BREAKING NEWS: News Director Bill Carey Leaving WPIX

[T.L. Hughes 762]

FishbowlNY interviewed Queensborough Community College media professor Eileen White on her take on WPIX's news department issues, include one interesting, but unlikely idea for the 10 p.m. newscast:

Now that WPIX is moving on without its captain, we analyze if they are better off, and what’s ahead for the Tribune flagship?

 

Earlier this month, we reported Bill Carey stepped down as Channel 11 news director. It was a three-year run that attempted to finally lift WPIX past rival WNYW. But Queensborough Community College media professor Eileen White thinks aside from the new bells, whistles, and talent, nothing much has changed at WPIX. She says the newscasts, primarily at 10 p.m., attempted to reinvent the wheel, but in the process, alienated viewers.

 

One of Carey’s signature moves were to extricate Jodi Applegate from News 12 Long Island and bump seasoned partners Jim Watkins and Kaity Tong.

 

“That smacks of ageism too,” White tells FishbowlNY. “Let’s just put younger people on, because younger people like [watching] younger people.”

Ironically, Tong, 63, earlier this year gave testimony in an age discrimation lawsuit filed by former WPIX news director Karen Scott.

 

White also points to a more chronic problem for WPIX, the Fox prime-time lineup.

 

“They do suffer from the Fox lead-in,” White says. “Fox has a much better lead-in at 10 o’clock.”

 

Atop the nighttime schedule remains American Idol, even if viewership is slightly reduced over the past few years. But that still pales in comparison to anything shown on the CW.

“Those are really young shows,” White says. “I think young people tend to catch it later on the website.”

 

She cites Gossip Girl, seen Monday nights, as a show that pulls in a young demographic for its slim CW ratings.

 

“They’re going to watch it on YouTube, then they’re going to watch it on Google, then watch it on iTunes,” White believes. “And they’re going to DVR it.”

 

Although White says the Cablevision/Tribune fiasco, now more than two months old, is not Carey’s fault, she recognizes his tenure hasn’t been a resounding success either. Aside from one hour in the morning this past summer, WPIX has never come close to beating WNYW at 10 p.m. or in the morning.

 

Going forward, White believes the Channel 11 news department needs to go radical, but not the unorthodox look that Carey ushered in 2010 with Applegate. She suggests its late news be sliced in half to 30 minutes.

 

“Especially if you don’t have a sports department, come on, cut it down to an half-hour,” White says. “And then people can get to bed… because I think Fox strings you along, way too long. I think a half-hour is perfect.”

 

White, who teaches several courses at QCC including Introduction to Electronic Media, doesn’t think trimmimg the news would be construed as a victory for WNYW.

“Channel 11, in trying to compete with Channel 5, changed everything that was good about it,” White says. “They changed a lot of stuff that Channel 5 does right.”

 

She says no changes would be implemented until a successor to Carey is named. Longtime station manager John Houseman has been named interim news director.

 

“For that new person, that’s going to be the carrot,” White says. “You can do what you want, take a failing thing and turn it around.”

[TVNewsLover 730]

Just like the half hour works well for WWOR?

[tvknowledge 5]

I think the original plan was to go solely after the female demo of 25-54. Hence, sports was eliminated. However, all stations' sales departments want the middle age female demo

so why put on CW shows meant for teens? You are limiting yourself too much with going after certain demos; just get people to watch.

[NYNews 54]

I don't think WPIX will resort to a 30 minute newscast, unless it moves to 11 pm ( and that didn't work too well for WWOR either).

 

Maybe they should revert back to a more traditional newscast.

 

1.) Go back to the studio. They have a somewhat decent new studio, yet the choose to broadcast from the horridly looking newsroom at 10 pm.

2.) Get rid of the pastel colors in the studio and graphics. They look like they target preteen/ teenage girls.

3.) Make it a two person team, add a male anchor. WPIX basically fired all their male anchors (Watkins, Muller, Thorne, Burros). I think there is too big a gender gap at the station.

