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The Definitive ABC 7 Thread


24994J

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It's on his personal page.

 

I will say, and many of you will disagree, but I find no point in blaming Cheryl for this. Stupid management, maybe an overagressive agent for Ms. Scott, but you can't fault her in this decision. I also wouldn't be shocked if this move is SOMEWHAT mutual. Perhaps he saw the writing on the wall, and maybe he's getting a buyout. I could guarantee you that he'd rather stay, but things don't always work out that way. Hopefully both sides handled this with more class than in the Sylvia Perez dismissal, but it's unfortunately as much of a surprise as that case, too. I'm sure we'll find out more in the next week or two. Either way, though, it's a big loss that will only hit harder once Jerry steps down.

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Today was my last day with ABC7. The powers that be have decided to take the weather department in a direction that no longer includes me. It has been a thrill for me to be on tv in the area in which I grew up. I look forward to carving out a new chapter in my professional life, and with the support of friends and my wonderful family, I am confident wonderful challenges and opportunities lay ahead.

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Today was my last day with ABC7. The powers that be have decided to take the weather department in a direction that no longer includes me. It has been a thrill for me to be on tv in the area in which I grew up. I look forward to carving out a new chapter in my professional life, and with the support of friends and my wonderful family, I am confident wonderful challenges and opportunities lay ahead.

 

What an awful decision by 7. I really liked Mike and I am sure he will land somewhere. I wonder what the different direction will be? I know we have Cheryl but how different can you really go with the weather?
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Sad to see him get the boot after so many years. Very personable on air and I've been watching his forecasts since I was a kid. Channel 7 bosses have been making some pretty boneheaded moves lately. Hopefully will see him on another station in Chicago soon.

 

I wonder if their ratings take any kind of a hit at 4 considering how long he has been there on that show?
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PS I hate it when they don't give a longtime on air personality the ability to sign off diplomatically one last time. I can understand if they are leaving to join a rival station--think Diann Burns--I get it, but in a case like this or with Sylvia Perez, they should have given Mike Caplan the ability to say goodbye and thank you to the loyal viewers.

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That's unfortunate.

 

What an awful decision by 7. I really liked Mike and I am sure he will land somewhere. I wonder what the different direction will be? I know we have Cheryl but how different can you really go with the weather?

 

Well it said "The powers that be have decided to take the weather department in a direction that no longer includes me." So he isn't saying they are taking the weather segments in a different way, he is basically saying they decided that they don't want him anymore.
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PS I hate it when they don't give a longtime on air personality the ability to sign off diplomatically one last time. I can understand if they are leaving to join a rival station--think Diann Burns--I get it, but in a case like this or with Sylvia Perez, they should have given Mike Caplan the ability to say goodbye and thank you to the loyal viewers.

Cutthroat industry that isn't forgiving... But still... Maybe they are afraid of an angry tirade against management? When management is flattered with a talent they quietly disappear usually. That may be an outdated model in an era where information gets out so easy.

 

@behindNYnews:

I was trying to get at wondering what the reason they didn't like him was? Maybe he scored poorly in research.

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I think the 4 is in good shape so long as Linda is there. It survived Joel's retirement, it survived Jerry's exit, it'll survive Mike.

 

On a personal note, I had the pleasure of meeting Mike when I went to the station in July, and he was great. Unfortunately, since a move like this was kind of expected, I'm not feeling hit as hard by this exit. And remember, the weekday personnel line-up at this station went UNTOUCHED (outside of Sylvia's exit coinciding with a cancellation) for almost 11 years. It wasn't going to last forever. I do think some chemistry will be lost in the on-air product, but the station has a fantastic track record in building chemistry. Of course, there are going to be people that stop watching because Mike's gone, but for every person that leaves, someone else might not have been a Caplan fan, and might come back. Besides, those that stop watching seem to forget that old habits die hard.

 

I'll be interested to see what Feder has in the morning.

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I think the 4 is in good shape so long as Linda is there. It survived Joel's retirement, it survived Jerry's exit, it'll survive Mike.

 

On a personal note, I had the pleasure of meeting Mike when I went to the station in July, and he was great. Unfortunately, since a move like this was kind of expected, I'm not feeling hit as hard by this exit. And remember, the weekday personnel line-up at this station went UNTOUCHED (outside of Sylvia's exit coinciding with a cancellation) for almost 11 years. It wasn't going to last forever. I do think some chemistry will be lost in the on-air product, but the station has a fantastic track record in building chemistry. Of course, there are going to be people that stop watching because Mike's gone, but for every person that leaves, someone else might not have been a Caplan fan, and might come back. Besides, those that stop watching seem to forget that old habits die hard.

