{"id":14597,"date":"2017-06-15T06:00:09","date_gmt":"2017-06-15T11:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/?p=14597"},"modified":"2017-06-15T06:00:09","modified_gmt":"2017-06-15T11:00:09","slug":"coming-u-will-viewers-toast-jam-mornings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2017\/06\/15\/coming-u-will-viewers-toast-jam-mornings\/","title":{"rendered":"Dawning on The U: Will viewers toast \u2018The Jam\u2019 in mornings?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_14599\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2017\/06\/15\/coming-u-will-viewers-toast-jam-mornings\/\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14599\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14599\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/The-Jam.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"520\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/The-Jam.jpeg 600w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/The-Jam-300x260.jpeg 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/The-Jam-500x433.jpeg 500w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/The-Jam-150x130.jpeg 150w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/The-Jam-400x347.jpeg 400w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/The-Jam-200x173.jpeg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-14599\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/a> Hosts of \u201cThe Jam\u201d (from left): Jordan Cornette, Danielle Robay and Felicia Lawrence<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The hosts have been hired, the set is being built and rehearsals are underway on what Weigel Broadcasting promises will be \u201ca whole new fresh take\u201d on morning television for Chicago.<\/p>\n<p>Sometime later this summer \u2014 an exact date has not been announced \u2014 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wciu.com\">WCIU-Channel 26<\/a> will launch \u201cThe Jam,\u201d a live two-hour morning news show with a decidedly youthful, urban edge. It\u2019s the station\u2019s latest effort to draw the 25-to-54 audience and cash in on the advertising bonanza at sunrise.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>From 6 to 8 a.m. Monday through Friday \u201cThe Jam\u201d will replace \u201cYou &amp; Me,\u201d the talk and entertainment show that aired for more than seven years on The U but never made a dent in the ratings. Until last March it was hosted by Jeanne Sparrow and Melissa Forman, two genial and talented former radio personalities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c \u2018You &amp; Me\u2019 had a great team of people behind the scenes and hosts who were committed to the show,\u201d said Steve Bailey, head of local programming and creative for The U. \u201cIt\u2019s not to say there wasn\u2019t a lot of heart and soul put into it for sure. We tried things. That\u2019s the nature of the business. I just think the community didn\u2019t embrace it as much as they did other morning news programs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday Weigel Broadcasting unveiled plans for \u201cThe Jam\u201d and introduced its three new hosts:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Jordan Cornette,<\/strong> co-host of David Kaplan\u2019s midday show on ESPN Radio sports\/talk <a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/chicago\/radio\/\">WMVP AM 1000<\/a> and a college basketball color commentator for CBS Sports Network and Fox Sports 1. The Cincinnati native and former Notre Dame basketball star has lived in Chicago for 13 years.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Felicia Lawrence,<\/strong> weekend news anchor and reporter at WJZY, the Fox-owned station in Charlotte, North Carolina. Born and raised on Chicago\u2019s South Side, she graduated from Morgan Park High School and North Carolina A&amp;T State University, and previously worked as an intern at The U.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Danielle Robay<\/strong>, former host and producer of \u201cEntertainment Tonight Online\u201d and a contributor to NBC-owned KNBC in Los Angeles. A Chicago area native and graduate of New Trier Township High School and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she also was seen on \u201cYou &amp; Me\u201d and ABC-owned <a href=\"http:\/\/abc7chicago.com\">WLS-Channel 7\u2019s <\/a>\u201cWindy City Live.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Field reporters on the show will include two holdovers from \u201cYou &amp; Me,\u201d Jon Hansen and Ashley Barnes, and Brandon Pope, a reporter and weekend news anchor from WBND, Weigel Broadcasting\u2019s ABC affiliate in South Bend, Indiana.<\/p>\n<p>All six will be under the direction of executive producer David Plummer, a Chicago television veteran <a href=\"http:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/2017\/04\/19\/13955\/\">recently hired<\/a> from ABC 7\u2019s \u201cWindy City Live.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_14600\" style=\"width: 177px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/2017\/06\/15\/coming-u-will-viewers-toast-jam-mornings\/steve-bailey\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-14600\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14600\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-14600\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Steve-Bailey-167x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"167\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Steve-Bailey-167x300.jpg 167w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Steve-Bailey-768x1377.jpg 768w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Steve-Bailey-571x1024.jpg 571w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Steve-Bailey-500x896.jpg 500w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Steve-Bailey-150x269.jpg 150w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Steve-Bailey-400x717.jpg 400w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Steve-Bailey-800x1434.jpg 800w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Steve-Bailey-200x358.jpg 200w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Steve-Bailey.jpg 1012w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 167px) 100vw, 167px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-14600\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steve Bailey<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In developing the concept for \u201cThe Jam,\u201d Bailey drew on his experience as vice president of marketing and promotions for \u201cThe Daily Buzz,\u201d a nationally syndicated morning news program that originally ran from 2002 to 2015. He joined Weigel Broadcasting last October from Media General, where he was director of programming and affiliate marketing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c \u2018The Jam\u2019 isn\u2019t your traditional morning newscast,\u201d Bailey said, pointing to an array of technical dazzle, a unique presentation of weather coverage (which he\u2019s keeping under wraps), and an emphasis on digital lifestyles. \u201cMost people these days start consuming from the second they grab their phone to turn their alarm off and start reading the news of the day,\u201d he said. \u201cSo our approach to giving them that information is very much going to be from that same mind set.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_14601\" style=\"width: 306px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/2017\/06\/15\/coming-u-will-viewers-toast-jam-mornings\/the-jam-logo\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-14601\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14601\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-14601\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/The-Jam-logo-296x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"296\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/The-Jam-logo-296x300.jpg 296w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/The-Jam-logo-150x152.jpg 150w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/The-Jam-logo-200x203.jpg 200w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/The-Jam-logo-57x57.jpg 57w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/The-Jam-logo-72x72.jpg 72w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/The-Jam-logo.jpg 369w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 296px) 100vw, 296px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-14601\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Jam<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Hosts Cornette, Lawrence and Robay won\u2019t just deliver local and national headlines, Bailey said, but will offer their opinions on the news from their personal perspectives. \u201cThey\u2019re really going to talk out the issues that are going on in the city, in our neighborhoods. . . . I want people who watch \u2018The Jam\u2019 to see Jordan and Felicia and Danielle as their friends or family members because they are so genuine and real. They just click.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c \u2018The Jam\u2019 is going to showcase everyday Chicagoans \u2014 the people in the city and the surrounding suburbs in a way that no one else is doing. I think when you look at the pace of morning news and how they deliver news, everyone else does it in a very similar fashion. They don\u2019t get a chance to explore a lot of the great people who make Chicago the best place to be. There are so many stories to tell in every single neighborhood of this city. And we are so committed to doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The hosts have been hired, the set is being built and rehearsals are underway on what Weigel Broadcasting promises will be \u201ca whole new fresh take\u201d on morning television for Chicago. Sometime later this summer \u2014 an exact date has not been announced \u2014 WCIU-Channel 26 will launch \u201cThe Jam,\u201d a live two-hour morning news... <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2017\/06\/15\/coming-u-will-viewers-toast-jam-mornings\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&#8594;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14597"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14597"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14609,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14597\/revisions\/14609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}