Best/Worst local TV news stations (by network)?

[OhioMediaWatch]

IIRC, Mr. Lamarre had a drug problem, and Mr. Singleton had a questionable picture taken of himself.

 

[dave73]

For the Chicago market I consider the best news by network to be a tie with WLS-TV (ABC) & WGN-TV(CW). For worst, that would be WFLD (Fox), WMAQ (NBC), & low budget news from WYIN (PBS), though this station serves NW INdiana instead of Chicago.

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

For the Chicago market I consider the best news by network to be a tie with WLS-TV (ABC) & WGN-TV(CW). For worst, that would be WFLD (Fox), WMAQ (NBC), & low budget news from WYIN (PBS), though this station serves NW INdiana instead of Chicago.

Where does WBBM (CBS) fit in the best/worst category nowadays in Chicago, Dave? How has the reunion of Bill Kurtis and Walter Jacobson on channel 2 been received in the Chicago news ratings? IIRC, wasn't there one ratings period where WFLD's "Simpsons" reruns actually defeated either the 5 or 6PM newscasts on WBBM?

 

[johnnya2k6]

Forgot two more stations to add to the "best" list:

WSB Atlanta (ABC)
WKRG Mobile, Ala. (CBS; it's also the only place where Mississippi coast viewers watch "The Early Show" while WWL has their top-rated morning news (TES there is on sister station WUPL, which is not carried on cable in the coast))

 

[cowboybud]

Houston, from best to worst:

KHOU (CBS-Belo)
KTRK (ABC-Disney)
KRIV (Fox O&O)
KPRC (NBC-Post-Newsweek)
KIAH (CW-Tribune)

DFW, from best to worst:
WFAA (ABC-Belo)
KTVT/KTXA (CBS O&O)
KDFW (Fox O&O)
KXAS (NBC O&O)
KDAF (CW-Tribune)

 

[mleach]

Mr. Singleton had a questionable picture taken of himself.

as well as a jock at Harrisonburg, VA's Q101-FM WQPO who had appeared in the gay-porno "Midnight Growlers". A lot of folks felt the firing against Singleton was a bit unfair since Jo Jo Marvin somehow had managed to keep HIS job. Some even wanted WSLS to have get involved with WQPO but they didn't. Why would they? Thenn again I doubt "morals clauses" apply very much in radio outside of relgious formats. How many Playboy models are out there who work at rock stations?

For the record..Singleton also had a rather bad drug problem himself. Hopefully that is no longer the case.

 

[mleach]

WSLS is owned by Media General, which is a publicly-traded company. Most of the alleged "higher moral standards" stuff you cite would be blatantly illegal for such an employer to mandate. As you say...you don't even believe what you're posting, so why knowingly spread falsehoods like that?

Simple..if people really really believe that one can get fired by visiting Las Vegas or buying a pack of Marlboros at the local Circle K whether its at WSLS or working at Burger King..they really need to get a life. One has to be crazy to believe such stuff but still doesn't stop people from thinking.

...but then again there is this little thing called "employment at will". Guess maybe one really could get fired if the company they work for is against gambling and they are caught going to Las Vegas.

 

[fybush]

WSLS is owned by Media General, which is a publicly-traded company. Most of the alleged "higher moral standards" stuff you cite would be blatantly illegal for such an employer to mandate. As you say...you don't even believe what you're posting, so why knowingly spread falsehoods like that?

Simple..if people really really believe that one can get fired by visiting Las Vegas or buying a pack of Marlboros at the local Circle K whether its at WSLS or working at Burger King..they really need to get a life.

So where does repeating nonsense like that on a message board (especially when you know it's nonsense) fit into the whole "getting a life" thing, then?

It certainly doesn't seem very productive, at the least.

 

[mleach]

So where does repeating nonsense like that on a message board (especially when you know it's nonsense) fit into the whole "getting a life" thing, then?

It certainly doesn't seem very productive, at the least.

Ah you forgot to read the second part I assume.."employment at will". The net is full of stories about people getting fired over such so-call "stupid" stuff and yeah it happens it radio and TV and every other job out there since one can be fired at anytime for any reason and if a company wants to tell ya what you can do or not at work at home..fits right in there too...so much for "nonsense"

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

As I recall, the Singleton picture was an inadvertent snap, and not really "pornographic", but it basically got him fired.

That, and his other problems, and Mr. Lamarre's well-publicized problem with drugs, are not nearly the same kind of situation as "buying cigarettes at the Circle K" or legal gambling.

Oh, nevermind.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

Many more details on both Singleton and Lamarre from this December 2006 article in the Roanoke Times:

http://www.roanoke.com/extra/wb/xp-94865

Since the article came out, Singleton started doing weather on a local cable station in Rocky Mount, just south of Roanoke.

http://www.roanoke.com/entertainment/wb/140044

 

[recto101]

Oh, I forgot the independents:

BEST
KCAL (Los Angeles)
WJXT (Jacksonville, formerly CBS)

WORST
KTVK (Phoenix, formerly ABC)
KRON (San Francisco, formerly NBC)

By the way, the "massacre" I was referring to was the mass firing WCBS executed in 1996 when they sent seven anchors packing due to low ratings.

