WeatherandTraffic

I just saw the digital newscast, Phil Schwarz is leaving which wasn't surprising though. I'm going to miss him and his weather quizzes. But, he said he might fill in, so a semi retirement. I wonder if Greg gets weekend evenings and Jaisol gets weekend mornings?

New meteorologist from WHDH in Boston. I wonder if anyone is leaving or she's becoming a sixth full time meteorologist. I can't see them having 6 full time meteorologists and Mark McGinnis as the part time fill in. I can see Greg Dutra joining GMA weekend and Jaisol taking her spot and Mark McGinnis continue his part time fill in gig.

Well deserved for Alex, but Patrick gets demoted once again. To go from weekday afternoon and main fill in evening anchor to midday/morning anchor to midday anchor to reporting in less than 2.5 years shows the lack of confidence the management has in him. I can totally see Patrick leaving this year. For a station to go from a very competitive station to almost surrendering with a white flag is sad. NBC 5 used to be a powerhouse station.

I know I keep talking about him but bare with me. I don't know why I can't warm up to Greg Dutra. He seems like a nice guy and is chill, but I'm having a hard time watching him. I feel like I'm comparing him to Larry Mowry, Paul Deanno, Ginger Zee, etc. I want to like him, but I'm having a hard time. Speaking of Greg, on the 5pm they did sports first and then weather with Greg wearing a different tie than this morning. It seems like he went home and came back, but it wasn't planned and someone(not Cheryl Scott) bailed out last second.

What do you all think of Greg's beard? I think it's too much and looks unprofessional, especially on the 7pm newscast when he has no tie. He probably keeps it from going grey, but it's too much and he looks way better shaven or at least with less facial hair. Do you think Cheryl and/or Greg are going to go network with Rob Marciano not on GMA weekday and weekend anymore?

Stefan would move to the 5pm and 6pm in addition to the 10pm he already has to line up with Allison. Patrick taking back the 4pm to line up with Marion. I think JC is fine in the mornings. As for Alex, I can see him going network as he is a great anchor and reporter. What I would like see is Kate Chappell reassigned to just reporting. Her anchoring is stale and she sounds like she's a robot and yet she is a weekend anchor and fill in weeknight anchor. I'm not sure if Paul Deanno is leaving or not as he hasn't made an announcement and only FTV live has mentioned it. If so, this is a huge loss for the station as he NBC 5's version of Larry Mowry.

Rob is social distancing on his newscasts today with Karen. But Ravi and Diane(doing a special report on her husband) sat right next to Karen. If Rob is sick, shouldn't he be at home? Plus with Greg and Phil off this weekend, Mark McGinnis filled it on both nights with Tracy on Saturday morning and Larry on Sunday morning. Tracy and Larry also did taped weather hits for GMA and tossed to themselves like Greg did before which is funny. Now Cheryl Scott is filling in for Ginger Zee all week on GMA which is ironic since Cheryl replaced Ginger at NBC5.

https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2022/12/7/resurfacing-in-la He's leaving for KCBS/KCAL. I really thought he was going to replace Brant Miller when he retires. So does Alicia move to the 11am and 4pm and be the main fill in for Brant and Iisha gets mornings, which he is pregnant btw.

That makes the most sense. With Jason Knowles as the other consumer I-Team reporter, she doesn't have stories everyday. So anchoring weekend mornings and reporting during the week makes most sense. For the weeknight roster, I would love Ravi to get it, but I think Rob is going to get it and possibly Liz getting a permanent weeknight anchor spot. Ravi seems to anchor solo half the weekends during the year as Karen is anchoring less and less which is a shame. Karen should be anchoring on weekdays instead of Cheryl Burton.

They also have kids too. So IF there's an affair going on, this is going to look horrible for the both of them.

I don't think they would hire from the outside for the main anchor spot. But for a weekend spot yes. I would like to have Rob, Ravi, Mark and Terrell all have 1 week each to try out for Alan's spot.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=535524711720557&set=a.149448953661470 JC Navarrete is the new morning anchor. I think when Stefan was brought back, I think they wanted to phase Patrick out. But when Zoraida was in and out a couple of times and then left, it delayed that. I wouldn't be surprise to see Patrick being let go at the end of his contract. Also, I said this before, still not impressed with Kate Chappell's anchoring. The need to find a stronger fill in anchor and have Kate just report.

Once again, congrats to Alan on a great career, a true Chicago legend. With everyone at the desk for the tributes and the after 10pm hugging, are they ever going to go back to normal and stop social distancing? It was nice seeing the closing of the newscasts pre-pandemic again. This is the only station in Chicago that still does the social distancing and has been the more strict with it throughout the pandemic.

