WCBS - CBS2 News

[Geoffrey 857]

That would be incredibly disappointing if they took John off of weekday mornings again. He basically is the life of that show. Sure, Tony and Chris are great, but it all seems to revolve around John.

 

I agree with you that team weather always felt gimmicky, and yet I liked the energy it brought. But it was kind of telling that they'd never have someone fill in for one of them if either was off.

 

It's hard to imagine any other interpretation of this, though. They edited him out of the promo, and even shot the group shot with and without him months ago so this must have been in the works the whole time.

 

I'll have to say, if this is what it looks like and John knew, then he should be commended for being the most team player of team players. The way he hyped Tony and everyone else up... Just amazing on his part. 

 

Do we think this is effective immediately?

[TVNewsLover 777]

48 minutes ago, Geoffrey said:

That would be incredibly disappointing if they took John off of weekday mornings again. He basically is the life of that show. Sure, Tony and Chris are great, but it all seems to revolve around John.

 

I agree with you that team weather always felt gimmicky, and yet I liked the energy it brought. But it was kind of telling that they'd never have someone fill in for one of them if either was off.

 

It's hard to imagine any other interpretation of this, though. They edited him out of the promo, and even shot the group shot with and without him months ago so this must have been in the works the whole time.

 

I'll have to say, if this is what it looks like and John knew, then he should be commended for being the most team player of team players. The way he hyped Tony and everyone else up... Just amazing on his part. 

 

Do we think this is effective immediately?

Perhaps he’s being shifted to handle noon and one of the evening shows to ease the burden off Lonnie, since Lonnie will also be handling duties on the mothership. 

[NYNewsCoverage 300]

Wow, this is a very interesting development. John is the life of WCBS morning news (and of course Elise was great, but the energy with John was always superior in my opinion). I agree that the whole "team weather" thing was unnecessary, but it was different. Also with Tony, John, Lonnie, Vanessa and Craig Allen, there are more meteorologists hired at WCBS than shifts as defined in the past. So it is possible that he is being let go, as horrible as that would be.

I do like the theory of John handling noon and 5pm perhaps when Lonnie expands duties for the CBS Evening News. Hopefully he's not being pushed out completely. That would be so unfair for all that he has done for that station, but it happened to Andrea Grymes and Dana Tyler.

[Geoffrey 857]

Did not expect to see "national weather correspondent" Rob Marciano doing the weather this morning. No mention of John or Tony that I noticed (though they often don't acknowledge when half of the weather team is out)).

 

 

[bc485 87]

1 hour ago, Geoffrey said:

Did not expect to see "national weather correspondent" Rob Marciano doing the weather this morning. No mention of John or Tony that I noticed (though they often don't acknowledge when half of the weather team is out)).

 

 

I noticed that Rob said he was filling in for John at the start of the 5:30 half hour only. There was no other mention of John or Tony during the 4:30-7am newscast. To be honest, it felt like Rob ad-libbed his “in for John” comment at 5:30, as it was not in the script during any other weather hits. 

Edited October 28, 2024 by bc485

[TheNewsTV 251]

 

8 hours ago, Geoffrey said:

Did not expect to see "national weather correspondent" Rob Marciano doing the weather this morning. No mention of John or Tony that I noticed (though they often don't acknowledge when half of the weather team is out)).

 

 

 

 

John did the weather forecast this weekend morning, maybe he's off. Rob was also at noon today.

[MediaZone4K 2165]

On 10/23/2024 at 9:24 PM, Geoffrey said:

For the last few weeks, WCBS has been using CBS's virtual studio for some weather hits. It seems to mainly be used for the short weather in the first block of the 5pm, but tonight it was used for the main weather around 5:20pm. (I don't watch every night so I don't know how common this is.)

 

I was having trouble finding video on their YouTube so I'll have to settle with screenshots.

 

It seems gimmicky to me. It looks cartoonish. It's dizzying going back and forth between the left wall, the right wall, the floor in the middle. The live camera used to create the "window" look in the background is grainy and cuts off most of the skyline view. The wood design is tired. The "daily capsules" look odd and the text is way off, even more than a month after debuting. And they try to make the studio look big at the expense of making Lonnie look small with way too much headroom.

 

Does it help tell the weather story better? No, I don't think so. Does it look cool? Not really.

 

Anyone else feel differently?

