MediaZone4K

Strange to hear MSNBC is losing money. Statista puts it as the #3 rated cable network behind Fox News and ESPN. How are some of these cable channels like SyFy still on the air making advertising profits with viewership below 1 million, in some cases below 500,000? I agree with shutting everything down that isn't MSNBC, CNBC and USA. I don't think merging MSNBC with CNBC would work...but I would love to see all propaganda cable news channels shut down. This is about money however so.... CNN and MSNBC have such a complex relationship with Trump. They want him out of office because of his ideology, yet his presence is fueling their viewership. If Trump looses, MSNBC will a) focus on Trump's legal battles, b) return to their pre 2015 strategy: non-stop criticism of Republican policy and congressional legislation blockage, c) they could simulcast NBC News Now and leave the opinions to Primetime.

Will we get Democracy Plaza back this year or will it be the same lackluster video wall backdrop in studio 1A?

Tom is the best choice to me. He's got that David Muir/Anderson Cooper dualism about him. In a suit discussing politics one minute, then out in the middle of a natural disaster in a black T-shirt the next. ***Grooming of Tom I should say. Voice to speech is the worst.

And now the New York Post reported this just yesterday about Lester Holt supposedly retiring. This could all be speculation and sources say, but the grooming of Tom as a successor has been obvious. I just did not expect talk of Holt's retirement to be happening now. He's a very stable presence at the network. Overall I think Nightly News needs better graphics, a better studio, and they need to tweak how they edit their packages. I appreciate their visual aids and graphics but sometimes their transitions are head spinning, it's almost ADHD pacing. As for why NNN dropped to #2, I think it's the loss of Brian Williams. He had a very grand and narrative style of writing, which were exemplified in his anchor intros before packages. Lester Holt is more straight to the point.

I'm months late seeing this comment but Lester???! I'll pick this up in the NBC Nightly News thread. Wolf is iconic. Hard to imagine CNN without him.

Undoubtedly, hiring transplants leads to reporters unfamiliar with the market. But that's just the nature of the business. Yes experience is beneficial, but denying someone a chance because they're young, or thinking someone would be less error prone because they're older is unfair. Devlin wasn't my favorite anchor in ATL, and I'd rather Dick Brennan as anchor, but I won't say Devlin's unqualified for NYC. This looks like an MMJ package shot on cell phone based on video angles. If so, it's unfortunate that one man banding has crept as high as Market #1. The incentives to become a tv journalist are shrinking. More responsibilities for declining pay and tighter deadlines. Anchoring is an escape from the hassles of field reporting but companies like Scripps are eliminating that position in some markets.

Background feels busy.

If they can afford to operate one these days.

Adding to that, something I learned... Metropolitan areas, and DMAs are not necessarily coextensive. So a metropolitan area can have a higher population than another metro, yet still have a lower DMA rank. Our example... The Miami Metro is bigger than the Tampa Metro, yet Tampa's DMA ranks higher than Miami's. Why? The Miami metropolitan area includes the population of Palm Beach County, but the Miami DMA does not. This is probably because the entire metropolitan area would be too massive for the stations to drive to get to stories.

I've been there before as a journalist and in all fairness it is a lot to learn pronunciations of EVERY place as soon as you get the job. He probably wouldn't have known the pronunciation because he's never had to say the neighborhood name before plus most people simply call it The Village. Speaking of reporter mistakes, I've seen long time journalists at some of the stations call anywhere in Central Brooklyn "Flatbush". Yes, little details like this matter, but no one is perfect. Someone should point at the mistake to him, correct this and any more potential mispronunciations, then move on. The producers can also assist by putting pronouncers of tricky town names in the prompter.

As election day approaches, here's an Election I don't really hear people talking about ... 1996! It's surreal to see an election called at 8:00 PM considering how much later the past few elections have dragged.

I don't mind it. I think the virtual weather studio is cool, and the virtual news set that's used on CBS 24/7 is even better. It sets their weather presentation apart from the other six stations in NYC. From questionable graphics choices (as shown in that debate pic) to questionable talent changes. Just a series of clueless missteps by CBS O&Os and WCBS itself. Who is their news director???

Copy. It feels weird, the distinct lack of publicity about this. It's almost as if CBS is embarrassed to be retooling its evening show yet again.

I've watched Mike and remember him from WSVN. He seems fine. He's a great personality in the mornings and I'm confident he can get the job done on evenings. It's understandable why Michelle wouldn't want to be a weekday AM host. It requires waking up around 2:00 a.m. five days a week. Getting up at about 4:00 a.m. just two days a week is much less taxing. Some talent also don't want to be confined to the desk. The ability to split their time anchoring and reporting is a best of both worlds scenario.

Toni is excellent and filled with perosnality. She was especially good with Rob Nelson. This question has been asked before and the typical answer is that she may not want to. Overall I think WABC has the strongest bench by a long shot, WNYW has the weakest.

Wow! Star was growing to be one of the station's popular personalities. She had gone viral on social media for her outfits.

Not a bad idea at all. I just question if said programs would do well as we're already overloaded with national news.

Let's just take a moment to celebrate how far CBS has come aesthetically. That newsroom looks great and I love the brown accents on the graphics package. It reminds me of Katie Couric era CBS Evening News. I would argue CBS News now has the best sets of big 3 broadcast networks. I don't recall WCBS or CBS making a formal on air announcement of John and Maurice taking over CBSEN. The OG press release also described Margaret Brennan as leading the political coverage whenever news breaks. I'm curious to see how this dynamic will play.

Agreed. Other than ad revenue there's no reason for MY 9 to still be on the air. It hasn't been worth watching since UPN went defunct. When first learning about the industry, I was surprised New Jersey doesn't have it's own DMA. But again, Jersey is well covered by New York and Philadelphia stations. For those who can still afford cable there's News 12 --assuming they still do a good job. Likewise, due to the state's geographic and cultural proximity to both cities, is a dedicated DMA necessary? Perhaps any New Jerseyans here feel differently?

Norah's current set is great. After the NYC relocation I would either hope for a recreation of Nora's DC set, something like this photo, or that virtual media wall set on CBS 24/7. Honestly the 24/7 set might be more unique since the CBSEN has tried everything at this point.

I get that part. And yes, a licensed station not fulfilling its obligation technically is an issue.... but does that matter in the grand scheme of things if stations licensed to neighboring communities are providing you comprehensive coverage?

Granted WWOR is licensed to New Jersey but why is the state so protective of the station when channels like 4 and even 7 cover New Jersey pretty well?

Sidebar, this is a great looking desk and set and hopefully it or one like it is used once CBSEN relocates to NYC.

Move the local news up to 10-11/9-10c so they can get that full hour of ad revenue. Put the late shows on 11/10c. I would imagine being seen earlier would help their ratings. Nightline especially would benefit from being earlier. Now, networks now only have to fill 2 hours of lack luster content a night. The solution should not be what some Fox stations do: news at 10 and 11pm ET (a full 90-95 minutes). News departments are stretched thin enough.

John Dickerson hosting tonight At some point he and Maurice should co-host or at least appear on screen together so viewers can get used to them.