nycnewsjunkie

From the looks of that press release, Dice will continue his work a corporate pilot while being on staff as an occasional contributor. This expansion isn’t as crazy as it looks. Given that Alabama (and Tupelo, for that matter) can be tornado-heavy during the summer, having extra meteorologists on staff can’t be a bad thing. I find it notable that stations around the country seem to be expanding their staff of meteorologists as of late, though I guess it’ll take time for many people to get used to. For instance, when WABC expanded to five meteorologists, people immediately jumped to the conclusion that someone was leaving.

My dad has fond memories of that “behind the bag” sequence, and Vin’s call made it really special. Of course, there was also his call of Hank Aaron’s home run record. The Braves just happened to be playing the Dodgers that night, and even though he was the announcer on the opposing team, he knew the gravity of the moment.

KYW launched those with their new set. Given the projected fall launch and the fact that we’ve just hit August, it makes sense that they’re all starting to transition now.

Come to think of it, that might partially explain the shift to being commentator-heavy. Talking-head programs can’t be that expensive to produce. All you need is one person with an opinion, a reasonable backdrop, some guests that will appear on any network that throws cash at them, and you have a show. Why fill your schedule with original documentaries, international news coverage, or investigative specials when you can generate more revenue with talking heads? And while Nexstar will certainly be paying the stars of such talk programs generously, their salaries will likely pale in comparison to the Carlsons and Maddows of the world. Not to mention, some of those personalities aren’t even exclusive to NewsNation. I remember reading a quote from Perry Sook from a conference call regarding the Tribune acquisition. This was his statement on Tribune’s management of WGN America (via Deadline) This was in reference to WGN America cancelling nearly all of its expensive original programming in favor of cheaper syndicated reruns. This should’ve been an indicator that Sook wanted his new cable network to generate revenue on the cheap, rather than investing in expensive programming to draw eyeballs. Now, Nexstar not only invests in cheap programs; they invest in cheap programs that they own. Horrible move for journalism, but smart business move for a cable network that few were (or are) watching.

I have a feeling that the WGN people knew what they were doing when they put in the “embarrassingly bad soundbite.” FWIW, it’s getting the amount of attention it deserves: a whopping 13 likes. I don’t know if anyone here works at a Nexstar station or knows someone who does, but I’d be curious to know how local newsrooms feel about promoting this garbage. One small problem: that title’s been taken for Jeffrey Toobin’s new show on NewsNation. Harsh joking aside, given that they’re now going after every creep and talking head reject out there, it wouldn’t even shock me if they tried to hire Toobin, or even someone like Matt Lauer, and dump more fuel on this dumpster fire. The real journalists at that network can’t get out of there fast enough.

That announcement was so interesting that I forgot to watch it. And so did pretty much everyone else.

They probably won’t rebrand as “X’s NewsCenter” or “X News Now,” but I could see the Peoria operation rebranded as “21 News,” as both ABC and NBC are on WPTA now. I don’t know if Gray has been doing the same “consolidation via attrition” strategy in Duluth, but if they are, I imagine they’ll do something similar and take the name of the stronger newscast (KBJR I assume.) I agree with your sentiments of everything being boring and cookie-cutter, but they already do this now. Everything has been consolidated under the same umbrella for a while, and I don’t think having different studios and anchor teams changes that. Besides, the content is pretty much the same anyway. Gray doesn’t want to spend on different studios, anchors, etc. to put out essentially the same newscast from the same news department with the facade of looking different. It makes financial sense to consolidate everything under the stronger news brand (25 News) than to spend on a facade. It might actually drive more viewers to the ABC station. I imagine more people watch “25 News” than “Heart of Illinois News” even though they’re both from the same operation. Ideally, I would rather the two stations have completely different newscasts, staff, newsrooms, identities, etc., but we sadly don’t live in that world anymore.

I’m not sure if the Saudi-backed LIVGolf has been discussed on this forum yet, but I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread on the subject. There have been several high-profile golfers that have left the PGA Tour and joined LIV after being offered large sums to do so. While LIV has a stated goal of growing and revolutionizing the game of golf, its Saudi government ownership has raised concerns over sportswashing, given Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. Despite a lack of global TV partners, LIVGolf has already signed some high-profile voices in the broadcast world. Arlo White, Jerry Foltz, and David Feherty are just some of the people that have already joined the the LIV Tour as broadcasters. Now, two other well-known voices are in talks with LIV about broadcast roles: Former CBS broadcaster Gary McCord is in talks with LIVGolf CEO Greg Norman for the 2023 season. He’s expressed particular interest in working with Feherty, as well as Charles Barkley. Speaking of which… In an even bigger shock, Charles Barkley confirmed on the Dan Patrick Show that he was considering a role with LIV after they reached out to him. LIV has not yet made an offer to Barkley, but when asked if he were offered triple his current earnings from TNT and endorsement deals, Barkley stated he would accept the offer. Barkley is set to play in the upcoming LIVGolf pro-am, and has given the group until this Thursday to make him an offer.

So we’ve officially gone from “all facts, no opinion” to “here’s every rejected, big-mouth talk show host with an opinion that didn’t even attract good ratings on the big networks. Also, Blue Bloods.” Social media sycophants do not create credibility. If that’s the case, then you might as well say that Alex Jones is a credible journalist because people like him on social media. It should not be surprising that Chris Cuomo’s social media comments are filled with people who could care less about journalistic ethics. Twitter has a block button, and it would not surprise me if Chris uses it. As for Megyn Kelly, she has under 500k subs on YouTube. That’s respectable, but compared to other current affairs channels out there, it pales in comparison. If she can’t generate more subscribers on YouTube despite her fame, she won’t magically generate viewers for a network with distribution/content/editorial/behind the scenes issues from the beginning. Long story short, Nexstar will spend 8 figures to make 7. Oh well.

