Oil and Water

We had a chance to see Bruce Wolf handle the sports on Friday night's 10pm broadcast of WMAQ's news. Although JFBW is thrilled to see Bruce back on TV, there are some obvious chemistry issues with his new teammates.

Warner Saunders reads the news off of the teleprompter like he is seeing it for the first time. It seems like he does not even understand the news and he often flubs his lines. I wonder if Saunders dozes off between takes because he frequently reads the news like he just woke up. In all seriousness, Saunders is about as bad as local news gets.

Marion Brooks has been filling in for the competent Allison Rosati. When Brooks is not testifying about her affair with then-married former Atlanta mayor Bill Campbell in a federal corruption case, she is looking dazed and confused while reading her lines.

Not much to say about Brant Miller. This guy is more vanilla than cream soda. They could have a computer deliver the weather and it would be as interesting as Miller.

None of Bruce's 10pm teammates have any personality or ability to interact in any kind of entertaining or natural way. The requisite banter between newsreaders is unbearably painful as Bruce cracks jokes and the other people on set just don't get it. It's pretty awkward. Contrast this team with that of Barely Today. The BT team was fun and worked well together. The 10pm team is devoid of charisma and I look forward to Bruce making jokes at their expense.

Been Here For Years

Bruce is back. Robert Feder has reported that Bruce Wolf is moving to full-time sports anchor and reporter effective immediately. Look for Bruce at 5, 6 and 10 on Channel 5. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the last time Bruce and Bob Sirott teamed up on a newscast, David Orr was mayor. All we need is Marianne Murciano and a pair of Air Jordan IXs and this lineup will be a real Chicago classic.

Bruce Triumphant

Robert Feder's column in today's Sun-Times says that Bruce Wolf is nearing a deal with WMAQ which would put Bruce on Channel 5's 5-to-7 a.m. newscast as a traffic reporter. We have to imagine that this position will be a "traffic reporter plus" as it is hard to envision Bruce simply giving travel times without commentary. Bruce will also continue to handle sports duties on Jonathon Brandmeier's morning show on WLUP 97.9FM.

Maybe Bruce's move to Channel 5 is phase 2 of a Chicago All-Stars Newsteam. Bob Sirott is already at WMAQ as an anchor. Maybe the wheels are in motion to get Harry Volkman out of the mothballs to hold down the weather.

For National Release

JFBW would like to commend the Chicago Tribune's Teddy Greenstein for his continuing coverage of the Bruce Wolf firing fiasco. TGreens mentions the JFBW Blog in today's Trib. You can read the story here.

Server traffic has been a little slow today as a result of all of the new readers. JFBW has received a ton of reader mail, all supportive of Bruce. Although we enjoy receiving email, please feel free to leave your comments on this page for all to read. If you want to send us an email, let us know if we can reprint it on the JFBW Blog.

Updating an earlier post, we are still awaiting word from Bruce Wolf's agent. It is JFBW's sincere hope that he is unavailable due to his negotiation of a new deal for Bruce. I smell bidding war!

Awaiting Word

JFBW has reached out to Bruce Wolf's agent, Joel Weisman, asking for an official comment. DEVELOPING...

The People's Champ

Robert Feder continues his Pulitzer-level coverage of the sacking of Bruce Wolf. In today's Sun Times, he reprints notes from fans (and enemies) of Bruce. You can read Feder's column here. Clearly, viewer sentiment backs Bruce.

The authors of JFBW ride for the Sun Times, but our man Teddy Greenstein came through with the Tribune's investigation into this matter. His column can be found by clicking this link. TGreens suggests that Bruce's firing was motivated by Channel 32's interest in cost cutting. If that is the case, you would think that they would have looked at some of the fungible, non-spectacular talent on staff (e.g., Corey "Don't Call Me Bobby" McPherrin, the only Chicago sportscaster giving Jack Nicholson's Joker a run for his money in the perpetual grin department).

Although neither Bruce nor WFLD have discussed this matter publicly, one thing is clear: new WFLD news director Andrew Finlayson is emerging as the villain here. If TGreens' money motive turns out to be true, it would not square with the "we need to spend more money to make better newscasts" attitude Finlayson originally brought to WFLD.

Sun Times Covers Brucegate

Robert Feder's column in today's Sun Times covered WFLD's cowardice. You can read his article by following this link.

St. Valentine's Day Massacre

This blog is dedicated to Chicago sports broadcast legend Bruce Wolf. Bruce was unceremoniously dumped by the management at WFLD-TV Fox Channel 32 on February 14 after 18 years of lighting up the Chicago airwaves. WFLD management has refused to comment on why Bruce was fired. One theory is that he was actually talented and entertaining, two attributes which do not fit into typical newscasts (yes, I am talking to you Larry Potash). Until we get some real answers from WFLD, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section of this blog.