tyrannical bastard

We have another meteorologist coming to WEWS.... Frank Marzullo, most recently at WXIX in Cincinnati and worked at WTAP and WFMJ in the past, has been hired by WEWS part-time. https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/2025/05/25/wews-adds-meteorologist-after-firing-mark-johnson/83851974007/ This may be a temporary gig for the Cleveland native, as he appears to be contemplating his next move in Cincinnati.

You bring up some very valid points with the way ownership has transpired over the years there. Making matters worse is the consolidation that brought in WXVT and allowed the creation of WNBD-LD, bringing all locally owned television under one roof. Would you agree that it would have made more sense to pipe in distant affiliates of networks not already there? This would have preserved more diversity in voices, and has been an issue in smaller markets that have had the ability to bring in local affiliates, at the expense of out-of-town stations that the local viewers have relied on for years, if not decades.

Longtime WSFA-TV anchor Bob Howell, who anchored at WSFA from 1976 to 2012, has passed away. https://www.wsfa.com/2025/05/24/longtime-former-wsfa-news-anchor-bob-howell-has-died/

I still can't wrap my head around how Gray has decimated this uber-dominant station. Have they really fallen that far to where the once non-existent WDHN is actually making a dent in viewership? Then again, I realize that it's probably a true dollars and cents move since ratings and revenue don't matter. Gray just thinks the station costs too much money for the retransmission revenue it brings in and the viewers of Dothan be damned....

With those moves, it's more sameness and centralization. Even Cox introduced a centralized package to their ongoing stations. Gray stripping stations of network logos takes out even more, but it's a good preemptive move once the networks start walking away...

When was the last time a station or group actually introduced a new package? That's how stale and boring everything is right now. The industry is stuck in 2019.

Or in 47s case, try and flood the room with chaos that has nothing to do with him because it's all about him. Someone remind me...who is Skydance and why should they buy Paramount? This and all of the other chaos is driving CBS/Paramount into the ground faster than Jeff Zucker did with NBC and CNN, combined.

The broadcasters only have themselves to blame. (and one in particular that uses it to THEIR advantage....looking at you Nexstar...) When they started shaking down the cable companies for retransmission dollars, the networks latched on for their own share. This now became the lifeline for broadcasters and the impetus for networks to take their business elsewhere when the stations balked at payment terms. If anything, this could have serious effects on the affiliate model as stations may be forced to go it alone with only the revenue they can cough up from forms of advertising. Get ready for news-intensive independents and some stations to possibly go dark once the networks pack their bags for good.

For anyone needing a Mark Johnson fix now that he's no longer on WEWS.... He is still forecasting, only on his Facebook page. I still think once the dust settles, he'll end up on another station. Even if something opens up in Youngstown, he could always pull a Mark Koontz. He was hired at WFMJ and worked his way up to Chief Meteorologist, retiring two years before Dick Goddard did from WJW.

Even WISH-TV's look keeps it alive after Nexstar traded over to WTTV/WXIN. And WXIN's new look looks like a more refined GrayOne. GrayOne hasn't even made it's way around the country yet and it's getting stale. I wonder if they ever intended to take it national after it debuted at WANF.

Mark Johnson's talent agent (also an attorney) could be filing suit against Scripps and WEWS over his termination... https://www.cleveland.com/news/2025/05/attorney-for-mark-johnson-calls-wews-meteorologists-firing-unjust-and-disappointing.html

Oof. Those poor Cox customers. I've heard nothing but awful things about Spectrum. Maybe Xfinity can put Mediacom out of its misery too. They're so bad they won't even hook up my street, leaving AT&T fiber as my only option.

I just have to wonder if GrayOne has existed alongside a Nexstar station (like WSPA) that looks very similar. WSPA's is modified heavily, but it uses practially the same fonts as GrayOne and others (like WYTV, WHTM, WYOU/WBRE, WIVB, etc...)

"43 The Block" couldn't have come at a worse time. They had just lost the Indians and Cavs to cable and WBNX was starting to clean their clocks in the ratings by smartly investing in programming. WUAB had been burned in the past by some deals (notably Webster reruns) but managed to get some good syndication as well. WUAB's strategy at the time? Bulk up on informercials and create a bunch of amateur comedy-mercials with comedian-hosts like Mike Polk. Even he lampooned these efforts in WUAB's 50th anniversary special! https://youtu.be/pKW-7sccPDY?si=wXH-3IGg7AZEDKbf&t=1242

Isn't Hulu totally available through Disney+ as well? Hulu content appears to be available through Disney+ but not the other way around. Not to mention a large number of subscribers probably get or pay for the Disney Bundle, which includes Hulu, Disney+ and Espn+. I wonder if this will be a stand-alone option for non-cable subscribers, and can be authenticated for free with a cable/satellite subscription...

