24994J 5275 Posted May 12, 2017 Author Share Posted May 12, 2017 I wouldn't be surprised if they opted for a split schedule with the weekenders filling the role (especially if they don't plan on expanding that individual's duties to a later newscast). In town, WFLD does it. Within the company, KNBC does it, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24994J 5275 Posted May 16, 2017 Author Share Posted May 16, 2017 Apparently Jeff Blanzy has officially been hired at NBC5. No formal role is listed, outside of being a part of the sports team, and I don't know if he or Berman is the official weekend anchor. http://www.nbcchicago.com/on-air/about-us/Jeff-Blanzy-422149243.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Rubber 610 Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 WMAQ? Picking an "official weekend anchor"? I think you're asking a little too much. A simple coin flip will determine who anchors day-to-day, I'm sure. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Rubber 610 Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 I wouldn't be surprised if they opted for a split schedule with the weekenders filling the role (especially if they don't plan on expanding that individual's duties to a later newscast). In town, WFLD does it. Within the company, KNBC does it, too. Also, I read this a long time ago and forgot to reply. Yes, I agree with this. They'll most likely go with this strategy, now that you mention it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase 818 Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Apparently Jeff Blanzy has officially been hired at NBC5. No formal role is listed, outside of being a part of the sports team, and I don't know if he or Berman is the official weekend anchor. http://www.nbcchicago.com/on-air/about-us/Jeff-Blanzy-422149243.html I think this change coincided with removing Mike Adamle from the 'meet the staff' list and adding Blanzy. Mike Berman and Jeff often share weekend duties, with Jeff, carrying most of the load most of the time. They tend to do thing differently at WMAQ when it comes to sports. I remember during the week when Adamle was off, Eric Collins would fill in most of the time instead of Siafa or Peggy. Why that was the case wasn't really clear/understandable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoseRM303 169 Posted May 25, 2017 Share Posted May 25, 2017 Its official: Byron Miranda is leaving WMAQ and joining WPIX as weekday morning meteorologist: http://www.adweek.com/tvspy/wpix-names-new-meteorologist/190522 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Rubber 610 Posted May 25, 2017 Share Posted May 25, 2017 Feder published it last week, but I think we forgot to talk about it due to our collective WGN obsession last week. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Rubber 610 Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Byron said goodbye at the end of the 11am news today. Apparently he decided to depart a few days ahead of the planned June 9th last day. I'm upset that I didn't record it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Rubber 610 Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 The evening anchors implied that Alicia will be filling in for Brant Miller the entire week now that Byron is gone. The previous arrangement had been Alicia Monday and Tuesday, Byron Thursday and Friday, and of course, either of the two on Wednesday. Now that Byron's gone, we'll probably see weeks where Alicia has to work Monday-Friday quite a bit. Kalee might have to pull Monday-Friday shifts on the 11 am show as well. Either way, we'll probably see a lot more Pete Sack on weekends again since I imagine Alicia and/or Kalee will be off on weekends after their Monday-Friday fill-in shifts I wonder if we'll see more Andy Avalos appearances on the 11am show whenever Alicia or Kalee are unavailable. I've seen Andy a couple of times on the 11am show when Byron was off and no one else was available to fill in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24994J 5275 Posted June 7, 2017 Author Share Posted June 7, 2017 Byron's bio on the website said that he also did the 4:30 newscast (with Brant listed at 4). Was that ever a thing? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianpr3 173 Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 have they filled the 4:30 anchor spot yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24994J 5275 Posted June 7, 2017 Author Share Posted June 7, 2017 have they filled the 4:30 anchor spot yet? No, the 4 o'clock hour is still unfilled. Who fills in for Dick Johnson when he's off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianpr3 173 Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 No, the 4 o'clock hour is still unfilled. jeez what has it been a year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24994J 5275 Posted June 7, 2017 Author Share Posted June 7, 2017 jeez what has it been a year? More than 2. Elgas hits 2 years at ABC 7 next month. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Rubber 610 Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 Byron's bio on the website said that he also did the 4:30 newscast (with Brant listed at 4). Was that ever a thing? No, that was never a thing. No, the 4 o'clock hour is still unfilled. Who fills in for Dick Johnson when he's off? Good question. Has Dick taken any days off since Rob went on leave? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase 818 Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 No, that was never a thing. If I remember correctly, during Byron's 1st stint at WMAQ, both he and Brant shared the 4/4:30, as noted in their bios. This time around, that didn't happen and the bios were never corrected. Good question. Has Dick taken any days off since Rob went on leave? No I don't believe so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24994J 5275 Posted June 8, 2017 Author Share Posted June 8, 2017 Lisa Chavarria has been picked up by NBC5 as a freelance reporter after 5 years at Fox32. http://www.robertfeder.com/2017/06/08/craig-wall-headed-abc-7-lisa-chavarria-joins-nbc-5/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24994J 5275 Posted June 14, 2017 Author Share Posted June 14, 2017 Holy crap, they actually hired a male anchor. He begins at the end of next month, assignment unknown. http://www.robertfeder.com/2017/06/14/robervations-nbc-5-hires-kansas-city-anchor/#more-14584 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoXinHhftSQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRolyPoly 1847 Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 Holy crap, they actually hired a male anchor. He begins at the end of next month, assignment unknown. http://www.robertfeder.com/2017/06/14/robervations-nbc-5-hires-kansas-city-anchor/#more-14584 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoXinHhftSQ Patrick and Meteorologist Kalee Dionne reunited together all over again. Both used to be at KSHB where Patrick is leaving from. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase 818 Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Since the news anchor/reporter position @ WMAQ is no longer listed, does this mean the new guy will take Dick's spot weekend nights (anchoring with Michelle) and Dick is (by default, unofficially) the new 4P weekday anchor? Does this also mean they plan to leave Christian and Susan paired together on the weekend AM shift? I can't for the life of me understand why they have such a tough time making decisions. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24994J 5275 Posted June 15, 2017 Author Share Posted June 15, 2017 Yeah, I don't know. Somebody should be made permanent. I get that they may want to wait until Stafford comes back (September-ish, if all goes well), but that doesn't excuse the 11 months it's been since Ponce left, and the 2 and a quarter years since Elgas departed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eat News 4738 Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Yeah, I don't know. Somebody should be made permanent. I get that they may want to wait until Stafford comes back (September-ish, if all goes well), but that doesn't excuse the 11 months it's been since Ponce left, and the 2 and a quarter years since Elgas departed. Usually when a position like that is filled it means the money,beni's , etc are all ready to be a real fulltime employee, filling that job"classification". Any and all work assignments, positions, duties or anchor pairings are all up to management UNLESS it's been worked out in a contract...arranged by his agent...who gets up to 15% (depending on the state) of the annual pay of said reporter. It's an old trick to delay hiring to keep the news budget numbers looking good. Even better to delay when the job involves a member of the "bargaining unit"...ie: The Union. It's not like there is a shortage of qualified people out there...it's just a nice way to kiss the GM's ass by keeping those budget numbers within the yearly budget projections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase 818 Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Usually when a position like that is filled it means the money,beni's , etc are all ready to be a real fulltime employee, filling that job"classification". Any and all work assignments, positions, duties or anchor pairings are all up to management UNLESS it's been worked out in a contract...arranged by his agent...who gets up to 15% (depending on the state) of the annual pay of said reporter. It's an old trick to delay hiring to keep the news budget numbers looking good. Even better to delay when the job involves a member of the "bargaining unit"...ie: The Union. It's not like there is a shortage of qualified people out there...it's just a nice way to kiss the GM's ass by keeping those budget numbers within the yearly budget projections. While I get your point, they are not really hurting for money at WMAQ. The amount of net loses (4 anchor/reporters, 1 weather anchor, 2 sports anchors, 1 investigative reporter) in recent years has outweigh the net gains (adding additional reporters mainly). Point is, it shouldn't take months/years to fill spots. Either promote from within (which they have done to a very, very, very small degree) or hire from the outside. I feel for Dick Johnson, who has been in this market for 30+ yrs (11 at WMAQ) and a consummate professional throughout, but they can't seem to be bothered to give him the 4/4:30P job much less a week off since like January. Just make a decision!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Rubber 610 Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 While I get your point, they are not really hurting for money at WMAQ. The amount of net loses (4 anchor/reporters, 1 weather anchor, 2 sports anchors, 1 investigative reporter) in recent years has outweigh the net gains (adding additional reporters mainly). Point is, it shouldn't take months/years to fill spots. Either promote from within (which they have done to a very, very, very small degree) or hire from the outside. I feel for Dick Johnson, who has been in this market for 30+ yrs (11 at WMAQ) and a consummate professional throughout, but they can't seem to be bothered to give him the 4/4:30P job much less a week off since like January. Just make a decision!! Right, and it's not like it was one vacated position that they didn't fill. Almost every position that got vacated over the past 2+ years, they refused to fill. It was actually a wonder that they even made Siafa lead sports anchor. I was expecting them to continue with a rotating cast of characters forever and never name a lead sports anchor. WMAQ really seems to like the "budget" method of having their weekday crew comprised of people who also work the weekend. They kept Dick on the Monday-Wednesday 4pm show for eons, and now they're presumably going to do the same with the 11am show with Alicia and Kalee. Honestly, it makes sense from a budget perspective. Stations used to not do it because they wanted continuity Monday-Friday, but I don't think that matters in the industry anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase 818 Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 WMAQ really seems to like the "budget" method of having their weekday crew comprised of people who also work the weekend. They kept Dick on the Monday-Wednesday 4pm show for eons, and now they're presumably going to do the same with the 11am show with Alicia and Kalee. The 4/4:30P was to be split between Dick and Lauren, but at some point, they decided to just hand it all over to Dick (unofficially of course..), leaving Lauren to solo anchor weekends (which likely played a part in her deciding to leave WMAQ). When Kim left the weekend morning shift, Susan, Michelle, Lauren P. and Emily were expected to fill in until a replacement was named. Emily went on maternity leave and was never given the chance to fill-in once she came back. In fact, I don't think they gave her the chance to work with Anthony before she even went on maternity leave. I say this to say that their indecisiveness, for whatever reason, does more harm than good oftentimes. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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