Random WMAQ Thread

[LinCruzChicagoNYLA 17]

New reporter alert: Courtney Sisk joining from WISN.

 

 

[LinCruzChicagoNYLA 17]

Brenda Arelano posted on the IG account the most of the station's on-air personalites past and present are ready for the station's 75th anniversary special next month.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CxO8XaSrOki/?img_index=1

 

UPDATE: Former colleague Rob Stafford posted on his FB that they will met Allison Rosati again for the special.

https://www.facebook.com/RobStaffordNBC5/posts/pfbid0QzfmZZ5FBfWs3hNs8YfhUy8aJUtYeUYFXERg1NsyDCqJHuzqhQuebZebMNNoMHCcl

 

UPDATE (9/27): Alex Maragos posted that former colleague and 2023 Chicago Emmys Silver Circle honoree Andy Avalos will be coming back for the special.

https://www.facebook.com/AlexMaragosNBC5/posts/pfbid0jSH4Y4z3sRxQrufzY9bFxYAPj1DGzxKC8bHi8Yv4tXLmUCvyJbJxJfwaEDs4pCicl?__cft__[0]=AZUjvEsSXXtrzPt7DceAgVNCHsLeolgmMdqIDFju5-Uh3UVahYNJImDNqyvTM3t2LnkbaBBQCccqECZHtWmtZELOUFa9gyVMSiktj75dD8fFO7_n432f5aOnatf0VRh4TW1pFDCMdML5VEJSvtmObvTiXxSjeM7j3cJoQvssyMC3JHB7UQJZ9HactuWjDADu91_8n5XnIFlSIOBWXOB8XJP-&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-y-R

 

Edited September 28, 2023 by LinCruzChicagoNYLA

[LinCruzChicagoNYLA 17]

Yesterday, Channel 5 celebrating its 75th anniversary concurrent with this year's Chicago Marathon.

 

[NBC 5 Chicago 191]

They're celebrating every day at 10pm with a new segment. Here is a little more information on how they're celebrating their 75th anniversary:

 

This link shows each segment each day this week and you can vote on the top memorable story which they will show in a segment called Flashback Friday through December. Also a list of first for the television station which I found interesting. 

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/wmaq-tv-chicago-celebrates-its-75th-anniversary/3246257/

 

Here is an archive of video of their top stories they've covered:

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/75th-anniversary-archive/3242571/

Edited October 10, 2023 by NBC 5 Chicago

[CircleSeven 1955]

Channel 5 is going to simulcast four live Friday games from NBC Sports Chicago.

 

WMAQ will air two Bulls games in November (3rd & 17th), and two Blackhawks games in December (22nd & 29th).

[Jase 1046]

On 10/10/2023 at 9:13 AM, NBC 5 Chicago said:

They're celebrating every day at 10pm with a new segment. Here is a little more information on how they're celebrating their 75th anniversary:

 

This link shows each segment each day this week and you can vote on the top memorable story which they will show in a segment called Flashback Friday through December. Also a list of first for the television station which I found interesting. 

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/wmaq-tv-chicago-celebrates-its-75th-anniversary/3246257/

 

Here is an archive of video of their top stories they've covered:

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/75th-anniversary-archive/3242571/

 

Quick FYI-

 

I caught bit of their 75th Anniversary Special today and they mentioned (toward the end of the program) that they're turning one of the sound stages on the 2nd fl. into a huge newsroom combining the news-gathering resources of WMAQ-NBC 5, Telemundo Chicago and NBC Sports Chicago thus bringing everything 'under one roof.' 

 

No word if they're going to move the entire operation of NBC Sports Chicago to the Tower as well, but it would make sense to do so.

 

[MorningNews 1442]

Similar to what WRC has done and what I believe WNBC plans to do with WNJU in NYC.

[LinCruzChicagoNYLA 17]

Randy Gyllenhaal, a reporter coming from its sister station in Philadelphia made their NBC 5 debut last Thursday.

 

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/two-security-disruptions-to-air-travel-occur-within-hours-of-each-other-in-chicago-as-feds-investigate/3362772/

[Jase 1046]

NBC slashes space at NBC Tower [Chicago], extends lease to 2040

 

https://therealdeal.com/chicago/2024/04/24/nbc-slashes-space-extends-lease-in-namesake-chicago-tower/?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=single_content_share&utm_source=clipboard

 

Not a huge surprise they're cutting back space, but I do wonder if this means the proposed plan to create a combined newsroom (for WMAQ/WSNS/NBC Sports Chicago) on the 2nd floor have been cut. It would be unfortunate if it has.

