Jump to content

The Channel 6 Action News Thread


Jess

Recommended Posts

This is the thread to discuss Delaware Valley's Leading News Program.

 

...but in reality I just started it because I needed somewhere to put this:

 

Action-News-10_26_2013-02.ts_.Still001-300x168.jpg

 

Yes, that is Cecily Tynan preparing to throw a long bomb at Jeff Skversky, who is at the big board for High School Huddle. He caught it - cue high fiving.

 

Why on earth would I have recorded the rebroadcast?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

 

Since it's been a few months since Rob Jennings retired from Action News, does anyone here have any thoughts on who should (or might) be his successor on weekend evenings? My guess is either Rick Williams or Walter Perez.

 

Why would Rick Williams would be on the weekends, and he's like the top contender for Jim Gardner's spot once he leaves?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The next 6 and 11pm open will go thusly:

 

Action News. Delaware Valley's Leading News Program. With Jeff Skversky, meteorologist Melissa Magee, AND WALTER PEREZ.

 

Simply put, it's his desk now. I know I said Brian Taff a few weeks ago, and I do truly think he's better than the 4pm news. But Perez has done a remarkable job - he's just slipped effortlessly into that role. There's a reason they haven't been rotating various talent in and out - it has to be Perez now. It's more than just the usual Action News policy of "move up the next guy" - he's more than proven himself in that chair.

 

As for Rick Williams getting weekends... they would have to be complete and utter morons to do that. Which they aren't. First off, as CircleSeven said, he's the lead substitute for Jim Gardner and the natural successor if anything happens to Gardner. Second, you would be breaking up one of the best anchor pairings this market has ever had. He's great solo, but fantastic with Monica Malpass to play off of. They've been successful for over two decades together.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All that said - is it me or is there trouble with the 4?

 

10 has chosen that newscast as the one to mount its strongest attack. For the better part of the year, they've run full 22-minute news blocks to start the broadcast, and they now squeeze Ellen's credits to tease and start the newscast. 6 seems to be making panic moves such as shortening the open and downplaying the cutesy elements. And now, apparently, they do a newsbrief at 3pm, a three minute update that cuts into the beginning of Katie. Katie cannot be that much of an albatross for them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

All that said - is it me or is there trouble with the 4?

 

10 has chosen that newscast as the one to mount its strongest attack. For the better part of the year, they've run full 22-minute news blocks to start the broadcast, and they now squeeze Ellen's credits to tease and start the newscast. 6 seems to be making panic moves such as shortening the open and downplaying the cutesy elements. And now, apparently, they do a newsbrief at 3pm, a three minute update that cuts into the beginning of Katie. Katie cannot be that much of an albatross for them.

 

10's 4 and 11 seem to be their hardest newscasts and it's not outlandish to say the 4 is the harder of the two esp in that 22 min A block. I get to watch the two 4PM shows side by side and you can almost literally see the shots being fired back and forth across City Line Av.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Walter Perez is the ideal person to anchor the 6 and 11 on weekends. It carries the mold of Rob Jennings of being a good anchor, reliable substitute and most importantly, a great reporter.

 

As for putting Rick or Brian there, I don't see that happening. In the event that Gardner is no longer in the 6 and 11, it will be the most bittersweet newscast in Philly TV News history as he's been the face of WPVI for over 37 years. In my opinion, Even though I don't think this would happen in the Philly market, but it would be nice if they had Rick and Monica at 5 and 11, and Brian and Shirleen at 4 and 6.

 

Lastly, hasn't Rick and Monica been on the 5 for 10 years now?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not only have they been on the 5 for longer than ten years now, they were together in the morning for god knows how long before that.

 

I kind of wish Lisa Thomas-Laury hadn't gotten ill, I think she would be a great replacement for when Jim retires.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I believe they celebrated 20 years as an on-air pairing in the last year or so. They both started around the same time - Monica as the anchor of the 6:30 Action News, Rick as a reporter - but they were first paired in 1992 when Action News Mornings went to 6am to compete with KYW-3's News Day.

 

And let's not forget that period in 03-04 when they were anchoring both Action News Mornings and the Early Edition Of Action News. Really, you can't get much more committed than that.

 

 

Not only have they been on the 5 for longer than ten years now, they were together in the morning for god knows how long before that.

