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The Definitive ABC 7 Thread


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OFFICIAL: Cheryl Scott and Jerry Taft will trade the 7 and 10pm newscasts August 1st. Taft recently signed a 1-year contract extension, and maintains he's not retiring. I'm a little surprised they didn't give him back the 5, as it's a shorter broadcast, he'd be out the door even earlier each night, and it would keep the bromance with Giangreco alive. Note: Jerry is still billed as chief.

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I just roll my eyes to this. Nothing surprises me anymore with WLS, especially when it comes to Cheryl Scott because she's the princess around there.

 

She's up against:

 

Skilling: 38 years at WGN

Miller: 25 years at WMAQ

Baskerville: 29 years at WBBM

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Skilling Miller and Baskerville deliver a way better forecasr. WLS is making a huge mistake they'll pay for it in the ratings. Bill Bellis at WFLD is wayy better than Cheryl Scott,so is Strehl and Souza and god whoever made the decision to let Caplan go for her should be fired

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Hell with WLS making dumb moves like this. WGN having a snore fest at 10pm. WBBM I cant even explain(they should go back to Rob being solo)

WMAQ is going to be a solid number one. And things can go downhill for WLS they better be careful.

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My Question is, are they the ones who decided on it, or did Taft just decide to scale back his work? Obviously they have to give Scott the experience in front of everyone so when Taft retires, everyone would've gotten used to Cheryl by then.

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Everyone's acting appalled and surprised but is this not what we've been expecting for a while now?

It's not that I'm surprised that it happened, I'm just disappointed that this is what television news has come to. Like seriously? Promoting someone because she's good looking for ratings? She should EARN her way up by accuracy and not tight dresses.

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Everyone's acting appalled and surprised but is this not what we've been expecting for a while now?

Thank you. We all knew this was coming. Does it stink a little? Yes, but Jerry's still employed. If they really wanted him out, he'd be gone (there's precedent). I'd also have a bigger problem with this if Jerry was still at the top of his game. I didnt think I would, but I've warmed up to Scott more than anyone here. Why? It's their station, not mine, so I learned to accept it, and her delivery has improved in her 19 months at 7, though nobody wants to admit it. There's no question that this likely isn't a good decision, but the vast majority of the changes made in the last few years have been positive, though nobody wants to admit it.

  • The return to Eyewitness News could use a better theme, but we all lived to see the next day.
  • The station unveiled a new studio, and found ways to better utilize the space.
  • A solid bench of anchors have been introduced for the future, while only one was sacrificed. For a station that was mostly unscathed by the recession, the aging roster should consider itself very lucky.
  • After canceling the midday newscast in favor of locally-produced programming, they reinstated it.
  • While another local program was canceled, it returned at a more frequent pace than initially expected.
  • Hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars were invested in a real deal radar system.
  • Speaking of talent, the station's lead anchor was given a send-off for the ages, replaced by a guy who's paid his dues and deserved the promotion.

But yes, let's only dwell on Cheryl Scott.

 

Ultimately, I think of it like this; she is more than competent and capable in the day to day role, and if bad weather comes, she is surrounded by a very good team to help deliver the message. Besides, if you don't like this, then you're REALLY not gonna like what I think is coming after Jerry retires, but I'll keep that theory to myself.

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This gradual elevation of Scott over the past 2 yrs. has been a disaster. From the start, WLS should have just officially named her Jerry's successor and after a 2-4 year period, he would retire and she takes over. Period. End of story. Ratings/viewers be damn.

 

If they were not 1000% behind her, then she shouldn't have been hired in the 1st place. The current situation doesn't help her at all and if I were her agent, I would be coming up with an exit plan ASAP.

 

So what happens next yr.? They take the 6 away from Jerry too and he's left with 7? I'm tired of those silly joint pr releases, Facebook post, etc... too. Scott- 'Jerry's Great!!'.. Taft- 'I love Cheryl'. It's all a bunch of nonsense.

 

It shouldn't be Jerry's job to continue to sell viewers on her. Baby bird needs to fly on her own.

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before cheryl came across town wasn't there a rumor to bump off brant for her?

I want to say that was her camp's goal, and she left when it was made clear that wasn't going to happen anytime soon, if ever.

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If this does happen WLS will be tge next WBBM because i cant not stand Cheryl Scott. Things can do a 360 really quickly. I remember WBBM use to be a player in the 10pm race acouplr years ago they eent from secong to last very quickly. And to top it all off Ron is gone from WLS i think will see their ratings slip very soon

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why would ratings slip if Ron is gone there is Alan who has paid his dues and is a descendant of Rons style's if they did massacre style changes at 190 then i would see ratings slip and 190 did this change as a gradual process regarding jerry and cheryl scott if they did a forced change onto the viewers i would see the ratings slip and pickets outside 190 and jerry is probably gonna retire soon

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why would ratings slip if Ron is gone there is Alan who has paid his dues and is a descendant of Rons style's if they did massacre style changes at 190 then i would see ratings slip and 190 did this change as a gradual process regarding jerry and cheryl scott if they did a forced change onto the viewers i would see the ratings slip and pickets outside 190 and jerry is probably gonna retire soon

 

WLS has been able to hang on to their #1 spot despite the lost of Ron. As previously mentioned (in this thread & in others), WMAQ is thisclose to overtaking them at 10P and is #1 in some key demos over WLS, among others, in nearly every other newscast.

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I don't see WCL going anywhere. It still does respectable ratings against the 3 newscasts, a consistent 2nd place in some demos. Really, there are 5 options for the 1pm hour...

  1. Rachael Ray moves back to the slot, and RTM goes to overnights.
  2. RTM airs a double run.
  3. RTM and Millionaire are paired together.
  4. Unlikely, WCL moves to 1, though I don't know where the other shows fall.
  5. The completely nuts idea, Eyewitness News and RTM in the 1 o'clock hour. (Perhaps fronted by Linda Yu and a semi-retiring Jerry Taft?)

After that last one, I realize I need to stop drinking this early.

Hey, can I get points for this? I'll even take half credit.

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Dude looks right at home with David Letterman and Jon Sterwart.

An awesome home.

No kidding. On one of his final shows (either the last 5 or penultimate 10), Giangreco advised him to not go full Letterman. Apparently Ron didn't listen.

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No kidding. On one of his final shows (either the last 5 or penultimate 10), Giangreco advised him to not go full Letterman. Apparently Ron didn't listen.

 

No, Letterman's was even larger, and it made him unrecognizable. I didn't even know it was him, at first glance.

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