Post Newsweek Buys WTVJ

If you are at TVJ now is the time to start making plans. There is no reassurance in the announcement for anyone with the exception that someone will come in to help migrate the benefits to PN.

Many agents are going to have a busy Friday.

interesting times to come. Is there enough room at their new station? PNS has always been good and loyal to their employees. PLG’ers have nothing to worry about. PLG will keep the top 6er’s. NBC 6 hasn’t clicked with viewers for so long. Makes you wonder why we have never seen any content and anchor changes long before this? And lastly, Boylan is a genius. He and Pohovey have turned PLG around. You have to give credit where it’s due. Sure ABC programing has something to do with it, but at 11, PLG gains viewers bigtime. At 6, PLG gains viewers bigtime. And Laurie Jennings was a great hire. Dwight who?

Nothing on the Sun-Sentinel or Herald websites as of yet. Guess it’s a sleepy Friday for the papers…

This is a big deal for those involved, especially for people that are going to lose jobs. You have to feel for them (some of them anyway). But for viewers this is going to be a non story because they don’t watch anyway.

WPLG may be number one, but the total pool of viewers for their TV news programming is rapidly declining. You don’t need multiple stations to tell you there is a backup on the Palmetto and you don’t need multiple stations telling you every little crime story.

The customers in this market have spoken and regardless of WTVJs history they have said no thanks.

CBS4 managers had fully anticipated that when WTVJ moved to 7PM that they would pick up some of their viewers. Didn’t happen. Many viewers evaporated and haven’t come back. At 4 this is a mystery that has them very worried.

It’s not certain that if WTVJ stops doing news that those viewers will simply turn the dial over to 4,7 or 10.

CBS4 managers should have anticipated that no one would watch Antonio Mora and Shannon Hori. Sorry to say, but it is true. No one is watching.

You are right about that. 4 has reverted back to WCIX. They will be the next TV news casualty.

Someone might want to tell Bob Mayer to add another first to WTVJs history.

“First to get swallowed whole by one of its main competitors.”

You know the end is near because what Mayer wrote reads like an obituary.

hmm…so now there will be an empty and fully-equipped television station in miramar…hmm…wonder which station will occupy it…(cough) 7 (cough)

What’s wrong with Antonio Mora and Shannon Hori ? I think they make a fine team weeknights. I am surprised that their ratings are low but then again I don’t know anything about this business.

What’s wrong with them? Let’s start with Antonio’s teeth, his choppers are bigger than a horse, they are a major distraction. Then add Shannons loosey goosey cheerleader act and you have a recipe for disaster. She comes off as a ding bat and he is stiff as a board, not a good combo to grab the ratings.
If I was in charge Michael Williams and Illeana Varella would be at 6 and 11.
And while I am at it I would move Joel Connable to the 7 over at TVJ until it all goes away,then pair him with Laurie Jennings and Christine Cruz would replace Belkys.

Bob, regarding your reply on Antonio and Shannon – it gave me a good laugh. I see your point. Thanks !

I happen to like 4, 6, and 10. I hate 7. They’re too sensationalized in coverage for my taste. Anyway, Local 10 and NBC 6 should be good together. I just hope they don’t lay off people like WTLV and WJXX did when they combined forces. Pam Giganti and Jennifer Gray are my two favorite females at that station. Don’t ditch them. Don’t ditch anyone at Local 10. I can’t wait to see how things will look when the sale goes through. This is just another sign of changing viewer habits.

Hate to say it Ryan, but people will get laid off, and probably a lot of people we would recoginize. Not sure how the split will go, but probably most of them will go from TVJ. I still think a few from 10 will go, but not as many obviously. I can’t see 10 breaking up it’s main anchor team. Why mess with success?

We just had cake in the Plex for Belky’s birthday and the VP of News said that it would be our last “due to budget cutbacks”. She also said that it could be worse, we could be the folks at WTVJ who won’t have a job soon. Making an ANNOUNCEMENT that your not going to serve cake anymore is MORONIC on many levels but she was right about being better off at 7. The big media groups are laying people off, I can live without cake!

I can’t tell by how your wrote it, but the cake thing had to be tongue and cheek right?

Clearly she knows something about what is going to happen because Sunbeam was an interested buyer too.

7 has always been considered cheap by everyone when compared to other station’s salaries. Now I guess we can change “cheap” to “smart”.

We know high dollar anchor salaries are going away, but I wonder what will happen to older reporters who are in the six figure range? They have to be nervous because they are probably next up to the chopping block. I don’t think a mantle full of Emmys or experience is going to save them either once contract time rolls around.

Wow, not a good time to be in old media, but they did it to themselves.

Question for 7 person. Did 7 ever try to hire Laurie J back after she left MSNBC or were they saddled with Mr or Ms. Androginous at that point?

The news was very sad at WTVJ. No matter what, no one at our station wanted to see us bought up by a company and run by a general manager who is known for cutting heads and making news operations run cheaply. That is the way to run a business, bt it is ashame that NBC6 didn’t get bought by someone who wanted to make it better and bring in new managers to do that. The simple fact of the matter is Post Newsweek will be cutting people from WPLG as well. We have heard from NBC that Todd Tonkin, Trennel Forney, Calvin Hughes and Kristie Kruger, sorry if I spelled named wrong, are all on the chopping block. We have also heard that NBC people like Bob Mayer, Tony Segreto, Gray Hall, Jennifer Gray, Tisha Lewis, Ian Wood and Steve Litz will all be on the chopping block as well. As for technical staff, since WPLG is union, anyone from NBC who moves into the building becomes union an that means people are kept based on senority, That means WPLG will lose lots of people becasue WTVJ has photogs and editors who have been around for years and years. As a news manager, and I hope this doesn’t give away my identity, we all know that people like Amara Sohn, Joel Connable, Jackie Nespral, Pam Gigante, Paul Deanno and Tom LLamas are fairly safe, since they all resigned contracts and some of them are fat in money and secure in employment time. I know that Jackie and Joel and Paul don’t have typical cycles where employers can fire them at the end of each year. I think all of them have been guaranteed three years at least. So, if WPLG wants to get rid of Nespral, it could cost them over a million dollars to buy her out. I think Jackie gets 350 or 400 thousand. Getting rid of Paul and Joel will cost them close to six of seven hundred thousand each. I think they are each making 250 or more. I don’t think Joel or Paul or Amara have anything to worry about. Channel 10 will probably keep them and promote some of them. Channel 10 may also keep Tom LLamas, since he is fairly good and getting better, But, managerment, like me at NBC is on the way out. They will fire every manager and news director and GM at our station. Our GM said she is looking for a new job.

insider,
there will be an empty television station in miramar, but it won’t be fully equipped (cough cough). post newsweek purchased all the equipment, including everything telemundo was using. that is going to their new facility and some other post newsweek stations. sorry, but wsvn is either going to have to cart in their own crappy equipment, or cut back even more on their payroll and buy new stuff.

What about Telemundo? We are leaving them out. Poor guys are now left out in the lurch and maybe have to go back to that crappy studio they had in Miami. No?

What about Kelly Craig? She cracks me up, but can also do news like no ones business.

NBC6 Insider,

I notice that you listed mainly black anchors and reporters. I appreciate NBC 6 for giving blacks a chance to broadcast on the air. What about Trina Robinson, Kelly Craig, Julia Yarbough, Demarco Morgan, Joe Rose, Adam K., Andrea Brody, John Geard, Ryan Phillips, Roxannne Vargas, and many more talented reporters? I was in tears to hear the news about the offical deal. If you are Yvette Miley, thank you for giving people of color an opportunity that no other station has before. I mean a newscast either weekdays or weekends you gave us an opportunity. I am not being racist, but channels 4, 7, & sometimes 10 didnt give blacks an opportunity to anchor a newscast. Im going to miss passing by the miramar and downtown studios. Since WTVJ is moving to pembroke pines, what would happen to the downtown studios? Also, was there any other companies wanted to buy the station? If not that is sad, and that General Manager at WTVJ needs to get more experience because if Don Browne was still there, I believe that he would have changed somethings. Yes, I am upset because something should have been done many years ago. I mean if you wanted to do an experiment newscast with a solo anchor and the ratings are still down, why not do something about it? All of this us BULL it shows how sorry managemet is at wtvj. 59 years of news, what will happened when wtvj moves, will it still have a news department? In a way, Im glad that wtvj/wplg will be joining forces, but the downfall is many people will get job cuts from this on both sides. I can tell every time nbc6 is on the air and in the background in the newsroom, every one seems to be a big happy family with the telemundo 51 also. Now, nbc 6 and telemundo 51 are departing ways. What a mixed emotion day for the south florida television industry.

To answer a few more questions, one person said the TV station will be empty. They are correct. WPLG bought everything but the station. That means they will have to move all of NBC HD equipment to their new studios. Remember, we have two control rooms, both HD, one for Telemundo and one fo NBC. Telemundo has to start fresh. They are going back to Hialeah and they will have to buy all new equipment. Post Newsweek gets the live trucks, the sat trucks and everything inside WTVJ. As for other people, I am not sure, but I think all these people will be let go as well, based on preliminary info: kelly Craig, Trina Robinson, Roxanne Vargas, Andrea Brody, and Joe Rose. I think they may keep Adam Kuperstein. I’m not sure what they will use him for. I think DeMarco may have to go as well, since the 7 is doing so badly in ratings and he isn’t expensive to buy out. They would only have to pay him barely half a year’s salary. Julia will probably stay since she is such a familiar face. I have no idea what will happen to John Gerrard. He just resigned. Remember, I may be talking out of my ass a little since this is info based on emails and meetings and what other higher ups have said. We don’t know what will happen to the AA Arena. The contract is up soon, so WPLG may have the option to keep it or not. It would give them a Miami studio. As for Telemundo, we were never a big happy family. They are lazy and WTVJ did most of the work for them. We will celebrate when they leave. As a manager I couldn’t do much to imprve WTVJ’s product becasue all my producers are former interns or channel 7 people. Our 6pm producer never had any news experience and our managing editor thinks she is th enews director and does whatever she wants, including putting an Ocean Drive segment in every newscast if possible. They should all be ashamed of themselves.

I meant to say John Gerrard re-signed his contract, no left the station.

