FOX17 layoffs

[Bull Shannon]

My weird left-field prediction with zero evidence to back up this dumb idea…

Scripps gives up the Fox affiliation and ‘sells’ it to WZZM. 13 becomes Fox, stops having to compete for ABC viewers.

Even weirder prediction… 17’s signal survives and becomes a second broadcast home to WOTV.

I am not smoking anything. I swear.

I think it's more likely that they combine what remains of the news operations at WXMI and WSYM and they operate similar to how WFRV and WJMN used to.

[MWmetalhead]

Look for an increase in the number of anchorless newscasts.

[GrahamWellington]

Look for an increase in the number of anchorless newscasts.

Uggh, hopefully doesn't turn into what WSYM airs. Bunch of fluff pieces put together by 2.5 GPA journalism students.

[CuriousDooker]

Scripps called for the layoffs but people being let go three months after the station spends $80,000+ on a marketing Jeep thing is a rough look. Don't know why management would do that for a vehicle that depreciates and only gets driven around during bad weather.

https://www.fox17online.com/weather/the ... an-weather

[MWmetalhead]

This gimmick is so stupid. Radar can show where lake effect snow squalls have set up, MDOT has plenty of traffic cameras, and technology already exists to provide road temperature readings.

A much better (and probably less expensive) investment would have been to upgrade WXMI's radar software package. Their radar imagery is the worst in the market.

I remember when WZZM had a faux storm chasing vehicle maybe a decade or more ago..

[dwp49423]

I remember when WZZM had a faux storm chasing vehicle maybe a decade or more ago..

I think I know the fate of 13's Weather Chaser. The Salvation Army has a mobile communications center for use in emergency situations. There is a "Vehicle provided by WZZM" credit on the side and it resembles what I remember the Weather Chase looking like, just with a new paint job. Plus it has the telescoping mast.

[Bull Shannon]

I remember when WZZM had a faux storm chasing vehicle maybe a decade or more ago..

I think I know the fate of 13's Weather Chaser. The Salvation Army has a mobile communications center for use in emergency situations. There is a "Vehicle provided by WZZM" credit on the side and it resembles what I remember the Weather Chase looking like, just with a new paint job. Plus it has the telescoping mast.

Yep, that's WZZM's old satellite truck/"Weather Chaser." Surprisingly, the only photo I can find of it on the Internet is this tiny thumbnail.

[MWmetalhead]

Excellent detective work!

The only "chases" I can remember with it consisted of Linda Paige babbling as the truck drove through rain showers.

I suppose 17 wants to replicate that intriguing content!

Complete morons are making budgetary decisions.

[GrahamWellington]

I hope the remaining cable companies and live tv providers keep this stuff in mind when the station owners come crying for increased retransmission fees. Owners always like to use local news investment as rationale for steep increases.

[MWmetalhead]

[soapshooter]

Watching zzms wknd team is borderline straight college talent, at best. With the impending demise of 17 do you think some of them will jump ship and go over to zzms?

[Doktor No]

Speaking about "Storm Chasing Equipment" and stupid investments....remember when TV8 came out with Chopper 8! Now that was really expensive and dumb. Then again I would assume they just put on a magnetic or stick on 'Chopper 8' anytime they needed to drag it out of the hanger.
And the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT and billboards that announced: Susanne's Back! I would love to hear the story on that whole debacle.

[Bull Shannon]

Speaking about "Storm Chasing Equipment" and stupid investments....remember when TV8 came out with Chopper 8! Now that was really expensive and dumb. Then again I would assume they just put on a magnetic or stick on 'Chopper 8' anytime they needed to drag it out of the hanger.
And the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT and billboards that announced: Susanne's Back! I would love to hear the story on that whole debacle.

They rented the helicopter they used for Chopper 8; the logos on it were removable decals (not really magnetic since helicopters have aluminum bodies). The helicopter was based at its owner's hangar in Muskegon.

[dwp49423]

On the topic of useless promotional gimmicks from 15-20 years ago, TV8's Weather Bug (a VW Beetle) or their virtual WeatherBall attempt come to mind. The WeatherBall one likely being a result of Bill Steffen saying something as this was around the time he jumped from 13 to 8.

Wasn't there a Chopper 8 in the 1980s as well? I know WZZM tried countering one of the Chopper 8 renditions with Air 13.

The only promotional gimmick that made sense was News 8 Skylink but it seldom left the immediate area where a microwave backhaul worked. Only when they went out of the area (such as Traverse City) did it make sense to use a satellite backhaul.

The cheesiest? WZZM's Blinky the WeatherBall Mascot. I've noticed any promo 13 has done on the history of the WeatherBalll omits this disaster of a promotion. The only comical part was a promotion where the narrator said that "Blinky likes making new friends" while showing him in front of a News 8 vehicle.

[dwp49423]

Sadly the cuts on Plaza Drive are beginning to show. I'm watching this morning (Sat Apr 5), the weekend morning news began an hour later (at 6am) and in the first half hour there was not an on screen anchor and the birthday shoutouts did not have narration. Sadly this probably also means the end of the Michigan Trivia questions.

Kevin Craig is doing the weather and the time stamps on webcams, maps and radar are accurate so he is live not recorded.

Plus last night, Kevin posted pictures to Facebook of some sort of farewell party for coworkers.

I had a gut feeling the morning weekend news would get gutted since they haven't had a permanent weekend anchor in months.

With 17 now apparently beginning the weekend morning news at 6, this leaves 8 as the only weekend morning newscast on at 5am.