Jase

No. There is always something different to do/to learn. I got to play stage director, if you will, most of the time. One year, the Santa float blew by too fast with about 1 min. left to fill at the end and I had to chase it down before it got out of camera range. Good times...

Having worked the TV side of the parade for a # of years, the hosts have it pretty easy. The scripts are already done, so it's just a matter of doing a quick run through, dressing warmly, being able to read without sounding like you are and that's it. It's much easier now since they have all the performances first and then the parade instead of mixing them in. Heck...Mark and Micah, in theory, could be back home by Noon (if not sooner). Despite the weather, its a cool experience to have under your belt.

I agree it seems weird to change things after 7 years. It will be interesting to see if they stay on script or ad-lib here and there. Micah doesn't seem to have much of a friendly, upbeat 'it's a parade!!' demeanor.

It's sweeps, so it shouldn't come as a surprise she was there to intro her piece/discuss it with Mark & Micah. As far as turning around and working the AM shift, WFLD does this all the time (i.e. Corey or John sitting in at 9P and are back on GDC the next day). Granted they have little choice given their much smaller staff when compared to WGN or anyone else for that matter.

I believe viewers understand that their favorite anchor/reporter will, at some point, retire. WLS really needs to plan out who they want to replace these veterans with. Adding Scott seems like a step backwards imo. Offering her three years (sounds like something WFLD would do) is, on the surface, pointless, so they throw in the possibility to succeed Jerry to sweeten the deal and thus create an uncomfortable situation for the rest of the weather team. If they didn't want to promote someone from within, they could have easily found someone with a bit more experience than Scott without spending a ton of cash.They really can't afford to be careless because viewing habits can change if you add the wrong people (inexperienced and cheap) into the mix.

Before Jim Tilmon retired from WMAQ, he only did the 10PM newscasts with Andy handling the 4:30, 5 and 6 newscasts. That said, Jerry doing only 10 with Cheryl taking over 5 and 6 and Mike staying at 4 could, in theory, happen.

Unless Tracy Butler quits, she seems like the odd one out. They wouldn't have six weather people on staff unless it was a temporary arrangement with Jerry leaving at the end of November/this year. But it doesn't appear he's leaving anytime soon.

No way she jumps ahead of everybody else. I'm thinking she will join a revamped weekday AM newscast. And even if she takes over in 3-5 years, she really needs to step it up. WMAQ is done with her, so she's not going back there.

While not the most creative promo, it is unique to see the entire evening crew in one shot. This feature has been employed by others in the past, but I don't recall ABC 7 doing this before. Not sure it was warranted tonight however.

So WFLD has updated their cityscape backdrop duran which now puts WLS to shame. I still dont understand why WLS didn't do more.

While I do like the softer lighting, overall, this is a wasted effort. New durans look like a small step above the ones at WFLD. It's unfortunate they decided to take a pass on doing something bigger and better to the set.

Weather Center should be up and running @ 10p. Work continues in the interview area.

They could easily make adjustments to the set if they wanted to. Will they remains to be seen however. Like I mentioned last night, they were pointing at/discussing the duratrans, so they could throw in some new ones and a new desk without much work I would believe.

I would agree. It doesn't seem like something they have set up 'already' just in case. I was surprised they had all the shades open, so you could see inside. There were a couple of lights that were removed, wires everywhere, etc.. There were also a couple of guys walking around pointing at the background duratrans and so forth, so something is going on. What...I don't know.

They will likely mention what's going on at some point. Probably before they toss it to Jerry (or thereafter).

There are some type of light/electrical issues happening in the studio. There was stuff everywhere on the floor when I walked by at around 8p tonight.

Look F graphics have also been used as part of the cold open/intro into the newscasts. This and the aforementioned updated promos have been used for the past couple of weeks I believe.

No need to get bent out of shape over this. Age isn't really an issue given that with decent enough health and a relatively light workload, people can do their job beyond the age of 70. For example, WBBM's Harry Porterfield is 85 and still anchors/reports five days a week. Finally, with the recent executive changes at Disney/ABC, forgive me if I don't take too much stock in the imaginary 'powers that be' you are referring to.

Ron will be there until HE decides to leave. There is no way he is pushed, asked, etc.. to retire. Jerry doesn't appear to be in the best of health, so it would make sense to retire soon. In some sense, the same can be said of Linda.

Karen is next in line to move and she would likely replace Linda and then possibly Kathy at some point. Ron is untouchable and could very well anchor another 8-10 years. By that point, it would make sense to give the job to Ravi and not Alan. While I would agree a complete morning rebuild isn't necessary at this point, I could see everyone, including Roz, being replaced within a year or so.

'First Alert' isn't the type of term that should be use daily so I don't get the idea behind using this to brand their weather segments. Seems like another step in the wrong direction.

Why was she there that long? We all knew it was going to be really cold today and tomorrow, so what was the point of having two people on more than one newscast basically telling you it's cold outside. Seems unnecessary.

That could be it (who do you like?...), but I'm not so sure. Feder indicated that the 'If .... were no longer one of the weathercasters on ABC 7 News ' question was asked about Jerry and Tracy. If the same question were asked about Mike and Phil, I believe that Feder would have suggested as such. I could be reading too much into it, but I don't see this study as a positive thing, but more as a way to push people out and free up some cash. If I had to guess, Mike takes over as Chief @ 5p and 10p with Phil handling weekday mornings. They could then bring in two new people (both in their mid/late 30s) for 4p/6p shift on weekdays and 5p/10p weekend shift. With Troy in the mix, they would have three people who will be the next generation of weathercasters @ WLS.

So it seems they're looking into adding some new, younger faces to the weather team. In all honesty, this has been long overdue. Somewhat cold-blooded to single out Jerry and Tracy for elimination however.

He is also featured in print/billboard ads along side Rob, Alison and Brant. This has been the case for a couple of months I believe. but nothing 'official' has been mentioned on air, the web site, etc... about him being the principal sports anchor. So it's an unofficial acknowledgement at best, but I am not sure why that is however.