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FCC Approves Sales of Allbritton to Sinclair


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It wouldn't be impossible for Sinclair to map WMMP's MyTV stream to 36.1 and then the ABC stream to 4.1, or to have the ABC streams of WDBB and WABM map to 58.1 (or even 33.1).

 

Some stations have "consolidated PSIP", meaning that two physical channels share a PSIP number. For instance, KSTP and KSTC both have 5.x subchannels. KUIL's PSIP positions are 12.5 and 12.6. There is even a station in Monterrey, Mexico, that does this with its digital signal!

No. They cannot do that. I'm too lazy to retype so, please see one of my previous posts that outlines this.

 

The only reason KSTC & KUIL are mapped to a common VC is do to their common ownership. This is an allowed execption under the PSIP standard. WCIV and WJSU/WCFT licenses are gone once surrendered...and gone with them are their VC numbers. The only VC number they can use in Charleston is 36. In Birmingham if they wanted to neighborhood their channels and use "common mapping" like your examples they could map under VC numbers 21, 58 or 68 as those are commonly owned...that's it. No mapping to 33 or 40 in Birmingham or 4 in Charleston.

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The property 33/40 operates out of is leased to them. The space is owned by In-Rel Properties out of Lake Worth, Florida.

 

Moving the station might not be a bad idea. Their studio is tiny, and with it being an office building, its ceiling is very low.

 

 

Depending on if Sinclair owns their property and Allbritton leases their space could play a role in things at least for now. 33/40 is the only Birmingham station that is NOT on Red Mountain....they're in Hoover. But WTTO/WABM is on Red Mountain. That will stay put most likely since it has the uplink facility for WTTO and WABM, and if 33/40 lacks the space for the added people being absorbed, they'll stay put too.

 

Another little fun fact.....WBMA-LD is on Channel 40 (where WJSU was broadcasting on Channel 9). All Sinclair needs to do is put the ABC feed on PSIP channel 33 (on WABM or WDBB), and the branding can stay put.

 

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There's bound to be some shuffling between Homewood and Hoover...especially if 33/40 is LEASING their space. Once the lease is up, it may be time to look for a new facility for WTTO/WABM that can house a news department and studio. WTTO/WABM's current building is right next to their transmitter and doesn't look like expansion is possible.

 

It took WKEF/WRGT well over a decade to consolidate into 1 building in Miamisburg (the old WBDT building that used to house the Daily Buzz in its early days until WDTN took them over). Before that, staffers for BOTH stations were scattered between two separate facilities. Sales and back-office functions were at WRGT's facility, and all of the technical/creative/news and studio was at WKEF's facility.

 

Now if there's another doomsday scenario if WVTM or WIAT is shut down......that's a facility that Sinclair could buy. (but that's highly unlikely IMHO)

 

Charleston is going to be interesting. Since WMMP and WTAT operate out of the same facility, there has to be some kind of technical transition if WTAT stays put and WMMP moves into WCIV's building.

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Here Sinclair News for the day from Newsblues.com 7.25.2014

 

SALE APPROVED

Nearly a year after it was first proposed, and 327 days after an investigation was opened, the FCC has approved the $985 million deal between Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. and Allbritton Communications Co. Kinda. Sorta. Sinclair will acquire eight licensed TV stations and a cable news channel. But, in exchange for FCC approval, it has agreed to sell two of the stations and hand over the broadcast licenses for three others.

 

After the deal closes on August 1, Sinclair will sell Allbritton's WHTM-27-ABC in Harrisburg (Market #43) to Media General for $83.4 million. The sale will eliminate an ownership conflict with Sinclair's WHP-21-CBS and Nexstar's WLYH-15-CW, which Sinclair operates via a local marking agreement.

 

And in Charleston, SC (Market #95), Sinclair has agreed to surrender the broadcast license for Allbritton's WCIV-4-ABC. The station's ABC affiliation is then expected to be transferred to Sinclair's WMMP-36-MyTV. Sinclair beard, Cunningham Communications, will take full control of WTAT-24-Fox in Charleston, which Sinclair has been operating via a local marketing agreement with co-located WMMP-36-MyTV. Sinclair says (wink, wink) the station will now stand alone. The sale price for WTAT is $14 million.

