As I posted a day's worth of listings from a Providence TV Guide, I remembered how WLNE used to air two movies during the day, and if I recall correctly, both of them were under the "Dialing For Dollars" banner. I realize times are tough for WLNE's current owner, but does anybody think that if they returned to the days of "Dialing For Dollars," that it might reverse the station's current misfortunes a little bit? It might be in their best interest to save the money they could be paying a newscast crew for a 4 PM newscast, and just give it all away to their viewers.
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Should WLNE Bring Back "Dialing For Dollars"?
- Thread starter DToTheJ
- Start date
formeraa said:
Hey - if it'll win WLNE back some Rhode Islanders - okay, if it will gain them new Rhode Islanders, as well as bring back former ones, it'll be in the station's best interest to get creative! A 4 PM newscast is a start, but I'd be curious to see what else they have in store. Hey, they certainly have nowhere to go but up. (Which has been the case for most of its existence, unfortunately.)
DToTheJ said:
No! WLNE needs to make as many cuts as posible right now.WLNE will remain in current state until someone news takes ownership.Then a complete overhaul needs to take place.I mean a complete overhaul of everything. Status quo is not the answer considering the station is bankrupt.
I would be sweating on every Pay day morning until my direct deposit kicks in. It wouldnt surprise me if there are staff members worried if they are going to get paid.
ON AIR said:
History and Fate have been so unkind to this poor little TV station.
Too bad RI PBS already exists, because with a sales pitch like that....Channel 6 would have made a perfect satellite repeater for the WGBH Educational Foundation.
ABC could buy WLNE outright, provided they meet the criteria of the caps (which they do). Hearst, on the other hand already owns WCVB and WMUR. If they were to try to buy WLNE, there might be an issue of non-permissible overlap of signal contours between the three ABC affiliates. But in this "happy-go-deregulate" environment........ they could get a waiver. This is much like Flagstaff, AZ. They used to have a fully-equipped NBC affiliate (KNAZ-TV, Channel 2). But, the market could barely sustain it (never mind the other stations that have set up shop in Flag and failed miserably as well). That station is now a full-time repeater of KPNX-TV Channel 12 (NBC) in Phoenix, some 115 miles distant.Wbzfm2010 said:
I don't think Providence could sustain a station like WLNE at this point in time. Worst case scenario, WLNE will either be made into a semi-satellite of WCVB (with some local origination during news periods), or ABC could buy it outright and beef it up. ABC obviously wants to have an affiliate in Rhode Island, otherwise WCVB would be on every cable system right now. I'm sure times are rather tough for WLNE staffers, believe me....I've been in the same boat with a UHF station back in the 80's. You didn't know if your check would cash. (Lots of people "high-tailed" it down to the bank on Friday, without fail. More times than not, the checks would bounce.) Good luck to the folks at WLNE.
Going by history, TV stations always do much better when owned by the Network. They have the resources to take a dumpy station and make it into a shining star. I remember when CBS bought Channel 12 in the 90's. The next thing you know they had a News studio straight out of New York or Hollywood. The set had two levels and was the coolest looking shade of blue you could imagine. They had a spiral staircase that led up to the second level. They did the sports reports from up there. Even if you wern't a sports fan, the presentation of sports on WPRI's newscasts were ultra cool. They changed the whole music package as well and that was equally as impressive. Suddenly Channel 12 had a major market feel to it. All because the Network was in control and they knew what they were doing.
Fast forward to today. CBS no longer owns WPRI and in my opinion it shows. Nothing about their newscasts is nearly as cool as it was 15 years ago when CBS owned the place. So I am really rooting for ABC to scoop up WLNE and do something magical with it.
Fast forward to today. CBS no longer owns WPRI and in my opinion it shows. Nothing about their newscasts is nearly as cool as it was 15 years ago when CBS owned the place. So I am really rooting for ABC to scoop up WLNE and do something magical with it.
Skynet74 said:
This seems like a good point in the thread to mention WWJ-TV (channel 62) in Detroit, which has been owned by CBS since the mid-nineties and remains an absolute disaster of a station. Yes, this station started out much weaker than even WLNE -- but so did WDJT-TV (channel 58) in Milwaukee, and Weigel has managed to make something of that station.
So network ownership isn't always an improvement.
Skynet74 said:
Doesn't ABC have enough to deal with these days without taking on WLNE?
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