The WCCO Dawn Patrol Revisited

English: The current, primarly used logo for CBS affiliate WCCO-TV4, Minneapolis MN, USA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Some of you may remember the post we did last summer about changes WCCO (CBS 4) made to its early morning news broadcast, which at the time was in third place behind KARE (NBC 11) and KSTP (ABC 5).  News anchors Mike Binkley and Angela Davis were traded in for Jason DeRusha and Jamie Yuccas.

Now it's March, and the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported in its St. Patrick's Day edition that "WCCO This Morning" has shot to the top of the local breakfast-time ratings with an 18 percent increase in viewers.  That has carried over into "CBS This Morning" which, with a 19 percent jump, has gone ahead of ABC's "Good Morning America" and NBC's "Today" locally while remaining in third nationally.

To what do we attribute this reversal of fortune?  Promotion, baby.  And lots of it.  It's impossible to turn on WCCO and not see DeRusha's or Yuccas' mugs on nearly every commercial break, talking about each other's quirks and why they think they're so good on the air together, as if they're a married couple.  Just like Frank Vascellaro and Amelia Santaniello, the evening news anchors who really are a married couple.

DeRusha never misses a chance to promote himself on TV or through social media, whether it's taking selfies at a Miley Cyrus concert or stuffing his face while reviewing a trendy local restaurant.  He's one of those guys you either like or can't stand.

Yuccas has been making a name of her own recently, filing reports on winter weather in the Midwest for the "CBS Evening News".  Since CBS owns WCCO, it wouldn't take a big leap to figure out that Yuccas might be going national soon.

Perhaps it shouldn't have come as a surprise that WCCO is doing so well in the morning.  KSTP is forever in transition, and KARE is hurt by the backlash caused by "Today"'s self-induced implosion.  Also, WCCO benefits from being WCCO.  They have the best of everything--the highest-rated newscasts, the best-known syndicated shows, and the top rated broadcast network in CBS.

Oh, and on the 35th anniversary of the Great Twin Cities Network Switch--in which KSTP, KMSP and KARE (then known as WTCN) shuffled between ABC, NBC and being an independent--only WCCO stayed put.

Moreover, between 4:30 and 7 a.m., TV is doing what radio used to do for people getting ready for work or school, which is to provide information and entertainment.  Personality helps, too, as wacky news anchors are replacing wacky morning DJs.

Notice we haven't said a word about journalism until just now.  WCCO used to be known for that, earning truckloads of awards for reporting excellence that now seem to go to Boyd Huppert of KARE.  Now it seems 'CCO will settle for a City Pages' "Best of the Twin Cities" citation, and call it a day.

If you're the kind of person who likes a newscast where the anchors yuk it up and insert themselves into the story while reporting the latest on Ukraine and the missing Malaysian airplane, then WCCO's your station.   If not, you'll have to go elsewhere.  According to the latest ratings, a lot of you have chosen the first option.  Habits die hard around here.