Month: October 2013

When WLS-TV/ABC 7 dropped the “Eyewitness News” monicker in 1996, the station was Chicago’s undisputed leader in local broadcast news.

Some 17 years later and still number one, ABC 7 will soon bring “Eyewitness News” back, reports Robert Feder, likely in time for November sweeps. John Idler, ABC 7’s president and general manager, tells Feder that revising the “Eyewitness News” name will be done in a contemporary sense — a “look forward to what ‘Eyewitness News’ means to viewers today.”

With all due respect to Idler, I read that as marketing fluff for “we’re changing the name of the newscast while everything else around it will pretty much stay the same.” Without a significant change to the newscast’s presentation or format, a name change with maybe a new studio set (highly unlikely) or graphics (more likely) is nothing more than a fresh coat of paint.

If I were a betting man, one intangible unlikely to change is the theme music. When “Eyewitness News” became “ABC 7 News” in 1996, the station decided to continue using the same music. Considering that ABC 7 has resisted changing it since, there’s hardly any reason to expect they’d do so now (which is perfectly fine by me).

Concerning everything else around the name change, I wouldn’t blame Idler for playing it safe. Even though ABC 7’s ratings dominance in local news has minimized in recent years, any attempt to dramatically alter the presentation or format would likely have an adverse affect. Previous attempts elsewhere have typically bombed.

In 2000, WBBM-TV/CBS 2’s effort to go retro with a more straight-and-narrow newscast featuring Carol Marin was dropped after eight months because of low viewership. CBS 2 went the opposite direction in 2010 with “Monsters and Money” in the morning, which was dropped after only seven months due to embarrassing low ratings.

I don’t mean to pick on CBS 2. Since their newscasts have typically been in or near last place for well over a decade, they’ve had reason to try something different. Lessening the burden on CBS 2 in recent years has been WFLD-TV/Fox 32. When walking past an empty Fox news truck at Monday’s Columbus Day parade, my wife said “Fox is also here. Where do you think they’re at?” My immediate response was “last place.”

In fairness to CBS 2, I am a big fan of the current newscast they’ve assembled, in both mornings and at night. There’s nothing edgy or innovative about it. They’ve done a great job at finding the right talent who also work well together on camera. Even if ratings growth is slow or sometimes stagnant, they are headed in the right direction as far as delivery goes.

Concerning the revival of “Eyewitness News,” Idler told Feder that a research study commissioned by the station showed that even though the name went away in 1996, it still resonates with the public. That to me sounds vague and doesn’t really mean anything to me. I get the sense they’re doing it more so for the sake of change. I hope whoever conducted that study wasn’t the same person or group that swayed WFLD into re-adapting the outdated “Fox 32” monicker.

While maintaining the status quo for local broadcast news may be the safe route, the way society collects and searches for news and information continues to change with the advancement of mobile technology and gadgets.

With the continued decline of print media and its failure to adapt a profitable online business model, local broadcast news should be in the driver’s seat. In the case of ABC 7, the name of the newscast isn’t going to matter in the long-run. What will make a long-term difference is that the quality of news stays superb, that it is easily available on mobile devices and that users can access it whenever they want.

At this point, I’m not sure how newsworthy this is, but the program schedule listed on WGNRadio.com (which includes the “over the air” schedule for shows on WGN 720 AM as well as any additional online-only shows)  no longer includes Mike McConnell’s live stream show.

Last week following a Robert Feder report (which I recapped on this  blog) that McConnell’s agent had accepted an early settlement from his remaining two-year WGN contract, McConnell the next day on his Facebook wrote that he would soon return, at least with a podcast. McConnell’s been posting an update each weekday on his Facebook since doing his last live online-show on Oct. 3.

Until Feder follows-up with a report with absolute 100% confirmation that McConnell is gone or until McConnell says something more definitive on his Facebook page, we probably won’t know for sure what his status is at WGN.

CBS 2’s Kris Kutierrez and Marissa Bailey with former Chicago Bear Ray McElroy – Photo courtesy of Bailey’s Twitter @MarissaCBS2.

What exactly is WBBM-TV/CBS 2 waiting for? Going on five months since releasing Susan Carlson and the station continues to stall in naming a permanent morning news anchor.  Since Carlson’s exit, CBS 2 has alternated between weekend morning anchor Marissa Bailey and veteran anchor Roseanne Tellez, who also anchors the 11 a.m. weekday newscast.

In his Sept. 16. piece, Robert Feder mentioned that CBS 2 has searched among some outside candidates, but that staffers within the CBS 2 newsroom would be surprised if the station named a permanent successor anytime soon. The delay in naming a replacement suggested that Carlson’s firing was attributed to saving money (I think that sounds reasonable, because in all honestly, does CBS 2 really expect that the person succeeding Carlson is going to be that much of an upgrade?).

While CBS 2 continues to twiddle their thumbs, the obvious answer is right in front of them — Marissa Bailey. Not because she’s already employed by the station and it would be an easy move (both of which would be true), but because she is a great anchor and fits in nicely within the newscast. While her delivery is good, her overall demeanor is excellent. She is an absolute natural behind the desk.

Having watched enough of the weekday mornings she does work (usually Mondays and Tuesdays), it’s more than obvious that her and co-anchor Kris Gutierrez naturally work well together. Meanwhile, the overall chemistry amongst the entire on air staff, most notably meteorologist Megan Glaros, traffic anchor Derrick Young and the off-beat and versatile reporter Vince Gerasole, is near the same level that it was when Carlson was there.

Tellez, by default, would be an acceptable choice as well, though I do understand the sentiment that with Tellez, there is a “been there, done that” type of vibe (which is a shame because such a sentiment is rather unfair considering how talented she is). I’d be willing to guess Tellez wakes up each morning regretting her 2004 decision to leave the WGN-Ch. 9 morning news fest.

Bailey should have been the obvious no-brainer for CBS 2. It’s a shame that they are still waiting this out. Talk about the classic case of over-thinking something that doesn’t need it. Bailey is right there in front of them.

Again, I ask, what are they waiting for?

Photo from Mike McConnell’s Facebook.

Where there’s smoke, there’s often fire. Yesterday, I called B.S. to technical issues preventing Mike McConnell from doing his WGNRadio.com online-stream show. Last night, Robert Feder reported that McConnell’s agent has tentatively agreed to an early settlement from his remaining two-year contract.

To be fair, I had no idea what the situation involving McConnell was when calling B.S. to the technical difficulties excuse. When asking around yesterday among some inside WGN, no one claimed to know anything pertaining to McConnell. Even without comment from WGN Radio President and General Manager Jimmy de Castro, I trust Feder got his information from a very high level source.

The obvious question for the remaining McConnell fans is where he might land next. Wherever McConnell goes, he probably won’t make close to the $500,000 a year he reportedly made at WGN. His willingness to leave that kind of money on the table would suggest taking less money elsewhere is worth more in the long-run where he can presumably work at a station more designated for his brand of news/talk while also having the support of management.