Posted by chicagomedia.org on July 06, 2009 at 21:53:28:
Weigel's WCIU getting into A.M. news fray -- in a small, unconventional way
Got a little time in the morning? Chicago's Weigel Broadcasting has news for you.
The innovative local broadcaster on Monday confirmed long-standing speculation that it will be inserting a splash of news, entertainment and lifestyle reports, along with sponsored segments, in between regular weekday morning programming on both its primary WCIU-Ch. 26.1 feed, The U, and its secondary digital Ch. 26.2, Me TV.
In the morning news wars, it will be a guerilla unit.
Packaged as "You and Me This Morning" and presented by Jeanne Sparrow, formerly of WMAQ-Ch. 5 and WGCI-FM 107.5, the news and information will come in short bursts between the two channel's usual fare of off-network sitcom reruns and other shows.
"We want to be in the news business for a couple reasons," said Neal Sabin, Weigel Broadcasting's executive vice president. "One, we want the news [advertising] dollars. Two, we want to become more than just a station with syndicated first-run and rerun programming and [Rich Koz's] Svengoolie. ... Going forward we need more local content. We need more opportunities for advertisers."
The info segments will run anywhere from 30 seconds to 10 minutes and will begin appearing later this summer, although the concept won't fully kick in -- with Sparrow live in-studio -- until sometime this fall.
"This is not just another newscast," said Molly Kelly, WCIU's station manager. "We know we can't do the same-old, same-old, what's being served up. This is going to be very focused on local. We are weaving it in and around entertainment programming. It's targeted to lifestyles rather than hard news."
The mix and timing of the segments on The U and Me TV are expected to differ, and the exact lineups have yet to be determined. It's a given that by sometime in October each channel's three-hour block no longer will have six half-hour programs in it.
"We've also got to create content for the Web site, and it's not productive to create stuff just for the Web site -- you've got to have multiple uses and platforms for it," Sabin said. "There will be features on television that will repurposed and in longer form on the Web, and it can be repurposed [for mobile] phone, where people can customize what they want delivered."
Sabin said any and all sponsored content and product placement will be clearly identified, as opposed to "when it's a story just because it's a story."
The station is looking for a show runner, but not a traditional news director. Additionally, a director of content will be announced soon, said Sabin, who added there have been conversations with potential news providers.
Sparrow's role, according to Sabin, will be comparable to that of the late Ray Rayner, a long-time morning show host on Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co.'s WGN-Ch. 9 who wove headlines, sports highlights and weather between cartoons and other material from the 1960s until 1980.
"My involvement on the show will not be as just a talking head, but as somebody who relates to the audience and can speak to what I think they're interested in," Sparrow said. "I can also bring some of my ideas and stuff that I want to see on. How eclectic that may or may not be -- and how successful that is -- remains to be seen, but I'm flexible. Not everyone is into the same stuff that I am."
Since leaving WMAQ, where she was a traffic and entertainment reporter until late 2005, Sparrow has been working for Karl Productions as host of a monthly cable and Internet program for the Chicago Transit Authority. That work will continue, she said, as Weigel does not consider it a conflict.
Weigel's dipping its toes into local news with an eye toward digital platforms has been expected since at least May 2008. That's when the company hired veteran local TV producer, writer and editor Harvey Moshman as executive producer of program development and Randy King, a former broadcasting exec at WTTW-Ch. 11 and WFLD-Ch. 32, as production manager.
King left in March, but Moshman is charged with helping finding Chicagoans to serve as on-air contributors for the project through its wciu.com Web site.
"I've told the staff: We're not going to hire stars; we're going to create them," Sabin said.
"We are looking for people who are experts in the field of different subject areas," Kelly said. "It's everything from tech and gadgets to discount shopping to film reviews and entertainment. ... We're looking for real people, real Chicagoans, undiscovered personalities."
Local broadcast history buffs no doubt recall another groundbreaking WCIU news effort, a 10 p.m. weeknight newscast 40 years ago. "A Black's View of the News" is probably best remembered as a launching pad for Don Cornelius, who later gained national fame with the syndicated dance show, "Soul Train," which began at WCIU.
"Find a need and fill it," Edward Skotch, who was WCIU's station manager and program director in 1969, said at the time, although it still seems to be a battle cry at Weigel today.
"We're reinventing things," Sabin said. "We can't compete and create a 'WGN Morning News.' They do a great job with that show. We already have viewers watching WCIU in the morning who have chosen to be with us not one of the other stations. ... We want to hold on to that audience and grow our locally produced programming."
(Phil Rosenthal, Chicago Tribune)