Bad ratings have forced WPBF to change their newscasts.
Starting today, Monday Apr 19th, a new slogan and new anchor line-up will debut.
The 5pm newscasts will be anchored by two women – Lisa Hayward and Kristin Hoke, with Tiffany Kenney joining them at 11pm. All newscasts will begin with the weather forecast, and subsequent weather updates will follow.
Palm Beach Post:
WPBF using three women anchors
WPBF website:
News 25 is changing the ways local news is done
WPBF Announces New Name, Logo, Anchor Lineup
WPBF using three women anchors
By Kristi E. Swartz, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 16, 2004
PALM BEACH GARDENS — WPBF-Channel 25, in a bid to climb out of the ratings cellar, announced Thursday a series of changes to its newscasts that include starting each evening’s news with the weather and staffing its 11 p.m. show with a trio of women anchors.
“We’re building our news around you,” station News Director Joseph Coscia said. “We’re going to think and be just like the viewer.”
The ABC affiliate also has scrapped “Eyewitness” from its WPBF-News 25 name and replaced it with the slogan, “Where you come first.”
Weekend anchor Lisa Hayward will join Kristin Hoke to anchor the 5 p.m. news, and Tiffany Kenney will move from the 5 p.m. slot to anchor the 6 p.m. show with Jon Shaiman. Hayward, Hoke and Kenney will tri-anchor the 11 p.m. newscast, something that station officials acknowledge is rare but say is innovative.
“This is an ensemble that will lead this team into the future,” station Vice President and General Manager Victoria Regan said. “The message is that this TV station is a viewer destination, that local news is your bone marrow and your soul.”
Hoke said the station wants to give viewers what they want.
“This is not a gimmick,” she said.
Instead of the typical crime, government or other major news stories, WPBF viewers will catch the current temperatures and evening forecast first, Coscia said. The station, whose chief weather forecaster is Mike Lyons, will spread its forecasts throughout the show.
All the changes go into effect Monday.
WPBF began reworking its format eight months ago and used the Internet to test possible slogans and prototypes on about 1,000 of its viewers, Regan said.
WPBF has seen its ratings drop for months, with its 6 p.m. newscast falling to a 3.4 in the February from 4.9 during the same time in 2003. WPTV-Channel 5, the NBC affiliate, led with 13.9, with WPEC-Channel 12, the CBS affiliate, in second with 7.9.
New York-based Hearst-Argyle Corp. bought WPBF nearly seven years ago and shelled out $3 million to rebuild its tower and transmitter. Last summer, it did away with sports as a separate segment and cut its morning newscast to one hour so it could focus on the evening.
Station officials said they realize news viewership is tied to whoever is watching the prime-time shows. ABC, which also lags behind NBC and CBS, is expected to address that issue during the May “sweeps” period, which runs from April 29 to May 26.
“Ratings, that’s where you’re beholden to your network,” Regan said. “As the network goes, so goes your ratings.”
kristi_swartz@pbpost.com
News 25 Is Changing The Way Local News Is Done!
WPBF Announces New Name, Logo, Anchor Lineup
POSTED: 5:27 pm EDT April 15, 2004
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — WPBF Channel 25 announced on Thursday a new name, a new evening news anchor lineup and some distinctive innovations within its newscasts that will be showcased in a bold new advertising campaign.
“WPBF News 25, Where YOU Come First” will introduce its new anchor lineup to television viewers of the Treasure Coast and Palm Beaches on Monday, April 19, 2004.
WPBF News 25 at Five will be co-anchored by Kristin Hoke (pictured, above left) and Lisa Hayward (pictured, above right).
WPBF News 25 at Six will be co-anchored by Tiffany Kenney (pictured, above left) and John Shainman (pictured, above right).
WPBF News 25 at Eleven will be “tri-anchored” by Tiffany Kenney, Lisa Hayward and Kristin Hoke.
“WPBF News 25, Where YOU Come First” is the campaign slogan WPBF says is its promise to be the local television news station that will be driven by what the viewers of the Palm Beaches and the Treasure Coast have told us they want in a local newscast. WPBF News 25 will give viewers news that is relevant and meaningful to their lives. It will alert them to scams and rip-offs. It will be on the air first to prepare and protect them in times of severe weather.
WPBF News 25 will deliver weather first in each and every newscast. WPBF News 25 promises to be first in providing the most accurate and most reliable forecast every day. WPBF News 25’s new Doppler radar will be the most powerful state-of-the-art system in the market. Doppler radar is designed to keep families safe before severe weather hits.
Storm Team 25 is led by Mike Lyons (pictured, below), an experienced severe weather expert in the market and in Florida.
“We are excited about the direction we are taking, focusing on building our station around our viewers’ wants and needs,” said WPBF TV Vice President and General Manager, Victoria Regan.
News Director Joseph Coscia added, “These are bold innovations that will distinguish and differentiate WPBF News 25 from the competitors in the marketplace. It’s the edge for people to identify and choose WPBF News 25 as their choice for local television news.”
Copyright 2004 by TheWPBFchannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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