wabceyewitness

WABC launched weather graphics on a Friday evening. 

Have to agree.  Kudos to the producers and station management for going out on a limb and trying something truly new and refreshing for EWN. It feels like a local version of GMA combined with “Live”. 
 

Honestly didn’t expect much when they initially announced it. Thought it would be just another standard newscast with some extra fluff like “First @ 4” but the same old EWN format, music, graphics and staging. 

Love the content, staging, music, graphics etc. It’s great local, live, morning television. 

I understand what @MorningNews is saying.  In the NYC market, these types of newscasts really do not successfully exist outside of GDNY and, like what they said, WABC could put a repeat of the 6am show on at 10am and the ratings would be fine. So, you have to wonder, if that’s the case, how long will station management continue pouring resources into a show that would do well and be profitable regardless of the format?  
 

That said, I think the consensus here is that this is a nice and fresh attempt at something different for WABC. Based off the first show, it’s being executed well. Hopefully it’s so successful that the format sticks and becomes an outlier compared to the traditional newscasts. 

Yep. The new broadcast doesn’t need to be top rated or a hit (though I’m sure WABC would love that). It just needs to fill time, cost less to produce than licensing another syndicated show and turn a profit. 
 

10 hours ago, Vlad said:

 

As for the 10 AM show, here are my thoughts:

They really have to make this one different from the rest of the broadcasts, because it's a bit crazy to now have a 10 a.m. that is the same mundane format as the 4:30-7:00 a.m. It would be interesting to see WABC go for a different format change for the 10 a.m. show; (new theme, new graphics, new set, etc...) perhaps along the lines of a "Good Day New York" format where there are more live interviews on set, less reading of the news, and more of a "happy talk" or discussion show along the lines of Good Day New York for example. Maybe stories that focus more on the community, putting the spotlight on things happening in the communities in and around New York City and its surrounding suburbs and the tri-state area.

 

It would also be cool to see a new section of the studio used for this show. Perhaps the hosts can stand up rather than sit down etc. Either way, they should make this broadcast more like a breakfast lighthearted format than the traditional hard news because honestly, it's just too much hard news already which is boring so that people have a reason to watch in my opinion.

Sounds like it will be a lighter and different broadcast based on the promo for it (“Same team. New vibe.”) and how they opted to say “hosted by…” rather than “anchored by” in the press release. 
 

14 minutes ago, Roadgeek Adam said:

 

 

 

 

Considering less WABC broadcasts have them, at some point I wonder if they just throw up their hands and eliminate the talent opens for good. 

They’ve actually been making an effort to make them when official changes happen, like Mike Marza joining weekends. 
 

Usually the only broadcasts that don’t have a talent open are 5pm and 11pm. Talent opens exist for them but aren’t aired for viewer retention. 
 

Yes, Brittany Bell is now doing the 4:30am, 5am and 5:30am weather going forward.  Sam Champion is doing the 6am, 10am and Noon.  

Behind the scenes of the new morning show promos being made. Posted on Instagram by one of the stylists that works with WABC. 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwSaHVqLUIx/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

It says the 10am show debuts Sept. 11 but I wonder what that means for WABC’s 9/11 memorial coverage. That usually does not conclude until noonish. 

I wonder if there is room to declutter the opens a bit. I’ve been watching WLS since the new package debuted. As a whole, it’s great and I’m excited to see it implemented at other stations, but there is A LOT happening in those opens that distracts the eye from the actual newscast name and brand. 

1 hour ago, MD TV said:

Spotted on WABC this morning.

They’ve been using that for a few weeks now. It’s, apparently, not part of the new package. Just a random graphic they generated with the new abc7 logo. 

On 6/7/2023 at 2:01 AM, MisterBill said:

 

And he's gone before he even started. He did not originally have the reason in the post, so it's good (I guess) to know that it wasn't specifically because of him. BTW, he's the fiancé of Katie Corrado from WPIX.

 

And just like that, I’m back to being a full-time dog dad.

 

I was just informed that I’ve been let go from WABC on the eve of my debut due to budget constraints.

 

Paul Gerke (@paulgerketv) | Instagram

As I’ve said previously, “budget constraints” was not the real reason here.  
 

Just days later, WABC posted a new position for a general assignment reporter. 
 

https://jobs.disneycareers.com/job/new-york/wabc-general-assignment-reporter/391/50243402752

3 minutes ago, MichiganNewsGraphicsJunkie said:

According to an article I just read from a site I cannot link, WTVD is supposedly next in line

that would make sense since they were second to start using the wx graphics after WLS. Following that pattern, WPVI may come sometime after WTVD. 
 

Wonder how long it will be for KABC, WABC and KTRK. 

Disney has definitely been making cuts but they are planned out. He had a new ABC ID card in hand and was in the payroll system. The budget line for his job didn’t just suddenly disappear overnight. 

I’d be surprised if they pick up Jim Rosenfield.  Maybe it was just a courtesy like when they tested Don Dahler with Lori Stokes before promoting Ken.
 

