On Monday night, WMAQ-Channel 5 preempted “NBC Nightly News” for Brant Miller’s coverage of storms 100 miles west of Chicago. One week earlier, WGN-Channel 9 repeatedly interrupted a Cubs baseball broadcast for Tom Skilling’s updates on tornadoes in the area.
Decisions to break into regularly scheduled programming can be costly to stations in terms of lost advertising revenue and unhappy viewers. But when it comes to the perceived threat of danger, Chicago broadcasters seem increasingly willing to accept the risks. Continue reading