MediaZone4K

Well, no matter how we feel, the days of local stations flying reporters out to a National Story are becoming limited with big cheap companies like Nexstar --with a station in almost every market -- who will just distribute a local package to sister stations. 

10 hours ago, SF1964 said:

Why did 6ABC send a reporter down to Baltimore to report on the bridge collapse?  It looked like they were just on the side of some random road.  Won't there be enough coverage nationally?

33 minutes ago, Mrknowitall526 said:

WFMZ sent 2 reporters also, which I also thought was kind of unnecessary ... but I see the points you just made!

Same. I feel like local stations send their reporters to go cover a far away national story as a flex of having "presence" on the ground. Depending on the situation, I view it as unnecessary. Instead of spending that money to send your talent down there, the national network already fills that purpose.

Vice versa, if a *less major story* happens Baltimore, I used to wonder why networks -- in this case ABC -- wouldn't just take a local affiliate package instead of flying a reporter out there. But I guess networks want their people on the story. Moreover, the experience level of the local talent (depending on the market size) may not translate well to the expected quality of a network newscast. Example, a mid skill fresh out of college reporter submitting a package to WNT. 

On 3/26/2024 at 1:39 PM, Drew said:

Sue leaving I believe was budget cuts with NBC 2.0. These cuts hit at every level of NBC Universal. They kept Chuck since he was more willing to be promotions, projects and other things. Sue mostly just anchored at that point. 

Interesting. Beacuse it seems 2012, the year of Sue's departure, is when the station (and other NBC o&o's) rebounded after apparently investing more---rebuilding their news department, new studio, graphics and all. 

3 hours ago, mrschimpf said:

WMAR is already back to their regular schedule and Scrippscast like features on their livestream (including of the Key bridge story...not the time for this at all!) as WBAL and WJZ haven't left the live air since 2am, and WBFF is doing the best it can. This is about as much of an indictment on how bad Scripps has become and their generational neglect of WMAR as a whole.

During the bridge collapse I found myself looking at Hearst's WBAL or turning to DC stations like WRC & WTTG because of the quality issues with the other three stations in Baltimore (CBS O&O,  Scripps, Sinclair). 

It's crazy how much Scripps has fallen in such a short time that we could put them in the same sentence as Sinclair. Again, just looking at WPTV in the last 4-5 years is evidence. 

Scripps is quickly becoming a cheaper version what CBS O&Os often are --- coorperate and lacking local flavor.

3 hours ago, NowBergen said:

Last night during the 5 pm hour, they showed one of Chuck's long form reports (I miss those, it is what made News4 special in the 80s) where he reported on the B17 bombers, and found a person who flew with his dad, then allowed them to have a reunion.  A touching story of the life of WW2 bombers and their post war lives.  I assume we will see more of that tonight as well.  They also seem to be making a concerted effort of including Sue Simmons, either mentioning her, stories with her and pieces of Chuck's interview with her.  No matter how messy her departure was, you can never take away the great Chuck & Sue pairing and was a big part of Chuck's success & longevity.

 

We can revisit this road forever but why the NBC brass broke up an iconic pairing? To this day I still don't know. I dont think it was ratings so it "must be the money" to quote Nelly lol. Its pretty telling that none of his anchor pairings after Sue (as great as Shiba and Sibila were) lasted long. Hopefully Natalie lasts long. 

As much as I love Chuck's straight non emotional/non editorial  news persona, Sue's peronality made the pairing complete and livened him at times. She (and Roz Abrahms & Brenda Blackmon) should still be working today, if at least on the weekends.

Back to Chuck, wishing him good health and I hope he takes the job to the end. 

38 minutes ago, LTSC1980 said:

FIFY

Thanks! Dont know why Detroit is on my mind

Love that WNBC is dipping into the archives for Chuck!

Take your daughter to work day (Mid 90s)

Chuck and Sue dancing (1980s)

16 hours ago, mrschimpf said:

The best stations seem to thrive in spite of their networks, bad syndication breaks, and ownership initiatives, which is certainly being proven by the Coxpollo and Hearst ABC'ers, but it certainly helps if your station builds around the community first rather than the network that carries it, which WDJT and WANF have found out and WWJ is learning to do now.

 

Meanwhile in reverse WWL-TV seemed to turn their back on NOLA when Gannett/Tegna took over (including the inexplicable "CBS This Morning" set emulation which backfired the moment they had to move the local morning show to WUPL) and WVUE is thriving on what used to be 4's bread and butter by just embracing the city and the Saints. And even though it has to deal with Sinclair, KUTV still manages to put out a good product which is strong against KSL and KSTU, while KTVX never seemed to find its way once non-local ownership muddled and meddled it to death; it certainly didn't help that its ownership pre-Nexstar was more used to running independent/UPN stations than a network affiliate.

To your point — looking at the Baltimore DMA, community first (and station ownership) must definately play a role. Here, the Hearst owned NBC: WBAL 11 is the market leader.

It's competition must definately play a role:  *CBS's WJZ, Sincalir's Fox 45, and Scripps' WMAR (ABC, 2). All three of those are weak product station owners.

