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ABC 7 Eyewitness News thread


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The station is about to have a new face soon.

 

 

Not sure if she's going to be a full replacement of Christina Salvo's Weekend AM slot or fill one of the weekday slots (11am for example).

 

Still surprised they haven't filled an in-studio traffic anchor since Alysha del Valle left for Channel 4.

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I hope she’s salvo’s replacement.  The girl whose been filling in, I forget her and at the moment, is a terrible anchor and has zero business being one in this market.  As for the lack of an in-studio traffic anchor weekday mornings, that’s pretty ridiculous.  I always watch KTLA in the mornings; they have a pretty comprehensive traffic report every 10 minutes or so with the husband and wife team of Mark Kono and Ginger Chan. 

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ABC 7’s helicopter, Air7HD, was struck by a drone tonight while flying at approximately 1,100 feet above downtown.  The crew landed safely and the LAPD is investigating.  

 

https://abc7.com/air7-hd-struck-by-drone-over-downtown-la-makes-precautionary-landing/5734727/

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  • 4 weeks later...

My guess would be something dealing with the homeless crisis here in CA. NBC4 has an ongoing "Streets Of Shame" series highlighting the homeless epidemic in our state. Phillip has been on the KABC dawn patrol since the late 90s. He anchored with Ellen Leyva (now co-anchors at 3pm, 4pm and 6pm) back then. Underrated anchor, does a great job. Based on his Twitter account, it sounds like KABC is going with an all female morning team...anchors Leslie Sykes (used to anchor KABC weekends back in the day), Brandi Hitt, Leslie Lopez on weather and Brianna Ruffalo. I assume Brianna will be reporting traffic, and keeping her weekend morning wx gig.

Edited by FiveNews
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2 hours ago, bogusabc7breakingnews said:

...I hope to god it’s not Marc CR; he’s way too stiff. Brandi would be a better fit.  

:cc ABC Human Resources 🔞

 

Edited by Eat News
(SHAUN) - 36.5 .. https://youtu.be/SEeZ-cQHJeo
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12 hours ago, 24994J said:

I thought Brianna's primary assignment has been 11am, not weekend mornings.

11am weather anchor. Also, early morning traffic. No weekends.

 

13 hours ago, FiveNews said:

 Phillip has been on the KABC dawn patrol since the late 90s. 

Actually, I remember Ono & Leyva (currently @ 4 & 6pm) anchored the early mornings together, while Phillip & Leslie anchored weekend evenings until about 2002, when Phillip moved to mornings with Ellen.

 

13 hours ago, FiveNews said:

My guess would be something dealing with the homeless crisis here in CA. NBC4 has an ongoing "Streets Of Shame" series highlighting the homeless epidemic in our state.

You know I just thought of something. Reading Phillip's mention of a "new initiative", I strongly thought of the sister station to the north's "Building A Better Bay Area" series, which talks about an array of issues (homelessness, housing, public safety, transportation, etc.) I wouldn't be surprised if see a "Building a Better SoCal" or something along the lines.

 

Edited by CircleSeven
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FTV suggests the change was due to slipping ratings. Haven't seen any numbers from November. KTLA seems to be status quo, most likely leading the pack. CBS2s morning show is unwatchable. Today in LA isn't much better. GDLA is a mashup of many different things. I would surmise KVEA and KMEX are decent contenders in the morning...advantage going to KVEA.

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On 12/30/2019 at 4:11 PM, CircleSeven said:

 

On 12/30/2019 at 4:11 PM, CircleSeven said:

Looks like Phillip Palmer is becoming the new Gene Gleeson. He's moving away from early mornings and returning the midday show with Jovana. No word on who will replace him in the early mornings.

 

 

 

 

Jovanna will be his replacement... She has a nice relationship with Leslie Sykes.

On 12/31/2019 at 9:44 AM, FiveNews said:

FTV suggests the change was due to slipping ratings. Haven't seen any numbers from November. KTLA seems to be status quo, most likely leading the pack. CBS2s morning show is unwatchable. Today in LA isn't much better. GDLA is a mashup of many different things. I would surmise KVEA and KMEX are decent contenders in the morning...advantage going to KVEA.

 

KVEA is number 1

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6 minutes ago, Gavin said:

Jovanna will be his replacement... She has a nice relationship with Leslie Sykes.

 

1. That post you responded to was from 4 months ago.

2. Jovana has only one N. The correct spelling was right there in the quoted tweet.

3. Brandi Hitt replaced him alongside Leslie, unless something's changed, which should be cited in your post, if so.

Edited by 24994J
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  • 2 months later...