 

In Birmingham (Market #44), Sinclair will acquire Allbritton's low-power WBMA-33-ABC, which is broadcast locally on Allbritton sister-stations WCFT-33-ABC/WJSU-40-ABC, known locally as "ABC 33/40." As part of its deal with the FCC, Sinclair has agreed to return the WCFT/WJSU broadcast licenses for cancellation. The ABC affiliation for the stations will be transferred to either Sinclair's WABM-68-MyTV or WTTO-21-CW, the two stations it already owns in Birmingham.

 

NewsBlues has learned that Sinclair officials met with station staffers in Birmingham last week to discuss employee "benefits," which, we are told, are not equal to the benefits package they received as employees of Allbritton. "Morale is in the tank," an ABC 33/40 staffer told us. "Now, everyone’s waiting to see what jobs are going to be eliminated due to duplication. Either way, 33/40’s days are numbered. Will it be 'ABC 21' or 'ABC 68'? No one here knows yet."

Since this this News Blues only serves to misinform and spread FUD. It's time to bust out the "FUD Corrector" and clean up News Blues horrible attempt at "reporting".

 

1. Sinclair is only selling one station that being WHTM.

2. It's not an affiliation switch!

3. WTAT & WMMP will be separate operations. They will have their own management and sales teams. As an added layer Cunningham must report on quarterly basis, for a period of eight years, to the Media Bureau any formal or informal sharing arrangements involving services provided to WTAT-TV by other stations in the market or by licensees, other entities, or individuals who hold an attributable interest in another station in the market.

4. WTAT wasn't sold...It was already owned by Cunningham. What was sold/transferred from Sinclair to Cunningham was the building that houses the current joint operation, all the physical assets used in the current joint operation and all the employees of the current joint operation. In other words Cunningham paid $14m for the assets (building, etc.) and assumption of all the employees.

5. Again, It's not an affiliation switch! The entire intellectual unit of WCFT/WJSU is moving to a multicast stream on WABM. I have no idea where they came up with WTTO. It's been a known fact for over two months now that WABM would be the recipient of the WCFT/WJSU intellectual unit...read the FCC filings, it's not that hard. Just an FYI the entire intellectual unit of WCFT/WJSU will also be transmitted via a multicast stream on WDBB.

6. The employee benefits not being equal is also flat out false. Our TVNT insider, input2, had already pointed this out a few days ago and reiterated the point today.

 

I suppose those facts don't fit the narrative. How people pay for that inaccurate crap I haven't the foggiest idea. You can get more accurate and timely information here at TVNT for free.

 

After thinking about this for a few days, I'm actually leaning towards thinking this might not be as bad as it sounded a month ago, especially at ABC 33/40. Of course, I still have concerns, especially with regards to eastern Alabama.

 

[snip]

 

I'm not sure about/don't care about:

  • Don't really care: Sinclair's political leanings. I would be concerned, but this is Alabama we're talking about. Ratings shouldn't be affected if they air occasional gun specials or anti-PPACA programs on post-acquisition WBMA-LD and WABM.
  • Not sure: .1 vs .2? If WABM-DT airs ABC programming on 68.1, I wouldn't be too concerned about cable/satellite/U-verse coverage. If they shove ABC onto 68.2, that will create significant problems for some cable viewers and almost all satellite and U-verse customers, as DBS and IPTV services like U-verse don't allow subchannels, while cable companies shove subchannels into the 100+ tier of the program guide.
  • Don't really care: Staff members. I would imagine that most will simply move over to WABM, but I wouldn't be surprised if others opt to leave. Also, James Spann isn't retiring: at a seminar at the University of Georgia earlier this year, he said that he's got about "ten years left", so I wouldn't be concerned about retirement unless he's forced into it, which Sinclair wouldn't even think of doing.
  • Not sure: Technology. In any other situation, Sinclair would be praised for how it invests in tech and engineering for its stations (remember WSYX and its army of LiveU backpacks? DVB-T2 trials?). This, however, is ABC 33/40. They have been fairly innovative from the start (case in point: their unique transmitting arrangement), and their use of social media, iPads, and camera networks is nothing short of amazing, especially for weather coverage. Sinclair may keep the technology as is, or they may gut it in an attempt to cut costs. Who knows?

[snip]

 

First, I have no doubt in my mind the ABC programming will be on the primary stream or, ".1". The MNT programming will be what ends up on the ".2's".

