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Roadrunner

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Everything posted by Roadrunner

  1. Wow ok yikes. This and the Out & About post gaffe about retransmission conflicts were mine. I apologize for the untimely/misplaced posts.
  2. Add Sunbeam to the list of ___ vs Dish this week. It's bound to be ugly.
  3. I also liked the combination and it'll probably be done, though I feel they'll want to keep him holding down the weekends. I'm feeling Irika's sub could be more like musical chairs since they really don't have that many anchors at their disposal. I was reading about this on the other thread and thought about how imminent this could be soon as well, and yeah, the hire could be made in anticipation of this happening. Long distance of anything is never easy. Would be sad if Mary Kay left though as that's another "familiar face" leaving CBS 2.
  4. Congrats to Irika Sargent, who is pregnant! But this means her maternity leave will be imminent in the coming weeks/months. Given their cuts to their lineup, I'm assuming Brad would either solo the whole time (probably won't be a good move, in reference to comment above) or maybe have Suzanne (or other) fill-in for Irika? But adding that to her weekend morning shift might be a bit too weird on her schedule unless someone else takes it. When Audrina and Ryan were gone a couple of weeks ago, they had Yasmeen and Chris Tye fill-in during the mornings, and Mugo filled in for Audrina once before as well, but I don't think Yasmeen or Mugo would be moved from weekday mornings for the short time. Given how swift CBS 2 can upend any of their "teams" for what seems like any reason, though, I wouldn't be surprised to see some jarring shift. In other news, CBS 2 is also hiring a per-diem/freelance meteorologist after laying off Megan Glaros two months ago. Maybe they'll reduce their usage of Tim McGill?
  5. Kudos to Keke for speaking up about her role, and also trying to dispel any rumors about her fate with ABC; this finally stops speculations surrounding whatever SSK/GMA3 would become for the time being.
  6. Like what's happened in other outlets/newsrooms elsewhere in recent weeks, there seems to be a growing uproar against management at Fox 29; in this case, it's been described as "toxic, super-white, and Trump-apologizing." Some background: 1) https://www.phillymag.com/news/2020/07/13/ken-rothweiler-fox-29-firing-black-lives-matter/ https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2020/7/14/gone-in-philly-for-being-pro-blm July 13: Former Fox 29 Legal Analyst Ken Rothweiler, who had been at the station since 2009, alleged news director Jim Driscoll reprimanded and later fired him for being "too pro-BLM"/"too anti-cop" on his social media. Driscoll is alleged to have surveil Rothweiler's comments more closely in recent years. The tension reportedly erupted after Rothweiler sent an email to former colleagues discussing the nature of his firing, after which a fiery back-and-forth ensued. 2) https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2020/7/17/philly-we-have-a-problem July 17: An update from the previous development -- Rothweiler reportedly sent a letter to GM Dennis Bianchi with legal concerns after hearing stories of similar experiences. 3) https://www.phillymag.com/news/2020/07/21/fox-29-philadelphia-fox-news-conservative/ July 21: The Philly Mag 'exposé,' if you will, of the station was published, written by Ernest Owens. Former on-air talent (specifically a male anchor from 2013-2016; I think I know who, but won't name him if he's not named here) claimed management was "extremely white, conservative, and everything wrong you would expect from such leadership overseeing news coverage in a diverse city." Some of the incidents listed include the Lauren Johnson n-word incident, the infamous Burlington incident, and microaggressions such as when Sheinelle Jones "[sounded] 'too proud' when saying President Obama’s name on-air." Additionally, Driscoll reportedly put his "right-wing slant" on Trump-related headlines posted on the website for the station's stories and on social media. My thoughts? If anything, the allegations make the station sound like a tumultuous place to be working at, and even if you might have agreed/sided with management's reported opinions/proclivities, it still sounds a lot like walking on eggshells. Owens acknowledges that the station has more diversity in its on-air talent overall, but the conclusions are that the management seems to be the root of the problem. Driscoll has been with FTS since 2001 when it acquired WWOR and joined WTXF in 2012, the same year Bianchi joined as GM from WCAU. Rothweiler has threatened to possibly sue (allegedly, as reported in the first FTVLive link) but in the end, will any of this make an impact at Fox 29/raise eyebrows at FTS?
