From the tipbox...

A few weeks ago I highlighted the KC market's weather blogs. I received an email this week informing me of a Springfield station with one.

KSPR has a weather blog. You can find it by clicking here ! It is updated semi-frquently.

"Fair and Balanced" Debate?

Umm... I don't think so. Fox News just had a Republican Presidential debate. Funny how Guiliani, Romney, and Thompson all got tons of air time. What about the other candidates, especially Huckabee and McCain? I just don't understand how voters are supposed to make a decision when the media has already "crowned" the "top tier". Tancredo who? Duncan what?

I shouldn't just place blame FOX... all the networks do it to some extent. Tonight's debate, however, was the most unbalanced debate I have seen so far. I find it highly unfair considering Huckabee and McCain are both polling stronger in recent weeks.

Ok...ok... off my soapbox. Ciao! ;-)

MSNBC is heading to 30 Rock

MSNBC will begin airing from 30 Rock in NYC ending its decade long run at a separate facility in New Jersey. MSNBC will now just be feet away from the NBC Nightly News Desk. This will likely create the synergy MSNBC has been lacking for years.

Bloggin' Away

Ozarks Fox and KOLR-10 have created a new sort of blog on their website, OzarksFirst.

Anchors David Oliver, Kate Stacy, and Angie Weidinger, reporter Carlos Correa, NewsDirector Polly Van Doren-Orr, and photographer John Lemons have set up their blogs and are posting away (some more than others). This is an interesting interactive set-up. Check them out here.

And They're Off...

Fox Business channel has officially launched and now the war of words begins. Fox Business won't officially release ratings for several months while they work to get established, so what is there to do besides speculate?

Many newspapers have been doing write-ups on the launch. The New York Times has one the best reads of the week, I believe. Check it out here.

Meanwhile, if you are wanting to check the new channel's website itself head on over to www.foxbusiness.com .

Sorry for the long commercial break...

Where's TIVO when you need it, huh?? Due to personal health issues, I have been unable to update the blog. I am improving and will begin updating the blog this weekend. Thanks for your patience and your emails of concern.

KC Weather Is Bloggin' Away

These days competition for television viewers just isn't on the air, but online. There is no better example than in the Kansas City area. Viewers in the metro have a wonderful selection of talented meteorologists (Katie Horner, Gary Lezak, Bryan Busby, and Mike Thompson... just to name a few). That competition is really heated online... as KSHB and WDAF bring their weather blogs to life. They are very active!

Check out KSHB's blog here.

Check out WDAF's blog here.

KY3 Welcomes New Reporter

Abby Wuellner joins KY3 as a new reporter. Her bio is located by clicking this link. She is originally from Sedalia. I am not sure when she began first reporting for the station but I caught her for the first time last night during the news at 10.

My $.02... The New KSPR

Well, today makes day 7 of the new KSPR and I have to say it is a vast improvement over what was being called a "newcast" on that channel. The station needed a rebranding badly and I believe that most of the steps were in a positive direction. Let me briefly summarize my likes and dislikes.

Likes:

* Time changes: I may be the only one in the Ozarks who feels this way, but news at 4:30 and 5:30 are more convenient for me. Having a station with a newscast before everyone else gives the station a chance to "break" stories.

*New weather system: By far, an improvement over the graphics of the former Springfield 33. Could possibly be the cleanest graphics in all of the Springfield market.

* Talent: Personalities mesh very well, especially Josh deBerge and Michelle Sherwood. Only one reporter has so far stood out to me as having been a little weak, but it could have just been because it was breaking news, feed problems, etc. I will give it more time before I pass judgment.

*Interaction with Viewers: Great feature added to the newscast!

Dislikes:

* Sunday-Thursday wheel: Maybe it is because it is new and I am not used to it yet, but I HATE the Sunday-Thursday rotation for the weekday anchors and Sat-Sun for the weekend set.

*Ad campaign: While I like the premise for the ads, I find the responses by the viewers completely bizarre. I am not sure what KSPR is going for. I think the ads would be much more effective if they had this scenario. Take the grocery shopping ad, for instance. The mother and kids are walking down the aisle and pick up a box of sweets. A KSPR anchor/reporter comes down the aisle with a cart, warns the mother "Did you know...", the mother smiles, puts it back, looks appreciative, while the kids are like "WHAT?". Then it looks like KSPR is doing a service as opposed to annoying the Ozarks.

* Lack of news: Some of the newscasts have been filled with stories, some are rather sparse and have many more commercial breaks. KSPR needs to find a consistant coverage level and stick with it.

Overall, I am enjoying the new KSPR. That's just my $.02... your thoughts?

The Big Story at Fox News...

Hmmm... is John Gibson in trouble??

The Big Story gets a co-anchor starting on September 17. According to the Fox News page, Heather Nauert (former feature reporter for the show) is coming back to join John Gibson at the anchor. There are rumblings that Gibson could be shown the door if ratings don't improve. Only time will tell if this is the case.