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WBZ Network News Shuffle/Adjustment Has Begun?
- Thread starter Uncle Kaimbridge
- Start date
Doncha' know? This community serves Tilden in his efforts to badmouth everyone who has wronged him in his career.
Ya know, folks: I'be been on this message board for about 4-1/2 years, and I don't ever remember this much raw emotion and offended sensibilities such as we're now experiencing over the iHeart-ization of our beloved WBZ. But, then again, WBZ 1030 is one of a kind.
Only in Boston.
Some time ago, all thr traditional networks (ABC, NBC, ABC, MBS, etc...) chased off all their affiliates in some way shape or fashion.
Some stations got compensation from the networks....and it seemed to slowly turn to the point wherer the networks started asking the station to pay them.
Add to that the fact that local stations didn't see any value in running network product....the radio networks visibility has diminished.
Now we have the mega-owners owning most of everything...and they can force carriage of their own network...on their own stations....maybe we will see them come back on the air.
I have a friend who loves WCBS in New York...and wonders why WBZ never (during the day anyway) aired CBS at the top of the hour.
I suppose BZ thought it was more important to have someone locally reading what was important to local listeners at the top of the hour, than have a guy reading headlines from New York.
Except that none of the networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, etc) actually own radio stations any more. So they can't "force carriage of their own networks on their own stations."
Even when CBS owned WBZ, it was unable to force WBZ to carry its own CBS news top of the hour. Right?
BTW in answer to the question posed by DavidZ, WTOP ran CBS network news every hour on the hour. And they weren't owned by CBS.
No, the networks don't own the stations...but the company that owns the network(s) sometimes own the station as well.
Entercom owns the CBS Radio Network......and the CBS stations.
Entercom does NOT own the CBS Radio Network. CBS News Radio is owned by CBS, and all CBS News features are owned by CBS.
CBS News Radio and its features are syndicated by SkyView.
Ah, my faux pas. There have been so many games of musical chairs....I forgot who sat down with who when the music stopped!
So-o-o, I heard it once last week and twice today.
The TTN newscasts on both 1200 AM and WRKO now use actualities from WBZ’s Ben Parker and Carl Stevens, who are identified as being from NBC NewsRadio.
Someone on one of these boards had predicted that there would be a co-mingling of TTN and WBZ News, but I’d never have guessed it would be under the NBC News Radio banner.
The TTN newscasts on both 1200 AM and WRKO now use actualities from WBZ’s Ben Parker and Carl Stevens, who are identified as being from NBC NewsRadio.
Someone on one of these boards had predicted that there would be a co-mingling of TTN and WBZ News, but I’d never have guessed it would be under the NBC News Radio banner.
http://www.universalhub.com/2018/iheartcuts-top-40-owner-boston-news-station?nocache=1
Rod Fritz and Mary Blake let go at WBZ
Rod Fritz and Mary Blake let go at WBZ
This is what Norm was railing against earlier in this thread. IMHO, even when iHeart emerges from bankruptcy, they will still be focused on the bottom line and not add local content as some believe. How long before there are more weekend infomercials and / or syndicated programming added?
That's up to the listeners. As long as the station is in the Top 10, there will be no weekend infomercials, because there are none at any of the highly rated AMs.
But what's wrong with focusing on the bottom line? Isn't that a good thing?
WBZ has brokered time (apparently) with Just Don't Lose The Money and The Truth About Money on Sundays and Family Financial Focus as well as "Cindy Stumpo is Tough as Nails" on Saturdays("Cindy Stumpo is an American entrepreneur and residential contractor. She is the founder of C. Stumpo Development, a privately owned custom home builder and developer based in eastern Massachusetts"--Wikipedia). Brokered time..?
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Sadly CBS began adding paid programming to WBZ three or four years ago. Seven of the eight CBS-owned all-news stations carried some brokered shows before Entercom's acquisition. Only 1010 WINS in NYC was spared. WCBS was not. So brokered programming on WBZ began well before iHeart took over.
And while I don't like hearing about two WBZ reporters losing their jobs, iHeart's Total Traffic does employ reporters in its biggest cities to supply local news. So hearing them on WBZ (using the NBC Radio News outcue) is not unlike WOR in NYC or KFI in Los Angeles doing the same with Total Traffic reporters in those markets. They send them out to cover local stories that might also get picked up on iHeart's NBC News at the top of the hour and on the 24/7 all news stream on line and on the iHeart app.
And while I don't like hearing about two WBZ reporters losing their jobs, iHeart's Total Traffic does employ reporters in its biggest cities to supply local news. So hearing them on WBZ (using the NBC Radio News outcue) is not unlike WOR in NYC or KFI in Los Angeles doing the same with Total Traffic reporters in those markets. They send them out to cover local stories that might also get picked up on iHeart's NBC News at the top of the hour and on the 24/7 all news stream on line and on the iHeart app.
>>>I have a friend who loves WCBS in New York...and wonders why WBZ never (during the day anyway) aired CBS at the top of the hour.
I suppose BZ thought it was more important to have someone locally reading what was important to local listeners at the top of the hour, than have a guy reading headlines from New York.<<<
It's a tradition that has lasted to this day. The former Westinghouse-owned stations have not aired CBS News on the hour (except late nights) since they originally never aired any network news. In NYC, WCBS carries CBS News while WINS does not. In LA, KNX carries CBS News while KFWB did not, when it was still a CBS all-news station. KYW in Philadelphia never airs CBS News. Same for WBZ (except overnight) since both had been former Group W stations.
I suppose BZ thought it was more important to have someone locally reading what was important to local listeners at the top of the hour, than have a guy reading headlines from New York.<<<
It's a tradition that has lasted to this day. The former Westinghouse-owned stations have not aired CBS News on the hour (except late nights) since they originally never aired any network news. In NYC, WCBS carries CBS News while WINS does not. In LA, KNX carries CBS News while KFWB did not, when it was still a CBS all-news station. KYW in Philadelphia never airs CBS News. Same for WBZ (except overnight) since both had been former Group W stations.
What's interesting is that WBZ-TV was once an NBC affiliate, and now one hears NBC News Radio reporters (via iHeart) on WBZ.
I suspected Mary was quietly let go, and, before her, Mina Greene. But Rod's "moving on" is a total shock, since I could've sworn I heard him just this week.
Sad.
Rod and Mary and Ben Parker came over to WBZ when Entercom decided WRKO no longer needed a news staff.
That very uneasy feeling I had about iHeart's ownership of WBZ has returned.
When Westinghouse and CBS merged...I was surprised that each news station was allowed to keep the format clock that it had been using. I was thinking they would all move to some standardized clock.
I also never expected CBS/Westinghouse to keep 2 news stations in NY!
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