  7. NBC 10 Boston (WBTS)'s Ally Donnelly has been laid off (making her the second high-profile departure from the station since Lipof's). She joined NECN in 1999 and became an investigative reporter at WBTS upon its launch.
  8. WFOR with another exit: David Sutta. Sutta's been with the station since 2007 and likely left to increase his commitment to his photography and film work (per LinkedIn activity). That leaves Jim DeFede as the only 'investigator' on the team from even as recent as 2015. It seems like WFOR continues to struggle (and the management doesn't seem to be super fun either CC: Michele / Rudabeh); anyone out there in SoFlo who can really speak to any gains made by any of the English-language news stations? (besides WSVN's "infamous" style of news) Other CBS-related news: WBZ's ND Johnny Green, who joined the station in 2015, is moving on to lead CBS Newspath. WBZ's very middle-of-the-pack and I'm not sure if a new ND could make any inroads. Chris and Katie's laying off were totally mistakes.
  9. Given how swift they change up anchor lineups and roles, I wouldn't be surprised one bit. Also, you're probably right about not caring as much about ratings because in the end, they can continue to rake in more ad money with more newscasts.
  10. (mutters) someone tell WFLD to put Sally's bio on their website... The newscast replaces a continuation of TMZ/TMZ Live. So what are the chances they're able to take a chomp out of their 4PM competitors - WGN, WLS, WMAQ? Anyway, in their current condition, it feels a bit like offering your loyal viewers more chances to watch you instead of really trying to win others over.
  11. Some new developments in Phoenix, AZ. Last week, on July 8, Scripps' KASW (CW) became the second transmission source for the ATSC 3.0 signal. The station will host the signal for KSAZ (Fox 10 / O&O) as well for its initial launch. Earlier reports last October sort of mentioned KNXV (Scripps' ABC 15; probably just discussed because of their shared ownership) in the developments, but the launch is set to eventually happen for the whole market. After Portland, OR's full launch following July sweeps, six more markets are slated to launch in August, and another five after November sweeps. These are all contingent on operations not being too derailed by COVID.
  12. No real good Cox thread to put this in, but Cox has renewed affiliations with the following CBS affiliates today: WHIO (Dayton) KIRO (Seattle) KYMA (Yuma) KVIQ (Eureka) WJAX (Jacksonville) via Hoffman
  13. I also stumbled upon this a few weeks ago, but I was thinking that, since Mike officially joined in June 2019, this posting should largely reflect the departure of Rob Nelson, right? I feel a little bad for Mike not being appointed into any solidified anchor position yet, but anyway, I just thought of Phil Lipof at seeing the listing and I sort of feel an NY homecoming could be in store by the end of 2020. (and his posts here and there giving shout outs to WABC friends and the comments he replies to about NY all must surely be part of his publicity campaign, so to speak???)
  14. An update per the little discussion about the weather team: Leslie Lopez will be working again beginning this upcoming Monday, but from home. I'm assuming Brianna will be moved back to traffic, and Alex moved back to morning GA.
  15. KING 5 host of "New Day Northwest" and NBC News (incl. Today, Dateline) veteran Margaret Larson is retiring after a 35-year career in broadcast news. Her last day is July 30. https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/margaret-larson-announces-retirement-from-king-5/281-adb19b4b-aa9b-4484-b597-8c6948765c9b
  16. They started out with masks like the one below back in April: KABC has also had on-air branded masks for quite some time.
  17. I don't think Ernie's departure was portrayed as a grand retirement and some rumors out there even characterize it as a "being pushed out" kind of a thing, so I don't think it made news at any stations. Also, he was moved around at WNYW kind of often and had several different co-anchors, so it just didn't feel as if there was a lot of love lost there to the average viewer (as opposed to other solidified anchor duos in the market).
