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I'm not sure why people here are so eager to memorialize someone who - more than anyone - created the toxic hellscape of discourse we currently endure...

Someone was asleep at the wheel

Dunn and Friend are officially fired. Announcement coming tomorrow evening. Update: My contact at CBS said there would be a statement today, but it was not termination - turns out CBS is launching another investigation and has retained counsel. An announcement went out to staff this evening. One can only wonder if this will result in action against more than just Dunn & Friend?

Ukee's statement about the scandal.

I want to say this is a shame but he's been pushing false narratives and conspiracy theories for years and this cancellation is justifiable. The mighty have fallen, he isn't as respected as he once was at CNN anymore.

He leaves a mixed legacy. Rush did, in a big way, give a new lease on life to AM radio. In the late '80s, music on AM was dying and talk radio probably saved AM. On the other hand, his vitriol has done a great disservice to American political discourse. And a disservice to broadcasting as talk hosts like Bob Lassiter were pushed aside in favor of people parroting one political viewpoint at the expense of other voices.

Too bad Rush didn't see it that way when he mocked people dying of AIDS in a daily segment...

Found some very cool Vintage L.A. Clips.

What's there to discuss? As a part of Gray, they'll get the same graphics that everyone in the group has, and there's already a discussion for that.

Same thing with Maria. She used to be one of CNBC'S biggest stars. Now I don't think she talks about business or the stock market anymore. She and Dobbs have both destroyed their careers. Dobbs at 75 will likely retire. I wonder if Maria will be next and more will follow after that?

Why is TVNT worried about a guy who makes several million and knows exactly what he signed up for with his work schedule?

These articles are stunning. I dont see how Dunn keeps his job tomorrow. The comments about Ukee? And the other anchors? I had no idea local managers were dealing with so much interference. That explains why they havent been able to improve themselves. The local management keeps getting ousted, but its corporate preventing them from getting better. And I agree.. The fact the two have kept their jobs while the stations have all sucked rocks, is curious if not shocking. Oh.. and $1 million club membership, but they fired half a dozen reporters at each

CBS O&O management is due for a shakeup. Dunn, Friend, Brauer... all with a track record of treating people terribly.. especially women. Can’t believe they were kept in place after CBS did their so-called investigation into their management teams after Moonves got the boot. A lot of ego on that team for a roster of under performing, mediocre stations.

And now this

Plain & simple, NewsNation is late to the ballgame. There's no Presidential campaign/election going on, no Trump Twittering in the White House, no real salacious stories going on right now, etc. It's going to be hard for them to get any traction to build viewership in this slowing news cycle right now. The average viewer just has no reason to make it 'appointment viewing'. The news market is already saturated as it is. And offering up a four hour old newscast for those of us on the west coast? Um... no. Nexstar should've taken WGN in a totally different direction other than news....

There's no other way to put this, but the NFL must be smoking the crack rock if they want a 100% rights fee increase. I'm sure it's probably just a negotiating ploy, but this past Super Bowl had the lowest ratings since 2007. 2020 regular season ratings have declined 7% according to Nielsen. Crappy ratings like that don't justify a rights increase at all. I could see an increase like that maybe thirty years ago, but not the way the TV business is today. I think we're going to see a serious shuffling of how major league sports is delivered to the viewer in the next 5-10 years. Sounds to m

A major loss to the talk radio community for sure. No matter what many may think of him, for better or worse, he paved the way for AM radio to have a second life as a home for talk radio, giving that medium a few more decades of viability.

Guess who made the move to the big studio tonight?........

Also to keep in mind that Daniel McElroy, the Lightning Director of KCBS that passed away recently, had helped a few of the stations that got the new set with their lights and from what was mentioned, he was helping KPIX with their lights.

I wonder if OANN has the money to pony up? Lou would be a big draw there. Lou (and Maria) have destroyed their reputations in the Trump era.

CBS This Morning beat NBC’s Today for the first time ever... On Saturday. Still pretty impressive imo.

Not the place to discuss, especially like that with repeated comments.

Good. Good f*cking riddance. Hopefully the stations execs ViacomCBS hire next will pay attention to this scandal and do their jobs right, with the utmost respect to everyone for who and what they are.

Regardless, it's an improvement from their previous package

Very interesting and I wonder what exactly NBC has lined up for him. He should be very careful. Just ask Josh Elliott and Sam Champion, both were promised to be featured across all their platforms when they moved to the NBCUniversal family. Elliott had a lot of pushback from the Today show club and wasn't actually utilized well on NBC Sports while Champion sort of flopped with his own morning show at The Weather Channel. I understand the idea of wanting a new challenge and professional growth, but Llamas had a really great role and had great visibility at ABC News.

