24994J

Ratings are in. 'Countdown Chicago' was up 30-some percent, while (whatever NBC 5 aired) lost half its viewers from last year. http://www.robertfeder.com/2018/01/02/abc-7-rings-new-year-top-ratings/

[MEDIA=twitter]947851197230338048[/MEDIA]

Freelance talent not having an online bio is pretty standard policy, not a personal dig, especially on the ABC websites.

I can't imagine that this was an official show hashtag, but #GinAndJanet is trending tonight.

There are a handful of reporters that don't have Twitter accounts, so it's likely just personal. Her bio is on the website with a Facebook link only. I wouldn't think too much into it, especially with her highest-profile gig of the year later tonight.

Throw Mike Janssen into the mix. He fills in for Jim most often.

I'm a follower and contributor, already. As for the graphic, Mark Rivera is correct, but they spelled Diane Pathieu wrong.

Okay, so I'm not losing it. As for the blazer, I love that he always wears it, but that gold turtleneck needs to be burned in the video fireplace they sat in front of at the end of the show.

"Hey, do we have the new guy's name in the system?" "Yeah, put up the graphic." "Wait, I'm gonna make sure it's corre-" "Just put it up. It's fine."

The D.C. correspondents ruled the day, with Jon Karl anchoring 'This Week' later on.

It's not sports, obviously, but somebody needs to put together a '30 for 30'-like documentary of the whole ordeal. #neverforget

Will Jones' cold weather live shot immediately followed Phil, while Michelle was after that at a department store. Good thing history didn't repeat itself, as Phil did most of his hit with the AR graphics on the south end of the studio.

Update: the solo Baichwal-to-Gallardo post-weather toss went off without a hitch.

Even Feder is making note of it. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1671078486247923

God, I'm going to miss these, and unfortunately, they didn't produce one this year.

The old team's back together (in the Feder comments section)!

Kathy joked at 6 that they have a month to make fun of Jerry. I know that that's mostly a joke, but if the announcement on Facebook was any indication, they are prepared to embrace the humor as they look back. "Here we go..."

I'd imagine McGinnis will get most shifts. They could just continue with the Schwarz/Mowry cycle on weeknights, too, if they don't want to name an immediate successor/can't come up with the weekend replacement in due time.

Cheryl will likely be defacto chief, though I could see them going without the formal title, and heavily promote the evening duo, especially if Larry moves to weeknights.

I hate being right, but the hints were becoming too obvious. For better or worse, I'm not surprised that Larry's name is being assumed as a successor in some form. I'm disappointed that it's not Phil, but Larry is very solid and has cost and age on his side. That said, nothing's confirmed. In reference to the header image on the Feder article, I need to start a drinking game where I take a shot every time a screenshot from a video I've posted or a demo logo that's been shown here is used in other public forums.

He reported last night on the 4, getting intro'd by fellow U of I grads Rob and Judy. He also went to Elgas' high school. It turns out that Mark went to journalism school with my best friend's fiance.

A segment of KABC, featuring Ron Burg-err, I mean Harold Greene...AND JOEL DALY???

From an article looking back at his career when he retired in 2006... "He was at KNXT-TV, a CBS station in Los Angeles now known as KCBS; he was an anchor and reporter at WNBC-TV in New York City; he served as an NBC correspondent in Vietnam; returned to anchoring and reporting at WABC-TV in New York City; at WBBM-TV in Chicago; at WTHR-TV in Indianapolis; WTTV-TV in Washington, DC; KHON-TV in Honolulu; WLS-TV in Chicago; and KRON-TV in San Francisco, from whence he returned to Hawaii to work at KITV."

That would be my guess, but that's just me putting some separate signs together. Cheryl Scott's been at the station 3 years now, so this is about how long I might've expected Jerry to continue. Besides, I'd rather see him retire than see Phil or Tracy be fired. All this said, I would hope he'd stay through February sweeps and get the current 6pm team to a 20th anniversary. On the bright side, hiring a meteorologist signals to me that they'll continue with 2 weather folks on weeknights...unless they make multiple moves.

Feder hinted on Wednesday that another retirement is coming soon in the Chicago media landscape, and I think I might guess who it will be...or someone else is about to have a bad day. http://abc7chicago.com/careers/job-meteorologist/2718441/