Hmmm,is the news drought at CBS62 about to come to an end?

[Luke]

Don’t be shocked if it debuts 1/2/2023 or even 1/9/2023.

According to future listings it will be sometime after 1/9.

Are Jeff and Shaina going to anchor 2.5 hours of evening news? I thought I remember reading at one point they are going to use solo anchors. I have a feeling this is going to be like watching old CNN Headline News.

[Deleted User 7620]

Don’t be shocked if it debuts 1/2/2023 or even 1/9/2023.

According to future listings it will be sometime after 1/9.

Are Jeff and Shaina going to anchor 2.5 hours of evening news? I thought I remember reading at one point they are going to use solo anchors. I have a feeling this is going to be like watching old CNN Headline News.

They are doing 5, 6, and 11. I assume Graham is doing the 4 pm newscast. They already hired a weekend anchor who’s also a reporter, and another reporter/anchor this past week.

The new promos probably debut sometime after the new year.

[Deleted User 7620]

Given how little advertising I've seen on-air, I think a mid to late January launch is more likely.

Agreed! I thought that it might debut sooner, due to the recent hires in the last couple weeks. I think 1/23 is probably more realistic.

[Luke]

Graham was hired in as a morning anchor.

[TRTV]

Watched detroit news now tonight. Actually not that awful with Shaina Humphries anchoring. I think cbs news Detroit is being sorely underestimated and 2,4,7 better hold on tight. WXYZ studio is so old and outdated its hard to even watch. Local 4 has to many personalities that think they are all that. Fox 2 does not have the network behind it like CBS Detroit will.

[LiveEye57]

Now that my account's finally been activated, I can clear some things up about what's been going on.

Firstly, yes, that is in fact the old WKBD newsroom they've renovated -- they turned it into generic offices for the 20-year interim, so the transformation is frankly amazing.

This was the original newsroom set in 1989....

The offices in 2013 (seems that octagonal structure was added later, after they stopped using the newsroom as a set)...

and the new CBS News Detroit newsroom (the logo sign is actually in the same place as the "Ten O'Clock News" sign in first pic!)


As for why WKBD's news went downhill by the time it was axed, frankly Cox had the worst possible timing in selling 50 (if they hadn't more than likely they would've landed the CBS affiliation and kept the news department open). Paramount was apparently allergic to any kind of news investment -- they'd owned the Fox station in Philadelphia, WTXF-29 (the same station Shaina Humphries worked for, incidentally) and they were still using typewriters under Paramount, only getting computerized once Fox bought them in 1995-96. 1998 alone saw Paramount/Viacom axe their news operations in Seattle and Tampa (Tampa was facing much the same situation as Detroit, facing off against a powerful CBS-turned-Fox station), trim their Sacramento news op to just a morning newscast, and additionally ax an outsourced newscast at their Boston station. It was only the WWJ deal that gave KBD's news extra time and it clearly wasn't enough -- the quality had simply degraded big time.

After that, with CBS's TV station unit under the incompetence of Peter Dunn and Richard Friend, even former and current employees of the duop have gone on the record on the WWJ/WKBD alumni Facebook page that Dunn was "hell-bent" on not having news in Detroit. While there may have been legitimate economic reasons (being the fourth and fifth stations in a three-station market), considering both got ousted for racist and sexist behavior on their parts (as well as buying a TV station on Long Island so they could gain access to an exclusive country club), it obviously doesn't reflect well on their decision. First Forecast Mornings only happened because it was a "pet project" of the then-GM; as soon as he was gone and the ratings came in, there it went. But with Dunn and Friend now completely out of the picture, Adrienne Roark clearly realized that they had wasted so much, and using 50 and 62 as an experiment into a new newscast for the streaming age could work.

I'm reserving my verdict on if the newscast is good for when it debuts -- the supply chain issues have meant the endless delays, but as we sit on the cusp of a new year, we sit on the cusp of a new era -- one unencumbered by previous failures, and a hard-working, committed crew ready to turn some heads. I end this post on some more before-and-after pics.

[MasterB]

I see they got rid of the Emmy but why did they have Emmys when they didn't have news? Or was that back when WKBD had news in the late 80's or early 90's? I was surprised that TV 20 & WKBD didn't take CBS in 94.

