MediaZone4K

Sibila Vargas has reappeared in NYC and on NBC ---on Law & Order SVU

Going back to the conversation of WABC being flashy and the editorial tone of it's writing---in the documentary there was a writer who did WABC on the weekdays and ABC national on the weekends. For a story on a Vietnam war attack he wrote "death and destruction rained from the sky". That writer's superiors asked "couldn't you just say they droped bombs in an areal attack?!" to which the writer remarked "we already said that yesterday" and "that's how we do it on eyewitness news". An analyst in the docuntary even explicity stated that WABC's version of Eyewitness News mirrored the NY Post, something theorized by many in this chat. I bring these clips up again---you could really see WABC'S flare for flashy and dramatic language in reports like John Gotti's conviction or John Johnson's report on New York City's crumbling infrastructure in the 1970s. Johnson's report at (9:47)

What makes Sam's passing all the more unbelievable is its absolute randomness. This was someone on our screens everyday, still very much relevant, had no visible signs of illness, and he wasn't that old. RIP to Sam.

Wow Market 2 to Market 134 that's a massive drop. I suppose his firing from KTLA was that messy that other stations in the area didn't want to touch him. Sam Rubin's passing is just random, shocking and sad. Simply put he was one of the main faces of the station and he'll truly be missed.

This is shocking. He's just one of those faces that you're just used to so the fact that he's gone now just feels wrong. RIP

Whoops for Bill Ritter. Someone in the comments said he's working for KendrickThe audible "oh my God" in the background. RPReplay_Final1715344511.mov

we've come to a point where Scripps isn't much better.

Love that crescent moon design! The intro looks better than the main today show's.

I don't really see gender as a factor in this. If anyone is pushing for Sam's return, I would attribute that to his popularity, not because a "need" for a male meteorologist. Yes! Very pointless lives!

Yikes! Blatant speculation ahead...Does this leave room for Sam Champion do national weather content (not the weekends Since Sam apparently works 4 days a week).

In these interviews, one from nine months ago the other from a year ago his face appeared less drawn. His voice fading but not as weak.

It appears WXIA has moved their hour-long noon newscast to 11 am. Their local lifestyle show Atlanta & Company and Daytime Jeopardy now occupy the noon slot. IIRC, 11 Alive had Atl & Co at 11AM then paid programming at 11:30 as a weak lead in to the noon. Today, morning anchor Aisha Howard, and Christie Diez, were anchoring. Previously the much-promoted 4 pm team of Faith Jessie & Johnathan Martin were moved to noon as well. (TV Passport)

Former CBS Evening News host Dan Rather was on CBS Sunday Morning today, his first appearance on the network since his 2006 ouster. Remarkably, the Evening News has remained unstable in the 19 years since Rather left the desk in 05. The piece was well done especially the shot of Dan under the old oak tree. Sadly, Rather apprears more frail than he's looked in *very recent* months past.

Toward the end, Charlie (who I loved) did little else but introduce stories. Jane turns a package now and then. Dan Rather was on CBS Sunday Morning today, his first appearance on the network since his 2006 ouster. The Evening News has remained unstable in the 19 years since Rather left the desk.

One of the biggest rationales for non competes in journalism is safe guarding intellectual property. From my time in a newsroom I can tell you that photographers and digital writers (who aren't under contract) are privy to just as much intellectual property and "company secrets" as reporters/anchors and producers (who were under contract). So, IMO that doesn't hold up. This might be a radial leap but contracts should be abolished for all LOW WAGE employees. It's one thing to lock in Hoda Kotb or Robin Roberts for two years when you pay them millions. But small to medium market MMJs/Reporters making around $20 an hour should have the freedom to leave if necessary, especially because companies do not care about living expenses etc.. Aside from wanting your face exclusively on their channel, contracts are typically a mechanism for stations to curb high turnover. They lock talent in rather than improving the working conditions (and pay) that cause the turnover to begin with.

Just look at market 1! Half the reporting staff at WCBS, WNYW, and WPIX and to a lesser degree WNBC are unrecognizable---and this is the highest paid market. The only station that has heavily retained reporting talent is WABC.

It's almost insane that a company can fire you (or you leave them) yet they can dictate your post employment actions in a "free country". Anchors aside, I highly doubt the audience will abandon a station in droves if a reporter switches from say KABC to KNBC. So the rationale for post employment non-competes doesn't hold up to me. Related anecdote --- During college I applied for a $12 h/r job at Uniqlo who said we couldn't hold any simultaneous retail jobs. If someone is working in retail, most likely they only qualify to work within the industry. So how can you tell them they can't seek supplemental employment in their field? Not surprisingly this same company that recruited directly from college campuses also told students with 8:00 a.m. classes that had to be able to close at 1:00 a.m. a few nights a week --- so I'm pretty sure they don't care.

Not sure where else to post this....Apparently the Federal Trade Commission has banned non-compete clauses. The announcement from the FTC website promotes NDAS as a better alternative to keeping trade secrets rather than non-competes. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/04/ftc-announces-rule-banning-noncompetes The report criticized the clause as an exploitative practice to keep employees locked into low wage jobs rather than employers treating their employees better. During the State of the Union President Biden criticized non-competes for banning a fast food worker from taking a simultaneous job at another fast food restaurant. Any thoughts? My question is.... does this ban now mean that a reporter can work at say ABC 7 and NBC 4 simultaneously, or does it just mean that ABC 7 cannot tell a reporter they are banned from working within X miles of their station for X months (post employment)? I'm thinking the latter.

In situations like these, I'm a big advocate of pre-recording the newscast and airing it after the game, instead of keeping the talent around to go live after the game. I don't think the audience cares whether or not the newscast was recorded live (in that instance).

Being the lead anchor (though not the longest tenured anchor) I'm sure he can get away with more than others at the station. With the exception of Rosanna Scotto, I agree that I don't really see other anchors doing this

I like Bill too. But again, he needs to keep his side commentary to himself. By his own admission he was expelled from college for leading an anti- war protest. I don't disagree with him for doing so, but it does show that Ritter is a strongly political person. That's okay. Just don't let it bleed into your reporting. I'm surprised Saturdays at 11 doesn't hold that title.

Speculation: Sam wants his GMA gig back, but Ginger is there, so he can't. Two male anchors plus the lead anchor and meteorologist in on a weekend! interesting.

(Not that anyone wouldn't be happy to anchor a national evening newscast) but they might be having trouble finding people who want to give up both days of their weekend.

Yup, but I think Ch 2's experiment though is executed better than Ernie's. I remember a segment where he sat at the edge of his office desk style anchor desk and he was holding a baseball or something to talk about that subject. It felt a little cheesy/contrived, but I still appreciate the effort they made in delivering a non standard newscast with positivity. The earthquake coverage really highlighted the difference in tone between the two stations. From what I saw of the extended coverage and Noon, CBS 2 had John and Cindy stery covering this in a serious tone. Meanwhile, around 11am on Fox 5 Rosanna, Curt and the GDNY crew were expectedly more light hearted. Rosanna even said she though she could could have been drunk since the earth was shaking, lol.

As much as we should be focused on journalistic quality rather than wardrobe, it does impact viewers in part. If CBS was trying to make things feel different with no tie, I don't really think it's effective, because so many reporters already do it. I enjoy when male talent like Shannon Sharpe or Nate Burleson stepping out of the conventional blue/black/gray suit look. Sports anchors do this well. We have a very homogenous news talent style and newscast format across the industry---I won't declare that switching up style will add more viewers, but adds personality at least.