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Friday, January 18, 2008
1/18: WSB’s Jovita Moore gets more anchor time
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rising WSB-TV newscaster Jovita Moore will be taking over the 5 p.m. anchor desk from Monica Pearson. She already is handling the 5:30 p.m. duties. This is a clear indication that Moore is being positioned as Pearson’s heiress apparent. The move happens January 31. Pearson will continue to anchor 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts.
“It surprised me,” Moore told me Friday evening. “I didn’t think anything would be happening anytime soon. I thought it would be another good year or two.” She’ll continue to do reporting dayside and be Pearson’s primary sub at night. She said Monica uttered, jokingly, “Finally!” when the news came out. She also didn’t know when Justin Farmer would arrive from Dallas to possibly co-anchor with her at 5 p.m. but his contract in Dallas is up in August. “It’s a very exciting time,” she added. “This newsroom has great momentum internally and externally.”
Here’s part of the memo news director Marian Pittman sent out to staff:
I am very proud to announce Jovita Moore will now anchor the 5:00 hour. The move comes after years of hard work and tireless hours at public speaking engagements representing WSB. Jovita has been with us for almost 10 years and is ready for her next big step. Jovita has never said no to an assignment even if it was during her vacation, on the weekend or even early morning. She has proven herself over and over and this promotion is well deserved.
Monica was elated when I asked her if she was ready to pass the baton. She has been a true WSB soldier and has anchored the 5:00 show for 18 years. Monica has played a tremendous role in solidifying our ratings dominance at 5 p.m.
The plan was to groom Jovita and then promote from within the newsroom. It worked!
What do you think? Good move?
CREDIT: Kimberly Smith
Also, fetching Dagmar Midcap (above), morning meteorologist for “Better Mornings” on WGCL-TV may be taking Gene Norman’s job as he goes to Houston, according to newsblues.com.
1/18: Atlanta Fall Arbitron ratings
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The fall radio ratings reflect the calm before the storm of changes that have occurred in recent weeks.
Here are some of the notable trends:
A Christmas story: B98.5, without the Lite competition, had a holly jolly Christmas after its fall ranking jumped to 4th compared to 10th a year ago. Its cumulative weekly audience was 602,200 vs. 448,100 a year ago. Although the replacement for Lite, country station the Bull, also opted to go Christmas (albeit with a country twang), its ratings were virtually flat from the summer. Ratings for the Fish, which also went all Christmas, edged up slightly from the fall but was slightly worse than a year ago.
Gotta love Steve Harvey Talk/R&B station Grown Folks 102.5 is doing gangbusters, finishing 5th among 25 to 54 year old. This despite a relatively weak signal compared to most of its peers. And the station did well across all dayparts, including Steve Harvey in mornings and Michael Baisden in the afternoons.
Fanning the flames 680/The Fan kicked not only its rival sports station 790/The Zone in virtually every time period, but it also easily defeated once glorious 640/WGST-AM — even its strongest personality Rush Limbaugh. The Zone’s strongest show was the 2 Live Stews, who edged out Buck and Kincade at the Fan for the second book in a row. Both shows easily beat up on Dave Ramsey on GST. But the Fan’s Rude Awakening morning show ranked a solid 6th among men 25 to 54 compared to 17th a year ago. The Zone’s Mayhem in the AM struggled, tied for 20th. (The Zone recently moved its schedule around.)
The country wars rage on Eagle had one of its strongest books in ages despite the new Bull competition. The station, which recently lost “Southside” Steve Rickman, finished 15th among 25 to 54 year olds, up from 21st a year ago. Sister station Kicks was more or less flat and so was the year-old Bull, which hasn’t shown a lot of traction but recently added a new morning show with Cledus T. Judd.
News/talk slippage WSB-AM, the city’s top news/talk station, has been losing some steam the past year across the board. The station used to beat V-103 among 25 to 54 year olds on occasion but hasn’t done so in awhile and has even slipped to third behind Kiss. Even among men in that demo, V-103 won. The station, which recently dumped Chris Krok in favor of Herman Cain at night, is probably hoping the Presidential elections will give it a boost in the winter.
Farewell 99X 99X’s pending departure shouldn’t be surprising given its ratings, which were the lowest overall among the 100,000 watt stations in town (Those would be Dave FM, Star 94, Project, the River, B98.5, 99X, Kicks and V-103). The alternative rock station, whose last day is Jan. 25 on the FM dial, ranked 20th among 25 to 54 and 11th in its target demo of 18 to 34. That latter ranking is actually its best in a year but a far cry from its peak in the late 1990s and early 2000s when it was regularly a top 5 18-34 performer.
If you follow particular companies, none of Clear Channel’s five stations landed in the top 12 among 25 to 54 year olds. Its top-rated station was Project, tied for 13th.
Top 10 morning shows, 25-54
1- Frank & Wanda, V-103
2- Scott Slade, WSB-AM
3- Tom Joyner, Kiss 104.1
4- Steve Harvey, Grown Folks 102.5
5- The Bert Show, Q100
6 (tie) Yolanda Adams, Praise 97.5
6 (tie) Kelly & Alpha, B98.5
8- Lexie Kaye, 97.1/The River
9 (tie) Cadilla Jack & Kristen, Kicks 101.5
9 (tie) Steve & Vikki//Nudge, Star 94 (They weren’t down much considering all the changes)
Top 10 morning shows 18-34
1- Frank & Wanda, V-103
2- The Bert Show, Q100
3- The “A” Team, Hot 107.9
4- Panda & Brenda, Viva 105.7
5- Cadillac & Kristen, Kicks 101.5 (Their numbers have bounced around quite a bit the year)
6- Scott Slade, WSB-AM
7- Giant Brian & Shaffee, Project 9-6-1
8- Steve Harvey, Grown Folks 102.5
9- Los Patrones in the Morning, El Patron 105.3
10- Tom Joyner, Kiss 104.1
SOURCE: Arbitron, Sept. 20-Dec. 12, 2007
If there’s a specific show you’d like rankings for, email me at rho@ajc.com. Because of rules from Arbitron, I can’t release actual ratings outside of 12-plus.
