The Inbox...
Let’s see what you guys are weighing in on….
The cuts at CBS.
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Scott,
The leadership thinking at cbs even during cost cutting is crazy inept. First of all Jeff Glor should've been kept and they should replace cbs mornings team with the saturday mornings team. The ratings for cbs mornings is down bad and renewing King's contract is a waste for the ratings performance.
Meanwhile they're taking Norah off Evening news when evening news was the only nightly newscast up in both demos for the season. Following the vice president debate pr and exposure Norah will be getting along with Brennan, CBS is going to spike this all over cost?! What if the debate goes really well (50/50 chance) and people tune in more to evening news following?! They could redo the format of the show to do the 60 minutes thing they're looking to do without completely negating the ratings growth.
The show that's working you break, but the show that isn't you renew all the same talent's contracts and then double down on it. So ass backwards.
You can still make cuts and make smart decisions and none of these moves make sense. Can't cbs cancel one clone crime show to keep their news division going? With broadcast dieing the future is a utility: news, sports, specials, concerts. Scripted is now streaming. How they don't see that is crazy.
Scripps is paying money to spruce up WXYZ
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I did my internship at WXYZ's broadcast house in Detroit (actually Southfield) and at the time it was an ABC owned and operated station along with WXYZ AM 1270 and WRIF 101FM on the grounds, If we needed anything.. go get it! The production/news crews seemed to always be on overtime with breaks between the third and fifth hour per union rules.
When ABC and Capital Cites merged ABC acquired WJR AM 760 "The Great Voice of the Great Lakes" and its FM station "Hot Hits!" WHYT. For some reason ABC chose to sell off everything within broadcast house due to the duopoly rules at the time.
WXYZ - TV was one of I believe seven ABC O/O stations in the United States and it was a powerhouse of news and local programming and from what I hear is a shell of its former self with WJBK FOX 2 (formerly the CBS station owned by Storer) now the leading station. For context Ch 2 was always the basement station in town far behind WXYZ and WDIV (NBC Post Newsweek) who for years slugged out a ratings battle with they're lead anchors Bill Bonds and Mort Crim respectively.
Happy the place is being spruced up, but I have always thought it was a mistake by ABC to let it go.
About that Journalism Burnout survey.
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Scott,
Interesting take on the journalism survey. Another factor causing burnout is the lack of staff. I hear more and more stories from newsroom employees getting burned out not because of low pay but because there are not enough people in the newsroom. I have seen people having to work doubles not because of spot news but because of vacations or being sick. No one minds helping out but when the newsroom has so few numbers working doubles or days off has become the norm.
Thanks
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I work at WXYZ, I can tell you, they could paint the place in 24K gold and it still would not be a “great place to work.”
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What has happened to TV news? I have tried watching every station in West Palm Beach and they are all awful.
There are zero enterprise stories and the reporters appear clueless.
Signed,
A former TV news viewer.