Jase

On 8/8/2022 at 12:17 PM, NBC 5 Chicago said:

Very interesting. I wonder where they're at? In 2012 they still had Studio 5 so that is where they temporarily broadcasted from in 2012. 

 

I thought I saw in Kate's Facebook page that the area behind the new stand up had a new blue background behind it which it didn't have before. I'm curious if this is going to be a gut and replace or just upgrades again. 

I would imagine (or hope) it’s a complete gut. It’s long overdue and as @newscopter7 suggested, opening it up to the newsroom again wouldn’t be a bad idea. As far as where the temp set is, there is unused studio space upstairs so likely there. I believe a temporary weather center is next to the temporary set with sports coming from the control center.

On 8/8/2022 at 12:28 PM, 24994J said:

The whole set could stand to have a more cohesive flow.

Without question. Hopefully they actually do just that (a cohesive look) this time around.

The Newsroom ‘Live Desk’. Not too bad….

On 6/24/2022 at 1:54 PM, GodfreyGR said:

Weather Center, but there would still be space for a small set. And with Brad Edwards reassigned to CBSN Chicago, they could put a small enough set in to give the OTT a different look from the traditional news set?

My take is that they build a simple set (with an large weather center for better presentations and whatnot). They would be foolish to only build just a weather center given the space.

I’m willing to bet they use it for not only CBSN and other newscasts (mornings??), but CBS Weekend News (Saturday) too. I mean..if you’re making the investment, might as well get as much out of it as you can. 

1 hour ago, NowBergen said:

Considering Nexstar's "success" with NewsNation, does anyone think if Nexstar does buy the CW, they could have any success?  Call me skeptical.

 

Regarding Nexstar buying CW stations, there is no increase in ownership caps.  They are already close to being maxed out.  Unless they sell a bunch of stations, how could this happen?   At some  point over use of sidecar sham ownership like Mission all be scrutinized, as it is long overdue.

The best (and likely) option is for WBD/Paramount to keep a very small stake in the The CW with a majority owner (running the day to day, etc..) with the option to buy out WBD/Paramount in 5 years.

I don’t think there’s going to be a bunch of upheaval (changing affiliations, buying/selling stations, etc..) unless Nexstar is required to do so. The easiest thing is to keep as much as you can the same while trying to fully monetize what you can.

8 minutes ago, C Block said:

It looks...fine? I think it's decent for a refresh.

 

Is their 7-10am a 3-anchor format now? I thought it was just Michaela?

 

I agree it’s not terrible. I’m just a little surprised that this is the end result of nearly 2 months of work. Seems like a waste of time/resources.

It’s possible (3-anchor format). I don’t watch them often enough to confirm. Could be part of (morning) anchor/format changes across the FOX O&Os. WFLD went to 3-anchors (7-10A) yesterday.

The new set was unveiled this morning.

I had a feeling they would try a three-anchor lineup and I agree Anita P. is more comfortable at reporting than anchoring. 

Glad they decided to split GDC in half rather than keep the three different blocks (4-6A, 6-9A & 9-10A). This ‘should’ help things flow better overall. 

On 4/29/2022 at 4:33 PM, 24994J said:

 

The 9am, for sure, but I'm not so sure about the noon. I didn't see, but I almost think they co-anchored together on Monday, but since then, I believe Sylvia did 3 noons, and Anita did not. Neither referenced the other being off, so maybe it'll be the 2 of them in a rotation, but it would be nice to know more concrete announcements.

 

Hell, somewhere along the line, Natalie Bomke shifted to a Sunday-Thursday schedule, with Dane Placko anchoring both Saturday and Sunday nights (the latter with her). What cemented it for me was when someone else filled in for him, and mentioned that he was off.

Anita B. and Sylvia co-anchored the 9A with her subbing for Sylvia at Noon (not sure if she did all 5 days (at Noon) however). My guess is that they wanted to give Anita B. some exposure outside of GDC (which is why she anchored the Noon). Don't think they settled on what her role will be just yet (aside from co-anchoring the 9A hr.). From what I saw, she is pretty good.

2 hours ago, Spring Rubber said:

I'm noticing that Corey and Dawn have switched back to a traditional Monday-Friday shift, based on what I'm seeing on their website. How long ago did that happen?

Sometime in February. Natalie shifted to a Sun-Thur. schedule with Dane (unofficially) taking on the additional role of Weekend Anchor (solo on Saturdays and with Natalie on Sundays).

1 hour ago, IceManNYR said:

They added a new video wall which they use in addition to the green screen wall.

Wait…isn’t what you’re referring to this . If so, this isn’t new.

37 minutes ago, MorningNews said:

Shouldn’t Ginger’s 10 year be coming up soon? 

December 2023. Technically, her 10 yr. Anniversary with ABC News was in 2021.

2 hours ago, Spring Rubber said:

 

 

For some reason, I'm surprised that we found out about her hiring right away. I expected WFLD to drag their feet on a replacement for a while.

As of late, they have been really quick in filling open spots. I believe the sports job was posted and filled within a 2 to 3 week timeframe. The hiring of Wahls and Blanton were out of the blue because most figured they wouldn’t fill those positions.

18 hours ago, iron_lion said:

I'm actually surprised by this.

