Roadrunner

Correct, as per this Tribune article written in 2020 discussing his promotion to an Atlanta-based correspondent from MMR. Was also at WRNN during the FiOS days and then at WRDE before that.

I feel like we haven't mentioned the International Newsroom broadcasts (I haven't watched anything else yet) are basically still using the now-"old" graphics? Inconsistency continues to be the theme.

I'm not saying anyone's social media activity is a direct indication of where things would be headed but I mean.....I kinda saw this coming for a bit. So, I actually think he's found his niche.

Instead of Dokoupil, I should've invoked John Berman because that's clearly what they're trying to find without literally bringing back John Berman. I like them both as well but: 1) I'm sick and tired on Victor's behalf for being dragged around like a ragdoll by CNN. He's very underutilized on weekend mornings, but I don't want him to have to move back to New York again, and I don't want the program to have anchors in different studios. I just think he deserves to be in a place where he feels like he has stability. I'm surprised he's been this loyal with the network at this point. 2) ignore the original response where I kept reading "Erica" as "Abby" -- Erica needs a spot somewhere because why is she being treated as a floater like still... I was also thinking about slotting Audie Cornish permanently in a spot on CTM, though, besides being just a correspondent. We'll see.

Another one out the door as of this morning: Christine Romans Leaves CNN: ‘Early Start’ Anchor and Correspondent Exits. What a career. Early Start has totally been tossed aside for years. I wouldn't be surprised if Rahel Solomon got the appointment at the end of the replacement trials and hopefully it comes with some investment into the program. (But I somehow missed this - another CNBCer being poached by CNN - Kayla Tausche Joins CNN as White House Correspondent). The article also states Mattingly is one of the leading contenders to join Poppy at CTM. Funny how there was so little movement in CNN's White House department for a while and now it's poised to move around even faster. Anyways, I think I'm feeling kind of neutral on Phil at CTM. I'm ok with his reporting in general and I've seen him on CTM before...he's alright, I guess. I'm envisioning he'll end up being kind of like a Dokoupil if he gets that seat -- the suburban serious but also goofy dad type. Still not a ton of anchoring experience, but it doesn't seem to matter these days.

Really sad news out of Des Moines as of yesterday: Separate article written about it here: Des Moines meteorologist leaving KCCI after death threat, PTSD I remember watching Chris's climate change coverage when he was in Boston and thought about how much more local weather these days could actually use his type of coverage -- at the very least, more stations in the biggest markets could do the bare minimum. Alas, it's very depressing to see the hate take its toll and accomplish what it set out to do. Wishing him well.

KXAS (NBC 5)'s political reporter Julie Fine is heading to Bloomberg News to become the new chief of their Dallas-based Texas bureau. She begins on June 5. Fine has been with the station for 10 years and hosts the station's weekly Sunday morning program, Lone Star Politics.

I also wouldn't be surprised if the CNN Intl schedule gets increasingly cut and/or separated (as if it hasn't already been) Since Bianca Nobilo was moved to the 4AM ET hour to join Max on his Newsroom beat, her old program at the 5PM ET timeslot, The Global Brief, has now been made redundant (only Lynda Kinkade seemed to have been subbing in and it aired inconsistently). It wasn't that long ago (14 months) when CNN announced the launch of the latest edition of the program with Bianca.

Reported this morning - first announced casualty - This Is Life with Lisa Ling. CNN ending its deal with Part 2 Pictures means the 8-year program isn't coming back. The very brief Chasing Life with Sanjay Gupta likely isn't coming back either, since they come from the same production company. I'm really bearish on the rest of the shows, like Tucci's, as well to be honest. We'll probably get a lot more one-night political films like the Jimmy Carter one from last year or the Gabby Giffords one they have coming up -- obviously far less expensive than something like the long-form series. Speaking of departures, news broke yesterday that Laura Jarrett is headed for NBC -- joining Ryan Nobles there. It wasn't that long ago that it was CNN who was basically absorbing via osmosis, everybody from everywhere, but of course, that's not happening anymore. Means Christine's going to need another new co-host or she just does it solo from here on out since the program really hasn't been the same since it was trimmed to an hour during COVID. Truthfully, Early Start needs its own retooling because it's really pretty stale but then again, if budgets are this tight, they'll probably just let it stay that way anyways. And I just wanted to log this for the chronicle of the CNN soap opera itself. Quoting myself + subsequent replies about this new "face" of the network, this from their recent inside Town Hall meeting suggests that they are, indeed, considering something and someone totally new. God forbid they get another Piers-esque presence on the show, at worst. Whatever floats their boat -- I mean, pre-2016, Chris Wallace probably could've fit right in but now, he's just there on Sundays after being promised something special. Anyways, lastly, Chris Licht did an in-depth with Kara Swisher on her pod about all the changes he's made. TVNewser has some excerpts for some quick reading. Little memento: it says he "seemed surprised" at the thought of Shep Smith being considered as a face for primetime. More soul-searching ahead.