NBC 6 Insider,
No not Kelly Craig & Trina Robinson? They are very popular in the south florida community. I grew up watching Kelly Craig when she anchored with Tom Randles. Trina is the most nicest news person I every met. I think both are an important part of wtvj. With nbc and telemundo departing ways, I know you guys in a way are happy to be teaming up with wplg. Please when you guys have another meeting, please when you move in with wplg please dont combine the two stations with one newscast. I have family in Jacksonville and when I watch the news and flip the channels with the same face on that station its so boring. It is no competition at all. Demarco is good also I met him in person a couple of times. I also know Mr. Holloway and Chris aka the photographer, will they also have a job? I personally have a goal and that goal is to work in the television news industry, and seeing how this looks its kind of a turn off. I remember watching the NBC 6 coverage of John Glen with Tony Segreto and Jennifer Valoopi in the 5th grade I said to myself, ” I want to do that one day.” My dream is to work at wtvj for its rich history. I feel your pain at the station. Oh, Bob Mayer is the Best in this business! The other day he sent me a thoughtful email that I had to post it on here, and I grew up watching him. I sent him an email today and no response yet, I can tell with no reponse, he is also upset about the deal.I watched the 7pm newscast today I saw Jackie, Demarco playing it well like they were excited about the deal. I saw right through that. NO MATTER WHAT THE OUTCOME OF THIS DEAL I WOULD STILL BE THERE FOR U GUYS,AND PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH THE STATION.

So after all these years of being behind the ratings, you get the boot from NBC? I think NBC should have really thought about this deal with Post Newsweek throught. They should have spoken or took a survey from the employees and listen to what they have to say. I mean 59 years floridas first television station, some other company should have bought you all. Also, I miss nbc6 in downtown miami and nbc made a mistake with that. I loved the blue building with the NBC logo on it, just so original! I remember when everyone at the station was excited. I believe that NBC brought down wtvj and what it stands for in the community. Come on first they bought you all in 1989, switched channels from 4 to 6 in 1995 to gain a better signal for nbc philly, the move to miramar and downtown, and now the boot? This was a planning in the works for many years. But in a few years from now nbc is going to get rid of all their affilates execept LA and New York because they are busy buying networks!

I don’t know who you are NBC6 Insider … but don’t generalize the T51 people. NBC 6 has plenty of arrogant, racist and lazy people. T51 moved into the building in 2002 and were always looked down at. Just because you’re looking down the barrel of a shotgun, don’t blame it on T51. Hmmm … let’s see, who gets better numbers at 6 & 11, many times double the audience NBC 6 gets … T51 … and that’s in the general market, not the Hispanic one. Who gets a hell of a lot better demos … T51.
I have made some great friends on the NBC 6 side, and I will miss them. They are like my family. Although, if you want to make this a war between T51 & NBC 6, bring it on.

Ask any manager or the desk people and they will tell you many of the Telemundo photogs just show up late at stories and demand the video. The desk can’t get a Telemundo live truck operator to a scene because they are where??? Hialeah eating. I am not saying that everyone at Telemundo is lazy. I just think the duopoly of a Spanish language TV station and English language station doesn’t work.

Remember, Ed Ansin has invested $20,000,000 toward the upgrade of WSVN to HD. I wouldn’t call their equipment “crappy.”

NBC6 Fan, your comment about black anchors at WFOR shows a cloudy memory. Without much effort, I can recall Diana Morgan, Khambrel Marshall, Angela Rae, Joan Purdy, Beverly Counts Rodrigues, of course Jawan Strader and now Jim Berry. I’m sure I’m leaving someone out. As for the NBC6 ratings and management, has anyone stopped to consider possibly NBC Corporate made decisions which affected the local ratings intentionally to allow low enough ratings for a local takeover. Its very unusual for this to happen. As for who gets fired, remember nobody at WPLG except for union people are guaranteed jobs. You could see some faces change there to make way for favored WTVJ people. Everything changes.I was impressed with 4’s website listing the accomplishments of WTVJ. Whatever you think about them, they are a landmark and built TV in Florida. It’s nice a competitor was honest enough to mention that.

To those mentioning names, it really isn’t cool. How can you just throw out names of people who COULD lose jobs? You certainly don’t know and it’s silly to say “oh I heard from some people upstairs.” Please. This deal just happened. It will be sometime before things get figured out. Have some respect for the people who have to deal with this.

t-51 insider, i agree with you on some points but not on others. first, yes there are lazy people on both sides, i won’t generalize there. and i too have made many good friends on the telemundo side who i consider like family and who i will miss very much, but…
while you may have felt looked down upon by the wtvj people, i can assure you it was not true as a whole. yes i’m sure some did, but i went out of my way to make you all feel as welcome as i possibly could. i felt your pain of having to come into a new building and i know you must have felt like outsiders. as far as your shots at our low ratings vs. your good ratings, let’s remember something, WTVJ took you in, provided you with state of the art equipment, and showed all of you including your management, how to properly run a television station. when you were in hialeah, you routinely had your hats handed to you by channel 23. you were basically non competitive in the spanish ratings until you became part of the nbc family.

you’re welcome, and please remember what we taught you when you go back to hialeah, i’ll be rooting for you from the sidelines. all the best my friends, most of you will be missed.

When Ardyth came into the newsroom this afternoon to deliver the news that TVJ had been bought out I felt like I was living through the last episode of the Mary Tyler Moore Show. And unfortunately I have a feeling that like that show a lot of the good genuine talents will be out of a job before the end of the year while the inept “Ted Baxter”-types will live to see another day at PLG. Frankly, for me this is a blessing in disguise – it’s out of South Florida and out of TV. Even if I was offered a job at Post-Newsweek (which is highly doubtful) I wouldn’t take it, no thank you.

It’ll be sad to see Billy Graham Specials and late night informercials for the PedEgg on channel 6. But alas, that’s life.

P.S. I have a feeling who NBC6 Insider is … no clue who T51 insider is though.

I hope WFOR will hire her if it’s true she’s getting the ax maybe as a feature reporter or something if anchor isn’t possible.

She’s one of the few anchors with any kind of personality in South Florida and I’d hate to see her disappear.

If only TV had this amount of fewers that visit this blog. Then we would be in this mess.
Have work at many stations. I can honestly say, it’s all crap. Local tv needs to die off.
That era of media is over. A graphic or a promo doesn’t make any difference anymore, that why they are beginning to elimate those jobs. They realize this, so why pay for it.
This is a world of interactive media. People look at there ipods, PSP, DS, cellphones,blogs and youtube most of the day. They don’t care about some crap story about “dangerous soda”
If you think it’s bad now, wait till next year when other stations realize that they can run things as cheap as possible knowing that their employes will deal with it because they have bills to pay.

let me get back to my youtube……

wormFood

The era of media isn’t over, in fact media is growing by leaps and bounds. TV news is just part of the old media that is dying.

It won’t go away entirely. It is just going to have to adjust to the fact that it is not watched by as many people and the market can’t support so many stations.

You are right that it is virtually useless to anyone with a 6th grade education. It is TV for the truly dumb.

To all the brilliant and visionary news managers who forced producers and reporters to sift through women’s mags for sweeps pieces and force producers to write ridiculous teases for stories that never deliver, for hyping events beyond their real news value and for consistantly trying to keep viewers in a constant state of panic, the viewers have said “no thanks.”No mas.

This is not all clear sailing for WLPG. These duopolies have not been very successful for anyone, including this market. Ch4 has little to show for My33. Ch6 and Ch51, well we know how that turned out. The only thing these duoploies do is allow you to run two stations at a reduced cost and the ability to offer advertisers more eyeballs. The problem is the number of eyeballs in decreasing so the duopolies just slow the down hill slide. They don’t stop it.

Ch7, whether it was planned are not, has done the right thing by not going with duopolies fad. No matter how they sell it, the duopolies is a desperation move. And nothing waters down your brand more than taking your key news personnel and putting them on a little watched channel with 8 year old re runs of Bernie Mac or as your lead in. Like them or not 7 has always been smart about their brand. You may be able to make a little coin in the short term and yes it is cheap to do, but the long term effect on your news and your brand is that it is valueless. But, perhaps the decision makers already know that.

T51insider

When you assign a hispanic cameraman or crew to a story here are the most common responses:

“Why do I have to do it?”
“Isn’t there anyone else?”
“I have to be home at 6, my daughter’s sick.”
“That’s not my job!”
“I don’t feel good. I need to go home.”
“My Nextel was broken.”
“I’m stuck in traffic, running late, get someone else.”
“I’m running late, I had to..(insert any excuse here).”
“My back hurts.”
“I put my camera in engineering for repair.”
“I have to get my car fixed again.”
“Can you send a stringer?”
“Is anyone else shooting it?”
“I’m late (code:just waking up) I’m right around the corner.”
“No I wasn’t sleeping!”
“I said, That’s not mi job!”

Relax, it’s just a joke. A little levity.

pancho…take it from someone who’s never worked for a spanish station…that’s the case with photographers just about everywhere (with a FEW exceptions at a FEW stations…)

Ted Baxter,

7 is part of the “duopoly fad”, not here in SoFla, but in Boston when they bought out WLVI-TV from Tribune. A lot of New Englanders were pretty pissed off when seeing the Trib-produced 10pm Newscast got replaced by a Boston carbon copy of 7News.

So, in fairness, you can thank President Clinton for signing the 1996 Telecom Act that gave these owners a chance to make more from Duopolies.

While I would get my news from the Broward New-Times, and let me tell you they have more stories and any station, in all of SoFla’s TV News combined.

And as for Mora/Hori….

Yes, it’s a big timewarp for WFOR, but comparing them to how they were 5 years ago…they were too tabloid for my taste, that’s why I stopped watching them, and watched reruns of the Simpsons. By now, I don’t even watch live television anymore.

This is the day where WTVJ died. I, for one, have followed South Florida tv for a long time and when I heard PNS bought channel 6, my heart just sank.

That means a lot of talented people are going to be let go. That means less competition and less balance. I, for one, am disappointed and wish all of the NBC 6 employees the best of luck.

First, let me say I am sorry to hear anyone has to lose their jobs, but that is a reality of this unexpected situation. Here are the possibilites:

One newscast is simulcast on both stations (like WTLV/WJXX in Jacksonville)

2 newscasts, with separate teams are kept (like WBBH/WZVN in Fort Myers)

OR some NBC 6 staffers are kept to do the 5pm news and 7pm news which ‘PLG doesn’t air.

