That's Infotainment!

Says Jacobs: "Jessica left because she wanted to pursue other stuff." Insiders, however, say that while Aguirre was unhappy and was considering job offers at other stations around the country, her contract contained a clause that permitted either side to cancel, and WSVN fired her. Her husband, sportscaster Jay Huyler, is said to have left under similar circumstances. The scuttlebutt: On the morning of February 26 the couple received a phone call from WSVN execs, who told them not to bother showing up for work that day, or ever again. (Aguirre refuses to comment about the matter, and Huyler could not be reached.)

Ex-correspondent Wilker contends that WSVN has blundered a chance to create some unique local programming -- a sentiment echoed by several of her embittered former colleagues. "The market is clearly big enough for an enterprising and truly informative entertainment and lifestyle show," she says. "Channel 7 has a great opportunity: They have a huge viewership, name recognition, and they're not beholden to a major corporation. But with all this going for it, Deco never became the show it should have been."

Jacobs closes her ears to the critical chorus. "I mean, let's be honest: There's always disenchantment when people lose their jobs or when they're reassigned." That's a normal byproduct of change, she insists. And change happens all the time in the mercurial world of television.

Apparently not quite to the degree that it happens at WSVN. Nearly all of the current and former employees interviewed for this story -- many of whom have also worked at other local stations -- say changes at WSVN are far more frequent, and far more brutal, than elsewhere. The modus operandi: Hire young, keep wages low, and work the staff hard to feed the station's news appetite -- nearly seven hours of news programming a day. If you wear out, that's okay: There's always someone else to take your spot. "You turn out so much product in one day, it's like you're on an assembly line," says an editor who still works at the station. "It zaps the creativity out of you. But everybody's so hungry to work, they put up with it for a few years and burn out."

"It's a totally unhealthy place," echoes a former staffer who is a veteran of Miami newsrooms. "It's regarded as one of the most hellacious newsrooms in the country."

Charlie Folds, WSVN's buoyant director of community and public relations, confirms in part the station's operating principle. Many young people new to the business use Channel 7 as a "stepping stone" to other employment, says Folds, who has worked at WSVN for 39 years. "Most people who leave here go to better markets, better jobs," he says, adding that the size of the station's work force may help account for the seemingly high turnover: WSVN employs 347 people, 245 of whom are in the news operation, which places the station among the very biggest U.S. local news operations. As for the gripes about low pay, Folds says WSVN's wages are "in line with the industry."

To the criticism about working conditions, Folds responds, "Channel 7 is a tough place to work because we have high standards, we're extremely professional in terms of graphics, product, approach to the community, and our responsibility as a broadcaster."

Hiring and firing practices at Channel 7 seem to have worked in one regard: People are watching the station. A lot of people. Since 1989, when it lost its affiliation with NBC and moved to Fox, WSVN has filled its airtime with local news and made a rapid climb toward the top of the ratings. At present, WSVN's morning newscasts are at the top of the ratings heap; Channels 7 and 10 are engaged in a pitched battle for top ratings during later newscasts.

Folds says Sunbeam is "extremely healthy," and on the specific matter of Deco Drive, the corporation's executives declare their commitment to the show. Jacobs asserts that she is happy with the current staff and pleased with the anchor combo; after Aguirre's departure, Lynn Martinez was joined by news reporter Belkys Nerey.

"I feel that it's time for a relaunch," Jacobs continues. "We changed the show a couple of times, we changed anchors a couple of times, and I think we just needed to settle down. I hate to say the words 'stability' and 'settle down' because those don't have exactly great connotations." She pauses to consider exactly what connotations they do have. "It makes it sound ... boring." She wrinkles her nose. "I guess I get excited. I love this place! I love the flexibility of it! I prefer flexibility instead of stability!"

Enthusiasm for the sake of enthusiasm is rampant among WSVN management; Folds has it too. "There are a lot of people who knock Deco Drive," he says. "But the truth is the market is ripe for a local show like that. We're a hot, hip market." He pauses. "We're a great city." Pause. "The greatest city in the world! We think Deco Drive makes a statement!"