Given the competition they have at this hour(s), they're going to need someone with a strong presence (it's admittedly what the viewers at this hour want) unless they just boost CNN International hours and air lots of Newsroom. In my opinion, Jake just isn't the "face" of the network they must be seeking for primetime. Not really sure who or what could be that right now.

It did feel weird how things just happened today. Probably reveals a slight bit of the tension behind-the-scenes. Shep usually has a short 1-minute news segment in the middle of Closing Bell: Overtime at 4:30 and instead of that today, the anchor said "we have some news of our own today" and then just acknowledged that The News was being canceled. It was definitely spontaneous that the newscast was being cancelled for the day because they then replaced the hour with a documentary they filmed and debuted more than a year ago about the 2021 boom in retail trading. All the usual promos for The News was scrapped throughout the day. I don't expect much for Shep's departure either. I'm also a little curious about what will happen to the reporters they hired for the operation; hopefully their jobs aren't just toast like that as well. There's genuinely so much CNBC could do given the resources they already have. It's not like Bloomberg hasn't shown how they can distribute/air their worldwide programming. But, oh well...

Anyone correct me here, but I'm pretty sure SNL is why it's still what it is. They definitely command a premium on this 90-min block, considering the ads that show up, especially right after the A block. Ad revenue has never been more important in this economy.

[disclaimer, fully pessimistic views below] I've just been passively following along all of these developments from the network since they announced these changes, and I just feel kind of dead inside staring at what seems to be a limp fish. I'm just imaging that they're going to keep evolving and evolving and evolving their program lineups until it all spontaneously combusts or something. Alisyn Camerota and John Berman and the New Day format worked well, having built up all of that "goodwill" particularly during the 2016-2020 era, and there was never a need to break them up, and you could see that dissent from all the viewer reactions in their comments sections. Brianna always did best when she was given her own seat and platform, without a doubt. The 2021 changes really never made any sense to me. And of course, the guy who really spearheaded these changes isn't even there anymore. So here we are with another new morning program -- does Don Lemon really appeal to the center for a morning show, if they're supposedly trying to move away from their purported progressive reputation? OTOH, does Poppy Harlow really get any progressive-leaning viewer on the edge of their seats to hear her perspectives? Everyone wants to eat their cake and have it too in the morning business, but I can't be the only person who ultimately thinks that their former schedule had slightly more substance for the network to begin with. I'm just not sensing any clear direction here, because as the old adage goes, by trying to please everyone, they please no one.

I resonate with this sentiment very strongly. I still remember in 2016 when they really tried to hype up their new orchestral theme when Pelley was still there. The effort to freshen the newscast's theme felt very try-hard, but I also really liked the orchestral theme as a piece by itself, which they then hastily ditched in the original form as fast as they ditched Pelley (what a mess). [Reference video for the hype piece] Ah, nostalgia; companies are just like us, as indecisive as ever. And now we're back to where we basically started.

I actually really love the music -- yes, it does feel sort of TEGNA-y, for a lack of a better description. But it dovetails a lot with today's era of "modern-ness" and retains some of the quirky community feel that news stations want to add these days...kind of a la what Queen City News is doing, but better? (is this a dig? I don't even know anymore lol) The vibes of the particular clip from Owen might resonate better with the Minneapolis suburbs more than the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, but I feel like there could be some more variations that we'll hear and see soon anyways. As an aside, I think it's actually very surreal we may be moving on from Enforcer as the theme of a generic CBS O&O, if I'm understanding all of these developments correctly. It's all I've ever felt like I've known when it came to CBS. The new mnemonic launched in the past ~1+ year or so is nice, but Enforcer truly stood for itself and the test of time as well (but definitely not the reductive bastardizations of it that have been made in the last few years). Yeah, I'll be excited to see where this is going.