[Spring Rubber 701]

With the tornado warning in Lake County right now, WMAQ stood alone as the only one in the market to not break in with live coverage, due to carrying the closing laps of the Indy 500. The thing that surprised me is that there was a good 5-minute span where they weren't even airing a warning crawl on the screen when the tornado warning first was issued. Looks like they got the crawl working now; however.

[24994J 5568]

2 hours ago, Spring Rubber said:

With the tornado warning in Lake County right now, WMAQ stood alone as the only one in the market to not break in with live coverage, due to carrying the closing laps of the Indy 500. The thing that surprised me is that there was a good 5-minute span where they weren't even airing a warning crawl on the screen when the tornado warning first was issued. Looks like they got the crawl working now; however.

 

They did break it, once immediate race coverage died down. Not soon enough, in my opinion, but still.

[LinCruzChicagoNYLA 17]

After a year long wait, Jenn Schanz, formerly of WXYZ, made their on-air debut today.

 

[WeatherandTraffic 54]

I noticed Brant is off this week, but Iisha Scott is doing her normal 11am and 4pm. Pete filled in Monday and Tuesday for Brant, while Kevin Jeanes did last night and is doing today and tomorrow. Do you think Iisha is going to replace Brant or is Kevin going to be the next chief meteorologist?

Edited June 13, 2024 by WeatherandTraffic

[Jase 1046]

1 hour ago, WeatherandTraffic said:

I noticed Brant is off this week, but Iisha Scott is doing her normal 11am and 4pm. Pete filled in Monday and Tuesday for Brant, while Kevin Jeanes did last night and is doing today and tomorrow. Do you think Iisha is going to replace Brant or is Kevin going to be the next chief meteorologist?

 

They could go the WLS route and have Scott and Jeanes handle 4P, 5P, 6P and 10P with neither having the title of  'Chief'.

[Jase 1046]

I've been bouncing around watching weather coverage tonight and couldn't help but notice how out of her element Scott is when it comes to breaking/severe weather coverage. Jeanes (and Brant calling in from home) have lead WMAQ's coverage most of the night. The very few times they went to Scott, she added next to nothing. 

[NBC 5 Chicago 191]

10 hours ago, Jase said:

I've been bouncing around watching weather coverage tonight and couldn't help but notice how out of her element Scott is when it comes to breaking/severe weather coverage. Jeanes (and Brant calling in from home) have lead WMAQ's coverage most of the night. The very few times they went to Scott, she added next to nothing. 

 100% agree with this. I actually watched WLS and WBBM more because of it. Brant and Pete are usually the ones that are in when these breaking weather events happen and they have excellent coverage. But with Scott it was a little lackluster. 

[Spring Rubber 701]

I believe last night was the first time that both Brant and Pete were away from the station during major severe weather coverage, right? Definitely a stress test for the young guns. I will say that I tended more toward ABC7 last night as a result.

[Jase 1046]

1 hour ago, Spring Rubber said:

I believe last night was the first time that both Brant and Pete were away from the station during major severe weather coverage, right? Definitely a stress test for the young guns. I will say that I tended more toward ABC7 last night as a result.

 

I assume Brant is on vacation because he called in to support Pete on Sunday too. That said, Brant shouldn't have had to support Kevin and Isiha. Both should be capable of holding things down. For example, David and Mary Kay (who was at home/in FL) did an admirable job for WBBM. Kevin was fine, but Isiha was/is albatross for WMAQ's weather team.

Edited July 16, 2024 by Jase

[mouseboy33 92]

I felt bad for Kevin Jeanes because until Brant called in he was carrying the entire coverage. I dont under why they had Brant on the phone. Why cant they train him to dial in using Zoom, they audio at least would have been much better. Aisha probably was looking stuff up and doing behind the scenes stuff. But it wasnt good enough especially in a Top 5 market. Kevin literally asked her if she had anything new,, she said nope and threw it back to him.  They need to show her the door along with quite a few people at Ch5. I only used to watch Ch5 exclusively but not anymore. The reporters and many of the anchors are not Top5 material. Its Mid Market level to me.

 

I agree about Ch2. David and Mary Kay did a good job considering the barebones Weather Team. Still dont know why why got rid of the other guy. David is new to Chicagoland. YOu can tell he still has a lot to learn about Chicago terms. Like saying Chicagoland instead of "The Metro". I hate that term. Its for small cities like OKC and Omaha. Dont bring that "Metro" crap here. We are an entire region. But he is good. I like Mary Kay, but they really need to get a replacement here. This remote business is tiresome. PLus it just seems like Albert is never on tv when I turn it on. DOes he actually work there?