The first option is the best way to make the most money of a news duopoly. It would be catastrophic to the ‘TVJ staff. They ALL would be gone. I think the last option is the most likely scenario, with most people layed off on the NBC side, but some talent and behind the scene staffers kept on. You need a 5pm news on ‘TVJ to fill that time slot and the 7pm slot has a lot of potential to make money with people getting home, if done right.

Newsie is right.
You certainly don’t want to cannibalize any audience that is left in the evenings by competing against yourself. It’s easy to envision the following evening schedule:

WPLG – Exactly as is now, no changes.

WTVJ – 4pm Ellen, 5pm Local 6 News, 6pm Access Hollywood, 6:30pm Extra, 7:00pm Local 6 News, 7:30pm NBC Nightly News

You’ve got your news, your counter-programming and something different all rolled into one.

Also, isn’t it strangely ironic that the trio of duopolies in Jacksonville, Ft. Myers and Miami involve ABC and NBC ?

Looking at the new Lot in wich Post-Newsweek its constructing for PLG and future home/graveyard for TVJ; it looks smaller than Peacock plaza, it has a lake and some warehouses to the North and Hallandale beach Blvd to the south with I-95 like 4 or 5 blocks to the East and Fl’s Turnpike to the West (i just Google Eath it), IMO the Telemundo network will have to manage or buy peacock plaza for T51 and who knows maybe Telemundo’s News dep. will move and leave their Hialeah studios for Network operations. they (T51) can’t move back to Hialeah since most of Telemundo’s news programs occupies the old T51 studios.
I can’t imagine what the future holds for peacock plaza and if Noticiero 51 makes the move to the main news studio once TVJ moves to PNW’s new building it will be a possible scenario for T51.
Any other opinions?

What’s the status of 7’s lawsuit with the developer in North Bay Village? I guess the lousy real estate market is buying Ansin a few years maybe. The bayfront land WSVN sits on has to be worth a ton of money. But the market is moving out of Dade and North Bay Village is just 1 bad hurricane away from a Katrina like fiasco. Any Cat 3 or higher hits the entire station will get flooded out.

Would 7 want to buy NBC 6’s building? What about WFOR? They’ve got to be pretty cramped in Doral. Or since all the equipment is going out of the building, it’ll be easier just to build new, and maybe get bigger tax incentives from a local city.

YM
You are dead on with New Times and Citylink. They really do come up with great stories at times. Better than the papers. I always wondered why stations who plan their days based on what the Herald or Sentinel reports don’t jump in and steal their stories too.

Jim

You are being extremely over dramatic. WTVJ ts not dead. Its not going away. It just just got sold. It has had other owners in the past. You could argue it died when clueless NBC bought it and ran it into the ground.

“That means less competition and less balance.”

You never got any balance anyway! We just shovel the same crap with the only difference being the actors, the channel number and logo. Balance? No one in news rooms ever uses that word. Never. Fox uses it as a slogan, but thats it.

Those of us in news have to be upfront for the people who read this that aren’t in news. We know local news as it stands sucks. We talk about it with each other in newsrooms, news cars, parties, after hours, on stories etc. But in public we put a different face on it. We often ridicule viewers as being stupid or trailer trash or whatever. And few of us watch it on our own time. The newbies buy into it, but after a few years they learn. I wish it was different and perhaps station managers and owners now have enough fear to produce a better product (not likely though).

Working in news is like a non-smoker working for Phillip Morris. You know what you sell is no good, but hey, you have bills and you need a job so you just keep your mouth closed and keep going.

Frank, just to clarify a couple things for you,

NBC still owns the building at peacock plaza. NBC also still owns the telemundo network. telemundo isn’t going to buy the building at peacock plaza, their parent company already owns it. it would be buying something from yourself. t-51 is moving back to hialeah, that is a done deal, they are already in the early stages of the move.

as far as the new post newsweek building being a graveyard for wtvj? i think you’re wrong there also. too many good and talented people at wtvj. it will be a good chance for post newsweek to trim the fat from both stations and keep the best from both, as well. i’ve seen it happen before. there will be changes for sure, but anyone who thinks it is going to be a party for wplg and mass layoffs for wtvj is in for a shock.

Pancho,

That’s with hispanics in ANY industry that you work with! My father is the owner of a rubber flooring company, and we had to do an installation for a condominium today, and our installer was supposed to be there at 9:00 A.M. He was giving us literally all the excuses listed above. He arrived at the installation scene at 4:00 P.M.

Riddle me this–WaPo’s duopoly in Jacksonville includes WJXT, which used to be a CBS affiliate but is now an indy (and holds a similar historical position in that market to WTVJ here), correct? Isn’t 7 affiliated with NBC in Boston? Would it not be interesting if 7 re-upped with NBC when they buy their building (and remember, Ansin made most of his bucks in Miramar real estate) and WaPo operated WTVJ as an indy? Wouldn’t have to compete in news during evenings or at 10 or 11. Maybe, maybe not. Stranger things have happened.

Hmm…This is interesting. All of the Post-Newsweek Stations use the “Local” monikor.
I wonder if they will rebrand from NBC6-to Local 6???

Local 6?! i just threw up in my mouth a little bit.

Local 6. lol. That made me throw up in my mouth too. *sigh*

I can see it now, they’ll force poor Jackie Nespral to do a shitty commercial talking about how great and special it is to work with that cheese-ball Todd Todgen and how we’re all “a big happy family here at Local6” why there’s a group of special needs kids playing ball with her in a park a la Laurie “Stepford Wife” Jennings.

Or one of those commercials where a skeevy ass viewer writes Laurie an e-mail talking about how Local10’s news coverage “saved my life when I was diagnosed with life-threatening alopecia. Thank you, Laurie and Local10 for always being there for me and my 60 cats during my lonely nights at home.”

BTW, I am totally not bitter about this whole thing. lol.

I’ve heard Ansin owns the land in Miramar and rents it to WTVJ.

wtvjstaffer
“I can see it now, they’ll force poor Jackie Nespral to do a shitty commercial..”

Poor Jackie Nespral? Let’s get real. She is lucky to have job for as long as she has. She reportedly is one of the best paid anchors, she does nothing but look perky and read and she has no audience. None. Let her go out and try to get another job and try to make the kind of money she does now. I say poor WTVJ staff that had no say in their crappy news that will now be out on their butts.

I am no Laurie J fan but at least she has an audience and is far more popular with news viewers than Jackie.

jp, i’ve heard the moon landing was faked, and elvis is still alive. those things aren’t true either though.

I work at WPLG. Have for awhile. Was I concerned about my job before the purchase? Yes. With the move to the new building and auotmation, I was basically competing against my co-workers to keep my job. Worry level was 75% No worries, 25% Yes worries. Now, since I’ll have to compete with WTVJ employees, it’s more like 75% Yes worries, 25% No worries. Have I prepared for what might come? Of course. Prepared the family, too. Might have to move out of South Florida. Might have to get out of TV to pay the bills. But, again, all things I knew when I got into TV. It’s the way the business is going. Not just in Miami, but everywhere. And no, its not just because the “economy is bad” Seriously, it makes good business sense for a company to use one machine to do a job that used to take 4 or 5 people. I get it. You don’t?

I feel for the employees of WTVJ. I know what my anxiety level is. I can only imagine what theirs is. They went thru the whole automation thing. Then the announcement the station was for sale. Now, this.

And instead of showing compassion, what do the majority of you people do? Express your views on who will be kept and who will be let go. Do you think that helps? Do you think the people who are being affected by this CARE if you think they will be there or not? Seriously. Your opinions really amount to nothing when it comes to this. They have families to care for. Bills to pay. Career decisions to make. Hell, look at your posts. You cant even spell the names correctly of these people you think should be unemployeed.
If you’re viewers posting this stuff: Do you think the managers at any station read these posts and think “Hey, (insert bloggers name here) thinks (insert talent name here) has a hook nose and is a lousy reporter. Lets get rid of them. Thanks (insert bloggers name here) for opening our eyes” No, they read these for a good laugh. Trust me, i’ve been in there with them when they have done in.

If you’re employees posting this stuff: Wow. Seriously. Sad. Pathetic. Unbelievable. Amazing.

Thanks for reading this. Here’s hoping whatever happens is as painfree as possible for all involved.

Sincerely,
The Trained Monkey…

Trained Monkey,

Well said. Bravo.

You are on of the few people on here that make sense. I hope you end up staying through the WPLG/WTVJ mess, because it seems like you are one of the few people who understands the bigger issue.

To all on the WTVJ/WPLG sale, I wish you the best for all of you. Despite the rivalries, we are brothers and sisters of an industry in peril and I wish nothing for the best for you.

So what happens to the newscasts? Will they air the same newscast on both stations or will they each have a different studio in the new building, or will one station completely lost its newscasts?

How a WTVJ anchor feels about this:

“How do I feel about the sale? I am a little bit excited to see what WPLG will do, but my gut tells me that excitement won’t last for long. I can’t imagine that WPLG is going to get rid of the news on NBC6, however, I think that makes the most business sense. Why would WPLG want to have two news stations under one roof that they have to pay double for? When I worked at a CBS/Independent duopoly in Los Angeles, we never had news on at the same time. We had separate anchors on each channel. Reporters worked on both stations. We did 14 1/2 hours of news a day starting from 5-7am, to 11am, 12pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm 5pm, 5:30pm, 6pm, 8pm, 9pm, 10pm and 11pm.

With this being a network duopoly, I think WPLG will want to highlight their Number 1 news on both channels. Why would they want to have another channel competing with them. Even if we didn’t have news on at the same time, we would be competing with something that’s on their channel. I would think Post Newsweek would want their news on both channels and then use the rest of our news time to sell commercials, paid programming and their news promos.

I have a terrible feeling that many of my friends and co-workers will be laid off. I think many long time anchors and reporters will leave or be forced to retire. I am not so worried about what happens to me, because I am under a new contract, one that they would have to buy me out of and that is fine with me. I know there are other jobs out there. But, many other people are settled here in Florida. This is where their families are and they can’t just pick up and leave.

