Jase

Looks like the desk from (the now defunct) NBC Sports Chicago has found a new home...

My guess is that Amazon will shell out plenty of $$$ to make sure this venture is comparable to ABC, NBC, etc.. across the board. Otherwise, why make the effort to begin with???

Realistically, John couldn't really devote his time to both Evening News and Daily Report. That said, I don't understand the vagueness concerning the move to Evening News. Simply saying you're joining the evening news team could mean anything. I could be wrong, but it feels like a lot of mix messaging going on. That's the impression I got also...the move to 57 is temporary. But if I'm being honest, is there really a need for a new set? With some small adjustments, 57 would work out fine, imo.

I think they should have someone cover the health beat. With Sandra Torres being a bilingual journalist, being able to turn around health stories for both an English and Spanish speaking audience could be invaluable. But, if I had to guess, maybe Kate or Regina succeed Lauren.

Probably a cost-savings move. I wouldn't be overly concerned about it. Overall, they have been making moves to better position themselves moving forward, imo. Getting the jumbotron fixed, moving back to the streetside studio, getting a AR/VR weather setup and moving Baker back to sports have been huge positives. Heck... they even went as far as to replace the tv monitors in the lobby with four big new ones. Hopefully, they're not forced to make any huge personnel cuts in the near future. Sidenote: I can't help but notice that Jim's hands tend to shake/tremble a lot. I hope he's not dealing with a serious medical condition.

WFLD said they would air FOX 13 from 10P-4:30A CST. Granted, if something happens with the feed, they would have to air something else (probably FOX Weather).

I believe they're only showing FOX 13 Tampa (now until 4:30A) and not FOX 35 Orlando.

Her leaving shouldn't prevent her from going to FL. The news doesn't stop, if you will. It's possible there's another reason. This event, and the VP debate pre/post-coverage, would have been an excellent opportunity to use both Maurice and John more. Not saying that Norah should be pushed to the side, but Maurice could have been on the ground in FL co-anchoring coverage and both him and John could have lead coverage on CBS News 24/7. Also, Rob Marciano (formally of ABC News/GMA) made his first appearance yesterday during CBS Evening News. ABC cut ties with him in April.

It's been a taxing couple of weeks, so I can understand them working in some down time, if you will, for their respective teams (both on the ground and in studio). There's only so much that can be said/done until the storm makes landfall.

CBS News says heated Ta-Nehisi Coates interview did not meet editorial standards after criticism "CBS News executives said Monday that a heated morning show interview with acclaimed author Ta-Nehisi Coates, during which his new book was compared to “extremist” writings, did not meet the network’s editorial standards."

Bears Blitz has made the move upstairs to the newly renovated Studio 32. Not sure if the renovation is complete as this is only part of the overall studio space. Nevertheless, I like what I see.

What also needs to be considered is ratings. All three morning shows are relatively close in both total viewers and demo. And are, on average, separated by a couple of thousands viewers. With linear tv being what it is, would bringing in an outsider really move the needle? With Kotb leaving, do you also consider moving Guthrie to a new role as well and start fresh? Or do you keep it simple and just promote Craig? Again, with ratings being as tight as they are, the risks couldn't be higher. I don't envy the decision-makers at NBC.

John will co-host pre-coverage of the debate. Not sure who the other co-host will be. Could be Maurice (or Gayle or someone else). Brennan needs to remember that she is a moderator and avoid taking, let's just say, an argumentative/combative approach.

If I was him, I wouldn’t want to move. He has his own show that allows him to do whatever he wants. Why leave that to play second fiddle in the mornings? While I haven’t seen him and Savannah work together, they don’t seem like the best pair, imo. Craig is the best option because he’s already there and a familiar face to viewers. Not sure there’s anyone outside of NBC they could find that would make an impact.

One could argue that there’s a similar layout between the two sets (video wall / home base / weather center). This (see below) is a good example of that… Old New Had they made some tweaks to the previous set, they could have extended its life a bit longer. This new set is a downgrade, imo. Plus, it’s poorly lit.

Former MSNBC Anchor Brian Williams in talks to host Election Night special for Amazon

I meant to say a different skin/color set, not new version. Thanks for the clarification. I do like this one better than the one they used previously. Even the simplicity of the GDC elements are a welcomed improvement.

WFLD unveiled a different color set/skin of the FOX O&O graphics today. Most notable change is that Good Day Chicago has, as described by Mike Caplan, a ‘traditional’ open (delivered by the station’s voiceover announcer) along with new graphic elements. The L3s are a lot more richer/sharper than the previous ones.

WGN promotes Hillery to Weekend Morning Anchor

To your point, they could easily take the resources they're putting into these newscasts and go out into the communities and report on issues that effect said communities. I'm sure there are enterprising stories they can come up with (aside from the standard/generic feature and/or entertainment stuff) and turn those into programs to help fill the void. Too bad they don't seem interested in doing that.

I assume Raddatz was the lead will the others adding their analysis. She has more than enough experience to handle debate coverage. Karl on the other hand can be very bias. Other than that, it made sense to have this group given politics, white house, congress, etc.. is what they cover normally. While it would have been great to have Muir (and/or Davis lead), I would argue that ABC has a solid group of anchors/reporters that are fully capable to handle whatever. Honestly, he would have been fine as well. It was a debate not election night.

I always like Sports Edge (which preceded the Final Word). They've had a lot of listings for sports producers (including executive sports producer) over the past several months. It's my understanding that they want to create/produce more shows (particularly sports-centric ones) for both the linear side and streaming (Fox Local). That said, I wouldn't be surprised if CST becomes a nightly show. Nguyen already has a special sports series... 'Chicago Built' that airs on Fox Local.

WFLD’s Sunday Night Sports program has a new name…. Chicago Sports Tonight (which replaces Sports Zone). Also worth noting is that Bears Game Day Live is now 90 minutes and there are no longer two separate Bears pregame shows (Fox Kickoff Live & Bears GDL).

WFLD names Glen Dacy VP of News Content and Streaming It's a return to WFLD for Dacy who once served as senior producer for Good Day Chicago.

It's unclear if the 'The Gates' is 30 mins. or an hour. An article (from 2 days ago) that I read said it will run only 30 mins. Which would mean there would be 30 mins. that would have to be filled with something. Honestly, I haven't come across anything that said it would be an hour-long soap. Safe to say most people assumed that given it is replacing an hour-long show, it would be an hour-long too. So there's that....