Re: Top o' the hour

[fybush@world.std.com (Scott D Fybush)]

> 
> > Something's changed - last night, WBZ went from their 7:00   
> > top-of-the-hour Bombastically Legal ID directly to their own news.  No   
> > ABC drum roll with Tim O'Donnell.????  
> 
> They've been doing this for quite some time (long enough that I don't
> remember them not doing it)... the second-half afternoon anchor always
> does the local headlines live at 7pm.  It's not until 8pm that you
> start getting the overnight person.
> 

Ah, but for once Garrett errs!  (and yes, that IS a rare occurrence :-)

Within the past few weeks, BZ has gotten rid of the minute of ABC news
at 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11.  Diane Stern or fill-in now does the full 
newscast, national and local, at 7.  The freelance (BZ calls them
"casual") newsperson on duty does 8, 9, 10, and 11, in addition to 
taping two "overnighter" casts that run after ABC at 12/2/4 and 1/3 AM
and recording a few voicers or wraps for AM drive.

Writing that minute of news at 7 each night was probably the most
annoying task I had at BZ.

It is almost certainly the leanest evening/overnight staffing of any
major-market station that purports to be "all news."  Heck, even
WHAM up here in Rochester has a live body in the newsroom all night.

By the way, I was always told by the BZ engineers that the purpose of
our DA (and WWL's) was to reduce the amount of signal wasted over
the open ocean.  Losing Chatham in the bargain was apparently 
a slight calculational error in the 1940s.  Perhaps when they replace
their towers this summer they'll fix it somehow.

- -s

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