CraigViewer

https://www.si.com/media/2023/02/10/charles-barkley-courted-cnn-primetime-news-show-report

On its face, it may seem outlandish for CNN to use Charles Barkley in its weekday primetime lineup, but I feel that he has a strong ability (even over Gayle King) to be a ratings draw long term for the network, though.

19 hours ago, 24994J said:

 

Deanno is on from 7am. That was his spot, as announced several weeks ago, pre-show launch. They're not going from a bunch of placeholders to another placeholder.

Yes, very true.  I must have misread, because I thought that I had heard originally weeks ago that Deanno was only going to be on the 11am show.

Both Alex and Olga were great in that 7am-10am time slot indeed.

I wonder if Deanno will only be in the 7am block temporarily until Amber Lee, who was the weather forecaster on CBS2 in the 4:30am-7am slot, returns from maternity leave.

With Deanno coming on board, that will be a total of seven weatherpersons (Evelyn Taft; Markina Brown and Alissa Carlson are the others) on KCAL News, which in my view is excessive for a region that is relatively uneventful from a weather perspective year-round in Southern California.

According to Paul Deanno, who was recently hired as a weather anchor by CBS Los Angeles, he will be making his KCAL News debut this coming Wednesday.

50 minutes ago, FiveNews said:

Kolk was originally hired as a general assignment reporter. He slid to nightside entertainment within the last few years.

 

KTLA isn't doing themselves any favors with weekend musical chairs. Cher and Pedro are ok on the weekday 5pm. Seems like a demotion or Nexstar (KTLAs parent company) being cheap and not wanting to hire another fulltime weekend AM anchor.

 

Sam Cortese and Rick Chambers anchored together tonight. I could dig seeing Sam as the permanent replacement for Courtney Friel. 

Oh, that's right.  I stand corrected about Kolk.

Based on what I've seen in recent months, Cortese and Chambers make for a good co-anchor duo.  Karren Wynter, who I have also seen co-anchoring with Chambers over the past few weeks, would be a fantastic successor to Friel, as well.

I suspect that it's the latter of what you were mentioning, with regard to Nexstar (or possibly KTLA) being frugal in tapping someone from in-house rather than hiring from the outside to fill these weekend morning anchor positions.

On 1/28/2023 at 10:11 PM, CraigViewer said:

I started to notice the new mugs myself recently, as well.  My theory is that Doug Kolk and Lauren Lyster were quietly named the new permanent co-anchors, so that KTLA wouldn't receive any more backlash (given an official public announcement made) on social media from those who still may be indignant following the departures of Lynette Romero and Mark Mester from the station.

Interestingly, it turns out that Kolk and Lyster may not be paired with each other permanently on the weekend edition of the "KTLA Morning News" after all.  I noticed when I turned on Channel 5 this morning that Pedro Rivera, who co-anchors with Cher Calvin at 5pm weekdays, was in Kolk's position with Lyster;  meanwhile, Kolk slid over to handle entertainment anchor duties, while Megan Telles was back out in the field as a feature reporter, as she handled on the weekend morning broadcasts previously.

Later, I came across Rivera tweeting that those changes will be in effect for the next couple of months, in that he will co-anchor with Calvin on Monday through Wednesdays, and him co-anchoring the weekend morning shows, as well.

I enjoy this Lyster and Rivera co-anchor pairing, more than the Lyster-Kolk combination.  To me, Kolk has never seemed fully comfortable being a news anchor and is more natural at what he was originally hired by KTLA to do in entertainment, which he was great at this morning.

23 hours ago, jase said:

 

I agree about Wallace (and to some degree..Kasie Hunt). The problem is they have too many people offering up political analysis. As I have previously mentioned; they often have upwards of 8-10 people in-studio battling it out to get a word in. It's utter chaos half the time. Wallace was on during their midterm coverage, but he probably got in just a sentence or two within a 3-hr period.

 

Unless they change how they do things, I can't see him having a bigger role at CNN.

 

   

As you may well know, Kasie Hunt was originally hired to primarily host her own political show on CNN+, which was essentially gone in the blink of an eye, as a result of the days-old length of the streaming network's existence.  Following the demise of CNN+, CNN terminated a sizable number of the streaming network's employees.  But due to Hunt's popularity and stature, I assume those were part of the decision-making from the powers that be to keep her at CNN.  Now, she is left mainly offering political analysis; though I observed on a few occasions that she was seemingly auditioning for "CNN Tonight," before both Laura Coates and Alisyn Camerota were eventually named permanent anchors of the program.

