tyrannical bastard

The cable and satellite companies have really jacked up pay TV in their favor by NOT using CableCards (or even clear QAM for that matter) so they can charge away for the boxes, HD fees, DVR usage, not to mention the voracious energy hogs these said boxes are. The streamers have it right by being INSIDE certain TV's and using smaller cheaper boxes like Rokus and Fire Sticks. And there's always the antenna. At least that's free....for now.....

It's only a matter of time before the networks run away from their affiliates. The strong stations that have really beefed up their local news coverage over the years will be the victors. The rest? Atsc 3.0 using their leftover spectrum would make for some great skinny bundles.

Well, looks like I've done it again, started another discussion in a thread since a certain sale went through that put this station in the hands of someone with a track record of mucking up things.... And since it's the Music thread, it's a pretty good idea why this thread should exist..... Because if a piece of news music can literally get into one's head, inspire protests that demand it's reinstatement, and a loyal bunch of viewers that are as fun to listen to for their insights.... Go for it moderators....you know you want to....

You would think the former Nexstar stations would be easy to swap out since both Tegna and Nexstar use full screen animated endings.

That will be another double whammy in places like Rochester, Cincinnati and Mobile/Pensacola where the Deerfield stations (and other Sinclair shells) have been off since the end of May. At least Nexstar made nice with AT&T and Meredith with dish or we would have a near total blackout of locals in Mobile/Pensacola.

Well, the ministry's jumbo 747 is "down for repairs" And Ernest is in "ill health" https://www.ohio.com/news/20190918/bob-dyer-angleys-plane-might-be-goner

Here's the Lagniappe article about Chris Dunn's departure....

Another weather departure in the Mobile/Pensacola market...this time it's WPMI Chief Meteorologist Chris Dunn.... (I'd post an article from the Mobile Lagniappe but it's not on the web yet and it's behind a paywall) With the recent departure of Alan Sealls from WKRG and his non-compete probably extending the rest of the year, he is RUMORED to be in the running for the position. Kelly Foster is coming over from mornings to fill in until a replacement is hired. The ball is in WPMI's court....if they don't pursue Alan now...... You have to wonder what kind of pay cut these people took to appear on TV again. Going forward with Nexstar (if that holds), they'll all probably be entrusted with "digital first" responsibilities....

In Mobile, MeTV has been on 5.3 since 2011 (it was RTN/RTV before). Nexstar signed on a duplicate "Laff" affiliation on 5.4 (since WALA already had it on 10.3), and Court TV replaced Laff on WKRG 5.4. Antenna TV has been on a station with a questionable on-air signal (WPAN-TV). Wouldn't surprise me if Nexstar pulls the plug on that and puts it on one of their area stations instead.

Makes me wonder if they are going to drop it on their other stations acquired from Media General. And it makes more sense since Antenna TV will soon be owned by Nexstar when the Tribune deal closes. Many of these MeTV affiliations stem from a deal that replaced RTN (later RTV and now RetroTV) in 2011 after Luken lost virtually all of their programming to MeTV and Antenna.

It's one thing to blow up the last place station that no one watches anyway. That way News With A Twist can exist peacefully amongst good and semi-decent products. In Tegna's case, they've taken successful stations (and a cellar dweller or two) and driven them into the ground (further) with their "forward thinking" WKYC and WWL were once decent stations (WKYC was finally clicking after DECADES of failure) to have been fixed to death by Tegna....

Those names are so bad, I couldn't express my thoughts in words, so I give you this....

Tegna alone is making WEWS watchable again. "The Now" and "lottery-ball" 5 seem like ancient history now. Sure it's come a long way from the Catch 5 and NewsChannel 5 era, but the dumpster fire on Lakeside Avenue keeps growing.

In other words, they are too cheap to pony up the airtime. Even the classic versions should very much in the public domain especially if they were produced by the military or for the government for public service use.

The anthem isn't the problem. It's how OTHERS have polarized it and used it as a tool to test one's "America-ness." That's a right that NO ONE can take away from anyone. EVER. We live in a country where we are free to be patriotic and free to question the powers that be for what they are doing. All this noise is simply because the ideals our country was founded on are alive and well. And it should be pointed out that a certain other company that works the flag into their graphics and ladens their news product with propaganda hasn't picked up on this proud American broadcast tradition.

Someone there must be an Ohio State fan..... Or just another way to show how "THE" mighty have fallen!

Today is the last edition of the Youngstown Vindicator. Fortunately, Youngstown will still have a daily newspaper since the Tribune-Chronicle in nearby Warren has purchased the distribution and brand assets and will produce a replacement newspaper under the Vindicator brand. Unfortunately, many of the Vindicator employees will lose their jobs and only a select few will continue on with the new owners. Now that the Brown family is reduced to WFMJ, it will be seen if they end up selling out. Tegna cashed in on Dispatch and WBNS/WTHR (while Gatehouse got the newspaper), so there is a definite target on their backs.....

It's good to see station groups bringing this back. It's one of the lost traditions of broadcasting that disappeared when stations began operating 24/7. I'll always remember in the early 90s when WUAB would sign on in the morning (I watched them before school) and how they would go from their test pattern into signing on. Here's their test pattern with their weird hybrid tone they used...

The Nexstar/AT&T feud is over. https://deadline.com/2019/08/att-nexstar-settle-carriage-dispute-that-blacked-out-stations-in-97-markets-1202707707/ I wonder if it was the threat of Dorian, the upcoming football season, or just some good old fashioned negotiations...

In Montgomery, Alabama, the mayor's office is up for grabs after the longtime mayor decided not to run for re-election. They just had a runoff, and one of the finalists is David Woods, owner of WCOV Fox 20. He is the son of Charles Woods, who also dabbled in politics and owned WTVY in Dothan until 2000. Being a station owner, that frees him from the conflict of interest that many companies have when someone runs for office, but if he wins, the station may have to be put in a trust or sold. At least they contract their news out to Bahakel's WAKA/WNCF so that's out of the way (they disclose this in their coverage)

I don't know if Sinclair even tries to syndicate Sharyl's show. It's not like it's something useful, like Ring of Honor, which has lucked out in a few markets where Sinclair has no on-air presence. I'm sure there are netlet stations out there that are just DYING to have such a hard-hitting show of investigative journalism At least Weigel carries Greta's new show. And as for Soledad's show? It's actually halfway decent. The free market doing it's thing as good shows are picked up by willing stations....

Usually it's the lucky combination of a veteran talent cutting back on their hours (going part time). Less hours, less money, especially if it's in a subsequent contract when they're inching towards retirement.

I had hope for WOIO since they seemed to go outside the box and commission something different. But it seems that the smaller Raycom stations are getting assimilated into the borg. I hope they at least put some thought and effort into WBTV. That's practically their flagship inherited from Raycom and J-P.

Here's the open from Today's midday show (from YouTube)

I wouldn't be surprised to see WDAM switch soon as well....they're smack dab in the middle between Jackson and Biloxi... At least they're their own entity unlike WHLT which essentially simulcasts WJTV. They got a revamped logo with the limerick package, I'm afraid that they could revert to something like WJHG has now (which looks a lot like their prior logo)