Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions weekly at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Saturday Tribune-Review.
Q: Are TV journalists paid a flat salary or is it based on each appearance? When Tony Dokoupil took on duties of a third hour of “CBS Mornings,” was he paid more, or does the basic contract cover anything the network asks them to do? What about now that he’s the anchor of “CBS Evening News”?
— Jim, Naples, Fla.
Rob: TV journalists are salaried and not paid per appearance if they are on staff. If they are freelance contributors who are not on staff, that’s another matter, but Dokoupil is on staff at CBS News.
Beyond that, it can vary by contract what kind of flexibility the contract language allows in terms of a network re-assigning someone or adding to his or her workload.
But when an anchor makes a leap like Dokoupil, who broadcast from Pittsburgh earlier this month, from morning to evening news, that surely triggers a renegotiation.
Q: I knew CBS would be changing evening news anchors in January, but did they lose reporters as well? It seems the reporters they have used this week are new or not their regular team. No Scott MacFarlane or Major Garrett. What’s the scoop?
— Carol, via email
Rob: MacFarlane and Garrett continue to work for CBS News. Perhaps they’re appearing more in other news programs.
Q: I contacted someone over the Verizon FiOS TV online chat to complain about the WPXI-Verizon retransmission dispute. Of course, they have no idea about any progress in negotiations. But after their usual routine of trying to upsell me on faster internet, they did give me a $25 credit for this inconvenience. That will help cover the cost of Peacock.
— Dean, via email
Rob: After last week’s TV Q&A on the retransmission spat, I heard from readers who wanted me to include a reminder that local stations are accessible by over-the-air antenna (depending on your location), something I wrote about last month.
There was also upset that Verizon only provided the usual Verizon phone number.
Another Verizon customer said he got handed off to three different customer service agents but eventually received a $20 per month credit from Verizon for the duration of the time WPXI is not on Verizon systems.
Q: I watched “Best Medicine.” It is an exact copy of “Doc Martin”! Only without humor and warmth. Do the producers have no shame? Surely it won’t last beyond a few episodes.
— Tom, Murrysville
Rob: While I agree that the show lacks in humor, I can’t get worked up about the fact that the pilot borrows liberally from the first episode of “Doc Martin.” That’s simply what pilot episodes of American remakes of foreign series do! (See: the first episode of CBS’s “Ghosts,” which borrows a lot from the first episode of the original British “Ghosts.”)
The “Best Medicine” showrunner told me last month that first episode is the one that lifts most directly from “Doc Martin” and subsequent episodes chart more of their own course.
As for how long the show might last, reviews were fairly “meh” but ratings for the Jan. 4 preview improved on the previous animated show that aired in the time slot, per TV columnist Joe Adalian, drawing 3.7 million viewers (compared to 2.6 million viewers for “Grimsburg”). A rerun of the premiere on Jan. 6 drew more total viewers than an NBA game on NBC.
And the second “Best Medicine” episode on Jan. 13 had 3.3 million viewers, nearly double the viewership of “Kitchen Nightmares” one year earlier and 30% better than what “Doc” did in the time slot last year. If those “Best Medicine” ratings hold up, the show won’t be canceled anytime soon.