Jase

They are getting really sloppy...

Something tells me there's something bigger going on here. This 'so-called' error and the Blackhawks one (instead of 'Blackhawks Win'..graphic read.. 'Blacks Win') from last year seem intensional. It's as if some person (or people) want to embarrass the station for some reason. I could be wrong, but something seems a little too fishy to me.

Everyone tends to go crazy when it comes to weather. However, WLS probably shouldn't have went with this backdrop for the simple fact that it was distracting. Giangreco was wrong in his rebuttal saying that another station would have done the same thing. The fact is, they (WMAQ or WFLD) didn't. Sometimes you have to own your mistakes, which this clearly was.

I would think Anthony Ponce has to be in the mix for the AM shift, too.

I think it all depends on what Anthony wants to do. I imagine that M-F, 4A-7A shift can get rough after awhile, so he may want to stay where he is (for now). With the weekday AM shift, 11A and 4:30P spots now open, hopefully WMAQ will stop dragging its feet and fill those positions.

Here's what I could see:

 

4: Linda & Hosea

5: Cheryl & Rob

7: Linda & Hosea

6 & 10: Alan & Kathy

I could see this....

4: Ravi & Karen

5: Alan & Cheryl

6: Rob & Kathy

7: Hosea & Linda

10: Alan & Kathy

I don't think they can keep both Ravi and Karen on weekends indefinitely without running the risk of losing one of them in the next 5 years. The 4:30P male anchor spot @ WMAQ is still open (has been for nearly a year) and I'm sure they would jump at the chance to steal Ravi away from WLS.

I could easily see Linda being pushed toward retirement this year, so there's no reason to keep her at 4.

Going out on a limb here.... but did anyone actually watch the morning show?

I caught a good bit of it on Saturday. It was just your standard weekend morning newscast. The biggest disappointment was the lack of promotion. They could have something here with proper promotion and resources, but they seem to not care whether the newscast succeeds or fails. It's going to be an uphill challenge for them to gain/keep viewers.

They unofficially announced that Strehl is fronting 'Good Day Chicago: Weekend Edition' which starts this Saturday. Not sure who (if anyone at all) will be joining him. I'm guessing that they could have Natalie and George working a Tues.-Sat. or Sun.-Thurs. shift in addition to this new news/weather/social media anchor serving as the third 'co-host' during the week (which is how things are set up from 7A-10A with Corey, Darlene and Richard).

It's unclear as to why this new person would serve as a primary sub for Bill @ Noon/Nine unless everyone else is off, sick, etc... Who knows?

Why would you have to spell the days out each time? Aren't those graphics on file pre made with the days? It's on a producer I bet and not her. She probably didn't make it.

This is likely one of the many blank weather graphics templates that they (and every other station) have that allows someone to type/insert text. She (or someone else) probably was in a rush and this simply slipped past them. The graphic in question isn't your standard 7 day, Satellite/Radar, etc... one that requires little to no editing, so stuff like this happens.

I saw it last night on my Cozi TV station (WTVJ 6.2) and let's just say... the band Chicago ended their performance 10 seconds before the new year + the delay between the countdown and the actual new year's moment was noticeable. It was awful.

 

Even Pitbull's broadcast was way better and possibly, the NYE broadcast on ABC was possibly even better too. I think NBC's broadcast was still better than the Chi-Town Rising.

Not sure it's fair to compare a locally-produced show to those shown on ABC, FOX, etc... They are nowhere near the same level resource-wise, etc... Honestly, they are years away from being a network level (worthy) broadcast and I think they are OK with that for now.

Do you mean she was standing right on top of him and almost got in the way or she was bugging him?.

He was standing and she was sitting. He angrily whipped it off so fast that it nearly hit her in the face/head. Or so it appeared from my angle.

He could have been having an off night, but there is clearly some tension between the two.

I wouldn't bet the farm on things being perfect off air if he gets demoted...

There is still some level of coldness between Cheryl and the rest of the 10P crew. A couple of weeks back, she was trying to make small talk (during the last break) & Ron wasn't having it. He didn't say a word or look in her direction (which is normal). Kathy tried, but wasn't really feeling it. Mark was on his phone.

Ron nearly hit her when he was taking out his ifb after the newscast. That was hilarious!!

In comparison, when Jerry is there, things are different. Again, during the last break, he, Ron and Kathy are talking, smiling and whatnot (Mark is again on his phone). With that said, everyone is professional on camera, but it's a different story off camera that only a few see, but you never hear about.

WMAQ (along with Telemundo Chicago) were broadcasting sponsors not the ones that created this thing mind you so I doubt they had very much say in the naming of this event along with anything else.

Lopez was an odd choice as host, but I can live with that. The star rose (looked pretty nice on TV) and the fireworks were good. Honestly, things could have gone a lot worse. I'm willing to give them a break given this was the 1st year.

 

 

I agree. The lot of us have been (or will be) wronged by someone at some point in our lives for whatever reason. It's often better to rise above it and move on than come off super bitter about the situation. It's unfortunate both sides couldn't have worked out a transition (retirement) plan, but that's life I guess.

There's a new promo with Ron (his 3rd one??) that I just saw about an hr. ago that has me questioning who wrote/created these new promos in the first place. I mean..they seem so cold and insincere.

These two statements jumped out at me regarding this new spot...