In any case, although the new CNN CEO, Chris Licht, has reduced the number of on-air political commentators at the network in recent weeks, it still certainly does feel weighty with political opinion.  Besides ratings and entertainment (for some), there is no real redeeming value to feature panels with having both sides of the political spectrum arguing with one another, which fortunately they don't feature as often as was formerly the case under former head Jeff Zucker.

6 hours ago, mountainave said:

More overtures to Gayle King, this time to host a weekly interview show for CNN while remaining at CBS Mornings (like Anderson Cooper's arrangement, but in reverse): https://nypost.com/2023/01/31/cnn-wants-gayle-king-to-host-weekly-prime-time-show-report/

 

King's a phenomenal interviewer, but I remain skeptical that CNN would be able to successfully differentiate this show from Chris Wallace's weekly interview show. 

Yes.  That would be redundant to Chris Wallace's interview series indeed. 

I can imagine, however, a scenario of Gayle King occasionally hosting interview specials with celebrities and newsmakers on CNN, like what the late Barbara Walters used to do on ABC, for example.

On the subject of Wallace, while his series is interesting to watch, at times, I have never understood why CNN does not use him in a full time capacity covering politics.  It seems more like his wheelhouse as opposed to a generalized interview show with high-profile guests.  CNN is losing a golden opportunity by not using one of the best in the business at covering politics on a full-time basis, in my opinion.

16 hours ago, JTT said:

What will follow Sunday Night Football now that Fred Roggin left the station?  I hope they don't  bring back "the challenge" and start fresh with a new show, or just go straight to local news.  Also, I hope they find a new permanent sports anchor.  Does the station have any reporters that have sports background? I remember before, Andy Adler had some sports reporting background when she was at the station. 

I doubt that "The Challenge" will be returning ever again.  Neither will Roggin's other program on NBC4, "Going Roggin," for that matter, which I noticed in my channel guide is no longer listed in airing at midnight Sundays (technically, Monday morning).  That could be repurposed under a new title and, of course, a new host, but that seems unlikely though.

2 hours ago, Geoffrey said:

 

I don't like this.

 

I was actually just watching some of Maher this morning and was reminded of how much I dislike him. He doesn't offer any unique insight, spends a lot of time complaining about younger generations based on very exaggerated stereotypes, and "both sides"ing everything. And he seems disappointed that his in-studio isn't nearly as smart as he thinks he is.

 

Feels like a bad fit for CNN and a lazy choice. Not producing anything new, just taking something that HBO shot earlier that night.

I am skeptical that a short five to 15 minute episode of "Overtime" from YouTube will help move the needle for CNN's ratings.

Regardless of one's opinions of Bill Maher, "Overtime" is just less interesting and compelling than a full episode of his "Real Time" series on HBO.

This all comes across to me as CNN pretty much throwing spaghetti at the wall.

On 1/27/2023 at 1:21 PM, Bsean said:

It'll probably be a gaggle of personalities covering sports. At least that's been then trend down here in SD. KNSD, KFMB and KSWB each have 3-4 people covering sports thought the week since longtime personalities left.

 

Yeah, that will probably be the case.  Unlike the other local L.A. TV stations, KNBC's lacks depth in its sports department, as far as the amount of on-air talent is concerned.  As it stands, it is now only Mario Solis, so it may very well be he along with the news anchors reading the sports, whenever he has his days off, at least for the foreseeable future.

11 hours ago, FiveNews said:

Does anyone know if the Weekend Morning News has settled on Doug Kolk and Lauren Lyster as the new permanent anchors? I ask because I notice the Weekend Morning News mugs were updated today. In addition to Doug and Lauren, regulars Megan Telles and Kacey Montoya were on the mugs as well.

I started to notice the new mugs myself recently, as well.  My theory is that Doug Kolk and Lauren Lyster were quietly named the new permanent co-anchors, so that KTLA wouldn't receive any more backlash (given an official public announcement made) on social media from those who still may be indignant following the departures of Lynette Romero and Mark Mester from the station.

35 minutes ago, DJonNews said:

Speaking of culture wars, guess what Newsmax also did?

 

They set up a website called IWantNewsmax.com (I'm not linking this). Here's what they want disgruntled DirecTV subscribers to do:

1. They want them to call DirecTV and demand that Newsmax be brought back, or else they'll drop DirecTV.
2. They want them to call their senators and representatives and stop the - ahem - "political censorship."
3. They want them to go to said website and sign a petition saying that they fully back Newsmax.

 

I talked about this in The News Center server. It's nothing but theatrics. Carriage disputes like this are the inner workings of business. Channels don't come cheap. Carriers have to negotiate on a deal for every channel. This is why you've been seeing regional sports networks drop like flies in the late 2010s. And "political censorship?" That's a bit rich considering DirecTV replaced Newsmax in the interim with The First, which is markedly similar to Newsmax in terms of content. DirecTV really wanted to continue carrying Newsmax. Newsmax wanted DirecTV to pay them for their position on the program guide, since their ratings are declining. The contract was allowed to expire instead.

