• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

70miles South and many years behind

R

RickRose

Having a rare 4 day holiday off from work I decided that I had to get out of Atlanta and chose Macon in part due to gas prices. Catching the newscasts on the 3 local news stations is really a step back in time. The sets for the Fox and NBC station look like the 70s while the set for the sole-VHF & CBS station looks like the 80s. There is no more than two stations competing in a newslot and that is at 6-7am and at 11pm. The dominate station is 13 WMAZ and they offer a 2 hour morning news along with half hours at noon,5, 6 and 11pm. The Fox station which had attempted a morning show when the switch from ABC happened soon bailed and even ditched their 5:30pm newscast and now only produce a 10pm half hour show. The NBC station which did not do news for several years relaunched a news operation last year with a half hour at 6am, 6:30am,5:30pm and 11pm. The ABC station tried to have short news updates but have never really tried to launch a news operation. I was suprised that the big 3 network affiliates from Atlanta are still on Macon cable though most programming is blocked outside of local news programming.

All I can say is that maybe it would be nice if the local stations got into the 2000s with their news operations
 
> Having a rare 4 day holiday off from work I decided that I
> had to get out of Atlanta and chose Macon in part due to gas
> prices. Catching the newscasts on the 3 local news stations
> is really a step back in time. The sets for the Fox and NBC
> station look like the 70s while the set for the sole-VHF &
> CBS station looks like the 80s. There is no more than two
> stations competing in a newslot and that is at 6-7am and at
> 11pm. The dominate station is 13 WMAZ and they offer a 2
> hour morning news along with half hours at noon,5, 6 and
> 11pm. The Fox station which had attempted a morning show
> when the switch from ABC happened soon bailed and even
> ditched their 5:30pm newscast and now only produce a 10pm
> half hour show. The NBC station which did not do news for
> several years relaunched a news operation last year with a
> half hour at 6am, 6:30am,5:30pm and 11pm. The ABC station
> tried to have short news updates but have never really tried
> to launch a news operation. I was suprised that the big 3
> network affiliates from Atlanta are still on Macon cable
> though most programming is blocked outside of local news
> programming.
> All I can say is that maybe it would be nice if the local
> stations got into the 2000s with their news operations
>

I guess they do the best with the money they can get. I recall on my trips to Florida I would always stop at Forsyth, GA. That way I could see the news from BOTH Atlanta and Macon.

One thing you have to know, you can tell you are in the "STICKS" when the news anchors have Southern Accents. (This was more toward Albany,GA, or Dothan,AL)

:)
 
I've never worked for WMAZ, never even been to the station. But I know a few people who have worked there over the years and I often receive WMAZ up in Roswell. WMAZ is very good, as small market stations go. Better than average. And from what I hear, very well equipped and maintained for a small market station. As easy as it is to complain about all the flaws and problems of the Atlanta stations, and there are many, we are pretty spoiled by the quality we get by living in a top-10 market. Macon is not even a top 100 market. From what I've seen, they do a pretty good job to be where they are.



> > Having a rare 4 day holiday off from work I decided that I
>
> > had to get out of Atlanta and chose Macon in part due to
> gas
> > prices. Catching the newscasts on the 3 local news
> stations
> > is really a step back in time. The sets for the Fox and
> NBC
> > station look like the 70s while the set for the sole-VHF &
>
> > CBS station looks like the 80s. There is no more than two
> > stations competing in a newslot and that is at 6-7am and
> at
> > 11pm. The dominate station is 13 WMAZ and they offer a 2
> > hour morning news along with half hours at noon,5, 6 and
> > 11pm. The Fox station which had attempted a morning show
> > when the switch from ABC happened soon bailed and even
> > ditched their 5:30pm newscast and now only produce a 10pm
> > half hour show. The NBC station which did not do news for
> > several years relaunched a news operation last year with a
>
> > half hour at 6am, 6:30am,5:30pm and 11pm. The ABC station
> > tried to have short news updates but have never really
> tried
> > to launch a news operation. I was suprised that the big 3
> > network affiliates from Atlanta are still on Macon cable
> > though most programming is blocked outside of local news
> > programming.
> > All I can say is that maybe it would be nice if the local
> > stations got into the 2000s with their news operations
> >
>
> I guess they do the best with the money they can get. I
> recall on my trips to Florida I would always stop at
> Forsyth, GA. That way I could see the news from BOTH Atlanta
> and Macon.
>
> One thing you have to know, you can tell you are in the
> "STICKS" when the news anchors have Southern Accents. (This
> was more toward Albany,GA, or Dothan,AL)
>
> :)
>
<P ID="signature">______________
Consolidated Corporate Radio S U C K S !!!!!!</P>
 