I also think this will be a long process. Even if the FCC plans to approve this, I think many interest groups will protest the duopoly. The best case scenario would be for WPLG and us to work together as two news stations that are on throughout the day at different times. We could do news in the morning, since we beat them in the ratings. They could simulcast that news. We could keep our 11am show, but move it to 10. They could do the noon, since we don’t have one. We could start a 5 and 5:30 news while they do the 6. We could keep the 7pm, since they don’t have one, The big questions is what happens at 11pm? We will have to see. I think they could promote this as the most news in South Florida and tease every newscast to whatever channel has news next. It’s an interesting idea, but an unlikely one due to budgets.

That’s about all I can say. I can move. I wouldn’t mind. My home is not in South Florida. But, many other people are going to have to make major changes in their lives when they thought they would work for NBC until their retired. “

Just a side note to the above post. I really respect the NBC6 anchor who wrote back. Out of the 7 anchors I e-mailed, this was the only response I received. That makes me think they were instructed not to comment.

I think all of us need to sign a petition and protest! I think this duopoly should not happen. I know to many people at WTVJ. One person who works in sales cryed on me because she does not know if she would be layed off or not. All of this is sad, when Bob Mayer made the announcement on friday, kelly,roxy, and trina did not look happy at all.

trained monkey,
you hit the nail on the head. you obviously understand very well what we’re going through. you also seem to be one of the only ones posting to understand that the layoffs and cuts are liable to affect both of our stations, not just wtvj.

hopefully we’ll both keep our jobs down the road and will work together, i’m sure we can learn a lot from each other and that will help us both as we navigate down this rocky road.

NBC6 Fan

You have no power. That’s a waste of time.

Understand your only power. Turn off the TV or the channel. Don’t watch. It is the only protest you have that could only make a difference and you will have to have a lot of people to join you.

Viewers turned off Ch 6 and look what happened. In the end it is the decision of viewers that is changing the business. They aren’t watching and advertisers aren’t advertising. Simple.

TV news can longer do tricks and stunts to trick people to watch like they used to.

Example.
I saw a promo on Ch4 during a sports program this weekend. It was one of those inane and stupid scary music promos for a “What’s in your water” story, suggesting something is in my water that is going to kill me. I already know my tap water is fine and I will live another day, but these lying stories are why local news is on the slide. If something is in the water that is going to kill me I wish they would tell me now instead of waiting for the story to air. It might buy me a few days.

My only power is to not watch and I won’t. I bet I will live longer drinking my deadly tap water than Ch4’s news will.

Has anyone explained this to Gray Hall or Tisha Lewis yet? When you do, remember to use small words.
Cruel? Maybe. When they fill jobs which should be occupied by people with skills, not so much. They aren’t villains though. Ardy and Yvette should get most (all) of the credit for the train wreck they’ve been running in Miramar.

Alex,

I hope you land on your feet if this shakes out poorly for you, but the job opportunities for anchoring is shrinking in just about every market big and small. And there are a lot of laid off and soon to be let go anchors about to be in the job hunt. The number of positions is quickly shrinking and fat contracts will not be as easy to come by, the exception being those that have proven to draw an audience.

The KCBS duopily might not be a good example. Isn’t CBS the losers of that market too? News seems to be a cobbled together after thought the way you explained the way they do it. If they did that here that would really water down WPLG’s news identity. I think PN is smarter than CBS and wouldn’t do that. The networks almost always have been terrible at running local news operations. Just look at Miami.

What just about every poster fails to point out in this forum is that TV stations don’t make money off of household ratings. They make money off of demos, most often adults 25 to 54 years old, or A25-54. Guess which two stations are #1 and #2 in A25-54 at 11pm? You guessed right if you said WPLG and WTVJ. In the mornings WTVJ handily beats WPLG in A25-54. At 6pm WTVJ gets crushed. At 7pm, NBC6 actually does okay. Don’t be surprised at all if the bean-counters keep most but not all of both stations’ newscasts. Will there be layoffs? Absolutely. But Post-Newsweek is not in business to give away millions of dollars in profits, which they would be doing if they stopped airing WTVJ newscasts.

The Miami TV market will be switching over to People Meters in a few months so we’ll all be able to see the demos on a nightly basis. Just fyi

Management at WTVJ has never told any of us not to write on these gossip pages. I am sure they don’t like ti but it is one small way some of us can at least be heard when our managers don’t pay any attention to us. Just to tell you something funny, we have about 50 interns this summer and I was printing scripts the other day while Joel Connable was talkingto a group of interns. He runs this anchor boot camp thing where he tries to teach people how to deliver the news on set and he talks to them about all the things they should expect in the business. He told the group the other day that they are going into the broadcast journlaism job market at the worst possible time. Then he read off a few pet peeves. He said, “Shots don’t ring out and allegedly is not a word normal people use.” I thought it was funny, since that is what all the managers and producers write in their scripts. But the best thing was when he told them that they may not want to be reporters. he encouraged them to become managers. He said, “We need better managers in this business. Bad management has made local news what it is today.” I thought that was a great thing to tell them, but unfortunately, I’m sure none of them will want to be low paid managers at a local news station.

NBC6Insider: Joel is a pretty funny guy. On screen, and from what i understand, personally as well. That comment he made really is well said. If there we better managers at WTVJ, NBC6 (i feel) would not be in this mess.

I couldn’t agree more with the assesments that management is responsible for TVJ’s downfall.

I mean, Tisha Lewis … wow. I think Corky from “Life Goes On” could scoop Tisha on a story. Ralph Renick must’ve been doing cartwheels in his grave when she was hired. To think that Tom Llamas was one of our better reporters … sad thought. Things really started to go downhill when Martha left.

But NBC didn’t need to pull the trigger, they could have fired Ardyth, Yvette and a handful of other people, gutted the upper management and in time things would have picked up again.

Whatever … spilled milk at this point. I’m waiting to hear what the NBC benefits people have to say and for that party Ardyth promised us … free drinks! After that .. I’m outta there!

recently laid off myself, didn’t receive a good package,
was laid off at NBC few years ago due to Hubing. Received a very good
package from GE, it helped me for a long time.
Sucks for me, but it’s time to move on. Away from local news. Long hours
with clueless managers and staffers that only want to collect checks. One of
the worst industries around. I’m glad it’s slowing dying a painful death. It’s what it deserves!

Once your are at the bottom, you can only go up WTVJ’ers……or go to school and get a REAL JOB!!!!!!

Not rehashing old stories in plastic rooms, done as cheaply as possible by the same mor@ns that have been there for 15 years……or more

thenewopoly,

TV stations don’t make money off demos either. They make money from advertisers. Demographics can’t write a check.

The ad world is changing and other media offers advertisers more bang for the buck and allows them to drill down to their target in ways TV can’t regardless of the demos. Plus, advertisers are experiencing budget cuts too. They also know even with good demos, TV is not as effective as it was. People don’t respond to it they way they did in the past. TV stations don’t like to talk about this.

The duopolies is another tool for TV sales to try and entice advertisers to stay on board by offering a new and larger audience. Duopolies are still relatively new so it is hard to tell whether or not these are smart moves. CBS4/My33 is a duopoly and the grim reaper is hovering around their newsroom.

TV stations, even 7&10 are having a difficult time selling 30 spots at the premiums they have been used to. That is why if you have noticed, Ch10 & 7 have so many lower tier advertisers like dating phone lines and infomercial type stuff. If you are an advertiser Ch10 will do almost anything you want.

In fact the most interesting and insightful information we could ever get would be to hear from an advertiser on this blog. He or she would tell us the real story. TV news people don’t know anything about the business side. Advertisers are the real customers of a TV station and they can tell you why they are leaving for other advertising avenues.

For all those in newsrooms, here is your future. Get ready.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/jul/21/eye-opener-pitch/

To respond to the negative comments of Telemundo 51’s duopoly with NBC6, the simple fact is that this market’s growth is the Hispanic population, be it Spanish only or Bilingual. That’s why we have eight local over-the-air and cable TV channels available in Spanish.

It was a shock to the NBC6 folks when the first announcement of the sale happened but many insiders have told me that when NBC first purchased Telemundo Network, many of the staff at NBC6 were arrogant and very demeaning to the T51 people (it’s still present even to today as the ax is coming down).

Humility is something that should be practiced at every station and somehow it got lost in the day-to-day business operation in Miramar.

I think that what’s gonna happen is that WPLG is going to produce their newscast, and their going to copy it on WTVJ. Kind of like what WTVJ did with My33 or CW. I forget which they produce.

They produced the newscasts for CW. WFOR produces newscasts for WBFS (aka MY 33.) Hope that clears things up for you.

Watchtower, the new US Census would say otherwise, the hispanic percentage hold in Dade decreased while the white population increased. The 8 stations is because of the already massive spanish speaking community but look at the ratings. Univision is strong, but Telemundo is still pretty weak and the rest of the stations pathetically register. English is still and will continue to be what it is today, the largest and strongest.

Wait until the newspapers dwindle and die…

Watchtower, Humility? When WTVJ started sharing space with T51 things changed and not necessarily for the best. While the Ch6 (non contract) employees did not see much in raises those at T51 were given pay equal to that of their Ch6 comrades. Those were big raises. Have they forgotten that? I can tell you that at least 3 times a week a cranky photographer would drive up to the live truck and demand our video just around the time we needed to start editing for the show. Granted there are some employees at T51 who are awesome and are team players but for the most part T51 did less news and less work. I honestly was made to feel like an outcast in our own building. All water under the bridge. Many fine people at WTVJ will perhaps loose their jobs and I hate it. Contact the FCC and voice your opinion folks!

DUOPLY NEWS

That’s interesting. Wonder why no hot news babe with big breasts in TV news ever told us that story. How come the all feeling Laurie J. never mentioned that?

A Spanish speaking community equals poverty. Look at Dade County. Miami Dade is one of the poorest counties in the nation. It has some of the worst performing schools country. It has a large uneducated workforce that is useless for anything other than serving tourists and the wealthy. The middle class is almost non existent in Dade.
Don’t wait for the TV news media to tell you this. They won’t.

Look at LA County. Same thing magnified by a thousand. Look at at any community where Spanish is strong and you find poverty and an uneducated population.

So much for diversity. Knowing Spanish only is a ticket to the poor house.

