24994J

NBC5 and Telemundo are both broadcasting their entire afternoon newscasts from the NFL experience at Grant Park, ahead of tonight's 100th anniversary Bears season opener, except when they threw to a reporter in-studio to read the other headlines. Most of it is going well, but the chroma key they set up for weather failed when a canopy or something cast a shadow on it.

Did they ever have a fill-in traffic person, in Derrick's absence?

Here's a new one. Ever heard of someone making their new station debut at the network level? Greg Dutra is doing some work for ABC News, including doing hits on Nightline this week, and Juju Chang introduced him as being from "our powerhouse Chicago station, WLS," marking his first appearance as an ABC 7 employee.

Anchor/reporter Chris Emma and weekend anchor Nick Emmons. They've apparently been wiped from the bio page. With such poor ratings, it sounds like one of the newer bosses is looking for scapegoats, but not without some headbutting in the front office.

I'd say that's a best case scenario. I'm not holding my breath, though.

SINCLAIR HATES AMERICA?!?!?! Buncha Commies.

No one really talks about morning ratings, except that WGN is #1 from 4-10 and ABC 7 is #2, which has been the case for a few years now. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if GDC is making progress, with the solid team that's in place. Across the board, this is the best news product that WFLD has put to air in almost 20 years, though they sorely lack a formal investigative unit.

Frankly, I'm not sure when WBBM hit rock bottom, but the Johnson/State duo immediately preceded their most successful period in a quarter century. Anne slowly got demoted off newscasts until Rob was going solo all evening. Meanwhile, CBS primetime was blowing up, and WMAQ was dealing with the tandem troubles of a rocky 10pm anchor change & The Jay Leno Show. WBBM became an unchallenged #2 for most of the 2009-10 season. In addition to a new midday anchor team (Porterfield/Tellez), they used this momentum to hire Kate Sullivan, reinstate a normal morning news, and reunite Bill and Walter. All good ideas, but then NBC5 recovered, and most decisions since to stop the bleeding just further flung them into the abyss. At 10, WBBM typically trails WGN by a few tenths of a point, both settling in the 2.5-3.0 range. WMAQ beats that by a point or two, and WLS sits between a 6 and 7. At 9pm, WGN typically beats FOX32 with like 4.0 to the low 2's.

We've seen this type of thing done at other stations, a comedian's daily take on the news. I scoff at those, as those personalities are serving as 'formal' anchors on existing newscasts. No one has referred to this is a newscast, and it's not replacing a current newscast. That makes a difference, to me.

Well, this is random. For the first time in nearly a decade, FOX32 will be re-entering the weeknight (M-Th) 10pm slot. Morning radio host and comedian (and frequent Windy City Live panelist) Leon Rogers will be joined by reporter Tia Ewing for nightly recap of the day's top stories, with interviews, and a comedic/personality-driven twist. Airing only 4 nights a week (Fridays have Mike Flannery's show and Bears programming at 9:30 and 10), it's unclear if the show will be live. I'd imagine not, as he will maintain his morning drive show on WGCI. Edgy, non-traditional 10pm show on WFLD? The Ten, oops, I mean Later with Leon premieres September 9th. https://www.robertfeder.com/2019/08/29/robservations-wgcis-leon-rogers-host-late-night-show-fox-32/ Here's a bit from the rehearsals, using the standard lower third text template, on lit, neon-like graphics...

At least one other O&O has used a morning consumer reporter, as well. I haven't seen how/how often the reports are presented, and what exactly is covered (more on that in a moment), but if she doesn't also give the morning stock report (that's been handled at the NYSE since forever), then I don't really see the point. One thing that I also wonder is if she might fall under the I-Team umbrella. A bit of a stretch, maybe, but that ultimately depends on what her daily reporting duties will be.

Frankly, I'm surprised they're settling on one person, as there's not typically any pattern of who fills in on weeknights. The male anchor spot is fairly predictable, but I've seen no fewer than 7 different women occupy the 9 o'clock chair this summer (Materre, Duarte, Bair, Rutledge, Bange, Francisco, Gaynor Hall), and that's not even counting Julie.

Julie Unruh will fill in on the 4pm show while Lourdes is on leave.

I mean like go heavy on the 3 names now, get the viewers used to the permanent trio, but dial that back after a bit and use the GMA3 more prominently later. Convoluted, yes, but the show's had so many names in a year, already, would it be that surprising?

Bringing back both costs too much. As for the re-titled midday show, 'Strahan, Sara & Keke' doesn't flow AT ALL. I'd hope that this is a holdover til the daytime premieres next week (the renaming coinciding with Keke's birthday today). That said, 'GMA3' isn't that bad, now that I've had time to think about it. It has 3 hosts and is the 3rd hour of the flagship. Even if it sounds more like a Korean boy band than a show, it's easier to say and brand than the 3 hosts.

In a lawsuit filed today, anchor Rob Stafford is alleging that his blood cancer 2.5 years ago stems from frequent exposure to the toxic fumes emitted from a nearby chemical plant. The Sterigenics plant has been the subject of lawsuits and investigations for a year or more, regularly making headlines across the western suburbs. Since he has pursued such action, Stafford has not been a part of any coverage. Coincidentally, co-anchor Allison Rosati has lived in an adjacent town for many years. From a personal standpoint, I live about halfway between the Stafford residence and the athletic club he goes to. https://www.robertfeder.com/2019/08/26/nbc-5-anchor-rob-stafford-sues-sterigenics-blood-disease/

Dude, you don't even know how down I'd be for a show like that, especially with a musical slant, knowing Steve's own talents. So where does that leave us? Chicago's Best (weekly) SEE Chicago (weekly) Man of the People (former weekly) Backstory (weekly, 4-episode seasons) Destination: Outdoors (one-off special, for now) Morning News Primetime Specials (once or twice a year) Family Classics (occasionally/holidays) Anything I'm missing?

Every. Body. Gets. A. Show.

So, this is becoming a thing...

Then look for and quote the exact text that says so.

More tweaks keep coming.

One would think the formal position would go away, unless they brought Erin Mendez McElroy Ivory back into the role, seeing as she's already a regular contributor in that time slot. That said, while they work the same shift, management doesn't seem to want Erin and Demetrius as a part of a set anchor team.

Amy Rutledge left her afternoon traffic position on Monday, likely to join WCIU's 'The Jam' morning show. https://www.robertfeder.com/2019/08/21/robservations-abc-7-promotes-windy-city-producer-programming-chief/#more-22729

Happy 41st anniversary to the man, the myth, the legend.

Didn't think KGO does, but WPVI, too.