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Is This A Sign Of A Bigger Role For WBZ-4's Jack Williams??

J

Joseph_Gallant

Guest
This evening (August 5th), Jack Williams substituted for Josh Binswanger on WBZ-4's local 6 P.M. news.

I wonder if Williams would have subbed for Binswanger on a 6 P.M. news six months ago.

Given that WBZ had Williams on the anchor desk Tuesday (August 2nd) for their special coverage (from 5 to 6 P.M., pre-empting "Dr. Phil") of the Toronto plane crash and his filling-in tonight, it looks to me like Jack Williams might be getting a bigger role at WBZ. I wouldn't be too surprised if Williams were to replace Binswanger on the 6 and 11 P.M. news come September.

In my opinion, it would be a smart move.
 
Joseph, have you not been following the discussion boards lately? This has been a hot topic for about 3 weeks. An article was also written in the Boston Phoenix regarding the "jack resurgence".


> This evening (August 5th), Jack Williams substituted for
> Josh Binswanger on WBZ-4's local 6 P.M. news.
>
> I wonder if Williams would have subbed for Binswanger on a 6
> P.M. news six months ago.
>
> Given that WBZ had Williams on the anchor desk Tuesday
> (August 2nd) for their special coverage (from 5 to 6 P.M.,
> pre-empting "Dr. Phil") of the Toronto plane crash and his
> filling-in tonight, it looks to me like Jack Williams might
> be getting a bigger role at WBZ. I wouldn't be too surprised
> if Williams were to replace Binswanger on the 6 and 11 P.M.
> news come September.
>
> In my opinion, it would be a smart move.
>
 
> Joseph, have you not been following the discussion boards
> lately? This has been a hot topic for about 3 weeks. An
> article was also written in the Boston Phoenix regarding the
> "jack resurgence".
>
>
Might as well wheel out Don Kent and Shelby Scott then to relive the glory days...That whole station is just unwatchable lately. Every time I flip on, Binswanger and Hughes are just like two robots sitting on the set and the weekend anchors Ken MacLeod and Pauline Chiou are just painful to watch.

Williams may buy them some time, but it's pretty clear they're very thin on major talent over at 4.
 
BTVN is quoting sources saying the move is 100% definite and will occur "before November sweeps." As I said over there, my best guess falls between two dates:

1. 9/5/05: Labor Day - though not likely when you consider...
2. 9/19/05: New Monday comedy lineup, and a lead-in from the season premiere "CSI: Miami". If they want to create synergy with the network, as they repeatedly and unconvincingly attest, this would be the way to do it. Call the ad campaign "Jack's Back."

Oh and another thing... bring Wayman back to 4, for God's sake!

Max from BTVN
 
> BTVN is quoting sources saying the move is 100% definite and
> will occur "before November sweeps." As I said over there,
> my best guess falls between two dates:
>
> 1. 9/5/05: Labor Day - though not likely when you
> consider...
> 2. 9/19/05: New Monday comedy lineup, and a lead-in from the
> season premiere "CSI: Miami". If they want to create synergy
> with the network, as they repeatedly and unconvincingly
> attest, this would be the way to do it. Call the ad campaign
> "Jack's Back."
>
> Oh and another thing... bring Wayman back to 4, for God's
> sake!
>
> Max from BTVN
>

Wayman? Now, you're reaching. Also what's the point of a 7-8 non-traditional
local news hour on 38 against all the natiional breakfast shows and a strong Fox 25 wake-up show? We know they(Viacom) get free give-backs from all the 'sponsors' they feature on it, but if no one's watching this local news infotainmnet, so what's the point?!

They should scrap the 4pm newscast,first. It's been such a downer for them
, even with Williams anchoring, but then again Oprah gets a sick 20 share so no matter what anyone puts up against her they'll still get clubbered.
Advertising money is already super tight. Once Filene's and Macy's merge, they'll be even less TV ad money coming in the fall. Everyone's squeezing their news depts, first. Can't see 4 doing anything major at this point, but cutting 4-5 news out -- they'll be down 6 and 11 only.

