mountainave

I was really comparing her to Lara, but yes, true.

Speaking of Sara Haines, I don't really understand that hire. What does ABC News see in her? She does seem like a very nice person who loves her job and wants to do the best she can, but I don't think she's of the same caliber as most of the other (even newer) correspondents. Also, and somewhat random, I noticed that women who are successful in television news tend to have a slightly deeper voice than most women (probably helps convey authority and gravitas). Haines doesn't. Maybe that's why I have a hard time taking her as seriously. I try not to be critical too often as I know these people are just trying to do the jobs they were hired for and everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Just sharing my observations.

Forgot that they've been doing that. You're absolutely right. I agree. And now that I think about it, all of the fill-in weather anchors I've seen so far have been men.

Interesting. Does he even have a job at the moment? Part of me thinks they'd lean toward choosing a girl so there are two men (Dan and Ron) and two women (Bianna and a female weather anchor) as opposed to three men and one woman, although the other three anchors could change in the future and maybe they also don't want an all-female weather team (formerly Sam and Ginger), so who knows. Maybe gender isn't a factor at play here. Just speculating.

If you want nothing but politics and war, watch CBS or read the NY Times. What those dishing criticism seem to be forgetting is that ABC is a business. Just like any business, the news division is catering to what viewers want to watch. Clearly, that is useful news with some lighter feature stories incorporated. Is it ABC's job to decide what viewers should want? Should The Home Depot stop selling plants and flowers because it's supposed to be a hardware store and not a gardening store, even though customers go there for both hardware and gardening supplies? It's not like WN has become TMZ for crying out loud.

Okay. We really should take that entire article with a grain of salt. It quotes an unnamed source. That person could know nothing. Then again, that person could be dead on. We have no idea. On another note, what happened to the reports that George had a clause in his contract stating that if he were not named Diane's replacement on World News, he'd be free to leave ABC without penalty?

Michelle Charlesworth and Kemberly Richardson this morning. Michelle and Tim Fleischer tonight.

Toni Yates and Tim Fleischer anchoring EWN at 6 (and I presume 11) tonight, with Andy Field doing the lead story. Talk about calling in the reserves! Toni's been behind the desk a lot the past few days. I haven't seen Tim anchor in years. Edit: They work well together. Tim is really good.

Anchoring on Christmas Day will be Bill, Stacey Sager, and Lee. Stacey hasn't anchored in years. Normally it'd be Bill, Lee, and Lauren Glassberg, but she's on maternity leave.

Andy Field reported live tonight on the 11. What's up with that? Haven't seen him on EWN in years, and even back then it was a short stint. Maybe too many people are on vacation and he's just freelancing again?

Yeah. What a waste of eight characters in the Twitter handle. Looks ridiculous.

David doing 2 hours on air? I don't know about that.

I don't think Bill's planning to retire anytime soon. But, when he does, you guys really think David will replace him? I think David fits well for a morning or afternoon show (i.e. in his current role or replacing Ken), but I have a hard time envisioning him as the anchor who is the face of the station's news coverage. Even Rob Powers fits that role better, I think. Also, don't forget about Rob Nelson. Who knows what'll happen with him down the road.

Rob Powers and Sade anchoring the 4 today. Good chemistry between them. On another note, the person doing the voiceovers for the promos sounds different.

Why try to promote a hashtag anyway? It's short-sighted social media strategy. If anything, put @ABC7NY there instead.

Rob Powers filled in for Joe Torres, Jeff Smith appeared on World News with David Muir, and Lee Goldberg will be filling in as weather anchor on GMA Sunday.

I assume they called him in. Diana was also called in to replace Phil.

They changed the main Twitter handle from @eyewitnessnyc to @ABC7NY.

This morning Michelle was presenting an emotional story about a group of boys standing up for a peer who was being bullied. She got choked up and Phil jumped in to finish the piece. Did anybody happen to record the moment, or find it online?

I did notice they dropped "Storm Watch 7 is in effect" in favor of "Accuweather Alert mode." Not sure why.

Do we know what her arrangement is? I wonder if she's still employed by Metro/Shadow Traffic contracted by WABC, or if she's just been hired by WABC outright.

Between this and the "Weather and Heather" promo, it seems the Creative Department has a new strategy with these jingles. I like it.

http://forums.tvnewstalk.net/index.php?/topic/13276-phil-lipof-is-going-to-wcvb/

You guys hit the nail on the head. As for using Channel 7 over ABC7, it's also more relatable for viewers. Puts the emphasis on the channel and not the network branding. Less corporate, more personal. That said, they do need to work on brand consistency on social media.

7online.com has been around for a while, so I think the assumption is that, by now, viewers know the website. Even if someone didn't put two and two together, they could Google "7online," and the first result would be WABC's website.