TV Q&A: Where has a WTAE-TV forecaster gone?

Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review.

Q: I thought Ashley Dougherty returned from maternity leave already but I haven’t seen her on the noon news lately. Is she still with the station?

— Jim via voicemail

Rob: Dougherty has been back from maternity leave since early March, working on the morning newscast. She fills in at noon if someone is off or on vacation. The station’s covid-19 protocols don’t allow meteorologists to overlap in the weather center.

Q: What motivated the changes KDKA-TV made at the anchor desk on the weekends? Paul Martino, who is retiring after being demoted, was such a good and seemingly popular anchor and his young replacements seem very inexperienced. It seems to me a better strategy would have been to let the young reporters anchor on a fill-in basis until they are more seasoned. In the meantime, we’ve switched to WTAE for news on the weekends.

— Sharon via email

Rob: News director Kathy Hostetter did not respond when I asked about the changes. It seemed possible that the changes may have been related to cleaning up corporate culture issues CBS has been having this year but moving Shumway to weekends sort of busts that theory.

Q: Have there been any problems lately with KDKA-TV transmitting over a digital antenna? I haven’t been able to get the station over the air.

— Ed, Forest Hills

Rob: Channel 2 did some antenna work a few weeks back. If you find you’re suddenly not getting the station, try re-scanning. It should show up after that.

Q: “The Hustler” was on for eight episodes since January. Now that “A Million Little Things” preempted it, will “The Hustler” return in the fall?

— Pat, Latrobe

Rob: Sooner. “The Hustler” returns for its second season at 10 p.m. June 17.

Q: What happened to Sunday’s 10 a.m. film noir block on TCM? Seems its been canceled. Is TCM on the chopping block?

— John via email

Rob: No, it is not. TCM is simply airing its “TCM Film Festival” that’s disrupting regular programming. “Noir Valley” returns May 16.

Q: Who came up with the idea of running several episodes of a particular TV show consecutively? Lifetime is runs several episodes of “Rizzoli & Isles.” HGTV runs several episodes of a home renovation show. I realize that TV production is expensive but who wants to watch every single episode of shows in two or three days.

— Lyn via Facebook

Rob: As with most things you see happen repeatedly in television, this is done because it’s proven effective. Think of it as a binge approach for linear TV.

An old TV programming axiom is that a show’s best lead-in is itself, meaning the best way to get people to watch the next show is to make it the same as the show they’re currently watching. Lyn may not watch TV that way – I don’t either – but some people do and TV networks wouldn’t keep using this approach if it wasn’t successful.