I don't mind it. I think the virtual weather studio is cool, and the virtual news set that's used on CBS 24/7 is even better. It sets their weather presentation apart from the other six stations in NYC.

On 10/26/2024 at 10:15 AM, Geoffrey said:

That would be incredibly disappointing if they took John off of weekday mornings again. He basically is the life of that show. Sure, Tony and Chris are great, but it all seems to revolve around John.

 

I agree with you that team weather always felt gimmicky, and yet I liked the energy it brought. But it was kind of telling that they'd never have someone fill in for one of them if either was off.

 

It's hard to imagine any other interpretation of this, though. They edited him out of the promo, and even shot the group shot with and without him months ago so this must have been in the works the whole time.

 

I'll have to say, if this is what it looks like and John knew, then he should be commended for being the most team player of team players. The way he hyped Tony and everyone else up... Just amazing on his part. 

 

Do we think this is effective immediately?

From questionable graphics choices (as shown in that debate pic) to questionable talent changes. Just a series of clueless missteps by CBS O&Os and WCBS itself. Who is their news director???

[Geoffrey 857]

3 hours ago, TheNewsTV said:

John did the weather forecast this weekend morning, maybe he's off. Rob was also at noon today.

 

Since Craig has been out on medical leave, Tony and John have been splitting weekends, each usually taking one weekday off in return. So team weather had already been reduced to three days a week in recent weeks.

 

At noon, Rob said he "was happy to fill in for Tony and John today."

 

And John's "Weather 101" promo still aired at noon, so it seems like he's not totally gone.

 

Still very disappointing if it is what it looks like again.

[TheNewsTV 251]

Allen Devlin anchoring the 8pm hour today

 

[NYNewsCoverage 300]

Today Tony handled the AM and noon, but I didn't hear if he made any reference to John. We shall see if he pops up tomorrow or this week.

Edit: Same situation today, I didn't get to hear if Tony said "in for John" but my gut says no. We shall see if John is oficially re-assigned to weekend mornings (or if Craig Allen makes a comeback when he gets better)?

Edited October 30, 2024 by NYNewsCoverage

[Geoffrey 857]

Allen Devlin is anchoring the 8 p.m. on Halloween night. Right at the top, he pronounced where the big parade is taking place as "Green-Which Village."

 

He's lucky that this newscast is on WLNY and no one is watching, but wow. This is why you don't take someone who is totally unfamiliar with New York and plop them on weeknights as an anchor.

[MediaZone4K 2165]

1 hour ago, Geoffrey said:

Allen Devlin is anchoring the 8 p.m. on Halloween night. Right at the top, he pronounced where the big parade is taking place as "Green-Which Village."

 

He's lucky that this newscast is on WLNY and no one is watching, but wow. This is why you don't take someone who is totally unfamiliar with New York and plop them on weeknights as an anchor.

I've been there before as a journalist and in all fairness it is a lot to learn pronunciations of EVERY place as soon as you get the job. 

 

He probably wouldn't have known the pronunciation because he's never had to say the neighborhood name before plus most people simply call it The Village.

 

Speaking of reporter mistakes, I've seen long time journalists at some of the stations call anywhere in Central Brooklyn "Flatbush".

 

Yes, little details like this matter, but no one is perfect. Someone should point at the mistake to him, correct this and any more potential mispronunciations, then move on.

 

The producers can also assist by putting pronouncers of tricky town names in the prompter.

Edited November 1, 2024 by MediaZone4K

[NYNewsCoverage 300]

25 minutes ago, Geoffrey said:

Allen Devlin is anchoring the 8 p.m. on Halloween night. Right at the top, he pronounced where the big parade is taking place as "Green-Which Village."

 

He's lucky that this newscast is on WLNY and no one is watching, but wow. This is why you don't take someone who is totally unfamiliar with New York and plop them on weeknights as an anchor.

I did see a video on the website that he also covered for Maurice on the 5pm (who did the Evening News tonight for Norah). Despite that issue, he seems like a decent anchor so far.

[NYAZSporty 125]

23 hours ago, NYNewsCoverage said:

I did see a video on the website that he also covered for Maurice on the 5pm (who did the Evening News tonight for Norah). Despite that issue, he seems like a decent anchor so far.

Wouldn't be surprised if this is WCBS's plan for handling Maurice once he takes over F/T on the CBS Evening News & he can still do the 11pm newscast.

