Channel 13 to slash weekend news

["Chris Beckwith" <beckwith@ime.net>]

In radio-with-pictures news (apologies to Scott Fybush:) it was recently 
announced that Sinclair-owned WGME-TV will dump its morning and midday 
weekend newscasts.  The cut represents 5/7ths of the weekend news 
schedule at the CBS affiliate and is a major concession to perennial news 
leader WCSH-TV (Channel 6/NBC) that puts them on par with perpetual also-
ran WMTW-TV (Channel 8/ABC) in terms of weekend news hours.

Analysis:  The newscasts had been on life support since popular anchor 
Marnie Maclean's departure and in any event never established much of a 
ratings beachhead against Channel 6's near-total dominance of those time 
periods.  This was despite an often-innovative newscast that included lots of 
remotes and in-studio guests during its most ambitious phase.  Given all 
that, Sinclair's much-lamented decision probably represents a mercy killing 
as much as anything else.  Still, waving the white flag at the peak of an 
economic boom is an ominous portent of what could happen to Maine TV 
news if overall ad revenues in the market start to slip and the out-of-state 
companies who control the medium start to panic.

This has to be a bitter pill for newly-installed WGME-TV GM Alan Cartwright, 
who oversaw a major expansion of Channel 6's news effort during his tenure 
there.  It had to be particularly humiliating to insist in the Portland Press 
Herald that the cutback in no way represents a lessening of Sinclair's 
commitment to local TV news.

Question:  Are *weekday* morning and midday newscasts next on Sinclair's 
radar?

Take care,

Chris

------------------------------