They have enough talent to fill the weekday spots and will need someone for weekend mornings. That doesn’t seem like a spot for Jim. 
 

… and Mike Marza as Bill’s successor? That should be David Novarro. 

Pretty sure “budget constraints” was not the real reason. 

8 hours ago, JustinH said:

 

They may play around with Anchor pairings for awhile, but ultimately my money is on someone inhouse already getting it. I would bet Sandra Bookman doesn't want to do mornings permanently. If she wanted off weekends permanently after all these years I'm sure she would have done it either at ABC7 or somewhere else. David Navarro seems to enjoy the Noon & 4:00 schedule. Plus he and Liz started First @ 4 together so I'm sure they take some pride in that. My money is either on Michelle Charlesworth or Mike Marza.

The job is Mike Marza’s to lose, unless someone they rotate it has undeniable chemistry. That’s how Ken Rosato got the job (over Jeff Rossen who became the primary sub, and an auditioning Don Dahler), and how Steve Bartelstein moved in from sports to replace Robb Hanrahan as morning news anchor.
 
 

3 hours ago, NYNewsCoverage said:

Just caught a morning promo saying to wake up to Shirleen Allicott, Sam Champion, and Heather O'Rourke. Not sure if its newly shot or they simply removed Ken from it. 

The “wake up with..” is not too new, but updated to have Ken edited out. 

A more recent promo (“a new day is a new start! Start new with…”) has also been edited to remove Ken. 
 

crazy idea: I think WABC shouldn’t replace Ken and should instead elevate Heather and Sam to co-anchors. Go the route of GMA with three anchors and just have Heather and Sam trade off some of the stories with Shirleen being the main “news” person. 

One of the plus sides of an anchor suddenly leaving a station is you get to see different faces in new places. At WABC, it’s been nice to see Sandra Bookman and David Novarro in the morning on some days. 
 

9 hours ago, RaleighTVBOI1 said:

Who would leave network for local news, I’d never do that even it was part time. Unless my contract doesn’t get renewed.

Bill Ritter. Liz Cho. Lori Stokes. 

8 hours ago, MorningNews said:

This is getting ridiculous. I’ve not once seen this discourse around Shirleen in the decade she’s been at WABC yet suddenly everyone’s had a negative opinion of her just days after we learned she was called an offensive term.

 

FWIW, Ken and Shirleen seemed to have a great on and off air relationship. I never got a sense that she was cold to him or vice versa.
 

 

THIS. I find it incredibly alarming that, after all these years, character assassinations of a woman have launched only because a man in a more senior position was fired for using a vulgar term to describe her.  

34 minutes ago, JustinH said:

We're all allowed to have our opinions just as you are! The consensus is that Shirleen wasn't very well liked. Not saying she deserved to be called that, if she was. I also feel this is leftover resentment from the way Lori was pushed out for a younger version of her. I think we all wondered why Shirleen was brought in from 6abc in Philly just to do the Noon when Channel 7 at the time had a very stable anchor roster and incredible ratings. Then she started filling in on the morning show more and more. You can't control how viewers feel. And then Lori mysteriously leaves after 18 years with taped goodbye? Always seemed fishy to me!

Perhaps things seem fishy to you because you do not have the facts, or care to understand them? Lori did not mysteriously leave with a taped goodbye. They blew out the the last 6 minutes of their newscast for a highlight reel and she said goodbye to viewers live on the air. They also posted her final sign off from EWN on social media. All of that for a person who decided to leave for a gig on a competing morning show. 
 

And there is no consensus that Shirleen is not well liked, or that she is well liked for that matter. There are a small number of posts by anonymous people claiming they know what type of person she is in real life based on how she appears on television, or claiming to know her from 20 years ago to now. Perhaps there is truth to it or perhaps it’s all made up. There’s nothing verifiable and no data to make any of it a fact let alone a consensus.

If true, sounds like ABC acted quickly and made the right call. Good on them for prioritizing the workplace environment. 

3 hours ago, MorningNews said:

I have to imagine that whatever he said warranted WABC’s decision. Were it not, they likely wouldn’t have moved this quick to remove a key part of their highly successful morning show.

Agreed. And the fact that it was caught on a mic means there’s a recording of it that will last forever and they know it will get out at some point.  If they didn’t move quickly, it would be  damaging not just to his reputation but also the station’s reputation and how management views the workplace environment. 
 

23 minutes ago, NYNewsCoverage said:

It's a page six exclusive: https://pagesix.com/2023/05/12/abc-7-anchor-ken-rosato-immediately-fired-over-hot-mic-remark/ 

 

I'd imagine this bad comment must've been heard over the air? Definitely not the first time we've seen versions of this in the NY market, but I suppose it was more than just accidental profanity? 

It was not heard over the air, according to the Post article you shared. 
 

Rosato was off the air when he uttered the phrase, we’re told, but an insider told us his remark was picked up “on an open mic” and was “immediately let go.”