MetroCity

It’s nice to see someone preserving the minuet.

OK. Let’s come in off the ledge, un-twist our panties and un-clutch our pearls... and ask an important and unpopular question. How relevant is a television traffic report in 2019? Really. Every commuter worth their salt relies on traffic apps, and there are loads of them. Even Google Maps shows traffic now. TV traffic has always been dubious, because the information ages quickly, and each report is only relevant to a select geographic area. If you live in Union County, then Long Island and Westchester traffic reports mean nothing to you. Traffic apps, which every commuter depends on, are universal, real-time and more reliable. Once in the car, every radio station has traffic reports, which are probably more reliable as well. Commuters who watch TV know that. Transit information might seem to be more relevant, but there are just as many apps for that. Also, the MTA’s own site, and all have real time information that are more comprehensive than TV traffic. While nobody has mentioned it, I’ll bet traffic and transit information were in the crawl, because it’s automated. And any major traffic event, such as the upper level of the GWB closed, an accident on the Helix, or A & D service suspended below 59th Street would likely be covered in the news blocks or by helicopter. From a business perspective, long term loss of traffic wouldn’t be a good idea, only because it would convey an idea of something missing or not caring. It’s window- dressing. But in terms of actual real time usefulness, technology has passed it by. Considering how many other things in television have changed, the way TV covers traffic hasn’t changed substantially in decades. I’ll bet most people who missed it (if any), only missed it because it’s a time reminder. Traffic is on, so it’s time to take my shower. Last, but certainly not least, is the fact that WCBS morning problems go far deeper than one day of traffic.

Thank you!

Is there any way to get rid of the floating Facebook and Twitter link buttons on the right side (iPad)? They’re very annoying, and all they do is open the same page in a new tab. Thank you.

I think calling NYC a lazy market is unfair. Anybody who has worked in that market knows the lazy do not survive, whether as an individual or a station. What IS true, is that the business and competition have changed. First, prime-access syndication brings in a lot of dollars. Even the non-King World shows bring in heavy revenue. New York is a news hungry market. Counting Westchester, New Jersey and Long Island, there are six daily newspapers, two all news radio stations and two 24-hour cable news operations. Those cable news channels are enormously popular. Just because you don’t see them on the Nielsen breakdowns doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Just try to find a New Yorker who doesn’t watch them, even if only occasionally. Then add the classic English language broadcast stations and the two Hispanic stations, which all have respectable audiences. And then there are the websites and apps. News hungry New Yorkers are already finding their news in those places throughout the day. And don’t forget: most stations are starting morning news at 4:30AM. Some have expanded midday news to an hour and are starting evening shows at 4:00PM. You didn’t see that 20 or 30 years ago. By 7:00, viewers are ready to move on. And, if they do want more, NY1 and News12 are there. That’s not a lazy news market. Name one other market in the country that produces that much product each day. But, perhaps more importantly, every station has down-sized significantly since the days of news after 6:00. Back then, stations had news staffs as much as 40% bigger than they are today. Many more people to produce less total product than you will find now. Today, stations barely have enough people to do what they’re doing. There are probably hundreds of posts in this website alone about being stretched so thin and doing more with less. Could stations hire more people to do more evening newscasts? Well, they could, but stations haven’t been in the staff-expansion mode anywhere, in years. And, as history has shown, prime-access newscasts against Wheel & Jeopardy tend not to be very successful or profitable. Those are just cold, hard business office realities. Stations aren’t printing profit dollars in the basement like they used to. Comparing news programming in 2018 to news programming in 1988 and thinking all things are equal, is off base.

