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I am a long time viewer of 6abc, but over the past few years have been watching NBC10 more. The content is stronger, the stories go deeper and the talent is fresher. The re image with the graphics, theme and desk have distanced them from the NBC10 of 2003. Philly viewers are slow to change and are very loyal.

 

6abc's A teams of Jim Gardener, Tynan, Rick Williams and Matt O'Donnell hold the station together. And, as long as Adam Joseph doesn't get a network job, he is the future of their weather department.

 

But, their 4pm team is weak and relatively unknown. At 5pm, Monica's days of being cute and likeable have passed. And Sherri Williams brings little to the table. Their weekend evening team has little chemistry and is hard to watch. I do not understand having Nideay Han as a weekend morning anchor. She smiles a lot, but doesn't seem credible.

 

Their reporters are either seasoned and coasting to retirement. (Odom, Muchanic, Henry, Rawlings, Buchman). Or they are barely known. (Pilgram, Saltzman, McCormick, O'Hearn). Their two stand outs are Cuellar and Pradelli who shine during their fading 11p news lead.

 

I am curious to hear other opinions. But, as a heavy TV news watcher, I think times are about to change and 6abc is going to trend down. They do seem to be making more panic moves lately.

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I am a long time viewer of 6abc, but over the past few years have been watching NBC10 more. The content is stronger, the stories go deeper and the talent is fresher. The re image with the graphics, theme and desk have distanced them from the NBC10 of 2003. Philly viewers are slow to change and are very loyal.

 

6abc's A teams of Jim Gardener, Tynan, Rick Williams and Matt O'Donnell hold the station together. And, as long as Adam Joseph doesn't get a network job, he is the future of their weather department.

 

But, their 4pm team is weak and relatively unknown. At 5pm, Monica's days of being cute and likeable have passed. And Sherri Williams brings little to the table. Their weekend evening team has little chemistry and is hard to watch. I do not understand having Nideay Han as a weekend morning anchor. She smiles a lot, but doesn't seem credible.

 

Their reporters are either seasoned and coasting to retirement. (Odom, Muchanic, Henry, Rawlings, Buchman). Or they are barely known. (Pilgram, Saltzman, McCormick, O'Hearn). Their two stand outs are Cuellar and Pradelli who shine during their fading 11p news lead.

 

I am curious to hear other opinions. But, as a heavy TV news watcher, I think times are about to change and 6abc is going to trend down. They do seem to be making more panic moves lately.

 

I have always been a big fan of 6ABC but I feel the same way. I've actually been watching NBC10 more the past few months. I like their 4pm newscast more than ABC (especially that they do 20 minutes of news commercial free). I do like to watch 6ABC weekday mornings and during their 6 and 11 newscasts. The 4 and 10pm seem very blah and I think they do it just so they can compete with the other stations.
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I only watch 6ABC and 69 News (since I'm up in the Lehigh Valley). I'd agree with you on Sharrie Williams, I'm still not sure what the reason for hiring her was. She's a better reporter than an anchor. I still like Monica Malpass - and come on, Rick & Monica have to have some of the best anchor chemistry in the business.

 

Walter Perez is good, but yes, can be sort of dry sometimes. I think he's more of a morning personality type.

 

Adam Joseph is definitely the next Dave Roberts.

 

I was beginning to wonder the same thing, though, about the age of the veteran reporters, I think either Vernon Odom or Nora Muchanic will be next to go - but probably Vernon. Kenneth Moton does a good job, and so does Erin O'Hearn - although I have no idea where she has been. She seems to have a habit of "returning" just about the time you've forgotten about her. I think Nydia has a great personality - not hard news, no, but she does a nice job as consumer reporter.

 

Alicia Vitarelli is way too happy to be an anchor - I think someone mentioned the other day that when she subbed on the noon show, even when talking about people dying she still had a smile. Sarah Bloomquist is also a GREAT reporter.