Honestly, management brought WTVJ to the ground! I mean these managers/EP’s don’t know squat!!! They are terrified of the News Director and so don’t make any decisions on their own. Also, the interns that were hired as producers (as was mentioned in one of the above posts) were hired by these same incompetent managers. For example, the 10pm(CW)producer is a little intern with no experience whatsoever who just kissed ass to the top (not to mention the very strange relationship he has with Mr. Night-side EP). The managers are so insecure that they need below average producers so they can feel important….when they have someone who knows what they’re doing, they feel threatened and put that person on the shit list. The reason the ratings are so bad is simply a result of bad management and editoral skills. These people wet their pants everytime there’s a fire or a car falls in a canal.. Honestly, no one cares!!!!!!!!!!! How is a car in a canal going to affect my life…..newsflash, it doesn’t! Crap is crap no matter how many graphics you put on the screen, people! If we had some competence in the management team this station would be #1! The higher-ups should’ve changed the News Director and all her hired for a winning team. Instead we are victims of bad hiring practices based on “what’s on your ipod” instead of “what’s on your resume”. Seriously, the news director asks people she’s interviewing “what’s on your ipod?”. I mean, HELLO!!!!

Ok Pete, that was harsh! I do agree that there is a lot of poverty and lower standards but we are not all like that. The same can be said for the gringos! Hillbilly red-necks aren’t any better. If drinking Jack Daniels and Budweiser all day is better according to you, then so be it. GIT-R-DONE!!! And by the way, the middle class is about 80% of dade county….What rock are you living under. Talk about ignorance. And if you need a history lesson, just remember that before Cubans started coming here in the 60s, this was a swamp! Thanks to the imigration and the money it has brought into the community, Miami/South Florida has grown into one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the US.

Response to Past WTVJ’ER: Contact the FCC and voice your opinion folks!

I AGREE WITH YOU EVERY BODY CALL AND VOICE YOUR OPINION!

NBC6 Fan, the bottom line is this. It would take hundreds if not THOUSANDS of people to call the FCC. Even then, they would still just give you a generic response such as “we have multiple people looking into this, and we are confident we will reach a decision that will accommodate both parties.” They DO NOT care about what you have to say. It’s simple logic. Who’s opinion do you think they care about more, yours, or BILLION dollar NBC and Time Warner. I think you know the answer.

Ok, lets start a grass roots effort. It is worth a try! Here’s the info. Flood them with complaints!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PHONE: Our Consumer & Mediation Specialists are available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET to answer your questions and assist you in filing a complaint. Call toll-free at 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice or 1-888-TELL- FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY.
For all the other methods, download/print the complaint form:
›› Form 2000E English (PDF)
›› Form 2000E Español (PDF)

POSTAL: Send your complaint to the following address, making sure to include copies of all supporting information.
Federal Communications Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Complaints
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20554

FAX: The completed complaint form may be faxed toll-free to: 1-866-418-0232. Be sure to include all required information to prevent delay in the processing of your complaint.
EMAIL: You may email your completed complaint form and supporting documents to fccinfo@fcc.gov

Or use the website fcc.gov

Educated, non-lazy hispanic,

I am not trying to insult anyone. I just stated facts. You are talking out of your backside and have no facts.

A study by the Brookings Institute 3 years ago shows Miami’s middle class is 19% of its population based on Census income figures.

Where is your data meathead? What is your source? You? You don’t know anything, you were probably educated in a Dade County school.

Miami has the poorest zip code in the country. Overtown. There is a source of pride.

I do not think Hispanics are lazy. I never said that. To the contrary. They are not. Failure to learn English is partially the problem. And it is hard to get an education in America when you can’t speak English. Hybrid schools that exist now turn out poor students. We also have one of the highest drop out rates in the nation.

If Miami was a swamp before Cubans arrived how is it any better now? If Cubans want to take credit for Miami, than have at it. It’s corrupt, dirty, filthy, poor, crime ridden, drug infested and uneducated and to many visitors rude. Miami is one of the poorest cities in America.

But, then again so is Cuba isn’t it? Well, except they can’t afford drugs.

My man, quit watching CSI Miami and go look out your front door.

My larger point was that you never heard those facts on your news.

Past WTVJ’er, i admire the fact that you’re trying. But this blog maybe AT THE MOST gets a thousand hits a day. Out of that 1000, i would say 40 of those people are active posters, and 10 of them are actually willing to take the time to call…

Our management is to blame for this bull. Starting with Ardy, Yvette M.,these are the two biggest idiots. They hire these so called managers like Elias (please…) Chris P, who thinks he’s a good manager because he dresses up with a tie ans sucks up. Liz R. who is the biggest retard, she thinks that everyone is stupid except her. She needs to learn that a story is not based on her getting free things. The so called desk manger, Cecelia (secretary).

Now because of them we all are in jeopardy to lose our jobs. We should of spoken up early about these idiots. But now we must sit back and wait for our poison. Let’s hang in there.

Thanks guys

I agree with alex, trying to start a grass roots campaign to stop the sale isn’t going to work on here. but perhaps it isn’t so much how many of us complain, as it is who we complain to. the fcc probably won’t care what we say, but what if we contact some community leaders and have them complain to the FCC or file petitions to deny.

what if we contact Debbie Wasserman Schultz, or Mel Martinez, or Bill Nelson, or Illeana Ros-Lehtinen, or the Diaz-Balart brothers, hell one of them was a WTVJ employee for heaven’s sake. surely Lincoln or Mario Diaz Balart would be interested in helping save WTVJ. Maybe Charlie Crist would be interested in helping. These people are public servants. They all have websites, they could surely apply more pressure to the FCC to give this mess a second look.

The Communications Act of 1934 said that all stations needed to operate in the “public interest, convenience and necessity” in order to be licensed. this is an important phrase. is what is happening now in the public’s interest, convenience, or necessity? hardly.

Contact these people. make them aware. let them be the stick that beats the fcc over the head until they see what is wrong.

http://wassermanschultz.house.gov/
http://martinez.senate.gov/public/
http://billnelson.senate.gov/
http://www.house.gov/ros-lehtinen/
http://diaz-balart.house.gov/
http://mariodiazbalart.house.gov/
http://www.charliecrist.com/

i’d suggest someone or every one of you who cares, write to these people, express your displeasure, use spell check and present your case clearly without negative emotions.

the FCC has a 30 day window for objections to be filed, so do it quickly. mention the whole “can’t own two top 4 stations in one market thing. shouldn’t it be top 4 ENGLISH stations.

Well said TVJ’er uncut!! I totally agree with you!! I was there when they made the announcement last Friday and all I could think about as the GM spoke was how these incompetent fools are responsible for our unstable future. I sit in the middle of the newsroom and I hear Liz, Ilyas, and Chris talking smack all day. You should hear these conversations!! They are more concerned about who’s going to pick-up thier daily Starbucks fix than covering REAL news. We’ve become a clone of CH 7 with the sensationalism. I wish they would just go away so I can read my wires and write my show in peace!!

Another perspective from another anchor:
”
Dear Alex,
I too am a South Florida native and love this community with all of my heart and soul, and could not imagine moving anywhere else. So it’s safe to say that I believe we do need representation from several avenues for news in this diverse community.
Unfortunately the news industry has changed quite a bit. There are now countless ways to get news on a daily basis (internet, cable, satellite) etc. In a time when companies are scaling back, it’s understandable how this too could happen in the local news market.
It is my sincere hope that “Post-Newsweek” will continue to run WTVJ with the same integrity we have been known for, for almost 60 years!
I hope to continue to deliver the news for this wonderful community.

Thanks again,
**************
“

I agree with alex, trying to start a grass roots campaign to stop the sale isn’t going to work on here. but perhaps it isn’t so much how many of us complain, as it is who we complain to. the fcc probably won’t care what we say, but what if we contact some community leaders and have them complain to the FCC or file petitions to deny.

what if we contact Debbie Wasserman Schultz, or Mel Martinez, or Bill Nelson, or Illeana Ros-Lehtinen, or the Diaz-Balart brothers, hell one of them was a WTVJ employee for heaven’s sake. surely Lincoln or Mario Diaz Balart would be interested in helping save WTVJ. Maybe Charlie Crist would be interested in helping. These people are public servants. They all have websites, they could surely apply more pressure to the FCC to give this mess a second look.

The Communications Act of 1934 said that all stations needed to operate in the “public interest, convenience and necessity” in order to be licensed. this is an important phrase. is what is happening now in the public’s interest, convenience, or necessity? hardly.

Contact these people. make them aware. let them be the stick that beats the fcc over the head until they see what is wrong.

wassermanschultz.house.gov/
martinez.senate.gov/public/
billnelson.senate.gov/
http://www.house.gov/ros-lehtinen/
diaz-balart.house.gov/
mariodiazbalart.house.gov/
http://www.charliecrist.com/

i’d suggest someone or every one of you who cares, write to these people, express your displeasure, use spell check and present your case clearly without negative emotions.

the FCC has a 30 day window for objections to be filed, so do it quickly. mention the whole “can’t own two top 4 stations in one market thing. shouldn’t it be top 4 ENGLISH stations.

This is a warning for any NBC6 employee or Telemundo employee who is writing things on this blog. If you talk about company business, we will track down the emails registered on this site and we will take action agaianst you. NBC policy strictly states that no employee may discuss internal business with outside sources. As of right now, all talk of managers will cease. WTVJ is run by managers who have years of experience and angry employees who feel they have no one else to blame resort to these weak tactics. Employees will be tracked down. We have already indentified three people from WTVJ who are posting on this board.

Then I will speak for the NBC employees, to the dumbass “alleged” NBC Manager (sorry JC). I am a lifetime viewer of WTVJ. If you really are a manager, then this is at your feet, idiot. The employees you are idly threatening have no bearing on the business decisions, so your threats are as empty as Jackie Nespral’s head. Sign your name bigshot. My name doesn’t matter-as I said, I’m just a viewer. But when I write the FCC, I can assure you I will sign that letter. As well as the letter I shall write to Jeff Zucker, who attended the same high school as me. I shall question his manhood and his intellect for letting a station in his hometown fall into disrepair as it has. So I suggest you shut the f up, go buy the Herald, and check the classifieds for openings in the fascinating fast food industry. I suspect you won’t be any good at that either. I think your story is crap, but I figured I’d rip you just in case. P.S.: The word is “identified.” Can’t NBC afford SpellCheck?

