Chasing New Jersey
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''Chasing News with Bill Spadea'' (formerly ''Chasing New Jersey'' and ''Chasing News'') was a news and talk show program broadcast by
WWOR-TV WWOR-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area as the flagship of MyNetworkTV. It is owned and operated by Fox Television Stations alongside Fox flagship WNYW ...
, a
MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...
O&O based in Secaucus, New Jersey and serving
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, and sister to
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flagship station
WNYW-TV WNYW (channel 5) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside Secaucus, New Jersey–licensed MyNetworkTV flagship W ...
. The program aired nightly at 11 PM on WWOR and is rerun on WNYW. Premiering on July 8, 2013, the program replaced the more conventional newscasts that were previously broadcast by the station. The program featured various segments and stories focusing on headlines and issues affecting the New Jersey area, featuring reports by a group of correspondents known as "chasers". The program was met with mixed reception upon its premiere for its visually intensive and tabloid-like format, but was praised for how it targeted younger viewers through social engagement. However, the closure of WWOR's news department as part of the changes led to concerns from politicians over whether
Fox Television Stations Fox Television Stations, LLC (FTS; alternately Fox Television Stations Group, LLC), is a group of television stations located within the United States, which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Co ...
was still in compliance with a mandate to provide news programming for the New Jersey area until its end in June 2020.


Technology

The program was one of the early adopters of cell phone/smartphone news gathering, which was how the show was shot by reporters from the inception of the program in 2013, a very taboo practice in the NY market, now a common practice among news outlets around the country. The show was also a regular user of GoPro cameras, often giving stories a more "along for the ride feel" to the viewer.


Background

WWOR-TV had aired conventional, daily newscasts in some form or another since 1971; most recently, it took the form of a 35-minute newscast, ''The 10 O'Clock News'' (previously known as ''My9 News'' and ''
UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...
9 News''), broadcast on weeknights at 10:00 p.m. Since the 2001 purchase of WWOR by
Fox Television Stations Fox Television Stations, LLC (FTS; alternately Fox Television Stations Group, LLC), is a group of television stations located within the United States, which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Co ...
from Chris-Craft Broadcasting however, FTS had taken to downplaying WWOR's newscasts (and likely would have discontinued them immediately if not for FCC license conditions requiring news and public affairs coverage of New Jersey), in order to avert any ratings cannibalization from their flagship local newscasts on
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
station
WNYW WNYW (channel 5) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside Secaucus, New Jersey–licensed MyNetworkTV flagsh ...
. On July 3, 2013, Fox announced the immediate cancellation of ''The 10 O'Clock News'', and the July 8, 2013 premiere of ''Chasing New Jersey''. The new program, hosted by local politician Bill Spadea, was billed as a "fast-paced, unpredictable ride across the state of New Jersey" that would feature reports on issues affecting the region by correspondents known as "chasers". The program was produced from a studio in
Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.WTXF-TV WTXF-TV (channel 29) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the Fox network. Owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on Mark ...
(which also airs ''Chasing New Jersey'' at 12:30 a.m.) Fox also registered a series of
trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...
s for ''Chasing'' programs in other cities (and for a national version, ''Chasing America''), indicating that Fox planned to implement the format to its other markets as well. The transition to ''Chasing New Jersey'' resulted in layoffs and reassignments for WWOR staff and personalities; in particular, anchor Brenda Blackmon was assigned to host and produce news specials for the station (she would later leave for
WPIX WPIX (channel 11) is a television station in New York City. Owned by Mission Broadcasting, it is operated under a local marketing agreement (LMA) by Nexstar Media Group, making it a ''de facto'' owned-and-operated station and flagship of Th ...
in 2016), while co-anchor Harry Martin, meteorologist Audrey Puente, and sportscaster Russ Salzberg were offered on-air positions at sister station WNYW.


Reception

Diana Marszalek of ''TVNewsCheck'' felt that ''Chasing New Jersey'' was trying too hard to target itself towards younger viewers with a fast-paced, informal, and visually intensive infotainment format akin to ''
TMZ TMZ is a tabloid news website owned by Fox Corporation. It made its debut on November 8, 2005, originally as a collaboration between AOL and Telepictures, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested AOL in 2009. On September 13, 202 ...
'', but suggested that "with time, ''Chasing New Jersey'' could settle down, get its groove and connect with the young viewers that local broadcasters so desperately want. And you have to hand it to the folks behind ''Chasing New Jersey'' for doing what they set out to o giving viewers something different." By contrast, fellow writer Harry A. Jessell praised ''Chasing'' for being "just the kind of fresh, provocative approach to news that local television is in dire need of", but criticized its production style for being too "frenetic" and " eemingscripted and staged" as opposed to ''TMZ'', which he believed felt more "authentic". New Jersey is split almost down the middle between the New York City and
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
markets, and New Jersey residents and politicians had long complained about being "underserved" by the VHF stations in those markets. Audra Schroeder of ''
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'' showed similar concerns surrounding its presentation, but noted the show's use of social networking (such as an interview conducted via
Google Hangouts Google Hangouts is a discontinued cross-platform instant messaging service developed by Google. It originally was a feature of Google+, becoming a standalone product in 2013, when Google also began integrating features from Google+ Messenger a ...
, and active social media presences for its personalities) helped to encourage viewer interaction. In comparison to conventional news programming, Schroeder believed that "the TMZ-style approach to hard news might seem like devolution to some, but this shift could actually work. It might actually be necessary."