  18. Wow thanks for the comments, @bogusabc7breakingnews. Also sorry for the font difference; after I copied Phillip's quote, I hadn't realize the font had changed with it. Re (1) -- I looked up ABC7 Solutions and realized I had seen some of their stories and didn't even realize it was their new segment. Much of it has been geared towards job hunting and hiring advice recently, which makes a lot of sense for the current times we're in, but I didn't think that would be billed as ABC7 Solutions. One thing I've noticed that seems to be missing is a consumer / investigative reporter at KABC (like "7 On Your Side" or an "I-Team" like at other sisters such as WLS, KGO, WABC, etc.) and I'm used to watching those segments, so I guess that's what felt like that missing void. But thanks again for filling me in on the segments they're making. Phillip and Jovana make a good pair and I just want their potential to be fully realized, even if the midday slot is not much when compared to the other time slots. And yeah, Jovana filling in for 4PM makes for kind of a long day; I know Coleen was anchoring the 3PM but I haven't caught it lately to see if she's still there. In the end, if any of the station's anchors do leave, I'd be sad because all of them have pretty good presence and reasonable chemistry with each other, which seals the deal for me for a visual medium. Re (2) -- The more that I think about it, the more that I have made it up in my mind that Danny is the likely successor to Dallas, because I'm pretty sure that's the more natural transition (he's also doing some afternoon traffic reports). Jonathan is pretty underutilized, in my opinion, at KABC; but I will admit that ever since I saw clips of him in The Bachelorette when he was a contestant, it's all I can see and then I can't take his weather segments seriously anymore lol but he's fine overall. Kimi has been pretty active on social media so I don't think she's gone for good any time soon, but Alex has recently been filling in for her on weekend mornings, so his weather presence is certainly growing over time. I totally understand the notion of rethinking the concept of TV weather reports, but loyal viewers and keyboard warriors alike would probably wage a war if KABC nuked everyone on that team. TV continues to inch forward ever so slowly in innovating new models of delivering (weather) information, so....we'll just have to wait and see. Yeah, so the weekday morning team is officially Brandi/Leslie (anchors), Leslie L. (weather), and Brianna (traffic). It seems like things haven't been the same on the traffic end since Alysha left KABC but then again, traffic anchors at KCBS and KNBC (...who was Alysha lol) have both been laid off, so it seems like traffic is just mere crumbs at this point. When you compare traffic reports on WLS or WABC with that of KABC, the LA report seems far too simplified for a metropolis so dependent on traffic. Also, you mentioned KTTV would be last in the market in your rankings; I know this isn't the KTTV thread, but speaking of LA mornings, how would you envision changing up GDLA?
  19. A bit of discussion to revive this thread a bit here. ABC7 has been relatively stable throughout the tumultuous LA market during the pandemic (looking at you KCBS/KCAL), so they've really got that going for them. But overall, I just wanted to pitch some questions. Phillip joined Jovana to "lead a new initiative at ABC7 seeking real solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing Southern California" (his quote). But, obviously, the year hasn't gone off the way many have wanted it to, so the headlines have since been taken over by COVID-19 and recently, protests over racial injustice. Were there any initiatives that Phillip and Jovana had actually began working on to..."re-tool" the mid-day newscast, so to speak? Or just bring to the station's programming, in general? Someone else mentioned KGO's "Building a Better Bay Area" theme as a possible foundation and I thought of that too, for KABC to start its own "thing," but I don't think I've really seen such a "thing" so far throughout its newscasts (I will admit I could have missed it, but why would an initiative be subtle?). I will give KABC the benefit of the doubt, since the pandemic has wreaked havoc across the board, but in the end, it does looks a bit right now like Phillip was simply pushed out of the morning newscast and plopped down somewhere where not as many eyeballs were tuning in. No shade against Brandi and Leslie, though, because I do like them overall, but I'm just curious about where this is headed. This one's gonna stink to high heaven when the moment comes. But Dallas Raines isn't getting any younger, even though he continues to be pretty well-preserved and his personality still resonates with a lot. But this past year, he had a bit of a medical leave. And I'm not trying to harp on Dallas for having back surgery, because David just had knee replacement recently and Michelle had neck problems as well, and medical leaves happen throughout anyways. But overall, what do we know/think about the line of succession for the chief meteorologist at KABC once Dallas retires? The current weathercasters at the station are: Alex Cheney (GA and fill-in, most recently doing weekday mornings traffic and mostly weekday midday weather), Brianna Ruffalo (traffic anchor and fill-in, most recently doing weekday mornings weather for Leslie), Leslie Lopez (weekday mornings currently on maternity leave), Kimi Evans (weekend mornings), Danny Romero (weekend evenings), and Jonathan Novack (fill-in). None of them really have the level of pizzazz Dallas brings to LA weather forecasts, so who's next and how will all of them move up after Dallas leaves? It seems Danny could be the one for the role, but could they actually go for younger? Or hire from outside and re-shape their weather team? It would really muddy the waters at the station, but...nothing's predictable these days.
