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Tell your friends...paint it on your house...tattoo it to your forehead...change your bookmarks: The Chicago Media Examiner can now be found online at: http://www.chicagomediaexaminer.com
I'd like to thank everyone who came to the launch party on Saturday.
Rampant Speculation about Channel 32
By JOHN F. KUCZAJ
I've been thinking about the Channel 32 / Channel 50 duopoly and the opportunities that Channel 32 will have.
First, any talk about adding news to channel 50 is absurd. A station with no history of news faces the enormous task of changing their image while launching a newscast. When Channel 32 launched their newscast, it was not taken seriously until they snagged Walter Jacobson. Walter's years of experience, credibility and the huge amount of respect he has among the viewing public changed Channel 32's perception from a little newscast on the "Married with Children" station to the respected operation it is today. Love him or not, a Chicago news consumer knows that Walter Jacobson does not toil away on a small-time news operation. The fact is, Channel 32's news operation became credible in the Chicago news consumer's eyes primarily because Channel 32 identified itself with Walter Jacobson. Please note that I'm talking about viewer perception, not the quality of the newscast. Channel 32 has had a quality newscast since it's launch, but perception is huge in TV news and 10 years of award-winning newscasts would not have changed channel 32's image as quickly as the hiring of Walter Jacobson.
That having been said, launching a newscast on channel 50 would fail immediately-even if it rode on Walter's coattails. Channel 50 is not a news station, and it would take an immense effort to change that perception. Besides, it's been unsuccessfully attempted in other TV markets by the Sinclair Broadcast Group. They had the brilliant idea of launching local 5:30pm newscasts on their non-news duopoly stations to run against the network newscasts. It was a colossal failure. You can't just throw a newscast anywhere and expect that people will accept it. Heck, the only reason channel 32's morning newscast got any traction was because they snagged Bob Sirott and rode his coattails to (some kind of) credibility. WFLD has the news brand, so it would make more sense to expand the brand on channel 32 while counter-programming on channel 50.
What should channel 32 do?
I'm glad you asked.
Launch an early-evening newscast...or two.
Based on an announcement last week and something a little birdie told me, this would be the logical next step. Last week, WNYW, the Fox station in New York announced that on Monday August 12, they launch a 5pm & 6pm newscast (Note that prime time in New York begins at 8pm). Like Chicago, Fox has a duopoly in New York, so it will be relatively easy to shift around programming between the two stations. However, in New York, a newscast will actually be an upgrade in programming, bumping a low-rated court show and sitcom. The problem in Chicago is that WFLD's 5-7pm programming gets huge ratings compared to its New York counterpart and a new newscast there will take time to grow.
Maybe.
Just like all those bumper stickers and bracelets ask, I'm sure you're wondering, "WWJD" (What Would John Do?). No surprise-I'm gonna tell you, and thanks for asking!
I think Channel 32 should launch an hour newscast at 4pm.
Based on the success they are having 5-7pm, I wouldn't touch that line-up. However, the shows they have at 4pm are not doing as well, plus only Channel 7 starts at 4pm right now. Is there enough of an audience at 4pm for a new newscast? Well, there's more people watching television 4-5pm than there are watching 5-9am...or even 12noon-1pm. There's definitely room for another late afternoon newscast.
WNYW is using their 10pm anchors at 5pm and their 10pm weekend anchors at 6pm. I'd propose a more drastic measure that would ensure a successful late afternoon launch. First, I would do everything I could to hire Mark Suppelsa away from WMAQ. He deserves to be a lead anchor and he's got the goods to be HUGE. Then I'd team Mark with Walter Jacobson at 4pm. Walter with Mark would remind everyone of the classic Jacobson-Kurtis team. Oh, and screw the PC bunch that says you have to have a male and a female anchor, okay? At 9pm, I'd go with Suppelsa & Robin Robinson, even though it seems like Robin's been phoning it in for the last...oh...five years or so. A more interesting choice from the Channel 32 talent pool would be Danielle Serino, who would bring actual hard-news reporting experience to that anchor chair for the first time.
Hey, wait. Am I suggesting a demotion for Walter?
No--the opposite.
The final part of my master plan would be to turn Walter into Chicago's Bill O'Reilly. I'd cut the 9pm show to 30 or 40 minutes and have Walter do an O'Reilly-esque show in the remaining time. "Walter Jacobson's perspective" is a logical extension of his commentaries and it would definitely take advantage of the current trend in "pundit journalism" that vaulted the Fox News Channel to #1 among the cable news nets. The beauty of the show is that Walter could have the option of pre-taping his segments or going live. I'm thinking of a Chicago Tonight / 60 Minutes hybrid where Walter could spend the whole show interviewing someone in the news, or perhaps having several segments including his daily commentary ala O'Reilly. The fact that Channel 32 has wasted the opportunity to replicate the success of FNC's personality-based formula is sad. Let's face it, Bill O'Reilly gives his in-your-face, no-nonsense attitude every night, but Walter's been doing that for years!
Well. That's just what I would do.
Bits and Bites
By JOHN F. KUCZAJ
A little birdie told me that while the idea of Channel 32 moving to new digs in the proposed Trump Tower (as I speculated) is tantalizing, WFLD's space needs have hit the critical mark right now that they've bought WPWR and they may not be able to wait for Uncle Donnie's new toy to be erected. Word is that in their quest for more space, they are seriously reviewing a location that's a hop, skip and jump from the Mag Mile, is quite modern, has ample room and a nice area for a street-level studio. Hmmm...
Listen closely to the coverage of the rescued Pennsylvania miners. I'm amazed at how many reporters are referring to the miners themselves as "heroes". You'd think that after September 11th, we'd have a better grasp on what a hero is. Here's a short lesson: the nine miners who were trapped are NOT heroes...they are survivors. The miners who drilled the rescue hatch, pumped water out of the shaft and pumped air in? THOSE are the heroes. Duh.
Correction: in the July 1st issue of the CME, I stated that the REAL media hadn't done a story on the people in line sweltering outside the tiny Mexican consulate. Apparently CLTV did a piece on the lines, as well as why the U.S. government opposes the issuance of the cards. Score another one for CLTV. Unfortunately, the next question is...If CLTV scoops the other stations, and no one is watching...does it make a sound on tape?
The Sun-Times' Richard Roeper wrote two excellent columns last week, filleting Ann Coulter's book "Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right". He used a double-barreled approach of facts and truth to expose the book as a worthless cow chip.
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