Anyway, the sales-driven decision will come from New York. They don't need a full-time news director up here to make a local anchor team call. It's just like with 7, everything is decided in and run from down from Miami. 7 is not
going to get a new news director for a quite some time.


May news sweeps...

Time Network Station Rating Share

4-4:30 p.m. NBC WHDH 3.2 10
CBS WBZ 1.9 6
4:30-5 p.m. NBC WHDH 3.4 10
CBS WBZ 1.8 5
5-5:30 p.m. ABC WCVB 7.7 20
NBC WHDH 4.3 11
CBS WBZ * 4.0 10
ABC WMUR 1.8 5
UPN WSBK * 1.2 3
Fox WFXT * 0.6 2
Univision WUNI * 0.5 1
WB WLVI * 0.3 1
5:30-6 p.m. ABC WCVB 7.7 20
NBC WHDH 4.7 11
CBS WBZ * 4.0 10
ABC WMUR 1.8 5
UPN WSBK * 1.2 3
Fox WFXT * 0.6 2
Univision WUNI * 0.5 1
WB WLVI * 0.3 1
6-6:30 p.m. ABC WCVB 8.5 19
NBC WHDH 5.1 11
CBS WBZ 3.6 8
ABC WMUR 3.0 7
UPN WSBK * 1.8 4
WB WLVI * 0.9 2
Fox WFXT * 0.8 2
Univision WUNI * 0.5 1

Late News

10-11 p.m. Fox WFXT 4.6 8
WB WLVI 2.9 5
11-11:30 p.m. NBC WHDH 7.8 18
ABC WCVB 6.9 16
CBS WBZ 5.7 13
Fox WFXT * 2.1 5
WB WLVI * 1.4 3
ABC WMUR * 1.0 2
UPN WSBK * 0.6 1
Univision WUNI * 0.3 1

* Non-news programming.
 
The problem is that 'BZ and 'HDH's 4pm newscasts are quite similar. WBIR/Knoxville has had much success going against Oprah with a local 4pm lifestyle show. Maybe it's time for 'BZ to resurrect something along the lines of "Live on 4."

> They should scrap the 4pm newscast,first. It's been such a
> downer for them
> , even with Williams anchoring, but then again Oprah gets a
> sick 20 share so no matter what anyone puts up against her
> they'll still get clubbered.
 
> The problem is that 'BZ and 'HDH's 4pm newscasts are quite
> similar. WBIR/Knoxville has had much success going against
> Oprah with a local 4pm lifestyle show. Maybe it's time for
> 'BZ to resurrect something along the lines of "Live on 4."
>
> > They should scrap the 4pm newscast,first. It's been such
> a
> > downer for them
> > , even with Williams anchoring, but then again Oprah gets
> a
> > sick 20 share so no matter what anyone puts up against her
>
> > they'll still get clubbered.
>
I suggested this a very very long time ago. They should call it "Live at 4."

But what really needs to happen, is a return to a heritage look. The 4 should be red, not white, and it should be broken at the top. I've noticed all the Viacom O & O's are using a uniform look now, the same way that Group W did with Anklpants. But that does not mean that WBZ can't get back to basics. Take a look at WJZ. They still carry allot of heritage.
 
Binswanger and Hughes are both good but seem more like national network newscasters than local. I don't get the feeling that Binswanger has any feeling for the community although I believe he is a Massachusetts native. Ms. Hughes is from Idaho as is Jack Williams. I have seen her do a few off the desk profiles and she has much more dimension than she can show behind the desk except when she is bantering with Bob Lobel.
Jack has a high credibility and warmth that comes across - and Wednesday's Child - is his baby - no pun intended. That gives Ch.4 and edge over the other stations.
I like the combo of Sarah Underwood and Jack but then again is there anyone who doesn't like Sarah Underwood...