 

Another thing: If you connect the dots and look at how OAN reacted to also being dropped by DirecTV and eventually being dropped by Verizon (both from last year), you'll begin to notice that all they like to talk about is how the opposition are a bunch of losers, crybabies, etc. for doing what they did. Nowhere in their complaints do they state that they've simply been dropped -- they substitute the word for either "cancelled" or "censored." Both urged people to "join the fight" and call government officials in urging the providers responsible to reconsider. Guess what happened? OAN's efforts were ultimately fruitless, and if memory serves me right, Newsmax's effort will also come up short, simply because they failed to realize that the act of providers dropping channels is all part of business.

Over recent years, certain unnamed people in politics were a driving force for segments of the U.S. population to feel aggrieved -- contributing to the development of a new media ecosystem as well.

And, in the cases of both Newsmax and OAN being dropped by cable/satellite providers, the powers that be at both networks, and, by extension, its ardent viewers, were all acting out of grievance politics, yet again.

On 1/26/2023 at 2:49 PM, NewEgg00 said:

 

That reminds me of the Black News Channel. They did something similar, and offered BNC GO. One hour of live news and repeats of it. We all know how that turned out. 

 

OAN does it too. But...they don't even have cable services on their back. So, they might as well stay live, all the time. 

 

Meanwhile, as for this nonsense campaign that Newsmax is running, they claim to be an unbiased organization. They run promos saying that they have no agenda, no spin, no BS. Real news for real people. They even hired Greta Van Susteren and Kilmeny Duchardt, who used to work for TRT World and the AP maybe to try and disguise themselves as such....even though the host on the channel literally show off their bias, which is nothing wrong as you are admitting that you are a conservative channel. 

 

But this use of the political playbook against DIRECTV, claiming that they're "canceled," DIRECTV is woke to liberals, they're censored, DIRECTV will cancel you next, this complete meltdown shows that this weak attempt of even having a slight hint of unbiasness is a complete clown show and....they should be taken unseriously because of that. 

 

You can't be honest and say that we are off the air because of a carriage dispute and you should cancel DIRECTV because of this, just like any other company that go through something like this would? Or, at least promote your free stream to continue watching them (which you're gonna "censor" yourself out of in the next few months)? 

 

Complete joke. 

It's being twisted by some to be somehow part of a culture war and also for political gain, when in reality, this was purely a business decision. 

13 hours ago, FiveNews said:

I'm really liking how the chemistry is coming together with the KCAL Mornings anchor team. Jamie Yuccas is off this week. I think she brings a spark to the 7am block. Social Desk anchor Kristin Smith is filling in for Jamie. She slid right in to Jamie's role and has done a terrific job anchoring. Marci Gonzalez is off today (not a huge fan) and 10am/noon anchor Amy Johnson was filling in. Amy anchors the 10am and noon solo so there is never any co-anchor interaction. The way she connected with Rudabeh was amazing. Truly job well done by KCAL management. Give this team some time to grow a following and I truly believe they will be a force to be reckoned with in the mornings in LA.

As you suggested, Jamie is outgoing; whereas, Rudabeh to me is reserved.  Both of their respective personalities feed off and work well with each other.  Due to Jamie's network commitments at the mothership, and so forth, there will be times when Jamie is away from the CBS Los Angeles anchor desk.  Kristin Smith is a nice fill-in for those occasions (and filling in for Rudabeh, vice-versa) indeed.  I always enjoyed Kristin whenever she anchored and reported for the station's "Sports Central" broadcasts previously, where I felt she was a bit under-utilized.

Time will tell, but it is a good morning program so far!

5 hours ago, jase said:

Having had the chance to watch a couple of newscasts; my issue, with ‘The Desk’ is that either an anchor, reporter or someone with a very STRONG journalism/communications background should be handling this and not some random assignment editor.

 

It appears Mike Rodgers (along with whomever works ‘The Desk’ during the mornings and afternoons… can’t recall their names) don’t have any on-air experience nor the ability to put a cohesive sentence together. It’s tough to watch this guy constantly trip over every other word.

 

If there’s anything they need to change ASAP it is this. Especially if this person is acting as a de facto 2nd or 3rd anchor for your newscast.
 

 

My thoughts exactly. 

I will admit that I have slightly become more accustomed to 'The Desk,' but it still feels very awkward though.  The same information that Mike Rodgers and the other assignment editors gathers and then conveys to the audience can easily be relayed to have an anchor/reporter deliver such instead.

