| Topic Name: |
Comparing Dallas Morning Anchors Teams |
| Message Name: |
Belo's KTVK in PHX mornings |
| Date Posted: |
06/02/2005 |
| In Reply To: |
In reading last Sunday??s article entitled, ??Wake-up Watch,?? I suddenly realized how WFAA and the Belo Corporation thousands of dollars in consultants! It is not necessary for them to spend an inordinate amount of money to find out why Channel 8??s morning show is in 3rd place, which has been of much concern since Scott Sams was let go in September. They need not go any further than reading the comments of their own employees to find out what??s causing the low ratings.
According to Ms. Denmon, who is one of the ??Daybreak?? anchors, she says, ??So I??m usually a little tired on Mondays and Tuesdays before getting back into rhythm. But I don??t ever wake up saying, ??Yes, it??s 3 o??clock in the morning! I??m so happy to be up!???? Mr. Fields is later refers to Monday mornings and is quoted as saying, ??Folks know I??m kind of to myself on that day. It takes me a day or two to get back into the groove.?? Do these anchors think that this attitude doesn??t transfer to the viewers? They have basically admitted that they aren??t really mentally, physically or emotionally prepared for their jobs until about midweek. That lack of energy and professional attitude contributes to viewers tuning out and tuning in to those anchors who are excited about reporting the news and reporting to work.
Later in the article, executive producer Susan Mahaney says she doesn??t know why ??Daybreak?? continues to haul in the 3rd place spot. She says, ??I??m hoping that once our anchor team is set, that we can put some promotion to it, and that it will help us get more viewers.?? This is the very same anchor team that has been in place since Scott Sams was released and the station decided they were going in a ??new direction.?? Michael Rey is uninspiring in his interviews and viewers are very put off with the performance of Alexa Conomos. WFAA has had 9 months to ??promote?? this team. It??s hard to promote a product that doesn??t want to be there - or at least not until they get into the groove midweek.
In wondering why the show is consistently in 3rd place, no one has addressed the lack of content. The ??Daybreak?? show starts at 5:00am. It is a combination of repeated stories from the 10:00pm news the previous night, mixed in with stories that are directly cut and pasted verbatim from the DMNews! The only things new that are reported on are the fires, murders or accidents from the early morning hours. Then, at 5:30am, they begin the same 30 minute newscast over again and repeat it a total of 4 times within the 2 hours it is on the air. That same news is repeated again during ??Good Morning Texas?? as well as during the midday newscast. The repetitiveness, lack of freshness and creativity, combined with a weak anchor crew is truly the demise of the program and thus, results in low ratings. The programming needs a major overhaul, as does the anchor team, as few viewers truly relate to the current crew of four. A random poll of people through the metroplex would support this assessment - if only WFAA/Belo could find enough people who actually watch the show who could give them feedback.
I think the accompanying photograph says it all, as a picture is worth a thousand words. Compare it to the other anchor team pics. This crew doesn??t stand together or even look like a ??team.?? One looks removed, one looks self-promoting, one looks ??stuck?? with the crew and another looks lost, but happy to be there. To the powers that be, look no further for answers to the burning question of why WFAA??s morning show is vying to stay out of 4th place. Your own employees have let you know of the crux of your woes. |
| Message: |
It's interesting to read some of the commentary on WFAA's morning show. Good Morning Arizona runs from 5-9am on Belo independent KTVK. Jodi Applegate was the original host and was replaced by Dallas area raised and former Beaumont anchor Tara Hitchcock. In a manner similar to WFAA, the news, repeated every 30 minutes is just that, a repeat, over and over and over. Some of the stories are those cute human interest stories like the squirrel in Denver eating a lolipop. The weather is reported by Brad Perry, a stand up comic wannabe who does not have the slightest idea how weather works. He still refers to the body of water south of Texas as the "Golf". Dan Davis, reads the newspaper headlines and just that, the headlines. He does not have a clue what the rest of the story is behind the headline. The team dresses so very casual...denim jeans are a standard.
Despite this, they continue to have great numbers each and every rating period. I believe it is because you can stay with them for the entire time and you might see something of interest. The network stations cut away at 7am to pick up GMA, Today or the CBS Morning Show, which is running stories that are three hours old.
Maybe Belo should do a trade out of WFAA for KTVK crews and see if it makes a difference.
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