carolinanews4

On 6/24/2021 at 12:42 PM, JackityJack said:

Word on the street from a Charlotte media person who I showed this thread to--there's too much speculation on here and a lot of it not actually accurate.  They said the chances of a sale are zilch, and that many of the 'talent departures' are actually not as scandalous as portrayed on this thread (i.e. no drama).  They couldn't address the set delay (they don't actually work there, but within the industry and are aware of the rumor mill), but they did say it's common knowledge that a lot of investment is going into the station, and it's more than Fox put into it.

I second @JackityJack's comments. People in the industry are watching WJZY closely. Nexstar is looking at all aspects of this station as they believe it was under performing due to poor allocation of resources under FOX. For example, FOX requires stations to execute a heavy quarterly marketing spend. This was evident early in WJZY's run as a FOX affiliate. They plastered the region with billboards and radio/cable commercials for their Fox News Carolinas Primetime, as it was then known, which was a trainwreck...as most products are at launch. Instead of quietly launching, working to find their voice, and THEN advertising, they spent heavily and drove curiosity viewing of a bad product. This put them in a hole that one could argue they are still working to climb out of. The list goes on, but that's just one concrete example. 

As for talent departures, there's no drama. As contracts end, Nexstar is looking to put their own stamp on talent. While it is always sad when contracts aren't renewed, it comes with the territory. And when you are on a morning show that still scratches every now and then, it can't be a surprise that the new owners are looking to shake things up. None of this is evidence of FOX returning to Charlotte. It is just a new owner looking to invest in their new property. Whatever your personal opinion of Nexstar is, that's your choice. But people at rival stations and inside WJZY are watching with curiosity as Nexstar amps up the investment for the future. 

It has been a little over three months. I really don't see how the timetable of a new set could possibly portend the sale of a station. I also think it is unfair to say that this is a product of poor planning because it doesn't fit someone's personal timetable. Plus what are these supposed "weird issues" WJZY is having with this rebuild? Just because people on this board think the studio should have launched by now, doesn't mean that it was ever the station's timetable. I think it is fine to wonder when it will be debuting but to travel down the path that this set timetable means the station is for sale, that people didn't plan, or that something has gone wrong is conjecture that is unwarranted. 

Maybe someone can help me here but I fail to understand these broad doomsday statements. Saying that "NewsNation has lost a majority of its staff" is simply not true. There are about 150 people on staff at NewsNation. Have over 75 people quit?  Sure they have lost a few key leaders, and I'm not downplaying that, but to say a majority of their staff is a gross exaggeration.

And I still don't understand the "cut losses" concept. People on this board have been clamoring for it to be shut down since the day it launched. This product is a little over 6 months old!  FOX News took 6 years before they became a ratings juggernaut. MSNBC took much longer. And both of those channels took far more start up cash than NewsNation did. As long as Nexstar sees long term potential, I believe they will give the channel time to find an audience. All it takes is one marquee program and they can build around that. O'Reilly was the cornerstone for Fox while Olbermann was the ticket for MSNBC.

I do agree they need a better programming strategy. The all-things to all-people programming strategy is no longer viable. I would advise them to take a "heartland" approach. I hear a lot from friends in the middle of the country that news is too focused on NY and LA. Maybe being in Chicago then can build a news product for middle America. That certainly would distinguish them. Their ratings would probably be modest, given the population density. But it would give them a target audience for programming and ad sales. In any event, with a lot of people's jobs on the line I'm sure not rooting for a failure. I hope they are given time to find their voice.

On 3/6/2021 at 1:04 AM, DENDude said:

Tegna starting a Master Control hub in Charlotte at WCNC--I wonder what stations they will be running out of there?  And does this mean that NBC News Channel is no longer at WCNC?

NBC News Channel and WCNC are in completely separate buildings. They are neighbors, but the buildings are not connected except for a wiring conduit. 

On 3/1/2021 at 5:58 PM, Nelson R. said:

When Fox first bought the station, the rumor was that they were going to go to the Speed Channel studios on Harris Boulevard but that never came to be. 