4.) Perhaps too much commentary? You're a station in a blue state, having right leaning commentary from Mendte doesn't make sense. You're not FOX. I don't see any point in commentary segments.

5.) Maybe they really need a big anchor shake up ( a la WCBS, originally with Wragge and Johnson).

6.) They have the most solid team of reporters in years, mostly from WCBS, the same reporters that was part of WCBS' rise in ratings, use them. The 11 stories in 11 minutes may not use them properly, although it seems all reportes at WPIX have two stories that air in one broadcast, one live and one prerecorded video.

[T.L. Hughes 762]

I don't think WPIX will resort to a 30 minute newscast, unless it moves to 11 pm ( and that didn't work too well for WWOR either).

 

Maybe they should revert back to a more traditional newscast.

 

1.) Go back to the studio. They have a somewhat decent new studio, yet the choose to broadcast from the horridly looking newsroom at 10 pm.

2.) Get rid of the pastel colors in the studio and graphics. They look like they target preteen/ teenage girls.

3.) Make it a two person team, add a male anchor. WPIX basically fired all their male anchors (Watkins, Muller, Thorne, Burros). I think there is too big a gender gap at the station.

4.) Perhaps too much commentary? You're a station in a blue state, having right leaning commentary from Mendte doesn't make sense. You're not FOX. I don't see any point in commentary segments.

5.) Maybe they really need a big anchor shake up ( a la WCBS, originally with Wragge and Johnson).

6.) They have the most solid team of reporters in years, mostly from WCBS, the same reporters that was part of WCBS' rise in ratings, use them. The 11 stories in 11 minutes may not use them properly, although it seems all reportes at WPIX have two stories that air in one broadcast, one live and one prerecorded video.

 

In addition, they might need to research the type of journalism styles of other stations, particularly those that do more in-depth and enterprise reporting. The stations that should be researched include WPIX's Tribune Broadcasting sister WGN-TV, as well as Dispatch Broadcast Group's WTHR. WPIX was known for in-depth reporting before Carey came along, they should revisit that kind of reporting again.

 

I agree, though, that it doesn't make sense to have four commentators on one station. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Greg Mocker is also employed by WPIX as an investigative reporter, they should transition him to do just that. Larry Mendte, they could either transition him to anchoring or reporting duties, or cut him entirely. A comedian seems like way too odd a choice for a commentator, so they may want to Felonious Munk go also. Lionel, that's a different story, people seem to like him enough that the portion of the morning newscast actually increased ratings this summer, however as I said before, his commentary style is best suited for the morning newscast, rather than the 5 and 10 p.m. shows.

[nynewslover 269]

I don't think WPIX will resort to a 30 minute newscast, unless it moves to 11 pm ( and that didn't work too well for WWOR either).

 

Maybe they should revert back to a more traditional newscast.

 

1.) Go back to the studio. They have a somewhat decent new studio, yet the choose to broadcast from the horridly looking newsroom at 10 pm.

2.) Get rid of the pastel colors in the studio and graphics. They look like they target preteen/ teenage girls.

3.) Make it a two person team, add a male anchor. WPIX basically fired all their male anchors (Watkins, Muller, Thorne, Burros). I think there is too big a gender gap at the station.

4.) Perhaps too much commentary? You're a station in a blue state, having right leaning commentary from Mendte doesn't make sense. You're not FOX. I don't see any point in commentary segments.

5.) Maybe they really need a big anchor shake up ( a la WCBS, originally with Wragge and Johnson).

6.) They have the most solid team of reporters in years, mostly from WCBS, the same reporters that was part of WCBS' rise in ratings, use them. The 11 stories in 11 minutes may not use them properly, although it seems all reportes at WPIX have two stories that air in one broadcast, one live and one prerecorded video.

I agree with you 100% on everything you said.. I don't get them anymore so right now it doesn't affect me.. But it seems like they have Mario Diaz fill in on weekends and they are giving Dan Manarino some studio time from stuff I've seen online.. They would probably need to bring in a male anchor cause neither them or any of the other male reporters are anchor material

[PIXfan 34]

I don't think WPIX will resort to a 30 minute newscast, unless it moves to 11 pm ( and that didn't work too well for WWOR either).