'That's when the experience of our news department really comes to the fore.' -- RM

The fore?? What does that even mean? It just sounds odd.

'It gives me great confidence to sit down at 10 o'clock and do a story knowing that people who REALLY knew what was going on put this information together.' -- RM

So is he saying/implying that the competition doesn't have a clue and lacks the news-gathering experience of WLS/ABC 7? Sounds a bit condescending and totally out-of-place coming from someone as highly regarded as Ron Magers.

I could be reading too much into this, but I'm not sure what they hope to accomplish with these spots. They are a huge turn off imo.

In my very limited experience (I find WMAQ way too bland to be worth my time) they are not that similar at all... WLS's product is looking a little fatigued of late..

 

As for Feder and CRM I was surprised CRM called him out without naming him. That's not his style usually... Something must have irked him somehow...

CRM calls Feder out (without naming him) often enough that pretty much everyone who frequent the site knows who they are referring to.

In regards to the so-called 'blandness' of WMAQ..a lot depends on the chemistry. Stafford is very dry/stiff and Rosati is the complete opposite. Nevertheless, it somehow works (or viewers are not put off by it/just don't care). Stafford and Brooks together is even worse, but that's another story. Personally, I'm not looking to be entertained, but informed when it comes to news, weather, etc..so if a station can aaccomplish that, I'll watch.

I will admit, there are many things being done at NBC that are superior to ABC, but this so-called arrogance by 7 is at least warranted, as being #1 for 30 years gives them some right. NBC 5 has been on its way up for like 2 years, has yet to become the established top dog, and yet they're beginning to show the same "arrogant, hostile, and snotty" attitude as the supposed hell-spawns at 190 North.

Being arrogant, on any level, isn't a positve. WLS has made a few key missteps as of late and WMAQ has been on an uptick thanks in part to building a solid young core of anchors/reporters and hiring market vets/leaders behind the scenes. Nothing more or less. Not sure where you get the impression that either station comes off as 'arrogant, hostile, etc....' or that WMAQ has copied WLS (or vice versa) from.

It looks like CRM slammed Feder without mentioning him by name for his post about the ratings following the cubs win. There were some really good points made that Feder whiffed on completely:

 

http://chicagoradioandmedia.com/news/7717-abc-7-wins-cubs-post-game-coverage-ratings

Ever since Feder left the Sun-Times, he has become more bias than objective in his reporting. That said, you have to take what he says (or didn't say in this case) with a grain of salt. CRM is somewhat better at providing a balance look at things.

Decent promos to be sure though they come on a little stronger than they should...

Yeah...Kathy's promo gives off a somewhat defiant vibe. The hand slap and finger snap didn't help matters. With Cheryl's..it's the choice of words. It's never a good thing to assume you know the 'needs' of the viewer. That and a few other things could have been phrased better.

Honestly, WLS and WMAQ have nothing to worry about from WGN. It's WBBM that has to be very, very concerned.

Note the circle 7 is plain. God that looks sweet. It looks like they redressed the area they used fort talent opens and weather promos. Maybe it's a clue on the new direction for their new set?

I guess you could say this promo is connected to the new set in some way, but we have to wait and see how they tie everything together once the set is revealed. I see this promo as more of a re-imanging of ones they have done previously with a nod to the past with the 'Circle 7'.

Honestly, I am tired of seeing the 'lets stand/walk outside together', various shots of people, places and things around the city, etc... type of promos that have become too common place. It's refreshing to see something a bit different once and awhile.

Have they filled the 4:30 slot yet? Just give it to Stefan already and give Alex mornings.

No. The 4:30 slot is still open and they don't seem to be in a hurry to fill it. Alex seemed to fit in well with the morning crew.

Assuming (hoping) it wasn't someone's idea of a crude joke, it was a cringe-worthy mistake, and I have no idea how it happened. But, pretty much every station has made unfortunate graphics errors because, well, sh*t happens. You can bet WGN is going to be a lot more careful, since this is ALL over the internet.

I think the biggest question is what is this graphic saved/listed under in their system? That could rectify whether or not this was intentional. Maybe they, as well as others, should just keep things simple by not using any symbols of any kind besides a Christmas tree, Turkey and a pumpkin every now and then.

Why not Roseanne Tellez on the evening broadcasts?

Easy....She's too old. They are thinking about/planning for the future. Tellez is 52 with 25 years of experience in this market which holds very little value these days sadly. Johnson should have been tossed out as well, but I guess that would be too much for WBBM to handle/overcome.

He had a contributor role once before on the morning newscast (during the Bob Sirott-era) and even filled in for him from time to time. That said, this isn't much of a surprise. While the move to 4A is a given, hopefully more changes are on tap.

 

Funny thing is, Terrell did it last year, and other reporters before that, and nobody bats an eye.

 

But did they also appear on both the New Year's Eve and Auto Show specials too? She's 3 for 3 (not counting parades and Cubs broadcasts). It seems unnecessary.

 

At first I thought it was one of the morning show's jabs or pranks, but then I realized they're serious about it. It's totally a shot, and I like it. Take that, Sky 5.

 

While it's not their style, I would love to see WMAQ respond to this featuring Kye (weekday mornings traffic anchor) and Marley (weekend mornings traffic anchor). Heck..they could throw Mike in there too.