Hello NBC Mangaer,

I got a news flash for you. #1 I am not one of your employees. #2 For an industry that prides itself in using, upholding, and triumphing the first amendment you sure do a great job of trying to trounce it when it appears on a small regional internet web blog. Can’t you see Mr (or Ms. ) NBC manager that is part and parcel what got you and your industry into this mess?
Listen up folks………its easy to backbite each other over rumors, perceived innuendo, fear, and apprehension. Calling T-51. TVJ. or PLG employees names and making disparaging remarks with work ethic or ethnicity is fuel for the fire. Cool it gang. I am a viewer. I have no self serving, or career sustaining interest here. I am telling you like I see it.
Chill.
These decisions did not happen overnight and from an American corporate point of view are happening across the country on stories you yourselves have been reporting (GM, USair, United Airlines, etc)
Managers instead of stifling your talent and production peoople listen to what they are telling you. We viewers no longer want a 7 minute tease as we wait for the 6 day forecast. We’re not concerned with Ocean Drive Magazine shop athons as we fret over our rising mortgages, we lose intrest with 8 minute cluster bomb commercials of Dolphin Tile and Palmetto Ford brought to us by the Miccousukee Tribe of Indians.
We the viewers have choices. Cable, Satellite, web blogs, news on demand on our phones and PDA’s. Your viewers are abandoning you in droves because you have forgotten who is on the other side of the camera. We the viewers. We’ve been telling you for years. Give us the news, make it accurate (I’ll say it slowly make it a-c-c-u-r-a-t-e as in factual) make it timely and make it relevant. Going green with a hybrid this or that that which can only be found currently in Ft. Myers does me no good here.
One other thing. Paul Deanno. Fantastic delivery, smooth as gin, reputable and knowledgeable. Paul your work is A+ …… but seriously cut the “Chief Meteorologist” title There’s only 3 of you there and your the one on camera. I mean you don’t have a chief toll collector, or a chief custodian in life. You work stands on it’s own merit, the chief thing is very pretentious for a man not allowed to wear green.
NBC anchors…Julia, Jackie et all… you ladies are aces but please tell management..no more ocular aerobics, Moving from the set to the control room, back to the set, over to the green screen, come back to the set, get up the stairs..whew..I’m dizzy. Can you all just sit or stand still for a moment.
P.S on the hot tip list…. every time you go to the control room we viewers either focus on the big gulp cup the controller has on his desk, or we see the satellite feeds on the screens behind you, notice something better and switch channels. Tell Ms. or Mr. NBC manager not to allow the viewer to see what your competition is doing simultaneously, we do have choices as I said.

NBCManager: Besides me having SERIOUS credibility issues with you, assuming you are an actual NBC manager, you have no right to tell your employees what to write. If called freedom of speech, buddy. All of this mess will eventually be public information. They could come out publicly saying who they are, call you a complete ass, and you STILL could not fire them. It’s called a contract. Anchors can do what ever the hell they want, and if they don’t breach the contract, they’re safe. Besides that point, if you REALLY are a NBC Manager, you would be telling the anchors in person. Not through a comment on a message board, where A, you don’t identify yourself, B, there is no way to confirm your identity, and C, there are more professional ways to take care of that issue. You want to prove me wrong? Provide me your OFFICIAL NBCUNI E-mail address, and e-mail me from it. Otherwise, you’re a complete fraud with to much time on your hands.

Sincerely,
Alex

PS: You can’t track people on this board via there e-mail, like you claim. E-mails are private, and only can be obtained from the administration, or of course, a warrant.

(Wow Chuck, you posted while i was writing. Took words right out of my mouth. Mainly, F OFF.)

*A quick disclaimer: I speak solely for myself, and my views DO NOT represent the SFLTV site, or my sources. *

A Viewer: you are assuming this fool is an actual NBC Manager. I would almost be willing to bet that he’s not.

Doesn’t alter some of the other points. “Alex” I wish you well in this changing enviornment

“If called freedom of speech” D’oh… of course, i meant *It’s

No problem Alex
Sorry I can’t stay but I have to go see the NBC manger approved “Oh my stars” segment. You know how important that is to us in South Florida at 11:23pm, maybe if I’m lucky the same brain trust NBC manager will throw in a live shot of Joe Rose as the camera pans away so I can see all of the GE purchased cables and junction boxes on the floor.

Speaking of “Oh My Stars”, I hear that that hideous line was made special just for Jackie, and the rest of the NBC6 crew got stuck saying it. I cringe when I hear grown men say “Oh My Stars!”

If you oppose Post-Newsweek’s acquisition of WTVJ (like I do), contact the FCC. I just did.

Their website is http://www.fcc.gov/

To Contact the Commissioners via E-mail:

Chairman Kevin J. Martin: KJMWEB@fcc.gov
Commissioner Michael J. Copps: Michael.Copps@fcc.gov
Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein: Jonathan.Adelstein@fcc.gov
Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate: dtaylortateweb@fcc.gov
Commissioner Robert McDowell: Robert.McDowell@fcc.gov

Eugene O Sykes, while we are emailing don’t forget to email the NBC man of the hour Jeff Zucker. I think he should be ashamed since he grew up in Miami.

To whom it may concern,

Legal counsel is now in contact with this Web site’s domain owner and a court order has been issued to obtain any and all email addresses and unique individual computer IP addresses of NBC Universal employees who have posted and made public sensitive and private company information and communications.

All WTVJ and NBC Universal employees need to be reminded that divulging information about company plans, procedures and/or trade secrets is prohibited and is punishable by immediate termination. NBC Universal also retains the option to exercise its right to civil remedies against its employees found responsible for such actions. This is spelled out very clearly in NBC Universal’s Employment Policy Handbook that was provided to you at your time of hire.

Please know that NBC Universal is going to vigorously defend its right to protect itself from employees making public sensitive and private information. This includes Internet, email and printed correspondence between NBC Universal personnel.

If you have any questions regarding this policy please refer to your local Human Resources manager.

Sincerely,
Brent Vederman Esq.
Sherman, Vederman & Abrahams P.A.
515 Madison Avenue, Suite 1900
New York, New York 10022

Brent,
Coming from a family of attorneys, I know a thing or two. I know for A FACT that there is not a court order. For what? What JUDGE would give you a court order? For what? Read the United States constitution. Freedom of speech, and freedom of press. That also means that the SFLTV blog DOES NOT need to give out ANY information about it’s sources, including their identity. If you do have a court order, I invite you to e-mail a copy of it to AlexKahn1234@hotmail.com. I can take a look at it. Why do I think I won’t be getting an e-mail from you? Lastly, court orders are public record.. And just now doing a public record search, I couldn’t find anything! HUH! Who would have thought. I wouldn’t be surprised if “Brent” is the same as “NBCManager”.

“Brent”, I’ve talked to the administration here. He has not been contacted. No attorney in my family would contact a site via a comment. Who ever you are “Brent”, I suggest you get a new hobby, other then writing semi-well worded comments and portraying people you’re not. Get a life!

I look forward to your email, Brent! 😀

damn, i’ve got to hand it to nbc, finding a lawyer that works at 11:58pm. that’s going to cost some bucks. what do they bill those hours at? you’ve got to be looking at katie couric money for a midnight working lawyer.

Oh and “Brent”, “515 Madison Avenue, Suite 1900
New York, New York 10022” comes out to “Baker, Nelson & Williams, LLP” NOT “Sherman, Vederman & Abrahams P.A.” and what would attorneys specializing in “Real Estate, Estate Planning & Probate, Trusts Securities, Finance” be involved in this anyways? You shouldn’t lie, “Brent”.

BRAVO perry!

brent,
just some pointers if you want to impersonate nbc legal in the future:

their memos always, always have this phrase in them, and the wording is very important because it never varies:

DISCIPLINARY ACTION UP TO, AND INCLUDING DISMISSAL.

the moment i didn’t see that phrase in your memo, i knew it was fake. but good first effort.

by the way, perry, there are some lawyers who work late. there is a light on in my office right now.

I just contacted most of senators that was listed, including Kendrick Meeks Office! Also, I sent an email to the fcc, and the list that murrow gave. Come on yall, we have to keep this from happening because two very popular network affiliates should not merge together. I’m going to call the FCC and send them a fax form2000E complaint.

I have a question for “Brent Vederman” and any other hack claiming to be an attorney making threats on this site: How many boxes of Cracker Jacks did you have to buy before you found one with a law degree inside? Vederman, if you are an attorney, hang onto that diploma. It will be handy when you run out of toilet paper.
Shyster.

Okay, I am not an attorney,

but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

NBC6 Fan

Kendrick Meek? The one with the mom who drives around in a Cadillac Escalade given to her by a developer in a Liberty City kick back scandal?

Doesn’t Kendrick drive around his low income District in a gas guzzling GMC Yukon courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer? Answer:Yes. You pay for his gas and insurance.

Ask Meek about that because he has absolutely no say in what happens to WTVJ. In fact all NBC has to do is kick a little money to him or his mom and they will stay quiet.

The Meeks will do what the money tells them to do. Your only hope is to come up with some cash or maybe you could lease them a Bentley and then they would listen to you, otherwise you don’t exist.

You are wasting your time. Don’t think you can protest this. It has been said over and over her. The viewers have voted on WTVJ.

Brent, Why are you playing around? This is a serious matter & we need to take action!

And by the way, Meek is not a U.S. Senator.

You might want to know that before you contact his office.

In the world of things to take action on this is not it. But you aren’t going to listen to people that telling you that this is a waste of time.

Get a grip on yourself. It’s just a TV station. The world will not end because WTVJ was sold.

Alex you must come from a family of dumb attorneys with degrees from MDCC because the Constitution does not allow you the freedom to say whatever you want in the workplace and it does not allow you to give out a company’s private info.

You have the right to say whatever you want, but an employer has the right to make you do it without a paycheck and if you damage their business they also have the right to file a lawsuit against you for damages you may have caused.

Operative word, in the workplace… Also, most won’t have jobs soon as Post-Newsweek gets FCC approval. So does all this “cease and desist” really matter in the grand scheme of things?

