24994J

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/

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.

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.

I was gonna say, there had to be more to Gray's promotion than just the 10pm show. I believe WABC is the only other O&O programming against World News Tonight, but that's in the form of The Countdown, which has rotating anchors and long-form stories/interviews, even though their initial announcement mentioned Bill and Sade as anchors.

Exactly. No matter the look, and yes, even the honeycomb, I could get past them if that damn ticker wasn't such a vast, clunky eyesore.

Yup!

Last I saw on the socials was that Jim is out if the country. Besides, these interviews are frequently granted to those whose profiles are looking to be boosted...and not the guy retiring within a year.

I've been saying for years that between the chemistry, quality, and more breathable format, the weekend evening team has been their best and most consistent. Honestly, that really only truly applies to the male anchors. Outside of Nancy Becker in the mid-70s, every female evening weekender has made it to weekdays (Childers, Esposito, Burns, Perez, and Burton). Sports and weather are spotty, but nearly all have had long careers in Chicago...and I'll save you that list.

Something a little ominous about the line "what’s behind her departure should become clear when we see her next move." Could that be a shift to news, a network sports job, or something about the work environment?

They're stacked in the sports department, and could easily skip hiring anyone to replace her AND Dan, if they really wanted to go cheap. Roan is obviously still there, and Tomasulo probably stays on the morning show, but they still have Payton and Frydman (the favorite for weekends, if they don't hire from outside), plus Chris Boden and Dave Eanet as fill-ins. That said, they've had a job listing posted for a sports anchor for more than a month. That could be just a formality and elevate a current employee, but I doubt they'll go too long without a female on the team. Want to really shake things up? Poach Miller or Chiaverini from 7, since that feels like the pending collision course, when Rose retires, or even pluck Blanzy from 5, whose airtime has been greatly diminished with the promotion of Leila Rahimi to sports director. And I'll throw it out there. Feder had this line about Kaitlin Sharkey leaving Fox32..."What’s behind her departure should become clear when we see her next move."

Yes.

If Mark were 10 years younger, I think he wouldn't be so negative about the industry, or at least more open to employment options, but a few weeks from turning 70, there's little motivation to go back to the similar grind of nightly sports or daily radio. Remember, his contract would've expired later this year, and he was pretty insistent that he would've retired, at that point.

https://www.facebook.com/100044407330467/posts/524312242392349/

Of course it's not a mistake. Don't be silly. Also it'll debut when it debuts. Please don't keep posting repetitive screenshots and asking for launch date speculation.