> This evening (August 5th), Jack Williams substituted for
> Josh Binswanger on WBZ-4's local 6 P.M. news.
>
> I wonder if Williams would have subbed for Binswanger on a 6
> P.M. news six months ago.
>
> Given that WBZ had Williams on the anchor desk Tuesday
> (August 2nd) for their special coverage (from 5 to 6 P.M.,
> pre-empting "Dr. Phil") of the Toronto plane crash and his
> filling-in tonight, it looks to me like Jack Williams might
> be getting a bigger role at WBZ. I wouldn't be too surprised
> if Williams were to replace Binswanger on the 6 and 11 P.M.
> news come September.
>
> In my opinion, it would be a smart move.
>
 
The Classic "4" Logo (Was: Re: Is This A Sign Of A Bigger Role For WBZ-4's Jack Williams??)

Garrett suggested:

> But what really needs to happen, is a return to a heritage
> look. The "4" should be red, not white, and it should be
> broken at the top. I've noticed all the Viacom O & O's are
> using a uniform look now, the same way that Group W did with
> Anklpants. But that does not mean that WBZ can't get back to
> basics. Take a look at WJZ (Baltimore) . They still carry a lot of
> heritage.

But how long will it be before CBS/Viacom re-brands WJZ-13 as "CBS-13" with a logo similar to most other CBS O&O's??

Hopefully, this won't happen (and hopefully, "WBZ" will return to Channel 4's branding here in Boston---I could see the station branded as "WBZ/CBS-4"), but locally, it may be too late to ressurect the famous "4" logo. Could CBS/Viacom have once done a focus group that may have resulted in the classic "4" logo being linked to NBC??

Personally, I'd like to not only see the station re-brand to "WBZ/CBS-4" (using both the heritage call letters and the network/channel branding), but for the station to again use "Eyewitness News" as the title of it's local newscasts, perhaps as "WBZ/CBS-4 Eyewitness News".

"Live from New England's first commercial television station, this is 'WBZ/CBS-4 Eyewitness News At 6' with Jack Williams, weather with meterologist Ed Carroll, and sports with Bob Lobel. Now, Jack Williams....".
 
Re: The Classic "4" Logo (Was: Re: Is This A Sign Of A Bigger Role For WBZ-4's Jack Williams??)

Now that I think about it, I remember that whenever they placed promos in the tv section of the globe, they would use the WNBC 4, which was indeed broken at the top just like WBZ's (but it wasn't anklepants). So you might be right.

As for WJZ, if you go to their website, they already call it CBS 13, and the EYE ball is already prominant. I don't think the WJZ logo will change.

KPIX SF "CBS-5" also has their original 5

Could CBS/Viacom
> have once done a focus group that may have resulted in the
> classic "4" logo being linked to NBC??
>
> Personally, I'd like to not only see the station re-brand to
> "WBZ/CBS-4" (using both the heritage call letters and the
> network/channel branding), but for the station to again use
> "Eyewitness News" as the title of it's local newscasts,
> perhaps as "WBZ/CBS-4 Eyewitness News".
>
> "Live from New England's first commercial television
> station, this is 'WBZ/CBS-4 Eyewitness News At 6' with Jack
> Williams, weather with meterologist Ed Carroll, and sports
> with Bob Lobel. Now, Jack Williams....".
>
 
Re: The Classic "4" Logo (Was: Re: Is This A Sign Of A Bigger Role For WBZ-4's Jack Williams??)

> Garrett suggested:
>
> > But what really needs to happen, is a return to a heritage
>
> > look. The "4" should be red, not white, and it should be
> > broken at the top. I've noticed all the Viacom O & O's are
>
> > using a uniform look now, the same way that Group W did
> with
> > Anklpants. But that does not mean that WBZ can't get back
> to
> > basics. Take a look at WJZ (Baltimore) . They still carry
> a lot of
> > heritage.
>
> But how long will it be before CBS/Viacom re-brands WJZ-13
> as "CBS-13" with a logo similar to most other CBS O&O's??
>
> Hopefully, this won't happen (and hopefully, "WBZ" will
> return to Channel 4's branding here in Boston---I could see
> the station branded as "WBZ/CBS-4"), but locally, it may be
> too late to ressurect the famous "4" logo. Could CBS/Viacom
> have once done a focus group that may have resulted in the
> classic "4" logo being linked to NBC??
>
> Personally, I'd like to not only see the station re-brand to
> "WBZ/CBS-4" (using both the heritage call letters and the
> network/channel branding), but for the station to again use
> "Eyewitness News" as the title of it's local newscasts,
> perhaps as "WBZ/CBS-4 Eyewitness News".
>
> "Live from New England's first commercial television
> station, this is 'WBZ/CBS-4 Eyewitness News At 6' with Jack
> Williams, weather with meterologist Ed Carroll, and sports
> with Bob Lobel. Now, Jack Williams....".
>
I would actually like to see co-chief meteorologists Ed Carrol and Bruce Schwoegler.
 
