Jase

On 5/31/2019 at 6:10 AM, MorningNews said:

Not to worry, Jeff could be back in a prominent role soon (as he deserves) considering CBS is destined to shake up these two programs every 2 years on average.

I'm a bit surprised he didn't want to go to 60 minutes. Unless that wasn't an option for him.

1 hour ago, Georgie56 said:

Dan Roan is doing play-by-play for today's Cubs-Cardinals game. Never seen him in this role before. This should be interesting.

 

 

He is considered a substitute broadcaster (has been since the 80s) and I believe can only sub on games that air on WGN.

1 hour ago, Spring Rubber said:

I was surprised it hadn't happened yet. This was in the discussion since years before they actually stopped using the studio. I wonder if they had to wait the full 10 years before being allowed to put it up for rent.

They attempted to sublease space (including the street side studio) 10 yrs ago, to no avail. Doubtful they're going to get any takers this time around.

8 hours ago, 24994J said:

WFLD is also down one meteorologist, at the moment, so shifts will be stretched and weird for the summer. Not a total excuse, but it makes that 1am timeframe difficult, especially when there wasn't any guarantee that the storms would enter dangerous territory.

Even if they had Kaitlin, she lives in Indiana, so the turn around would be tougher. My guess is, in weather emergencies, it would fall to Bill, Mark or Mike (or they would go without).

9 hours ago, ns8401 said:

Nobody bothers staying over when this kind of weather is forecast?

Well...unless something was to occur during the 9-11P hrs., it wouldn't make sense to stay because the weather is unpredictable. 

4 hours ago, TSSZNews said:

'Ive already seem some cracks in the "Real News" brand with the recent R. Kelly interview (and their subsequent milking of it) and the Royals special. Considering either of those would have been unfathomable inside those halls 10 years ago.

R. Kelly is being accused of a very serious crime. Just because he's in the entertainment business, doesn't mean news organizations should turn a blind eye. I'm not saying you 'sensationalize' the story, but it's one that needs to be covered. Same with the Smollett case.

29 minutes ago, 24994J said:

A bit of a rarity tonight, as the southern edge of the Chicago viewing area is under a tornado warning. Despite it coming at a weird time of day, Cheryl Scott and Larry Mowry have been on the air since about 12:20am. WGN went on with Mike Hamernik a long while later, and Mary Kay Kleist did a quick update at 1 on CBS2. NBC5 and FOX32 have not broken in.

Pete (WMAQ) broke in a few minutes ago & said he will again when necessary. Likely won't see Mike (WFLD) or anyone else for awhile because I believe they all live in the burbs.

Is this the video wall or some temporary panels of some sort? I can remember if they used this look before. I’m not liking it (and Kalee agrees with me). 

25 minutes ago, HulkieD said:

I dunno.  Seems fine to me.

 

WPVI had a rather classic promo some years back focusing on their microphones.  This is kind of the same thing.

I just don't see it as impactful enough to draw viewers in. So when breaking news happens, is one of them going to be out in the field reporting on it and not 'behind the desk'? If so, great, but there has to be action behind the words. Doing a soft feature and/or an investigative piece here and there won't cut it. I'm not convinced they're going to do anything different than what they have done before. 

I don’t even know where to begin with this...

WBBM ‘News Desk’ promo (via newscaststudio)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QHEQdnSPOdE

33 minutes ago, rkolsen said:

Okay I see it clearly now.  But wasn’t the main green screen adjacent to the weather center retractable and covered a 3x3 monitor array?

I'm fairly certain, the main green screen has always been at the far end (near the door) with the 3x3 monitor array in the middle. That array was often used for traffic reports, etc... My guess is when they did the 3rd remodel of the weather center, they did away with the monitor array and just decided to toss another green screen up and made that the main one. The one at the end and at an angle appears retractable (but don't hold me to that). Studio 5 is the only other time they have used retractable green screens (two of them in fact.. 1 for weather, the other for traffic).

1 hour ago, rkolsen said:

There is this one weird area on the WMAQ studios where there are actually two chroma screens at about a 45° angle from one another each with screens at the end. It could be coming from the secondary screen which is much smaller and is lit a little less.