I think they realize that no matter who they brought in as a replacement, it wasn't going to lift them out of third place. It makes sense to continue to strengthen the CBS News brand and devote both time and resources to that effort rather than trying to find yet another anchor for CBSEN. Sometimes you have to resign yourself to certain things (at least for the time being).  

21 hours ago, Dustin said:

Just walked by 22 West Washington and snapped these photos.

 

Looks like they got around to cleaning up the lobby/main entrance. It was looking pretty rough for quite a while. 

3 hours ago, KRAP-TV said:

 

Very interesting...

Not really… Conventional wisdom was that Shep was going to get a chance to sub for Lester (at some point) when he was hired. Wouldn’t read too much into this. 

1 hour ago, 24994J said:

As much as I like the update, and I know they only had the weekend to do this, but I don't care for how it looks with the video bands obstructed. I know it's not quite this, but it's almost like they just constructed this in front of the existing set wall.

 

This seems like a temporary move/fix to me. I doubt that they would have left behind the above video bands and added in a curved backdrop rather than having the backdrop flushed against the wall (squared off/angled) like it was before. While some may not have liked 'the tunnel effect', this isn't better imo.

5 hours ago, 24994J said:

And isn't Terrence Lee still with Roseanne from 4 to 6? I know he's also Sylvia's sidekick at 9.

 

I know they pretty much established that Blanton would be on weekdays, but that weekend GDC had not had a declared anchor since Sally Schulze moved to 4pm. Maybe someone gets moved there, or did Elizabeth Matthews get formally announced, and I just missed it? She's been filling that role for like 2 years.

My guess is that Blanton will have a similar role that Brittney Payton had (feature reporting and co-anchoring the 9A hr). No need to change up the current pairings (Terrence & Roseanne, 4-6A / Scott and Anita P., 6-9A & Sylvia , 9-10A).

Blanton could also take over GDC Weekends and still appear on the weekday version, but who knows?? Guess we have to see how everything plays out.

15 minutes ago, R.R. said:

Wait I thought Tellez anchored from 4-6am?

 
She does. She’s out in the field during the later hours. 

On 2/9/2022 at 9:40 PM, cbs2worksforyou said:

Is this the other side of those windows? Sucks they only have a few windows for that entire wall. But good they have some light coming in!

Here’s an updated pic for you. The Fox 32 newsroom is to the right (4-pane windows) and to the left (3-pane windows) is a seating area, etc.. as part of the complex’s tenant amenities I believe (see 2nd pic). Fox 32 often uses this space instead of having reporters outside in the elements.
 

Here’s another vantage point. Roseanne posted this on Monday. As you can see, they’re not completely finished. 
 

4 hours ago, Spring Rubber said:

Awesome, I seem to remember the old newsroom being pretty outdated.

This is a major upgrade. I'm sure everyone is happy to have some natural light.

WFLD has been quietly renovating (for over a year) the majority of their footprint (offices, storage, lobbies, etc…) at 205 N. Michigan Ave. 

Last Summer, they renegotiated (and extended) their lease which freed up a ton of cash to completely gut some spaces (along Lake Street) and bring other work spaces up to 2022 standards (if you will). Work continues with no (official) end date announced.

On 12/21/2020 at 6:07 PM, Weeters said:

The ground floor lease that included the streetside studio also includes the current studio as well as the control room. There are floorplans on the site for the streetside studio space. Anyone leasing the old streetside studio would sublease it from CBS.

 

From what I understand, they lease the ground floor studio space and the first two floors of space above it, plus the garage below. There are 12+ years left on the entire lease according to the streetside studio listing.

 

Fun fact: The elephant doors to bring large items into the studios (i.e. set pieces) are actually in the mall entry immediately north of the streetside studio.

UPDATE: So the streetside studio space is no longer on the market. Not sure when this happened (late last year/earlier this month maybe), but the leasing signage has been removed and the space is no longer listed on real estate advisor SVN Chicago web site. It's unclear what the future may hold for this space.

Irika Sargent (WBBM) is filling in for Adriana Diaz  tonight on the CBS Weekend News (Saturday). 

9 hours ago, R.R. said:

Mark also revealed that he was going to sue both ABC7 and Burton for this fallout. But the station gave him the buyout to prevent him from going through with the lawsuit
 

Many people have gone after Burton not only for this but it was also revealed that she was apparently always making fun of the late Jerry Taft’s weight on air and no apparent repercussions were brought into it. 
 

Not sure I buy him suing. More like management was going to pay him what he was due and wanted some insurances that this latest 'incident' and the aftermath was never going to see the light of day outside the hollow halls of WLS.

Never heard of any on-air remarks Burton made about Jerry's weight, but the two never really seemed too close (friendly) to begin with. Who knows really?? We don't know what we don't know.

Not to belabor the point, but I just don't get all the hate people tend to sling Burton's way as if she has never said/done anything positive. Just seems somewhat strange to me. 

5 hours ago, brianpr3 said:

why can't they fire Cheryl Burton, why is it that she is untouchable?

What has she ever done to justify being fired? I have said before and will say again, what is it that some people have against her? She may not be the 'greatest anchor that has ever lived', she is hardly the worse that has (or will ever) grace the Chicago airwaves. Her and Alan have good chemistry and on a personal level; she was very nice the two times I met her (which is often not the case with meeting news people).

It's fair to debate the way she presents the news and such, but outside of that, there's zero reason to dog her as many often do for no reason.