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While Savannah slept, tv went big time

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WJCL was sold to Hearst television on August 20, and no one noticed. Hearst puts a lot into their image and news product. Their products look very large market and they're not afraid to hire proper talent. Could this be the deal that breaks Raycom 's stranglehold on local news dominance?
 
Post sounds interesting, but on Internet Explorer 9 I see nothing but the title, lots of blank white space, an add, lots more white space......and it's not just your post, it's on EVERY 1st post on the board (on every page-1,2,3). Will they ever get that fixed???????
 
One can only hope that something kick starts Savannah television and breaks it out of its malaise. I am certainly not surprised that WJCL and WTGS would be spun off as part of regulatory compliance, but I did contemplate some of the other possibilities; such as, will there be some change in network affiliations in the near future? Suppose WSAV were to change to CW, which seems to be targeting the younger members of the adult audience. NBC would not necessarily automatically affiliate with WGSA. Could we see a complete shuffling of network affiliations in Savannah, with one of the networks unrepresented in the market for a while? Or, what if one of the networks decided to drop its current affiliate in the market and move to another station? I think, that in the status quo of today, stations take their audiences for granted, and vice versa. It would be exciting to see the stations actually work for their audiences for the first time in many years. An affiliation change in the market would be a needed shock to the system, a shock too many years in coming.
 
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One reason why WTOC has this market covered is because of the large crew. They have a reporter that does nothing but covers news in in Statesboro, Hinesville, Claxton and Vidalia. Anytime news happens out west, none of the stations cover it except WTOC with the exception a mention on WSAV. I have family in Statesboro and Vidalia and they have always watched WTOC for over 25 years because WTOC is the ONLY station that is present in those towns when something happens (good or bad). None of the other Savannah stations even make much of a presence west of I-95 and if they do, it may be only Statesboro.
 
It is actually worse than you describe: Many times, the anchors and reporters cannot pronounce some of the names of some of the towns in their coverage area; obviously, these people have no clue where these places are, much less what goes on there. I have my issues with WTOC, but credit must be given them for really covering their market area.
 
I agree. I believe the biggest problem is turnover at the anchor position. WTOC has had the same faces in the same places for years and years. The other stations can't always say that. There is something to be said for familiarity...and the Big Red Eleven.
 
What everyone else said about WTOC. Its news theme package may be from the '80s (unchanged even when they went HD ... except for adding some 'swooshes' to the music), the logo is just as old, but they have a solid and predictable anchor lineup. Sonny Dickson sometimes goes over the top with the 'folksy' schtick, but it gets ratings. The team -- excuse me, THE Team -- of Sonny, Jody, Rick and Pat are the four corners of Savannah TV news. And that's only because Doug Weathers retired ... HE was the legend behind the anchor desk. Anyway, 11's team are down to earth people. No prepubescent, market-hopping "Ken & Barbies" at The Big Red 11. And I like that.

Assuming Hearst plans on keeping WJCL and dragging it kicking and screaming into a serious competitor, there's no guarantee they'll shake up the market. This is Savannah we're talking about, an area that embraces the old and the same. I lived there for nearly 15 years, and those qualities both made me fall in love with the place AND sometimes beat my head against the wall. While I'd love for 22 to get a Hearst makeover, I'm afraid the only hope they'll have of breaking the the iron grip of WTOC would be a major talent raid ........ and, possibly, for Bill Cathcart to be photographed with Jane Fonda. ;-D

--Russell
 
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rwells2265 said:
What everyone else said about WTOC. Its news theme package may be from the '80s (unchanged even when they went HD ... except for adding some 'swooshes' to the music), the logo is just as old, but they have a solid and predictable anchor lineup. Sonny Dickson sometimes goes over the top with the 'folksy' schtick, but it gets ratings. The team -- excuse me, THE Team -- of Sonny, Jody, Rick and Pat are the four corners of Savannah TV news. And that's only because Doug Weathers retired ... HE was the legend behind the anchor desk. Anyway, 11's team are down to earth people. No prepubescent, market-hopping "Ken & Barbies" at The Big Red 11. And I like that.

Assuming Hearst plans on keeping WJCL and dragging it kicking and screaming into a serious competitor, there's no guarantee they'll shake up the market. This is Savannah we're talking about, an area that embraces the old and the same. I lived there for nearly 15 years, and those qualities both made me fall in love with the place AND sometimes beat my head against the wall. While I'd love for 22 to get a Hearst makeover, I'm afraid the only hope they'll have of breaking the the iron grip of WTOC would be a major talent raid ........ and, possibly, for Bill Cathcart to be photographed with Jane Fonda. ;-D

--Russell
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One could say WTOC is the WPVI of the South in presentation & talent retention. One could make a very strong case that the air talent on 11 has lasted because they don't wish to move to larger markets; others could say they're not good enough to move up to a larger market. Both would be correct. WSAV has made strides in keeping familiar faces around, for the same reasons as mentioned earlier I'd venture. Plus the return of Dave Kartunen from WHDH (clearly a lifestyle choice in his move back to Savannah) adds a little big market 'cache'. As for 22, it will all depend on how much Hearst is willing to spend. Maybe 22 will get spun off to another owner (highly probable), or she could get the fancy graphics, the chopper (right) and the Ken & Barbie hour at the desk. We will see.

G
 
One thing Savannah media is missing is aggressive news. Perhaps that just doesn't work in a market like Savannah but perhaps it could be done as something new by WJCL. Investigative reporting, aggressive reporters trying to get to the bottom of Govt waste. Even weather in Savannah market is not aggressive. I believe Savannah media market is the only market that doesn't go wall to wall during Tornado Warnings.

I went to school for Meteorology and I find WTOC's weather to lack in technology. It has nothing to do with the size of the market either because many of the technological advances come to Macon (smaller market) than Savannah.
 
acheron82 said:
I went to school for Meteorology and I find WTOC's weather to lack in technology. It has nothing to do with the size of the market either because many of the technological advances come to Macon (smaller market) than Savannah.
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On the other hand, I find that WSAV depends so much on the technology that their forecasts are often not very useful.
 
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