Tim Lake out after 20 years at WCAU

[ElliotJones 52]

They didn't even give him an on-air goodbye, because, y'know, that's how you treat an employee of 20 years.

 

 

Veteran NBC10 anchor Tim Lake worked his last shift at the station Friday night, though you wouldn't have known it had you seen the 11 p.m. newscast.

Lake, whose contract was not renewed, sources tell us, made no reference to leaving the station, where he had worked for 20 years.

News Director Anzio Williams emailed staff around 11:55 Friday night to say "I would like to thank Tim Lake for his many years of service as a reporter and anchor at NBC10. Today was Tim's last day. We wish him well in the future. A search for a new anchor is underway."

We're told Lake knew for several months that his contract was not being renewed by the station, but that Williams' announcement blindsided most of his colleagues.

Sources say they expect management to do more housecleaning of on-air talent, in addition to recent firings of writers, producers and other off-air staffers.

Lake had co-anchored the 6 and 11 p.m. news with Renee Chenault-Fattah for 11 years.

Reached at home Sunday, Lake declined comment. An NBC10 spokeswoman did not immediately return our request for comment Sunday.

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillygossip/Anchor-Tim-Lake-is-out-at-NBC10-Station-did-not-renew-his-contract.html#ixzz2EaF93DcH

 

Emphasis mine. Thought Comcast did away with the whole "doing more with less" mentality that GE had instilled there.

 

Sidenote: is their 7pm newscast still a thing? Last two times I checked, they were airing Out of the Vault.

[24994J 5269]

That's just cold. It really makes one wonder if it's even worth getting into the business anymore.

[ProButtonPusher 230]

Thought Comcast did away with the whole "doing more with less" mentality that GE had instilled there.

I'm positive that's still the case. Comcast (or possibly WCAU's brand-new news director) saw Tim as a problem and wants to change the line-up a little bit. Often times when there's a news management change they come in with their vision for things, which means that they fire a bunch of producers -- and sometimes talent -- and hire people of their own. I do believe he should have been given a proper sign-off, but this could have been a case where negotiations for a renewal fell apart too late.

[Jess 1110]

I'm surprised, but for some reason not shocked.

 

I always got the feeling Tim got the anchor job because he was basically the default. Remember, he was suing the station at that point because they demoted him from his 5pm weekday shift to the weekend duties. He settled, regained the 5pm, and got the prime spot after Mendte left - because they couldn't pick anyone else.

 

It took him forever to gel with the overall newscast tone, and when he eventually did, it was because GE's draconian cutbacks robbed the station of any punch it once had. This is not a knock on his anchoring skills - they were fine - but when he fit the newscast they were deep in third place, where they still remain. In fact, when you think about it the fact that this anchor team remained intact for 11 years, throughout all of NBC's upheaval, is downright miraculous.

 

Anyway, some quote replies:

 

Emphasis mine. Thought Comcast did away with the whole "doing more with less" mentality that GE had instilled there.

Whatever 10's management mentality is these days, I can assure you that it is pretty much the polar opposite of "more with less".

 

On most mornings and afternoons, they have a metric ton of live reports. Their 11pm often has more live reports than the other stations, including 6 - hell, their 11AM news has more live reporters than the other stations have at 11pm. They clearly want to have as much of their trucks going as they possibly can. Also, they're regaining their own chopper after a long absence, and they've pretty much bailed on LNS.

 

When there's breaking news, 10 is almost always the first to break in and the last to leave. The Paulsboro incident last Friday was a classic example. 10 was in coverage for more or less the entire morning, breaking in and out of the Today show. You could literally see the network and the station fighting to see who was going to get the airtime. (10 won - they just doubleboxed it for the first segment of the 10am hour and then went back to local.) Almost all fluff content is gone - they're almost all hard news now.

 

I'm positive that's still the case. Comcast (or possibly WCAU's brand-new news director) saw Tim as a problem and wants to change the line-up a little bit. Often times when there's a news management change they come in with their vision for things, which means that they fire a bunch of producers -- and sometimes talent -- and hire people of their own. I do believe he should have been given a proper sign-off, but this could have been a case where negotiations for a renewal fell apart too late.

I can probably tell you with 100% certainty that this decision came from Anzio Williams - and I don't work at the station. Since he's come in, the newscast has gotten much harder and much more agressive. 10 used to have a distinct female focus, to the point where it was on the newsroom walls. That's gone now - the mantra seems to be breaking news and giving stories as much coverage as they can. His fingerprints are very much on their newscasts.