And after reading the Reddit posts, there are *allegations*... I don't think WEWS has another Joel Rose on their hands, but if there's any proof that comes out, then that's a different story. EDIT: I think the FTVLive article is putting these allegations to rest. The peanut gallery has all of their opinions there based on rampant speculation and some accounts. More likely WEWS over-reacted trying to find a way to cut him loose, since he's been there forever and likely makes more than Scripps wants to pay him. The drain continues to circle at 3001 Euclid Avenue and other lighthouses across the country...

Apparently, it was shilling local food joints on his facebook page that got Mark Johnson canned.... https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2025/5/10/fired-in-cleveland https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2025/4/8/are-these-ads (posts like these) Seems more like a conflict of interest instead of a ethical matter to me. Perhaps WJW may pick him up after all and put him on "New Day Cleveland" once the dust settles. You know, because Nexstar and selling things....

Basically, the entire NewsNation network is this way. Get fired/quit from a major network (even for cause) and end up on NN because you're a recognizable name that could get them a viewer (or two). It's basically an added value on the whole game Perry Sook invented by shaking down cable companies for money. The stations suffer while the saved pennies all go towards NewsNation.

I wonder if WOIO has any desire to hire Mark Johnson once his non-compete is up. WKYC too. Not sure if WJW would take him, even though they are a vastly different place with Scott Sabol as the oldest one there after Andre's retirement. In this post-Goddard (and even post-Bernier era), Mark Johnson was the senior meteorologist for the market, starting at WEWS in 1993. He took over the chief position at WEWS 10 years later after they demoted Brad Sussman, who had taken over for the legendary Don Webster. Enjoy this YouTube video that's aged a little poorly over the last day or two. It came out 9 years ago.

Being New Orleans, WVUE is the Saints' station, so FOX may be taking issue to any deviation by Gray. I doubt Fox is shopping themselves to the other stations in the market, but that could be a possibility one day. The arrangement should be a boon for everyone involved, but FOX may feel otherwise....

I'm sure something will come to light about Mark Johnson's firing, but it may be tied to him hawking merchandise on the side. This is scuttlebutt based on Reddit and should be taken with a grain of salt. Makes me wonder what it would take to get James Spann canned. He has enough of a following that would riot in the streets if anything happened to him. But he is very good at explaining all sides of an issue, whether it's weather related or not, and does a good job trying to tow the line and/or staying neutral on controversial issues. Good meteorologists often negotiate the leeway to market themselves outside of their news roles, especially if they have existing speaking or educational arrangements in place. Whatever Mark Johnson may have done was probably out of line with his contract and Scripps exercised their right to terminate for cause.

I'm willing to guess that these removals are contingent on affiliate renewals. Gray probably has many of them all over the place due to acquisitions over the years. Even though some like WBKO have adopted the new ABC logo, it's probably staying around for this agreement until that expires. Fox is likely the network that will hold them to some form of dual-branding.

They're one of the very few, if not the only Sinclair station not to use the Sinclair music package. Been using Aerial since 2012, all the way back to the LIN days.

With Connoisseur buying AlphaMedia, there's a rumor they may be interested in the Cox radio stations: https://connoisseurmedia.com/connoisseur-media-to-acquire-alpha-media-creating-leading-nationwide-local-media-company/ Cumulus may even be one of their targets. Is Cumulus that poorly off that a small fish like Connoisseur can gobble them up? In fact, it was Connoisseur that sold off stations (all of them?) to Cumulus in the 90's consolidation binge. But back to CoxPollo, a sale like this could make the TV sale a little easier if there are willing parties in the faster circling drain that is the radio industry. As long as it's not EMF or some god-caster.

The Fleur de Lis is probably the most sacred of all above being referred to "Fox 8". It was a brilliant move by the Bensons when they bought the station, and carried on to this day. And after reading the comments, potentially losing the "Fox" branding is causing some viewers to lose their minds, because they tie it with a certain "news" channel.