DirtyHarry 727 Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/tag/wbns Of course you never get the real story, but one of the blogs says Ludlow's contract wasn't renewed. Probably same for Strickler. I believe Ludlow has a law degree. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
10Viewer 335 Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Just another example of continued cost-cutting at Dispatch Broadcast Group. A few years ago, they cut Janet Watkins and Penny Moore loose. Not many veteran reporters left anymore. I guess that the "right-sizing" of the Dispatch hasn't panned out. I cringe when I hear "New, Fresh, Up-to-the-Minute". It's not the WBNS of the '90s. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106140 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHarry 727 Posted June 3, 2014 Author Share Posted June 3, 2014 Just another example of continued cost-cutting at Dispatch Broadcast Group. A few years ago, they cut Janet Watkins and Penny Moore loose. Not many veteran reporters left anymore. I guess that the "right-sizing" of the Dispatch hasn't panned out. I cringe when I hear "New, Fresh, Up-to-the-Minute". It's not the WBNS of the '90s. The Dispatch's drop in daily circulation is stunning. They are down to 139,000 daily which is about a 50% loss from 2007. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106155 Share on other sites More sharing options...
10Viewer 335 Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Eve Mueller was another veteran reporter let go a few years ago. The Dispatch has always been a pretty mediocre newspaper, but the content has taken a serious nosedive. I will say, however, it is better than the Indianapolis Star which is probably the worst major city daily. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106156 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breaking News 829 Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 @8Viewer you think Indianapolis Star worst, Oh WOW! I know Gannett owns that paper, but as a born and bread person from Cols, OH the Columbus Dispatch is the worst paper in the mid-west, because it always seem so small town newspaper.. It wasn't the Dallas Morning News, or the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (ok one of my favorites). However the current Dispatch is like a magazine they've shrunk the size[of course due to costing cutting measures.] The Dispatch Group owned by the Wolfe Family have had it so easily over the years, and of course WBNS is their bread & butter. However they've had alot of cuts and of course many long time anchors. Shocker for Strickler and Ludlow, of course their current female anchor Krystin Hartman who took Andrea Cambern job who left a couple years ago for California she's such a bore. The company has been making big cuts left and right. They killed their state-wide cable outlet a couple years ago, made alot of changes with the newspaper. There were rumors a few years back that LIN TV wanted to buy the CBS affiliate. That when LIN owned WWHO to create another duopoly in the Columbus market. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106160 Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrannical bastard 3955 Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 WBNS is definitely not the dominant station it used to be. It's still beating WSYX and WCMH ratings wise, but if Sinclair keeps up its pace and CBS nosedives in the ratings, WSYX may clinch the top spot for the first time ever in their history. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106176 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHarry 727 Posted June 3, 2014 Author Share Posted June 3, 2014 The Dispatch has always been a pretty mediocre newspaper, but the content has taken a serious nosedive. I will say, however, it is better than the Indianapolis Star which is probably the worst major city daily. Disagree. When coming up with these comparisons people always forget about market size. Columbus is not New York, Washington or even Detroit. It is a mid-sized market like Charlotte, Cincinnati, Louisville, Indianapolis, Birmingham, Memphis, Omaha, Kansas City and Nashville. Compared to the rest of its peer group, the Dispatch is actually a pretty good newspaper, IMO. The only one I can think of that might be better would be the Omaha paper. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106179 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHarry 727 Posted June 3, 2014 Author Share Posted June 3, 2014 WBNS is definitely not the dominant station it used to be. It's still beating WSYX and WCMH ratings wise, but if Sinclair keeps up its pace and CBS nosedives in the ratings, WSYX may clinch the top spot for the first time ever in their history. That's what you get for getting caught flat-footed. They had a chance to buy WWHO but they were too cheap/not creative enough to pull it off. WSYX has beefed up their weather department, do great work following Ohio State. The only thing they're lacking right now anchor depth. Kendrick is pretty good, but I can't say that any of the other ones made much of an impression on me. If they were to hire Strickler or Ludlow (actually, I prefer Strickler), this would go a long way toward shoring up that position. I like Yolanda Harris, but she has nowhere near the presence Kendrick has. They need a woman who can perform at kendrick's level. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106180 Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColumbusNewsFan 217 Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 To be honest, They have done things recently to copy others in the market and WBNS used to not copy others at all. As much as Sinclair gets knocked on and rightfully so in most cases, I have to give them props in Columbus for doing the hard work to turn around the product. About 5 years ago, WSYX wasn't even being considered for being a good newscast in Columbus... It just was a really rough watch! Fast forward to now, You see that they have beef up their Morning brand. The Weather product is the best in the state (AP also feels the same way as well), The News product in my opinion has moved WAY ahead of WCMH which is just bad overall now. NBC 4 is now sucking on something fierce! (Hence why I have them as my avatar, I put the the worst station in Columbus there and it is not because I like them at all) Also, now that the Newspaper business is on the downturn... I strongly expect WBNS to go down a bit in quality now. The downturn isn't reversing and we might see some MAJOR changes within the next decade if the Dispatch keeps going the direction they are going and could that mean WBNS actually being owned by someone else? I'll let the Speculatron 3000 deal with that question For right now, WSYX has the owner who has the money in the market and they are willing to spend it! Also to some that was said eariler that I can't let go uncorrected, WSYX was the top station in the market for a few sweeps periods in Late 1980's. If they keep going at it the way they are going within a year WSYX will make a run to #1... it just needs ABC to get it act together as a network. I haven't seen the May number outside The Distpatch's poor ass excuse of a ratings report for the market, but It looks like WSYX is now #2 in the market with WCMH at the bottom of the Barrel at last. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106191 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHarry 727 Posted June 3, 2014 Author Share Posted June 3, 2014 I haven't seen the May number outside The Distpatch's poor ass excuse of a ratings report for the market, but It looks like WSYX is now #2 in the market with WCMH at the bottom of the Barrel at last. Dan Bradley (GM) was news director at WFLA and then VP of News for the entire chain. I always suspected they put him here because WCMH was an important property to Media General. I find it ironic that MG's former VP of News has presided over WCMH's decline. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106200 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHarry 727 Posted June 3, 2014 Author Share Posted June 3, 2014 Fast forward to now, You see that they have beef up their Morning brand. The Weather product is the best in the state (AP also feels the same way as well), The News product in my opinion has moved WAY ahead of WCMH which is just bad overall now. NBC 4 is now sucking on something fierce! (Hence why I have them as my avatar, I put the the worst station in Columbus there and it is not because I like them at all) Also, now that the Newspaper business is on the downturn... I strongly expect WBNS to go down a bit in quality now. The downturn isn't reversing and we might see some MAJOR changes within the next decade if the Dispatch keeps going the direction they are going and could that mean WBNS actually being owned by someone else? I'll let the Speculatron 3000 deal with that question WBNS and WTHR generate so much cash that I don't see that happening any time soon. Everybody knows about the Wolfes' media properties, what they don't know is that the cash generated is taken and invested mostly into Columbus area real estate. Carriage Place is an example of a project they own (1/3). They own parts and pieces of prominent real estate all over the Columbus area. Unlike other owners, the Wolfes have no debt. When you have no debt, the cash goes into your pocket and not the bank's. That's why they don't care how big or small they are - they only care about making money. The only way they sell is if two station chains can't get programming anymore and simply can't keep up with all the technology necessary. But with so many family owned stations still around, I don't see that happening any time soon. The only other thing I can think of that would force them to sell would be if there are so many Wolfe heirs clamoring for money that selling is their only option like Dan Quayle's family. There is precedent for selling (they sold The Ohio Company and they sold BancOhio). but I would think that the memory of being burnt so badly National City Bank went down (they owned a big chunk of NCB when they merged BancOhio) still lingers. I doubt if they are going to be in a hurry to do the same thing with their stations. Why would they want to trade top performing stations for stock in a company that's just going to run them into the ground? As I stated before, owning the Dispatch, the WBNS stations and an entire assortment of second-tier publications gives them a voice and gives them a lot of power. That power translates to owning more real estate. I say they keep the stations unless they really start going downhill. Bigger being better and "grow or die" is only driven by Wall Street. Private companies have no such concerns. I also think people underestimate how much ObamaCare has been hurting companies. If my premiums are any guide (I'm self-employed so I pay for insurance myself), companies are getting spanked and have to cut where they didn't before. My premiums over the course of the last five years or so went from $62 a month for catastrophic coverage through Anthem to $257 a month (with a 13% increase projected for next year). Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106202 Share on other sites More sharing options...