6 minutes ago, newscopter7 said:

If I remember correctly, Chuck didn’t do much to move the needle at WNBC. It was the addition of Sue and their pairing that made 4 a ratings contender. 

Congrats to Chuck! Has be beaten Dave Ward's record yet?

Liz Bishop is a close second behind him, she's been at WRGB in Albany (the first television station in the world) for 49 years.

It's also perplexing why many CBS affiliates struggle despite being the primetime leader for so many years and having the strongest daytime lineup. To the poster's original question, it is puzzling how *non-O&O* ABC affiliates , remain market leaders in many areas despite not having that impressive of a daytime or primetime lineup anymore.  

an update on the world's first television station...

WRGB (CBS 6) Schenectady/Albany, NY is moving it's longtime 6:30pm news to 7, and moving the CBS Evening News from 7 PM down to 6:30 PM. 

Previously WXXA (Fox 23) had a 7pm newscast produced by WTEN (ABC, 10) which it moved to 6:30 presumably to compete with CBS 6. 

The problem with Scripps stations like Fox 4 Ft Myers removing all talent (minus weather) from newscasts its that they're axing some of tv's last stand--personality.

In the era of information overload where you can get news from anywhere, WHO is giving you the news definitely draws an audience. 

I used to tease my mom for always turning in to a specific channel to see a specific weather man when all stations give the same forecast. But that's what gives tv stations and talent power---the ability to command an audience.

On 3/22/2024 at 4:52 AM, AmericanErrorist said:

All the stations that Nexstar and Mission own in the other markets have been ruled to effectively be duopolies. Are any of these now in violation of the existing (if relaxed) duopoly rules?

Good question.

So to my understanding Mission Broadcasting is Nexstar's shell corporation which it uses as loophole to own more stations than the FCC ownership cap?

Overall, I'm surprised local television owners were allowed to get this massive in the first place. With the industry effectively being dominated by less than 10 companies, not only is it bad for the viewers but bad for the employees who want to leave a crappy company (like Nexstar) only to be confronted with them in almost every TV market.

I might be in the minority, but I think it looks cool, especially if it's a play on the New York City flag colors. It elevates it from plain white and dull.

10 hours ago, JTT said:

But why are they airing reruns of news?  Put current news on the air.

If they're showing highlights of GDLA I'm assuming they're just using the light-hearted segments, which is not a problem. If 13 is a bottom of the barrel station, this works. To others point they're most likely not trying to compete with other stations, just trying to grab the ad revenue.

WPLG News Clip 2024. Definately some essence of WSVN's tabloid feel. I wonder if the studio cameras are either low level HD, or the set is just badly lit. The anchors can come off sharp and grainy sometimes.

On 2/25/2024 at 6:14 PM, carolinanews4 said:

For the CBS owned stations, I think comes down to a lack of budget and the resulting lack of identity. CBS O&Os historically have spent less than their ABC and NBC counterparts leaving them with fewer resources. To play catchup stations like WCBS and WBBM have gone through numerous rebrandings.

 

From a corporate standpoint, CBS has undervalued the "presentation" portion of TV news which has been reflected in the way they fund their local stations. They live in the Walter Cronkite era of storytelling. Admirable? Sure. But television is a visual medium and newscasts are built on a relationship with the viewer. I don't feel like CBS has ever truly embraced either of those things. The lack of investment was easier to hide in the 70s and 80s because everyone's presentation was crude. But as technology has evolved, CBS always seems to be playing catch-up. 

 

When Jeff Zucker cut NBC budgets in the early 2000s, WNBC went into their "WCBS era" where they lacked identity and money. The NBC O&O group launched Daily Connection which was a "newscast" that featured repurposed content from across NBCU properties. The pieces of the show were assembled in NYC and then fed to stations to be produced with local talent. (Sound similar to the equally generic CBS News Now broadcast from Texas?) Cost efficient? You bet. Compelling tv? Not at all.

 

WNBC eliminated Live at Five in favor of News4You and Extra. When that didn't work, WNBC played musical chairs with timeslots, anchors, and formats for years. WNBC their newsroom into a "Content Center" which was nothing more than a gimmick, like the gimmick WCBS tried in launching the short-lived CBS 2 Information Network. It was during this time when WCBS was able to move up to #2, not because Channel 2 was doing anything particularly compelling but because they offered stability where WNBC didn't.

 

Valari Staab, formerly with the ABC O&O group, has spent over a decade rebuilding the newsgathering resources of the NBC group. New radar technology, studios, increased digital resources, heck even new buildings have been added. CBS meanwhile appears to continue the "more with less" mantra that has been in place for over 40 years. While NBC was rebuilding, the ABC stations, with their well-defined local identities, have steamrolled everyone with a consistent and well-funded product. Meanwhile the FOX O&O group, with seemingly endless hours of local news, generates strong local revenue. 

 

What has CBS done? Slapped the last-place 'CBS News' brand onto their local stations. Most of the CBS stations lack the type of true community investment it takes to be a strong player. With audiences for linear TV newscasts continuing to shrink, one could argue it Is way too late for them to catch up. 

On 3/1/2024 at 10:19 PM, nycnewsjunkie said:

Unfortunately, Next TV doesn’t seem to provide full ratings data in their Local News Close-Ups, but they do note that in the September 2023 ratings period, WBZ placed third behind WHDH at 11pm (in both the demo and total viewers). It wouldn’t surprise me if they were second in other time slots, though. Regardless of ratings, I think they put out a fantastic product; they’re definitely one of the better CBS O&Os IMO.

 

https://www.nexttv.com/news/local-news-close-up-better-things-are-bruin-in-boston

SB...Wow WHDH is still doing well as an independent even beating NBC's ground-up operation at WBTS.

To @carolina4's point, CBS's lack of aesthetic investment is evident on the national level. Just look at CBS Sunday Morning's 2000s computer graphics and formerly chroma key set.  Their outdated graphics totally work for that homely program, but comparatively, it did not on the CBS Evening News. Norah's current set is the best they've had in years.

I will however credit local stations like WCBS who do have a great set. 

On 3/15/2024 at 5:01 PM, ABC 7 Denver said:

 

I still think the KABC package circa ~2012-2013 is great. It could work effectively with the ABC 3 dot redesign. https://hothauscreative.com/kabc-graphics-package

The 2013 graphics and to a lesser extent the current KABC package look great. Switching over to the O&O mandate would not be an upgrade for the station. I almost wish the 2013 KABC look was the mandate. 

But the mandate does look better than what was running in NYC, Chicago and Raleigh.

13 hours ago, NYNewsCoverage said:

A recent interview in Newsday featured Katiy Tong: https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/kaity-tong-wpix-qhg4zhj3

She reflected on her time at WABC (where there were protests in 1991 when she was dropped as anchor) and WPIX (where she reminisced about her time with Jim Watkins).

She also mentioned that her recovery has not been easy. Hoping for the best for her.

Paywalled. would you be able to screenshot or copy/paste the text of the article? Thanks.

Elaine was anchoring both days this weekend. No official announcement per WCBS or social media however, **curbing any speculation** we'll have to wait for any announcement.

Elaine would be a solid addition to the team. Again-- surprisingly she's being utilized on weekends and not weekdays at 6, since they're apparently pushing Dick and Dana out. 

On 3/7/2024 at 5:03 AM, RealNews18 said:

WNYW has slightly updated their anchor set. Backdrop is now a full seamless screen similar to the rest of the NYC stations. Appears it was over the weekend or late last week.  

The grid monitors were nice, they give the effect of a window. 

4 hours ago, Roadgeek Adam said:

 

Stephen Clark told me that he was through 4 directors in 4 years. He wasn't much happy there either. 

Yeah the station was really unstable from 1996-2006. The format prior to the "1996 Massacre" of firings was pretty good.  Ancient history but it still sucks that Roz Abrahms didn't last longer there, now this with Dana Tyler.

14 hours ago, bc485 said:

CBS News reporter and streaming anchor Elaine Quijano is anchoring with Doug Williams this Sunday morning. Doug and Craig Allen have been welcoming her all morning, so it appears that she is the new anchor, replacing Andrea Grymes. 

That's quite big actually. *If* Elaine is permanent, I'm surprised they would put a network correspondant who'se moderated presidential debates on weekend mornings instead of weekdays.

*Speculative: unless that would allow her to continue some national duties a few days out of the week.

13 hours ago, Georgie56 said:

Pulling a Jamie Yuccas.

Yup. 

19 hours ago, MorningNews said:

Sade had been anchoring solo at 11pm on Fridays since last year, she’s out right now. Mike is also largely viewed as Bill Ritter’s eventual successor and they’re not subtle about how they’ve positioned him for that.

Good for Mike. He's really moved up quickly.

Haven't watched mornings in a while but does it appear that they've been grooming anyone for mornings --such as a frequent fill in---should this occur? 

5 hours ago, Big Rollo Smokes said:

Big news from the Big Apple: after nearly 34 years as an anchor at WCBS-TV, Dana Tyler is leaving the desk at the end of March. But she will be staying on as a special correspondent, of sorts.

 

In actuality, both she and co-anchor Dick Brennan are being moved off the 6:00 PM show in favor of the station's lead anchor team of Kristine Johnson and Maurice DuBois, who will now anchor all of WCBS-TV's evening newscasts. What role Brennan will have at CBS New York after the move is not yet known.

EDIT: The NY Post article says "stepping down" which suggests Dana Tyler's move is voluntary. However, Andrea Grymes was just removed as weekend morning co-anchor and posted on IG: "The CBS bosses are making some changes, and that includes a new co-anchor for Doug."

That being said, I'm skeptical about how voluntary Dana's reduction to fill in is. Next Tv says Dick Brennan will return to reporting, I also doubt that was voluntary: https://www.nexttv.com/news/wcbs-new-york-changes-6-pm-team 

Is there anywhere to find accurate updated ratings for NYC?