24994J 5269 Posted August 11, 2014 Author Share Posted August 11, 2014 So, the first promos for the 4pm news are out, and my prediction has been confirmed. 'WGN Evening News' is returning, as the 2-hour span is being promoted as one. What's interesting though, is that, despite being only 4 weeks out from the launch, no formal anchor team has been announced. With the 2 hours been one broadcast, it's almost a lock that the Suppelsa/Duarte(/Materre) team will fill the void, but the only face to the franchise is Skilling. He is the only talent in the commercial. It seems kind of odd. Oh, and still no word about the 10am and 3pm slots. Never mind. 'Celebrity Name Game' will air at 10 and 10:30am, in addition to another half hour at 10pm. [yt]Vxiu9IffDMU[/yt] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24994J 5269 Posted August 19, 2014 Author Share Posted August 19, 2014 Well, damn. WGN's really blowing things up ahead of the new 4pm news on September 8th. Suppelsa and Materre to anchor at 4, 5, and 9pm. McElroy moves away from the anchor desk and focuses solely on traffic for the morning show. Duarte shifts to the 4-6am slot, becomes Baumgarten's main fill-in. 4-6am traffic reporter Sarah Jindra moves to the evening newscast. http://chicagoradioandmedia.com/home/root/news/6780-wgn-tv-newscast-changes-more-hours-anchors-change-shifts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ED2 144 Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 Is this a demotion for Erin McElroy, or did she ask for the move? Also why not have Duarte/Ponce anchor 4-7, and Larry/Robin anchor 7-10, instead of the uneven shift that's currently in place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WXmanTim 88 Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 Question: for years, Skilling did both the noon and 9 pm, even after the morning show premiered in the early/mid 90s. Is he still pulling that long shift or does the morning met do the 2 hour midday show? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24994J 5269 Posted August 19, 2014 Author Share Posted August 19, 2014 Is this a demotion for Erin McElroy, or did she ask for the move? Also why not have Duarte/Ponce anchor 4-7, and Larry/Robin anchor 7-10, instead of the uneven shift that's currently in place? I'm guessing that it has something to do with the recent engagement. And as for the shifts, I'm guessing that WGN would get thumped by ABC 7 before 7am if the B-team early team went the first three hours. Question: for years, Skilling did both the noon and 9 pm, even after the morning show premiered in the early/mid 90s. Is he still pulling that long shift or does the morning met do the 2 hour midday show? Skilling will be pulling 4 on-air hours with the expansion. He first shows up at 11:55 on the midday show (the CLTV meteorologist does weather before 11:30, but is not credited), and is off the air by 9:45pm. He used to sit at the desk to close the night, but that's a VERY rare occurrence these days. Jim Ramsey pulls the same schedule when he fills in, though I have seen Ivory pop on the midday show if Skilling is delayed. Honestly, his star is rising, and I wouldn't be shocked if something like that becomes permanent within a few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.L. Hughes 746 Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 Skilling will be pulling 4 on-air hours with the expansion. He first shows up at 11:55 on the midday show (the CLTV meteorologist does weather before 11:30, but is not credited), and is off the air by 9:45pm. He used to sit at the desk to close the night, but that's a VERY rare occurrence these days. Jim Ramsey pulls the same schedule when he fills in, though I have seen Ivory pop on the midday show if Skilling is delayed. Honestly, his star is rising, and I wouldn't be shocked if something like that becomes permanent within a few years. The fact that Skilling works such a long shift on a regular basis is quite interesting (given that you're more likely to see chief meteorologists work a 10-hour shift during severe weather events, although I do assume he has a shift break at some point in the workday), especially considering he's now in his 60s (and the fact his regular sub Jim Ramsey is somewhat older). I will be interesting who will take over the midday news slot when Tom ever decides to cut back his shift. Given he is under contract until 2022, I wouldn't be surprised if he reduces his duties to the 9:00 p.m. newscast towards the end of the deal if he wanted to scale back (a la Dick Goddard at WJW). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase 818 Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Is this a demotion for Erin McElroy, or did she ask for the move? Also why not have Duarte/Ponce anchor 4-7, and Larry/Robin anchor 7-10, instead of the uneven shift that's currently in place? I would consider these moves a demotion for both McElroy and Duarte. I'm surprised they moved so fast to get McElroy out of the anchor chair. I would have given the boot to Ponce as well. Maybe Duarte can help strengthen the AM show, but you have to wonder if she will be willing to stick around long term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Rubber 609 Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 Materre on the 4-6pm show, too? Sorry, not a fan. Something about her demeanor I just can't stand; especially noticeable when she's curt while she's talking to Skilling after the weather segments. I wish