Editing WSVN (section)

=== Ratings ramifications ===
[[File:Svntape.JPG|thumb|WSVN archival [[betacam]] news tape, {{Circa|1989}}, at the Florida Moving Image Archive|263x263px]]
WSVN's news expansion, at the time unheard of for any television station in the United States, was ridiculed and pilloried in the local media. Prior to this, television stations without a network affiliation generally operated with a focus on sitcom reruns and movies, which did not rate as highly; the ''Herald''{{'}}s Steve Sonsky said, "...&nbsp;that's the way all indie stations operate... without the big original network programming as lead-ins and lead-outs, [they] just can't compete on the same level".{{r|Miam880809a}} Up to the switch, WCIX's news output only consisted of a single half-hour 10&nbsp;p.m. newscast,{{r|Miam880809b}} raising doubts that four full-time English-language television news operations would be feasible in a market like Miami.{{r|Miam890101b}} Market consensus also assumed WCIX would be more than able to compensate for their signal coverage issues simply by becoming CBS-owned.{{r|SouthF19900101p 1}} Ansin later said, "everybody predicted, I say the world predicted, that this was not going to work... we had to be creative and innovative."<ref name="WSVN7News2020g359">{{cite web |date=July 26, 2020 |title=Loss of a Leader: WSVN owner Ed Ansin passes away at 84 |url=https://wsvn.com/news/local/loss-of-a-leader-ed-ansin/ |access-date=February 28, 2024 |website=WSVN 7News}}</ref>

WSVN's ratings, as predicted, declined significantly after losing NBC fare, but as an independent, the station was quickly seen by the ''Sun-Sentinel''{{'s}} Tom Jicha as a major success story.<ref name="SouthF19900101p 1">{{Cite news |last=Jicha |first=Tom |date=January 1, 1990 |title=TV switch was 1989's cliffhanger: Last year's shuffle defied predictions |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122589689/tv-switch-was-1989s-cliffhanger-last/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410191546/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122589689/tv-switch-was-1989s-cliffhanger-last/ |archive-date=April 10, 2023 |access-date=April 10, 2023 |newspaper=South Florida Sun-Sentinel |location=Fort Lauderdale, Florida |pages=1A, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122589744/tv-switch-was-1989s-cliffhanger-last/ 12A] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> By April 1989, the station's early-evening news had begun to outdraw WTVJ's newscasts, with ''Inside Story'' an unexpected hit.{{r|Sout890411}} By November 1989, WSVN's 6:30&nbsp;p.m. news was beating the ''NBC Nightly News'' on WTVJ in both Nielsen and Arbitron ratings, with WSVN's ''Today in Florida'' competitive against WTVJ's ''Today''.<ref name="SunSentinel1989j947">{{cite news |last=Jicha |first=Tom |date=December 5, 1989 |title=The People's Choice: Television writer Tom Jicha takes a daylong look at what viewers watch in South Florida |url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/1989/12/05/the-peoples-choice-television-writer-tom-jicha-takes-a-daylong-look-at-what-viewers-watch-in-south-florida/ |access-date=February 27, 2024 |newspaper=South Florida Sun-Sentinel}}</ref> This contrasted heavily against WCIX, which, despite being network-owned and with higher ratings than the year prior, was badly hampered by its poor signal and saw itself in fourth place.{{r|SouthF19900101p 1}} At years' end, WSVN was in second place behind WPLG in most time slots and the 10&nbsp;p.m. news was increasingly visible against the other networks,<ref name="MiamiH19900120p143">{{Cite news |last=Coto |first=Juan Carlos |date=January 20, 1990 |title=Fox taps Miami executive to launch national news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122586033/fox-taps-miami-executive-to-launch/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410191545/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122586033/fox-taps-miami-executive-to-launch/ |archive-date=April 10, 2023 |access-date=April 10, 2023 |newspaper=The Miami Herald |page=3B |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> prompting Jicha to write, "[I]n this case, the conventional wisdom wasn't wise."{{r|SouthF19900101p 1}} WSVN's performance prompted WTVJ management to issue a memo in May 1990 directing their newscasts to find additional "intensity, involvement and innovation" in their presentation, implying a need to emulate WSVN.<ref name="MiamiH19910408p1152">{{Cite news |last=Coto |first=Juan Carlos |date=April 8, 1991 |title=URGENT! This just in! ... Joel Cheatwood is back in charge of the Channel 7 News. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122628175/urgent-this-just-in-joel/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410191538/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122628175/urgent-this-just-in-joel/ |archive-date=April 10, 2023 |access-date=April 10, 2023 |newspaper=The Miami Herald |pages=1C, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122628221/urgent-this-just-in-joel/ 4C] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

The station's success resulted in Sunbeam launching a [[production company]] by May 1989, headed by Cheatwood, who relinquished his news director role; Sunbeam planned to sell ''Inside Story'' to syndication as ''Inside Report'' and develop two additional television programs.{{r|Sout890411}} As 1990 began, Fox hired Cheatwood to help develop a possible newscast for the network; this also resulted in ''Inside Report'' being withdrawn from syndication.{{r|MiamiH19900120p143}} Cheatwood was executive producer for the syndicated [[newsmagazine]] ''Personalities'', which was cancelled due to low ratings.<ref name="LosAngt 2710Sap508">{{Cite news |last=Rosenburg |first=Howard |date=October 27, 1990 |title=Why Rose Bowed Out Two Months After Show's Start |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-why-rose-bowed-out/142958735/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308211328/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-why-rose-bowed-out/142958735/ |archive-date=March 8, 2024 |access-date=March 8, 2024 |newspaper=The Los Angeles Times |pages=F1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-why-rose-bowed-out/142958783/ F5] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> After Fox put their newscast development on hold, Cheatwood returned to WSVN as vice president of news.{{r|MiamiH19910408p1152}} Under Cheatwood, WSVN launched a 7:30&nbsp;p.m. newscast in the lead-up to the [[1991 Persian Gulf conflict]]; after the war ended, the newscast was converted to ''7:30'', a newsmagazine hosted by Daniels and [[Joan Lovett]] described by Cheatwood as "news with a real flair".<ref name="SunSen19910329">{{cite news|last=Jicha|first=Tom|date=March 29, 1991|title=News Show To Get WSVN's Familiar Tabloid Touch|newspaper=Sun-Sentinel|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1991-03-29/features/9101160152_1_newscast-joel-cheatwood-wsvn|access-date=July 9, 2012|archive-date=October 7, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007025258/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1991-03-29/features/9101160152_1_newscast-joel-cheatwood-wsvn|url-status=dead}}</ref> The station also openly floated the possibility of bidding for broadcast rights to [[Miami Marlins|Miami's expansion baseball team]], with comparisons drawn to both [[Superstation WGN]] and [[TBS (American TV channel)|TBS]], two [[superstation]]s that featured local baseball play-by-play for a national audience.{{r|MiamiH19910408p1152}}{{r|SunSen19910329}} By 1992, WSVN ranked first in mornings and late evenings, and second in late afternoons, and was regarded as the highest-rated independent in the country.{{r|MiamiH19920802p231}}