I haven't yet seen WMAZ's newscasts, but I agree with Rick that the production quality of WGXA's and WMGT's news is laughable. Is that a low-quality photo of the New York NBC News studio as the backdrop of "Middle Georgia News"? The Augusta stations appear far more professional.

If you want a good laugh, watch WNEG News Channel 32 in Toccoa. Their graphics look like they are from the 1980s. All of their staff appears to be fresh out of college, except for the lead anchor, Chuck Moore. They rerun the 6 pm news at 7 pm. They also have no weather personality -- the weather segment is recorded by a meteorologist at WSPA, but the intro at the beginning of the news nearly always misidentifies him or her.

But they are a source of news/sports for northeast Georgia, which otherwise would not be served at all.
 
>
> If you want a good laugh, watch WNEG News Channel 32 in
> Toccoa...
> But they are a source of news/sports for northeast Georgia,
> which otherwise would not be served at all.
>

Considering that Media General owns WNEG (along with WSPA), I'm surprised that they still haven't pumped more money into WNEG. I did see some of WNEG's newscast while I was on vacation in the area in 2002, and, to be honest, it looked more like a mom-and-pop station instead of one owned by a big chain.
 
> Considering that Media General owns WNEG (along with WSPA),
> I'm surprised that they still haven't pumped more money into
> WNEG. I did see some of WNEG's newscast while I was on
> vacation in the area in 2002, and, to be honest, it looked
> more like a mom-and-pop station instead of one owned by a
> big chain.

My thoughts exactly. And also, they claim to serve Athens, but the signal over Athens isn't very good. They are operating at 646kW/253m, which is lousy for a UHF.

There's an FCC action regarding the assignment of license to Spartan Communications; apparently there was a concern about having a duopoly. But the FCC allowed the sale, given the facts that included that WNEG was losing money.
 
> > Considering that Media General owns WNEG (along with
> WSPA),
> > I'm surprised that they still haven't pumped more money
> into
> > WNEG. I did see some of WNEG's newscast while I was on
> > vacation in the area in 2002, and, to be honest, it looked
>
> > more like a mom-and-pop station instead of one owned by a
> > big chain.
>
> My thoughts exactly. And also, they claim to serve Athens,
> but the signal over Athens isn't very good. They are
> operating at 646kW/253m, which is lousy for a UHF.
>
> There's an FCC action regarding the assignment of license to
> Spartan Communications; apparently there was a concern about
> having a duopoly. But the FCC allowed the sale, given the
> facts that included that WNEG was losing money.
>
I believe that WNEG is on cable (channel 6) in Athens, giving
the city two CBS affiliates (WGCL is on cable channel 4).
 
> Having a rare 4 day holiday off from work I decided that I
> had to get out of Atlanta and chose Macon in part due to gas
> prices. Catching the newscasts on the 3 local news stations
> is really a step back in time.

I worked in Macon television in the 70's (at Channel 41-NBC). Back then, it was like the 50s, so at leasat they've moved forward a bit.

If you really want to see some bad TV, go to Greenville, MS and watch WABG-Ch. 6 (ABC). While there, check out the fat Fu Manchu-looking black weatherguy with a hideous bow tie on WXVT-Ch. 15 (CBS). On your way there, watch WTVA-Ch. 9 (NBC) in Tupelo. The news set looks like a three ring circus - far too much visually distracting crap. And... check, out Ch. 24 (CBS) in Meridian too. Smalal-market television at its worst.

Larry Fuss
 
Larry Fuss recalls:

> I worked in Macon television in the 70's (at Channel
> 41-NBC). Back then, it was like the 50s, so at leasat
> they've moved forward a bit.

You said it "was like the 50s". Does that mean Channel 41 was still originating local programs in black-and-white??
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom