MorningNews

Her marriage with Josh Elliott? I initially thought about this when she was absent but then I saw recent tweets and posts from her about her loving husband which made me reconsider. Hope everything’s ultimately alright with them.

GMA has launched new graphics and a new second floor set that looks 10/10 (there’s a couch again). Not sure how to do the fancy screen grabs but this is the best I could do. Some of the elements of the new set make me wonder if they’re introducing an audience component again? Doesn’t seem like there’s space for it. https://www.newscaststudio.com/setstudio/good-morning-america-4/

Times have changed is the simplest answer. They still gather around a “coffee table” if you will, they just have their own individual chairs. It’s a bit more modern imo.

Based on a walk by the studio tonight, nothing seems to be happening on the first floor and they’ve been using it pretty fully so I imagine this project is limited to the second floor for now. Also never realized the series of doors behind the back wall of screens. Several of them were opened tonight to production rooms and storage areas including the old kitchen set that was used during the Josh Elliott years.

Don’t see that happening. Norah (not many anchors frankly, but especially Norah) likely wouldn’t stick around long at the place that demoted her from the principle role. Part of that is also the network’s desire to hide “failed” anchors by reducing their contribution levels.

Certainly and granted Covid has played a role but I was referring more to the first floor windows being blocked off from view and the upstairs area being converted to an audience studio (both pre-dating 2020). Even in the early 2000s when there was an indoor audience downstairs the show still used the outdoor space daily throughout the broadcast. It’s extremely rare these days. ABC is building a massive new complex and I could see the change happening sadly (but also entirely uneducated guess and speculation on my part so I’ll stop here now haha).

The 1on1 interviews which had been conducted at a rectangular desk to the stage left of the homebase desk might be gone. They conducted those at the homebase desk today. That and the windows of the second floor being entirely blacked out as of last week would hopefully indicate we’re getting some additional improvements! Slightly off topic but part of me believes that ABC could give up the Times Square space at some point in the next decade. The modifications over the years have seen them use the windows and outdoor area much less to none at all. The windowed era of morning TV around the world seems to be closing.

GMA on a slightly updated set this morning. Gone is the tunneled background, in is a new screen spanning the length of the wall behind homebase.

I get your point here but CBS has been the #3 evening newscast since the mid-1980s shortly after Dan Rather (undoubtedly a recognizable star) took the helm. I certainly don’t think Scott Pelley “sucked” and the network having been in the same spot it’s been in for 40 years is not an indication of one anchor sucking, more so that the network itself has failed to captivate audiences.

Did anyone see or hear anything about why GMA3 has been in the first floor studio all week? Walking by the TS studios the entire second floor windows are blacked out so hopefully something interesting is coming.

Seems as though the wild technical issues at channel 7 persist today. GMA3 is airing instead of Eyewitness News at Noon. I knew something was up when they went to commercials immediately after The View instead of the news as usual. Cut back to the noon news already in progress at 12:03.

The A-block went 20 minutes straight as a result as well. The first ad break came right in the middle of Lee’s weather forecast. Yikes. The city’s news leader is struggling tonight.

Random but we’ve still heard nothing at all about Dari Alexander’s abrupt exit. Her Instagram is full of cryptic comments that she is happier away from the desk.

KTLA has a rather unique situation where their 4-7 AM “B-team” is just as popular, if not slightly more, than their A-team. Chris, Megan and Henry could easily be slotted into the 7-11 block and not miss a beat which is saying something because Frank, Jess and Mark are equally incredible. Meanwhile I can’t even name the early block teams at WGN or PIX…

It does seem somewhat sketchy. Daniella just arrived 1-2 weeks ago right? Surely they were either filming or planning to film promotions featuring their new anchoring team - the new Bill and Dominique. They can find solace in knowing that KTRK’s anchor line up is possibly the biggest disaster in the station’s history. If KPRC gets the hire right they may not miss a beat.

Interesting but family is most important. I hope Keith is tapped to be the replacement.

He’s back here after leaving ABC over a pay dispute and a failed stint at NBCU. He was filling in for Rob on weekend GMA iirc and filing reports for GMA3 before the WABC reunion. ABC handed him just as much of a lifeline if you ask me.

Yeah I’m not at all complaining about regular programming interruptions. I think they should always supersede whatever else is airing when necessary. I just wasn’t sure what that relationship between ABC and WABC looks like because they seem to avoid pre-empting GMA or WNT or other network programming even when the situation could call for. Back in the summer of 2021 when strong storms moved across the city bringing flooding and the MTA cancelled service leaving New Yorkers scrambling to get home, I was shocked at WABC ending their 11pm newscast to toss to Jimmy Kimmel. It would have been entirely appropriate for them to extend for special coverage especially as they showed pictures of people stranded in Times Square-42nd St.

What are the standards for WABC as the flagship O&O and largest market to preempt the national network morning show? I was surprised to see them sort of hastily wrap up the interview with the Suffolk Co. official reporting on the first storm-related death just to toss to a tape-delayed GMA.

The new home of the CBS Evening News most likely! /s

Report: Brian Williams turns down CBS Evening News. Looks like the writing could be on the wall for Norah.

That sounds so incredible.

I thought the reference was about being the first female-led anchor team of Today. It was in the same segment where Barbara Walters was mentioned as the first female and Bryant Gumbel as the first black anchors of the show. Overall a much more subdued anniversary special compared to what we’ve seen before. I actually really liked it too. Today isn’t my morning preference but the show does continue to be the most innovative program of its kind and they keep finding new ways to be innovating. GMA ushered in the lighter morning format, but Today pioneered so many staples of what morning TV is - streetside studios, consumer protection segments, concert series, etc.

I imagine this year’s anniversary will be very lowkey due to the pandemic. The fact that they’re only promoting it one week out compared to how they’ve marked their 50, 55 and 60th anniversaries. It’s crazy to think of how much the show has changed and been through since the 60th anniversary. It’s almost an entirely different program. Kathie Lee, Nancy Snyderman, Josh Elliott and Sam Champion were among NBCers who appeared on GMA for the 40th anniversary so I’d bet we could expect to see Tom, Jane, Bryant, Katie, Meredith and at least Kathie Lee in some capacity despite their respective roles today.