The Channel 6 Action News Thread

[HanSolo 467]

50 minutes ago, SF1964 said:

Crossing Broad followed up the original story about Galati leaving by mentioning Facebook posts from viewers asking WPVI to bring back Jamie Apody.   Not really sure that's going to happen.

https://www.crossingbroad.com/news/trending/the-white-women-of-facebook-are-demanding-that-action-news-bring-back-jamie-apody-to-replace-gabriella-galati/

I have a better chance of being named People’s “sexiest man alive.”

[obxwatcher 23]

I have a hunch (probably wrong, lol) that 6abc will hire Taryn Hatcher. Just seems like a coincidental timing that she announced she left NBC Sports Philly and Galati gone from 6abc. 

[HanSolo 467]

Certainly could fit. Also possible they’re in “do it with two people” budget mode.

[SF1964 86]

FTVLive mentioned today that WPTV in West Palm Beach, FL only shows three meteorologists on their website.  At one point they had six.  Chris Sowers, former 6ABC met, joined WPTV in 2024 and isn't one of the current three listed.  He's living in FL, but his socials don't mention WPTV.  He still gives Facebook posts on PA/NJ weather.

[phillynewslover 166]

42 minutes ago, SF1964 said:

FTVLive mentioned today that WPTV in West Palm Beach, FL only shows three meteorologists on their website.  At one point they had six.  Chris Sowers, former 6ABC met, joined WPTV in 2024 and isn't one of the current three listed.  He's living in FL, but his socials don't mention WPTV.  He still gives Facebook posts on PA/NJ weather.

That would be surprising, because I believe he was their chief meteorologist. As far as I remember, he never added WPTV to his Facebook page, so I don't think that's new. He was definitely on their website before, though.

[obxwatcher 23]

2 hours ago, SF1964 said:

FTVLive mentioned today that WPTV in West Palm Beach, FL only shows three meteorologists on their website.  At one point they had six.  Chris Sowers, former 6ABC met, joined WPTV in 2024 and isn't one of the current three listed.  He's living in FL, but his socials don't mention WPTV.  He still gives Facebook posts on PA/NJ weather.

He’s not on the WPTV website anymore.

 

Lived in South Florida for a while and WPTV used to be such a powerhouse and had a ton of great veteran journalists and amazing up-and-comers.

 

I believe Stephen Ross bought their news building last year and they have two years to move. 

[l_miro 245]

19 hours ago, obxwatcher said:

He’s not on the WPTV website anymore.

 

Lived in South Florida for a while and WPTV used to be such a powerhouse and had a ton of great veteran journalists and amazing up-and-comers.

 

I believe Stephen Ross bought their news building last year and they have two years to move. 

 

WPTV was one of those stations with habitual viewers. Jim Sacket left, Shannon Cake wanted to leave but they asked her to stay and she agreed. Then once Kelly Dunn departed the proverbial wheels started to come off. 

 

Scripss did sell the building to Stephen Ross, and leased it back for a couple years with an option to extend but we all know the spot is prime land for "luxury condos" to go up eventually 

[HanSolo 467]

It’s a shame when a move doesn’t work out, but that opportunity vs being minimized at WPVI was a good gamble to take. 

[phillynewslover 166]

I still don't exactly understand why he was passed over at WPVI so many times? I had thought that he maybe didn't want to move from weekend mornings, but obviously he did considering he moved down the East Coast to be a chief meteorologist. I like Brittany Boyer (she's actually my favorite meteorologist at WPVI currently), but I don't know why Chris didn't get to move to evenings and Brittany to mornings.

[HanSolo 467]

Setting aside not getting the evening weekend shift when Melissa left, they then brought in Payton doing more weekday work, basically cutting his extra shifts.

 

Speculate away as to the reasons why. 
 

It was very clear whatever management’s reasoning was that he was not going beyond weekend mornings. It’s unfortunate when a major change like that move doesn’t work long term. With the consolidation and belt tightening everywhere, opportunities don’t abound.

[TVNewsLover 861]

1 hour ago, HanSolo said:

Setting aside not getting the evening weekend shift when Melissa left, they then brought in Payton doing more weekday work, basically cutting his extra shifts.

 

Speculate away as to the reasons why. 
 

It was very clear whatever management’s reasoning was that he was not going beyond weekend mornings. It’s unfortunate when a major change like that move doesn’t work long term. With the consolidation and belt tightening everywhere, opportunities don’t abound.

Pretty sure they knew internally at 6 that he was leaving (although not public) when Peyton was brought on. 

[HanSolo 467]

I’m not so sure the timing really lines up, but knowing suspecting he might have been or considering exploring other options…sure, possibly. It was clear he was not going to get more work there, and if doing full time, weekdays was his desire, all the respect for pursuing that. Unfortunate that it didn’t last all that long, but that’s reality in so many jobs everywhere. 