A bit of discussion to revive this thread a bit here. ABC7 has been relatively stable throughout the tumultuous LA market during the pandemic (looking at you KCBS/KCAL), so they've really got that going for them. But overall, I just wanted to pitch some questions.

  1. Phillip joined Jovana to "lead a new initiative at ABC7 seeking real solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing Southern California" (his quote). But, obviously, the year hasn't gone off the way many have wanted it to, so the headlines have since been taken over by COVID-19 and recently, protests over racial injustice. Were there any initiatives that Phillip and Jovana had actually began working on to..."re-tool" the mid-day newscast, so to speak? Or just bring to the station's programming, in general? Someone else mentioned KGO's "Building a Better Bay Area" theme as a possible foundation and I thought of that too, for KABC to start its own "thing," but I don't think I've really seen such a "thing" so far throughout its newscasts (I will admit I could have missed it, but why would an initiative be subtle?). I will give KABC the benefit of the doubt, since the pandemic has wreaked havoc across the board, but in the end, it does looks a bit right now like Phillip was simply pushed out of the morning newscast and plopped down somewhere where not as many eyeballs were tuning in. No shade against Brandi and Leslie, though, because I do like them overall, but I'm just curious about where this is headed.
  2. This one's gonna stink to high heaven when the moment comes. But Dallas Raines isn't getting any younger, even though he continues to be pretty well-preserved and his personality still resonates with a lot. But this past year, he had a bit of a medical leave. And I'm not trying to harp on Dallas for having back surgery, because David just had knee replacement recently and Michelle had neck problems as well, and medical leaves happen throughout anyways. But overall, what do we know/think about the line of succession for the chief meteorologist at KABC once Dallas retires? The current weathercasters at the station are: Alex Cheney (GA and fill-in, most recently doing weekday mornings traffic and mostly weekday midday weather), Brianna Ruffalo (traffic anchor and fill-in, most recently doing weekday mornings weather for Leslie), Leslie Lopez (weekday mornings currently on maternity leave), Kimi Evans (weekend mornings), Danny Romero (weekend evenings), and Jonathan Novack (fill-in). None of them really have the level of pizzazz Dallas brings to LA weather forecasts, so who's next and how will all of them move up after Dallas leaves? It seems Danny could be the one for the role, but could they actually go for younger? Or hire from outside and re-shape their weather team? It would really muddy the waters at the station, but...nothing's predictable these days. 
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I feel like the CBS duopoly is the weakest newsroom in the market with KTTV just behind them.  Other than Fritz’s recent “retirement” KNBC has been pretty stable. Most of the anchors at KABC have been there for a very long time, I hope they’re all able to stay around a bit longer. 
 

As to @Roadrunner’s points above: 

 

1.     It does seem as though Phillip was pushed off the morning show, but when he’s solo anchored the midday show, sometimes for two hours straight, I feel like he’s proven he’s top notch.  I never watched Eyewitness News on weekday mornings, but, from the lineup, it does seem like a chick fest.  As for Jovanna, I’m glad she’s finally got the weekends off again.  Regarding their new reporting roles, they’re fronting a series of reports called “ABC7 Solutions,” which in my opinion are a step above GA reporting. From the few I’ve seen, most feel like a same day package pieced by a producer; a couple have felt like some real time and work went into them.  What surprises me the most about their new role is how long their at the station. They anchor the 11 am show, and sometimes are reporting at 6 pm. I feel like that would be annoying as they’re pretty anchor heavy in the evenings with Colleen, David, Ellen, Marc and Michelle.  Surprisingly Jovanna has been filling in for Ellen at 4 this week; generally Colleen would.  
 

