Channel Surfing
by Laura Nachman
March 18, 2003



       "The long and winding road" for WMGK 102.9-FM disc jockey Andre Gardner has taken him to his dream job of hosting "Breakfast with the Beatles" every Sunday from 9-11 a.m.  Gardner said he has been ready for this job since the age of 3 when he was dubbed "The Baby Beatle" by his mother when he would dance to "Please Mr. Postman" and other Beatles songs. 
       Gardner, who worked at rival rock station WYSP 94.1-FM from 1988-1993, returned to town last year after almost a decade at WXRK-FM in New York City.  He joked that many listeners probably remember him as "The jerk on "The Howard Stern Show," who had the thankless job of making sure Stern wouldn't say something on the air that would get the station fined by the FCC.
       Gardner's Beatles' show dips into his collection of over 220 songs, and features many rarities.  Where else can one hear a George Harrison song from the soundtrack of "Shanghai Surprise?"
       Gardner named his daughter, Glynnis, 3 after someone in the Beatles party.  "During the "Get Back" sessions, John (Lennon) would call his associate Glyn Johns "Glynnis."
       So what is Gardner's favorite Beatles' song?  No, it's not "Yesterday," "Hey Jude," or "Paperback Writer."  It's the B-side of "Let It Be" called "You Know My Name - Look Up the Number."  You'll be sure to hear it on "Breakfast with the Beatles" from 9-11 a.m. on Sunday. 
       Gardner also mans the 2-7 p.m. shift on WMGK Monday through Friday.

        "Good Day Philadelphia" co-host Kerri Lee Halkett, 31, and WTXF manager of broadcast information systems, Jim Liott, 35 have made a "connection," as sources at the station say they are dating.  Although Halkett was not permitted to comment on the romance due to a new station policy by new general manager Robert Simone that prohibits WTXF employees from talking to the press, station insiders said the two have been linked for a few months.  Halkett is coming up on her first anniversary at "Good Day."
       Wally Kennedy, who recently co-hosted the "St. Patrick's Day Parade" on WPVI, is holding his own as the replacement for Marc Howard on the Sunday morning show, "Inside Story."   In the February sweeps, it beat "Meet the Press" and "Face the Nation" at 10:30 a.m. with a 5.3 rating/11 share compared to a 4.8 rating11 share last year.  Wally's "Sunday Live" that airs at 8 a.m., improved to a 4.9 rating/12 share from last year's 2.9 rating/8 share.
       Former WPVI reporter Rose Tibayan is set to marry Don Villar, a producer at the ABC station in Chicago in June of 2004.  Tibayan met the fellow Filipino-American at a journalism convention six years ago, but began dating in August of 2003.  After only four months Villar proposed to Tibayan at the base of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
       Good news for two WPHT 1210-AM hosts.  Michael Smerconish has been named a contributor to CNN.  And Jeff Katz is a father for the second time, as his wife Heidi gave birth to Julia Jaillet Katz.  She joins brother, Harrison, 19 months.