So many local TV items today, so we'll just stick them here in one post:
- Fox-owned WFLD-TV announced the elimination of six full-time jobs today as well as a dozen vacation relief positions. This comes as ad revenues for the station plunged thirty percent from a year ago, reflecting general weakness in the economy and the lack of ad spending in the marketplace.
- NBC-owned WMAQ-TV is dropping its Sunday morning newscasts and will instead launch a new taped public-affairs program titled The Talk (how generic a title can get?), which will air at 7:30 a.m. on Sundays.
The elimination of Sunday newscasts follows a similar move at CBS-owned WBBM-TV, which recently dumped its Saturday and Sunday morning newscasts.
Beginning May 24, WMAQ's new Sunday schedule looks like this:
6 a.m. Our World
6:30 a.m. The Wall Street Journal Report
7 a.m. The Chris Mathews Show
7:30 a.m. The Talk (beginning May 31st)
8 a.m. Sunday Today
9 a.m. Meet the Press
10 a.m. House Smarts
10:30 a.m. LX-TV Open House
11 a.m. LX-TV First Look
(Geez, how many times LX. TV can air on a given weekend?)
- The layoff bug hasn't escaped NBC Universal's properties though: Telemundo affiliate WSNS-TV laid off three tafffers today, including anchor Vincete Serrano.
In an unrelated note, WMAQ weekend morning anchor Ellie Pai Hong is departing the station.
- CLTV and WGN -TV are now one step closer to merging their operations: according to Chicagoland Radio & Media, Marcus LeShock (who hosted the Metromix programs on CLTV) is moving over to WGN. Also headed to 'GN are two CLTV photographers.
CLTV will soon close their Oak Brook offices and move to Bradley Place where WGN resides.
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