Applegate: Most Newscasts Look the Same

WOIO/WUAB Cleveland VP/General Manager Bill Applegate believes there’s a boring sense of sameness among newscasts around the country. "A lot of executives in local television are reluctant to take risks with local programming–they’re reluctant to do anything that deviates from what they see on television across the street," he told me. "As a result, we end up with a lot of newscasts that unfortunately all look alike."
 

Applegate also told me his father, a veteran newspaper editor and columnist, felt his son "sold out" by choosing to do TV instead of print journalism. "He was proud of my success but he thought I sold out," says Applegate. "He felt TV news was kind of a bastardized version of the real thing." 

I have a profile of Applegate that comes out in Monday’s issue. He’s funny, controversial and forthcoming–everything you want from a profile subject. And the artist’s caricature is a hoot.