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I sorta disagree about Monica Malpass. When she fills in for Jim, she is in a sense the female version of Jim Gardner. She's got what it takes. Problem is she still does the lighter tag team 5:00PM news with Rick, and while she has great chemistry with him, the bantering back and forth takes away from her pure newsreading. Also her chipmunk laugh that she does while bantering is annoying. Why nobody at 6 has told her to stop that I don't know, but it's probably the biggest reason I avoid Action news at 5:00.

 

Agree about action news at 4:00, which kinda stinks for them as I think Brian Taff was being groomed as Jim's eventual replacement.

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I sorta disagree about Monica Malpass. When she fills in for Jim, she is in a sense the female version of Jim Gardner. She's got what it takes. Problem is she still does the lighter tag team 5:00PM news with Rick, and while she has great chemistry with him, the bantering back and forth takes away from her pure newsreading. Also her chipmunk laugh that she does while bantering is annoying. Why nobody at 6 has told her to stop that I don't know, but it's probably the biggest reason I avoid Action news at 5:00.

 

Agree about action news at 4:00, which kinda stinks for them as I think Brian Taff was being groomed as Jim's eventual replacement.

 

If Brian is being groomed as Jim's replacement, that's a big slap in the face to Rick and Monica. While Brian used to fill in for Jim in the past, it seems that Rick and Monica are now the primary fill-ins. And when Jim does retire, I fully expect the 6pm and 11pm to go with co-anchors. That was the case at WABC after Bill Beutel retired, and WPVI seems to be moving in that direction on weekend evenings ever since Rob Jennings retired. Maybe Rick & Monica at 5pm & 11pm, and Brian & Shirleen at 4pm & 6pm?

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What about 10:00? I really don't know about Taff. Someone once said he was being groomed, but that was back when he was indeed filling in for Jim, and such. Maybe things have changed since. Only reason I can think for 6 promoting him above Rick & Monica is if they want to establish a anchor who still has 30yrs left.

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I watch a ton of local news too, and it's pretty clear that NBC10 is taking delivering the news most seriously. It's weird, but what's going on at 6ABC is like a microcosm of the news business in general, as you have a clear dividing line between the old school vets and the newbies who seem that they were hired more for their looks and/or style than their news chops. Brian Taff really doesn't come off as anything more than a big voice and Shirleen is pretty, but seems more suited to working on a show like Entertainment Tonight than a news broadcast. Same thing with Alicia. She almost seems like she's auditioning to jump to some syndicated entertainment show. Rick Williams is so obviously the heir apparent to Jim Gardner. I don't think he'll need Monica at 6 & 11, but she is good and she'll probably go along.

 

It's a shame CBS3 seems to have just thrown in the towel. Chris May and Jessica Dean are servicable, but bland. They are the definition of "generic news anchor."

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I watch a ton of local news too, and it's pretty clear that NBC10 is taking delivering the news most seriously. It's weird, but what's going on at 6ABC is like a microcosm of the news business in general, as you have a clear dividing line between the old school vets and the newbies who seem that they were hired more for their looks and/or style than their news chops. Brian Taff really doesn't come off as anything more than a big voice and Shirleen is pretty, but seems more suited to working on a show like Entertainment Tonight than a news broadcast. Same thing with Alicia. She almost seems like she's auditioning to jump to some syndicated entertainment show. Rick Williams is so obviously the heir apparent to Jim Gardner. I don't think he'll need Monica at 6 & 11, but she is good and she'll probably go along.

 

It's a shame CBS3 seems to have just thrown in the towel. Chris May and Jessica Dean are servicable, but bland. They are the definition of "generic news anchor."

 

I guess CBS3 realizes they can't compete anymore with 6 or 10. CBS and FOX are my last picks for news. I watch them if the other stations aren't on. Their just boring and bland.
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I have watched Lucy Noland a few times now and I have no idea why FOX29 made the change, except maybe that Kerry Barrett works better in the morning with her looser personality. And in that case, why not give Kerry the Good Day job instead of bringing someone in from the outside? They could have given the very capable Dawn Timmoney the slot Kerry has now. Otherwise, Noland brings nothing to the broadcast that Barrett wasn't already doing.

