Nynewsguy7

It’s coming. By end of the year. The wheels are in motion.

Ok - let’s just make sure everyone understands how the things went down with Sam and NBC/TWC. GMA was killing it in the ratings - and it seemed like the additions of Sam and Josh really added to the spike - so NBC went after something them both. They fed Josh’s enormous ego - and Sam wanted to be closer to Miami - where Rubem was full-time, and Atlanta offered him that opportunity. of course NBCs plan all along was to pull them away from ABC was promises that would never pan out. Sam even filled in for Al on Today a few times - Josh subbed for Matt - but the needle didn’t move for NBC. Once Comcast bought NBC and sold TWC, the writing was on the wall for both. Sam was fortunate to have stayed in the good graces at ABC and WABC. Technically he is a GMA contributor through being an employee of channel 7. When Bill Evan’s was on the outs years back - I knew Sam was making his comeback based on his daily appearances at 7 Lincoln Square. Sam never burned his bridges. He’s a very amicable guy. I believe he’s one of the longest talents in the market now - probably only with the exception of Kaity and Rosanna.

So something to keep in mind - WABC has 3 spaces that they use on 4. The main studio, the much smaller interview set, and a soft set for one-on-one set ups and the like. KABC needs to incorporate all of this into one space - which they can do with their larger studio - but overall, WABC has much more flexibility thanks to their new studios and spaces which were purpose built for their need.

The WABC package most certainly does have “New York” in the title card. additionally - while we are on the topic of uniformity - what was supposed to happen was the east coast ABC 7 logo, with the KABC typeface. The WABC graphics for both on air and studio were designed for this - and the change was pushed back in NY indefinitely - but expect it to come in time. However - some of the studio graphics were already loaded and have never been changed - notably in the standup area.

This has been in the making for weeks. It was down to Perry and Ike Ejiochi. Part of moving everyone together into the same building, studios on 4 and newsroom on 6, was to combine resources and this is an example of that. I’m sure you have all seen the frequent appearances of ABC network talent on local since the move. Most notably would probably be Aaron Katersky and Darian Sutton. Conversely, the same with weather - Lee doing WNT W-F, and Dani or Jeff doing weekend evenings. It’s all part of creative cost savings - which we all need to do as the landscape changes. Perry will continue to contribute to network 3 days a week - but eventually his role at local will grow. Some 411 - Toni does not want a regular anchor slot. She enjoys her role in NJ and being close to home. She’s always happy to help wherever needed - but she likes her weekends to spend with her boys.

It won’t happen again. WABC will forever be known as Channel 7. The rebranding of years ago was disastrous - not that people stopped watching, but no one ever referred to WABC as ABC7. Btw - for those who didn’t know - Lee Goldberg is an ABC news meteorologist now. He does WNT W-F and prerecords the AM weather for WNN and GMA First. The move to 7 Hudson has allowed much more integration between network and local. It has been playing out as had been hoped. GMA moves next month.

More than likely it was a specific Saturday or Sunday night at 11pm when WABC was late because of sports. It’s a very “creative” way to be number 1, when the competition doesn’t exist. as for WSB in Atlanta. Their claim actually isn’t wrong. By percentage, they do have more watchers. It’s again, a technicality. obviously the NY DMA is larger and therefore WABC has more total viewers, but in Atlanta DMA, the percentage of total available viewers is higher for WSB.

These decisions have been made. Mike replaces Bill. Pedro replaces Mike. Josh prefers the field. He does not want to be stuck behind the desk. Same with Jim Dolan. Best of the best - but prefers the field. Even Tim Fleisher - who anchored weekends and mornings on and off countless times preferred reporting - which is why he never stayed behind the desk for long. Chanteé had her chance at the weekend spot - but her delivery is more for storytelling than anchoring - so she was passed for Tanya Rivero - an outsider. I get it - armchair news directing is a thing - but as I’ve said - these moves have been in the works for quite a while - and everyone is going to have to get used to Mike at 11 and Pedro with Shirleen.

No moves are made at WABC without long, hard, thought-out consideration. Talent and rapport are very important at chance 7. Sade will get top billing on the 11pm. Mike might get it at 5pm. When I say “lead anchors” this is still something that exists at channel 7. Bill, who lives on the UWS during the week is always on call- no matter the time of day, should a big story break. On the day of the attempted Trump assassination, both Ritter and Marza came in on a day off to anchor. Sade and Mike were sent to Philly to cover the debate on ABC. This is all being done to get viewers used to seeing Mike, and there isn’t the belief that Bill is being forced out, which has been the case with other senior anchors in NYC. This has been in the making for many years. Mike was hired for weekend mornings knowing he would eventually get the 11pm show. He just happened to take on a larger role earlier on when the Ken Rosato firing happened. Bill turns 75 next year. Mike is much younger, which is why he was chosen - he can stay in the role and maintain stability for years to come. Much like Bill Ritter did when replacing Bill Beutel. Lee Goldberg is only 52, and will maintain his presence in evenings for years to come as well. Don’t expect Shirleen to move from mornings. She is where she belongs. Much like Joe Torres and Michelle Charlesworth being weekend fixtures, she excels at morning and moving her to another time slot could be disastrous.

Changes are on the horizon: Fridays: Mike Marza now is 11pm anchor and Pedro Rivera is 4:30am anchor. Neither will be “in for” Ritter or Marza respectively as this change is rolling into a transition coming in the new year. Ritter will step down from 5 and 11pm - keeping only the 6pm with Liz. He will maintain helm of “up close” for the time being. Mike Marza moves to 5 & 11pm, Rivera moves to mornings and 10am with Shirleen. Mike and Sade effectively become the “lead anchors” with Bill slowly transitioning to retirement in a few years. A formal announcement from Ritter will come after the election, closer to the year’s end.

Yes sorry, I forgot the studios were changed to letters. A is for Eyewitness News B is for Live with Kelly and Mark

Studio 1 is for Eyewitness News. Studio 2 is for “Live” (audience). Studio 2 is done and looks largely the same as TV13 does. Both studios are exclusive to WABC. The space mentioned is the EWN newsroom. Flashcam space still yet to be built. Studio 1 will be more expansive than studio 77 is. It’s significantly larger.