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Lori Stokes leaves WABC.


CircleSeven

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Such a devastating loss for me I'm still stunned to be honest. Its gonna be a different scene for Eyewitness News This Morning going forward.

 

Lori Stokes was such a class act for WABC, and quite frankly they have tough shoes to fill because she propelled that broadcast to the number one position that its in today. I remember when she was paired with Steve Bartelstein in the early 2000s they became number one and held that spot since then. Of course when Bartelstein was ousted Stokes was essentially the only one while they found a slew of different anchors until Rosato finally took over Bartelstein's spot. Great Chemistry. Its gonna be hard to see how this broadcast continues without her but she really is in my opinion some of the best talents I've seen in this area and she will be missed. I hope whatever she does next, she continues to do it with with the prestige and grace that she has.

 

Oh My God, I honestly don't now how I can watch that broadcast without her being there anymore and the thing is she used to anchor different newscasts too such as the evening she's such a good very versatile anchor too.

 

I'm gonna miss her, ugh this is so tough lol. So sudden! :(. Since they are tight lipped about her next venture. Maybe she'll go National? One can only hope!

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I wonder if she'll be put in Chuck's place at 11 at WNBC? She clearly has the local cachet to take over.

 

They already gave that gig to Stefan. Only thing I can think she would be doing is reporting and fill-in anchoring (likely for Natalie when she's out on maternity leave).

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Isn't there some six-month "non-compete" clause before she start at Channel 4?

 

Scott Stanford was only off the air a few weeks when he left 4 for PIX so perhaps same holds true for Lori off the air a few weeks then appear on 4.

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Even if the NBC New York Rumor is true, where on earth would she go? I mean I feel like it would be a ldowngrade" for her if she did a lesser role. Unless she no longer wants to anchor and wants to be out in the field. Unless maybe she can be a contributing anchor, similar to what WLS does for their 11:00pm newscasts.

 

Upon watching Lori, I have seen her anchor the evening broadcasts several times, she certainly is not a morning person and really likes the evening and afternoon spots. Which seem to have fit her well when she was at WABC. As for WABC they have their work cut out for them because that is a very difficult spot for her to fill. Michelle Charlesworth would be a logical choice for the Weekdays along with Toni Yates or maybe even Lauren Glassberg for the Weekend Mornings. Lauren Glassberg has a similar "calm" and reassurasing presence in her presentation and delivery of the news as well like Lori did, so I wouldn't be surprised if they even asked her to do it.

 

All of this is still so surreal and bizarre.. something must be up and they don't want to reveal it. Certainly a huge sudden shakeup for sure...

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Unless maybe she can be a contributing anchor, similar to what WLS does for their 11:00pm newscasts.

That would be a downgrade, for sure. That contributor role has meant little for years now. It was a role created solely to keep a minority anchor on the broadcast (sounds harsh and not very PC, but other Chicagoans can back me up on that). It's not much more than the fifth wheel reading a story reported by the network or another reporter earlier in the evening with updated info. Heck, another early evening anchor is out in the field on that late show, and he could just as easily get a similar title, as well.

 

Anyway, back on topic.

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Isn't there some six-month "non-compete" clause before she start at Channel 4?

 

Depends on the contract. Six month non-competes used to be pretty common, though I don't know if they always are. In many states, they aren't legally enforceable.

 

I thought six month non-competes were a thing of the past, though I was pretty surprised to see Marshall Zellinger have one. He is a good investigative reporter in Denver, but not by any means an ultra big name diva talent. He left KMGH and started working at KUSA pretty much right away in January, but he didn't show up on air until July.

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Unless someone is leaving WNBC that we don't know about yet. I really don't think she's going to be in the field. I also don't know what everyone seeing in Toni I don't think she's that great.. Shirleen is fit for morning show.. I guess we'll see what happens

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Depends on the contract. Six month non-competes used to be pretty common, though I don't know if they always are. In many states, they aren't legally enforceable.

 

Here is a handy state by state guide to non-competes...

https://www.faircompetitionlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Noncompetes-50-State-Survey-Chart-20170711.pdf

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It's not unheard of that talent leave one station at the end of their contract, walk across the street, and work off-air until their non-compete runs out. It could last anywhere from a few weeks to a year.

 

There are also plenty of jobs in a TV station that former talent could take up that don't involve being on air. Maybe she decided it was time for a change and took an EP job?

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Before Lori went to Ch. 7, she WAS at MSNBC when it was created. She had a topical afternoon show with an audience with another female as her partner, but I can't recall her name.

 

I certainly hope Lori's leaving isn't a health related issue. If not, I expect her to come back to NY TV. There will be a lot of speculation but my prediction is she'll wind up at either CBS taking over the network evening news, or go to CBS2 and co anchor with Christine Johnson with Maurice taking over the network spot. Or is Dana retiring?

 

As for Ch. 7, that's a tough call on who her replacement is going to be. Ch. 4's early AM news now starts at 4 AM, and we all know when one of the majors do it, they all "parrot" it. Maybe Lori put her foot down and decided she wasn't going to get out of bed any earlier. 17 years of doing that early AM stuff is a long time. I know, I was a NYCT Transit worker and after a spell of those hours, you do something else for awhile! There are no afternoon/evening slots available for her at ABC7. Therefore, it will be a tough sell for any of the current folks at Ch. 7 (Michelle, Toni, Shirleen, Lauren), to accept that shift and get up at 1AM'ish 5 days a week.

 

We'll see whenever the non-competitive clause expires, but one thing is for certain. The truth why she left ABC7 EWN will eventually come out, no matter what Lori's future holds.

