Nick

Most of the time if an anchor is signed away by a rival in the market,  he or she becomes a non-person immediately, without any on-air retrospective.   And any viewers contacting the station to ask what happened are met with the curt "So-and-so is no longer with the station and has decided to pursue other opportunites."   

In 2005 the folksy weather forecaster Johnny Mountain was bid a fond retirement farewell from his morning shift at KABC. Four months later he was at KCBS.  And got big money.    There was speculation Channel 7's management knew he'd be going down the street,  but let him say goodbye anyway.  Or maybe not.

On 9/18/2022 at 8:00 AM, nycnewsjunkie said:

On the one hand, Nexstar is a big station owning company with a small market mindset. Lynette Romero’s goodbye could’ve been handled much better than it was. In hindsight, not only was Lori Stokes allowed a goodbye in NY; Roz Abrams, Ernie Anastos, and Amy Freeze were able to leave on reasonably good terms when they left stations for other opportunities. Lynette Romero should’ve been given a bit more acknowledgment for her years of service, and KTLA/Nexstar blew it. IIRC, she was working there without a contract, and they owe her for that.

 

On the other hand, is Mester’s suspension really all that surprising? If you badmouth the company you work for, of course there are going to be repercussions. It doesn’t matter if that company is Nexstar or NBC. He’ll be lucky to have a job after all of this. I still maintain that there were better (and smarter) ways to give a proper goodbye to Lynette Romero without A) making both local and national management look bad and B) making it all about you. It was a needlessly foolish gesture on Mester’s part.
 

Also, FTVLive is reporting that “KTLA management” (read: local management) isn’t happy with Mester either. I’ll reiterate that I don’t like Scott Jones’ antics and petty behavior, but he’s usually on the money with these kinds of stories.

Good and interesting points all down this latest thread.     I too, as a viewer, read Scott Jones' FTVLive now and then and yes,  his style can be rather juvenile and even tacky sometimes,  but yup,  he's got the info you don't find elsewhere.

4 hours ago, FiveNews said:

I agree, but my guess is that she may have been working without a contract...hence the continued negotiations with KTLA.

 

Lynette probably had her agent see if anything else was out there for her since she was most likely tired of weekends, even though her show is highly rated. I doubt Jessica, Megan and Lu are leaving anytime soon. When the KNBC deal came up, since she was working at KTLA without a contract (presumably) they cut her loose. TV News is an ice cold business. No allegiances, even to someone who gave nearly a quarter century of their life. Seems like a very Nexstar move. May have not happened under Tribune.

Come to think of it, did KNBC ever officially replace Daniella Guzman after all these months?

First thing I thought of was that she's going to 2/9,  but I wonder if Viacom/CBS would  fork over the money for the likes of her.  If KCAL is serious about making a run at mornings, maybe, but my absolutely amateur opinion is  that  there is a better chance for her to land at "Good Day LA."   Which is why KTLA management is so ticked off as to keep her off of the lot and give her departure as little attention as possible.

2 hours ago, nycnewsjunkie said:

Honestly, it’ll likely be longer than that. There are clearly things they’re trying to iron out behind the scenes.

 

Maybe we’ll see them when CBS Detroit launches? There’s still no date for that, although they’d be stupid not to launch before the midterm elections.

If my posts on KCNC are cluttering the thread, I will happily hide them. My apologies.

2 hours ago, 24994J said:

Ladies and germs, might I suggest we not do play-by-play of our local stations, checking in to say that nothing has changed? All signs, at this time, are pointing to a package launch closer to, if not during or even after November. From now on, let us know when you see something legitimately new. Otherwise, we might just have to locked up this thread, for a bit.

I suppose, like the poor bedraggled guys in Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot"  who finally realized Godot was never showing up and headed home,  we might as well get back on the road..    

Too many canaries in the coalmine squawking too many different tunes.