 

I kind of wish Lisa Thomas-Laury hadn't gotten ill, I think she would be a great replacement for when Jim retires.

 

I wish Lisa didn't get ill either, she is a true pro, but in a way it worked out. Like I said, 6 tends to move the next person up when there's a vacancy. If Lisa had stayed, logic would have meant that one of them (probably Rick) would have moved to the 5pm, with the other one staying on the morning shift.

 

I find it kind of funny that the topic of replacing Jim Gardner keeps coming up. First off, "replacement" is absolutely the wrong word to use here. Bill Ritter really said it best: "You don't replace a legend. You succeed him." And he should know - he succeeded Bill Beutel (and has done pretty well himself). There won't be a replacement for Jim Gardner. There will be a successor.

 

Secondly, let's be honest here. Barring any calamity, Jim Gardner is going to be doing the 6 and 11 well into his seventies. He hasn't declined; if anything he's better now than he was twenty years ago, which is remarkable. He's not going anywhere anytime soon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also, double posting, but this is something I just realized and wanted to say about Lisa Thomas-Laury.

 

She has a rare disease called POEMS, but part of her condition is called neuropathy. It's damage to the nerves outside of the brain and central nervous system. It is painful. I know this because my father has neuropathy as well. There are days when he can just about walk. It's something he has to deal with every single day, and it takes a toll.

 

If Lisa was able to return full-time to Action News, she would have done so. Even if it was something limited like doing the noon news. That her appearances remain sporadic really speaks to the extent of the disease.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I believe they celebrated 20 years as an on-air pairing in the last year or so. They both started around the same time - Monica as the anchor of the 6:30 Action News, Rick as a reporter - but they were first paired in 1992 when Action News Mornings went to 6am to compete with KYW-3's News Day.

 

And let's not forget that period in 03-04 when they were anchoring both Action News Mornings and the Early Edition Of Action News. Really, you can't get much more committed than that.

 

 

I wish Lisa didn't get ill either, she is a true pro, but in a way it worked out. Like I said, 6 tends to move the next person up when there's a vacancy. If Lisa had stayed, logic would have meant that one of them (probably Rick) would have moved to the 5pm, with the other one staying on the morning shift.

 

I find it kind of funny that the topic of replacing Jim Gardner keeps coming up. First off, "replacement" is absolutely the wrong word to use here. Bill Ritter really said it best: "You don't replace a legend. You succeed him." And he should know - he succeeded Bill Beutel (and has done pretty well himself). There won't be a replacement for Jim Gardner. There will be a successor.

 

Secondly, let's be honest here. Barring any calamity, Jim Gardner is going to be doing the 6 and 11 well into his seventies. He hasn't declined; if anything he's better now than he was twenty years ago, which is remarkable. He's not going anywhere anytime soon.

A few quick notes.

 

Rob Jennings was the leading contender to replace Marc Howard but that all changed when Lisa got sick.

 

Jim may have not declined, but neither was Rob, and look where he is now.

 

Lastly, while Walter is okay on weekend evenings, I think he'd be better with a co-anchor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

A few quick notes.

 

Rob Jennings was the leading contender to replace Marc Howard but that all changed when Lisa got sick.

 

Jim may have not declined, but neither was Rob, and look where he is now.

 

Lastly, while Walter is okay on weekend evenings, I think he'd be better with a co-anchor.

 

Okay, maybe I'm way off, and I didn't find anything online, but I always thought Rob was a number of years older than Jim...or are you implying that Rob was forced out?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I keep remembering contemporary media reports that slated that Rick or Monica was being considered for Marc Howard's spot. I'll go and do some googling about it though.

 

Rob was a couple of years older than Jim - at or near 70 I believe. And yes, in 2002 he was still near the top of his game - but he definitely lost a step by 2012.

 

That said, if Rob's retirement wasn't entirely his choice, I wouldn't be surprised. Remember we still have the across-the-board Disney cutbacks. Rob's salary had to be up there. It's really hard to figure out what gets cut and what stays, because Jim Gardner has to be making seven figures easy.

