By JERRY BARMASH
(@jerrybarmash)
A fluid situation at WPIX is about to take a dramatic turn.
Tuned In has learned exclusively that Channel 11 is planning to add a co-anchor alongside Tamsen Fadal at 5 and 10 p.m. This appears to suggest that Fadal, the interim lead anchor since December, is not going anywhere.
We’re told that this is in the preliminary stages, with no timetable for the new anchor.
In a mandatory staff meeting last week, news director Mark Effron highlighted several programming changes at PIX.
A nighttime anchor team means it’s back to the future for Channel 11.
Effron is pushing PIX forward, while erasing every memory from the Bill Carey regime. Carey infamously dropped the two-anchor format of Jim Watkins and Kaity Tong for Jodi Applegate in October 2010.
Another element high on Effron’s priority list is increasing a sports presence at 10 p.m. Effron told staffers in the meeting that he’ll hire a sports reporter, which was another casualty of Carey’s time as news director.