TV Q&A: Why so many WPXI-TV morning anchors?

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 did WPXI Channel 11 morning news switch to a separate anchor for reporting the “breaking news” in the mornings?

— Michelle, Penn Hills

Rob: Stations monkey around with format changes like this with some frequency, sometimes for practical reasons but also often to differentiate a newscast and potentially make it more promotable.

You could see a station making the change Michelle describes as a physical distancing precaution during covid-19 but this change pre-dates the pandemic, according to WPXI news director Scott Trabandt.

“We moved Jennifer Tomazic to anchor our Breaking News Desk in the mornings in 2019,” he said. “Our Breaking News Desk is right in the middle of our Newsroom and is built to get breaking information to viewers without any delay. Jennifer is tied to our team of producers and assignment editors in the Newsroom and to our reporters and photographers in different neighborhoods through a Virtual Newsroom.

“While not breaking into the show with new information, she’s checking with our team, local school districts, transportation and utility companies, public safety leaders and viewers to track down what’s happening at the moment. She’s looking at maps, checking court documents and looking into our archives to add context and important pieces of information to the stories of the hour.”

Q: I’ve haven’t seen Lisa Washington on KDKA-TV news for some time. Any idea where she is?

— Nancy, Greensburg

Rob: Washington departed KDKA last fall to take a job as lead anchor for weekday evening and late newscasts at WNEP-TV, the ABC affiliate in Scranton.

Q: With “Punky Brewster” and “Frasier” being rebooted, do you have any suggestions or predictions as to any other old shows to make a comeback? How about “Family Matters”? Heck, Jaleel White is on Cameo, he can’t be real busy. Did I suggest that?

— Tom, Moon Township

Rob: At this point networks and streamers are looking to reboot/revive anything and everything that might have a chance of breaking through the 500-series clutter. As to what could be next, your guess is as good as mine but this trend shows no signs of abating. The primary strategy of Paramount+ is to use existing IP (“The Real World,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” “Star Trek”) to woo potential subscribers.

I’m not convinced “Family Matters” would work with an adult Urkel, but stranger things have happened.

Q: I saw an announcement that the movie “Operation Mincemeat,” starring Colin Firth and Matthew Macfadyen, has been picked up by Netflix for North American distribution. Talk has been that it’s a possible Oscar contender. How does that work for Netflix? Are the movies shown exclusively on their streaming service or do they also premiere in movie theaters like HBO Max is doing?

— Linda via email

Rob: Netflix bought distribution rights for this film for North America and Latin America.

It’s not entirely clear what the Netflix rollout strategy will be post-pandemic but pre- and mid-pandemic Netflix typically put its awards contenders in a small number of theaters a few weeks before the movie debuted on the streaming service. For instance, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” had a very brief theatrical run a few weeks before its Netflix debut.

Warner Bros. is debuting films on the same date in theaters and on HBO Max, an approach that hasn’t thrilled filmmakers, so I imagine Netflix will stick to its brief theatrical run (before streaming) strategy to make nice with the creative community.

Q: Any idea why Megan Boone has not appeared in the recent episodes of “The Blacklist”?

— Jeff, Baldwin

Rob: It appears to be story-related, and my guess is she will return to the show soon. The next new episode of “The Blacklist” airs March 26.