Jase

You're not alone about getting tired of this whole Sinclair ordeal. I think we have reached the point that we have to let things play out and stop the daily 'Sinclair is evil' debate. It's not like we're going to forget that Sinclair has done/will do some shady stuff nor are they going to suddenly stop doing said shady stuff. You're right about Feder too. He was at it again today. I'm not sure what (if anything) WGN management said to Hoover, but his tweet remains up/visible. I'm guessing the reprimand was that he doesn't make any further tweets, comments and the like in the future.

Looks like WGN is trying to get ahead of any Sinclair resistance that may be building up. http://www.robertfeder.com/2018/04/03/chicagos-peril-wgn-tries-keep-lid-sinclair-resistance/

Derek Dalton named new GM at WBBM http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-cbs-2-new-gm-20180403-story.html

I’m assuming to work the ‘Live Desk’ @ 5 and report @ 9P?? Guess we have to wait and see on Monday. I wonder if she’ll bump Sylvia as #2 (Dawn’s backup). If so, I’m not liking that idea.

He gets no kudos from me. He was lucky enough to work for a GM who was just as ineffective as he was. Then when she bails, so does he. Couldn’t even wait until a new GM is named or, at the very least, a month before leaving. Quite the leader he is.

I don't think they have much control at the local level to make decisions. If I'm not mistaken, NYC (corporate) has the ultimate say. Also, Ed was sidelined/off-air for like 2+ years unable to go anywhere (he was still under contract) before they brought him back. My guess is that someone doesn't think too highly of him and that's why he wasn't named Steve's successor much less shifted to weekend nights temporarily to fill in for Mary Kay.

Kristen Nicole is the name that you're looking for. Maybe she takes over for Anita (who then goes back to just reporting) or Kristen goes back to GDC Weekends where she started when she came to WFLD. They needed another guy on the mornings and Anthony is a solid pick.

In actuality, they gave more to republicans than democrats that year and didn't directly, to my knowledge, ask their employees for political contributions. Again, I don't think media/broadcasting/communication companies should have a PAC.

I think 32 is not an option given they already have Brittney on board. But she would be a perfect addition to 'the JAM' on 26.

Not surprised someone picked Jenny up. I'm still unclear as to why WFLD let her go in the first place. Her replacement brings nothing to GDC and can't even finish reading the map/travel times most days.

I'm sure Tom is ambitious, but who really wants to be tied to the anchor desk all day? Rafer (WFLD) only anchors Friday and Saturday and unlike his predecessor, Scott, has never worked the Live Desk @ 5P and spends most of his time out in the field. From Tom's bio- 'When Mark’s busy, you’ll find Tom filling in on WGN Evening News and WGN News at Nine and Ten alongside Micah Materre. But truth be told, he’d rather be out covering a story.' That pretty much speaks for itself. I'm guessing Larry was asked/considered, but probably likes the shift he has. In by 4A out by like 10-11A isn't a bad deal. Get to spend a great deal of time/one's day with the family.

I'm not too surprised by this. I don't think Tom likes anchoring (he would rather be out in the field) and Ben is B team material (C team imo, but..). Larry and Dan were not moving off of mornings for obvious reasons. Steve wasn't going back to evenings and the weekend guys were staying on the weekends.

Let me put it this way.. A corporation, in this case, a media/broadcasting one, has a lot more influence/power than a labor union and can push their political agenda (whether it's pro-right/left/up or down) out to a lot more people. As overly-idealistic as this may sound; I just don't think it's a good idea for a corporation to ask for a 'donation' or a union to use dues towards anything political. Decisions like that should ultimately be left up to an individual. And despite what SCOTUS says, a corporation is not an individual. Back to you Jim.

I wouldn’t put a labor union in the same boat as a corporation.

WFLD does their own version of FNC' 'Outnumbered' during their 9A hour, so it's not uncommon to see this type of stuff.

No media/broadcasting corporation should, directly or indirectly, have a PAC and/or ask their employees to contribute to said PAC regardless of political affiliation. While it may seem like people are piling on Sinclair; believe me that they would be just as critical if this was Comcast, AT&T, Disney, etc...doing the same thing.

They have cut the Friday 9P newscast short before (normally during ratings periods) to run special programs (i.e Chicago at the Tipping Point, Inside the Bears, etc..), so it's unclear if 'Fired Up' will become a regular thing. Feder often complains/points out that WFLD does this to fudge their ratings #s.

In theory, they could do whatever/whenever they want. It’s not like the Winter Games are here in Chicago. Just because it’s sweeps means nothing. They are due for a remodel and could easily do what they have to do over the next several weeks without interruptions to their newscasts. Again, no one said a remodel is officially happening only that it APPEARS something more significant is taking place.

I am assuming that will be the case (remove the wood, etc...) to make everything match, but they have had sets in the past that didn't have a cohesive overall look, so who knows?? With the overall set/space being super small, they couldn't shove the desk over there. If the plan is to stay in place while they remodel, the best option would be to go to the opposite side (between the chroma key wall and weather center). That would give the cameras enough room to move around. Or they could throw up some blue panels behind them during each newscast to cover whatever they plan to do to that part of the set. Guess we have to wait and see what, if anything, happens. I am a little surprise they didn't just go upstairs to the old Steve Harvey studio temporarily and take care of everything at the same time.

I can live with the color. I just hope this is a temporary setup and they plan to do more to finish off this space. If not, this is a wasted opportunity and a huge step backwards.

Here’s the updated stand-up area. Again, this could mean more changes are coming to the rest of the set. February 2018

Yes and upon further review (i just watch the 6P), it looks like they may be (again, i say MAY BE) remodeling the entire set (excluding the weather center??) in phases rather than all at once. I have to watch again at 10p and tomorrow at 4A to get a better sense of things and hopefully some more pics too. February 2012 (Set Debut) 2017 It goes like this chroma key (green screen) wall > monitor wall > weather center. The monitor wall was added at some point (2013?), but wasn’t there originally I believe in 2012. Here’s a pic. Tough to make out, but the only one I could find.

The lighting upgrade, I don't know, but I would guess several months back. I personally notice no real difference, but I have poor eyesight, so...yeah.

They would need to also grab some behind-the-scenes people too from WGN to be really successful. I could see them try to make a play for Larry. I doubt Robin would want to work for her ex-husband or Paul pushing Mike out (unless they get rid of Bill and move Mike to evenings).

Even if Sinclair completely destroys WGN Morning News, I can't imagine anyone leaving for WFLD and/or a huge amount of viewers turning to GDC. Jenny and Mike were a good pair. Can't for the life of me figure out why WFLD dropped her.