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Post by frogger on Sept 21, 2009 12:15:56 GMT -5
HERE'S A BROAD, YET POTENTIALLY FRUITFUL TOPIC. WHICH TV NEWS OPERATION IN BOSTON IS DOING THE BEST AS FAR AS COVERING THE NEWS? THESE DAYS, THEY ALL HAVE DIFFERING APPROACHES. WHAT'S WORKING? WHAT'S NOT? ANY TRENDS IN THE NUMBERS? ONCE AND FOR ALL....HOW MANY PEOPLE RE WATCHING? IS THE INTERNET AUDIENCE WORTH PURSUING, OR IS IT JUST A FRACTION OF THE VIEWERSHIP? ALL OF YOU WORKING FOLKS IN THE TRENCHES...LETS HEAR FROM YOU.
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Post by number1dad on Sept 21, 2009 12:25:55 GMT -5
you're the best ... at using caps lock.
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Post by frogger on Sept 21, 2009 21:52:37 GMT -5
Grownups only please
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Post by BTVNadmin on Sept 22, 2009 4:37:57 GMT -5
Can the snark AND the all-caps, please. And just as a suggestion, if you're going to start a topic like this, why not tell us what you think yourself and actually contribute to the discussion.
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kvn
Full Member
Posts: 103
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Post by kvn on Sept 22, 2009 7:36:20 GMT -5
Well i like 7 and their cast of characters. All the stations have the same over covered stories anyway, and some have the favorite and not so favorite personalities. One thing I dont like is the musical introduction to 4's news, where did they come up with that? There you go mr BTVN et all, hit me with your best shots....
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Post by frogger on Sept 22, 2009 9:36:32 GMT -5
Someone actually responded with a thoughtful reply. Thanks kvn! By the way you guys need to get some therapy about that all caps thing...yikes.
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Post by mvjournalist on Sept 22, 2009 9:57:32 GMT -5
I'll stay clear of the capital letters as is deemed to be used for shouting on the Internet.
With that out of the way, my choices for the best are those on WBZ-TV, WFXT and at times WCVB.
The news on WHDH remind me of the old afternoon cartoons on the old WLVI.
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Post by seeveebee on Sept 22, 2009 10:18:24 GMT -5
WCVB gets a narrow edge, but I'm waiting for its next chapter and its feeling a little stale. Still think they have the best evening anchor in the market in the AM (Price) and the best AM Anchor in the market in the evening (Harding).
WBZ is the most improved...like the interactivity and Jack pulls it all together on the desk.
Fox is pretty consistent--but the main anchor pairing is weak and grossly unbalanced--their AM show is their ticket.
HDH/SVN is a bad joke with some redeeming values (vet reporters , khazei, and improving AM team). NECN fills nice void.
CVB has the ingredients to take charge of the market, but WBZ has the momentum and the ability to become the dominant player IF CVB continues to sit on its hands and not make the moves it knows it needs to make IMO
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Post by fox25rox on Sept 22, 2009 11:49:07 GMT -5
Simple: 5, 25, 4...........................................7
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Post by BTVNadmin on Sept 22, 2009 13:07:55 GMT -5
25's been stealing 7's thunder in terms of its brand for the last five years and making it work really well for themselves, but the main anchor pairing is lop-sided in terms of star power (no disrespect to Mark Ockerbloom).
7 itself hasn't been worth watching since the breakup of the Price/Bandini pairing and has become a bland quasi-parody of its former self, the work of Hiller, Block, Hausle, Barnett and Hall excepted.
4 used to be a station lost at sea (Josh Binswanger anyone?), but their revamp some time ago now with the unique graphics and music has given them something of a firmer berth, complemented by a viewer-driven approach to content that COULD be obnoxious, but they make it so that it isn't. (I for one am something of an elitist in this regard. I think journalists are employed by stations for a good reason and the public should have limited input, which is probably deeply ironic given that I've spent the last eight years of my life running this site, but I don't kid myself that I - or anyone else - is truly in a position of influence, nor should we be - it's just fun to put bullets in the proverbial feces!)
Entirely un-feces-like is 5. Ed Harding is TV brocolli - one either loves or hates him, but I really have to commend how relatively quickly they've turned Heather Unruh from a Midwestern unknown into something pretty close to a local superstar worthy of Natalie Jacobson's seat - she may have been around for seven years or so but that's actually pretty quick to be in the first-name-only top-tier that carries almost universal respect (see also Nat, Jack, Liz, Randy and arguably Maria). The more recent addition of Randy Price to their lineup has to be read as a statement of intent when it comes to quality and an embrace of what works locally to make themselves feel like a comfy and reliable pair of slippers - they know exactly what they're doing on that score. I would also posit that they have arguably the single best weather team (in terms of the depth of their bench) of any local station in the country.
NECN - well, I can't say much. Jim Braude is the closest thing they have to a branded personality, but the fact that he's openly partisan (I happen to agree with most of his politics but that's beside the point) renders him not nearly as palatable a marquee name as the aforementioned few. Still, I've got a few friends there and I even flirted briefly with taking up a minor on-air contributor gig with them a few years back, so I can't write them off completely, but they do serve a very specific purpose and have probably earned their status as the best local news channel in the country.
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Post by fluffernutter523 on Sept 22, 2009 13:38:41 GMT -5
I'm very brand loyal, so I have watched WBZ since I started watching the news, because that's the station my mother always watched. I do think it is the best station in town, and think it has improved dramatically over the past three years. I rarely have time to watch the morning news anymore so I cannot comment on that. But I think the evening newscasts on WBZ are my favorite, with WCVB at a close second.
The one thing I do not like about WBZ is Lisa Hughes, I think she seems like a very nice lady, but I just don't feel a connection to her. I love when Kate Merrill (spelling?) anchors in for her because I think she is much more lively and personable.
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Post by seeveebee on Sept 22, 2009 16:52:51 GMT -5
I completely disagree with Fluff. I think Lisa Hughes is the most improved Anchor in the market. Not in Jack's league yet--but she more than holds her own and also has good reporter skills. I think Kate Merrill is about as fake as they come. Don't know her, but she does not connect on-air at all. Sports is weak at WBZ, too. Though I'm a bigger fan than most of their weather across-the-board. WBZ has a lot going for it.
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Post by fox25rox on Sept 22, 2009 20:07:54 GMT -5
Max pretty much nailed it (I tried to get a similar point across in my post above:)). I know we've been here before, but I can't think of two more opposites than Unruh and Hughs. One makes you comfortable watching the news and the other (still after how many years?) makes it feel awkward.
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ptrsh
New Member
Posts: 5
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Post by ptrsh on Sept 24, 2009 14:20:53 GMT -5
You know, I have read on this site before negative commentary about Lisa Hughes. I don't get it, I find her to be very personable.....and, I do like WBZ the best....
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Post by fox25rox on Sept 24, 2009 18:05:12 GMT -5
Two words: Kate Merrill
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