 

Maybe they should revert back to a more traditional newscast.

 

1.) Go back to the studio. They have a somewhat decent new studio, yet the choose to broadcast from the horridly looking newsroom at 10 pm.

2.) Get rid of the pastel colors in the studio and graphics. They look like they target preteen/ teenage girls.

3.) Make it a two person team, add a male anchor. WPIX basically fired all their male anchors (Watkins, Muller, Thorne, Burros). I think there is too big a gender gap at the station.

4.) Perhaps too much commentary? You're a station in a blue state, having right leaning commentary from Mendte doesn't make sense. You're not FOX. I don't see any point in commentary segments.

5.) Maybe they really need a big anchor shake up ( a la WCBS, originally with Wragge and Johnson).

6.) They have the most solid team of reporters in years, mostly from WCBS, the same reporters that was part of WCBS' rise in ratings, use them. The 11 stories in 11 minutes may not use them properly, although it seems all reportes at WPIX have two stories that air in one broadcast, one live and one prerecorded video.

 

I agree WHOLEHEARTEDLY with your assessment of WPIX, especially with commentary. Commentary needs to be completely WIPED OUT of the news broadcasts. I believe Lionel was originally hired as an analyst...Correct me if I am wrong...Let Lionel ANALYZE.

 

Also, while I agree that they should be back in the studio full-time, they need a set in the studio that projects that Channel 11 is serious about news. Their current set DOES NOT DO THAT, in my honest opinion.

 

I would also add that they need to scrap those GOD-AWFUL in-house news graphics, replacing them with Giant Octopus, Hothaus, or even Pyburn Films (if they still do news graphics; loved WNBC's 2003-08 Pyburn graphics).

 

Also, get rid of those disgusting news themes, especially the 10 p.m. news theme, which practically sounds like a ripoff of the opening riff of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'."

Update the old WPIX custom package, perhaps make it majestic and orchestral.

 

I don't know what else to add, so I'll stop here. Let me know what you guys think.

[Chopper4 36]

I agree with you.

 

-they need to go back to the studio at 10PM

 

-Commentaries have to be wiped out completely, even Lionel.

 

-Get rid of the knucklehead of the day.

 

-sit down at a real desk (even with one anchor, or two anchors)

 

-bring back some kind of sports news

 

-and last of all, we don't need to know during the newscast what people are saying on Facebook or Twitter.

 

 

They have to stop thinking that they need to attract young viewers. Young viewers don't watch news, Young viewers don't care about news. They don't even watch tv.

[dabx 55]

Here is my opinion (for what it is worth)

1. Yes, go back to the main studio and get a more traditional news set - something that looks more authoritative, not the Baskin Robbins set they have now.
   
2. Go back to a two anchor team - age does not matter, but someone who presents themselves are someone you can trust if an emergency happened (I thought that Watkins was great at that)
   
3. Get a sports anchor - not a comedian,, but someone who is passionate about sports and could give an informative opinion.
   
4. To compete with Channel 5 is to be an alternative to Channel 5 - Yes Channel 5 has a strong lead in, but the viewers also don't have an alternative. When was the last time you got up and changed a channel? WPIX is only click away on the remote.
   
5. Get an entertainment reporter - drunken or personal lives of superstars should not be mixed in with hard news - Wasted time on these people - at least put these stories together so I can get a sandwich
   
6. I think Mendte, Lionel are good - They both give engaging pieces. Mocker is good if he investigates, not reporting about some sidewalk crack in Queens -
   
7. Have something like summary pieces in the first half of the newscaster, followed by more in-depth pieces in the second half. And please no trivial pieces.
   
