TV Q&A: Why no ‘chief’ title for KDKA-TV’s Ray Petelin?

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: Why does KDKA-TV not use the “chief” honorific for meteorologist Ray Petelin? He handles weather duties in the traditional chief meteorologist slot and of all the meteorologists at the station, he’s the most omnipresent with his “Hey, Ray” segments and hosting “Hometown High Q.” I feel it’s definitely deserved.

– David, via email

Rob: Per KDKA-TV’s newly-arrived news director Shawn Hoder, “I, like you, see the great work Ray has been and is doing here for us. I don’t believe in titles based on honoring time slots or longevity. I believe advanced titles come with more responsibilities. So much of what we do goes beyond what is on the TV/phone/computer screen. A lot of behind-the-scenes work is needed for a title like that – work done in an official capacity that would include schedules, SOPs, mentoring, training and hiring, just to name a few. So as I learn the team here and their strengths … I am always open to growth and advancement.”

Q: Why don’t they give Ken Jennings the “Jeopardy!” hosting job full-time? When that lady is on I turn it off. I don’t like her.

– Joyce, via e-mail

Rob: I think we can file the answer to this under, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

After all the turmoil that followed the search for an Alex Trebek replacement, “Jeopardy!” producer Sony probably just wants some stability. The best way to achieve that is to continue splitting the hosting duties to satisfy both fans of Jennings and Mayim Bialik.

Q: If NBC gives back an hour at night to the affiliates, what about the late-night programs like “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers”?

– Eric, via Facebook

Rob: NBC’s trial balloon that floated the possibility of dropping its 10 p.m. programs and giving the time period back to affiliates raises a lot of questions, including what happens to the lineups of executive producer Dick Wolf’s two nights with three stacked shows each, “Chicago” shows on Wednesday and “Law & Order” series on Thursday? Does the lowest-rated of the three get canceled or does NBC rotate the third series into the lineup after one of the other two finishes its run of episodes?

And then there’s the question of how much time NBC gives back to affiliates. Will it be the whole 10 p.m. hour or just the first 35 minutes and then Fallon moves up an hour to 10:35 p.m. and Meyers to 11:35? If that happens, local stations lose the 11 p.m. half-hour. Would they be OK with that?

If this comes to pass, could it foretell the beginning of the end of scripted dramas on broadcast channels? We won’t get definitive answers to any of these questions until NBC makes a final decision on what it will do with the 10-11 p.m. time period.