 

(This also brings to mind the CBS cuts a few years back. The Mendte/Lane shenanigans had to be a blessing in disguise for KYW. You lose the huge salaries they had with minimal blowback, and you have Chris May and Susan Barnett waiting in the wings. Plus Marc Howard had already retired.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As to Rob, I was not implying that he was forced out. You made the comment that Jim hasn't declined over time. I assume you were referring to his presentation. Jim is 65. I was simply stating that I believe Rob is in his upper 60s (youngest kid is a senior in college) and that he hadn't declined in his presentation either (despite the fact that you think he has in 2012), but chose to retire despite still having his A game. So it is possible that Jim could decide to retire too for the sake of enjoying retirement, even though he still has his A game.

 

As to Marc's replacement, Rick and Monica were both in the mix to replace his as was Rob. I believe they didn't want to break up Rick and Monica, so towards the end, the feeling was that Rob was the leading choice, especially since he was already the primary fill-in for 5,6, and 11, and also had more seniority. I remember reading something at the time, I believe perhaps written by Laura Nachman, but can't find it now.

 

Lastly, it is laughable that they would ever consider Rick or Brian for the weekend. That would clearly be a demotion!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I believe they celebrated 20 years as an on-air pairing in the last year or so. They both started around the same time - Monica as the anchor of the 6:30 Action News, Rick as a reporter - but they were first paired in 1992 when Action News Mornings went to 6am to compete with KYW-3's News Day.

 

And let's not forget that period in 03-04 when they were anchoring both Action News Mornings and the Early Edition Of Action News. Really, you can't get much more committed than that.

 

 

I wish Lisa didn't get ill either, she is a true pro, but in a way it worked out. Like I said, 6 tends to move the next person up when there's a vacancy. If Lisa had stayed, logic would have meant that one of them (probably Rick) would have moved to the 5pm, with the other one staying on the morning shift.

 

I find it kind of funny that the topic of replacing Jim Gardner keeps coming up. First off, "replacement" is absolutely the wrong word to use here. Bill Ritter really said it best: "You don't replace a legend. You succeed him." And he should know - he succeeded Bill Beutel (and has done pretty well himself). There won't be a replacement for Jim Gardner. There will be a successor.

 

Secondly, let's be honest here. Barring any calamity, Jim Gardner is going to be doing the 6 and 11 well into his seventies. He hasn't declined; if anything he's better now than he was twenty years ago, which is remarkable. He's not going anywhere anytime soon.

 

Yeah, I was second guessing myself when I was typing "replacement." I couldn't think of another word, though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Eva Pilgrim tweeted last week some pics from a promo shoot done in the middle of the week with Nydia Han & Chris Sowers

 

https://twitter.com/EvaPilgrim/statuses/401097088584646656

https://twitter.com/EvaPilgrim/statuses/401015374852153344

 

So I take that as a sign that those 3 are soon gonna be the official weekend morning team, which pretty much means Perez is weekend nights. Eva BTW when hired was said to be fired for weekend anchoring. Since they knew Rob was gonna be retiring, I think its safe to say the position was Perez's to lose from the start.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Well, I think we can call it.

 

"I'm Rick Williams, Walter Perez is off tonight".

 

Perez was also in on thanksgiving, which I also thought was significant because they had Brian Taff doing the earlier newscasts. That also means he's been put into the rotation of people who'd fill in for Jim.

 

So congratulations, Walter. You've really earned it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I had to chuckle at the line the there was "minimal blowback" at CBS3. In November CBS3 is dead last in all news time periods and keeps dropping. We are in 6th place at 6. Chris May, a nice guy, was never and will never be able to hold the ratings that Mendte got when he came over from Ten. We are panicked at the station right now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I had to chuckle at the line the there was "minimal blowback" at CBS3. In November CBS3 is dead last in all news time periods and keeps dropping. We are in 6th place at 6. Chris May, a nice guy, was never and will never be able to hold the ratings that Mendte got when he came over from Ten. We are panicked at the station right now.

 

Really? 6th Place at 6 o'clock..wow

 

I was wondering how KYW/CBS3 did in the November book, as I don't live in the Philly area anymore. I guess the new team of Dean/May isn't catching on

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Really? 6th Place at 6 o'clock..wow

 

I was wondering how KYW/CBS3 did in the November book, as I don't live in the Philly area anymore. I guess the new team of Dean/May isn't catching on

 

that's stunning to me. CBS 3 is really in trouble.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using TVNewsTalk you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.