[Mrknowitall526 121]

I'm really not a big fan of Peyton.  She doesn't speak like she's having a natural conversation like Chris and many others do.  I'll never understand that decision.  Also, whenever I see her on the air, I think about Chris!

 

It's interesting that he keeps posting pretty much exclusively about Philly / Jersey weather, so I guess that explains that!

[24994J 5888]

I remember Chris in Chicago. The Chris Sowers Fan Club confuses me. Deeply unremarkable talent.

[HanSolo 467]

Perhaps some people like a relatable person who provides substantial detail and explanation behind the forecasting for those interested in those kinds of things. He was among the first to start explaining how Superstorm Sandy could actually do the highly unusual “hard left turn” it ultimately took even when the official forecasts were primarily showing something different. 
 

Perhaps people have a very different assessment than yours. 

[24994J 5888]

I'm not saying he didn't grow or improve, but I just think there's way too much weight being put on being passed over for a promotion on ONE occasion. Cecily & Adam are locked in on evenings, Karen was already on mornings when she shifted chairs, so all that's left is the weekend evening slot, where it's quite obvious they wanted to replace a Black female with a Black female. No conspiracy, hardly slighted, he was just...stuck. Shit happens.

[SF1964 86]

Sorry to bring up WPTV again in this thread, but my post last week mentioned that only three mets were showing on their website after having six at one point.  One of the three, Frances Peyton, is leaving the station later this week.

https://www.facebook.com/FrancesPeytonwx/videos/this-is-a-hard-one-to-shareafter-so-much-thought-and-reflection-ive-made-the-dec/4374555696112686/

Edited April 22 by SF1964

[TVNewsLover 861]

Apparently Chris Sowers announced on his Facebook live last night that he and his family are moving back to a South Jersey in June.

 

Curious if 6 would welcome him back. They could give him weekday mornings and promote Karen to 10am and 12noon. Alternatively, give him back weekend mornings, send Peyton to WABC (as it’s a matter of time before Sam is completely out the door). 

[HanSolo 467]

Not sure where this Payton to NY thing keeps coming from. 
 

Realistically, it’s probably for his wife’s career that they’ll move back. He’s not getting mornings, though I’d have no objections.

They’re not splitting morning from 10 am. Payton is not being stashed in Philly until someone departs in NY. 
 

To his credit, it appears he didn’t burn bridges and was sent off with good wishes. If they found themselves with several openings it might position him as a candidate. The most plausible scenario is some kind of stronger role if by some chance both Payton and Brittany had parental leave at the same time and they needed temporary help. Or somewhere down the line Karen retires and they elevate Brittany to mornings creating a weekend opening. 
 

Otherwise, possibly a gig at another station and/or following the “Nor’easter Nick” model of creating a business independent of TV. 

 

[Samantha 2923]

Just trimmed everything back to the last post of mostly WPVI-relevant dialogue.

[obxwatcher 23]

I’m sure WPVI would hire him back if something opens up but I can’t imagine ABC paying as much as they used to. The Jim Gardner paychecks are over. 

[phillynewslover 166]

I guess there's no PHL17 thread that's still open, so this is the second best place (and it's somewhat relevant to WPVI anyway). I saw PHL17 post on Facebook that they are welcoming a new meteorologist, Sloane Haines. However, Monica Cryan (their current meteorologist) is still there. Granted, Monica could be leaving soon and they just wanted to bring her replacement in early, but I wonder if they could potentially be expanding their newscasts beyond the mornings?

[PhillyWatch 248]

Given Nexstar's new "internalized" approach to their newscasts (ditching all network content in favor of exclusively using NewsNation content), I wouldn't be surprised if they're annoyed that they're only able to push their product during their also-ran morning show in a market like Philly. However, booting WPVI from the 10pm show would be foolish, and I'm not sure where else they could launch newscasts. The market is way too crowded during typical news hours, and I don't know how well received a 1pm or 7pm show would be. But if money isn't an issue, we could see an evening effort from them (and they could whip up their "fastest growing newscast" promos now before it even launches )

[phillynewslover 166]

The only place I could think of would be 6:30pm, where there aren't any local newscasts. They'd have lots of competition from ABC and NBC's national newscasts, but some viewers might prefer a local alternative.

[Encore 323 79]

23 minutes ago, phillynewslover said:

The only place I could think of would be 6:30pm, where there aren't any local newscasts. They'd have lots of competition from ABC and NBC's national newscasts, but some viewers might prefer a local alternative.

FOX 29 has local news at 6:30 so PHL 17 would have to compete with them there.

Edited May 6 by Encore 323