 

They've also been trying different talent in different areas. Vai Sikahema has been in and out of the anchor chair, for instance - and he'll probably figure in whatever revamped news team they feature when this all shakes out. Tracy Davidson was anchoring/reporting from the field for the first time in YEARS last week with Paulsboro. Traffic girl Jillian Mele frequently fills in as anchor and pops in on the sports side as well.

 

So yeah, in the end I think it comes down to what you said - the new regime wants to bring in some of its own people, and they have every right to do so. In fact, objectively speaking, Lake hasn't moved the numbers, and he never seems to have caught on with the viewers. Certainly he hasn't resonated with them in the way that either Chris and Susan at CBS 3 or The New Generation Of 6ABC Superstars® have. The one thing I'm worrying about is if he does a complete housekeeping. "Blowing up the station" is a very tricky maneuver, and it can result in a true station revival (you can make a case that CBS 3 pulled it off not just once but twice), or a Fox O&O. 10 has some really awesome talent there, and I'd hate to see most of them go in a sweep. (At least keep Renee and Glenn.)

 

Oh, and one more thing - If Tim Lake doesn't resurface at 4th and Market, I'll be in total shock. In fact, I wonder if those discussions have been going on already.

[Jess 1110]

Emphasis mine. Thought Comcast did away with the whole "doing more with less" mentality that GE had instilled there.

I'm revisiting this because there's breaking news this afternoon (a fire in a warehouse used to store Mummers' props - for those not in Philly, these are big, shiny, fancy costumes and floats that are very flashy and very flammable, so it's a four-alarmer. WPVI and WCAU led their 4pm newscasts with this story.

 

Here's how the stations handled coverage:

 

WPVI's 4pm newscast had:

• A two minute live report with David Henry
  

WCAU's 4pm newscast:

• A live report with Cydney Long
  
• Another live report with Luann Cahn
  
• A long interview with a spokesman for the Fralinger String Band, whose warehouse is on fire, and reporting that it looks like a "total loss"
  
• Another long interview with part-time staffer Steve Highsmith, also at the scene, who has hosted the Mummers parade on PHL 17 for nearly two decades, who provides context to the story.
  
• BACK to Luann Cahn for a follow-up
  

6 spent two minutes on the story. 10 spent ten minutes, not including a follow-up prior to their first break. Oh, and they had two more live reports after that, and a tag-team weather hit. And they went 22 minutes before their first break - 6 was on its third by then.

 

Now, on some level I am comparing apples to oranges. Action News at 4pm is a light, features-based broadcast. It's usually light on reporters. NBC 10 goes with hard news at 4. But the difference is striking - and typical. On the 5pm so far, 6 has used three live reporters - 10 is on their fifth. And they added a third to the fire scene.

 

So yeah, like I said... whatever the strategy is, it has to be the opposite of "more with less".

[ThunderJay27 27]

That was a pretty cold way to go out as a Broadcast Pioneer Hall of Famer. I remember him reporting on politics and other subjects and always thought of him as a solid veteran reporter. So now that he's out, a few questions are raised.

 

Who would we be seeing as temp anchor until they find a permanent one?

 

Would they look at someone with more local/Philly ties or bring in someone from the outside?

 

Who would anyone like to see as main co-anchor or who should they be looking at to fill this spot?

[WCAUTVNBC10 408]

That was a pretty cold way to go out as a Broadcast Pioneer Hall of Famer. I remember him reporting on politics and other subjects and always thought of him as a solid veteran reporter. So now that he's out, a few questions are raised.

 

Who would we be seeing as temp anchor until they find a permanent one?

 

Would they look at someone with more local/Philly ties or bring in someone from the outside?

 

Who would anyone like to see as main co-anchor or who should they be looking at to fill this spot?

Renee has been soloing the 6 and 11 the last couple nights. Vai has taken Tim's spot at 5.

 

As far as who I would want as a replacement, I think it would be pretty cool if they brought Dave Huddleston in but I don't see him as being in the direction they'd go. His delivery doesn't exactly scream out urgent. I do think they may go with a younger person that can grow with the station, not unlike what 3 did with Alycia Lane (hopefully without a similar endgame).

[Jess 1110]

And as if on cue, Comcast 10 has a new image promo out.

 

It's basically 30 seconds showing virtually every reporter they have doing live reports and asking/hounding people with questions. Not a single anchor is featured - it's just their reporters. It really is the first thing I've seen that gets across what these newscasts are - extremely heavy on live reporting and investigations. You usually are more likely to get reports trying to explain the context behind a story, and you're more likely to get pieces examining City Hall and political corruption than on the other three stations. That's why Tim Lake departing isn't, at least right now, a big hurt for them - because the reporters, not the anchors, are the stars.