I just felt like stopping by and dropping some thoughts that have been on my mind -- The serious pain of seeing faces you sort of almost felt like you were friends with after watching the news as often as I did in 2020 (the pandemic has seriously warped my concept of time) and then to see them suddenly suffering from glioblastoma and get wrenched away from our presence has been absolutely heart-wrenching. I do not actually live in Atlanta or DC but I fell into a bit of a "local national" news-watching binge during the height of COVID and the unrest that happened later that summer, and Jovita Moore and Wendy Rieger were two of the few anchors that really stuck out to me from that time. They were so calm, composed, and very straightforward, but still had that unique delivery in their onscreen presence. There were moments that just resonate with me (among much reminiscing) - Jovita's absolute calm in the marathon evening session on the first night of Atlanta protests with Jorge or just delivering night after night amid the absolute frenzy of the Georgia elections. Also, Wendy delivering the 5PM in that position she's held for so many years solo at that very desk carried more meaning than ever. And to go through and recover from heart surgery all during that time in 2020; what a freakin' warrior. That very tender heart-to-heart conversation she had with Doreen post-retirement about the direction she wanted to pave for herself and how excited she was to embark on a new chapter was so meaningful because they knew each other for so long and recognized the significance of that moment in their careers and lives. They are simply two local legends (among many that have also tragically left us during this time) who were taken way, way too soon from us in such unforgiving and painful fashion, and that heartbreak is just exacerbated by the fact that this pandemic is still lingering on with us, continuing to warp our collective sense of societal reality. They will be sorely missed.

More hiring by NBC10 -- quite a robust spree they've got going Leah Uko and Brian Sheehan Join NBC10 News Team Uko starts on March 7 as a nightside reporter. She hails from Charleston, SC's WCIV and Fox 11 in LA before that. Sheehan was already at NBC10 but is joining full-time as a weeknight/weekend reporter, and hails from Harrisburg's WHP.

Update for anyone who might want to know as to where he is headed: he posted on socials that he'll be with NBC News as a Cleveland-based reporter.

Highlights: In notes from Stewart to station employees, he said “after 20 amazing years in this industry, I’m looking forward to pursuing an exciting new endeavor! Soon to be disclosed.” Stewart, through a spokesman, declined an interview request. McMahon said Stewart will depart at the end of the year, at which time group department heads will oversee the station until a new leader can be found. She said that “finding the next president and GM of CBS Philadelphia is a priority and we will keep you informed as the process moves forward.”

Thanks so much for clarifying, I get you now. Yeah a distinct anchoring team with Tracy would be interesting. I still don't think they'll do it because of just how much intermingling they do between the 3 of the afternoon/evening anchors, but you make a point. Yeah, Frances and Johnny still make for a better pairing, like Nydia and Gray on Sunday mornings.

Honestly, I'm shocked stations are even going (back) to dual-anchored weekends because I'm so used to the cost cutting and seeing one person run the thing. We all know what happened to Dray but I didn't think they'd put effort back into the weekend mornings after Stephania was left to anchor by herself those following years. Yeah, Rosemary could probably use a co-anchor too, but football tends to make it so that the schedule is generally unfriendly. Not sure if they're going to give her one. But who knows? It could easily be Frances to evenings and we'd all be wrong. And doesn't Tracy already have co-anchors? It was originally 4PM Tracy Jackie/5PM Tracy Jim...or did things change somewhere?

I was thinking the same and I'd love for them to be a pairing, especially because I think both of them do better with a co-anchor to bounce off of. They tend to feed off of their co-anchors' energies. Since they're both coming from Miami, they also know each other somewhat well, so there's not as much of a learning curve either.

Great news for Karen Hua, but the other woman she was posted with in the NBC10 press release is much bigger news (and maybe a slight shock tbh). Frances Wang is a pretty big social media presence for a news anchor/reporter and she's really fully embraced every community she's worked in (Miami, where she is now, and Sacramento, where she was before). So this is a pretty big splash, and maybe there's something they have in store for her in the pipeline. Overall, nice to see new AAPI newsies join the station after Denise was unceremoniously "cut off," if you will, during COVID last year.

NY1. Page Six (not the best of sources, but anyways) suggests her exit was not amicable.

Contrary to their relatively stable morning team, their evening teams have been a carousel btwn the anchors they have at their disposal. I'm sure Shawn will definitely step in and she's been with the station for a year now, so there's really no issues of chemistry or adjustment. I don't think Eun will leave her morning post, but they'll probably rotate Erika in whenever they need a fill-in as well.