24994J

Last year the poinsettias were across the whole deskfront, but they cut back this year so the logo isn't blocked. As for the old set, I can't recall a year where they didn't decorate, but they spent more some years for than others. Early in the old set's run they also put garland on the edge of the desk, covering the gold lit area.

Hey, if you're gonna have a few flubs, might as well let all the shit hit the fan and totally go down in flames.

No real surprise, but Tahman Bradley officially gets the weekend anchor spot. He also becomes a/the political reporter. http://chicagoradioandmedia.com/news/8649-wgn-tv-names-tahman-bradley-as-weekend-evening-news-anchor-political-reporter

While NBC 5 debuted their new school closing ticker last night, ABC 7 rolled out their updated ticker this morning. The dark blue and gold are out, replaced by another white-washed look with the same layout as before.

You beat me to it. Such a clean package made to look like garbage when you let the affiliate take creative liberties. Two main gripes... All that text squished into that small black space? There's enough room below the single line that they could've added a second line. As much as they experimented with that silly info bar on the top of the screen at launch, why was it not designed to accommodate this type of info. It would seem like a perfect use for it. (2 and a half) Related to #2, it's 2016, figure out a way to not squish the main video. Shrink it or something, but disproportionately condensing it looks like crap.

Not gonna lie, it crossed my mind. It would certainly fit the trend, but a 5-day a week job in television might get in the way of his podcast. But really, he left channel 5 because he was blocked from moving up. At 7, he'd replace a guy that left the same timeslot for the exact same reason, so his hiring would be a surprise. (This whole ramble was me talking myself out of this possibility.)

Follow-Up: For you-know-whats and giggles, I decided to check and see how another year adds up (aka, I randomly stumbled upon this post). I listed last year's final results, in addition to 2016's. 2015: WLS- 8.1, WMAQ- 6.7, WBBM- 3.0, WGN- 2.7, Combined- 20.5 / 34.7 Share 2016: WLS- 6.6, WMAQ- 5.3, WBBM- 2.5, WGN- 2.2, Combined- 16.6 / 28.0 Share How fall did they fall? WLS- 1.5 (-19.5%), WMAQ- 1.4 (-20.9%), WBBM- 0.5 (-16.7%), WGN- 0.5 (-19.5%) Interestingly, the losses were essentially proportionate, so no one station really suffered more than another, percentage-wise. I'll maintain that the Cubs likely had an affect during the first week, but NOW they all can definitely look with worrying eyes at the numbers, especially if said team strings a few good years together. For what it's worth, simple math says only about 8,000 more households were tuned in overall this year in that time slot compared to last year.

With Liz Nagy's official hiring, the general assignment reporter job listing was taken down from the station's website, but the bosses are apparently not done. While she wasn't quickly named successor, I thought Diane Pathieu was all but a sure thing to succeed Ben Bradley, especially considering ABC supposedly set a hiring freeze at the O&O's. I was wrong... http://abc7chicago.com/careers/job-weekend-morning-anchor---general-assignment-reporter/1647834/

I misunderstood the message before. It was Phil who couldn't come in tonight, so they traded shifts. Talk about odd shifts, though, Karen Jordan will be on the air for an 8th day in a row tomorrow, her 6th straight weekday in for Tanja, while still doing the 5 but not the 10 this weekend. Definitely putting in the hours before maternity leave.

And Larry's doing midday work today. He might've had this morning as a scheduled off day, and came in when he could. They made it seem like he'll be in with Phil through the evening.

Yeah, they should just stick with the area map like the pic I posted for warnings and radar. That close-up should only be for small supercell storms.

They redid the in-news weather ticker. It's not as nice as the last one, but at least they don't add the social media line underneath like in the mornings.

Are you suggesting that it's okay to only save one buck when you could possibly save two? Scripps would fire you for such an atrocious statement.

No, that's pretty bad.

Cheaters, of course.

They started the season with eight ladies. Two are out the door and one might not be far behind, which leaves five. The 5 that would remain strike me as a more solid team than in recent seasons, one that could last for a decent stretch of time with little turnover...if they're given a chance to gel more.

Yes, but they haven't shown the talent open for almost 2 years, nor made new ones for any of the new or timeshifted talent.

The rumors of the WCIU newscast's demise have been exaggerated. While only drawing about a 1.0/0.3 (not much different from the programming that previous filled the time slot), both stations are satisfied enough with the arrangement to continue for at least another year. "Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but sources said it was a one-year renewal at terms more favorable to Weigel than the previous two-year deal"...whatever that means. http://www.robertfeder.com/2016/12/08/u-renews-7-p-m-news-deal-abc-7/

But you'd know how serious a story is based on how squinted his eyes are!

I don't feel that Michael has been the complete disaster you all say, but I'd settle for expanding the 8:30 format with him back to the TOTH in exchange for returning him to contributor status before 8. I think that would be a reasonable compromise that restreghtens the news chops of the Robin and George team at 7 but still allows those in charge to maintain and expand the audience format (which really isn't that much different from when they'd have a standing crowd on the first floor for interviews and cooking segments back during the Charlie and Diane days).

Well, if they (everyone) had forecasted the 6-8 that actually came down, the hype would've been more warranted. That said, until everyone stops forgetting how to drive/park/function in the first snow of the year, I guess they all have the right to hammer it home. Unrelated, Karen Jordan is pregnant with her and Christian Farr's 2nd child. I didn't catch if they said when the baby is due, but based on her appearance, it shouldn't be for awhile. While it's never safe to assume, I kinda started noticing the baby bump a few weeks ago. Congrats to the whole family.

Did he steal your lunch money as a child or kick your puppy or something?

Ravi again at 10. If Alan is off, Rob will do the 6, 10 and possibly the 5 (Hosea did that once) on Monday and Tuesday. Ravi will do the 5 and 10 the rest of the week with Rob in the field on the late show.

Huh, you're probably right. It seemed like the build-up was longer than that, to me.

I was wondering when ABC 7 was going to start promoting Linda Yu's farewell, considering her last show is already next Wednesday. Sure enough, here's the first promo, with the hashtag #WeLoveYU. Is that tagline a little silly and predictable, yes, but it fits. Appearing in several old clips in the spot, you have to think that Joel will come back, and I just noticed the other day on social media that Magers shaved the beard, so I guess there's a chance that he might pop in.