I agree! If the locator is nowhere close to any of the action in the story, he should just end it with "ABC News."
On the other hand, I know of networks that insist on the locator, even if you weren't within 100 miles of it. If you did the phoner, the location is where they want you to lock it out. I'm not especially happy with that.
I would agree with H. If you are not in the location close without one. With the example H gave, I would be left thinking, "Why is this guy in Chicago?".
In a perfect world, us reporters will always report from the scene. We know bosses won't pay for it though.
In KC, if the reporter was in the newsroom after coming back, we just said "This is Scott Simon in the 24-hour KMBZ Newscenter."
ABC could change it's policy to say, "In the ABC Chicago News Bureau, this is Dean Reynolds."
Listers/viewers aren't that particular about orientation (unless you mispronounce the city's name!). They know reporters go out to cover a story, then go back and produce it.
Often times, the solution is better branding. The above lockout tells the viewer its a center where important news is produced, no matter the location.