A3N

There were some rumblings that Candace wanted to leave due to her hectic travel schedule and acting gigs she's doing. It may be why they've been having Jedediah Bila on pretty frequently--plus she could fill that conservative chair, if Candace leaves. I think Whoopi comes back, but maybe on a reduced schedule (i.e.: 3 on, 2 off, etc). I would have to imagine that Raven is a goner, and Michelle as well--pretty obvious there. Paula stays, I do believe. The obvious choice for new panelists are Sara, and Sunny. They might give Sara a permanent spot, and have Sunny as the fill-in panelist.

I don't recall NBC pushing some kind of agenda in regards to Roberts. Did I miss the press release where they tout that a gay man is anchoring Nightly News? And BTW, Roberts was already established by the time he jumped over to NBC. How much more established do you need him to be before you are satisfied? And IIRC, didn't Roberts come out after/as a result of him coming forward and sharing his experience of getting abused by a priest?

For sure. Paula only plays "devils advocate" when it's convenient for her (i.e. when talking about Trump or any conservative view points). The rest of the time, she's acting ditzy and really brings nothing to the show. At least you know what you're getting with Joy and Whoopi-- as far as their left leaning viewpoints. If you want a smart, likeable journalist, that actually brings something to the table, then they should consider Debra Roberts.

It's been like two weeks, I believe. This upcoming week should be the third. They're making it too obvious that they're trying to push her out. Candace is out shooting episodes for Fuller House. Sara Haines returns from maternity leave in June. Maybe they'll push Michelle out by then and give Sara the seat permanently.

If that's how you deal with your life situations, then that's your prerogative. Not everyone deals with things the same way. Edit: posted from a tablet, so i'll fix the formatting errors a bit later

Spot on. And even if the rumors are true, it's no one's business but hers. She's human, she's entitled to have feelings. For anyone to criticize her because of what she's going through, is really low. Love her, hate her, it doesn't matter. She deserves respect and privacy. When she's ready to address this issue, she will.

I'm sure she's under the care of a medical professional whom has given her a letter/authorization for medical leave. Had she started to miss work without a doctor's order, then she would have been fired for breaching her contract. The fact that she is coming back implies that A.) WCBS is aware/understanding/ok with her extended leave and B.) that she has not done anything to breach her contract with the station. Whether anyone thinks her situation is no big deal, etc., is irrelevant. As long as WCBS, Dana and her team are in agreement about the situation at hand and how to proceed with it, then this issue is between them. She'll be back when it's prudent for everyone involved.

Congratulations, I think you've officially jumped the shark.

To be fair, if Ron had said the WGN Morning News sucked, WGN's PR people would have used that in a newspaper ad as well.

I'm sure the executives at ABC are quietly hoping that Ripa throws tantrums and sits out for a while, since that will only make it THAT much easier to get rid of her and cancel the show altogether. And if she were to sit out for no valid reason, wouldn't that violate her contract...? People seem to be forgetting that ABC is the boss. What they say goes. If Kelly didn't like how everything went down, then the door is always open for her to leave-- no one is forcing her to stay. Yes, it may have been nice for her to be notified before hand (if she wasn't), but with negotiations going on, I doubt Strahan or his agent/rep could say anything before things were finalized. And, if i'm not mistaken... Wasn't Ripa also offered a role on GMA a few years back? Which IIRC, she turned down???

Weren't there rumors of her and Regis not getting along? Either way, ever since Regis left, she's been trying to make the show about herself...

So how do these buyouts work for the talent with time remaining on their contract? Do they get paid the remainder of their contract AND the 2 weeks/per year worked pay?

Is he associated with any of the major music companies? If not, I wonder if KFMB owns the package outright.

Well, that more or less confirms a new graphics package for the O&O's. Now I wonder if they will all roll it out at the same time.

Because playing fantasy television owner makes people "propose" the most ridiculous things you can imagine.

It seems like they hired him to eventually take over Jerry's spot (whether it be 4/6 or 5/10). By the time he moves up, the viewers will be more familiarized with him. KABC does this quite a bit... Hire young[er] talent, let the viewers get acclimated to them, then they move them up the ladder. Sort of like a baseball team, develop your prospects and when it's time to replace a veteran, you can just pluck them out of bench or the minor leagues.

I'm sure they are. However, everyone else at Today are probably making peanuts compared to Lauer. And for those that like him or hate him, for better or worse, he is the face of Today... right now. I can't imagine they'll let him walk away with the way things are going between Today and GMA. In this case, it's money well spent, for NBC.

Martinez and Cha always have that awkward, deer in the headlights look. LOL

Preston has been gone since December. He and Ashley De Martino are working the weekend shift at KPHO. Go figure.

Hard to imagine anyone willing to walk away from the HUGE salary Matt is getting at NBC. Unless he's getting his own talk show, or another job where he's going to be paid more than what he is making right now, I just don't see him walking away.

Yup. Jason, Marianne and Whitney were all off. I'm guessing Jodi wasn't available which is why they had Kimi fill in. This is going to be one pretty busy month for them.

Kimi Evans, formerly of KFMB and XETV just popped up during the 11am news on KNSD. I'm not sure if she is freelancing or is a permanent part of the weather team. Interesting to note that the midday anchors/weather anchor are off the midday show today.

The higher ups had been grooming Sade up all these years until she eventually took over the 11pm. She has name recognition, Shirleen does not-yet. If they're struggling at 11pm, it isn't because of Sade, it's because of ABC Primetime. Removing a recognizable face for someone who hasn't been in the market as long will blow up in their face big time. What ever plans Camille has for Shirleen is unknown at this point. Although, I wouldn't put too much stock into Camille right now, with the way things are going at Ch.7. The Lisa Colagrassi situation and sliding ratings are going come back to bite her...

There's no need to do that. There's a reason why the hired Shirleen and put her on at noon when they could have given Diana the noon show. Diana will most likely retire in the next few years and it will be a lot less trouble to have Shirleen assume the 5pm newscast.

Why would they go through all that trouble? It's more likely that Shirleen will replace Diana at some point. No need to shuffle everyone around.