For its new Fox at 5 news that debuted Monday, WOFL promised its 5 p.m. start-up would be a different kind of newscast. It kept its word.
Solo anchor Amy Kaufeldt remains standing for the hour-long newscast. Chief meteorologist Glenn Richards is relegated to a new "backyard garden" outside Fox 35’s studios in Lake Mary. (The garden looks nice, but don’t expect any tranquility there with Glenn since the station sits next to I-4, and the drone of rush-hour traffic is noticeable in his many weather hits.)
Overall, the new newscast has that "morning show" feel, even to the point of former morning anchor Kaufeldt regularly reminding viewers of the time and temperature with traffic hits.
Among the regular features is one called "All The Talk." WOFL apparently thinks its new newscast is going to draw viewers from top-rated WFTV and has designed this segment just for them. "Each afternoon we’re going to take a look at what you just watched on Oprah," Kaufeldt explained, then launched into Monday’s story about Oscar fashions in Orlando. In keeping with morning show tradition, the accompanying live shot was spread over two segments.
Other regular features include "Just Home Headlines," and a recap at the end of the show called "Skip the 6 p.m." There’s also "Justice for All," which follows up on … uh, judicial stories.
To be fair, Monday was a pretty slow news day, with all four area stations leading with different stories at 5. But I have to wonder how Fox at 5 would react to breaking news or a big story during its feature-heavy news hour.
Still, you have to like being able to have another choice for early evening news viewing.