Reshuffling the WCCO Dawn Patrol

Everlasting DeRusha (Photo credit: Jason DeRusha)

We've said this before, but it bears repeating:  WCCO-TV (Channel 4) likes to brag that more Minnesotans watch their newscasts than any other TV station, and that it's not a coincidence.  They lead at 5, 6 and 10 not just because viewers seem to like (or at least tolerate) Mr. and Mrs. News a.k.a. Frank Vascellaro and Amelia Santaniello, but also CBS' prime time shows.

There's one newscast WCCO doesn't brag about as much, and that's in the morning.  As more and more folks head off to work earlier and earlier, the news is now from 4:30 to 7 a.m. (In some places, it's 4 a.m.)  That's 2 1/2 hours (longer if you're a Fox station or an independent) of warmed-over headlines from last night, weather, traffic reports and fluff before the networks take over.  They've become a cash cow for local stations.

WCCO's morning news currently sits in third place out of four stations.  We don't know who's in first because no one makes local news ratings public any more, unless you happen to be in advertising or station management.

So WCCO makes some changes.  In this town, anything WCCO does becomes headline news.  Nobody cares what the other stations do,

Jason DeRusha and Jamie Yuccas (part of the 'CCO Blonde Patrol, so named for the station's tendency to hire golden-haired female on-air talent) are the new co-anchors, replacing Mike Binkley and Angela Davis (no relation to the activist).  They're moving to Sundays and to substitute anchor work.

For DeRusha, this could be a career game changer.  Up until now, he has parlayed his "Good Question" reporting gig into a magazine column, as a substitute radio host, and an almost constant presence on social media.  (Yes, we follow him on Twitter.  And he follows us.  Why?  That's a good question.)  He's traded it all away for an audience that treats its TV as if it were all-news radio.

Replacing DeRusha on "GQ" is Heather Brown, who recently returned to WCCO from a stint at WNYW/Fox 5 in New York.  Brown is the third reporter in that role, which was originated by current CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy.

There's one other reason why WCCO's ratings are lagging in the morning, and it's a problem shared by other CBS affiliates:  the presence of "CBS This Morning".  Now, the network has never had much luck with its morning news broadcast when compared to NBC's "Today" and ABC's "Good Morning America".  But this version, with Charlie Rose, Norah O'Donnell and Gayle King as co-anchors, has gotten so much positive buzz for emphasizing news over fluff that you wonder why that hasn't translated into more viewers.

Only time will tell if WCCO's morning ratings will rise and shine, but we do know one thing:  The hype machine will continue to turn its reporters and anchors into stars, while the quality of its journalism sinks into the abyss.  Always.