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Watching the Noon news as of late, it has me thinking:

Since Sarah Bloomquist is also (unsure if officially at this point) is also Weekend evening anchor with Walter Perez, this has me wondering.

 

1. This new role is both a promotion and a demotion.

  • A promotion because it gives her a more prominent position on the Action News anchor team.
  • And a demotion because it cuts her on-screen time significantly, since I think that appearing on weekdays makes you a more dominate presence on the team, and not weekends. (unless she wants to spend more time with her family).

2. If she ever leaves the Noon show for the W-E slot (and I don't know how she can juggle both jobs/a full week of on-camera work), who would replace her? My most obvious choice of a replacement is Monica Malpass, because of their beloved pairing at 5pm.

There is also Erin O'Hearn, Nydia Han, Eva Pilgrim and Katherine Scott.

 

What do you guys think?

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Watching the Noon news as of late, it has me thinking:

Since Sarah Bloomquist is also (unsure if officially at this point) is also Weekend evening anchor with Walter Perez, this has me wondering.

 

1. This new role is both a promotion and a demotion.

  • A promotion because it gives her a more prominent position on the Action News anchor team.
  • And a demotion because it cuts her on-screen time significantly, since I think that appearing on weekdays makes you a more dominate presence on the team, and not weekends. (unless she wants to spend more time with her family).

2. If she ever leaves the Noon show for the W-E slot (and I don't know how she can juggle both jobs/a full week of on-camera work), who would replace her? My most obvious choice of a replacement is Monica Malpass, because of their beloved pairing at 5pm.

There is also Erin O'Hearn, Nydia Han, Eva Pilgrim and Katherine Scott.

 

What do you guys think?

 

I don't think it would be a demotion as Rosemary Connors and Denise Nakano anchor 10's weekend newscasts and still appear regularly in the weekday newscasts. It's safe to say that they are two of the top three in 10's group of reporters.

Plus, any chance to have two hours of Rick and Monica is more appealing to watch than two hours of the 4PM team.

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Watching the Noon news as of late, it has me thinking:

Since Sarah Bloomquist is also (unsure if officially at this point) is also Weekend evening anchor with Walter Perez, this has me wondering.

 

1. This new role is both a promotion and a demotion.

  • A promotion because it gives her a more prominent position on the Action News anchor team.
  • And a demotion because it cuts her on-screen time significantly, since I think that appearing on weekdays makes you a more dominate presence on the team, and not weekends. (unless she wants to spend more time with her family).

2. If she ever leaves the Noon show for the W-E slot (and I don't know how she can juggle both jobs/a full week of on-camera work), who would replace her? My most obvious choice of a replacement is Monica Malpass, because of their beloved pairing at 5pm.

There is also Erin O'Hearn, Nydia Han, Eva Pilgrim and Katherine Scott.

 

What do you guys think?

 

Couple of things of note:

  • Sarah, officially or unofficially, is only Sunday Evening co-anchor, not the entire weekend. It seems to be more official than unofficial, because Walter has mentioned she's off when she's not there on a Sunday. She has never co-anchored on Saturday evenings nor does Walter mention she's off (she did fill in for him one Saturday).
  • She seems to be doing Monday-Thursday noon shows with Fridays off (Friday is still part of her title/duties as Rick mentions she is off)

I personally think this is not a permanent setup and 6abc does not know which direction they will take. Otherwise we will have Rick saying Sarah is off on Fridays into eternity. My thoughts on what they should do:

  • I think that they should put Sarah on weekend evenings for both days (her and Walter are great together!). Airtime is not affected as much as you make it out to be, but more so affected is the fact that she would be on on a weekend versus a weekday. I think the best way to balance out moving her to weekends is to have her be the primary fill-in when Monica or Shirleen is off.
  • As for the noon, give it to Monica as her and Rick are a great team. They should utilize fill-ins when one is off since its now an hour long show, with Matt and Tamela being the primary fill-ins.
  • When Jim retires, Rick and Monica get the 11pm, Brian and Shirleen get the 6pm, and Matt and Tamela take over noon. (I don't care who does the 10pm. Give it to Sharee as I don't think she has anything to do yet since her arrival!)

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