just comes off as a likeable person, so what's not to love about him?

Seems like both of WBZ’s local cut-ins on WSBK are done live, except the standalone weather segments.