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I can't explain the decision to bench them anymore than anyone else, but this went all the way to the level of Bob Iger, who's now back as Disney's CEO, so it was not made with haste. I'm certain they consulted with PR & Public Affairs, and knew the likelihood of external media attention. As I've previously said, I agree that relationships between non-subordinate colleagues are private matters so long as they don't become workplace matters. Godwin acknowledged that their behavior (as it is currently known) did not violate any policies. Still, it sounds like this became a serious workplace distraction once the affair was brought to light which is itself an issue executives must deal with as well. Moreover, Holmes and Robach surely had to meet with HR, Godwin, and perhaps others at the company, all of which is time consuming and distracting if you're also preparing for and hosting a show the same day. There may also be more to the story that we don't know, and the decision to bench for a few days may have also been a "warning shot" to Robach and Holmes to mind their behavior. All in all, many possibilities, but ABC is not the JV team and I'm willing to believe there was a fair rationale for the decision. They were not terminated. It would not surprise me to see them back on air on Monday.

He’s not on a mission, he’s stuck in a bad position related entirely to the creation of Warner Bros. Discovery at the hands of AT&T. Plus a lot of this (especially CNN leaving Atlanta) had already been in place under Zucker. Robin Meade and her show’s staff were for years the only ones that justified the Atlanta facility remaining open this whole time. Please, in the name of all that is all and holy and good, quit giving Chris Licht, David Zaslav and John Malone supervillain powers they don’t have and never will.

So the writing is on the wall that this was likely a buyout. NBCU will save money in not paying him, but I wonder what the long run will hold for WCAU. Will saving on his salary be worth wrecking 10's stability in evenings, particularly as 6 is about to lose JG?

With KNBC, WMAQ, and WCAU all losing their top male anchors, at least some if not all to retirement buyouts, I’m surprised Chuck has not taken the opportunity to call it quits. He’s approaching 80, you’d think he’d want to enjoy retirement.

It''s not that clear cut. There are a lot more resources, people, and space needed to support TV news production than just what you see on air. Morning Express probably only accounts for a fraction of the headcount still based at CNN Center. CNN Domestic weekends, a good chunk of CNNI shows, and CNN En Espanol are all still anchored out of CNN Center. And even though they've moved a lot of anchoring out of Atlanta, a lot of other important staff are still there. As I understand it, a lot of the staff for the CNN Domestic dayside hours stayed in Atlanta even though those hours moved to New York. So a lot of the producers, writers, segment producers, editors, etc. for much of CNN Domestic are still in Atlanta even though the shows are anchored in New York. Not to mention CNN.com, Newsource, Image + Sound, and plenty of other teams. CNN Center may not be the bustling place it was a decade ago, but there are still a lot of people working there to support a major news organization. Some other people also might have a better idea than me, but I also question whether there's enough space for everything at Techwood just yet. Even if they are going to move everything there and in a smaller footprint than what they have at CNN Center, there's still going to be a fair amount of work needed to move so many employees and have space for all of them. I'm sure they'll be able to do it, but it won't happen overnight, and it won't happen just because Morning Express got cancelled.

First Linda MacLennan, back in the fall, and now some of these familiar faces. We're officially living in a timeline where WBBM has a decent relationship with some former on-air talent, and I never thought I'd see the day.

This is the same network that airs the longest-running scripted medical drama where doctors bang each other all the time and the network practically placed 4 hours of their fall primetime programming to show singletons dating each other in a tropical resort in Mexico, where they have a legendary "boom boom room". For a media company that has embraced sex-positivity in its programming, it's sort of hypocritical that they would be taking the so-called moral high ground for their employees. If their investigation finds that no company policies were violated, let Amy and TJ go back to work together I say.

That’s simply not true. They haven’t been keeping an entire facility open for a little watched morning show and its staff. Yes, that team represented the only live news on HLN but they were hardly the only parts of the operation left in Atlanta. The main technical core of CNN in still housed at the CNN Center along with CNN International, CNN en Español, CNN Newsource, CNN.com, and more. In fact, many of CNN's producers are still based at the CNN Center. According to the AJC there are about 1,500 employees based in Atlanta.

Has nothing to do with that. Licht has a mandate to streamline operations and cut costs.

I don’t think shuttering the CNN Center in Atlanta helps much with WBD’s mission to change CNN’s perceived liberal bias. I think the better move would be to move dayside operations out of the east and west coast bubbles and back to Atlanta. Leave the evening talk shows in NY and LA, but the rest should return to Atlanta.

That's IndyCar racing not NASCAR. In any event, glad Nexstar is at least going outside the box.........

At this point ID has actually jumped to low 20s-30s on most cable systems so it's no longer a big priority as it was in the past, plus there are many customers who sort their program guides by channel name these days (and YTTV, Hulu and Sling don't bother with channel numbers at all), so HLN and ID aren't that separated by that much in that mode. A channel merger does make sense eventually but it has to come with more than just one network cut down. I do miss sets with a busy background replaced by just being in front of a Jumbotron/fake brick set and calling it a day. Of course in 2020 and 2021 it would've looked very barren and empty with everyone telecommuting, as the NBC News and CBSN sets did.

Yes! The old newsroom set was much more grand and felt like you were in the middle of a non stop news operation.

And previous listings suggested December 5th. As the holidays approach, I think we can safely assume that the program will not fully debut until January, unless credible info suggests otherwise. A suggestion for all users- since the launch date as moved several times, and it's all led to needless speculation, I'd recommend that we only post dates that are officially announced by the station, though probably not from their online guide. Press releases and anchor postings, ONLY, please.

Something tells me that management was caught off guard about Holmes' 'relationship' with another ABC News employee (a former GMA producer) that they felt that a deeper investigation, if you will, needed to happen. Plus, someone likely voiced a concern about the two, for whatever reason, that forced management to pull them. We likely won't know anything (and probably shouldn't) so it's just a waiting game at this point. I will say that Stephanie Ramos and DeMarco Morgan (who's first day with ABC News was yesterday I believe) seem to be a pretty good pair from what i saw briefly yesterday and today.

Wonder if it has anything to do with the NBC cuts as NBC has offered a voluntary early retirement package. Who will succeed him? Keith? Johnny?

Fixed it for you. The NASCAR docuseries aired on USA Network. And as a fan of the sport, I'm excited for this and can't wait to see it!

KNBC- Layoffs and Buyouts hits the station- Chuck Henry & Bev White leaving. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2022-12-07/knbc-channel-4-chuck-henry-beverly-white-vikki-vargas-kim-baldonado-angie-crouch-exit https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2022/12/8/buyouts-and-layoffs-hit-knbc WSB-TV's Richard Belcher retires after 50yrs on ATL TV from WXIA, WAGA & WGST radio. Who also married to Sally Sears who worked at WAGA, WSB and CBS46. https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/channel-2-investigative-reporter-richard-belcher-retires-after-50-years-atlanta-tv-news/QU3JPV6PKFD6NASAZYTLQOEMLM/

Longtime KXAS reporter Scott Gordon and GM Tim Ehlmann took NBCU's contract buyouts.