tylerSC

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.

On 3/21/2023 at 11:44 AM, TheRob said:

SI, itself a dying presence, writes about the slow death of the local sports anchor.

 

https://www.si.com/media/2023/03/21/death-of-the-local-sports-anchor-daily-cover

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.

On 3/1/2023 at 12:11 PM, MorningNews said:

 ABC adding a third on-air meteorologist. I wonder if we’ll see her take over weekend GMA from the revolving ABC O&O mets.

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.

I miss Jay Leno. Have never really adapted to Jimmy Fallon. I miss Jay's monologue, headlines, and Jaywalking. Now I tend to prefer Jimmy Kimmel.

On 2/15/2023 at 4:32 PM, GoldenShine9 said:

Macon is the only market in Georgia that Gray is absent in. Maybe, just maybe, they could swipe a major network. I'm sure they would have loved WMAZ, but that is off limits to them except via a trade, and what would they give Tegna in return?

 

Also, KNIN is pretty useless for Gray. Scripps does all the heavy lifting there, and Gray has no realistic path into that market either for a news producing station (plus it's too small for 4 such stations).

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.

On 8/10/2022 at 8:33 AM, Nelson R. said:

Former WJZY anchor and reporter Lindsay Clein is now a 4 and 5pm anchor at WXII! Good for WXII! 

I I

 

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.

On 6/11/2022 at 9:34 PM, Nelson R. said:

Former WBTV meteorologist Leigh Brock has resurfaced at rival WSOC. UPDATE: She is just filling in.
 

Also I’m way late on this one but Grace Grill has joined the WJZY sports team. Grace Remington has apparently left after less than a year at the station. 

 

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.

On 4/23/2022 at 5:57 PM, Nelson R. said:

Weekend meteorologist Leigh Brock leaving WBTV. Her mother (I assume that’s who it is) stated that the station did not renew her contract. https://www.facebook.com/100044207510574/posts/559545828862329/?d=n

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.

16 hours ago, Nelson R. said:

Maureen O’Boyle leaving WBTV in July and apparently getting out of TV altogether

 

Just announced on the 6:00 news.

 

This comes just over a week after Leigh Brock left the station.

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.

On 12/13/2021 at 9:11 PM, tylerSC said:

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.  

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.  

Antop 800SBS, Antop 400BV, and Marathon Plus are similar variations of the same antenna. Good compact design with good reception reliability. With a UHF flat panel and VHF dipole and indoor stand. The 800SBS has an internal amplifier with adjustable gain, whereas the 400BV allows for an external amplifier. The Marathon has a built in amplifier but does not have adjustable gain. Larger antennas that perform well include Clearstream 4V/4MAX from Antennas Direct, and the classic 8bay antenna from Channel Master, model 4228HD Extremetenna.. The Channel Master is optimized for UHF but can also receive High VHF in strong signal areas. But in some cases you may need to add a separate VHF antenna for reliable performance along with the 4228 for UHF.

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.

On 11/2/2021 at 3:19 PM, JoseRM303 said:

Couple of updates out of Charlotte and WCNC:

 

Sarah French who has been filling in on the morning newscasts has been officially named co-anchor of the weekday morning and midday newscasts.

 

Carolyn Bruck who had been out on leave the past several months returns to the station today but this time as co-anchor of the 4 pm newscasts. No word on who succedes Sarah as co-anchor of the 5, 6 & 11 pm newscasts. 

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.

On 9/30/2021 at 11:15 PM, tyrannical bastard said:

When WHNS joins the fold, that will add Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina as well. 

Gray may as well add a digital presence in Raleigh/Durham to fill out the rest of the state. 

And they could do a much better job in the Triad than Sinclair does with their so-called "local" news being piped in from San Antonio. 

 

Those moves fill out both of the Carolinas right there and how Gray can compete in markets they aren't in already.

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.

On 8/1/2021 at 8:09 AM, iron_lion said:

Ann and Matt had zero chemistry. Ann to her credit is a serious newswoman and should have remained as the newsreader. BUT as much as I’m warming up to Savannah, Ann was superior. I just wish Meredith would have never left!