 

I'd say that's why I'm "turning to 10", but I'm actually using another station's mantra to describe what I think of that station. Yeah, I really do think that NBC 10 is legitimately Delaware Valley's Leading News Program.

[emmi_18 33]

Renee has been soloing the 6 and 11 the last couple nights. Vai has taken Tim's spot at 5.

 

I'm currently not living in Philly right now so I was browsing through the NBC10 Website and their sports stories and realized how the content there is a mix of NBC 10 Sports Dept and Comcast SportsNet... then that got me thinking how if they decide to elevate Vai to the 5 PM Newscast and make John Clark their sports director that getting a second sports anchor would not be a big issue as they can dip into the Comcast SportsNet talent pool. Then again, I'm not familiar with how CSN operates.

 

As for Tim's departure, it's sad that it was just an abrupt end and after 20 years with the station, he did not get a proper farewell (not even a mention...). But I always saw him as a solid anchor... never saw him rise to the heights of Gardner, Kane, Mendte (before his mess happened) to name a few.

 

As for his successor... not sure about the new guys there (I'd be surprised if they do get the promotion)... it would be interesting to see how they go forth with this... a complete new "A"-team or just a replacement for Tim...

[24994J 5269]

The axe fell again today, as Dawn Timmeney received her walking papers...

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/anchor-dawn-timmeney-out-at-philadelphias-wcau_b73793

[TVNewsLover 727]

The axe fell again today, as Dawn Timmeney received her walking papers...

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/anchor-dawn-timmeney-out-at-philadelphias-wcau_b73793

Was just going to put up a new post for this, but you beat me to it by posting it in the Time Lake discussion.

 

A few thoughts:

-Tim Lake and Dawn Timmeney would make a great 5pm anchor team over at CBS3 (while Chris and Susan could continue to anchor the 6pm, 10pm, & 11pm).

-With all these recent people being let go, could 10 be thinking of cancelling its 4pm newscast and shuffling its lineup? Could see the following happening:

11am: Access Hollywood Live

12noon: NBC 10 News Midday

1pm: Days of our Lives

2pm: Jeff Probst

3pm: Steve Harvey

4pm: Ellen

5pm: Vai/Tracy

6&11pm: Renee/NewGuy

 

Thoughts?

[WCAUTVNBC10 408]

Was just going to put up a new post for this, but you beat me to it by posting it in the Time Lake discussion.

 

A few thoughts:

-Tim Lake and Dawn Timmeney would make a great 5pm anchor team over at CBS3 (while Chris and Susan could continue to anchor the 6pm, 10pm, & 11pm).

-With all these recent people being let go, could 10 be thinking of cancelling its 4pm newscast and shuffling its lineup? Could see the following happening:

11am: Access Hollywood Live

12noon: NBC 10 News Midday

1pm: Days of our Lives

2pm: Jeff Probst

3pm: Steve Harvey

4pm: Ellen

5pm: Vai/Tracy

6&11pm: Renee/NewGuy

 

Thoughts?

No. They're not cutting newscasts. The new management is just making moves to put their own people in. It happens all the time in any business.

 

I could see Tim and/or Dawn going to 29 if anything if only cause their old boss is over there now.

[ElliotJones 52]

So yeah, like I said... whatever the strategy is, it has to be the opposite of "more with less".

That's...not what I meant with that, but good analysis none the less! I'm talking about the consistant half-assing of evvvverryyythiiinnnggg and a complete lack of consistancy. That's a management issue, not a production one.

[TexasTVNews 1366]

Any idea who'll succeed Tim Lake at 5, 6 & 11pm?

[WCAUTVNBC10 408]

Any idea who'll succeed Tim Lake at 5, 6 & 11pm?

They are looking both internally and (mostly)externally.

[TVNewsLover 727]

Jim Watkins perhaps?

[TVNewsLover 727]

Any news on Tim or Dawn's replacements? Are they looking for two males to replace them and create the traditional male-female teams? What's Vai's status? Is he still sports or is he still in the running for a main anchor position? In the meantime, poor Renee and Tracy are working a lot of extra hours!

[Samantha 2876]

The WCAU-WPVI comparison was interesting. I think it says a lot about a station's approach to news whenever a station covers a major breaking news event.

 

Also, Elliot, glitches like that scare me. If you don't change your avatar, it'll keep scaring me. Thanks.