Jase

17 hours ago, SFTV said:

All those hours of news, it better be covering every city and county

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.  

1 hour ago, TVNewsLover said:

 

While I enjoy them as contributors during other coverage or as hosts on This Week, I do believe ABC would’ve benefited from having a stronger anchor leading coverage, such as George, Whit, or even Robin.

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.

1 hour ago, MorningNews said:

Whit is good but he hasn’t done much political anchoring at ABC.

Honestly, he would have been fine as well. It was a debate not election night.

19 hours ago, Georgie56 said:

Why not go back to the longest-running name, Final Word? Also, with a name like that, it should be a nightly program instead of just on Sundays.

I always like Sports Edge (which preceded the Final Word). 

18 hours ago, 24994J said:

 

They had a job listing for a long time for a sports producer role that implied the possible creation of a nightly program, so this could be a first step, like the reverse process of what WGN did.

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.... 

1 hour ago, CraigViewer said:

The hosts look a bit swallowed up by the massive set.  That said, I think it's a fantastic new set though. 

I agree the set feels massive. Not a fan of the gold/green however.

57 minutes ago, C Block said:

He’s maybe not bad in small doses, and he was good writing for Cable Newser back in the day, but he was too much and too didactic in how much he was on CNN during the Zucker era. I also still maintain that media journalism is the laziest form of journalism.

The trouble with some media columnists, analyst, etc... (as of late) is that they tend to be just as bias as those they accuse of showing biases. Personally, I didn't care much for Darcy (who at one point blamed Licht for CNN's ratings woes months AFTER he was gone). And I agree Shelter can be a lot. Hopefully he stays 'grounded'  and sticks to the newsletter and limited on-air appearances.

2 hours ago, mrschimpf said:

 

The glass did its job as it was designed to do; it's supposed to remain intact and not shatter as bulletproof glass, so that's all you can really ask out of a strong pane of glass like that. I've been past the studio many times and it really is protected with thick glass that absorbs most collision impact as it did in 2007 (not that I've tested it out myself).

 

The other thing though is that it was totally a punk suburban kid here just being a stupid little brat, so this wasn't what you'd expect at all in downtown Chicago. For the most part criminals definitely steer clear of that block of State Street just by virtue of WLS being there with multiple skycams and multiple angles; you'd be an absolute idiot to commit a crime there. And for the most part when WGN Radio and WMAQ had their own streetside studios the worst you got was the occasional drunk who might provide some midnight color commentary. I'm sure ABC and CBS regularly have security checks to make sure everything is secured and proper, so I'm not worried about anything horrible happening out there outside of copycats.

It's not a question of the glass not doing it's job, but rather assessing what (if anything) more needs to be done when incidents like this occur. Just as when the van crashed into the studio, bollards where added to prevent said incident from happening again.

And from personal experience, I have (and continue to this day) walked this stretch of State to/from work all times of the day/night and can attest, it's not as safe as it once was. But I digress....

2 hours ago, 24994J said:

Yeah, I know it's not 2006, anymore, but this idea of aggressively reassessing their streetside position is a little weird, to me. Two troublemakers in 18 years, a 17-year between incidents, and only 1 of them happening in an "anti-media" era. That's a great track record, considering some of the crazy crap that's happened outside of the Today Show, in a similar span of time. Cost and maintenance might be what sends them to another studio, but unless there are more incidents soon, I don't think safety will be the motivator.

With the studio's milestone anniversary coming up, it's not outside the realm of possibilities that WLS is looking toward either another set re-fresh or moving back to a traditional set setting. This rock/brick-throwing incident is probably a part of said discussion (though not likely a determining factor one way or another if the stay streetside or not).

1 hour ago, Chicago2008 said:

How often would you say the shade is down VS up?

The shades are down a majority of the time (regardless if it's to block sunlight, etc...). So I say 99.9% of the time. 

On 8/12/2024 at 3:44 PM, 24994J said:

Honestly, I don't know why the noon isn't anchored from Studio 32. A nice change of pace for what is (probably?) one of their better-rated newscasts, and it the bustling intersection at the peak of the workday as a backdrop adds a nice energy.

I happened by the Illinois Center today and noticed they were working inside of Studio 32. While i couldn't make out everything they were doing (because of the glare of the sun), let's just say the upgrades they're making to the studio are nothing short of significant. No doubt once work is done, they will be using the studio more than they ever did.

9 hours ago, MorningNews said:

Just went by the studio while in Chicago this weekend. It’s surprisingly exposed to the street level and pedestrians in a way most other street side studios (including WBBMs). There’s an elevated platform or barricade that creates some type of separation for those other studios that WLS doesn’t have. The separation from the street, window and set is shockingly small.

And let's not forget there's a glass door that leads out to the sidewalk too. Safe to say no one likely thought of the potential security risks during the design process in 2005/2006. Luckily, the breakage is isolated to one glass panel (and not across two or more). Hopefully they can get it fixed soon because leaving it exposed only invites others to do more damage. 

4 hours ago, NowBergen said:

It will be simulcast on all networks.  Just like last time. 

ABC tends to be #1 among the broadcast (and some cable news) networks when it comes to political news coverage (State of the Union, etc...). It's safe to assume that they don't want to miss out on the ratings bonanza this debate could produce despite them producing/simulcasting it.

6 hours ago, MediaZone4K said:

I know everyone wants to be cool and have the Today Show 'Window on the World' type studio, but the world is nuts sadly!

 

Especially in the era of unmarked news cars, concealing where news operations are done might be good for security.

 

I worked at a station where the company was too cheap to put up a proper gate, and people would come unto the front lawn and do crazy stuff all the time. I wondered why they at least didn't take down the station logo signage if they weren't going to purchase proper fencing.