 

Once Ann was out, coupled with the reformatting of Today when Studio 1A went from orange to blue around 2013, marked a sharp quality decline in the program. Add that against the team of Robin/George/Josh/Lara/Sam on GMA, and there was no going back for Today. Worse yet, Today is severely dumbed down compared to the days of Jane, Bryant , Matt and Katie.

 

CBS This Morning is the best on the air right now and deserves to be #1. I agree that morning news ratings are down as a whole because of changing viewer habits and the litany of depressing news over the past decade. COVID and the Election on repeat became annoying after a while. Moreover, the quality of tv shows from as a whole from cable to broadcast isn’t as good as it used to be IMO.

The Today Show had the best combination of personalities with Matt Lauer and Katie Couric and then Matt Lauer and Meredith Viera. But Ann Curry was an excellent reporter and news anchor. And I miss Kathie Lee Gifford on the 4th hour, and I appreciate the way they allowed the legend Regis Philbin to make guest appearances. But I agree the best morning show now is CBS This Morning. 

On 4/22/2021 at 7:48 PM, Nelson R. said:

Ann actually replaced Morgan Norwood who was fired for accidentally letting an f bomb slip on a hot mic. But she has been with the station. Paige moved to the noon and 4pm news. But still a big shakeup in the morning.

Yes that was my point, not sure why they would want to shake up a seemingly successful program that was apparently gaining viewers. They had a good combination of personalities and nice balance of news, interviews and features. Now it is mostly news as they seemed to have phased out some of the interviews and cooking segments. And no more live reports from FOX News, although I knew that would change after FOX sold out to Nexstar.

On 4/16/2021 at 6:58 AM, SFTV said:

WJZY Nick Kosir, the viral dancing weatherman is out.

 

https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2021/4/16/the-dancing-weatherman-is-gone

 

 

Well if they let him go that seems like a big mistake by Nexstar. He was one of their more popular personalities and did a good job with an entertaining style weather segment that seemed well suited for the morning show. They previously had a good mix of hosts for the morning program, but now have lost Nick Kosir along with Chuck Roads, Paige Fehling and Brigida Mack. Not sure why they wanted to dismantle a good team that seemed to be working well. But holdover Jason Harper and Ann Wyatt Little seem to make a good team moving forward, so we shall see. But the show now seems to be more news oriented with less entertainment, interviews, and cooking segments. So I guess the typical "moving in a different direction" as these changes occur.

9 minutes ago, Nelson R. said:

If they hadn’t got the new Fox O&O graphics last January right before the sale went through, they likely would’ve got the Nexstar graphics about the time they got the website.

I like the current FOX graphics package, but I am unfamiliar with the Nexstar version. But the Nexstar graphics on WSPA are a bit large and overbearing. I get both WJZY and WSPA OTA in Spartanburg with a very strong signal, as WJZY recently boosted their power post repack. But my preference from Charlotte is WSOC then WBTV, and fortunately WSOC has a western translator. WBTV also has a strong signal here, just like a local, and I can also get WCNC. But WYFF is the much better NBC affiliate. But both WSOC and WYFF coud use a new set, IMO, as they both look a bit dated. The new set Hearst built for WXII is very nice.

21 hours ago, Nelson R. said:

Ann Wyatt Little has permanently replaced Morgan Norwood on Good Day Charlotte. https://www.instagram.com/p/CLSvim3p9ew/?igshid=at1slt5v4a7v

A short tenure as apparently Morgan Norwood was released after accidentally using the F-word on the air. They had moved longtime morning host Page Fehling to the new noon and 4pm newscasts, and Norwood was the replacement on the morning show. She was a recent hire from ABC O&O WTVD in Raleigh/Durham. Not sure why Nexstar wanted to risk changing an established talent mix in the morning, where Page Fehling and Jason Harper had good chemistry, and they released former WBTV anchor Brigida Mack and veteran traffic reporter Chuck Roads as strong support personalities. Not sure the logic here, but Ann Wyatt Little is a nice addition going forward. And apparently Nexstar may be building a new set for WJZY, as they are currently broadcasting from the newsroom rather than the studio. Ann Wyatt Little had tweeted that they were under renovation. But the current set with the scenic skyline backdrop was relatively new, as built by former owner FOX just a few years ago.