Jase

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.

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.