8. A good business segment - not about if the indexes when up or down - but one good business story
   

i think the trick to a good newscast is be informative while not overwhelming the viewers. Viewer get turned off if they have a hard time understanding what you are saying. You can explain anything to anybody if you just put it simply

[detroiter313 178]

I definitely agree with NYNews and all the other users, here is my 2 cents (or 10, give or take):

 

1. Go back to a traditional news studio set,

 

2. Get rid of the horrible colors and graphics, Instead, hire Giant Octopus, Renderon, Pyburn, or Hothaus to create nice looking graphics that looks like "real news", not "softy, fluffy news",

 

3. Dump the current theme, it's no good, instead bring back Non-Stop Music's "WPIX Custom Package" an update won't hurt.

 

4. Bring back the sports department and hire 2 sports anchors, one for weekdays, another for weekends.

 

5. Get rid of the commentary segments, better suited for morning news than the 5pm or 10pm news .

 

6. Go after the older viewers like your competitors and not the 18-29 demo, younger viewers don't even care about news or even watch the news,

 

7. Add 3 reporters for the other segments; entertainment, business and health,

 

8. No viewer would want to know the Facebook post or Twitter tweet of every story during the newscast, let alone one story,

 

9. Be more in-depth and informative without alienating the viewer, and

 

10. Many TVNewsTalk users already know what's coming: Bring back Jim Watkins and Kaity Tong to the 10pm news and get rid of Jodi Applegate immediately.

 

That's my opinion, feel free to agree or disagree as you wish. Otherwise I might be wrong.

[PhillyWatch 238]

So you all want PIX11 to go back to being like every other newscast in the market?

 

Are you out of your minds? This is why local newscast viewership is tanking.

 

I've seen Kaity fill in and personally think she's a great anchor, even with the current newscast format, and I'm sure Jim was great too, but how can you not appreciate what's been done at that news operation? Isn't it good they're not pumping out a carbon copy newscast with your big burly sports buff opining over how good/bad Team X is doing, the megasuperdoppler weather team in their megasuperdoppler weather center, and the "investigative" squad jamming microphones into the faces of bad mattress salesmen (I wish that one was fake but I've seen that report on FOX29 in PHL a few months ago)? Mocker is fantastic as a man-around-town ombudsman keeping an eye on city government, public spaces and mass transit, Howard comes off well as the consumer relations guy, Lionel and Mendte are examples of how much more informative commentary can be than your average 30 minutes at 11pm, and their stable of reporters as mentioned earlier in the thread, are fantastic in their roles as well. I can see the ridiculousness of Jim and Kaity being ditched out of nowhere, but Jodi is a great fit for the format. Most newscasters add their "witty" two cents at the end of softer stories anyway, the only difference at PIX11 is that it flows more naturally with the show.

 

Also, "The Day In Pix" segment is quite possibly the greatest segment of any local newscast in America right now. No flashy graphics, no makeup-caked anchors, no thunderous music- just a simple beat ,4 pictures of what happened in the world on that day, with a caption & location. Simple, succinct, perfect.

 

I really wish Tribune was pushing the PIX evening format out to their stations instead of the weak "Eye Opener" morning show.

[T.L. Hughes 762]

So you all want PIX11 to go back to being like every other newscast in the market?

 

Are you out of your minds? This is why local newscast viewership is tanking.

 

I've seen Kaity fill in and personally think she's a great anchor, even with the current newscast format, and I'm sure Jim was great too, but how can you not appreciate what's been done at that news operation? Isn't it good they're not pumping out a carbon copy newscast with your big burly sports buff opining over how good/bad Team X is doing, the megasuperdoppler weather team in their megasuperdoppler weather center, and the "investigative" squad jamming microphones into the faces of bad mattress salesmen (I wish that one was fake but I've seen that report on FOX29 in PHL a few months ago)? Mocker is fantastic as a man-around-town ombudsman keeping an eye on city government, public spaces and mass transit, Howard comes off well as the consumer relations guy, Lionel and Mendte are examples of how much more informative commentary can be than your average 30 minutes at 11pm, and their stable of reporters as mentioned earlier in the thread, are fantastic in their roles as well. I can see the ridiculousness of Jim and Kaity being ditched out of nowhere, but Jodi is a great fit for the format. Most newscasters add their "witty" two cents at the end of softer stories anyway, the only difference at PIX11 is that it flows more naturally with the show.

