Editing WSVN (section)

=== Changes in the news ===
[[File:Rick Sanchez - 100 Characters Conference.jpg|thumb|[[Rick Sanchez (journalist)|Rick Sanchez]] rejoined WSVN in May 1988 as a reporter and anchor.]]
The uncertainty at WSVN was not limited to their network affiliation. News director David Choate abruptly resigned in December 1987; his replacement, [[Joel Cheatwood]], came to Miami from [[WEWS-TV]] in Cleveland, where he had been that station's assistant news director.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Sonsky|first=Steve|date=January 5, 1988|title=WSVN names news director|page=7C|newspaper=The Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74460559/wsvn-names-news-director/|url-status=live|access-date=April 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217034453/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74460559/wsvn-names-news-director/|archive-date=February 17, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Cheatwood took the job under assurances WSVN would remain a network affiliate under Sunbeam in what he called a "[[Blood brother|blood oath]]" by Ansin.<ref name="Miam880809c">{{Cite news|last=Jicha|first=Tom|date=August 9, 1988|title=Channel 7 has a lot of getting ready to do|page=7A|newspaper=The Miami News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74459688/channel-7-has-a-lot-of-getting-ready-to/|url-status=live|access-date=April 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217034444/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74459688/channel-7-has-a-lot-of-getting-ready-to/|archive-date=February 17, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> By that March, WSVN's newscasts started to take a more aggressive tone, ostensibly to make the station more palatable to a CBS affiliation,<ref name="Miam880321">{{Cite news|last=Jicha|first=Tom|date=March 21, 1988|title=WSVN tightening ship while waiting to align with CBS|page=4C|newspaper=The Miami News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74463849/wsvn-tightening-ship-while-waiting-to/|url-status=live|access-date=April 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217034500/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74463849/wsvn-tightening-ship-while-waiting-to/|archive-date=February 17, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> while multiple staffers were either dismissed or resigned.<ref name="Miam880609b">{{Cite news|last=Sonsky|first=Steve|date=June 8, 1988|title=What's going on at Channel 7?|pages=1C, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74534030/whats-going-on-at-channel-7-p2/ 4C]|newspaper=The Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74533828/whats-going-on-at-channel-7/|url-status=live|access-date=April 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217034445/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74533828/whats-going-on-at-channel-7/|archive-date=February 17, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Some also left WSVN directly due to the affiliation uncertainty, including sports director Bret Lewis and weekend sports anchor Doug Vaughn.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hyde|first=Dave|date=June 3, 1988|title=NCAA invited CBS to Series|page=8E|newspaper=The Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74539176/ncaa-invited-cbs-to-series/|url-status=live|access-date=April 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217034459/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74539176/ncaa-invited-cbs-to-series/|archive-date=February 17, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> By happenstance, Lewis and anchor Jill Beach left to take jobs with NBC:<ref name="Miam880809b">{{Cite news|last=Fields|first=Gregg|date=August 9, 1988|title=A hot local news-rating battle just got hotter.|pages=1C, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/75030167/a-hot-local-news-rating-battle-just-got/ 8C]|newspaper=The Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/75030128/a-hot-local-news-rating-battle-just-got/|url-status=live|access-date=April 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217034446/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/75030128/a-hot-local-news-rating-battle-just-got/|archive-date=February 17, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Lewis went to [[KNBC-TV]] in [[Los Angeles]], while Beach went to [[WKYC-TV]] in Cleveland, which at the time was a higher-ranked [[TV market]] than Miami.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Williams|first=Marla|date=August 22, 1988|title=Broadcast Moves|pages=1D, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74535081/broadcast-moves-p2/ 4D]|newspaper=Sun-Sentinel|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74534970/broadcast-moves/|url-status=live|access-date=April 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217034445/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74534970/broadcast-moves/|archive-date=February 17, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Lewis's replacement, [[Jim Berry (news anchor)|Jim Berry]], joined WSVN under the assumption it would become a CBS affiliate, saying a network affiliation is "a sign of privilege, it's like a badge."<ref name="Sout880812">{{Cite news|last=Rusnak|first=Jeff|date=August 12, 1988|title=Stations tossed like Lotto balls|page=10C|newspaper=Sun-Sentinel|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74535920/stations-tossed-like-lotto-balls/|access-date=April 5, 2021|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217034445/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74535920/stations-tossed-like-lotto-balls/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Following the conclusion of the [[Nielsen ratings|May sweeps period]], Cheatwood fired lead anchor Peter Ford despite the 6&nbsp;p.m. and 11&nbsp;p.m. newscasts posting their best ratings in recent years.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Sonsky|first=Steve|date=June 4, 1988|title=No Ford in WSVN's future|pages=1B–[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74526391/no-ford-in-wsvns-future-p2/ 2B]|newspaper=The Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74526325/no-ford-in-wsvns-future/|url-status=live|access-date=April 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217034446/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74526325/no-ford-in-wsvns-future/|archive-date=February 17, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Reports of on- and off-air tension between Ford and co-anchor Sally Fitz was seen as the determining factor for the move,{{r|Miam880609b}} but Fitz was also in a personal relationship with Ed Ansin, which Ansin previously admitted to.{{r|Miam870525}} Steve Sonsky of the ''Herald'' suggested Fitz's relationship with Ansin factored into WSVN's personnel decisions, which station officials denied.{{r|Miam880609b}} After Alberto San Pedro's murder trial concluded,<ref name="Sout880629">{{Cite news|last=Kelley|first=Bill|date=June 29, 1988|title=Channel 7 hires Rick Sanchez as 'Live at 5' co-anchor|page=8E|newspaper=Sun-Sentinel|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74527336/channel-7-hires-rick-sanchez-as-live/|url-status=live|access-date=April 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217034446/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74527336/channel-7-hires-rick-sanchez-as-live/|archive-date=February 17, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Rick Sanchez returned to the station as the new co-anchor for ''Live at Five'', which was initially developed with him in mind as the lead host.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Sonsky|first=Steve|date=May 10, 1988|title=Topsy-turvy TV: Sanchez is back|pages=1B–[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74528685/topsy-turvy-tv-sanchez-is-back-p2/ 2B]|newspaper=The Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74528622/topsy-turvy-tv-sanchez-is-back/|url-status=live|access-date=April 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217034500/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74528622/topsy-turvy-tv-sanchez-is-back/|archive-date=February 17, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Sanchez replaced Frank Robertson, who was dismissed by Cheatwood in early May after market research showed him as the program's "weak link".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kelley|first=Bill|date=May 6, 1988|title=Frank Robertson fired by Channel 7|page=8E|newspaper=Sun-Sentinel|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74536428/frank-robertson-fired-by-channel-7/|url-status=live|access-date=April 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217034447/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74536428/frank-robertson-fired-by-channel-7/|archive-date=February 17, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In an outreach attempt to [[Cuban migration to Miami|Miami's Cuban community]], Cheatwood announced Sanchez's return during an on-air interview at Spanish-language radio station [[WQBA]].{{r|Sout880629}}