Having read the LA Times articles and Don Champion's Facebook post, all these damning revelations sickened me to my stomach. The fact that these two had jobs and committing unethical and shameful conduct like this all these many years despite the stations' woes is unbelievable and infuriating. Even worse that it isn't new in the industry. Dunn and the ironically-surnamed Friend don't deserve administrative leave. They deserve to be straight-up fired with no benefits immediately. On the other hand, I'm grateful for and fully supportive of Ukee Washington for his response. His words

Over the years, I’ve interviewed with both of these people. I’ve competed against each of them at different times, and worked with a number of their former employees. Nothing in these articles surprises me. The golf club story is an extreme, but quid pro quos are not uncommon. Unfortunately, one thing this investigation does not touch on, is the fact that these types of alleged management biases and activities are not unique. Anybody who has ever worked in a top five market has either worked for people like this, or worked across the street from them. Also, make no mistake about it. T

I read Don's whole post. Damning. That man's news career ended as is. Dreams Dashed. I know Friend's bullying is all about abuse of power, but I why did I felt like it sounded in part like If it wasn't anyone Straight, White Woman (basically a 'model' if suggested) everyone else is at Dunn + Friend's target for ire. That + Ukee's 'Jive', (who the F#*K still says THAT word, first off btw?)it sounded like they have a type. (“be careful, you’re gay, Black and a man. David doesn’t like any of those.”) To summarize in one point, after seeing Ukee's clip posted from CBS3 thread, heads must roll NOW!

It's a perfectly acceptable package, but I still can't forgive how the 2 shades of blue clash so badly.

There's now a petition by Black journalist to have CBS Local TV President Peter Dunn and David Friend fired. Update: NABJ is the that made the call for petition!!! Update again: Here's the link!!! On a personal note as a black man in America myself this country anti-blackness is so real and alive and I'm happy it's getting exposed!!! https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/black-journalists-group-demands-that-cbs-fire-local-tv-executives-following-report-of-racist-comments/

I've uploaded more stuff on the Vimeo channel: https://vimeo.com/channels/1672797/ Including newscasts from: WCBI (Columbus, MS), KTWO & KCWY (Casper, WY), KOMU & KRCG (Columbia/Jefferson City, MO), KAKE (Wichita), and the big 4 English stations from San Antonio (KMOL, KENS, KSAT and KABB). Jim

As long as his show is cheaper to produce than syndication fees for Shark Tank reruns then I think Shep will be just fine.

Couple of real rarities uploaded by btm0815ma over the past few days. Among them... Some Super Bowl II reports filed by Ted Koppel (!) And possibly the earliest complete ABC newscast I know of, from January 25, 1968 (one of the first after Bob Young took over the lead anchor job when it was determined Peter Jennings was clearly too green to be a network anchor)

Straight shooting, but the editorial piece they have him doing at the end of the newscast waters him down a bit. Hopefully they stopped that after the election? (I honestly usually watch ABC if I am home at that time). There's enough opinion in the news on TV (read: just about every cable news program)- Lester just needs to stick to the facts of the day to have a quality half-hour show.

After uploading clips from my most recent trips, I figured I'd go back to getting classic content back up. Part of a KHOU 10 PM newscast from late 1988 which was on my old channel And something new - a complete 10 PM newscast from KPRC - from May 10, 1985

So from the previews we've seen so far, what we're likely to see are enough changes that will get this board talking, some viewers noticing that something's different on the screen, and more viewers not noticing a thing that is different. Not going to be anything like FOX last year, or CBS at SB50 with a completely new redesign that every regular viewer noticed.

Forgive me if I'm mistaken but I think this is actually a derivative (or the same, not sure) of the Enforcer cut that WCCO uses. The whole version usually plays during the close of WCCO newscasts (I think). So I don't think this is new. As far as the new Enforcer cuts, I think KCNC is the only station to use it regularly (and I'm honestly not a fan --- it's so...dark. And oddly foreboding.)

The Smartmatic lawsuit has a lot to do with it. Plus, you have to make room for Kudlow, right?

WPDE ABC 15 received the updated graphics this morning.

Well, that was fast. Good for them. If memory serves me correctly from last time around, Tom Llamas and Cecilia Vega were initially chosen to split the weekend until Vega was promoted to the White House beat and Llamas took over both days.

Tom Koch is an institution in Houston morning tv, he’s literally been there forever. I don’t live there anymore but born and raised in Houston and that is a huge loss for the station / city!

That would be a violation of their affiliation agreement with KIRO.

Never thought I would see the Nexstar ABC package on a FOX station, but it works and looks good.

Brian Williams has been with NBC since the 90s he has a following and he isn't going anywhere. His 11pm show either wins it time slot or he neck -to neck with Don Lemon. BriWi isn't going anywhere.

They finally woke up and smelled the coffee it’s been on the market more than a year and they haven’t had any bites. Now there is more retail space than ever. They finally realized they won’t be getting any bites anytime soon . Might as well put the space to use

That's the sad part... they're probably going to get a sweetheart deal to retire and just walk away from this. Meanwhile, toxic cultures like what WCBS/CBS O&Os have to offer exist throughout the industry, not just in top markets. The way the newsroom was run at my last station is what finally drove me out of the business, but I don't know that any station I ever worked for wasn't without some major personality issues or featured some sort of sociopath in charge at some level.

What a waste.

Peter Dunn is the cancer of the O&O stations. If Peter's head rolls, don't put it past ViacomCBS -being the competent bunch they are- promoting Jay Howell to Peter's job. CBS O&O's are long overdue for a major management shake up. Friend is a schmuck and Dunn is trash. Time to take out the trash.

Even though it's off to a slow start, Nexstar ultimately benefited from getting Tribune and the WGN properties. To think had Sinclair succeeded in getting both (either by succeeding with the sham WGN deal or not) they would have ultimately done the same thing, except for the stuff we all know Sinclair is (in)famous for.... Now we have a new national news channel in the works, powered by the largest group of stations in America, as well as a stated commitment to truly be "fair and balanced". The implosion of the deal made Nexstar the winner, and twice as big as Sinclair as a resul