TV Q&A: Is KDKA-TV likely to drop a meteorologist?

Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review.

Q: I noticed that KDKA now has five meteorologists on its staff with the addition of Trey Fullbright. I am curious to know if there are any plans to make any changes to their lineup since the other stations only have four at this time.

— Karl, McCandless

Rob: While WPXI has four (Stephanie Allison, Stephen Cropper, Scott Harbaugh and Adis Juklo), WTAE also has five (Ashley Dougherty, Mike Harvey, Brian Hutton Jr., Jill Szwed and Jeff Verszyla).

Both KDKA and WTAE have had a staff of five forecasters for several years now so there’s no reason to expect KDKA to reduce the headcount in its weather department given the importance of weather in viewer surveys/station ratings.

Q: Why do all three stations have a graphic banner at the top of the screen when they show a map of Pennsylvania? The banner blocks the northern part of the state. Many Pittsburgh people have camps or travel to Erie for the day or weekend and would like to see the weather track. Very few people from this area travel to Cleveland. Put the banner down the left side of the screen and block Cleveland.

— Don, via email

Rob: What viewers want is probably variable and not a monolith. As someone with friends in Cleveland, I’d personally rather see Cleveland.

But neither Cleveland nor Erie are in the Pittsburgh market, which is probably why those areas don’t get covered much in TV weather forecasts. I also suspect people who work in TV news don’t have cabins near Erie so it might also be a cultural blind spot.

Photos by Don McCreary

A reader wonders why local stations put graphic bars across the top of their weather maps, blocking forecasts for Erie, Pa.

Q: I saw the news that “CBS Mornings” is adding a third hour. Since KDKA-TV is owned by CBS, would they be required to carry hour three? What would happen to “Pittsburgh Today Live?”

— Marsha, Morgantown

Rob: Normally, yes, KDKA does follow corporate changes like this. But in this case, likely due to the ratings (re: financial) success of “PTL,” KDKA will NOT carry the third hour of “CBS Mornings” when it launches this fall, nor will the third-hour air on sister-station WPKD-TV, Channel 19.

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Q: I recently became a fan of the “Reacher” series on Amazon’s Prime Video. I noticed in several episodes there was a Clark Bar. Upon reading the corresponding book, there was no mention of the Clark Bar. Just wondering how it became part of the show while I have difficulty obtaining one even at the factory outlet.

— Vic, New Stanton

Rob: Per the Altoona Mirror, the show’s producers “wanted to include a product that would make the series feel more authentic and relatable to its viewers. Due to the military background of its main character, the producers also looked for something that had historical ties to the military, and the Clark Bar came up as a possible product placement. The Clark Bar was created in 1917 and was very popular during and after both World Wars. They were widely available on military bases, not only in the U.S. but across the world.”