9&10 is such a mess right now

[BirdieKingBobo]

IRS reports ..

Reporter Denver, CO $56,800
Lead anchor Cadillac Mi. $44,500

[TC Talks]

$44,500 is like $22 an hour. That's McDonald's money in Traverse City.

$56,800 is even worse in Denver.

[T’Variuness King]

We're making no money because the advertisers have stopped spending money. The email we got back in the fall said..."we cut discretionary budget spending significantly. Unfortunately, these actions were not enough". I guess the chickens and the farmer survived the chopping block. This with questionable leadership is having many of us looking for new jobs.

[Taco]

Have there been any rumblings about any potential sale of the station to somebody like NextStar, Gray, Sinclair, etc? Maybe a bigger company than Heritage can put more money into the station? What about selling off Fox 32?

We're making no money because the advertisers have stopped spending money. The email we got back in the fall said..."we cut discretionary budget spending significantly. Unfortunately, these actions were not enough". I guess the chickens and the farmer survived the chopping block. This with questionable leadership is having many of us looking for new jobs.

[whitebalance]

9&10 would be better off with Gray or Nexstar. Sinclair owns 7 and 4. Very Right wing Trump crap.

[Taco]

Just wanted to throw that idea out there. Maybe it's time for small owners to sell if they are struggling financially. I think northern Michigan is at a disadvantage being such a vast market. It's so big that it requires 2 channel numbers. And I don't really think the advertising dollars are there for that region.

9&10 would be better off with Gray or Nexstar. Sinclair owns 7 and 4. Very Right wing Trump crap.

[BayCityJohn2337]

Curious if Black Diamond or Midwestern is experiencing a large downturn in local advertising like local TV then? Ad revenue is up on Amazon, Walmart and Facebook cloud platforms. I couldn't imagine being a stand alone station with a H*** debt and trying to make it in today's climate.

[TC Talks]

Curious if Black Diamond or Midwestern is experiencing a large downturn in local advertising like local TV then? Ad revenue is up on Amazon, Walmart and Facebook cloud platforms. I couldn't imagine being a stand alone station with a H*** debt and trying to make it in today's climate.

Where have you been in the past decade? Local Broadcast revenue has dropped almost in half.

Heritage doesn't have h-uge debt as they have owned this station for almost 40 years.

[sinklair]

I don’t think selling to a mega broadcaster like Nexstar is the solution. Just look at how Nexstar is f-ing up WOOD TV right now.

[T’Variuness King]

Along with our financial problems, we’re so late to covering breaking news. The lead story on our website is a snowmobile accident that happened 3 DAYS AGO? Not sure who is making the decision in our newsroom?

[BirdieKingBobo]

The Curse of Bill Froelich Lives on at the Comma.

Simple changes in marketing and running commercials may have helped avoid financial disaster at the Comma and Ampersand.... but still it is sad that good employees aren't paid a decent wage.

It explains why Lauren Scifidi had to pimped herself out and learn yoga to make ends meat.

I cannot imagine how much the property and farm cost there on US 131... especially the taxes they have to pay.

Local TV like cable is sliding down a hole.... it is very sad...

I still have no clue who anchored the Friday morning news with BF... never seen that person before...

[organman95]

I think after a while when a business holds a dominance for a period of time, they start to ride on that "name" and then slack off on production. In the case of a small market with only two channels competing against each other for ratings, it won't make much of a difference.

But I agree, it's quite sad the Local TV is sliding down a hole.

[kager]

What about selling off Fox 32?

According to the following article (about a year old now), Heritage doesn't own Local 32...

Cadillac Telecasting Company-owned WFQX, (is) a Fox affiliate that Heritage runs through an SSA

https://www.newscaststudio.com/2023/01/ ... logo-2023/

My guess is that there may be a fair amount of debt hanging over them just in paying off the mausoleum & property @ 1 Broadcast Way.

[ftballfan]

I think after a while when a business holds a dominance for a period of time, they start to ride on that "name" and then slack off on production. In the case of a small market with only two channels competing against each other for ratings, it won't make much of a difference.

But I agree, it's quite sad the Local TV is sliding down a hole.

I find it odd that Marquette has four major stations competing against each other!
WBUP 10 (ABC) / WBKP 5 (CW) - Morgan Murphy Media
WLUC 6 (NBC .1, FOX .2) - Gray
WZMQ 19 (CBS .2) - Lilly (I still find it odd that CBS isn't on 19.1, with MeTV being on 19.2)
WJMN 3 (Independent) - Nexstar

[TedTimTv]

So the studios on 8th and Union is basically empty??? Nice job... Comma.

Here's where someone points out that broadcast even in larger markets doesn't pay a livable wage for the rents and other cost of living considerations in Traverse City. Even if they have interested candidates, I bet they can't afford it. I bet if they converted some of the studio space in TC into housing, their problem would be solved.

Who wants to live where they work.