First of all, I have to laugh at the lede writing on the follow up to the destructive UW protest at and in the engineering building. The copy read: Senior Reporter Chris Daniels was "GIVEN A TOUR." Huh? Really, a tour? No, he asked to see it and the university permitted him inside to observe and document the damage. That's not a tour. Look up the definition. I can just hear the PR folks at the school saying, "Hey Chris, we want to give you a tour.'' Unimpressive self-aggrandizement. Surprised he didn't tie it into Husky sports.
Next, what happened to major acquired anchor Steve Soliz, who trapsed across the street from KING?
Monday, he was not on the 5 or 6 or 11, only the ARC at 10.
Tuesday he anchored the 3:30 with Mary Nam (the 3:30??), while Preston Phillips, who did all the main shows Monday, co-anchored the 5 and 6 Tuesday. So, have we moved from "Where's Waldo? to "Where's Steve?" your new hot hire?" 330 and ARC at 10 seem the assignments. right now. Makes Steve a side player at best. Preston seems to be the overall male lead for now.
I have also noticed that the LIVE Desk seems to be reduced or completely missing early this week. No Simms so far, but Knowles may be back Wednesday. I never know who is on camera at KOMO these days.
A commenter on Radio Discussions, citing Steve Soliz's Facebook page, has said that Steve will only be doing the 3:30pm news and the 10pm ARC show. Preston's role in all of this does not seem to be confirmed right now, but it looks as though he will end up anchoring at 5pm, 6pm, and possibly 11pm.
ReplyDeleteYes, it appears he is getting the uppee hand on anchoring the main shows, but hiring a major player at KING and then giving me a lesser-watched afternoon show and ARC seems very foolish.
DeleteIt does, but Steve will likely get to be Preston's primary fill-in, so he should have that going for him. Plus, in the current economic climate, better to have a lower-profile job than no job at all.
DeleteAlso, when did Mary Nam start anchoring the 3:30pm news? Last I knew, Molly Shen filled that role.
ReplyDeleteI don't usually see or record the 330 on KOMO. But it seems like a newscast that does not need co-anchors.
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ReplyDeleteEspecially since the 4pm news has been solo-anchored since its debut. There shouldn't be a need for co-anchors for the half-hour at 3:30 if the full hour at 4 is solo-anchored.
DeleteCo-anchor the 4, it's an hour. That makes much more sense than 330. That has solo written all over it.
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ReplyDeleteSoliz is fine, but you couldn’t find ten people on the street who’d be able to identify his photo — the same as with any other new TV anchor these days. I doubt he or any new hire is a “draw” who impacts ratings.
ReplyDeleteAgree, maybe he took less money to stay in Seattle.
DeleteIt's entirely possible that Soliz is taking a smaller paycheck in order to stay in Seattle. We do live in one of the best places on Earth, and plenty of TV news personalities before Soliz have come to Seattle and stayed for lengthy and distinguished careers. While that may be less common these days, Soliz might very well be following in the footsteps of Dan Lewis, Dennis Bounds, and many others.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it's possible that Soliz took the job at KOMO in order to try his hand at a new challenge, like hosting the 10pm ARC show, rather than finding another gig like the one he had at KING where he primarily anchored traditional newscasts.
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