Not that I haven't  thoroughly enjoyed this conversation. Not many people care about such things.  After all, think of all the viewers who would never even notice a difference in graphics,

Maybe next Monday  .  As of 5:10 EDT WCBS is still partying like it's 2016.

On 9/10/2022 at 3:53 PM, CircleSeven said:

The program guide, it does not list the KCAL 9 morning show premiering on Monday.

 

On the press release, it did say "fall", but it never stated a specific date. 

 

"Fall" could even be as late as the first of December.    It might be a very soft opening,    after the November book is done, though I guess that means little or nothing now.

 No doubt it won't happen until KCAL's new set is ready, and that might be a while away.  KCBS's current set took three months to build in 2016.

I think Viacom/CBS is simply messing with our minds at this point.    They know they've got us where they want us, we're hooked waiting for something, anything,  any minute now we're gonna find out,  and nothing ever happens.   They mean to drive us all stark raving nuts.     

If she's no longer going to anchor on weekends,  I hope Susan Hirasuna, one of the station's real veteran pros,  will stay in a reporting role.

In the Monterey area I have to go to the Web to see anything from KPIX, it's out of market for me.   I just did, saw what you were referring to.      Well... it's a start... I guess.. maybe...kind of. In a way.

5 hours ago, mrschimpf said:

I tried to quote Nick, but it ended up as a blank quote, so I'll say that launching on a holiday; best time to do it outside a weekend morning.

 

You have the diehards paying attention to glitches and errors so they can be fixed the next day easily and not show up and be very noticeable to regular viewers, and behind the scenes is less stressed having to fix things around known and scheduled coverage of Tajikistani Sorghum Days at the Fairplex in Pomona, last day before back to school coverage of sprinkler pads to deal with the heat, and 'boy the box office sure does suck, huh?' coverage rather than a breaking 'all hands on deck' story.

mrschimpf,  good point.  Soft launches are probably best. And on Labor Day,  don't forget stories from the beaches about sunscreen and safety, and also  the gas prices, when a reporter is sent to a Mobil station to ask people filling up "What do you think of the price of gas?"   Answer:  "Well, uh...pretty high.  Yeah.  Gotta have it though."  etc.   

3 hours ago, nycnewsjunkie said:

I mean, it’s only graphics. No need for an apology. It’s not the end of the world or anything.

 

Besides, they’ll get the full set at some point.

Nothing to apologize for, Georgie56.    Sure nycnewsjunkie, it's only graphics, but imagine all the viewers who won't even notice a difference, if one actually ever comes.  It's great to gab about it here.

So in the meantime, it's time to keep partying like it's 2016.   

3 hours ago, nycnewsjunkie said:

I mean, it’s only graphics. No need for an apology. It’s not the end of the world or anything.

 

Besides, they’ll get the full set at some point.

48 minutes ago, Nick said:

Odd that this big a change would debut on a holiday.   I hope something happens soon!  We are all still waiting for Godot to finally show up!

I like the look a lot,  it's in line with CBS News style,  but I wanna see some local channel numbers.   Though this looks like the CBS News streaming package and not the actual O&O look.

On 9/2/2022 at 11:33 AM, SFTV said:

I’m surprised they didn’t have a custom engraved KCAL logo for the desk and use a plain metal sheet instead to cover the CBS2 logo or at least upgrade the anchor desk to a monitor screen like WCBS and KPIX has. 
 

Then again KCBS was the first to debut this look so everything is still original.

For KCAL's planned morning-news block they might just do something like that.

On 8/31/2022 at 2:34 PM, SFTV said:

Not sure if I’m going to like these solo anchor shows at 3, 6, 7 and 11pm

 

they really need to hire another weather person. 3 main full time personal isn’t enough especially if one is out on vacation or sick. 
 

the weekend weather anchor already has to do double duty 6 and 7am then 5, 6 and 11pm

You are right.   That is an odd configuration of shifts and times.  They do not have enough weather forecasters.  It's a pretty big move to have Sara Donchey anchor solo at 11  -- she's been at 5 for less than a year, and already has gotten some "She's too L.A." snarkiness  --  . I thought America's go-to caricature of the L.A. news personality was the "bubble-headed bleached blonde" Don Henley sang about?