[newsman123 112]

Yes. He was hired as the main anchor to replace Maurice. And yes.. this is what happens when people are hired young and out of town because they check a box. Just sayin’. 

[MediaZone4K 2165]

1 hour ago, newsman123 said:

Yes. He was hired as the main anchor to replace Maurice. And yes.. this is what happens when people are hired young and out of town because they check a box. Just sayin’. 

Undoubtedly, hiring transplants leads to reporters unfamiliar with the market. But that's just the nature of the business. 

 

Yes experience is beneficial, but denying someone a chance because they're young, or thinking someone would be less error prone because they're older is unfair. Devlin wasn't my favorite anchor in ATL, and I'd rather Dick Brennan as anchor, but I won't say Devlin's unqualified for NYC.

This looks like an MMJ package shot on cell phone based on video angles. If so, it's unfortunate that one man banding has crept as high as Market #1.

 

The incentives to become a tv journalist are shrinking. More responsibilities for declining pay and tighter deadlines. Anchoring is an escape from the hassles of field reporting but companies like Scripps are eliminating that position in some markets.

Edited November 2, 2024 by MediaZone4K

[Daybreak 288]

Allen lived in NYC for 2 years while attending Columbia University back in 2015-2017. 

[NYNewsCoverage 300]

Vanessa covered the weather yesterday AM and today was Tony again for both morning and noon. Not a good sign for John Elliott fans unless he magically pops up in the next week.. Such a shame for the way WCBS has tossed him to the side; just as they did for Dana Tyler and Andrea Grymes.

[NYAZSporty 125]

With Maurice Dubois involved with network election coverage, Dick Brennan is filling in for him locally on election night.

[NYNewsCoverage 300]

John is back as of noon today! So glad he will still be there in some capacity. 

[NYNewsCoverage 300]

Based on a quote from a new interview in Newsday, Maurice DuBois may remain a contributor on WCBS broadcasts when he takes over the Evening News "sometime in January", but will not anchor any of the broadcasts anymore, saying remaining on the 11pm would be "physically impossible" (which is totally understandable). 

So based on this , I expect Allen Devlin , Dick Brennan or a combo of both to replace him entirely as anchor.

Here is a quote from the article

Quote

Instead, "we're trying to figure out a way to keep Maurice present for our audience on a regular basis," says Sarah Burke, vice president of news for Ch.2. "But what that looks like — a segment in the broadcasts? — are still conversations we're having about what makes sense."

 

Edited November 9, 2024 by NYNewsCoverage

[MediaZone4K 2165]

5 hours ago, NYNewsCoverage said:

Based on a quote from a new interview in Newsday, Maurice DuBois may remain a contributor on WCBS broadcasts when he takes over the Evening News "sometime in January", but will not anchor any of the broadcasts anymore, saying remaining on the 11pm would be "physically impossible" (which is totally understandable). 

So based on this , I expect Allen Devlin , Dick Brennan or a combo of both to replace him entirely as anchor.

Here is a quote from the article

 

Hopefully WCBS keeps some ties to Maurice because as I've said, CBSEN is unstable broadcast. We could be seeing this arrangement blow up in the next three to four years. Falling back on his position as lead anchor at the flagship o&o will be a good cushion. 

 

Hate to sound negative, but history is not on this broadcast's side.

 

[NYNewsCoverage 300]

Interesting lineups tonight. 5pm was Maurice and Mary Calvi, 6pm and 8pm was Dick Brennan and 11pm was Maurice and Kristine. 

[Geoffrey 857]

John Elliott's shift seems to be weekend mornings, plus Wed-Fri at noon. Yesterday, he did noon, and also filled in for Lonnie at 5, 6 and 11.

 

This morning he was live in Lake Hopatcong, NJ to cover the snow for CBS Mornings, and he was verbally and graphically described as "CBS Saturday Morning meteorologist."

[NYNewsCoverage 300]

1 hour ago, Geoffrey said:

John Elliott's shift seems to be weekend mornings, plus Wed-Fri at noon. Yesterday, he did noon, and also filled in for Lonnie at 5, 6 and 11.

 

This morning he was live in Lake Hopatcong, NJ to cover the snow for CBS Mornings, and he was verbally and graphically described as "CBS Saturday Morning meteorologist."

This is what I noticed as well. I suppose Craig Allen will not be coming back when he is better. I wouldn't be shocked if he ended up back on PIX since they are now short a meteorologist now...