10Viewer 335 Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 WBNS has always had a deep bench of talent. If Jerry Revish retires, who will succeed him? Right now, I can't think of anyone since Strickler and Ludlow are out. That's a big problem if you ask me. I certainly hope that the Wolfe family continues to own WBNS because it's better than having an out of town owner. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106215 Share on other sites More sharing options...
10Viewer 335 Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 For right now, WSYX has the owner who has the money in the market and they are willing to spend it! Also to some that was said eariler that I can't let go uncorrected, WSYX was the top station in the market for a few sweeps periods in Late 1980's. Yes, WBNS briefly fell to last place when Lou Forrest left and went to WSYX in 1989. Depends on whether you looked at Nielsen or Arbitron, but WSYX and WCMH were neck and neck for first at 6. I don't think WSYX ever managed a win at 11, however. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106225 Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrannical bastard 3955 Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 Dan Bradley (GM) was news director at WFLA and then VP of News for the entire chain. I always suspected they put him here because WCMH was an important property to Media General. I find it ironic that MG's former VP of News has presided over WCMH's decline. I think the real reason was that his corporate position was eliminated along with many others around that time, and then-GM Rick Rogala bolted for a corporate position with Nexstar. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106226 Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrannical bastard 3955 Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 The BIGGEST reason WCMH has fallen so hard over the past several years has come at the helm of Media General and their mistakes in running things. They poured a lot of effort and expense into their relaunch into HD, even going as far to attempt such things as the "Storm Team" adding Dave Trygar as a second fiddle to Jym Ganahl for weather coverage, as well as their failed attempt to use their downtown studio inherited from NBC's doings. When the economy soured and Media General was bleeding in debt from their failing newspapers at the time, stations were forced to cut, cut, and cut again, and WCMH was hit hard with layoffs multiple times, and mothballing such expansions as their 4pm show which was eventually abandoned altogether. Even their longtime news director Stan Sanders was shown the door. Experienced talent trickled out as their contracts expired, and the then-radical rebranding of WCMH in 2011 has made the WCMH of today very different from the WCMH that gave WBNS a run for their money. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106229 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHarry 727 Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share Posted June 4, 2014 I think the real reason was that his corporate position was eliminated along with many others around that time, and then-GM Rick Rogala bolted for a corporate position with Nexstar. That is all true, but they still made room for him at their (then) second-most profitable station. I don't know where they are in the pecking order now with all the new stations being added, but they were Number 2 in revenue and profit after WFLA. They must have had some faith in his abilities to give him the station to run. What I am commenting on is that their former VP of news is now in charge of a station that has seen it's newscasts go way downhill. Does that say anything about MG's news philosophy. Even their longtime news director Stan Sanders was shown the door. Experienced talent trickled out as their contracts expired, and the then-radical rebranding of WCMH in 2011 has made the WCMH of today very different from the WCMH that gave WBNS a run for their money. Stan was shown the door because he didn't work and play well with others. He got into fights with talent on a regular basis. Ganahl quit/was fired at one time after a fight with Stan Sanders until the GM forced Stan to kiss and make up. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106233 Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrannical bastard 3955 Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 Stan was shown the door because he didn't work and play well with others. He got into fights with talent on a regular basis. Ganahl quit/was fired at one time after a fight with Stan Sanders until the GM forced Stan to kiss and make up. I think the timing on that was brilliant. The economy in apocalypse was the PERFECT excuse to send him on his way! Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106234 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Muck 4378 Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 Also, now that the Newspaper business is on the downturn... I strongly expect WBNS to go down a bit in quality now. The downturn isn't reversing and we might see some MAJOR changes within the next decade if the Dispatch keeps going the direction they are going and could that mean WBNS actually being owned by someone else? I'll let the Speculatron 3000 deal with that question The Wolfe family will sell or spin off the Dispatch well before they unload WTHR and WBNS. Even the WBNS radio combo does decently with (THE) Ohio State Buckeyes play-by-play. It's not just the Dispatch... newspapers all over the Midwest have been suffering circulation and revenue declines. The Cleveland Plain Dealer is now a quadweekly in home delivery (one of the days, Saturday, is a throw-in for coupon and circulars). And I have a hunch that Block makes more money with WLIO and Buckeye Cable than with The Blade. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106270 Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvjay 6 Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 It's not just the Dispatch... newspapers all over the Midwest have been suffering circulation and revenue declines. The Cleveland Plain Dealer is now a quadweekly in home delivery (one of the days, Saturday, is a throw-in for coupon and circulars). And I have a hunch that Block makes more money with WLIO and Buckeye Cable than with The Blade. The Blade just announced 131 layoffs and the outsourcing of the printing, I would say you might be right. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106272 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHarry 727 Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share Posted June 4, 2014 The Wolfe family will sell or spin off the Dispatch well before they unload WTHR and WBNS. Even the WBNS radio combo does decently with (THE) Ohio State Buckeyes play-by-play. It's not just the Dispatch... newspapers all over the Midwest have been suffering circulation and revenue declines. The Cleveland Plain Dealer is now a quadweekly in home delivery (one of the days, Saturday, is a throw-in for coupon and circulars). And I have a hunch that Block makes more money with WLIO and Buckeye Cable than with The Blade. The Blade just announced 131 layoffs and the outsourcing of the printing, I would say you might be right. "In a recent letter to employees, Blade officials said the newspaper “has been losing money for many years, with losses exceeding $8.5 million in 2013.”" http://www.toledoblade.com/business/2014/05/31/The-Blade-to-cut-131-jobs-stop-printing-downtown.html#S0wDQ0vJHrsb9aVh.99 “Not only is the flexographic method currently used by The Blade one seldom used in newspapers (and therefore not worth the cost of updating), but the capital investment being made to replace the same (and even older) technology at their sister paper in Pittsburgh [the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette] probably factors into the financial equation as well,” Higgins, a Toledo Free Press columnist, wrote in an email to TFP. Which begs the question: Why not just print both papers in Youngstown? Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106275 Share on other sites More sharing options...
10Viewer 335 Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 Isn't the Cincinnati Enquirer published on the west side at the Dispatch facility? Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106286 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHarry 727 Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share Posted June 4, 2014 Isn't the Cincinnati Enquirer published on the west side at the Dispatch facility? I hate to be nitpicky about English, but the paper is still published in Cincinnati. It is, however, printed by the Dispatch in Columbus ... and so are USA Today and Gannett's small town Ohio papers. Gannett also partners with WTHR in Indy, Call me crazy, but it sounds like this might be a prelude to a partnership or sale of some sort. Likewise, the weekly business papers in Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus are owned by Advance Communications, owners of the Plain Dealer. I don't know where Business First is printed, though I wouldn't be surprised if it is printed in Cleveland. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106287 Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanewsguy 511 Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 Oh dear. WBNS' legal counsel is sending cease and desist letters to Kurt Ludlow protesters. Hard to imagine anyone actually typed that with a straight face. Read the letters here: http://ftvlive.com/todays-news/2014/6/4/sty-off-our-lawn Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106290 Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvjay 6 Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Oh dear. WBNS' legal counsel is sending cease and desist letters to Kurt Ludlow protesters. Hard to imagine anyone actually typed that with a straight face. Read the letters here: http://ftvlive.com/todays-news/2014/6/4/sty-off-our-lawn My first thought is that person who got the letter must of done something extreme or else my impression of WBNS is all wrong. As someone who works at a TV station we get all kinds of letters and e-mails and I don't think we have ever gone that far. Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106292 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHarry 727 Posted June 5, 2014 Author Share Posted June 5, 2014 Oh dear. WBNS' legal counsel is sending cease and desist letters to Kurt Ludlow protesters. Hard to imagine anyone actually typed that with a straight face. Read the letters here: http://ftvlive.com/todays-news/2014/6/4/sty-off-our-lawn Their lawyers (Zeiger) have a reputation for being jerks. My impression of them is that they are the kind who pull out the proverbial bazooka to kill a butterfly. Don't these people read the papers? This move is about as bright as the one last month where a vendor sent a cease and desist letter to an Amazon customer for writing a negative review. They should be inviting them over to the station for free bumper stickers, t-shirts or key chains instead a pulling a boneheaded move like this. Amazing that people pay $500 an hour for so called "legal expertise" that is so lacking in common sense. Great job Wolfes, sue your viewers. LOL ========== EDIT: I sent Cardenas and Fiorile an e-mail reminding them about the company that threatened last month to sue a customer who left a negative review about a router he bought on Amazon and what happens when you sic your attorneys on the little guy and it goes viral. Medialink Threatens Customer With Lawsuit For Writing A Negative Amazon Review from the how-not-to-win-fans dept http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140507/06232927146/medialink-threatens-customer-with-lawsuit-writing-negative-amazon-review.shtml Link to comment https://localnewstalk.net/topic/13644-wbns-sends-strickler-and-ludlow-packing/#findComment-106293 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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