Yule Log vs. News

[autolab]

Sad state of affairs when TV5 decides it would rather air a Yule Log program instead of news. Says a lot about the lack of respect the current management has toward its news team. At least some of us will get to stay home Christmas morning. SMH

[DAC]

Is there a large demand for news on Christmas morning from 4:30 to 7 AM? Let 'em have the day off.

[matt1]

Now wait a minute, WNEM showed the Christmas house lights & now the Yule Log, that's too bad. 25 years ago, I saw a Beavis & Butthead episode in 1993 when they are talking when the fireplace is glowing & then they switched the channel for Christmas music videos. Yep, Butthead passes gas in a couple of times!!

[matt1]

This was I was seeing 25 years ago in 1993: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA9XPf-kiKI

[MasterB]

Christmas is the only time where they just air specials where the newscast is. I know Wood TV has been doing that for years on Christmas Day in West Michigan along with WZZM, Fox17 just did year in review type news the only one that did a newscast was WWMT. I'm fine with the Yule log as nothing really happens on Christmas anyways.

[Deleted User 3751]

We need a break from the NEWS, we see it 364 days a year. The Yule log is played here in Tampa also, I think it's a great idea. I agree with DAC, give the NEWS room some time off, as us Christians celebrate the birth of Christ on Christmas.

[Graham Wellington]

Sad state of affairs when TV5 decides it would rather air a Yule Log program instead of news. Says a lot about the lack of respect the current management has toward its news team. At least some of us will get to stay home Christmas morning. SMH

The only people who would want to watch the news on Christmas morning are dateless wonders like yourself.

[autolab]

Sorry Mr. Wellington that you were so offended by my post that you felt you needed to resort to a personal attack.

I work for TV5. And I've sacrificed time with my family (hence, yes I've been dateless and happily married for many years) on far too many holidays to bring the news to mid-Michigan viewers.

This is the first year that TV5's "new management" decided to run a Yule Log in place of newscasts. It's not how a real number one station that values its news operation operates.

Granted, there's not always a wealth of news. But I can remember a few years back when we were first on with details of the Christmas Day underwear bomber who was arrested at Detroit Metro Airport. You can't always predict when news happens, which is why it's important to have a regular schedule of newscasts... even on holidays. So now, should I expect the Memorial Day, Independence Day or Valentines Day Yule Log???

As far as whether or not there's an audience, you must not have kids who drag you out of bed to unwrap presents and want breakfast before daylight for one day only.

Call me old fashioned or take any personal attacks you'd like, but if you value having a strong news presence, you don't take it off and put a Yule Log in its place.

[autolab]

You, HL101, are the ultimate hypocrite. You make personal attacks every chance you get. Which is why many, many people on this board can't seem to understand why the moderator doesn't ban you.

As far as getting paid... yes, I make my living as a professional journalist. And if you think the men and women working on Christmas and other holidays are getting rich, you're delusional. We do it because it's our profession and we take our jobs seriously. We work bad hours, sometimes in bad conditions, and for bad pay. And then we have to put up with trolls like you.

The ones who are getting rich, aka the GM and ND at the Rusty Nickle, can't bother to show up on holidays that they ask us to work. So instead, let's reduce what little extra we might make from holiday pay by running a Yule Log. The decisions made by a sales-oriented GM and a weak-boned ND who bows to the GM's every whim are only about saving money that allows them to get their end of year bonuses. (Which are not shared by the blue-collared workers at TV5.)

As far as your appointment tv argument, its idiotic since we're also leading in market distribution of new via website, social media, mobile push alerts, OTT, Alexa, and the list goes on.

However, how are you supposed to update that content if you tell journalists to "stay home, we'll run a Yule Log instead"?

[whitebalance]

I agree with autolab. Holidays are usually slow news days. Missing a newscast is not the end of the world. Many stations across the country ran the Yule Log at different times.
TV 5 has great employees. Many deserve larger markets than sitting in Saginaw to make Julie and Karin rich. TV 5 does not preempt local news as much as ABC 12 and their made in Michigan specials with Marc Jacobson.

[Graham Wellington]

As far as whether or not there's an audience, you must not have kids who drag you out of bed to unwrap presents and want breakfast before daylight for one day only.

Call me old fashioned or take any personal attacks you'd like, but if you value having a strong news presence, you don't take it off and put a Yule Log in its place.

I do have kids, and I can assure you that I, and probably most others, would rather have the yule log on than watching the news. Nothing says Christmas morning like gathering around the TV set after opening presents and watching a 23 year old recent college grad report fluff news stories.

[autolab]

In the words of Saturday Night Live: "Jane, you ignorant slut..."

HL101: once again you show how clueless you are. Whoever said I was part of the union? And if you actually read the post, you'd realize I'm OK with working holidays. And as a person who works at TV5, I have just as much right to criticize station management as you do. So crawl back to your hole and troll someone else who actually cares about your opinions.

[JRBlitz]

Mike Terry shortchanged himself for the future. That same Yule Log special could run forever as there was just generic music and no time-dated material.