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Joe Donlon to WBBM


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41 minutes ago, Spring Rubber said:

Jennifer Lyons is literally bringing all of the original NewsNation with her. Remember when people thought there wouldn't be room for Joe at WBBM?

 

Not surprised by the move. Edwards and Sargent never gelled from the start. Adding Donlon is a huge plus.

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46 minutes ago, Spring Rubber said:

Jennifer Lyons is literally bringing all of the original NewsNation with her. Remember when people thought there wouldn't be room for Joe at WBBM?

 

For the record, I only thought he'd go there if it was as lead anchor, and nothing short of that. And without an actual vacancy, there was no guarantee that they were looking for a change anytime soon. Either way, I'm glad Brad will still be there, as he is an excellent investigative reporter. Hopefully this'll give him even more room to thrive at that work.

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The bigger news is that Brad Edwards is now being tapped to be the lead anchor for CBS News Chicago, and that WBBM-TV will being producing newscasts exclusively for the SVOD, as it and the news department/OTA newscasts are merged into each other.

 

I called my shot on the Discord last month and completely stand by my prediction now:

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3 minutes ago, MorningNews said:

Has CBS 2 had ratings success with any of the pairings in that list? Seems like half of the pairings were experimental at best.

 

There was a bump under Mora/Burns, solo Rob Johnson was a comfortable #2 for awhile (9pm Leno and Saunders-to-Sirott-to-Stafford wounded NBC5), and Johnson/Sullivan kept some momentum with a dominant CBS primetime and the attention from the Kurtis/Jacobson reunion. Other than those unsustained runs, nothing else has stuck.

 

And yes, like Edwards/Sargent, every pair after Marin and until Burns felt temporary. When Joe Ahern returned to Chicago to run WBBM, he had his target on poaching from ABC7, where he previously worked. Early in 2003, Burns, Kathy Brock, and Cheryl Burton were all up for new contracts, with Burns carrying a rumored $2M salary. Brock signed first, so CBS was ready for Burns or Burton. The former whiffed in negotiations, and she was removed from air. Brock and Burton saw promotions, and Burns was gone from CBS just 5 years later.

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2 hours ago, 24994J said:

 

There was a bump under Mora/Burns, solo Rob Johnson was a comfortable #2 for awhile (9pm Leno and Saunders-to-Sirott-to-Stafford wounded NBC5), and Johnson/Sullivan kept some momentum with a dominant CBS primetime and the attention from the Kurtis/Jacobson reunion. Other than those unsustained runs, nothing else has stuck.

 

And yes, like Edwards/Sargent, every pair after Marin and until Burns felt temporary. When Joe Ahern returned to Chicago to run WBBM, he had his target on poaching from ABC7, where he previously worked. Early in 2003, Burns, Kathy Brock, and Cheryl Burton were all up for new contracts, with Burns carrying a rumored $2M salary. Brock signed first, so CBS was ready for Burns or Burton. The former whiffed in negotiations, and she was removed from air. Brock and Burton saw promotions, and Burns was gone from CBS just 5 years later.

Would you say MaryAnn Childers & Linda MacLennan were successful?

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34 minutes ago, Breaking News said:

Would you say MaryAnn Childers & Linda MacLennan were successful?

 

Linda's post-2000 run(s) were forgettable. Her time with Bill and Lester will be what she's remembered for (when WBBM and WMAQ were going back and forth for 2nd). Mary Ann, however, was never lead anchor. I believe she co-anchored with Bill at 6, when she got there in the mid-90's, was doing mornings by the end of the decade, then shifted to a midday schedule of 11am and 4/4:30pm. When Randy & Roseanne arrived, and Judge Judy or Dr. Phil knocked off the early afternoon news, she was without an anchor slot, serving as just the medical reporter, when she was fired the same day as Burns.

Edited by 24994J
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7 minutes ago, 24994J said:

Just to put it in a visual perspective, here's how WBBM's 14 pairs stack up to the other stations, since 2000.

 

356759054_chicagoanchors2000-present.thumb.jpg.9244355dfbf695d4b0204c478825aede.jpg

That's a great visualization; thank you for making it! It didn't dawn on me that Ailson Rosati was the only top anchor still in this position since 2000, but now that I think about it, I should have realized it!

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24 minutes ago, Spring Rubber said:

That's a great visualization; thank you for making it! It didn't dawn on me that Ailson Rosati was the only top anchor still in this position since 2000, but now that I think about it, I should have realized it!

 

Allison is slated to surpass Robin Robinsons consecutive years streak in December 2023, 26 years and 7 months. She hit 25 early next month.

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On 4/10/2022 at 10:54 AM, Breaking News said:

That a nice time line you have here. By chance would you do one for the 70s or 80s-2000s. Job well done!

 

Okay, that took way longer than I anticipated, even though I already had record of most of these.

 

It's fascinating that you can clearly pinpoint every station's weakest period just from who was lead anchor, and for how long. Any other questions? 😂

 

2096387406_chicagoanchors1968-present.thumb.jpg.850852dedac3d866578caea3b6d594d7.jpg

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9 hours ago, 24994J said:

 

Okay, that took way longer than I anticipated, even though I already had record of most of these.

 

It's fascinating that you can clearly pinpoint every station's weakest period just from who was lead anchor, and for how long. Any other questions? 😂

 

2096387406_chicagoanchors1968-present.thumb.jpg.850852dedac3d866578caea3b6d594d7.jpg

Job well done! Very nice :)

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8 hours ago, 24994J said:

 

Most of my research is WLS-related, but I'll keep that to myself, lest anyone here think I'm insane.

 

And mine is mostly WMAQ-related so one side note, both Carol Marin and Ron Magers left in 97. Carol May 1st and Ron May 21st due to the Jerry Springer disaster. Warner and Allison debuted together shortly after that. 

 

This collection is seriously top notch for this market. Kudos to you on all of the research and time taken to put this list (the only appropriate type of list in my eyes) together. 

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1 hour ago, NBC 5 Chicago said:

And mine is mostly WMAQ-related so one side note, both Carol Marin and Ron Magers left in 97. Carol May 1st and Ron May 21st due to the Jerry Springer disaster. Warner and Allison debuted together shortly after that. 

 

I admittedly took a little liberty with that one. 😁

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