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And of course Kathie Lee Gifford returned to honor Hoda in the fourth hour, where she hosted originally before Jenna Bush Hager. Jenna does a nice job, but I still think I enjoyed the original pairing of KLG and Hoda the best. I kind of thought they might have Tom Llamas take over for Hoda on Today but perhaps they are saving him for when Lester retires from Nightly News. I wonder if he or someone else will show up as a supporting 3rd host as Craig Melvin has done previously.

WCNC Charlotte also debuted their renovated set today at noon. Main change was adding a new large video wall as the main backdrop behind the desk, replacing several monitor panels stacked vertically. Nice improvement, but the side video monitor wall and weather center remain the same. Overall a generic Tegna look similar to WXIA, but a nice upgrade.

Tegna seems to be upgrading WXIA and WCNC. As WCNC has been staging the anchors at the video wall and side areas in the studio rather than the main anchor desk, for about 2 weeks. It may be a renovation rather than a full rebuild set. Perhaps they are changing the video monitors behind the desk with a new backdrop. And perhaps a similar upgrade at WXIA.

Sorry to see Molly Grantham abruptly depart WBTV, as she was apparently forced out the door after she declined to renew her contract which expires at the end of the month. Rather than allowing her honorably finish 20 years of service, she was abruptly kicked to the curb wih no appropriate farewell or final broadcast. I would speculate Gray TV offered her an unsatisfactory contract, but whatever the case it is a shame to see her treated so disrespectfully. I hope to see her join WSOC or some other station if she so chooses and a contract is offered. WBTV continues to lose longtime legacy talent, incuding Paul Cameron, Maureen O'Boyle, Eric Thomas, Steve Ohnesorge, David Whisnant, and Steve Crump. Losing heritage credentials and class act reputation. More inclined to watch WSOC.

Not sure why they want to remove the network logos from their branding. But I can confirm WBTV has removed the CBS Eye from the Channel 3 logo when they switched to grayOne. But WHNS is still branded FOX Carolina so I suppose the FOX logo will remain there, although they do not appear to have yet converted to grayOne. I receive both these stations with an antenna, so I can visibly confirm these graphics. Here in Spartanburg, WBTV Charlotte comes in strong just like a local channel which I can receive with an indoor antenna, while official CBS affiliate WSPA can be more of a challenge due to VHF. And WHNS comes in good, so 2 strong Gray stations here, although WJZY from Charlotte is also a strong signal, despite Nexstar downplaying the FOX affiliation. So it seems network branding and promotion may vary by market, despite the group package in some cases.

Apparently Carolyn Bruck may have finally departed WCNC. Need further confirmation here. She was well liked on both the morning and recently afternoon shows. But she has had at least 2 leave of absence periods in the past before ultimately returning. Hope to see her back on a CLT channel. Wish her good luck.

I am glad they changed their plan and decided to keep the legacy 3 channel branding in the new logo. WBTV has a strong familiar heritage as Channel 3 going back to the analog era as the first TV station in the Carolinas. Although they did eliminate the CBS logo from the new brand.

Another good addition along with Colin Mayfield who came from a Hearst station in Cincinnati. But what has happened to popular female anchor Carolyn Bruck? Is she on leave of absence again? She seems to have an on again, off again track record there.

I was disappointed to see Cheryl depart, as it seemed rather abrupt. Perhaps because they are cutting back on the afternoon show which may have resulted in a salary cut. Not sure about such personnel matters, but just sorry to see her go. I wish they would have found her a spot on one of the news programs, as she is appealing talent and did a good job. Also in Charlotte, former WBTV meteorologist Leigh Brock popped up again on WSOC as a Saturday fill in. Wish they would give her a permanent gig as she is appealing talent and a good weather presenter. Not sure why she was dropped by WBTV to begin with, as she was well liked and has been missed. They did recently hire Eric Garlick at WBTV to replace the late Jason Myers. Good weatherman, strong presentation.

In Charlotte, QC talk show hostess Cheryl Brayboy has left WBTV, where she was regular talent on the morning and afternoon talk shows. The afternoon show may be cut to half an hour as Gray is adding an investigative news show in September. I always wanted to see WBTV promote her to the anchor desk, as she is a good anchor/reporter and would be nice to add another African American anchor.