2.     When it was announced Fritz was leaving KNBC, I wondered how much longer will Dallas be around?  I feel like Danny would get Dallas’ spot, and it seems logical that he would, but something about him is annoying; I really like Jonathan Novack; he’s a meteorologist, funny and a sharp dresser.  As I mentioned above, I don’t watch Eyewitness News weekday mornings, mostly because their traffic report sucks. I can’t believe they still don’t have a dedicated traffic reporter in the mornings; Scott’s hits in Air 7 don’t cut it at all.  KTLA and Ginger Chan offer a much more comprehensive report.  I forgot about Leslie Lopez. If she’s the weekday morning weatherwoman, is Brianna (great on the eyes btw) the traffic reporter?! I wonder what the lineup will be if/when Leslie comes back.  Speaking of coming back, what’s the deal with Kimi Evans? She hasn’t been on the air in months, like easily six months. I feel like I previously read something about a medical leave. I’m not complaining because I always found her annoying af, but she was a lot better than Alex; speaking of whom, has anyone noticed he wears the same mis-matched suit every. single. day.  Black jacket, blue pants (with some kind of stain - iron/heat or otherwise on his upper left thigh) white shirt and tie - he at least rotates the tie.  I almost feel like, in an effort to save money, once Dallas leaves, blow it all up. Put a three-day forecast up as their going to commercial and call it a day.  We all have phones, no one gives af about the almanac, we all know there’s generally coastal fog/marine layer in the morning, warmer in the afternoons; the IE and Valleys are about 10-15 degrees warmer than the basin; dry and hot. This isn’t Midwest or South with deadly tornados, nor’easters, tropical storms, etc moving in. Maybe a seasonal forecaster January to April? Even Fritz said it on his way out, just look at your weather app haha.  

Edited by bogusabc7breakingnews
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Wow thanks for the comments, @bogusabc7breakingnews. Also sorry for the font difference; after I copied Phillip's quote, I hadn't realize the font had changed with it. 

 

Re (1) -- 

I looked up ABC7 Solutions and realized I had seen some of their stories and didn't even realize it was their new segment. Much of it has been geared towards job hunting and hiring advice recently, which makes a lot of sense for the current times we're in, but I didn't think that would be billed as ABC7 Solutions. One thing I've noticed that seems to be missing is a consumer / investigative reporter at KABC (like "7 On Your Side" or an "I-Team" like at other sisters such as WLS, KGO, WABC, etc.) and I'm used to watching those segments, so I guess that's what felt like that missing void. But thanks again for filling me in on the segments they're making. Phillip and Jovana make a good pair and I just want their potential to be fully realized, even if the midday slot is not much when compared to the other time slots. And yeah, Jovana filling in for 4PM makes for kind of a long day; I know Coleen was anchoring the 3PM but I haven't caught it lately to see if she's still there. In the end, if any of the station's anchors do leave, I'd be sad because all of them have pretty good presence and reasonable chemistry with each other, which seals the deal for me for a visual medium.

 

Re (2) --

The more that I think about it, the more that I have made it up in my mind that Danny is the likely successor to Dallas, because I'm pretty sure that's the more natural transition (he's also doing some afternoon traffic reports). Jonathan is pretty underutilized, in my opinion, at KABC; but I will admit that ever since I saw clips of him in The Bachelorette when he was a contestant, it's all I can see and then I can't take his weather segments seriously anymore lol 😕 but he's fine overall. Kimi has been pretty active on social media so I don't think she's gone for good any time soon, but Alex has recently been filling in for her on weekend mornings, so his weather presence is certainly growing over time. I totally understand the notion of rethinking the concept of TV weather reports, but loyal viewers and keyboard warriors alike would probably wage a war if KABC nuked everyone on that team. TV continues to inch forward ever so slowly in innovating new models of delivering (weather) information, so....we'll just have to wait and see.

 

Yeah, so the weekday morning team is officially Brandi/Leslie (anchors), Leslie L. (weather), and Brianna (traffic). It seems like things haven't been the same on the traffic end since Alysha left KABC but then again, traffic anchors at KCBS and KNBC (...who was Alysha lol) have both been laid off, so it seems like traffic is just mere crumbs at this point. When you compare traffic reports on WLS or WABC with that of KABC, the LA report seems far too simplified for a metropolis so dependent on traffic. 

 

Also, you mentioned KTTV would be last in the market in your rankings; I know this isn't the KTTV thread, but speaking of LA mornings, how would you envision changing up GDLA?

 

 

Edited by Roadrunner
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Just my 2 cents here....

 

-I would assume Danny would take over for Dallas when his retirement comes. Danny was the main weathercaster at KCOP and he also spent a little time at KNBC. Danny's been most successful at KABC. I'd like to see Leslie Lopez get it, IMO. Local girl (Chino) who is a true weather nerd. I think Brianna is being groomed for bigger things. She does morning traffic and WX for the 11am show.

 

-Re: Jovana anchoring at 4pm. Doesn't necessarily make it a long day. My guess is that she and Phillip get in around 9am/9:30, if they are out the door by 6pm, that is a decent work day.

 

-Lets not forget that Coleen (one "L") Sullivan anchors the 7pm news on KDOC with David Ono as well. She might be a placeholder as well for when Michelle or Ellen decide to hang it up.  Fun fact- along with Danny Romero, Ellen Leyva spent time at KCOP as well.

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