1. Quite obviously the WNYW show at FNC was staffed by FNC technical personnel. 2. This is 2018. In New York every station, network, production house, independent studio, etc. is linked by fiber that can send/ receive any signal to/ from practically anywhere. (Google “The Switch New York”) Arranging to send a signal from any fiber equipped studio to practically any other U.S. location can be done in minutes. (International can also be done, but takes somewhat longer to arrange.) This is a very common everyday practice in New York, where pool feeds for media events are common, and distributed by fiber to/from every station and network every single day. By necessity, WNYW’s hub, wherever it is, would have to have fiber capability. Of course satellite to a hub is also possible, but from New York, fiber is actually easier. 3. It is a relatively simple procedure of putting a show on the air from a remote location, again, especially in New York. Let me put it this way: Let’s pretend WNYW negotiates to air a pre-season, non-network Giants game from [wherever]. WNYW does not send 65 technicians and three truckloads of equipment to [wherever] to produce the program. A third party company produces it and feeds the program in its entirety (minus commercials) to the WNYW hub for air. Fox producing the WNYW newscast and delivering it to WNYW’s hub and air is no different. As far as why a station has an alleged remote facility in New Jersey that is not airworthy or is not usable, you would have to ask them. But I would bet it’s a license requirement, because WWOR is licensed to New Jersey. And, while their license probably requires them to have the capability, there is probably nothing that says it has to be used.

I doubt it’s that easy, even if backup facilities are still in place. It’s doubtful WWOR has a technical staff at work, on standby, or even employed, who can run things for a live broadcast. If the WNYW staff has never worked in the WWOR building, they can’t just “drop-in” and put a show on the air. Ask any director or engineer how long it takes to learn a system in a different station. Who knows what kind of shape the rest of the technical plant is in. It’s doubtful any equipment for a full live newscast is current, updated, operational or even still in place. Saying you have a back-up facility across the river and actually being able to use it for a fully produced show (instead of a simple emergency broadcast), are two different things. The Fox studio was turn-key. But why they used Shep instead of their own talent is a different question.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the fiasco was a combination of the theories suggested in this thread. I tend to believe it was a massive internet failure. But I might also theorize that workers dealing with construction and abatement might have accidentally severed data lines running through the building. Few other things could explain an internet failure localized to one building. This should serve as a warning (but won’t) that absolute dependence on the web to facilitate day to day operations, without an alternative, is a recipe for disaster. I remember, when internet access became a normal part of station operations, that certain parts of the facility were kept as closed systems, without web connections. Editing, master control, traffic, etc. were not allowed direct web access. Servers were isolated. This wasn’t so much to protect against internet failure, as it was to prevent the introduction of viruses and malware. News, by necessity, had internet access. But I remember more than once when a virus shut down the primary system, forcing a painful switch to an ill-maintained back-up server. I appreciate the many advantages and progress of cloud system operations, and using the internet, instead of costly and sometimes obtuse closed or direct access systems. But the dependence on the web comes with a serious risk that station management minimizes. If the power goes out, most stations have generators. If a water mains break, bottled water can be brought in. But absolute reliance on the internet, with no back-up or alternative to serve your number one responsibility of putting product on the air, is a guarantee that exactly what happened, will happen.

Why?

They currently do not have a general manager or news director. I don't think it's likely they're "trying" anything. I think they're probably in a state of leaving everything where it is and keeping the engine running until someone is in charge.

WABC talent do not get car service. They haven’t since Disney bought ABC. The only exceptions are if they have to come in very early morning for special coverage of an event or if they’ve stayed late night for breaking news. In a couple of instances, talent have received threats that were taken as credible by ABC security and NYPD. In those cases talent got car service as a safety measure. There have also been a couple of cases where an injury or surgery made it difficult for talent to drive or take the train. In those cases a car service was also provided.

While Bill is Jewish, his wife is not. They celebrate Christmas for his young daughter.

Ritter has not anchored on Xmas since his youngest daughter was born five or six years ago. Early in his career he often missed holidays and celebrations with his kids because of work. He says he won't make that mistake with his youngest. The older kids are now grown.

Ben Sherwood has nothing to do with it. ABC News does not oversee or control WABC. The station is a division of the Disney Owned Station Group. ABC News is a completely different entity. They both answer to the same corporate executives in California who will have to sort the whole thing out.