[LiveEye57]

I know it's been explained here before, but I'm becoming increasingly forgetful as I age. Why did WXON channel 20 not affiliate with CBS?

The news set for the new effort still looks like a generic office, if ya ask me (albeit a modern one). The WKBD set and newsroom from the late 80s looked much more professional.

I hope we won't be looking at a concrete floor during anchor desk camera shots.

What happened to the set that was used for Carol Cain's Michigan Matters show? Thanks in advance.

The set for Michigan Matters is AFAIK still up in the studio (it's the same set they used for First Forecast Mornings I believe; I think the duratrans may have been recycled from the 1998 WKBD Express set but I'm not sure on that one).

As for WXON, CBS approached them about buying them out, but WXON's management realized CBS was only offering half of what they thought the station was worth (apparently $200 million by their estimates); CBS similarly got rejected by WADL since they offered that station only a year-long contract and no compensation. It was kinda their own fault on that one.

I see they got rid of the Emmy but why did they have Emmys when they didn't have news? Or was that back when WKBD had news in the late 80's or early 90's? I was surprised that TV 20 & WKBD didn't take CBS in 94.

I'm not entirely sure -- those pictures of the old conference room date back to circa-2013ish, I got them from this website that has a whole bunch of pictures of the studio's exterior and interior (including some old KBD signage from the Fox and UPN eras in the scenery shop/garage); you'll note all the old tube TVs still laying around, it's clear the building was kinda frozen in 2002. https://rs.locationshub.com/Home/Mosaic ... 4-10069511

[high fidelity]

Now that my account's finally been activated, I can clear some things up about what's been going on.

Firstly, yes, that is in fact the old WKBD newsroom they've renovated -- they turned it into generic offices for the 20-year interim, so the transformation is frankly amazing.

This was the original newsroom set in 1989....

The offices in 2013 (seems that octagonal structure was added later, after they stopped using the newsroom as a set)...

and the new CBS News Detroit newsroom (the logo sign is actually in the same place as the "Ten O'Clock News" sign in first pic!)


As for why WKBD's news went downhill by the time it was axed, frankly Cox had the worst possible timing in selling 50 (if they hadn't more than likely they would've landed the CBS affiliation and kept the news department open). Paramount was apparently allergic to any kind of news investment -- they'd owned the Fox station in Philadelphia, WTXF-29 (the same station Shaina Humphries worked for, incidentally) and they were still using typewriters under Paramount, only getting computerized once Fox bought them in 1995-96. 1998 alone saw Paramount/Viacom axe their news operations in Seattle and Tampa (Tampa was facing much the same situation as Detroit, facing off against a powerful CBS-turned-Fox station), trim their Sacramento news op to just a morning newscast, and additionally ax an outsourced newscast at their Boston station. It was only the WWJ deal that gave KBD's news extra time and it clearly wasn't enough -- the quality had simply degraded big time.

After that, with CBS's TV station unit under the incompetence of Peter Dunn and Richard Friend, even former and current employees of the duop have gone on the record on the WWJ/WKBD alumni Facebook page that Dunn was "hell-bent" on not having news in Detroit. While there may have been legitimate economic reasons (being the fourth and fifth stations in a three-station market), considering both got ousted for racist and sexist behavior on their parts (as well as buying a TV station on Long Island so they could gain access to an exclusive country club), it obviously doesn't reflect well on their decision. First Forecast Mornings only happened because it was a "pet project" of the then-GM; as soon as he was gone and the ratings came in, there it went. But with Dunn and Friend now completely out of the picture, Adrienne Roark clearly realized that they had wasted so much, and using 50 and 62 as an experiment into a new newscast for the streaming age could work.

I'm reserving my verdict on if the newscast is good for when it debuts -- the supply chain issues have meant the endless delays, but as we sit on the cusp of a new year, we sit on the cusp of a new era -- one unencumbered by previous failures, and a hard-working, committed crew ready to turn some heads. I end this post on some more before-and-after pics.

That first picture, 1989 at WKBD, had Roger McCoy as anchor. He worked in Lansing at WILX-TV 10 in the 1990s.

[Deleted User 7620]

Still no word on an actual launch date.

[Editorcj]

Probs a week after they start full rehearsals.

[Rate This]

Probs a week after they start full rehearsals.

Maybe they can hire Bill O'Reilly to scream "We'll do it live!!!" and just start broadcasting.