You think because you leave the building or get on a blog you can tell the world your employer’s private information and business practices that they don’t have the right to fire you?

Why don’t you try that where you work now and see what happens.

Enough already! All lawyers real or pretend please leave now the same goes for WPLG/WTVJ managers! Lets get back to the problem at hand, the people who are being affected by this duopoly. I admire the employees who feel strong enough to voice their complaints here. Wake up people we are slowly being pushed out of our jobs and yet we are infighting about legal terms. If they could outsource news to India some of these corporations would do it for their bottom line. If we don’t complain now we will wake up in the future to a very different country.

Bernie, complaining will get you no where. The last thing any TV newsroom needs is more complainers. It is funny now that change is here that suddenly everyone wants to do something. But you were content with being quiet about producing crappy news as long as the direct deposits came through every two weeks.

Guess what, the news viewers already took action and voted you off the island. And other news operations in this town are close to getting voted off the island to. Viewers are tired of the product and have other options.

Note to everyone reading this. This is done and you have no say and will have no say in any decision regarding. The sooner you realize this the more quickly you can move on and plan for whatever happens instead of sitting around hoping that the worst won’t happen.

Quit acting like this is some blow to journalism and to the community. What, because we don’t have 8 stations standing around the same murder scene or car accident reporting the same damn thing the world is coming to an end?

Bah, bah look at me I’m a sheep! They are not complaining they are talking about facilitating reform in the FCC. Will the last Television News employee who cares please turn out the lights?

Didn’t Ed Asner turn off the lights on the old MTM show or was it Mary herself? What matters is the lights were turned off progressively as the saga of news managers not understanding their market grew and grew. Don’t blame the on air talent or the producers in the trenches, but if You NM’s and GM’s think that 3 days of a stories about Angelina Joilie in a French hospital with special curtains to ward of the media is news than folks you get what’s coming to you. We are a large metropolitan city with numerous stories and follow up stories and you keep shoveling this same old junk to us the viewers. We choose not to watch. I repeat we choose not to watch. Doing stand ups in front of a dark house with hours old crime scene tape tells us nothing,whoever came up with Oh my stars should do time behind bars, Bored aspiring news anchor from ocean drive Magazine talking to her chummy BFF about her BFF’s little store selling candles made from goat milk that she opened because she also was bored is BORING and useless, Going green repeated twice in a 3 day period is exactly going green with mold and age…viewers are leaving you not because of anchors or workers behind the scene they are leaving you because you are not providing relevant content

I kinda have to agree with Bernie here.
“Enough already! All lawyers real or pretend please leave now the same goes for WPLG/WTVJ managers! Lets get back to the problem at hand, the people who are being affected by this duopoly”
This has really gone off topic, due to the efforts of some immature kid with to much time on his hand.

“Johnny Cochran”: I’m not saying that you can just come out and say confidential information about a company. Obviously you can’t leak things you were told not to leak. But the thing is, NBC6 employees were never told that they had to remain silent. I know for a fact that many WTVJ employees have posted they’re views, and not one has leaked any information that would compromise the future of the station. Therefore, they really didn’t violate any rule.

“Okay, I am not an attorney,

but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.”

HA!

Bernie says outsourcing the news to India….I can just see it now.
“Thank you for allowng me to provide you with the news, if you bear with me one minute I will bring the news up for you, sorry for delaying you from the news I apologize for the delay of allowing me to present the news, now that I see your news please allow me to inform you of the news. It is my pleaseure to tell you that your news is for you and I appreciate this oppurtunity to tell you headlines for you. headlines are for you and I am happy to say that I have located your headlines and look forward to having the oppurtunity to…” kinda makes you wonder if “Oh my stars ” is really that bad

I don’t know what Oh My Star is. I am afraid to ask. It doesn’t sound good.

Pete, you just don’t know, I was planning on working at WTVJ.

Get a Grip:
“Oh My Stars”, Is a hideous line was made special just for Jackie, and the rest of the NBC6 crew got stuck saying it. It’s there gossip section. I cringe when I hear grown men say “Oh My Stars!”

What exactly does “made special just for” mean?

A viewer, i’m assuming you really don’t know, and that you aren’t just being sarcastic. What alex meant is that “Oh My Stars” was written especially for Jackie. I don’t know if it was or not, but that is what he is trying to say.

I heard it was created by a former WTVJ producer, now at WFOR, who spent more time reading TMZ and perez hilton, than the new york times. I’m assuming she read anyway, i guess she could have just been looking at the pretty photos. “oooh shiny!!!!!”

A weekend anchor told me he got stuck saying “oh my stars” because it was originally written for her.

It was created as a segment in the 11pm show when it was relaunched with the new graphics package. It has nothing to do with being ‘made for Jackie’. Doesn’t mean anyone likes it now.

The weekend anchor is too busy letting the world know he’s upset he’s not the main anchor, to stop and realize that no one cares about him. Stop tooting your own horn, posting under a bunch of different names and act your age. Instead he should focus on trying to keep his 4th fiancee from leaving him.

Now, now, play nice. You shouldn’t throw around allegations that you have no proof of backing up. I’ve only posted under this name, and if you don’t believe me, have an IP check run. All i said, is from what i have heard, they wrote that line for Jackie Nespral. If I heard wrong, sue me. So sorry.

Max,
No sarcasm at all , I appreciate your insight. Thank you for clarifying. I am truly just a viewer with no TV experience, axes to grind, or agendas. I write like I see it or as is relayed amongst my other “viewer” friends. I wasn’t grasping the idea that a segment was written just for an anchor, that was a little too gossipy. The “Oh my stars” is just a symptom of a larger problem. The problem is basically News Directors and GM’s especially at the peacock network haven’t listened to their market, their viewers or their staff. NBC’s issues do not start nor end with those in front of the camera, nor do they with those operating the camera. It falls on the ones in the studio watching on a monitor who have no idea what they are doing.

And, Alex, that’s the problem with you and most of the others posting here. Many posters on this blog expect accuracy and relevancy from local TV, all the while saying local TV is dead. Well, judging by the accuracy of the information posted here, thank God we have real journalists with a set of values giving us information. None of you have any idea what is going to happen, but insist on posting “facts” to the contrary.

Case in point — I posted several weeks ago that PN was going to be the buyer. Several posters said things like, “the Post-Newsweek rumor has been dis-proven time and time again.” Well, I guess those people were wrong. Problem is, there is no accountability and you idiots keep posting what you “think” is true and representing your opinions as fact.

Fact is, the Internet, TV, newspapers, will all become part of a new way of providing ethical, factual information. Otherwise, news on the Internet, blogs, etc, will become irrelevant as well, since you won’t know if what you are reading or seeing is true, balanced, or fair.

It’s such a shame, isn’t it? WTVJ used to be the top station in South Florida. Now, it’s taken a dramatic fall from grace. IF WTVJ wants to have any chances of regaining its former glory, here’s what I think they should do: fire the GM’s and the ND’s. Get some fresh, new blood in that newsroom and FAST! Make talent changes where they need to be made. Listen to your viewers, ’cause your viewers are the ones who keep you employed! Ya gotta do something!

MS please come off your high horse. This is a blog, a rumor website, like tvspy.com. The things that are said here are not supposed to be taken as facts, even if the posters claim they are. Surely you’re smart enough to take everything that is said here, both by the moderator, and especially the posters, with a grain of salt.

Congratulations on correctly guessing that the most widely spread rumor about the sale turned out to be the right one. I’m shocked it wasn’t Al-Jazzera, aren’t you???

If you honestly come to this website for facts or real journalism, then you probably also believe everything you read on wikipedia. Pay attention now, because this is important. ANYONE can post ANYTHING they want on these websites. There is complete anonymity. And despite what “NBC’s legal team” will tell you, they aren’t going to force the web host to turn over your ip address unless you break the law, and even then they can’t prove you were actually sitting at the computer who’s ip was recorded, unless you show up for cookies and lemonade at chris hansen’s house.

It is going to be very difficult for people to find a trustworthy place for news on the internet. At least when I watch video on a live newscast i’m assuming what i’m seeing is accurate. (the words the producers put in the anchors mouths are another story) They probably didn’t have time or budget for cgi on their breaking news video, BUT when I read something on a website, I wonder, was the picture photoshopped? Has the story i’m reading been altered by some hacker? Who knows. So stop trying to force journalistic integrity down the throats of rumor websites, it will just be spat back out at you.

I agree with you David. Even if the blog does try to uphold the utmost truth and facts, a LOT of what is posted is still speculation.

Wow. The person who posted something under the name “Oh My stars” must have a real problem with Joel Conable. Lets see, I think I know who that peron is…..He is our 10pm producer. He is a person who has burned every bridge he has and will be fired when WPLG moves in and the CW news vanishes. The contract is up in December. Gee, I know Joel very well. I work with him everyday. As a manager on the production side, I can tell you that Joel Conable is one of the nicest people at our station. There is not one person, from photogs to editros to other reporters who wouldn’t jump at the chance to help him out. He’s not angry. He’s one of the happiest people I know. He just speaks the truth. Mad about not being the main anchor??? Wow, I have never heard Joel complain at all. From what I have heard, he is being movd into a full time anchor slot soon. For some reason our 10pm producer thinks he knows everything. His name is Brad Jaffy by the way. Brad is so angry and all us production folks hate him so he hates the world. Go kiss up to your best friend and future ex-employee, executive producer Chris Pena. Maybe the 10pm producer or Brad should start looking for a new job and maybe he should worry about cutting his unprofessional long hair that he prances areound with. Maybe he should try not to copy the 11pm news on the WB. It’s too bad Joel can’t see all the great things written about him on this blog. I don’t think he would care about the few bad things. He’s been around the block. I think I will forward this blog to Joel so he can see what this person said about him. 4th fiancee??? Where did that come from? Wow, WTVJ has really changed from the time I started. It used to be fellow employees didn’t stab people in the back and try to hurt them. Lets post the producer email for everyone to send “hello” messages to him. *edited. Have fun!!

