Jase

Nothing yet. I agree the overall look wasn't cohesive. In fact, when they added in the video wall for traffic reports/various segments, it made things worse. Hopefully, they clean it up a bit and have it match, to some degree, the opposite side of the set.

Could they be getting a new desk? Also worth noting is that they no longer stand altogether at the end of the newscast. I guess the new EP is getting things back in order by creating a more traditional format/newscast.

As of late, Lewis has filled in more often (on GDC, @ Noon, etc...). This move gives Lisa Chavarria a bit of a break since she has been the go-to fill-in (on weekends in particular) for awhile.The logo was removed weeks ago. Strangely enough, they added a FOX 32 logo to one of their Michigan Avenue windows (it is lit up at night).

I'm sure offers have been made to WLS people...hence the 'for whatever reason' part of my post, but WMAQ has a longer history of people actually landing bigger jobs that dates back to at least the 60s. That said, the odds would seem to be better at WMAQ than WLS, but I agree these things are cyclical. My concern is that she may be in over her head. It's one thing to be confident in one's self and your abilities and it's another to over value yourself and those abilities. Rob Johnson and Anna Davlantes come to mind.

I am talking about moving from Chicago to either NYC/LA or a major network. There are plenty (Zoriada Sambolin, Horng, Jeff Goldblatt, etc...) who have returned to local news after a network level gig. No one, that I can recall, has been tapped, for whatever reason, from WLS for bigger horizons. The majority have come from WMAQ. So it wasn't the best of moves, imo, to leave in the first place if Scott's intentions are to move upward and onward.

No one from WLS has gone on to bigger and better things (ABC, NBC, CNN, etc..). She would have been better positioned to grow and move on had she waited her turn at WMAQ. Even tho she is not directly responsible for Mike's departure, people will hold that against her and that may hurt her image.

We still have to see how she handles major weather storms and the like. She seemed a bit lost during a major rain event last year (or the year before) when the entire NBC 5 storm team was on-air and everyone had to produce (if you will). Luckly she has Jerry for another year, but she is going against (either directly or indirectly) weather vets like Skilling, Miller and Baskerville and I am not sure she will ever be good enough in some people's eyes.

I think it's a toss up between WGN and WFLD. Jim Ramsey probably should hang it up and if he does, I could see Mike fitting in very well there. The management/environment at WFLD is very unpredictable, so I dont think that's the ideal place to go, but you never know.

I too had a feeling this would happen. She had not been seen on-air since they moved the traffic desk out of the newsroom and into a corner in the weather center (where the interactive screen once lived) last year. They just slowly reduced her role/presence on GDC and she hadn't filled any reports for the Noon show in quite some time. True that she wasn't in any promos, but neither was Corey for awhile. Nevertheless, it's a shame they pushed her out. I'm guessing she didn't get to say goodbye or thank viewers on-air..??

Speaking of Jim...I hope they didn't have him back out on the weather deck @ 5. He look like he was near death standing outside @ 4. We get that it's cold, so there was/is no reason to have that poor man (or anyone else) out there in this type of weather.

These type of technical issues (terrible video quality, etc...) are common place with them. Honestly, I don't think they know what letterboxing is much less how to fix basic technical issues, so best of luck in voicing a complaint. This is a station that had a station id/copyright graphic that only read 'All rights reserved' for what seemed like a year on every newscast before it was fixed.

It could be because the snowfall Monday night into Tuesday may not amount to much or it's unclear if we will get any at all. A lot can change within 48-72 hours and they may not want to make 'the call' until Sat. night or Sunday. I can't blame them for being a bit cautious.

People throw out random theories on various things daily on this site. They also agree and disagree too. No need to get bent out of shape over something so trivial.

Sheesh...I was being both a bit subjective and speculative (like others often do). I am fully aware of how schedules work, but thanks for the refresher!!

I disagree. There is no better time to get a sense of how things will be after Jerry retires than right now. There is a lot (from on-air presentation to team chemistry) that can be gleaned. Scott's hiring and unofficial title of 'heir apparent' is big news. There's a lot of pressure on her. If she succeeds Jerry, I believe she would be only the third woman to have had the title of chief met. (behind Shelly Monahan, WMAQ and Amy Freeze, WFLD) in this market. I can't remember if Monahan was officially given the title after replacing Andy Avalos tho. Nevertheless, viewers are likely going to be more critical of her than if she was replacing someone other than Jerry. I'm sure WLS is mindful of this and likely testing things scheduling-wise to see what works. Just imagine if she was replacing Tom Skilling.

I doubt they want to ruffle any more feathers with Cheryl sitting in for Jerry @ 10p when Mike is the primary sub. I get the sense that her hiring hasn't been completely welcomed by all, so as to not make matters worse, everyone gets to be appeased to some degree. This is likely why Jerry worked Thanksgiving and Christmas with Mike subbing for him at 10p recently. She will get her chance, it just likely won't be anytime soon.

Oh..I have to remember there are two people named Cheryl there now. Anyway, C. Scott was in studio with Jerry most of the evening. I guess she was getting some training in before her first full on-air experience.

She was there @ ten sitting at the weather center. Likely getting some one-on-one time with Jerry.

It's very, very small. So much so that the words are pretty much unreadable. They will likely make adjustments at some point.

I can't see Cheryl doing weekend mornings, even on a short term basis. It's a step back for her and one of the reasons why she left WMAQ. The flexible schedule she has @ WLS offers her the chance to move up faster either here in Chicago or elsewhere.

I agree. Maybe working behind the scenes with Jerry and the rest of the crew will enable her to learn more and get better.

I caught a bit of 'In the Loop' and Sylvia looked good (maybe lost a little weight) and I agree she should be on the air somewhere. There's a new 9P EP @ WFLD and I highly doubt he will be given the opportunity to make the wholesale changes that are needed. I would like to know why a deal with FOX fell threw. She was reportedly in talks to join the station soon after she left WLS.

I'm not sure what lease they have with the city. They don't own the building (they just lease space within it), so in theory, that shouldn't stop them from doing basic maintenance or upgrades. Given CIM is building the apartment tower on top of the mall, they are likely working with Prudential (owner of the CBS/Morningstar building) to make the entire complex more appealing. Doing so would benefit everyone. Who knows???

I haven't heard anything about improvements to the set. It's possible they could do something. I'm still surprised they decided to do exterior work after all these years. As I have said before, they don't have to overhaul the entire set, but do something simple to take advantage of both the space and view.

WBBM has added top-to-bottom glass panels on the outside of the studio on either side of the jumbotron that also wrap around to the Randolph side. Which mean...no more exposed steel beams!!! I dont know if these panels will light up (I assume they will), but this improvement is beyond overdue. I'll try to upload pics, but it's probably better to wait until the work is complete.