I agree that KRON o(My Network ) is Worst since Pete Wilson Left the station for KGO.

 

[recto101]

KGO TV should be one of the best because it is less on fluff

I agree with Recto. I think KGO-TV (ABC) suffers from their decades old reputation as the "if-it-bleeds, it-leads" station. But Van Amburg has been gone for a quarter of a century now, and KGO-TV has steadily improved since the late 80s. Their newscasts are now well produced no-frills basic news, along the lines of KTVU (Fox), which (in my opinion) is riding a bit on its reputation from the Dennis Richmond era.

Look at KTLA in LA it was riding on the lines of KTVU in the 80's and 90's before Channel 5 went on the lines of HLN.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

And of course, Pete Wilson later left this earth...RIP.

 

[rochestermediawatch]

I thought this was a good thread so I wanted to bring it back to life... (these are mostly NY stations since this is where I live)

My Best:
WHAM (ABC, Newport Broadcasting, Rochester NY) - They were the first station in Upstate NY to go HD and have a very experience and well-rounded news staff. They have been the ratings leader in Rochester for decades with the others usually trailing or at least a few points under for mostly all newscasts. After their overhaul in late 2010, they look like they could be a TV station in one of the top 20 markets in the country! (Rochester is DMA 80)

WFXT (FOX, Fox O&O, Boston MA) - This station should be considered the flagship of the Fox O&O's. Their on-air staff are very good, and they usually have good newscasts.

My Worst:
WKBW (ABC, Granite Broadcasting, Buffalo NY) - By far one of the most disgraceful in the country just because of the size of the market Buffalo is. WKBW used to be the best in news in Buffalo before the 1990s, when things started to go awry. Today, their graphics are horrid. They are produced in house and resemble that of a powerpoint presentation. In addition, the news staff is very scattered and not well rounded. The set is very outdated as well, and again, the graphics that go along with that just make it look even worse. The only thing that WKBW still has going for it is the fact that they use Moving Closer to Your World as their music package. They need a major overhaul.

WFFF (FOX, Smith Media, Plattsburgh NY/Burlington VT) - They pride themselves for being HD, but it does not look good. The most annoying thing about them is that they are not formatted to accommodate the 4:3 SD aspect ratio. So, basically if you watch any of their news on a standard 4:3 television, half of the bug will be cut off, the L3s are cut off, and even the anchor's faces can be cut off. It just looks very bad, and their news operation isn't the best either. Granted, they are in somewhat of a small market, they could do a lot better. They are also a newer news organization, starting in 2007 after the ABC affiliate WVNY shut it's doors (WFFF does newscasts on WVNY). So for that, I give them credit, but they still need some improvement.

 

[trapper12]

WTVQ- ABC Lexington Ky.

 

[Robnoxious]

Look at KTLA in LA it was riding on the lines of KTVU in the 80's and 90's before Channel 5 went on the lines of HLN.

KTLA has bounced back a bit to their legitimate newscasts of old lately. Outside of the KTLA Morning News which has always been a chucklefest their news has gone back to it's roots that made them #1 in Los Angeles.

 

[azumanga]

My Worst:
WFFF (FOX, Smith Media, Plattsburgh NY/Burlington VT) - They pride themselves for being HD, but it does not look good. The most annoying thing about them is that they are not formatted to accommodate the 4:3 SD aspect ratio. So, basically if you watch any of their news on a standard 4:3 television, half of the bug will be cut off, the L3s are cut off, and even the anchor's faces can be cut off.

I take it that neither Comcast, Time Warner nor Charter reformats the screen to conform with 4:3 sets, so that black bars would show while the whole picture is displayed? If that's the case, no doubt some widescreen Fox programming, such as sports, would be torture on the eyes as well. When I was travelling in Quebec a couple of years ago, after WFFF started its "widescreen only" policy, the Videotron and Cogeco systems would broadcast WFFF's SD feed with the ends chopped off. Though apparently, it may be WFFF's or the cab;e systems' fault on this one.

WTVQ- ABC Lexington Ky.

Best or worst?

 

[trapper12]

My Worst:
WFFF (FOX, Smith Media, Plattsburgh NY/Burlington VT) - They pride themselves for being HD, but it does not look good. The most annoying thing about them is that they are not formatted to accommodate the 4:3 SD aspect ratio. So, basically if you watch any of their news on a standard 4:3 television, half of the bug will be cut off, the L3s are cut off, and even the anchor's faces can be cut off.

I take it that neither Comcast, Time Warner nor Charter reformats the screen to conform with 4:3 sets, so that black bars would show while the whole picture is displayed? If that's the case, no doubt some widescreen Fox programming, such as sports, would be torture on the eyes as well. When I was travelling in Quebec a couple of years ago, after WFFF started its "widescreen only" policy, the Videotron and Cogeco systems would broadcast WFFF's SD feed with the ends chopped off. Though apparently, it may be WFFF's or the cab;e systems' fault on this one.

WTVQ- ABC Lexington Ky.

Best or worst? Worst of the worst. The harder they try the worse they get.

 

[kms575]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned WCVB/Boston or WPVI/Philadelphia in the "Best" category. Both are dominant in their large markets with strong loyal followings.