  20. CBSN and CBS Weekend News Saturday anchor Reena Ninan has quietly left CBS as of June 2020 (per FTVLive, her Twitter bio, and her LinkedIn). "Quietly" because I don't recall seeing any news made of it and her appearances had been dialed way down, of course, due to COVID's (and CBS's) slaughtering of CBSN in general and we won't really know if she bounced or if she was cut. CBS Weekend News will probably be anchored from DC/LA for the long-haul if they're willing to have designated talent leave. Lana Zak had been brought on as a CBSN anchor earlier this year in January, so it seems she (could?) be likely successor for all of Reena's roles.
  21. 4 stations in Salt Lake City have deployed ATSC 3.0 today. Sinclair's KUTV (CBS) and KJZZ (Ind.) and Nexstar's KTVX (ABC) and KUCW (CW) began broadcasting with NextGen TV today. Also, this article talks about the progress of ATSC 3.0 deployment so far during the pandemic.
  22. Word seems to be that Fox is starting its trimming this month, with developments happening over time instead of like CBS massacre-style. Not related to July, but I found the ones below who have exited just in the past few days. Marcel Clarke, weeknight anchor at KTBC, no longer has any mention of Fox 7 in her bios and her bio's also missing from the website. Her LinkedIn confirms the departure. Paul Wagner, 20-year veteran reporter at WTTG, signed off last night. He made it a point (in the video with Mayor Bowser) that he wasn't actually retiring and was looking at different options. Not sure if this has been mentioned, but Brooke Zauner also joined WAGA in early-June.
  23. Well, say it ain't so! FTVLive posted this: Katie Kim, weekend morning anchor and weekday reporter, is leaving soon. Robert Feder has also affirmed this, adding that her last day is August 16. Katie is moving back to SoCal to be closer to family. There are open spots in LA, such as at KABC, so....who knows what might happen?
  24. Adding to this, Jamie Yuccas was the anchor for both days. Other LA-based correspondents at the bureau are Mireya Villarreal and Carter Evans. If it goes back to Washington and Major is off, I speculate one of the White House correspondents (Weijia Jiang, Paula Reid, and Ben Tracy) could also take over...? We'll see. Honestly if there isn't a way for CBS to reorganize its Broadcast Center for social distancing and optimization with the ongoing pandemic, we may never see a "normal" CBS Weekend or CBSN broadcast on the regular for at least the rest of the year. This isn't to say that they all have to originate from New York since things are still getting done from elsewhere, but it will be interesting to if/how they evolve their work model as the year progresses.
  25. Developments in Washington, D.C. and Portland, OR: WJLA, WTTG to Trial 3.0 Advanced Emergency Alerting in D.C. - It's an 8-week trial of ATSC 3.0 emergency capabilities. No start date determined yet. The trial will be held through 4 two-week blocks, with each block progressing in implementation of content. KPDX, KPTV Portland To Offer NextGen TV With Triveni Digital
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