Controversy

The replacement of WWOR's traditional newscast with ''Chasing'' refueled discussions over whether WWOR was adequately serving the New Jersey market as required by its license. When WWOR's past owner
RKO General RKO General, Inc. (previously General Teleradio, RKO Teleradio Pictures, and RKO Teleradio) was, from 1952 through 1991, the main holding company for the noncore businesses of the General Tire and Rubber Company and, after General Tire's reorganiz ...
was faced with the possible revocation of the station's license due a
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, it successfully lobbied for legislation guaranteeing license renewals for any VHF station which moved into a state without one (such as, at the time, New Jersey). Ever since the station moved its license from New York City to Secaucus in 1982 under the provisions (though for all intents and purposes, it was and still is a New York City station), WWOR has been subject to expanded public service obligations by the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...
, which require the station to serve the New Jersey side of the market with a "higher degree of service" than normally required. Under the ownership of
Fox Television Stations Fox Television Stations, LLC (FTS; alternately Fox Television Stations Group, LLC), is a group of television stations located within the United States, which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Co ...
, WWOR came under scrutiny for the quality of its news operation. In 2004, for instance, when Fox floated moving WWOR's operations to WNYW's studio in Manhattan, pressure from Senator
Frank Lautenberg Frank Raleigh Lautenberg (; January 23, 1924 June 3, 2013) was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as United States Senator from New Jersey from 1982 to 2001, and again from 2003 until his death in 2013. He was ori ...
and Congressman
Steve Rothman Steven Richard Rothman (born October 14, 1952) is an American former jurist and politician who served as the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 9th congressional district, serving for 16 years from January 3, 1997, to January 3, 2013. Rothman w ...
(whose district included Secaucus) forced Fox to back down. Rothman argued that WWOR's license specifically required that its main studio be based in New Jersey. Additionally, there were concerns that any move back across the
Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
would result in WWOR's news department being shut down, or at the very least cut back to the point that it could not adequately cover New Jersey events. As a result, the renewal of the station's license had been pending from 2007 to 2014. Lautenberg accused the station of failing to meet its public service obligations, misrepresenting the amount of New Jersey-centric programming it airs, and misrepresenting the number of employees who work for the station. The station was also criticized by the media watchdog group Voices of New Jersey for similar reasons, claiming that Fox was making too many budget and staff cuts at the station, and also accusing the company of misrepresenting the number of staff it employs. However, Fox argued that the cutbacks were an economic measure in response to a recent economic downturn. After Lautenberg's June 3, 2013 death, fellow New Jersey senator Bob Menendez, a resident of nearby
Paramus Paramus ( Waggoner, Walter H ''The New York Times'', February 16, 1966. Accessed October 16, 2018. "Paramus – pronounced puh-RAHM-us, with the accent on the second syllable – may have taken its name from 'perremus' or 'perymus,' Indian for ...
, took up the cause. Following the announcement of ''Chasing New Jersey'', Mernendez sent a complaint to the FCC, asking it to review WWOR's license. In the complaint, Mernendez stated that "rather than add much-needed New Jersey specific programming to their lineup, WWOR instead hoseto supplant its nightly news segment with a show referred to in news reports as ‘like ''TMZ.'" Rep.
Frank Pallone Frank Joseph Pallone Jr. (; born October 30, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for , serving since 1988. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 3rd district from 1988 to ...
, who was then in the
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to fill Lautenberg's seat, also called for the revocation of WWOR's license. WWOR was also criticized for similar reasons by the
trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...
Writers Guild of America, East The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is a labor union representing writers in film, television, radio, news, and online media. The Writers Guild of America, East is affiliated with the Writers Guild of America West. Together the guilds admin ...
(WGA East). Its executive director, Lowell Peterson. stated that "the people of New Jersey deserve a television station that will honor its responsibility to provide thoughtful, professional coverage of the issues facing the state. WWOR should add news programming, not chase it off the airwaves." Seven writers who were members of WGA East were dismissed after the cancellation of WWOR's newscast.


References


External links

*{{official website, http://www.my9nj.com/chasing-news 2010s American television news shows 2013 American television series debuts Local news programming in the United States Mass media in New Jersey Television shows set in New Jersey