 

Second, The DBS providers do carry subchannels. I brought this up before. Not sure about U-Verse as I don't live in an AT&T market and therefore can't speak to what their deal is. That said I see no reason a provider wouldn't pick up a subchannel/multicast stream of a major network regardless if it's a ".1" or ".6" or ".15". They'd be stupid to run there system without a major network just because it's on a subchannel/multicast stream.

 

Charleston is going to be interesting. Since WMMP and WTAT operate out of the same facility, there has to be some kind of technical transition if WTAT stays put and WMMP moves into WCIV's building.

It's not that big of a deal. Cunningham gets the current building/operation for WTAT. Sinclair takes over the WCIV building for WMMP. The only "major" thing would be establishing a link from WCIV's building to WMMP's transmitter/tower. The rest is relatively minor...take the WMMP sign off the current building put a "new WMMP" sign on the current WCIV building, etc., etc.
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In terms of Charleston, the challenge is going to lie in the fact that the WTAT facility has been built to handle two channels of local programing, plus WMMP's Zuus subchannel. WCIV's facility, under the new WMMP calls is going to have to build out another stream to handle the MyNetwork programming that will soon be displaced from the primary feed. It's going to take some time and planning to get things running because it's not as simple as flipping a lightswitch. It would almost make more sense from an operational standpoint to transfer WCIV's master control equipment to WTAT, and use the existing WTAT/WMMP equipment to run both streams of WMMP.

 

Also, where is MeTV going to go? Putting 3 subchannels on one channel (with 2 in HD) is going to be a disaster in terms of picture quality. WTAT would have to take at least one or both off Sinclair or Allbritton's hands.

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Depending on if Sinclair owns their property and Allbritton leases their space could play a role in things at least for now. 33/40 is the only Birmingham station that is NOT on Red Mountain....they're in Hoover. But WTTO/WABM is on Red Mountain. That will stay put most likely since it has the uplink facility for WTTO and WABM, and if 33/40 lacks the space for the added people being absorbed, they'll stay put too.

 

Another little fun fact.....WBMA-LD is on Channel 40 (where WJSU was broadcasting on Channel 9). All Sinclair needs to do is put the ABC feed on PSIP channel 33 (on WABM or WDBB), and the branding can stay put.

 

 

 

PSIP are assigned to stations. They would need to get permission from the FCC to make that change. Branding a station doesn't necessarily need the channel that they are on to coincide with it. Look at KNSD in San Diego (NBC 7 PSIP 39 RF 40). Simply put, ABC 33/40 could land on PSIP 68 RF 36, ABC News 4 could land on PSIP 36 RF 36.

 

 

 

(I've had to edit this a gazillion times to come to this conclusion so bear with me.)

 

This is going to get a little convoluted, but I think the new operation is going to be called ABC 11. And the new call letters will be WBXI (Birmingham Eleven). Changed my mind - momentarily forgot about the WABM and WBMA call letters.

 

Here's why:

 

Under FCC rules, if WBMA and WJSU were separate operations, WBMA LPTV transmit/virtual channel 40 couldn't have used virtual channel 40 because ABC 40 already had dibs on that virtual channel number. WBMA-LD would have had to use UHF 40's transmit channel (Channel 9) as their virtual channel.

 

However, the FCC allows overlapping signals showing the same stream to all use the same virtual channel. Thy can pick from any of the virtual channel numbers used by any of the channels overlapping. So under FCC rules, all three signals could have used the same virtual channel if they so elected. (We have a Christian channel that strings together four LPTV's from Columbus to Kenton (about 70 miles) and they all use virtual channel 39.) After the digital switch, Albritton could have used the same virtual channel on all three signals. I would have just called the entire operation ABC 33.

 

However, WBMA will no longer have any overlap because both UHF 33 and UHF 40 are both going dark. Unless they are somehow grandfathered with the UHF 33 virtual channel by virtue of the former overlap, don't they have to go back to calling themselves virtual channel 40? And since they will have overlap with ABC 68, doesn't that mean they can call themselves either ABC 40 or ABC 68?

 

In other words, if I understand the rules correctly, they will not be calling themselves ABC 33, but "could" call themselves ABC 40. Is this correct?

 

That said, a construction permit was granted to move WBMA over to Channel 11. If I understand the rules correctly, that means transmit and virtual Channel 11 will overlap with Channel 68. Because of this, both stations will be able to call themselves ABC 11!!! And it's doubtful that VHF 11 will ever get displaced, so the branding will probably stay intact.