Everyone knows when he started he had a fiancee he brought from Cali, then another one, and now a new one. Don’t even pretend like Joel is all high and mighty. And this has nothing to do with the 10pm producer– did I even mention him? He interned with Joel, they have a good working relationship. So get your facts straight.
In the meantime, let’s all rally around poor, poor Joel.

wow this is pretty said to read. just like the roman empire. listen to all of you. when the going gets tough, the tough turn on each other. it makes me sick to see all of you attacking each other and now it has grown to calling out people by name, giving out emails? shame on all of you. if you want to save yourselves, start acting with a little more professionalism and support each other. you’re supposedly on the same team. you’ll need each other’s support and strength and perhaps someday, references, so give it a rest.

amen.

I would like to throw a third amen just for good measure. It ain’t the time to turn on your co-workers. Anyone can criticize another person’s job, but trust me there’s someone there doing the same to you. Plus, in this business, you never know who’s going to make it ahead. Meaningless squabbles are just that…..meaningless. What’s more important at this time, winning a war of words over the internet or making your future secure. I know the choice I’d make

NBC Insider, i totally agree. Joel is nothing but a kind man, and the buzz around the grape vine is, he WILL be the main anchor soon enough. I’ve also heard that the buzz Brad Jaffy. I hear he’s a real kiss ass, and that everyone at TVJ thinks it was him that portrayed the “NBCManager.” If it is, shame on him. He really must be a dweeb.

ohmystar, what ever you have against Joel is besides me. Everyone i speak to can’t speak highly enough about him. But just be quiet. Joel’s personal life, is really none of your business.

Alex– Joel has always shared his personal life with everyone. He’s told anyone, with or without asking, about his fiancee(s). So yeah, it’s none of our business, but when you’re introduced to yet another one of them… you get explanations from the man himself.

WHO Cares??????!!!!!! The point is moot if you all loose your freakin’ jobs and never work with each other again. This is like kindergarten! Get back to the task at hand which should not be showing the world that so and so has a girlfriend and so and so is a jerk. Yeah, we’ve all worked with them, now move on!!!

Here’s the deal, for you juveniles. When I sit at home, what matters is what comes across on the screen, OK? If you are a drooling idiot on camera who doesn’t know where the hell they are, it does not matter to me if you are Mother Teresa off camera. This started a few years ago, when it became a job requirement that a female anchor breed offspring. Kristi Krueger may be a great mom, but a lousy anchor. |Nespral? Remember all the promos of her clutching her handbag while chasing her kids? Nice, but any gravitas, dear? Laurie Jennings happens to have kids and usually seems to know what city she is in. She may not be the greatest journalist, but she is far better and sounding like she knows what she is talking about. Same for Shannon Hori, and while we’re at 4, Erika von Tiehl is pretty damn good for someone new to the market. I sat and thought about this mess, and realized the English-speaking market has actually gotten betterrecently. 4 is better, 10 is better. 7 is still the Ding-Dong schoolhouse (someone please save Patrick Frasier) and 6 is like the Titanic with satellite uplinks.
The potential is there. Bob Mayer is an old pro, Tony Segreto, Kelly Craig, Pam Giganti, Trina Robinson, Paul Deanno, Jennifer Gray, yes, there are very good journalists and communicators to be found at 6. Joel Connable and DeMarco Morgan are either very good or about to be. There is a lot of deadwood to get rid of, and if they wake up and shed some of the lightweight at 10, what remains could be one very good news operation which can run virtually all day and night with minimal head-to-head competition. As the great thinker (?) Howard Jones said, “Things can only get better.”

I agree that the promo of Jackie chasing her kids while holding her handbag was a little strange. But, if Jackie gets the axe, her fans (myself included) could revolt and not watch Channel 6. I mean, she’s a ground-breaker by being the first Hispanic anchorwoman for an English-language newscast in the United States when she did the weekend version of The Today Show. Not only that, but she’s heavily involved in the community. I just hope that Post-Newsweek doesn’t make any stupid decisions when WTVJ moves in with WPLG. They should just have their separate newscasts and separate news teams.

Yes, both of her fans could revolt and go back to 7. Her involvement in the community does not equate with journalistic ability. That is the error made over and over again in local news. Weaver did lots of public service AND he knew weather. There are lots of good caring people in local news who do public service, but it does not replace the ability to write and deliver coherent copy. Most of all, being pretty does not mean you belong in front of a camera. Sorry. Ann Bishop and Ralph Renick are the icons in this market, and “looker” is not a word you could use for either. It’s a different set of rules when it comes to trusting a newscaster.

Apparently, Bob Mayer knows as much as we know, if anything, we know more. I’ve been talking to him for a bit, doesn’t know too much about the situation.

I agree. Keep the stations seperate and let their talent stay. Choice is a great thing to have. I grew up with a family that watched NBC 6, so I’ve stayed loyal because of them. know I have some unique choices when it comes to viewing. I think Jackie Nesperal should have a co-anchor for the 11. She just seems overwhelmed. Tony Segreto is an icon, so that’s my top pick, but if they want to go younger, I’d go with Demarco Morgan, because he seems smooth on air. Joel’s ok, but just seems a little too vanilla for my taste. Maybe another year and he’d be ready for that main anchor slot. Morning show crew is pretty good, even though seem a bit goofy at times, but they’re not frigid like other stations. Great reporters at WTVJ too like Hank Tester, Ari Odzer and Nick Bogert. Pretty decent weather staff, I don’t feel like they’re talking over me and I get what they say. I really hope they stick around.

By the way, those views and opinions just reflect my own. Nothing personal is meant at all.

Chaos Theroy thinks DeMarco should anchor with Jackie at 11pm???? Demarco is very green. He is truly a generic news anchor. I watched him do breaking news the other day and he couldn’t do it. Joel is excellent at breaking news. He is funny. He doesn’t take himself too seriously. I don’t think Chaos Theory has really seen much of Joel. H eknows his stuff. I think it should be Joel and someone else at 11pm. Does anyone else agree?

Just for the record, this guy Brad was not Joel’s intern, he was Patricia’s intern. Let’s not waste our time about a little rich kids who kisses ass in order to get where he is,which is not far. He needs to get a haircut and stop wearing your slippers to work. He has no experience at all, just a long brown nose.
As for tvj, this place looks like a cemetery, everyone is so bummed out. All managers should be ashamed for the work they have done to sink TVJ. Joel by the way is a really nice guy who speaks his mind but that is against all rules with this management. Look what happened to Michael Williams for speaking his mind, FIRED. All because they could not take criticisms. But now that the station is sunk, they are trying to convince everyone to keep their heads up,please….

I didn’t recall anyone saying anything about Brad being Joel’s intern. Personally, i feel there are two people at WTVJ that need to go. Brad, and Tammy Delgado.

again… why with the personal attacks?

I don’t thijnk Brad needs to go or Tammy needs to go. They both have talent as producers, but they are just arrogant. There’s nothing worse then a producer who hates life and thinks they know everything. It’s like an arrogant reporter or anchor. This is a place where everyone should learn and benefit from what different people know. The other day, there was breaking news and a manger told told to run up on the set and talk about thsi armored car robbery. Joel did, but he had to do it all on camera, even though the chopper was only a few minutes away, the manager insisted that we cut in now. The production crew was embarassed and so was Joel. Joel was talking to the production crew about how silly it was to just be first on air with no video and that guy Brad ran off and told the assistant news director about it. He tells on people to score points with managers. Nothing happened to Joel, since he deflated the situation and, then again, I don’t think he cares.. You can’t fire someone for disagreeing with management. I think there are just so many people who are sad and they hate to see someone who jokes around and smiles all the time and has friends at work, like Joel. People need to respect each other. This girl Tammy and Brad need to be more modest and listen to the good things that other people can help them with. We are all there because we all have talent, no matter what anyone thinks. That talent just needs to be respected and then people can work together.

O.K. Mr. and Mrs. Connable, we get it, Joel is a great guy. Now can you please stop posting? And to the WTVJ night crew, if you want to destroy that place from within, you’re working in the right direction. Grow up.

Block 101

Perhaps you are right. I probably haven’t seen Joel anchor enough. I don’t really tune in on weekend nights. I have seen more of Demarco because of the 7:00 and he just seems to have a presence. On that same point, I’ve never really noticed Demarco when he reported. I’ve seen Demarco handle breaking and he’s good, not great. I also think he has somewhat of a chemistry with Jackie and I think the two of them make each other better. Maybe he is just a talking head, but when he’s on set, I do enjoy watching him.

As I’ve said maybe I haven’t seen Joel anchor enough. But the times that I have, he just seems to blend more into the background and doesn’t seem to stand out. I’ve seen some of his his consumer reports and they’re pretty entertaining, but it’s not the same as hard-hitting news. However, many felt the same way about Katie Couric back in the day and look where she is now.

However, both don’t seem strong enough to stand out on their own. I honestly don’t know if you could put either Joel or Demarco at a large scale event like a presidential election or natural disaster and have them field anchoring without a team to hold their hands and have them perform the same way they are in the studio.

I think WTVJ currently has a great pool of young talent (including Joel and Demarco). In it’s heyday, WTVJ selected people who are great and stand out where ever they are (the late David Bloom, Kerry Sanders, Michael Williams, Kelly Craig, Tony Segreto, Bob Mayer, and Hank Tester are some of my favorites). Hopefully, this new generation will rise to the level the way the last generation did.

wow!! when did tvj became so bad, that everyone is saying rediculous crap about it. When i worked there back in 2003 it was a happy place to work, the only drama was coming from Martha S. having sex with 2 interns a girl and a boy. They found her laced panties in the tape room one night, or was it the intern panties?

where does t51 fits in all of this, are they better off.

Bradd jaffy is a great guy, elizabeth potts just hate him so much, because he stole her glory, the 10pm cw newscast, He procuces a clean show nights after nights, his work ethic speaks volume, so Leave bradd alone.

Mark – do you speak English as your first language? Wow. You can’t write worth ^%$#. Brad is a good guy at heart but he needs to change his attitude. He needs to stop being obnoxious and thinking he knows everything. Brad has no experience. This is his first job in TV and he’s producing a little newscast that very few people watch. If he wants to move up in the world, he needs to have respect for the people he works with. He is rude to the production crew and he runs to managers whenver someone tries to tell him how to do something better. he doesn’t want to learn. He thinks just becasue he is a producer that he is perfect. That is a bad attitude to have in a newsroom.

WTVJ sold for so cheap we all could have just got together and bought the station ourselves.

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