In Depth with Jason Fechner

WQAD’s “Work Week Wind Down”

Time to kick back on a Friday night with a new Work Week Wind Down, our 5th so far…

Posted: August 20th, 2010 under Uncategorized.
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We’re headed to the vault Friday night at 10:00 p.m. as fearless producer Lee Ann Watson chooses to resurrect the ‘WQAD Work Week Wind Down’ from the archives to use as our kicker. Here are links to the four we’ve had so far– more to come in the future:

Work Week Wind Down #1

Work Week Wind Down #2

Work Week Wind Down #3

Work Week Wind Down #4

Posted: July 23rd, 2010 under Uncategorized.
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WQAD in HD

Exciting news at WQAD today, as we can now confirm that we’ll be the first TV station in the Quad Cities market to go HD. Unlike some other stations that have gone HD around the country, we won’t just broadcast an HD signal from our studio– we’ll be high-definition in the field as well.

New cameras, new gear, new editors, new software, a new (or significantly tweaked) studio– new everything.

The turnaround will be quick– the tentative plan right now is to be fully operational with the new system by the end of the year at the latest. Unlike other changes in the past, the look, camera angles, etc., will be so extensively different that we’ll need to block out everything through the new system before taking it live on-air.

Beyond the technical side of things, WQAD will now have access to live and recorded video from the rest of the stations, owned by Local TV (our ownership group) and the Tribune Co. (our broadcast partner). The amount of access to markets around the country will be unparalleled– very exciting stuff…

Maybe the most exciting announcement? Well– I can’t tell you yet…

More to come!

Posted: July 22nd, 2010 under Uncategorized.
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Chicago Becomes Hollywood East

After college, I lived in downtown Chicago for four years and one of the coolest memories was the week when crews began filming “Batman Begins.” I’d been a fan of Batman as a kid growing up, so it was cool to see Gotham City Police cars cruising around on Clark Street, helicopters buzzing past buildings in River North at night and explosions bellowing out of Wacker Drive as the Batmobile went flying by.

Eventually, crews would return to Chicago to film “The Dark Knight,” as the Windy City continues to become a major Hollywood player. Chicago Magazine recently ran down the Top 40 films shot in Chicago:

http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/June-2010/40-Best-Chicago-Movies-Ever/

The Fugitive. Home Alone. The Untouchables. Risky Business. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The list goes on.

Now, add “Transformers III” to the mix.

To see dozens of pictures from the film’s Chicago-shoot, go here:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-100710-transformers-pictures,0,6815007.photogallery

To watch the cars roll into town, head here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEh0Kjk5cq0&feature=player_embedded

Posted: July 19th, 2010 under Uncategorized.
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An Early Bird and Night Owl All in One…

Quick status update on the transition to the new shift…

As I don’t get out of the station until 10:45 or 11:00 p.m. most nights, I’ve been staying up during the week until roughly 1:00 in the morning. That’s all fine and good. What’s not fine and good?! The fact that I keep waking up at roughly 7:00 a.m. like I did before my old shift.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking– “Jason, reset your alarm, you idiot!”

Trust me– I did, but to no avail.

Any recommendations for anyone on how to speed up this sleep transition to slow down the ’sleep’– please e-mail away to jason.fechner@wqad.com

I’ll be up waiting for your response…

Posted: July 13th, 2010 under Uncategorized.
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Made-for-TV NBA Drama

I feel like when it comes to the NBA, I’m like most fans– I’ll watch it if it’s on, I’ll pay attention during the playoffs and I’ll make sure to catch it during the Finals. As a Chicago guy, I’m a Bulls’ fan and this summer has been on our radars for a while.

The reason why? An unheard of number of NBA all-stars: LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer, just to name a few, are all free-agents who can sign with any team they choose.

Unreal.

I’ve been following the “sources” and “reports” from multiple media outlets as reporters all try to one-up each other for the scoop on who’s going where when and why.

Here’s my prediction ahead of Wednesday’s possible announcement from one of the three most notable: James, Bosh and Wade.

Bosh will be the first domino to fall and he’ll sign with the Bulls– he wants to make a ton of cash in a big market and have a chance to win. Hello Chicago. He could sign with the Heat, though I think he wants to be a star on his own and make the first move.

Then, watch for Wade or Le Bron to come to Chicago afterward, basically for the same reasons Bosh did.

I don’t think Le Bron will re-sign with Cleveland– why go through all this and put your fans through this if you don’t intend to leave.

Wade may re-sign with Miami.

Remember– these are just guesses, and until one of the so-called “insiders” with his “strong sources” turns out to be right (because they’re all contradicting each other right now…), that’s really what everyone has:

Guesses.

Posted: July 6th, 2010 under Uncategorized.
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The Only Constant is Change

I’ve gotten a number of e-mails the past couple weeks wondering why I wasn’t updating this blog and why I’m no longer anchoring “News 8 @ 6:30.” They’re actually intertwined, as I’d use this blog during the 6:30 newscast, but as I’m no longer on the 6:30 newscast, no reason to update the blog. And round and round we go…

Schedule-wise, I’m now anchoring News 8 at 5, 6 and 10, all with Rae Chelle Davis, whom I sit next to in the newsroom all day as well. Fortunately, we get along really well, in part because she typically laughs at all my lame jokes. I’ll keep you updated as to how long that lasts…

So, in the meantime, I’ll continue to get used to the new shows and new schedule. Look for the live-chat, a 6:30 staple, to come to all our evening newscasts. Also, look for bags under my eyes as I’m unable to sleep-in and can’t really get to bed until well after I get home after the 10. Good times!

More to come… Now, what to do with this blog…

Posted: June 29th, 2010 under Uncategorized.
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Spike O’Dell Sounds Off Against WGN

Longtime Quad City and Chicago radio voice, East Moline native Spike O’Dell, has been watching what his old employer WGN Radio’s been up to since his retirement in 2008, and he apparently doesn’t like what he’s seen.

After blasting the station on his Facebook page, Chicago Tribune columnist Phil Rosenthal (who’s also employed by The Tribune Company, owner of WGN and partner with WQAD owner Local TV LLC) caught up with O’Dell to get a more in-depth perspective on his rant:

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/towerticker/2010/06/spike-odell-says-wgn-is-becoming-just-another-station-after-latest-change-steve-cochran-exit.html

Posted: June 28th, 2010 under Uncategorized.
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