WABC - 7 Eyewitness News

[Vlad 325]

I think Josh Einegar is a really good contender for the evenings, he has such a captivating persona and grips the viewer with this style of storytelling. Another excellent future candidate, with a lot of personality is Chantee Lans. They are solid future fits for the station's flagship broadcasts. But they also may not like the anchor desk and more than likely love the field. But I think they are good candidates because Chantee has anchored a weekend broadcast once and she was fantastic. Also, Josh Einegar often does the "Extra Time" segment on ABC7NY and he too is just excellent with his delivery. Lets see how these changes play out. Mike Marza is also great too but for some reason he doesn't really leave a lasting impression. The station really has some of the best storytellers and talent in the country when it comes to news delivery and reporting, they will make the right choices.

1 minute ago, Vlad said:

I think Josh Einegar is a really good contender for the evenings, he has such a captivating persona and grips the viewer with this style of storytelling. Another excellent future candidate, with a lot of personality is Chantee Lans. They are solid future fits for the station's flagship broadcasts. But they also may not like the anchor desk and more than likely love the field. But I think they are good candidates because Chantee has anchored a weekend broadcast once and she was fantastic. Also, Josh Einegar often does the "Extra Time" segment on ABC7NY and he too is just excellent with his delivery. Lets see how these changes play out. Mike Marza is also great too but for some reason he doesn't really leave a lasting impression. The station really has some of the best storytellers and talent in the country when it comes to news delivery and reporting, they will make the right choices.

 

Chantee Lans reporting on the Memorial Day Weekend Festivities at Jones Beach this past year.

 

 

 

Josh Einiger's report on 1 year later on the Hamas attacks in Israel:

 

 

[Nynewsguy7 12]

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. 

 

[TheRolyPoly 2451]

On 10/20/2024 at 10:45 PM, sfomspphl said:

Mike’s a likable broadcaster who played well in KC. Maybe I need to watch more but does he have the gravitas to hold the baton from Grimsby, Beutel, and Ritter?

 

Yes. He did well in evenings in my market at WSVN 7 for a good number of years. I think he has what it takes.

[Jase 1055]

On 10/20/2024 at 10:12 PM, NYNewsCoverage said:

I must say I agree with this assessment, I do not see Mike as Bill's successor but that is only my opinion. I would much prefer David Novarro; Mike seems a good fit for the mornings now with Shirleen and I don't think they'd want to mess that up. But reality does seem to suggest that they are grooming Mike for that position (by frequently having him appear on the Friday 11pm in addition to his morning shift.) Another wildcard would be to bring out Phil Lipof back to WABC in a more prestigious role although I don't see them doing that.

 

Has Navarro gotten better as an anchor? Some were very critical of him during his time in Chicago.

[Vlad 325]

10 hours ago, Nynewsguy7 said:

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. 

 

 

Are these changes going to happen to coincide with their new space in 2025 after the elections, or will this happen sooner?

 

 

Edited October 22, 2024 by Vlad

[TVNewsLover 782]

13 hours ago, Nynewsguy7 said:

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. 

 

Just curious on a few things. Has Michelle ever been considered for any openings or is she comfortable on weekend AM?

 

What about Toni Yates? Seems like she is the main weekend AM fill-in but no where else. 
 

Lastly, Lauren Glassberg. Was there any thought to putting her on weekend evenings, or is her anchor role only as a fill-in?

[abc7 Man 47]

On 10/20/2024 at 8:46 PM, mountainave said:

ABC O&O websites received a small facelift that brightens them a bit.  More white.  Blues are more royal than navy.

Found 2 instances where the abc7ny website has the KABC version of the logo.

[MediaZone4K 2191]

6 hours ago, TVNewsLover said:

Just curious on a few things. Has Michelle ever been considered for any openings or is she comfortable on weekend AM?

 

What about Toni Yates? Seems like she is the main weekend AM fill-in but no where else. 
 

Lastly, Lauren Glassberg. Was there any thought to putting her on weekend evenings, or is her anchor role only as a fill-in?

Toni is excellent and filled with perosnality. She was especially good with Rob Nelson.

 

This question has been asked before and the typical answer is that she may not want to.

 

Overall I think WABC has the strongest bench by a long shot, WNYW has the weakest. 

Edited October 22, 2024 by MediaZone4K

[mountainave 606]

I understand the questions raised regarding Marza.  I think there is a youthfulness in his voice which is a contrast to the deeper tone (and impression of gravitas) that Ritter and Torres have.  Marza is certainly qualified, though, and if station leadership felt it was a problem they could've either recruited someone else or had him work with a voice coach, but they obviously don't see an issue.

 

Regarding Michelle -- though the assumption has been that she doesn't want the job, she said publicly during a live stream on her Facebook after Lori's departure that she did want the job.

[Muppetman03 31]

My only issue is that the to transitions are happening to quickly since Pedro and Mike just got into their roles, but then again no one expected Ken to leave.

[RealNews18 204]

I really don’t see what the issue is with Marza. Since he arrived he’s been on pretty much every newscast, so viewers have seen him and know who he is. I think he’ll fill the role more than fine and has proven he’s more than in it. 
 

It’ll be interesting to see how the morning plays out, for a station that had the same teams in place for so long, this will be the second anchor change in (as many?) years.. I forget when Ken left. 

[Muppetman03 31]

Ken left in May of 2023

[MediaZone4K 2191]

21 hours ago, RealNews18 said:

I really don’t see what the issue is with Marza. Since he arrived he’s been on pretty much every newscast, so viewers have seen him and know who he is. I think he’ll fill the role more than fine and has proven he’s more than in it. 
 

