This was posted on Monday, August 28, 2017 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk
The new 11Alive 11 p.m. program starring Vinnie Politan is set to debut today, August 28, at 11 p.m. According to TV schedules, 11Alive has dubbed it "The Late Feed."
[UPDATE: The debut was pushed back. They went with a traditional news program with Jeff Hullinger as anchor on Monday. An official date is still to be announced.)
I have no details yet on what the NBC affiliate show will entail, but it will not be a traditional local news program. General Manager John Deushane did not respond to inquiries about what "The Late Feed" will be like. I suspect they are working out a "soft opening" tonight.
A former prosecutor and attorney, the brash and often excitable Politan worked for several years at HLN as a legal expert before he joined 11Alive three years ago as a morning host. It seems likely the show will utilize Politan's expertise in legal issues and crime, perhaps along the lines of Nancy Grace's former show on HLN.
After leaving his legal career, Politan spent four years as a local reporter in New Jersey, then Orlando. He then spent nearly a decade with the now defunct Court TV out of New York, followed by five years at HLN hosting a variety of justice-related shows out of Atlanta.
The network recently shuffled its anchors. Relative newcomers Shiba Russell and Cheryl Preheim swapped spots with Russell back to mornings and Preheim to evenings while Politan moved out of mornings to his special 11 p.m. show.
11Alive typically finishes third or fourth at 11 p.m. though if NBC has a strong 10 p.m. program, it can sometimes pull in better ratings. Changing things up at 11 p.m. could draw a new and potentially larger audience.
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