Re: The Classic "4" Logo (Was: Re: Is This A Sign Of A Bigger Role For WBZ-4's Jack Williams??)

Why not? If WCVB can do it...

> >
> I would actually like to see co-chief meteorologists Ed
> Carrol and Bruce Schwoegler.
>
 
DON'T CALL IT ANKLEPANTS!

> But what really needs to happen, is a return to a heritage
> look. The 4 should be red, not white, and it should be
> broken at the top. I've noticed all the Viacom O & O's are
> using a uniform look now, the same way that Group W did with
> Anklpants.

Sorry about the shouting, but as an ex-Group W'er, I get passionate about this particular point, and I know I've posted about it before:

"Anklepants" is a knock-off (and not a particularly good one, at that - several of the letters are badly mangled) of the custom font that was created for Group W in the late sixties.

Nobody within Group W *ever* referred to the font as "Anklepants." I'm not sure what they did call it, but it sure as heck wasn't Anklepants.

Thanks.<P ID="signature">______________
Tower Site Calendar 2005 NOW AVAILABLE! - <a target="_blank" href=http://www.fybush.com/nerw.html#calendar>www.fybush.com</a></P>
 
Re: The Classic "4" Logo (Was: Re: Is This A Sign Of A Bigger Role For WBZ-4's Jack Williams??)

> KPIX SF "CBS-5" also has their original 5

No, they don't. The 5 they're using now was significantly redrawn (circa 1995) from the Group W version, though it shares a similar angularity. <P ID="signature">______________
Tower Site Calendar 2005 NOW AVAILABLE! - <a target="_blank" href=http://www.fybush.com/nerw.html#calendar>www.fybush.com</a></P>
 
I'M SORRY SCOTT...

I had no idea, I'm sorry Scott (as I sit in the airport awaiting a flight to Dallas and then Boston). As someone who grew up watching WBZ, I learned the name ANKLEPANTS on the interntet, and assumed that they were the same font, I didn't realize they were different.

So now, I will refer to it as the Westinghouse or Group W font.
-Garrett
 
Re: The Classic "4" Logo (Was: Re: Is This A Sign Of A Bigger Role For WBZ-4's Jack Williams??)

>
> Personally, I'd like to not only see the station re-brand to
> "WBZ/CBS-4" (using both the heritage call letters and the
> network/channel branding), but for the station to again use
> "Eyewitness News" as the title of it's local newscasts,
> perhaps as "WBZ/CBS-4 Eyewitness News".
>
> "Live from New England's first commercial television
> station, this is 'WBZ/CBS-4 Eyewitness News At 6' with Jack
> Williams, weather with meterologist Ed Carroll, and sports
> with Bob Lobel. Now, Jack Williams....".
>

A better intro would sound something like this: "Live from WBZ/CBS4, this is Eyewitness News at 6p, with Jack Williams, Ed Caroll weather, and Bob Lobel sports"

And also, keep the Viacom News Package and they should build their station with something similar to KCAL's "California 9" campaign. "Boston's TV4"
<P ID="signature">______________
Tape Traders Central/Retro Blog</P>
 
Re: The Classic "4" Logo (Was: Re: Is This A Sign Of A Bigger Role For WBZ-4's Jack Williams??)

I believe that was started by Previous owners, Disney, after they baught KHJ TV.
When Viacom merged with Paramount and sold off KCOP, they incorporated the KCAL image campaign, and they did it very nicely, IMHO.


> And also, keep the Viacom News Package and they should build
> their station with something similar to KCAL's "California
> 9" campaign. "Boston's TV4"
>
 
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