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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.

Love the dim, warm lighting and the blue/purple gradient of the set. Hope they use it for the 11:00 news. I liked the sit down debreifs with Elle McLogan and Tim. I also like that they're trying the borough *reporter concept such as Elle covering Queens. Not bad changes. They *add a little variety to the standard format. I thought the point of removing Dick and Dana was to have their full A-team on at at six, not just Kristine solo. I still don't see why Dick and Dana couldn't do this? Perhaps to give off a more informal vibe? If they're tweaking wardrobe to affect viewer perception, Nate Burleson does it well! Overall CBS 2 News is a clean cut solid news product. I definitely watch them more than I do Fox 5 or PIX 11. But again their presentation feels stiff minus a few personalities like Lonnie, Marcia and John Elliott.

We should probably shift this to the WNBC thread before the moderators step in. I will say that Sue definately wasn't ready to retire. She said at 10:58 that she hoped to be employed elsewhere, even at least once a week.

I would love to see The Talk go . Let's be cautious about speaking in absolutes when you also absolutely said soaps were done for. You've also questioned wether CBS would actually get rid of The Talk. The fact that they're even entertaining the launch of an hour long soap in 2024 is indication that wildcards are possible at this point.

Absolutely loving the dark lighting and neon contrast on the set. It fits the vibe of late night news. Though I'm not one for the infinite expansion of local news, I appreciate that Fox O&O stations try to get creative with their formatting. Must be, because I was wondering how much more can Fox stations expand, unless they're aiming for KTLA level output.

https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2024/03/the-gates-cbs-george-cheeks Apprently the President and CEO of CBS, George Cheeks, says The Gates is likely being developed as an hour soap. So that furthers the question of where will it fit? Plus, --correct me if I'm wrong--none of the soaps that started out as an hour were successful. We can endlessly speculate, but as always, wait and see.

Either they pushed back the start date or I was mistaken but April 15th is the start date. The middle of the month rather than the 1st does seem like an odd time to start a new newscast though. IMG_8217.mov

This would not push the line up into 9am. All this is doing is splitting Y&R in half to fit The Gates. But yes, what confuses things further is that the CBS daytime lineup isn't standardized across timezones. Y&R aires at 11 AM PT, then news, then B&B which screws up the carry over audience method.

Harry & Hoda. That would've been great come to think of it!

Harry Smith is leaving NBC after 12 years! Grew up with him on CBS' The Early Show. Looks like he's leaving the industry as he'll be teaching at Central College in Pella, Iowa

Idea 10 Lets Make a Deal 11 Price is Right 12 Local News 12:30 Y&R 1 NEW SOAP: The Gates 1:30 B&B 2 The Talk This is simplest way to accommodate the new soap without massively altering or confusing CBS's daytime lineup. Y&R remains in it's successful 12:30 ET slot, Gates airs at 1 to get the carryover audience, and the fans don't change the channel because they know Bold is coming on right after. I doubt the The Talk or the game shows will be sliced to 30 minutes. I also don't see the veteran B&B getting canceled for a new soap. As awful as the show has become, it's still number two in soap ratings, and has international appeal. If you regularly watch B&B, you would know that expanding it to one hour is a bad idea. Not counting commercials, Bold's writers can't even fill 18 minutes without heavy repetition, let alone a full 38. I don't mind if the CBS daytime block extends into 3pm, but affiliates like WANF, with 3 PM newscasts would.

*separated posts so it's not one massive paragraph* It's not implausible but----Why do we keep forcing idea that CBS is going to launch an afternoon newscast when they've shown no indications of doing so, and their national news product is not strong outside of 60 Mins and Sunday Morning?

wow, literally just mentioned his name this week when I asked which Anchorhead beat in Chuck Scarborough for the longest tenured record. Another legend, Harry Smith is leaving NBC after 12 years! I grew up watching him on CBS' The Early Show.

Thank You! Compared to what Dana is getting over on Ch 2, and compared to what happened to Sue, I'm really proud of how News 4 is celebrating and honoring Chuck. Im also glad that they acknowledged how the Chuck/Sue pairing contributed to Chuck's success, and that they let her talk on camera.

Some national recognition for Chuck

Totally agree. Multi-generational newsrooms should be the goal. Veteran anchors with contacts and connections to history. You also want to develop young people to keep the station hip and carry the torch (and the ratings) once the veterans leave.

Dana admittedly hasn't been the best solo anchor in recent years, she's better with a partner. As for ratings..eehh. But again, I don't think Dana is CBS 2's problem, their presentation is. Anchoring is not a physically taxing job, it's about personality and commanding an audience. If an octogenarian is mentally alert, looks good on camera, and still draws an audience, there's no reason for them to retire. Veterans often have contacts and resources that the younger talent do not. A problem arises if that veteran anchor has no effect on ratings and if their massive pay is taking up resources (but let's also extend that scrutiny to company executive salaries). There's a common mindset that your career stops at 65. Assuming you live to be 90 and (physically fit)...what will you be doing with yourself for 20+ years? Every old person isn't close with their family, and their friends may not be physically agile. Purpose and activity keeps people going.

I hope so. (Sue Simmonds even said on her last day she hoped to get employment somewhere else). Unfortunately, at Dana's age - -and presumable price tag -- stations may be reluctant to hire her. If Lori Stokes getting hired at Fox 5 was any indication, hopefully stations aren't averse to picking up older talent.

almost poetic that this comes the same week as Chuck's 50th anniversary over on 4. Two legends being treated very differently by their stations. Wishing Dana all the best.

Goes into effect April 1st. They're running commercials for it in Albany, not posting about it online though.

WSB 2 Atlanta delays ABC World News Tonight until 7 pm, opting to air their 6 pm local news as a 1-hour bock. This puts them head to head with WAGA Fox 5 who does the same. (Both don't list 6:30 as a separate newscast).

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.

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.

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.