No. The light clearly appears to be coming from either a set of windows/doors. The weather office (or closet) has no windows and the 2 chroma/greens screens (not even going to get into how ridiculous that is) are adjacent to the weather center in an enclosed studio with no outside light shining in.

13 hours ago, Spring Rubber said:

What the heck is with the horrid lighting and the junk over in the lower right corner? Did they hang a green curtain inside of a storage closet? Is he recording this from his own home?

Dude is definitely not at the Tower. My guess would be at his parents house given that Brant has (and maybe still does?) weather reports for WLS radio (possibly other stations too) from home. Everything would be readily accessible there. But this is the first I've seen a weather report via a person's dining (or living) room. 

10 hours ago, PTVNews said:

 

Weird. Do we know for a fact he is an "employee", or maybe just interning or something? What's in it for the station? It's not that hard to have your professional weather people record segments for web.

It's true that Brant, Andy, Pete, etc... could do segments for the web, the weather app, Facebook and so on, but I don't see anything necessarily wrong with this arrangement. He does have a degree and being the Chief Met's son is an added bonus for sure. He not on-air (and likely never will be) and will probably move on to something bigger/better elsewhere soon enough. Might as well take advantage of whatever may come his way and build his resume. 

14 hours ago, rkolsen said:

I’m guessing they probably wanted to keep a 16:9 aspect ratio and a smaller version would not fill the area the previous monitors filled.

One would assume they could find something that would work in the available space. This video wall just doesn't fit. The entire set has turned into a hodgepodge of stuff with no cohesive look. It's embarrassing.   

I don't think whatever type of video screen/wall that is that its the correct (or ideal) type they should be using in that space/for that purpose. Yes, it's way too big and they shouldn't have any lights shining directly on it. They would have been better off gutting the space and building a new set period. 

3 hours ago, Daybreak said:

At this point CBS just need to be content with their ratings. Still can’t believe this is the 13th anchor change in 20 years. CBS O&O stations in general are having this problem of low ratings and turnovers with the exception of WCCO and KDKA  (I believe). 

 

Sidenote: Brad Edwards looks more like a weatherman with that salt and pepper hair ..ie Dallas Raines. 

What CBS really needs to do (but won't) is leave them the heck alone. At some point, you have to give your local people the opportunity and support needed to right the ship. Plus, they need a GM who is willing to be both an advocate (push back at corporate when necessary) and visionary (put together the right set of newsroom managers (ND, EPs, etc..). No need to reinvent the wheel here, but really have an open and honest 'self-reflection' to address where the problems lie.    

30 minutes ago, 24994J said:

I've always thought of Bill as a kind of critic at large, as Jake Hamilton does most of the heavy lifting on press junkets and stuff.

Yes, critic at large is a perfect way to describe his role. Since he retired from the Sun-Times, this is the only job Bill has (I believe) and he likely has the freedom to do whatever/whenever for GDC. Not a bad gig to have.

5 hours ago, 24994J said:

Honestly, I'm not sure where he fits in at any of the other 4 stations. With all due respect, Marissa could probably settle in nicely as a reporter/fill-in anchor somewhere, but Rob has too much built up to be just a reporter, and I don't know where an obvious (weekday) anchor role would be opening up anytime soon. ABC 7 is all locked up across the board, as is WGN. I maintain that FOX32 is in a holding pattern in the mornings, until they figure out what's going to happen at 9, but would they entertain the thought of Rob as 6-9am morning anchor (the only spot that seems up for grabs sooner rather than later). NBC5 might be the strongest contender, if they're interested. By my math, Dick Johnson is around 70, so who knows his long term plans, and ratings are showing weakness across the board on weekdays. Are they satisfied with Alex Maragos in the mornings, Patrick Fazio at 4, or even Rob Stafford at night? If they're lukewarm on any of those 3, things could be wide open for an outsider, as their internal male anchor bench is eternally thin.