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Stacey Bell currently anchors the 11am and 5pm on WNBC. Her husband is now the head coach of the LA Chargers, however Stacey stated that she would remain in NY and at WNBC, even with his move. Not to mention Stacey is probably their best female anchor, so it would be hard to see her leave.

 

I don't really see where Lori would fit at WNBC, if it really is the case that she is leaving.

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Stacey Bell currently anchors the 11am and 5pm on WNBC. Her husband is now the head coach of the LA Chargers, however Stacey stated that she would remain in NY and at WNBC, even with his move. Not to mention Stacey is probably their best female anchor, so it would be hard to see her leave.

 

I don't really see where Lori would fit at WNBC, if it really is the case that she is leaving.

 

I totally agree with you, it's fine that she's going to NBC but the question is how could she even fit there? Unless her ex-husband doesn't know either? . It's all a bizarre mystery. Usually when anchors sign off they make it known this was a sudden loss, the last time I remember this happening was with Roz Abrams back in 2003-2004.

 

One thing I do know is, it's very difficult for top talent to recover on the heels of leaving WABC. I'm not sure what it is but I have yet to see a successful recent WABC who makes it big after leaving their station. Of course some of the past talents like Kaity Tong, and Ernie Anastas made it big, but that's far and few in between. Sam Champion parted ways with the channel now he's not doing much anymore. Roz Abrams left the tv industry altogether.

 

In my opinion, I feel like when you someone is in the top station in the country it's hard to really get bigger than that. Unless they go national or something. But as they say this is quite the developing story! We'll have to see how it plays out.

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Someone mentioned earlier she may return to Cleveland and that'll make complete sense because WEWS has 2 slots to fill and fellow ex-WABC sports anchor Rob Powers is also their. But that is all just speculation. But a lot of WABC staffers seem shock and hurt that Lori is leaving. I am too. When Roz left in 03?/04? I thought Lori would get that position and Sade would get the morning but Steve also was gone so they needed stability and of course didn't want to disturb the morning show too much. Whatever she ends up, I'm rooting for her.

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In all honesty, she wouldn't be leaving WABC if the offer wasn't lucrative enough. So, most likely, WNBC has promised her an evening anchor slot and/or a hefty paycheck or favorable hours and a hefty check.

 

My guess is she winds up as the main female evening anchor alongside Stefan and Natalie gets moved to a different shift. Keep in mind with Chuck's retirement, WNBC needed a "big name" talent to smooth over losing Chuck. Lori is an excellent choice.

 

As for WABC's opening. They should move Shirleen to AM's and have Sandra Bookman take over Shirleen's old spots. After all these years, Sandra deserves the promotion.

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Perhaps I'm naive, but I just cannot see leaving the top station in the market for another across town. Not when you're one of the top dogs at that top station. I cannot imagine the money being THAT much better at WNBC. I guess I also want to think that there'd be enough mutual human loyalty, especially after the intensity surrounding her father's fairly recent illness and passing. In my fanciful thoughts, she's decided after her grieving period to look at her life and goals differently... and she's shifting into something radically different. Or something that complements her father's legacy.

 

In terms of replacement, my fingers are crossed for Michelle Charlesworth getting the morning gig, even though I suspect that management will not want to uproot the very successful weekend broadcast.

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My Guess is Lauren Glassberg will get mornings.

Perhaps I'm naive, but I just cannot see leaving the top station in the market for another across town. Not when you're one of the top dogs at that top station. I cannot imagine the money being THAT much better at WNBC. I guess I also want to think that there'd be enough mutual human loyalty, especially after the intensity surrounding her father's fairly recent illness and passing. In my fanciful thoughts, she's decided after her grieving period to look at her life and goals differently... and she's shifting into something radically different. Or something that complements her father's legacy.

 

In terms of replacement, my fingers are crossed for Michelle Charlesworth getting the morning gig, even though I suspect that management will not want to uproot the very successful weekend broadcast.

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Why is it so hard to imagine that Lori, who has admitted mornings aren't her thing, wanted a primetime anchoring gig and WABC refused to move Liz, Sade or Diana? This stuff happens all the time and Brian Thompson wouldn't just put out there that she' going somewhere that she isn't.

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Exactly! Lori is probably going to be the top female anchor at WNBCQUOTE="MorningNews, post: 187026, member: 2014"]Why is it so hard to imagine that Lori, who has admitted mornings aren't her thing, wanted a primetime anchoring gig and WABC refused to move Liz, Sade or Diana? This stuff happens all the time and Brian Thompson wouldn't just put out there that she' going somewhere that she isn't.

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Why is it so hard to imagine that Lori, who has admitted mornings aren't her thing, wanted a primetime anchoring gig and WABC refused to move Liz, Sade or Diana? This stuff happens all the time and Brian Thompson wouldn't just put out there that she' going somewhere that she isn't.
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Maybe David Ushery is leaving WNBC and Lori is talking his spot. Perhaps the lineup will be something like. 11am: Stacey solo. 4pm: Stefan and Natalie. 5pm: Stacey and Lori. 6pm: Chuck and Natalie. 11pm: Stefan and Lori.

 

Doubt they are going to move Natalie off the 11 pm show just for Lori. Stefan just got the 11 pm gig with Natalie and they already do the 4 pm show. Once Chuck officially retires its obvious Stefan is going to get the 6 pm show as well. My guess is Lori replaces either David or Stacey at 11 am and is a breaking news anchor for the 4, 5 & 6 pm shows.

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