 

WIAT/CBS will be the only station stuck with a legacy UHF virtual channel.

 

 

 

It's not that big of a deal. Cunningham gets the current building/operation for WTAT. Sinclair takes over the WCIV building for WMMP. The only "major" thing would be establishing a link from WCIV's building to WMMP's transmitter/tower. The rest is relatively minor...take the WMMP sign off the current building put a "new WMMP" sign on the current WCIV building, etc., etc.

 

Since most links seem to run on fiber these days, I don't think that's going to be a huge deal.

 

If it were up to me, I would do the same thing in Charleston. I would keep the WCIV ABC 4 branding regardless of what the OTA virtual channel is going to be. I would call it WCIV ABC 4 (OTA CHANNEL 36). If I really, really wanted virtual channel 4, I would then work on finding an LPTV in Charleston, buy it and then move it over to Channel 4. They would have the same signal overlap as in Birmingham and then both stations would be able to use virtual channel 4 as well.

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So they're keeping the 33/40 brand in Birmingham but it will be on 68. Alrighty then. I know viewers are used to the 33/40 brand but if you change the channel location you might as well change the branding.

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So they're keeping the 33/40 brand in Birmingham but it will be on 68. Alrighty then. I know viewers are used to the 33/40 brand but if you change the channel location you might as well change the branding.

 

I was thinking that too, but there keeping the brand which is good but moving to 68. I guess if you have cable it doesn't matter. If you have rabbit ears with a scanner the question from the viewers are going to be raised?

 

Do we expect Sinclair to produce a early 9pm news and a extended morning program on their other outlets?

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The brand "ABC 33/40" is staying as is....per AL.com

 

http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2014/07/fcc_approves_sale_of_allbritto.html

 

Why bother to get a construction permit to move to Channel 11? Why dump a pretty good signal on Channel 40 for a flea-powered VHF signal on Channel 11 if that wasn't the plan?

 

Maybe for now it will be virtual channel 40, but it will have to be ABC 11 in the long run. Albritton must have thought it was important enough to be in the same tier as Channel 6 and 13 to make this application.

 

And I do think it is still important. Maybe not so much for the channel number as much as it is for the people who flip channels on their remote controls. Fox, ABC and NBC would all be adjacent to each other.

 

That also means WCIV - 4 will remain the brand.

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So they're keeping the 33/40 brand in Birmingham but it will be on 68. Alrighty then. I know viewers are used to the 33/40 brand but if you change the channel location you might as well change the branding.

 

I think they will be able to keep Channel 40. Since WBMA-LD has a virtual and transmit channel of 40, the overlapping signal of Channel 68 will be able to adopt Channel 40 as their virtual channel number. If they want to keep the same brand, this works legally but they will have to abandon their construction permit to move WBMA to Channel 11. But since Channel 40 is prime real estate spectrum wise, they risk getting displaced if they care about their virtual channel number.

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It's worth noting that if you went to the site and had no clue you would not think anything changed at KHAS. Anything at all. The only problem is a mislinked FCC public file.

 

Didn't think of that. You were correct - channel 11 was granted at first, then moved to channel 40.

 

Okay, so ABC 40 it is.

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I'm going to break my response up in two posts to make it easier to read. Because I have quite a bit to say:

 

Being from DC, I grew up with WJLA. So this bothers me. Not necessarily that it is the evil Sinclair, but that WJLA is going to continue the downward spiral of not being local. WRC is the top station in DC for a reason. Solid ownership (NBC), solid anchors (Jim and Doreen have been there pretty much forever), and there is a local vibe to the newscast. I fear that WJLA will be another cookie cutter station, with random talent and not really be the solid 2nd place station they worked so hard to be. I am used to what I have seen from WBFF/WNUV, and if that is what is coming - then WRC might as well sit pretty at the top, to be honest. I really hope the amazing talent at WJLA jumps ship soon, and that the Legends, Hill/Buynan/Peterson retire now, because I think it would be an insult to get a pay cut. Either retire or, of course, jump ship.

 

So long WJLA, its been a great ride.

 

It'll be retirement. No, I don't think they'll take a pay cut. But they're not going to be forced out. They'll likely either be told, "retire or take a pay cut" when their contracts are up. But, honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if all three have been thinking about retirement for a while. The cost savings from no longer having to pay out those salaries will probably negate any significant personnel cuts. Remember, some people have been jumping ship while they can and those positions likely will go unfilled and cut, which negates mass layofffs.