Do we have an idea who slides into his spot? I would guess Cheryl but wanted to bounce that off you guys.
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Here's a thought, and I would like 24994J to chime in, what if they put Jerry on the 4pm and take him off the 10pm and put Cheryl at 10pm. Then Jerry gets better hours and as he begins the process to retire, this will probably a plus for him.

 

That of course is a more complicated move, the easy move would to just add Cheryl or Phil to the 4pm broadcast. If they don't want to loose Phil too, maybe they put him on the 4pm and eventually Cheryl takes the rest of the evenings.

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Here's a thought, and I would like 24994J to chime in, what if they put Jerry on the 4pm and take him off the 10pm and put Cheryl at 10pm. Then Jerry gets better hours and as he begins the process to retire, this will probably a plus for him. This is of course a more complicated move, the easy move would to just add Cheryl or Phil to the 4pm broadcast.

It would certainly lead to her doing the 7 and 10 and Jerry at 4, 5 and 6. It's much more linear if nothing else.
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Installing Phil wouldn't make much sense right now, as he might catch some of the blame for Mike's dismissal. I could theoretically see a world where Phil moves to weeknights, but not until after Jerry retires. Cheryl does seem like the likely candidate, for sure, but I have to admit, your Jerry idea is rather brilliant.

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What's next for Mike? I would think that he's gonna be a chief somewhere. It seems that Chicago is pretty saturated right now, so I assume he's gonna be moving to another market. Pretty much the only play he could have in Chicago is trying to become Steve Baskerville's eventual replacement, but I just don't see WBBM picking him up at this juncture. Oh well. I'm gonna miss you, Mike.

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WBBM also has Ed Curran to fill the seasoned veteran quota, and two others that (I guess) could ably move into the lead role.

 

WFLD is a last resort, but Strehl and Souza are just as deserving of a lead role should it open.

 

WMAQ pretty much declared their intentions with Byron Miranda.

 

Skilling.

 

For some reason, I always thought Mike could be a good radio host, but, like television, openings are hard to come by. He does have his photography business to fall back on, and he is pretty good, but the question is would he be willing to step away from the weather full-time.

 

Looking back, I don't recall the leadership at the station in the mid-90's, but I wonder if it was unwise for them to hire 3 youngsters, not realizing the potential struggle years later, and not anticipating Jerry working another 20 years. Perhaps hiring a veteran for weekends way back when could have led to a vacancy a decade or so ago, instead of leaving 3 seasoned pros with very few options in this market, due to their price and age? If the station will keep them, I'd imagine Tracy and Phil would love to maintain their positions.

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I thought the goal was to have Demetrius eventually take over for Skilling, especially considering that as long as Tom's health holds up, he'll probably keep doing his job until he no longer can. By that point, Demetrius should be seasoned enough to take over, especially if Tom keeps working for another 5-10 years.

 

If WFLD was my only option, I'd be on the next flight out of town.

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Is Demetrius willing to wait, though? Frankly, I know it could be career suicide for the bosses, but I can't help but feel like something personnel-wise is going to go down soon on WGN Morning News, but that's for another thread.

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WBBM also has Ed Curran to fill the seasoned veteran quota, and two others that (I guess) could ably move into the lead role.

 

WFLD is a last resort, but Strehl and Souza are just as deserving of a lead role should it open.

 

WMAQ pretty much declared their intentions with Byron Miranda.

 

Skilling.

 

For some reason, I always thought Mike could be a good radio host, but, like television, openings are hard to come by. He does have his photography business to fall back on, and he is pretty good, but the question is would he be willing to step away from the weather full-time.

 

Looking back, I don't recall the leadership at the station in the mid-90's, but I wonder if it was unwise for them to hire 3 youngsters, not realizing the potential struggle years later, and not anticipating Jerry working another 20 years. Perhaps hiring a veteran for weekends way back when could have led to a vacancy a decade or so ago, instead of leaving 3 seasoned pros with very few options in this market, due to their price and age? If the station will keep them, I'd imagine Tracy and Phil would love to maintain their positions.

Caplan began his broadcast career in 1981 at WWDV in Zion.

 

CRM did a good write-up tonight and it talks about some of his background:

http://chicagoradioandmedia.com/news/7127-abc-7-releases-meteorologist-mike-caplan

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I thought the goal was to have Demetrius eventually take over for Skilling, especially considering that as long as Tom's health holds up, he'll probably keep doing his job until he no longer can. By that point, Demetrius should be seasoned enough to take over, especially if Tom keeps working for another 5-10 years.

 

If WFLD was my only option, I'd be on the next flight out of town.

 

I think it's a toss up between WGN and WFLD. Jim Ramsey probably should hang it up and if he does, I could see Mike fitting in very well there. The management/environment at WFLD is very unpredictable, so I dont think that's the ideal place to go, but you never know.

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