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: What happened to all the female sports reporters on Channel 4? The anchors have been doing the sports reporting lately.
— Patty via email
Rob: Emily Giangreco exited WTAE in April and in June the station announced it hired Ashley Liotus, who has freelanced for Channel 4 since 2022.
Liotus starts full-time at the station on July 15.
Q: Why do all three news channels allow their reporters to wear jeans? What happened to business attire? I can’t stand seeing them in jeans, it’s not professional. They look like they’re going shopping.
— Mary, via email
Rob: Reporters’ looks, particularly the men, have become more casual in recent years. A former local news producer suggested it’s the result of work attire generally becoming more casual since the pandemic, not just in TV news but in American society generally — a friend recently told me her granddaughter bought business clothes for an internship in a law office and was surprised to find herself the best dressed as most other employees wore jeans and shorts.
Q: Are the employees at each TV station hired, fired and paid by the station or the network, for example KDKA or CBS?
— George, Greensburg
Rob: Only KDKA-TV is owned by the network it carries, CBS. Hearst owns WTAE-TV. Cox Media Group, which is held by hedge fund Apollo Global Management, owns WPXI-TV, which underwent some behind-the-scenes layoffs in the past month.
TV station employees are generally paid by the station or its ownership if payroll is centralized. Most of the time hiring and firing happens at the local level, too. But I am sure there are some situations where the parent company gets involved.
Q: When and why did they change from “The Closer” to “Major Crimes”?
— Doug, via email
Rob: “The Closer” was a hit on TNT from 2005-12 and “Major Crimes” followed from 2012-18.
“The Closer” ended because star Kyra Sedgwick was ready to be done with the series. But since it was still popular, TNT wanted to keep it going and brought in Mary McDonnell to play a new character who first appeared on “The Closer” and then got spun off to star in “Major Crimes.”
Why not just continue to call the show “The Closer”? Because by creating a new series the production could reset its cast and crew pay to something closer to first-season levels, which is almost always going to be less than a series in its seventh season as “The Closer” was when it ended.
Q: Any news as to whether there will be another “Jack Ryan” season?
— Gil, Penn Township
Rob: The fourth season that premiered in June 2023 was the show’s final season.
Q: When contestants are selected to go to Hollywood to compete, are they provided costumes by the show? Their outfits do not look cheap and I find it hard to believe some of them can afford to keep buying new costumes as they proceed through the rounds.
— Carol, via email
Rob: For prime-time competition series, especially the singing and talent shows, yes, the wardrobes are provided by the production. For prime-time game shows, it’s a mix: some provide contestant wardrobes, most do not.
For daytime game shows, contestants usually wear clothes from their own closets.
You can reach TV writer Rob Owen at rowen@triblive.com or 412-380-8559. Follow @RobOwenTV on Threads, X, Bluesky and Facebook. Ask TV questions by email or phone. Please include your first name and location.