That's it for Alan Krashesky. A true professional, class act of a journalist, reporter and anchor. He had the best retirement speech I've ever heard. Who will be his replacement. I prefer someone who can balance out Cheryl Burton. Rob is good for 4pm and 7pm newscasts as I said before. But. he is not top anchor material and pairing him with Cheryl Burton at 10pm is opening the door for the other stations to catch up in ratings. Ravi, Terrell, and Mark Rivera would be my top contenders for the lead anchor spot. Rob Elgas is not fit for the role. but he'll end up getting it and Ravi gets shafted yet again.

Cheryl more likely than Greg since his wife's family is in the Chicagoland area. I can see Phil retiring in the near future. Ravi and Karen/Judy/Liz deserve to be on weekdays and be the lead anchor team once Alan retires. Cheryl Burton and Rob Elgas at 10pm seems like a train wreck for me.

https://abc7chicago.com/meteorologist-job-television-jobs-chicago/12339448/ I just saw they posted a job for meteorologist. Do you think someone is leaving or are they going to have 6 full time meteorologists. If they do 6, Mark McGinnis might be reduced or be done filling in at ABC7. If someone is leaving, who do you think it would be? I hope it's not Tracy or Larry.

Ravi anchored the 5pm today, but not the 10pm. Disappointed, I like Rob Elgas on the 4pm and 7pm, but he's not lead anchor material. Which is the reason Dick Johnson was the main fill in for Rob Stafford over him when Elgas was at NBC5. Ravi deserves the lead anchor spot. If not Ravi, Terrell and Mark would make better lead anchors than Rob Elgas.

Mark Rivera needs to be put into consideration as well. It would not shock me if they do more anchor shuffles and expand the morning newscast to 4am, with the morning anchors giving up the 11am.

The fact I mention this today is surprising. I suspected Jim to retire first out of the 3 I mentioned. Good for Alan. He has been a staple in Chicago for 40 years and a true professional. Hope he has the retirement he deserves. I don't know if they would want to move Terrell from the morning show, he has great chemistry with everyone there. Ravi, he deserves the weekday promotion, seeing as he's been there the longest and is another true professional. He also fills in at 10pm more than Rob. Rob doesn't have it in him to be the main anchor at the station. He's good for the lighter newscasts like the 4pm and 7pm. Mark Rivera is the youngest and has to be a contender for a weekday spot to. But as he has never anchored the weekday 10pm, it seems unlikely and has been filling in less lately. We shall see.

I meant to say "Val Warner is NOW a contributing/third anchor for 6am hour in addition to the 7am digital newscast". Also, Liz, Cate and Sam are all great anchors/reporters so I'm cool with any of those 3 getting the spot. Congrats to Alan, Jim and soon Cheryl Burton on their longevities at the station. Speaking of them, Is there a succession in place when they eventually retire/leave. Dionne is obviously going to take over the Jim. My guesses are Ravi, Rob or Mark for Alan, and Karen or Judy for Cheryl.

Last week was Samantha Chatman's last week on the morning show as she is going to do more investigated reports. It's not surprising as she had been appearing less often on the morning show. Also, as of yesterday, Val Warner is NOW a contributing/third anchor to the 6am hour in addition to the 7am digital newscast. It seems like Liz Nagy might be getting the weekend AM spot as she's appeared the most often next to Mark Rivera.

Patrick was the best fit for the mornings. It seems like the management don't like his anchoring style, but they love the robotic Kate Chappell. I'm sorry, she is not anchor material.

What do you guys think of the Digital Newscasts, The morning is great with Terrell, Val, Tracy, Roz plus the fill ins, especially the hot topic conversation in the WCL studio. I really like they include the weather and traffic personal more on the newscast. The 7pm is Cheryl Burtons best newscast as she's more relaxed. Do you think these newscasts are worth it or no? I would rather watch Local in the Morning instead of networks. Also, are they going to end social distancing and go back to normal seating. The newscasts especially the morning and 7pm flow better when everyone is at the desk.

Larry and Phil especially don't like doing the 7pm newscast by the looks of it. Phil has to stay later than he wants. Plus, they abuse Phil when Tracy is off and he has to do Sunday nights and Monday mornings.

Terrell Brown just cursed on the digital newscast. He said "worked their asses off". They are trying to be like WGN Morning News and it's a better alternative to GMA. Terrell and Val's chemistry if perfect. The Evening Digital newscast is almost unbearable. First of all. Cheryl Burton is on that newscast and I'm sorry. she is ditzy and annoying and should not have that much airtime. Also Phil, Larry and Cheryl Scott look like they don't want to have that digital newscast, it seems like they don't want to be there. Greg is the only Meteorologist that wants to be there. The Morning newscast is perfect, great chemistry and they all want to be there.