Pat Harvey has been solo-anchoring at KCBS for a long time.  Marc Brown at KABC too, at least the last I looked.  Seems to be the way of things I guess.

Odd that this big a change would debut on a holiday.   I hope something happens soon!  We are all still waiting for Godot to finally show up!

On 9/4/2022 at 10:50 AM, nycnewsjunkie said:

Not surprisingly, they’re basically the CBS News/Evening News graphics. For the most part, they look slick as hell, and it’s good to see the local stations getting the same look.

 

The cut of music they use in the demo is refreshing, but as others have mentioned, it feels a bit too light for some markets (including New York). I was hoping they’d go with a variant of the CBS News streaming theme. Then again, the demo cut gives off a WCCO/WJZ vibe, and will work well on those stations.

Unless they’re referring to the radio station, but of course, it no longer has anything to do with the TV station.

I like the look a lot,  it's in line with CBS News style,  but I wanna see some local channel numbers.

On 8/29/2022 at 6:11 PM, nycnewsjunkie said:

I wish I snapped a picture, but I’m in Philly right now and I saw a KYW talent promo w/ Ukee Washington after tonight’s Evening News. It ends with the “CBS3” and “CBS News Philadelphia” logos, with no mention of Eyewitness News. They’re going full send on brand standardization.

 

I didn’t think they’d actually do this at first either, and I’m very much in favor of local identities being kept. That said, on many levels, this makes sense. As many others here have pointed out better than I ever could, most CBS-owned stations in large markets do not stand out. WCBS and KPIX already look bland, KYW and WBBM have been mismanaged into instability, and KCBS… need I say more? I don’t think a unified branding will make those stations ratings powerhouses or anything, but it would at least tie them to the network’s news division.

 

Also, to answer your question, there is no longer any need to differentiate between the network and streaming. That’s the whole point. If CBS wants to really prioritize streaming, a great way to do that is to unify both linear and streaming brands.

Agreed on all points.  Considering the latest figures on measurements of who gets their TV via cable or satellite and who by Internet streaming,  it's about even.  It's probably not worth bothering with for anchors to say "... and also streaming on CBS News (market location)

Aren't the KYW and KPIX "Eyewitness News" brandings half-century-old holdovers from their Westinghouse ownership?  I'm in California so I am familiar with the latter,  and I'm amazed that it keeps its old Westinghouse "5" logo.  

KPIX has just made a seismic anchor shift, by they way, and local media pundits say it's for the better.    Agreed about KCBS and KCAL,  and maybe it's not so much bungled as simply shrunk. The staff is a skeleton crew.

I always preface my comments here with "I'm just a viewer and not in the biz"  but I could not agree more about the idea that local branding is still important,  and , at least, a channel number to connect people to their local station,  a button to put a finger on the remote.  Or maybe that's archaic in the era of YouTube TV and Hulu, where you just choose the show you want.

On 8/29/2022 at 4:55 AM, Georgie56 said:

Wonder if it’s gonna be shared with KCBS.

Good point.  They've done that a lot since KCBS debuted its new set in 2016  (which took three months to build), but I wonder if there is sufficient turnaround time between the 4 and 5 pm newscasts or 10-11, even allowing for the fifteen minutes of "Sports Central."

On 8/29/2022 at 1:04 AM, C Block said:

Amazing to think that set held up pretty well for 15 years with very few modifications.

I think but for maybe giving the anchors new chairs and some different monitors,  the set is absolutely identical since April 2007.    For an idea of how long ago that was,  Harold Greene and Ann Martin were still anchoring KCAL's 4 pm newscast then.