 

Sinclair is not dumb. They are not going to run a station in the nation's capital, DMA 8, the same way they run KTVO. I do not think WJLA will be WBFF II like many of y'all predict. I strongly believe Sinclair will keep status quo at WJLA for the foreseeable future with the exception of some high-profile departures. Remember, if you don't want to do job for the amount Sinclair is willing to pay you, they will find somebody who's willing to do the job for that amount.

 

Having said that, I don't see Maureen Gordon and Doug being forced out. Who knows? Maybe Sinclair would be willing to work with them and pay them their high salary until they choose to retire.

 

Most of the people who work there though don't really care who the ownership is as long as they get a pay check. It's really just a small number but those are the ones who the industry news sites are spotlighting, to augment their primarily anti-Sinclair agenda. (TVNewsCheck and B&C are professional in their reporting; FTVLive and DCRTV are the ones who are anti-Sinclair). You can frame a story in so many ways. But I'd guesstimate most of the people working there now will stay with WJLA for years to come. WUSA and WTTG get by with three evening anchors. They can cut Maureen and Gordon, bring in Kai, and keep Leon and Alison and they'll be saving quite a bit of money, I don't think Leon Harris is making anywhere close to what Maureen and Gordon are and I'm very sure Alison is making nowhere close to what the other main anchors are making.

 

I strongly think they will keep Leon, because they can then use him as the face of the group. Sinclair does a must-run special every year or two on a hot button political issue. Currently, these are hosted locally at the stations but feature a national segment. This segment is currently hosted by Jennifer Gilbert and/or Jeff Barnd. But they can use the WJLA anchors instead.

 

Having said that, WRC has the best newscast in Washington, DC. They're actually the only NBC O&O whose local news is worth watching. The other NBC O&Os, and really NBC in generally, puts out a mediocre product and NBC O&Os don't really do great in the ratings. But the coverage from WRC has got to be some of the best in local news. WJLA just has a very generic and stale feel to it and I don't see Sinclair making major changes with WJLA. With the exception of adding the Sinclair must-runs and maybe some personnel changes, there won't be much change there.

 

But Sinclair can begin using WJLA as a content hub for the group. If they move Kai Jackson to WJLA which I'm thinking is going to happen, they don't have to hire externally for his position. They can use Morris Jones (who had the job Kristine Frazao has now) and maybe to an extent, Sam Ford, for their reports. They don't have to film reports in Baltimore anymore, they can do them in DC. I think for that reason alone, WJLA will probably get the best set out of any Sinclair station since it likely will be used nationwide in Frazao's standups.

 

Indeed, this is not the same Sinclair from 2006. Sinclair was laughable then. Hell, KABB wasn't even allowed to order mugs for the station. They literally printed their logo on cardstock and taped it on to a cheap coffee mug and used that on the air. In the days of SD, you couldn't tell. But now in HD, it's pretty obvious.

 

And then they had NewsCentral, which KABB was never a part of. In fact, they were the last of the legacy stations to get the Sinclair NewsCentral graphics/music. And they only used the music ten months due to SESAC.

 

But Sinclair now has definitely cleaned up their act. Same with Nexstar. They are finally pouring money into their stations like it or not.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I need to clear up a misconception most of you have of Sinclair. And I've thought long and hard about this, but I wouldn't say Sinclair has a conservative slant. I would classify it more as libertarian. For once I can take advantage of what I learned in college government. Sinclair doesn't run any stories that pertain to social conservatism, such as abortions, marriages, etc. But they are BIG on fiscal conservatism, like keeping taxes low, government accountability, etc. It may seem that their conservative but I'm pretty sure they are more libertarian than conservative. Libertarians are for small government period and minimal government regulation. Keep taxes low, but if same-sex couples want to wed, let them. Conservatives, OTOH, want low taxes and wasteful spending capped, but also want to ban, or restrict, abortions, have same-sex marriage bans, etc.

 

And in Sinclair's must-runs, I don't see them openly advocating for abortions to be banned or same-sex marriages to be restricted. But I do see quite a bit of advocating for government accountability and keeping taxes low.

 

Therefore, Sinclair is libertarian, not conservative.

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As I said earlier, I will buck popular opinion on this board and will predict that the ratings books in the DC market won't change that much, if at all.