Given its overall ratings, there's nothing wrong with CBS Los Angeles trying to not reinvent the wheel, which is certainly another example here.  'The Desk' is actually a decent addition, but it seems unnecessary to have the anchors toss to it many times per hour -- slowing the rhythm of the news broadcasts -- and indeed having these segments helmed by the assignment editors on-camera, as well.

18 hours ago, Myron Falwell said:

KCBS-TV hasn’t been relevant since Bill Applegate made it an über-tabloid schlockfest in the early 1990s. “CBS 2” only serves to remind of how they’ve been trapped in mediocrity ever since.

 

Just because a station “revolutionized local news” — and the term is fairly subjective and varies wildly on a per market basis — doesn’t mean that branding should be trapped in amber and prevented from evolving.

I feel that former KCBS-TV director John Lipmann, who helped mastermind the "Action News" format in the 1990s, played a role in the perception of newscasts on the station as well.  I'm old enough to remember how over-the-top it was to watch at the time.

But, over the years, KCBS-TV is pretty much like those certain sports franchises that perennially have been plagued by poor management, that are close to, if not, last in the team standings and quite a few players (in this case, reporters and anchors) who leave to go to other teams (the competitors across town, etc.).

11 hours ago, TVJayFOX said:

Does KCBS air news and weather cut ins during CBS Mornings during the early morning hours at 4:25 4:55 5:25 etc.?

I happened to notice that during the 5am hour today that morning traffic anchor Kaylina Astrinos was doing a local traffic cut-in on "CBS Mornings" on KCBS around 5:25am or so, while "KCAL Mornings" over on KCAL was in a commercial break at the time.

11 hours ago, JTT said:

Who will replace Fred Roggin? Mario Solis is working part time at the station and has other employment obligations. I think Roggin wanted to wait until the NFL season was over to announce that he will leave the station. Otherwise, I think he would have just left when the other 5 reporters and anchor left last month

I would imagine that they will have Mario Solis and/or bringing freelancers on board to handle the sports anchoring at least on an interim basis.  Or, the news anchors may do it perhaps for a time as well.

With Roggin's retirement, I was just thinking that very few on-air veterans are left at the station now.  Conan Nolan, Ted Chen as well as Colleen Williams are three of the current vets who come to mind for me.

2 hours ago, Georgie56 said:

Must be a streaming-specific bug then.

Yeah, it makes sense to replace "KCAL News Los Angeles" with the "CBS News Los Angeles" bug over the local "KCAL News Los Angeles" bug, which is still seen on channel 9, so the streams are more identifying and consistent to CBS Los Angeles audiences online.
 

41 minutes ago, Georgie56 said:

KCAL has modified the bug to say CBS NEWS LOS ANGELES.

 

I am currently watching the local over-the-air feed of KCAL, and the "KCAL News Los Angeles" on-air bug still remains on screen.  

On 1/23/2023 at 8:28 PM, MisterBill said:

 

Maybe they'll start doing a late Sunday sports show like CBS2 (for the Jets), NBC4 and FOX5 already do? Do any local ABC stations do that? That's also a big reason why the regular sports anchor works on Sunday there. Seems a little odd to make the change after the local football season is over.

I have seen weeknight sports anchor Rob Fukuzaki of KABC in Los Angeles anchor a sports wrap up show following the 11pm newscasts on Sundays for a few years now.

8 hours ago, mrschimpf said:

And those occurrences were likely limited to when the Rams and Chargers were scheduled on Fox at the same time and got a KCOP bump (and really who was watching them early on specifically for the Rams or Chargers?). It really is sad how depreciated the 'sixth station' in a market has become just by its schedule or offerings.

At one point, Channel 13 was the broadcast home of the L.A. Marathon, televised Clippers basketball and had its own news department, with nightly news broadcasts.

Once the news department was shuttered, it seems like the station started to fall apart. 

Nowadays, other than some syndicated courtroom shows and daytime talk show programming, the station resembles KDOC out of Orange County.

18 hours ago, mrschimpf said:

And with that, Fox has finally found a way to finally deal with their worst case of triskaidekaphobia. Though the decline of KCOP from being a proper competitor to KTTV, and now just being both a glorified .2 and ATSC3 lighthouse is one of the saddest things to happen to a TV station.

I can probably count the number of times on one hand that I have watched Channel 13 over the past decade or so.

15 minutes ago, TexasTVNews said:

 

And I still miss Steve, Jillian and Dorothy; especially on Good Day Live (Nationally Syndicated Show). IMO, I wish GDL was back.

Yes, "Good Day Live" used to be a great program to watch on weekday mornings too!

Here in Southern California, it was often fascinating to watch the different contrasts between the local (7-9am) and national versions, in which they stayed on set to host live at 9am local time.