WLS' streetside studio is pretty unique in that there's no cement/heavy base with super thick glass. It's all glass (with a door). And as you say, the world is nuts and it may be time to re-think having a streetside studio (particularly in a high foot traffic (but questionable) area that State Street has become. 

Plus, the shades are drawn 99.9% of the time, the televisions that allow people to see/hear the newscasts haven't been on in years and there have also been times that the ticker isn't on. Yes, everything still works, etc... but it's a very dated set. The 20th anniversary of the debut of the streetside studio is in 2026 (I believe). It will be interesting to see if WLS stays there or returns to a traditional studio setting.

Former WFLD Political Reporter, Jack Conaty has passed away. He was 77.

"Jack Conaty brought a talent for concise and impactful writing, an acerbic wit and a willingness to help his colleagues to his work as political reporter at Fox-owned WFLD-Ch. 32 for more than two decades. Conaty, 77, died of complications from cancer on Aug. 28 at a hospital in Tucson, Arizona."

-- Chicago Tribune

15 hours ago, 24994J said:

Speaking of retirees, NBC5 was promoting Carol Marin returning, but I never saw her (in what little I watched of their newscasts), and she hasn't shown up once in any of their post-convention team promos. Didn't see anything online, in passing, either.

Carol appeared (with Mary Ann) during a special DNC segment (The Brief) that aired during the 6P newscast. By the time 6P rolled around, I had my fill of all things DNC and didn't see it. I tend to watch everyone's (WMAQ, WLS, WFLD) streaming channel and don't recall seeing any promos (given most promos, commercials, etc...  only air on the linear side).

9 hours ago, Chicago2008 said:

Who would you all say had the best and worst conversation coverage of the convention?

As I have said before, I think everyone did a good job overall. Glad to see everyone taking the opportunity to come up with DNC-related enterprising stories in addition to offering viewers streaming-only special newscasts. 'Tip of the Hat' to WFLD for bringing Flannery out of retirement to help with DNC coverage.  

On 8/28/2024 at 3:12 PM, WeatherandTraffic said:

WFLD still struggles, but better than it was 5-10 plus years ago. 

A lot of WFLD's 'struggles,' if you will, stem from the fact that they have gone through a lot of behind-the-scenes people (NDs, Executive Producers, etc...) which effects what we see in front of the camera. If they could hang onto those executives, producers, etc... for more than 2-3 years, then they could establish a consistent look/feel for their newscasts.

As far as the overall team, Jackson is a weak link on GDC; but they made a smart choice in re-hiring Gabriella Premus as traffic/feature reporter instead of outsourcing traffic. They're solid at Noon, 4P,  5P and 9P, but they need to hire more reporters to improve overall news coverage. 

Glad no one was injured. If I'm not mistaken, the same thing happened to WABC's streetside studio nearly 4 years ago during one of their newscasts. How crazy would it be if it was the same guy???

Nevertheless, I could see them rethinking the type of glass they use when the time comes to remodel the studio.

28 minutes ago, Georgie56 said:

NBC Sports Chicago will shut down on September 30th.

 

 

I wonder if NBC will hang onto the NBC Sports Chicago office(s)/studio? They greatly reduced their leased space at the NBC Tower by more than half, but it would be a shame if that awesome NBC Sports Chicago set ends up in the trash heap.

47 minutes ago, Chicago2008 said:

Is it just me or is Roseanne doing mostly  feature stories?

That’s her role currently (in addition to being a fill-in anchor). They would have been better off pairing Roseanne with Anita and Anthony with Natalie because the new guy (Brian Jackson) is pretty bad.

Ed is back (as of yesterday I believe??) and is working from home (like Mary Kay). That said, they still have a job (posted on 7/30) for a weather anchor/reporter; which could suggest Ed's return is temporary (i.e.. he will retire at some point, etc..) or this new meteorologist will work on the weekends.

15 hours ago, MediaZone4K said:

Personally I like all anchors at the convention from the standpoint of maximizing coverage. Even when they are not doing stories on the convention, doing the entire broadcast from inside the arena keeps the subject of the DNC at the back of viewer's minds at all times. Plus, field anchoring offers a nice switch from the status quo of being in the studio everyday.

Trust me... there isn't a lack of coverage of the DNC nor is it back of minds for us here in Chicago. There is good balance (amongst the local stations) of having people at the convention and people back at home base (in studio). I agree, it nice to see the anchors, who don't do much (or any) field reporting/anchoring working outside of the studio.

But more importantly, you have to have someone in studio to handle any breaking news that may occur. When protestors starting to breach security zones (taking down fencing, etc..), WFLD (for example) had their anchors in studio handle that rather than the team inside the United Center. 

39 minutes ago, GraphicsMan said:

 

I'm noticing they not sending all anchor teams to host from the convention, some are staying in studio. But this is because I  assume Chicago has done these conventions before there the city that's done them the most.

It's not really necessary (sending all anchor teams to the convention). Personally, I like the balance of having a team in studio and in the field (at the convention). I think everyone locally, thus far, has done a good job. 

9 hours ago, Chicago2008 said:

I noticed that the WBBM reporters that were covering the protests had little radios/walkie talkies on them. Why was this?

For a number of possible reasons. You have to keep in mind that communicating via walkie talkie is likely better than trying to talk to someone by cell particularly under the circumstances. There are no doubt logistical issues (involving communication) that everyone has to work around.

Looks like WMAQ and WBBM have the best setup. WLS and WGN are pretty high up (near the rafters) and WFLD appears to be at a lower level than everyone else. With that said, unlike in 96’, the local stations are not near each other and are instead scattered around the United Center.

WMAQ

WBBM

WLS

WGN

WFLD