It’ll be interesting to see how the morning plays out, for a station that had the same teams in place for so long, this will be the second anchor change in (as many?) years.. I forget when Ken left. 

 

On 10/23/2024 at 5:58 PM, mountainave said:

I understand the questions raised regarding Marza.  I think there is a youthfulness in his voice which is a contrast to the deeper tone (and impression of gravitas) that Ritter and Torres have.  Marza is certainly qualified, though, and if station leadership felt it was a problem they could've either recruited someone else or had him work with a voice coach, but they obviously don't see an issue.

 

Regarding Michelle -- though the assumption has been that she doesn't want the job, she said publicly during a live stream on her Facebook after Lori's departure that she did want the job.

I've watched Mike and remember him from WSVN. He seems fine. He's a great personality in the mornings and I'm confident he can get the job done on evenings.

 

It's understandable why Michelle wouldn't want to be a weekday AM host. It requires waking up around 2:00 a.m. five days a week. Getting up at about 4:00 a.m. just two days a week is much less taxing.

 

Some talent also don't want to be confined to the desk. The ability to split their time anchoring and reporting is a best of both worlds scenario.

 

Edited October 24, 2024 by MediaZone4K

[MorningNews 1458]

Now that election season is over, when do we expect WABC to announce the changes mentioned here?

[Vlad 325]

Based on the previous posts, it seems like the changes will happen in Spring 2025 ahead of their move to the new studios in Hudson Square.

Edited November 18, 2024 by Vlad

[TVNewsLover 782]

Is there a reason that Liz hardly subs on the noon or 11 PM newscasts? It seems that every time Sade is out (which seems like it’s often and is a discussion for another post), they need to re-shuffle the chairs, with Sandra filling Sade‘s spots, and weekenders and reporters filling Sandra’s spot.

[Telly Genick 0]

Well, at least now we know Ritter will outlast Scarborough in the anchor seat.

[NowBergen 685]

3 hours ago, Telly Genick said:

Well, at least now we know Ritter will outlast Scarborough in the anchor seat.

 

In being on the air.  Not in terms of total years in the anchor chair in DMA 1.  Chuck started in 1974.  For that the attention should be on Chuck's storied career.  Honestly, I'm not sure why Chuck's retirement from daily anchoring impacts WABC TV.  

[mountainave 606]

13 hours ago, TVNewsLover said:

Is there a reason that Liz hardly subs on the noon or 11 PM newscasts? It seems that every time Sade is out (which seems like it’s often and is a discussion for another post), they need to re-shuffle the chairs, with Sandra filling Sade‘s spots, and weekenders and reporters filling Sandra’s spot.

A good agent, strict contract, and seniority. 

[Big Rollo Smokes 260]

4 hours ago, NowBergen said:

 

In being on the air.  Not in terms of total years in the anchor chair in DMA 1.  Chuck started in 1974.  For that the attention should be on Chuck's storied career.  Honestly, I'm not sure why Chuck's retirement from daily anchoring impacts WABC TV.  

It doesn't. Scarborough was here for a full quarter-century before Ritter started replacing Beutel on Eyewitness News weeknights. I don't think Ritter has any intentions of working into his 90s if he wants to catch up to Chuck's record.

[TVNewsLover 782]

On 11/22/2024 at 10:41 AM, mountainave said:

A good agent, strict contract, and seniority. 

All valid points. She’s good at what she does. But I feel it’s people like this that are looked at first when budget cuts need to be made.

[nathannah 2446]

With every edition of World News Tonight invariably for some reason running down New York's crime roll almost daily, it would be interesting to know if WABC gets complaints about how several minutes of the national newscast just rehash the A-block of the 6pm show and because of that, viewers tune out of WNT because they've already seen those stories five times in the last three hours.

 

It's like...yes ABC, a big parade is happening on Thursday. It's always a security event. I don't see how tonight's example (a guy goading another dude for his money and the other dude starts a knife fight with him in the subway) has anything to do with anything outside those two men, nor why it has national impact.

[NYAZSporty 131]

50 minutes ago, mrschimpf said:

With every edition of World News Tonight invariably for some reason running down New York's crime roll almost daily, it would be interesting to know if WABC gets complaints about how several minutes of the national newscast just rehash the A-block of the 6pm show and because of that, viewers tune out of WNT because they've already seen those stories five times in the last three hours.

 

It's like...yes ABC, a big parade is happening on Thursday. It's always a security event. I don't see how tonight's example (a guy goading another dude for his money and the other dude starts a knife fight with him in the subway) has anything to do with anything outside those two men, nor why it has national impact.

NY-bias, that's what it is & it's not an ABC-only issue, CBS & NBC are guilty of this too, that's what being based in the no. 1 market can do. 

[MediaZone4K 2191]

4 hours ago, NYAZSporty said:

NY-bias, that's what it is & it's not an ABC-only issue, CBS & NBC are guilty of this too, that's what being based in the no. 1 market can do. 

New York City is America's media capital and co-cultural center next to Los Angeles. It's also the "mascot" American city for foreigners. In a way the country and part of the world revolves around NYC. Accordingly, producers might be thinking what matters there matters everywhere.

 

I think this is indicative of a larger problem in American media. Because so much of our media is based out of NYC and LA their cultural attitudes bleed into that media while a large portion of the country goes underrepresented.

Edited November 27, 2024 by MediaZone4K

[MorningNews 1458]

This longstanding reluctance and defiance to adapt is why I’m rooting hard for the continued erosion of the broadcast networks newscasts. Everything from GMA to WNT to Meet The Press just objectively sucks compared to 10 years ago.