WGN to me is not good. I just dont like their style of presenting breaking weather or  their weather radar and tools. Either its zoomed out too far or microscopic levels or its covered in the lighting icons so yoou cant see anything. Or they are gving WAAAAY to much historical data which isnt appropriate in a breaking situation.  WFLD is a mess. I dont remember who the Chief Met is. She seems nice and capable. But she kinda has a demeanor in her presentation style that I personally dont like. Its very-matter-of-fact. Or Id-rather-be-doing-something-else style. Its not my personal taste. Mark Strehl is typicall behind a screen  and looks like a man stuck a in old fashioned phone booth. The whole thing needs to be revamped.

 

All of the stations including Ch7 need to look at how OKC and Birmingham stations do rolling weather. Because the way the their weather computers are setup they cant even put up a live video behind the anchor on a green screen and have them point things out. Case in point, the Ohare Tornado cam video.
What a mess.

[24994J 5568]

The Brant-Pete combo has easily become the best 1-2 punch in town, in severe weather, but that obviously has a shelf life. The remainder of 5's team either needs to get it together and get better, or they're gonna be in big trouble.

 

I definitely agreed about the wonky nature of WGN's presentation. Without Skilling, that style loses its charm. At 2, Yeomans is GOOD. Been very impressed with him, so far. ZERO chemistry across WFLD's team makes it a hard watch. Of who was on-air, last night, 7's team (Cheryl, Larry & Phil) is the most established, and it shows. Good back-and-forth, covering the talking points quite well.

[WeatherandTraffic 54]

The problem with NBC5's weather team is the weird scheduling. The weekend morning meteorologists since Kalee Dionne(which have been Alicia, Iisha, and Kevin) left have only contributed to the weekday morning newscasts where the severe weather coverage is unlikely in the morning. Kevin is filling more now in the evenings, but helps Alicia out when everybody else is there. Iisha has been there for almost 3 years and Kevin just over a year. I will cut them some slack since it's their first severe weather coverage at NBC5 and didn't have the veterans to help. Kevin needs to contribute in the afternoons and evenings instead of mornings. If they keep this weird schedule of weekend/weekday morning contributing meteorologist, then they won't be able to retain meteorologist. Look at Cheryl Scott with Byron Miranda and Kalee Dionne with Paul Deanno for example. Byron and Paul each left for different cities in 3 years after bypassing Cheryl and Kalee. 

[Spring Rubber 701]

Over on WGN's side, one thing that stuck me is that on multiple occasions, Micah had to step in and re-focus the discussion, especially as it pertains to "What areas are currently under a warning, and the threat is imminent? What areas has the leading line of storms already cleared, and thus the warnings have been lifted?" This seems like something the meteorologists should be able to do on their own, but on several occasions, I found myself happy that Micah interrupted to get this pertinent information out to the viewers.

[R.R. 90]

On 7/16/2024 at 5:22 PM, mouseboy33 said:

I only used to watch Ch5 exclusively but not anymore. The reporters and many of the anchors are not Top5 material. Its Mid Market level to me.

This I can agree with. Was never big on Navarrete, he didn't earn his way to the chair on weekday mornings. If anyone, if she was up for it Natalie Martinez would have been a good fit back to the desk. Cassimy seems to be decent in his role. Marion, I wonder how she's still standing at 4 because she's had at least 8 different people on the desk with her since she started.

[24994J 5568]

6 minutes ago, R.R. said:

This I can agree with. Was never big on Navarrete, he didn't earn his way to the chair on weekday mornings. If anyone, if she was up for it Natalie Martinez would have been a good fit back to the desk. Cassimy seems to be decent in his role. Marion, I wonder how she's still standing at 4 because she's had at least 8 different people on the desk with her since she started.

 

Navarrete's small-market ability, yet anchoring weekdays in market #3 still boggles my mind. From what I saw of him anchoring mornings in Detroit, his talents are absolutely being wasted as a solo, weekend anchor. Not a Fazio lover, but he'd make more sense to go (back? don't remember if he made a stop there) to weekend evenings, send Cassimy to mornings, and send (/launch) Navarrete to weekend mornings (/into the sun).

[R.R. 90]

3 minutes ago, 24994J said:

 

Navarrete's small-market ability, yet anchoring weekdays in market #3 still boggles my mind. From what I saw of him anchoring mornings in Detroit, his talents are absolutely being wasted as a solo, weekend anchor. Not a Fazio lover, but he'd make more sense to go (back? don't remember if he made a stop there) to weekend evenings, send Cassimy to mornings, and send (/launch) Navarrete to weekend mornings (/into the sun).

Initially from reports Fazio was hired to be the weekend anchor while Stafford was still on leave but less than a month in he was placed on the 4 pm.