Four local TV stations to share camera crews

[5Viewer 1]

http://www.suntimes.com/business/lazare/1557225,w-television-station-crews-share-050409.article

 

Beginning Monday, the news departments at four of Chicago's five largest TV stations will share resources in a daring experiment.

 

NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5, Fox-owned WFLD-Channel 32, CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2 and Tribune Broadcasting-owned WGN-Channel 9 will pool two camera crews from each participating station. The crews will be directed by an assignment editor and a managing editor. A source said a staff person from WMAQ's newsroom will become managing editor of the new joint venture, but a New York-based spokeswoman for WMAQ said the participating stations weren't ready to reveal that person yet.

 

"We will make that announcement soon," she added. The venture will be housed in WBBM's office space in the Loop, but on a different floor from that station's newsroom.

 

The venture's managing editor will decide each day what news events the pool crews cover. Unedited footage shot by the pool crews will be fed daily to each of the stations to use as they wish in their respective news shows.

 

Sources admit the four Chicago stations agreed to participate in this unusual news venture -- spearheaded by WMAQ and WFLD -- because they all are desperately trying to cut costs as ad revenues plunge.

 

But market news leader ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7 has opted out of the joint venture. Though she was approached about participating, WLS honcho Emily Barr said she chose not to, because she believes it is important -- cost notwithstanding -- for WLS to remain an independent television news voice and to remain flexible enough to cover news events as the station wishes.

[PitCleTV 9]

Something similar like this just happened in Cleveland, between WKYC and WOIO.