 

Also, "The Day In Pix" segment is quite possibly the greatest segment of any local newscast in America right now. No flashy graphics, no makeup-caked anchors, no thunderous music- just a simple beat ,4 pictures of what happened in the world on that day, with a caption & location. Simple, succinct, perfect.

 

I really wish Tribune was pushing the PIX evening format out to their stations instead of the weak "Eye Opener" morning show.

 

That's the thing, though, for every person that liked the format, there are an equal amount or maybe more that disliked it. WPIX's revamped format that Bill Carey created kind of went over with viewers like New Coke did with soda drinkers in the mid-1980s. All it did was alienate existing viewers rather than bring in more. The only times when WPIX's 10 p.m. newscast under the current format had beat WNYW's 10 p.m. newscast was during the Cablevision/Fox dispute in the fall of 2010.

 

That's the problem here, you have to strike a balance: you can't be afraid to try something new with your newscast's format to make new viewers interested in your product, but if you tinker with the format too much, resulting in viewers that have watched your newscast for years starting to tune you out and in turn, not doing that much to pull in new viewers, then it might be best to go back to the drawing board... figure out what worked with your station's newscasts before you changed the formula and reapply them, then mine what aspects of the current format need to be kept or phased out entirely.

[RGSJenkins 432]

So you all want PIX11 to go back to being like every other newscast in the market?

 

Are you out of your minds? This is why local newscast viewership is tanking.

 

I've seen Kaity fill in and personally think she's a great anchor, even with the current newscast format, and I'm sure Jim was great too, but how can you not appreciate what's been done at that news operation?

No, that's why PIX 11's viewership is tanking. And may I remind you that this was same person who created the infamous "WCBS massacre" in '96.

 

These are the three things that need to do:

1. New York is a sports mecca, there are nine major teams and various colleges in the New York metropolitan area. Plus, they air Mets games and they don't have a sports reporter?!
   
2. No more dramatic music during the newscasts.
   
3. And appeal to ALL viewers regardless of network affiliation and/or demographic.
   

[PIXfan 34]

So you all want PIX11 to go back to being like every other newscast in the market?

 

Are you out of your minds? This is why local newscast viewership is tanking.

 

I've seen Kaity fill in and personally think she's a great anchor, even with the current newscast format, and I'm sure Jim was great too, but how can you not appreciate what's been done at that news operation? Isn't it good they're not pumping out a carbon copy newscast with your big burly sports buff opining over how good/bad Team X is doing, the megasuperdoppler weather team in their megasuperdoppler weather center, and the "investigative" squad jamming microphones into the faces of bad mattress salesmen (I wish that one was fake but I've seen that report on FOX29 in PHL a few months ago)? Mocker is fantastic as a man-around-town ombudsman keeping an eye on city government, public spaces and mass transit, Howard comes off well as the consumer relations guy, Lionel and Mendte are examples of how much more informative commentary can be than your average 30 minutes at 11pm, and their stable of reporters as mentioned earlier in the thread, are fantastic in their roles as well. I can see the ridiculousness of Jim and Kaity being ditched out of nowhere, but Jodi is a great fit for the format. Most newscasters add their "witty" two cents at the end of softer stories anyway, the only difference at PIX11 is that it flows more naturally with the show.

 

Also, "The Day In Pix" segment is quite possibly the greatest segment of any local newscast in America right now. No flashy graphics, no makeup-caked anchors, no thunderous music- just a simple beat ,4 pictures of what happened in the world on that day, with a caption & location. Simple, succinct, perfect.

 

I really wish Tribune was pushing the PIX evening format out to their stations instead of the weak "Eye Opener" morning show.