 

It is a foregone conclusion that Maureen Bunyan and Gordon Peterson will retire at some point. Both have had long, lengthy careers and can retire by their own volition. From there, WJLA has a few options. Maybe one of their 10 weatherpeople can transition into news, which isn't that inconceivable. Plus S!nclair didn't hire Kai Jackson away from WJZ just to be a reporter.

 

W*USA has been a mess since WJLA poached Bunyan and Peterson, and JC Hayward had her controversial "indefinite leave" departure. Their road back to second place is going to be a long one. An ace in their sleeve could be if Gannett were to transfer Russ Mitchell from WKYC to a like position at W*USA, which would rock the DC media and give the station a shot in the arm. But Russ really seems to like being in Cleveland.

 

There are going to be layoffs in weather, I'm almost certain. WJLA does not need that many weatherpeople. I understand some of them do NC8 exclusively, but why can't WJLA's WX people also do NC8?

 

WUSA needs a management overhaul before anything. The ND, Fred D'Ambrosi is clueless and has said many laughable things on Twitter.

 

And don't forget WUSA's set is about ten years old and the newsroom looks exactly the same as it did in 1993. And it looks even worse with their current logo on the wall. It's like the two clash. WUSA is understaffed for that market and it seems like Gannett doesn't really care about WUSA that much when you look at their other stations, like KUSA.

 

 

I take it you would remove Derek McGinty ( who a local guy) and replace him with Russ Mitchell which could be interesting. Once Maureen, Gordon exit Kai probably going to replace Leon. Kai and Alison could be the face of Channel 7. We know Gannett have made cuts left and right and WUSA once stellar operation has lost it luster, but as the one poster said you can't do cheap and cookie cutter in D.C.

 

 

I'm sure Sinclair probably not a bad company, but all their tomfoolery has spoken voulmes with me and seeing them in this market. My hope and goal is to give them the benefit of the doubt as a company. Yes business is to make $$$ and that understood, but they cleary want world domination to buy up every tv station if they could. Next year there will be another company that will exit and they will be right there swooping in. I think they could be a passable company if they weren't out here trying to gobble up 500 station at a time. Somebody has to sit back and say enough is enough, and the tomfoolery has to stop, but we live for the foder that Sinclair loves to gives us.

 

I can't stand Derek McGinty. Russ Mitchell would be an improvement. I'm surprised you think Leon is going to leave. I think he's going to stay. Sinclair wants stability at WJLA. Yeah, they'll get rid of Gordon, Maureen and Doug, but I don't think Leon. It would look bad if they were all let go at once. It'll happen overtime, but not a mass sacking like WCBS 1996 where many got fired in one day.

 

Your last paragraph is the best example of why you and so many others can't stand Sinclair. Because they're the biggest. If they want to be the biggest let them. If they want to own 500 stations let them. Although I do not think that's a realistic number. I think they'll cap out at 200 and say, "we're done buying". They're not trying to buy every station just to buy, they're looking at them and saying, "is it a good fit for us?"

 

 

 

We were told, before the approval and we haven't heard anything to counter the claim yet, that our last day as Allbritton employees would be July 31, and our first day as Sinclair employees would be August 1.

 

With approval last night, $10 says the check gets delivered today.

 

I've been led to believe that KOMO was in the red to begin with. They went through the recession without laying off anyone (from what I have been told), which seems unheard of when just about every other station in the nation did. Sinclair came in, found a number of either redundant or outdated positions - e.g. truck operators, and made cuts.

 

Sinclair has acquired a lot of stations recently. The vast majority of them have not seen layoffs.

 

It is refreshing to have a voice like you here. You definitely know what you're talking about.

 

August 1 is a Friday. Makes sense if the sale closes that date. Newport closed on a Friday (although no press releases were issued until Monday). Unlike most users here, I do not live off of press release journalism and believe August 1 will be the closing date.

 

And you're right. Sinclair doesn't fire people just to fire them. They look at unnecessary positions and cut them. KOMO, as Fisher's flagship, was pretty overstaffed. Now they're working with a reasonably sized newsroom.

 

Finally, to end this, WJLA is in need of new graphics. Just watch their open. They use THREE different ABC logos, the 2007 glossy one on the plasmas, the "soft" 2013 one on their bug, and I don't what the hell they're using in the open itself:

[yt]0RqHyesBZrQ[/yt]

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There are going to be layoffs in weather, I'm almost certain. WJLA does not need that many weatherpeople. I understand some of them do NC8 exclusively, but why can't WJLA's WX people also do NC8?