I heard that same rumor. I talked with a buddy who worked at Speed, now FS1, and he said it was nothing more than a rumor. Internally there were never any discussions about it. He said Fox had a preference to keep local and national under separate roofs for redundancy purposes.  He pointed to how WNWY has stayed on the Upper East Side while cable cousin FNC is in Midtown. Plus they had, at the time, maxed out their studio space on Harris Blvd. So there wouldn't have been floor space for a local round-the-clock news operation. That all made sense to me. What didn't make sense is why on earth they chose to stay put instead of building out space elsewhere. Heck, WCCB's studios seem like vast Hollywood Studio Lot compared to WJZY. But ultimately the management team responsible for launching the station decided to invest resources elsewhere. Then once they stumbled out of the gate, Fox wasn't going to give them any more money until ratings - and thus revenue - picked up.

Jason Harper posted a behind the scenes walk through on Twitter. Their space is beyond small as that building was not constructed with a news producing station in mind but they are making the best of it. Personally, I think their newsroom set up is the best their on-air look has been since the station became a FOX affiliate. 

42 minutes ago, mightynine said:

...but it's probably some of the better graphics work for CBS News in a while.

I agree. For CBS News, I think this is an upgrade for their on-air look and feel. In my opinion, NBC News normally has an edge in graphics presentation. Their look tends to be more cohesive and refined than the others. However, I think that this CBS open has better production values than the odd piece-by-piece overhaul of NBC Nightly News. 

1 hour ago, iron_lion said:

I see a 7pm newscast airing tonight on WNBC, in addition to a rerun of Nightly News at 7:30 again. When did this resume?

 

I agree with @Roadrunner that 5:00 feels better with two anchors. 6:00 would feel right with a dual anchor format too, IMO. Hypothetically if Chuck ever got a co anchor again at 6:00, I like his two veteran rapport with Pat Battle anytime she's filled in. She's the best on Saturday mornings so understandably they wouldn't mess with that. If Dana Tyler--- as someone mentioned-----got a co anchor at 6:00, Dick Brennan might be a good fit.

The 7 p.m. news hour was due to NBC Sports' coverage of the US Open. Golf coverage was from 4 to 7 p.m. So News 4 at 6 and NBC Nightly News slid back an hour. 

I believe Chuck does currently have a co-anchor at 6 p.m. Natalie Pasquarella had been paired with Chuck for a while now. Did something change?

1 hour ago, Gavin said:

Yeah, Johansson needed that promotion badly, especially after they did him wrong at WRAL In Raleigh. He was going to embark on the lead 5 P.M. slot and 11 P.M. I think we’re the details and a big salary, but when the anchor who was supposed to be replaced by him David Crabtree wanted to push back his retirement to a few years till 2021 they did wrong. No alternative offer for an extensive salary they paid for and basically wasted money for a contract they never used it for!!!

I'm not sure it is accurate to say WRAL did Brad Johansen wrong. Yes, Crabtree delayed his retirement but that is not why he is no longer at the station. According to the Fayetteville Observer, "there was an employee violation and a personnel matter that needed to be handled immediately." That doesn't sound like the station did him wrong nor does it sound like the station decided not to offer him a contract. This appears to be a termination of an employee for cause. Johansen had already assumed Crabtree's hosting duties of the station's public affairs show, "On the Record" and was the primary fill in. By all accounts he was going to be kept on until Crabtree's retirement. That is until this alleged violation. 

When I first saw this studio I wasn't a fan. To me it just looked like someone played a game of "how many LED elements can we cram into one space". (Maybe it was the ribbons crisscrossing the ceiling that pushed me over the edge.) The whole thing seemed designed specifically for election coverage but seemed like it would be too over the top for routine coverage. I must admit, based on how TV3 was used for this 20/20 special, that I was wrong. This studio definitely has a visual versatility that ABC lacked in its previous primary news studio. I'm still interested to see how it gets adapted for daily use but now my curiosity is based on intrigue instead of skepticism.