WNBC has invested heavily in an alternate news department. They've given it a 24 hour secondary TV channel (Channel 4.2 New York Nonstop) and have replaced the 5-6pm local news on WNBC with an hour of "lifestyle" news.
I guess I understand the theory. Young people just don't watch conventional news that much. So from 5-6pm, the NBC flagship station is running silly news. Cooking demonstrations, exercise tips, interviews with unknown rock bands playing local clubs, celebrity gossip, man on the street interviews. And if you want to be either an anchor on this show or a street reporter, you'd better be born in 1980 or later. Much of this is recycled on Channel 4.2, which is also being carried on many cable systems. Model looks (both male and female) are also part of the deal. Knowledge of news is not a requirement. No desk or ties permitted on the set.
I'm convinced the exercise tips are really an excuse to put very fit, good looking people in small tight workout gear on screen, again, male as well as female.
On one hand you can say, this is a dumbing down of the news. WNBC purged numerous veteran news, sports and weather personnel last year to make way for this project. And you can be sure WNBC is not paying the 20-something model-reporters what the vets earned. When WNBC first announced it would be starting a 24 hour news channel thanks to the expanded number of digital channels it could provide, I thought it would be something to rival NY 1, Time-Warner's 24 hour local news channel. But I couldn't figure out how they could start a 24 hour news channel while laying off news people.
The answer is that almost nothing on NY Nonstop 4.2 is live. (There is a 7pm half hour newscast anchored by veteran newsman Chuck Scarborough, which I guess sort of makes up for the loss of the 5-6pm hour on WNBC.) They even took away much of the news set from WNBC. Anchors, sports and weather people now are squeezed onto a table with the newsroom behind a glass partition behind them. It looks small market and claustrophobic.
But on the other hand, you can say LX TV and New York Nonstop did create some new jobs. I guess even models need work.
I have not seen any ratings for how LX TV is doing opposite WCBS, WABC and Fox 5's newscasts from 5-6pm. How ironic. Fox 5 used to run syndicated sitcoms opposite the news on NBC, CBS and ABC. Now that they've joined them for a 5-6pm newscast, NBC gives up the slot to silly news.
Gregg
[email protected]
The show doesn't even pretend to be about real news. There isn't even a real news update
I guess I understand the theory. Young people just don't watch conventional news that much. So from 5-6pm, the NBC flagship station is running silly news. Cooking demonstrations, exercise tips, interviews with unknown rock bands playing local clubs, celebrity gossip, man on the street interviews. And if you want to be either an anchor on this show or a street reporter, you'd better be born in 1980 or later. Much of this is recycled on Channel 4.2, which is also being carried on many cable systems. Model looks (both male and female) are also part of the deal. Knowledge of news is not a requirement. No desk or ties permitted on the set.
I'm convinced the exercise tips are really an excuse to put very fit, good looking people in small tight workout gear on screen, again, male as well as female.
On one hand you can say, this is a dumbing down of the news. WNBC purged numerous veteran news, sports and weather personnel last year to make way for this project. And you can be sure WNBC is not paying the 20-something model-reporters what the vets earned. When WNBC first announced it would be starting a 24 hour news channel thanks to the expanded number of digital channels it could provide, I thought it would be something to rival NY 1, Time-Warner's 24 hour local news channel. But I couldn't figure out how they could start a 24 hour news channel while laying off news people.
The answer is that almost nothing on NY Nonstop 4.2 is live. (There is a 7pm half hour newscast anchored by veteran newsman Chuck Scarborough, which I guess sort of makes up for the loss of the 5-6pm hour on WNBC.) They even took away much of the news set from WNBC. Anchors, sports and weather people now are squeezed onto a table with the newsroom behind a glass partition behind them. It looks small market and claustrophobic.
But on the other hand, you can say LX TV and New York Nonstop did create some new jobs. I guess even models need work.
I have not seen any ratings for how LX TV is doing opposite WCBS, WABC and Fox 5's newscasts from 5-6pm. How ironic. Fox 5 used to run syndicated sitcoms opposite the news on NBC, CBS and ABC. Now that they've joined them for a 5-6pm newscast, NBC gives up the slot to silly news.
Gregg
[email protected]
The show doesn't even pretend to be about real news. There isn't even a real news update