 

WUSA needs a management overhaul before anything. The ND, Fred D'Ambrosi is clueless and has said many laughable things on Twitter.

 

And don't forget WUSA's set is about ten years old and the newsroom looks exactly the same as it did in 1993. And it looks even worse with their current logo on the wall. It's like the two clash. WUSA is understaffed for that market and it seems like Gannett doesn't really care about WUSA that much when you look at their other stations, like KUSA.

 

I can't stand Derek McGinty. Russ Mitchell would be an improvement. I'm surprised you think Leon is going to leave. I think he's going to stay. Sinclair wants stability at WJLA. Yeah, they'll get rid of Gordon, Maureen and Doug, but I don't think Leon. It would look bad if they were all let go at once. It'll happen overtime, but not a mass sacking like WCBS 1996 where many got fired in one day.

 

Your last paragraph is the best example of why you and so many others can't stand Sinclair. Because they're the biggest. If they want to be the biggest let them. If they want to own 500 stations let them. Although I do not think that's a realistic number. I think they'll cap out at 200 and say, "we're done buying". They're not trying to buy every station just to buy, they're looking at them and saying, "is it a good fit for us?"

 

 

It is refreshing to have a voice like you here. You definitely know what you're talking about.

 

August 1 is a Friday. Makes sense if the sale closes that date. Newport closed on a Friday (although no press releases were issued until Monday). Unlike most users here, I do not live off of press release journalism and believe August 1 will be the closing date.

 

And you're right. Sinclair doesn't fire people just to fire them. They look at unnecessary positions and cut them. KOMO, as Fisher's flagship, was pretty overstaffed. Now they're working with a reasonably sized newsroom.

 

Finally, to end this, WJLA is in need of new graphics. Just watch their open. They use THREE different ABC logos, the 2007 glossy one on the plasmas, the "soft" 2013 one on their bug, and I don't what the hell they're using in the open itself:

[yt]0RqHyesBZrQ[/yt]

That is a semi-glossed current ABC logo. It's a custom job and not a very good one. On the other hand it's a decent looking station, it could definitely be worse but I get a stale feeling about it.
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Well another reason that Sinclair is keeping the ABC 33/40 brand is because of DBS. A few years ago over in my hometown of Youngstown, WYFX-LD went from an analog channel of 62 to a digital channel of 19 and yet stayed on 62 for Dish and Directv. To bring it home, there is a good amount of satellite penetration in Alabama, enough that the 33/40 brand will at least mean something. Directv places WBMA+ on 33 and Dish places it on 40 so unless Dish and Directv moves WBMA+ to 68, Sinclair can't be accused of false advertising.

As far as graphics for the Allbritton stations, they badly need them ASAP. WJLA needs an overhaul but not before WBMA+ gets one because it is one jumbled mess. Set looks more like something out of Dothan, AL or Meridian, MS than Birmingham. Heck, even ex-Allbritton station WSET in ROANOKE, VA has a better overall look than WBMA+.

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The untold story is how Robert Allbritton has been such a jerk to those of us at WJLA. Let's face it, the guy is hardly regarded as a heavy weight. His Dad left him a TV company and a bank. He screwed up the bank so badly that the Feds took it away from him. Then, Robert Allbritton turned his genious to the TV business. With his moronic venture to creat tbd.com, he nearly tanked News8 and screwed up WJLA for years. He got a couple of smart Washington Post reporters to launch Politico.

The well known secret around the joint newsroom is that the Politico editors keep Allbritton out of the decision making. They watched him drive Jim Brady nuts while Brady was trying to get tbd launched. The Politico guys vowed to give him lip service and a lot of ego stroking PR mentions if he keeps his hands off the publication.

He gives this over-the-top party during the White House correspondents weekend to show off his fancy mansion. None of us at WJLA get invited, but every minor celebrity at the dinner gets Robert kissing their butt at the party. Now, that he's selling the TV stations, Robert keeps hanging around the newsroom waitinng for us to kiss the ring and tell him how wonderful he is.

Funny thing is, nobody is giving him any time. We are so past him. While there is anxiety about SInclair, David Smith is a serious player and self-made success. He's not spoiled rich kid that doesn't have the decency to realize he should just go home and play with his toys.

Since everybody knows Politico is a money loser, it will be interesting to see how it fares without the resources of WJLA to back it up.

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