Calitalian 2  -- oh, I never meant to compare the circumstances of their relationships;  I  noted that Viel and Cota-Robles were a married couple anchoring at a CBS affiliate (albeit a much, much smaller one)   If I remember right,  Lampley and Walker didn't go public as a couple until after their respective divorces were done, and even then KCBS management did a pretty good job of keeping that private, and didn't grant any interviews until the early part of 1990.   Their on-air cross talk was a little gushy to some,  but they had long been married and there was never any public scandal.

On 8/24/2022 at 8:01 PM, bogusabc7breakingnews said:

Hmmm.  What are the odds she’ll end up on KCAL 9 morning news?? 

If her less-than two years' tenure with  "Good Day LA" hardly caused a breeze much less put a dent into KTLA's  dominant morning news block, I can't imagine what would prompt her to go with KCAL. She'd probably make too much money for Viacom anyway.   And if someone bolts to go down the dial to a rival,  isn't that usually kept silent, the anchor simply disappears without a word?        But I could be completely wrong.

On 8/28/2022 at 3:37 PM, MorningNews said:

KTTV should get back to what made them a powerhouse in the mornings for so long that at one point their format even went national. 2 sets of anchors for the the two blocks of 4-10am. It’s the same format that is working perfectly at FOX and CW affiliates nation wide. What they’ve been trying to do the last decade or so is terribly disjointed.

Agreed.  GDLA has had an identity crisis for that decade.  People made fun of Jillian and Dorothy, but the show hasn't been relevant since, even with Steve trying to work the same format with their replacements.    I think it's true that more of a "news" format with Tony McEwing and whomever should be the foundation of the first two hours or so and let the lighter "morning show"  idea take it from there.

On 8/17/2022 at 11:03 PM, Devin said:

Marc Cora-Robles will be the new weekend morning anchor on KABC

Marc Cota-Robles and Jasmine Viel of KCBS / KCAL have been husband and wife  since their days at KION (CBS affiliate)  in the Salinas-Monterey market a long time ago.   The newscast open there had a voice over "with Marc and Jaz."    I thought they  kind of reminded me of Jim Lampley and Bree Walker at KCBS' "Action News"  back in the day,   a couple but trying not to make too big  a deal of it,  but obvious enough.

I'm not in the business, just a viewer,  but I'm beginning to think this is getting to be a kind of "Waiting for Godot"  scene.  The Samuel Beckett play when two poor bums spend days sitting there expecting somebody named Godot any time.   No luck. This guy and that guy pass down the road.  "Was that him?  Maybe that might have been him."  they ask each other. Nope.  Nothing.    But for all this I wouldn't expect anything until either the beginning of the TV season in September, or even in late October when the traditional "sweep" begins, if that is even a thing in major markets now.

On 8/3/2022 at 10:13 AM, kshow said:

 

For months* and I don't even live in Philly. 

Didn't know that, thanks.

Check out KYA's, CBS Philly's,  rotating bug.  This could be what the new look, if and when it ever arrives, is going to do about branding.

Bristol-Based Organization Aims To Get Books In Hands Of Young Children – News, Sports, Weather, Traffic and Philly's Top Spots (cbslocal.com)

Good points all.   (As for running network news twice,  true. KABC puts on "World News Now"  at 3:30 and then again at 6:30.  Or at least last I saw.

More important,   besides the channel position and newscast name,  there is no difference at all between CBS 2's and KCAL 9's content.  As for the field reporting,  the only difference is which way the reporter turns the mic flag,  the "9" instead of the "2."    All anchors appear on both stations anyway.

But it's a lot to ask for KCAL to do much cutting into KTLA's ratings right off the bat.     KTTV and "Good Day LA," which once dominated in the heyday of Steve Edwards, Jillian Reynolds, and Dorothy Lucey,  has been playing catch-up with KTLA for some time.  "The KTLA Morning News"  is a pretty strong brand.