Channel Surfing
by Laura Nachman
Bucks County Courier Times
October 4, 2004

 

When NBC10 produces a newscast that will air on WB17 in mid-December, does that create an ethical dilemma? 

 

Robert Strauss, an adjunct journalism professor at the University of Delaware and a former producer at KYW3, sees problems with the arrangement. 

 

My feeling about this is that when you are the contractor--as Channel 17 is-- you will always get the short end.  No one at Channel 10 is going to be as enthusiastic for you as they are for the more watched broadcast.  Unless there is language in the contract, which I doubt, there is nothing to warrant Channel 10 to give anything urgent or scoop-worthy to Channel 17.


It seems strictly a money deal.  I don't see any reporter or producer at Channel 10 being happy with this either.  The trade-off is some money for Channel 10 and potential bad employee relations, but it doesn't seem news organizations care that much in general about that of late.”

 

Last week, Tribune Corporation, which owns WB17 and other television stations, outsourced its newscasts to NBC stations in Philadelphia and San Diego, CA.

 

An NBC10 spokesperson said the station had no comment. 

 

Also, people are wondering what will become of  “The Mummer’s Day Parade,” which airs on WB17.  Last year, WB17 personalities hosted the parade.  There has been no announcement yet from WB17 management yet about who will do the parade in January.

 

Sports industry sources say that WPEN 950-AM, which switched to a sports talk format yesterday, is trying to recruit Eagles' expert Ray Didinger to the station from WIP 610-AM.
 
Didinger co-hosts a popular Saturday show on WIP with Glen Macnow.
 

Grey Coy is the new permanent co-host of CN8’s “Your Morning.” Coy has been the interim co-host with Connie Colla since Kevin Walsh joined the evening news a couple of months ago. Coy has been a news reporter for CN8 since 2000.  Before that, he was on Fox29.

 

“Good Day Philadelphia” co-host Jennaphr Frederick is expected back from maternity leave October 17.  When Frederick returns, humor-challenged substitute Sharon Crowley will return to anchoring the early morning news.

 

It’s official.  As we reported last week, Bucks county native Susan Barnett will co-anchor the weekday morning news on CBS3.  Currently Barnett works for the CBS affiliate in Miami, Florida.  Also, CBS3 is adding a fourth on-air sports staffer – Don Bell from KPLR-TV in St. Louis, Missouri.  Bell will be the sports anchor for the weekday 4 p.m. news and a sports reporter. He joins Beasley Reece, Steve Bucci, and Garry Cobb on the sports staff.

 

There are rumblings that “Action News” may replace Metro traffic with rival traffic.com.  Traffic.com is the service for NBC10.

 

A new 24-hour version of WPVI’s “Action News” is on Comcast Digital Cable channel 246.

 

 

Sidebar:

In honor of Terrell Owens appearing on “Late Show” with David Letterman tonight (CBS at 11:35 p.m.), here’s my top ten list of T.O. moments in Philadelphia.

 

10.  Catching a touchdown on his first pass from Donovan McNabb vs. shunned team Baltimore in an exhibition game last summer.

 

9.  Tights!

 

8.  Sit-ups in the end zone.
 
7.  Dissing Donovan McNabb by stating, “I wasn’t the one who got tired in the Super Bowl.”
 
6. Doing crunches in the driveway of his Moorestown, N.J. home during his hiatus from training camp this summer.
 
5.  Hiring mercurial agent Drew Rosenhaus 
 
4.  Headphones and fatigues!
 
3.  “The Desperate Housewives” tease on ABC’s “Monday Night Football”
 
2. Getting mad at offensive coordinator Brad Childress for (gasp) saying hello.
 
1.  Defying doctors and playing in the “Super Bowl” with a severely injured ankle.