Duarte had the top spot instead. At any rate, I wonder who the primary female fill-in is gonna be now that Duarte is going to mornings. Guess I'll just stick with ABC 7 from 4 pm to 5:30 pm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbs2worksforyou 35 Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 "Materre on the 4-6pm show, too? Sorry, not a fan. Something about her demeanor I just can't stand; especially noticeable when she's curt while she's talking to Skilling after the weather segments." Agreed. She is channel 9's Kathy Brock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24994J 5269 Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share Posted August 22, 2014 Kathy Brock > Micah Materre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ns8401 846 Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 Kathy Brock > Micah Materre To be honest both are kind of lifeless, but Kathy more than Micah. Kathy reads the prompter better though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24994J 5269 Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share Posted August 22, 2014 See, I've always likened Micah to Cheryl Burton. They both do better on lighter news, and always seem awkward and borderline childish during times of banter with ANYBODY. Somebody like Kathy may lack some personality, but she's a damn good anchor, and knows how to loosen up around the right people...traits we wouldn't complain about if she was a man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ns8401 846 Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 See, I've always likened Micah to Cheryl Burton. They both do better on lighter news, and always seem awkward and borderline childish during times of banter with ANYBODY. Somebody like Kathy may lack some personality, but she's a damn good anchor, and knows how to loosen up around the right people...traits I have trouble seeing her or Alan as anything but wooden. But this "we wouldn't complain about if she was a man" stuff is kind of uncalled for. I don't really care if it was a man or a woman. As I said in the previous sentence, Alan has many of the same problems, only he has it worse. The only other people I cringe at there are Teresa Gutierrez, Paul Meincke and Evelyn Holmes all for varying reasons. But every large station is like that. Not everyone likes everyone everywhere, their gender is totally irrelevent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24994J 5269 Posted August 23, 2014 Author Share Posted August 23, 2014 I have trouble seeing her or Alan as anything but wooden. But this "we wouldn't complain about if she was a man" stuff is kind of uncalled for. I don't really care if it was a man or a woman. As I said in the previous sentence, Alan has many of the same problems, only he has it worse. The only other people I cringe at there are Teresa Gutierrez, Paul Meincke and Evelyn Holmes all for varying reasons. But every large station is like that. Not everyone likes everyone everywhere, their gender is totally irrelevent. I didn't mean "we" as in like you and me. That wasn't an indictment against anyone here. Sorry. The point I was getting at was that society nowadays has a certain image in their mind of what a female anchor is; warm, charismatic, bubbly, (if a little airheaded,) etc. If a female has a more straightforward delivery, it's considered a little unusual, and it's easy to confuse straightforward and no-nonsense with cold and stiff. As for Alan, all I'll say is, while his delivery may be a little bland (he's at his best/loosest with Mike Caplan and Mark Giangreco), you've never filmed a promo with him. :lol: The guy has a WICKED sense of humor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ns8401 846 Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 I didn't mean "we" as in like you and me. That wasn't an indictment against anyone here. Sorry. The point I was getting at was that society nowadays has a certain image in their mind of what a female anchor is; warm, charismatic, bubbly, (if a little airheaded,) etc. If a female has a more straightforward delivery, it's considered a little unusual, and it's easy to confuse straightforward and no-nonsense with cold and stiff. As for Alan, all I'll say is, while his delivery may be a little bland (he's at his best/loosest with Mike Caplan and Mark Giangreco), you've never filmed a promo with him. :lol: The guy has a WICKED sense of humor. Ok I see where you were going now. No offense taken. He does loosen up with them (I wish he would even more elsewhere too), I've always thought he was a nice guy though and I've heard nothing but good things about him. Keep in mind I didn't start coming around Chicago till about this time in 2008, so my original standard was what I saw at WXYZ, which was pretty good but not the same. That was all before I actually got really interested in the business. So while I know a lot more now my perspective is still a little shaped by that. ABC7 had to grow on me a bit and there was some adjustment to do on my part to their style. But I warmed up to it and now that I'm back in Detroit, I watch both stations (TV tuners really are nice gadgets). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Rubber 609 Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 I honestly never noticed the problem with Cheryl or Kathy. I know other people have talked about it in the past, but I have never really noticed anything that rubs me the wrong way about them. Sure, they may be "awkward" in conversation by some people's expectations, but it's what I'd expect, especially with the "hard news" format of ABC 7. Micah, on the other hand, sometimes comes off as downright rude on-the-air with Skilling. I don't know if she means it or not, but when Tom's going on about his "interesting facts" after the weather segment, Micah's facial expression and tone of voice seems to be saying, "Ugh, will this guy please just stop talking so we can move on?" She seems to be visually annoyed with Tom's weather nerdiness, and it comes off as a quite unpleseant exchange in the eyes of me as a viewer. If that's not what Micah's thinking, I apolozise, but I'm just saying what it seems like to me as a viewer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase 818 Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Micah is a straightforward, no nonsense type of person which is why they moved her off the AM shift and thus advanced her ascent to primary female anchor. I don't watch 'GN enough to gauge her everyday demeanor toward Tom (or anyone else), but she blew her top one morning when Bill Weir was trying to joke around with her. She was not having it. That said, she has always been that way since the beginning. Cheryl and Kathy are like sisters in a sense. One is the favorite/pretty one (Kathy) and the other is the ugly/unpopular one (Cheryl). To this day, I don't know what Cheryl has done to get the cold shoulder which I think makes her uncomfortable at times. Kathy can do no wrong and thus is at ease and it shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A3N 996 Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Micah is a straightforward, no nonsense type of person which is why they moved her off the AM shift and thus advanced her ascent to primary female anchor. I don't watch 'GN enough to gauge her everyday demeanor toward Tom (or anyone else), but she blew her top one morning when Bill Weir was trying to joke around with her. She was not having it. That said, she has always been that way since the beginning. Cheryl and Kathy are like sisters in a sense. One is the favorite/pretty one (Kathy) and the other is the ugly/unpopular one (Cheryl). To this day, I don't know what Cheryl has done to get the cold shoulder which I think makes her uncomfortable at times. Kathy can do no wrong and thus is at ease and it shows. I do remember Micah being a bit more loose when she was on the noon news. That being said, she comes across as very condescending on air. I always had the feeling that she was gunning for Allison's spot on the 9pm news. Whenever she would fill in, she seemed to take over. Too bad things ended the way they did with Allison, she, Steve, Dan and Tom made a great team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Rubber 609 Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Demetrius is doing the 11:08 AM weather segment instead of a CLTV meteorologist. Interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24994J 5269 Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 WGN just aired a promo for next week's 'Morning News' using the same graphics as the 'Evening News' expansion promo. So, I'd say we should be looking out this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Rubber 609 Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 WGN just aired a promo for next week's 'Morning News' using the same graphics as the 'Evening News' expansion promo. So, I'd say we should be looking out this weekend. Was just about to mention that. I guess we might be expecting a new graphics package starting either this weekend or Monday morning? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Rubber 609 Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 lol @ Dan Ponce music video welcoming Lourdes to the morning team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Rubber 609 Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 They've decided to do the WGN Evening News in the studio and abandon the newsroom format. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24994J 5269 Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 I'll do a rough format rundown as the newscast (especially the 4pm) goes on. Skilling reports from the back patio at 'GN at the top after the anchors lead off Top Stories --> Traffic anchor Sarah Jindra in in SKYcam9 Looks like they've picked some cues from WLS, as 'NEW at 4' and 'BREAKING NEWS' slides are frequent. No sound effects, in most cases The live bug is covered up by a #WGNEveningNews tab. It's wildly unnecessary, considering the Twitter/web links already alternate with the time/temp Bob Jordan's report was intro'd with him sitting at the desk right next to Mark...a fairly irregular practice (4:09) The gray bar just disappeared from behind the bug info. It looks better. Okay, outside of the designated traffic reporter, the 4 o'clock hour (so far) is pretty much identical to WLS ANNNNDDDDD...Skilling got bit by something in the garden. [THIS IS GOING WELL!] Medical report fills out the remainder of the first half hour, not breaking for commercial until after WLS and WMAQ have begun the 4:30 shows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Rubber 609 Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Oh boy, now a steadicam shot of Dina walking from the little desk on the left over to the anchor desk at the end of her report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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