So, three weeks before the show launches and anybody has seen it, you've decided you don't like it and won't watch it. Yeah. That makes sense. Oh, and punctuation is still relevant

Sports is expensive to cover. Access to game highlights is expensive, access to technical facilities at NY/NJ stadiums and arenas is expensive and the NY teams and leagues have their own channels and networks so they virtually spit on the locals. Add to that, the locals are barred from using any of it online. Local stations everywhere have been cutting back on Sports for years because it's a pain in the ass and a (local) money pit. Viewers who care can get what they want elsewhere. And despite the predictions of doom, no station has fallen off the Nielsen map because they cut back or eliminated Sports. NY1 has made a decision to concentrate on what their core viewers seem to turn to them for the most: Intense transit and commuter coverage; and hyper-local neighborhood and borough news that the broadcast locals can't/don't offer. NY1 has a very loyal and committed New York audience that doesn't place Sports high on their priority list. I don't know what Charter has in mind for its future, but don't assume the end of Sports is a death knell. It could be quite the opposite: A decision to concentrate on why the channel has been successful for so long.

Depending on their lease deal, one helicopter is probably their primary dedicated helicopter. The other is likely used by Shadow Traffic as a traffic helicopter, but is also a KXAS back-up chopper when the primary one has to re-fuel, is out for service, or covering multiple breaking news stories. There are similar deals in other large markets, although having both carry the TV station branding is unusual.

Volicon. If you're not familiar with it, ask your sales or traffic department.

I've found the watch live link (which is not location dependent) during newscasts to be especially wonky and temperamental on NBC O&O pages and apps. It doesn't always appear at news time. Sometimes it might not pop up until 5-15 minutes in. Sometimes it doesn't appear at all. Sometimes it's on the web page but not the app, or vice-versa. It's happened (or not happened) when I try to watch WNBC, KNBC, WMAQ, NBC Boston and WTVJ. Could be a cache problem, a scheduling glitch or pixies.

Nielsen stopped using paper diaries for TV in the top ten markets a decade ago and has been phasing them out elsewhere ever since. Dozens of markets are now paperless. They'll be completely dead next year. Perhaps WCVB is seeking to reinforce their identity since Boston has been pummeled by news about NBC Boston/WBTS and WHDH in the last year. They might feel there's nothing to lose and no cost involved in reminding people who they are watching. Or something else.

Tribune creates one big pool of capital money each year, then all 42 stations have to compete for a piece of it. Your new field cameras are competing against someone else's live truck or spot server. Priority goes to items needed to keep the station on the air and to air commercials. Everything else is a begging battle that goes on all year. Capital money for a set only goes high on the list if it is part of a building remodel or construction, such as L.A. or OKC. Otherwise, sets are given the same consideration as filing cabinets. If you got one 15 years ago and it hasn't fallen over yet, you don't need a new one.

WABC dealt with crew security concerns from the unions in the years right after 9/11. One of the agreements they came up with then, was that all Live shots after dark or before sunrise would require two photographers. That way, during the actual "live shot" one photographer could focus on being Live and the other could keep his eye on the surroundings. That eventually went away. And the question about whether to pursue charges isn't WABC's decision. It's the reporter's, since he was the one assaulted. Whether it happened on company time or not is irrelevant. It was an assault on him as a person. It's happened before and in the past WABC has supported whatever decision the employee makes, including making all company resources available.

Because it's not 1966. Somebody has probably figured out that everybody has a weather app on their phone and that people check it as part of a morning routine. A full three minute weather hit when people need to be moving toward the door isn't as relevant or useful as it used to be. Traffic, on the other hand is more fluid and isn't likely to be the same information people saw 10 or 45 minutes earlier. TV can't show every traffic problem everywhere, but saying there's a 30 minute back-up on the Schuykill, or construction on the turnpike is probably more useful information at getting-ready-to-go time in the here and now.

WGN America is not that big a hammer. It's lots of old reruns and tired movies with one or two original productions here and there. There isn't anything that can't be found on a dozen other rerun channels, and certainly nothing that anybody feels is a cable deal-maker or breaker.

There was a manhole fire adjacent to studio side of the building at the end of last week. It damaged some underground wiring and sent smoke and nasty fumes into the studio. Airing out, cleaning up, checking electronics probably takes a while.