Commentary on special news programs, an unusual report about traffic conditions, and some synergy

• I had wondered why WKRG-TV, WEAR-TV, and WPMI-TV each had special news programs when they were likely to have special news programs from their main providers of network programming on their main broadcast channels this past Thursday on the eighth day of this June and guessed the folks responsible for their having them thought that by their own special news programs broadcast a short time in advance of the ones for the aforementioned providers would guarantee their broadcast operations higher ratings than usual that day.

• I was surprised by this report about traffic conditions in southwest Alabama broadcast by WKRG-TV (through their main broadcast channel) this past Tuesday on the sixth day of this June (during last five minutes of the first half of the hour of 8:00 a.m. that day): "We had an earlier accident at Moffett Road at Foxfire Drive that continues to cause heavy delays there between Bear Fork Road at Howells Ferry. Alabama Highway Patrol headed to the scene of a couple of fender benders in Baldwin County, including the intersections at Boat Yard Road at Burnt Car Dive in Stockton, also at Seminole Road at Pickle Lane, I promise I didn't make those three names up." (it was delivered by a member of the broadcast operation for WBHY-FM who usually did reports about traffic reports for WKRG-TV in recent times named Kenny Fowler). 

• One of the news presenters for the local news operation at WPMI-TV (Darwin Singleton) reminded me of the fact that I did not like the fact that both WPMI-TV and WEAR-TV had the same owners due to their being members of the same company (the Sinclair Broadcast Group) when he constantly cited WEAR-TV as the source of an image he seemed interested in showing on the local news program program that appeared on the main broadcast channel for WPMI-TV during the hour of 12:00 p.m. this past Wednesday on the seventh day of this June. I would had never allowed for them (or their companion stations (WJTC-TV for WPMI-TV; WFGX-TV for WEAR-TV)) to become members of the same company if I were in charge of the Federal Communications Commission (mainly due to their proximities to each other and their local broadcast areas being very similar to each other).