24994J

Here's some fuel for the Stacey replacement fire: Samantha Chatman is anchoring with Rob, in for Judy, now at 4. With increased visibility in the evenings (in spots that Baca would normal appear), I'd think Liz and Sam are at least in the mix. None of the regular fill-ins have shared the desk with Alan, so that would be the next big step in determining who's being seen internally as a viable candidate.

It was Judie, but I wouldn't put bets on anyone to assume the position, anytime soon. They just posted the job listing, but that's a typical practice, even if they promote from within...yet they usually don't. I'd still bet that they hire from outside, but again, they have no shortage of internal candidates.

I do feel like they might have some kind of plans for Liz, like even if she's not in play, she might get more weeknight shifts (like we've been seeing), to make up for it. That said, it could be about story selection. I didn't see Karen, but if she's not anchoring, her weekday reporting is during the early evening shows, and not at 10, like Liz. So that means that they can have the 2 women cover 2 stories (Karen now, Liz after the NBA), plus plus still have one anchor (Liz will probably be on 7, then out in the field). Part of me is just glad to see them play around with scheduling, as the station has been less likely to pair 2 females on the evening shows, in recent years. With the addition of the 7s, it would be silly, in this scenario, to have Rob do all 5 newscasts (3.5 hours), with the 2 females splitting the rest (Judy's 2, Liz's 1.5). Instead, Rob will do 3 hours, Judy will have 2.5, and Liz remains with 1.5, plus late reporting. The logistics of summer scheduling are so much fun.

Yup.

First weekend with the new look, and Phil Schwarz hasn't screwed up the logos...yet. I've gotten to know him, over the years, and I enjoy his work, but the logo and font distortion always puzzled me. He had to know that it wasn't right.

"Closeted"

No one said that she's not anchoring at all. @nynewslover was only correcting the untrue statement before that, that said that she'd be anchoring the entire program.

I don't know when, but there's no reason to believe that these graphics won't roll out to the whole group, but yes, it's just WLS, and just the weather package...for now. And here's their outgoing look. This is a complete overhaul.

Time to blow the dust off this thread. The weather graphics are almost always the canary in the coal mine, the fist sign of changes. These debuted at 4pm, and they align with all new graphic teases I've seen, from the colors, to the font, to even the little arrows that appear in a few spots. Nice reminder: if anyone quotes this post, please remove the screenshots from the quotation box.

Kaitlin Sharkey debuted tonight. Chris Boden was bummed that he missed the party.

The video quality is EXCELLENT, if he's at home.

I'm not going to engage with such random speculation. Mark's return means nothing in relation to the rest of the staff, except that there's going to be some summer vacation time, coming up. Suggesting that other ABC stations' opening make Greg & Cheryl shoo-ins for those jobs is a big reach. You can just admit you don't seem to care for them. There's no shame in it.

Despite not appearing for 26 months (March 2020 to last month), he had been pretty adamant on Twitter that he wanted to come back, and he'd be called back. Whether it's the exposure, the workplace, or the money, he clearly thinks the commute is worth his time.

The wording about the 3 longer-tenured staffers seems to suggest that Payton and Frydman might be getting weeknight WGN Sports, outright, no matter how things shake out. But really, I don't see the WMAQ model serving well for the long-term. Cemented spots by the fall feels like a solid bet.

Chris Boden gets promoted to full-time, while Kaitlin Sharkey, who voluntarily exited Fox32 the same week Magiera was let go from 9, joins WGN. Neither are being named to a broadcast slot, at least for now.. Payton and Frydman are also in the mix, so that'll mean any/all of 4 sports anchors on any given night. That's not at all messy and annoying. https://www.robertfeder.com/2022/05/31/wgn-names-chris-boden-kaitlin-sharkey-full-time-sports-anchors/

There were many 1-hour editions during the early days of the pandemic.

I'd honestly be stunned if it was Giangreco, unless it was so they could elevate Josh Frydman and have Mark as a fill-in. Dan certainly implied that Frydman is in the long-term plans. I don't love J.P. as an anchor, but he's a great personality, and I'd be down for a J.P. & Josh weeknight platoon. As for the send-off, it was very nice, and I LOVED the cake, adorned with past and present logos.

All farewells, so far, have been dominating the final 20+ minutes of GN Sports, so I'd imagine the FINAL farewell will be there. He doesn't do sports on the 10, but they could still do something there. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if his big, though maybe less formal speech was at 9, with the main team. As for distancing, they've recently accommodated 3 at the main desk with someone sitting between the main anchor positions. Stand Skilling behind the roll-away portion, and they can get everyone in the same vicinity. Still, despite the return to distancing, they haven't stopped having guests in-studio, so I can't imagine that there'll only be a small on-air group, plus family.

Since the show is based in D.C., I feel like I've seen Major Garrett fill in, in most cases.

Yeah, didn't Matt O'Donnell anchor like all but 1 single broadcast over a span of a few days?

Ehhhhhhh, who knows? Maybe they're all negative. If the regulars are still off tomorrow, then somethings up.

Tracy was off all week, so MAYBE that was pre-planned time off. Roz was broadcasting from home, but appeared at a charity event and her Silver Circle induction, so that was probably a precaution, so she could stay healthy for those occasions. Terrell was on on Monday and maybe Tuesday, and when Ravi filled in the next day, he mentioned getting the call fairly late the night before, as if unexpected. Tanja no longer appeared when Terrell did, and Val filled in for her, until she was out on Friday, doing Windy City Weekend from home. Sam was out all week, but returned Saturday to anchor for Stacey. TL;DR: COVID outbreak seems likely amongst some of the morning team.

Schneider has grown into the morning role, but Padilla has never felt right to me, on the A-team, especially compared to the other women on GDC. Sylvia and Terrence have developed some nice chemistry at 9, and I've liked Blanton, so far, so this feels like a good move, to me.

Mark, not Ravi. Weekday reporting for Diane was obviously a promotion from weekend reporting, and back-up traffic certainly gives her the fast track to succeeding Roz when she retires, but a permanent anchor spot trumps all of that, even if it's on the weekend. That's the foot in the door to weeknight reporting on the other 3 days, and weeknight fill-in anchoring. That's why I wouldn't count Diane out, or anyone else, for that matter. ...Again, if they go with an internal candidate, which they tend to not do.

Those with the most fill-in hours, in order, would be Diane, Liz, and Samantha (who seems least likely, as she's entrenched on the morning show), if they don't go outside, of course.