I think WFLD is settled on the team at 5 & 9. It's the morning that they want to strengthen. Having Sylvia, Mike and now Roseanne helps improve the product/ratings. Not sure if they would part ways with/reassign Scott to make room for Rob. From what I can gather, everyone at WFLD is super supportive of each other and is very one team/one goal focused. Still, it's strange to see Anthony as Corey's backup and not someone a bit stronger.

WMAQ seems high on Alex and Patrick, so no change there and Stafford is there for life. He would have to be at death's door (not wishing that at all) for them to make a change. And even then, Stafford would be the one making the decision because WMAQ is not known for pushing anyone who's sick (Warner, Mike being perfect examples) out. Now if Dick retires, Rob could take is spot, but Dick seems to be going strong/in perfect health.

Rob may have to sit on the sidelines for awhile until something happens (if he wants to stay in this market).

8 hours ago, Jay Russell said:

Bill Zwecker just appears out of nowhere not complaining just a thought

Guessing he was on an extended leave of absence. Not sure when was the last time he appeared on GDC.

Just now, 24994J said:

Well, this is stupid.

 

FTVLive had this this morning. Might this just be the beginning of a repeat of 2008 across the O&O's?

 

 

Take solace in the fact that they got a new set before the blood bath begins. They should have given Rob's spot to Jim, but I guess they didn't want to break up the only pair that works.

12 hours ago, 24994J said:

New morning show promo with a very different look debuted tonight. They've departed from the standard graphics for the morning news before ("7 in the Morning," anyone?), but this one is definitely out there. I REALLY don't like this voiceover. She does work for the west coast O&O's, and that style just doesn't click east of the Mississippi.

 

 

A rare step back in the promo dept. for them. I don't like any of it (graphics look cheap, v/o is terrible, the music...blah). The overall tone is off.

From Feder:

https://www.robertfeder.com/2019/02/21/robservations-fox-32-teams-roseanne-tellez-rafer-weigel-mornings/

"Tellez and Weigel replace Anthony Ponce and Natalie Bomke on the early morning newscast. Ponce will move to weekend anchor and Bomke will take on evening reporting duties, according to the station."

1 hour ago, 24994J said:

Rafer confirms it. Curious to see what becomes of the Ponce/Bomke pair, as they're a superior anchor team compared to Schneider/Padilla from 6-9am.

 

 

Didn't see this coming. I think they wanted Rafer behind the anchor desk more than out in the field given he tends to go off script.  I have said before that Anita is better off in the field, so maybe Natalie takes her spot? Not sure about Anthony. Guess we'll find out how things shake out tomorrow.

37 minutes ago, Breaking News said:

Which capacity could you see her in at FOX?  Could you see her on Good Day Chicago?  Now here my wishful hope.  When Nexstar gets it hooks into WGN.  That many from WGN will flock over to FOX32 to give them the much-needed jolt.   Another question is why is CBS 2 (it seems just speculation) that CBS runs WBBM on a shoestring budget?  They don't have the cache of talent that pops out.

Tough to say what role Roseanne would have. My guess is Kristen could be given the boot and she replaces her on the 'Live Desk' and Friday/Saturday with Rafer or she takes over from Sally on Good Day Sat./Sun. and reports during the week, etc..

WFLD seems to be the place to be, but they have a lot of high-priced talent and have been known to cut beyond the bone in the past. Thankfully, current management appears to know what they're doing, but I don't see them picking up anyone new without replacing someone currently on staff.

13 hours ago, Breaking News said:

Robert Feder said Insiders are saying she'll go to FOX32 and FTVLIVE.com just repeating what Robert said.  Why not NBC5? No shade to

Allison Rosati, but um...Who going to be next after her?  I don't want to be that person...., but is she really a big deal in Chicago?  We hear all about the

ABC7 folks and here & there are CBS2 people. Of course, you have WGN and then FOX32 they do try.  It just seems NBC5 people don't get the cache like ABC7.

Marion would likely succeed Allison if she were to retire. Allison and Marion are close in age (Rosati is like 3 months older) and neither seem ready to pull a Kathy Brock and retire any time soon. That said, there isn't room at WMAQ, WLS and WGN, so WFLD is the logical choice given they have an opening and could use a vet like Roseanne.