Nope, there is one other answer he could’ve given: no answer at all. Yet, Lee Goldberg clearly replied “addition only,” so I’m not sure how else to spell it out. There is no sacred rule in the TV News Ten Commandments that limits stations to four (and no more than four) meteorologists. Instead of making wagers on who’s leaving based on evidence-free speculation, let’s wait until there are signs of an impending departure *before* starting the guessing game. It’ll at least save you a few bucks on your next bet.

Thank you. Sister station WPVI has 5 meteorologists on staff as well. Hell, PIX11 has 5 forecasters. It’s not unheard of.

Yup, that too. Again, not indicative of anything, just interesting to point out.

A few comments on the branding side of things: FWIW, there isn’t a single 3 in sight on the set itself. However, you’ll notice that the desk and one of the big screens have “Eyewitness News” logos imposed over what looks to be the new graphics. These details aren’t indicative of anything (and they could very well be temporary,) but they’re interesting to note. As far as the set itself, it’s a massive improvement, and it feels much more spacious than before.

Some pics:

I agree, and I don’t think CBS is expecting to cut into KTLA (that would be more of an added bonus than a realistic expectation.) I think it’s mainly about putting on programming that’ll at least get better ratings than morning programming they currently offer on 2/9. And if KCBS takes a ratings hit (as if it hasn’t already,) it doesn’t matter. They’re all under the same umbrella anyway.

I’m assuming you’re referring to WLNY, now WNYW. Thing is, you can’t really compare the two. WLNY was a small LI station that was allegedly bought in exchange for a golf membership. There were never serious investments made, and when CBS bought the station, they actually cut WLNY’s news department entirely. Meanwhile, KCAL is a station that built a solid reputation for itself in the 90s, and carved out a niche audience by doing news in prime time. It also helps that they hired away Jerry Dunphy to give them credibility on day 1. By the time CBS bought them, they had been well-established for a while. I’m not an expert on the market, but it seems to have gotten to the point that KCAL has a better reputation than KCBS, even though they’re under the same umbrella. And besides, if your stations are going to air local news from 4-11am, why split it between KCBS and KCAL and force viewers to change channels at 7am? KCBS gets to show live national news (which no other station does), while KCAL gets better programming in the morning than it has now. Both stations can concentrate on their specific audiences. It’s better than showing a newscast that pulls a whopping 0.0, which in turn hurts the national morning show.

Exactly. And the “ratings hit” that KCBS will take on isn’t the worst thing in the world. They’re already ratings-challenged in the morning, so they might as well blow it up. They’ll at least have the distinction of being the only LA station airing live national morning news, while the morning shows on 4 and 7 will be 3 hours old. Meanwhile, KCAL can compete in the morning with something other than infomercials and “The 700 Club.” If they do it properly, they might be able to provide a more straightforward alternative to the infotainment-oriented shows on KTLA and Fox 11.

Either way, that seems like an obscene amount of local news for the market. There’s a midterm election coming up, so they’ll certainly be raking in the ad dollars. Also, I suppose this gives doctor’s offices something to put on in the waiting room.

Eyewitness News was a better fit for Lori, but IIRC WABC was dealing with a…situation with both a horrible GM and a horrible ND. As for Ernie, he was in his mid 70s when he left in 2019. He’d already stopped anchoring the more traditional 5/10p newscasts at that point, and he probably just wanted to retire after a long career. Speaking of which, today is Ernie’s 78th birthday. Happy Birthday Ernie, and keep *plucking* along.

I’d be fascinated to see the daily viewership of WLNY. I don’t think it’s a station people really watch, unless you’re really into sitcom reruns and court shows. It doesn’t have a legacy that’s known throughout the market, and it’s precisely the kind of station where a “CBS News New York” newscast actually makes sense. I hope they don’t move back to the CBSN studio though, as that set looked extremely low-budget.

I’m just as perplexed as you, but in a way, it makes sense. IIRC, KCBS is near last in the mornings, and try as they might, they can’t dig themselves out of that hole. CBS itself has an interest in boosting its overall numbers for its national morning show. Doing this kills two birds with one stone, while simultaneously making KCAL more of a hyper-local station. I know this will inevitably lead to more speculation, but I don’t see this happening elsewhere in the station group. IMHO, this is a situation that is unique to KCBS/KCAL. KCBS is especially weak among the O&Os, and KCAL is a station that could use the extra news programming. Although, running news from 4-11am sounds insane, and they better hire more people for that. EDIT: This portion of the Variety article explains the reasoning.

Well, don’t paint us “New York types” with a broad brush. I’ve seen it and commented on it, as have numerous others. I think it’s been established that the CBS News (City) Now brand is being extended to the non-CBS stations (sans KCAL).

WCVB has promoted Cindy Fitzgibbon and Mike Wankum in the wake of Harvey Leonard’s retirement. Cindy will gain the title of Chief Meteorologist, but will remain on the morning/noon newscasts. Mike Wankum, currently on weekend evenings, will become the new weeknight meteorologist. IMO, well-deserved promotions for both. https://www.wcvb.com/article/wcvb-stormteam-5-meteorologists-cindy-fitzgibbon-mike-wankum-promoted-july-8-2022/40550090#

IIRC, WCBS gave her an offer to do 5p and 11p with Ernie Anastos, her former Ch. 7 colleague. Considering that she had been passed over for Liz Cho when Diana Williams reduced her workload, perhaps she figured Ch. 2 was her best shot at a main anchor seat. Unfortunately for her, Ch. 2 dropped a #2 on its anchors by constantly shuffling them around, and she didn’t last there very long.

Amanda Cox gave her final goodbye from WJZY this morning. She’s apparently headed into the world of IT.