too much Fox

Terry and I have been watching the morning news program on Channel 2, KTVU, in the Bay Area since the mid-1990’s. Before we moved in together my habit was to listen to NPR on the radio while Terry watched Good Morning America on ABC. When Terry moved up here I deferred to Terry, but somehow I found Joan Lunden annoying. When Joan used the phrase “wakeup call” one too many times I suggested to Terry that we watch the local Mornings on 2 instead. She agreed.

KTVU was long owned by Cox Television. It was one of the first stations to join the Fox network when it started up, and when Fox News came along it used some resources from that network. For example it would broadcast the Fox News Sunday morning interview program and would use the Fox feed for the State of the Union message. For the most part, however, Cox kept Fox News at arm’s length from their local news broadcasts. Reports from Washington on Mornings on 2 came from the Cox D.C. bureau.

This past summer, however, Cox and Fox announced a swap of stations that included KTVU. That swap is now complete and Fox Television Stations, Inc. is the owner of Channel 2. So far the changes have been small. National stories on Mornings on 2 are read by the local anchors rather than going to Washington. However, the other day I came in the house from running errands while Terry was watching the noon news on Channel 2. I heard a reporter sign off a report saying, “Fox News, Washington.”

If that’s a sign of things to come the newscasts on Channel 2 are going to get a lot less viewership from Terry and me.