 

No, my friend, local news viewership is tanking because news directors have this sick obsession with getting young viewers. Young viewers do not, and I repeat, DO NOT, watch local television news. That is the main problem with this format. Former news director Bill Carey tried to "reinvent the wheel" in order to hold on to what little audience The CW Primetime gets in New York City, and in the process, he alienated loyal longtime viewers (myself included). If New Yorkers believed that the current format is as good as you believe it is, ratings would be up, NOT down. The format does not work, has not worked, and most likely never will work.

 

I used to watch WPIX for the news, especially at 10 p.m., because it was the harder, clear-cut alternative to WNYW, which is practically nothing more than a New York City version of WSVN. Channel 11 needs to be the alternative newscast again. Stooping to the level of FOX 5 (or lower) has hurt the newscast critically.

 

And personally, I would rather have WPIX be like every other newscast in New York City if it means people will actually watch.

 

No one is watching the news on Channel 11 now. Certainly Tribune v. Cablevision hasn't helped the situation, only adding to its ratings woes.

 

Of course, I don't need to tell you about how the business works. No one likes the current format, therefore they don't watch. If people don't watch, advertisers will stop buying commercial spots during the newscasts. And if advertisers stop buying commercial spots, WPIX will start to lose money. There is NO WAY that WPIX would let ANY of these things happen. The format is a complete, total, utter FAILURE, both strategically and financially, and the sooner it is scrapped, the better off Channel 11 will be.

[Chopper4 36]

How long will it take until we see some changes made to the newscasts?

[IceManNYR 223]

Sweeps is 26 October – 22 November so I doubt they are going to make any big changes till after.

[Geoffrey 779]

I agree with most of the ideas to make WPIX better. Whenever I watched WPIX at 10:00 with Jim and Kaity, I just kept thinking, "Wow, this is a classy newscast." The Jodi version has no class (and I'm actually a fan of Jodi). If I want to watch news at 10:00, I actually prefer WGN, which I would also consider to be classy.

[abric 157]

I watch WGN News over my own 10:00 pm news here in D.C.

[MorningNews 1302]

I watch WGN as well, and then my local news at 10. I live in the central time zone.

[T.L. Hughes 762]

Attempting to steer back on-topic, WPIX's change in direction when it comes to its newscasts seems odd. Their Dallas sister station KDAF is making the same mistakes, only to the point of adopting a tabloid-style newscast and starting November 1, comedy-infused evening newscasts. To say that young people don't watch television news isn't entirely true (I myself have watched TV news since I was around grade school age), that being said, stations shouldn't try to pander to that demographic and should just let good journalism be the star of the show. That's what people respond to or should respond to. Given the fact that WPIX is owned by a company that has a history in newspapers, quality journalism should be (and in a lot of cases, is) the standard for news-producing stations owned by these hybrid newspaper/broadcasting companies.

[Guest NewsHound]

WPIX is attempting to re-establish themselves tonight. I am very impressed with the storm coverage for Hurricane Sandy.

 

Notably absent, Jodi Applegate... Vacation? She would... OR Would this be an attempt of the interim ND to try something different? Although, Jodi didn't even cover Hurricane Irene...

 

On the anchor desk is Kaity Tong (thank goodness), and surprisingly Larry Mendte. The combination is different, but it's working, and it's in the studio!

 

Their news coverage is still crap... but they are making a spirited effort tonight and you have got to give them credit for the wall-to-wall coverage. It proves that their news department still might have a surviving chance. If I were the interim ND, I would take note of this.

[Chopper4 36]

I was also surprised that Jodi Applegate was not there at all. Unless she was there during the day.

[T.L. Hughes 762]

I was also surprised that Jodi Applegate was not there at all. Unless she was there during the day.

 

I saw their coverage online yesterday, Jodi wasn't there, but they did have Kaity Tong, Larry Mendte, Howard Thompson and Kristin Cole helming the afternoon and evening coverage.

[Chopper4 36]

Kristin Cole was good. I like her. Maybe Jodi doesn't do emergency newscasts.

[nynewslover 269]

This is proof they dont need Jodi.. From what I've seen they've had two anchors on for each part of the coverage.. They were actually pretty good and as much as I dislike Larry Mendte he really is a good anchor and should be considered for a spot.