In Charlotte the leading news stations WBTV and WSOC no longer have a regular sports segment on their newscasts. On WSOC the sports anchor Phi Orban is a news anchor on the weekends and only covers the NFL Panthers and NBA Hornets as warranted, with no daily sports segment. Back in the day, these stations had strong sports anchors Jim Thacker, Paul Cameron, Delano Little and Harold Johnson. WCNC and WJZY now have the most sports coverage.

WBTV has a nice graphics package, which may be a modified Raycom style. And recently the Gray talk shows on WBTV and WHNS have identical new graphics.

Do they still bring back Sam Champion to fill in on GMA? I used to see him sometimes. Looks like they would find a spot for him, since he was once one of their major anchors. Or maybe he's semi retired.

Are any Atlanta stations still carried on cable or satellite in Macon? Seems like they used to be back in the day, as Macon is just beyond fringe coverage for antenna reception from Atlanta. I think I remember possibly WSB, WXIA, and WAGA on cable there.

Just bring back All My Children and be done with it. Susan Lucci hinted of a possible reboot recently as a proposed project by Kelly Rippa and husband Mark Consuelos. I miss the New York soaps. Don't know why we need Good Morning America in the afternoon.

I wondered what happened to her on WJZY. Sorry to see her go but a good move for her. But perhaps if WJZY had been smart enought to give her a permanent anchor spot there she would still be in Charlotte.

Also in Charlotte Maureen O'Boyle signed off the anchor desk last Friday night at WBTV. Pleasant, popular, and professional, it will leave a big void to fill. Sorry to see her go.

Nice to see Leigh Brock back on the air and filling in at WSOC. Wish it would be a permanent hire. Seems like a mistake for Gray to release her from WBTV. She was well liked and did a good job. In Greenville-Spartanburg WHNS-21 anchor Cody Alcorn has announced he is leaving FOX Carolina and moving to Atlanta for personal reasons. No apparent plans yet to transfer to Gray sister station WGCL-CBS46, or FOX5 Atlanta. He has been a mainstay at WHNS for 16 years. Future plans yet unclear.

Sorry Leigh Brock has departed WBTV. She was well liked and did a good job.And was a familiar face from the Eric Thomas era, so she would have helped ease the transition from his departure rather than the other 2 newer meteorologists they moved to the evenings. Seems like a big mistake by Gray if indeed her contract was not renewed. Too much legacy talent is departing WBTV, including now Maureen O'Boyle.

Sorry to see her go. She was a strong anchor and an appealing personality, well liked by the viewers. But much of the major talent has retired from WBTV in recent years, so it will be interesting to see how Gray maintains the longtime legacy status of WBTV in the coming years, or lose ground to WSOC.

Maureen O'Boyle returned to the anchor desk at WBTV tonight, after an extended absence of over 2 months. No explanation given but just a welcome back. I guess just a personal leave but all seems well and glad to see her back.

What has happened to Maureen O'Boyle at WBTV? She has been off the air for over 2 months and no apparent explanation. She is missed and hope all is ok. Must be some sort of extended leave.

Also at WCNC in Charlotte anchor Bill McGinty signed off and announced his retirement after 32 years in the news business. Sounds like a sudden move not previously announced, but it seemed it may have been his choice and not a Tegna decision. He was at WCNC for 10 years as an afternoon and fill in anchor and consumer/ investigative reporter, known for his Get McGinty reports. Sad to see good, strong seasoned talent depart WCNC.

Yes Carolyn Bruck is back, after her 2nd extended leave of absence in several years. Not sure if it was for health or personal reasons, or contract negotiations. But nevertheless she had developed a popular following, and had a good relationship and chemistry with coanchor Ben Thompson on the early show. Not sure why she was moved to evenings, but I guess it would be considered a promotion of sorts. I hope Sarah French remains on the morning news as she is a talented journalist and anchor, and has also developed a good rapport with Ben Thompson. Sarah was originally the evening anchor before moving to mornings to fill in for Carolyn. Now the flip flop may be permanent, as Vanessa Ruffes seems to be the new nighttime anchor.

WBTV-3 already puts a very strong signal into much of Western NC and Upstate SC, well beyond the official Charlotte market. In fact their signal comes in strong just like a local channel in Spartanburg and extends into Greenville. But of course WHNS will bring more Upstate SC focused news as WBTV focuses more on the main Charlotte metro.