Channel Surfing
by Laura Nachman
Bucks County Courier Times
October 12, 2004

Pennsylvania State Representative Angel Cruz of Philadelphia is furious over the WCAU firing of reporter and anchor Joe Vazquez for allegedly acting inappropriately in front of an intern.  Last Friday, Vazquez was fired and a photographer suspended by the station.

In an email, Rep. Cruz wrote, "Firing a person on hearsay…that's unacceptable in a court of law.  You need concrete evidence to find someone guilty. I think that this station has shown that they're anti-Hispanic.  Why should we tolerate this behavior and indulge it?   I'll be informing the viewers in Pennsylvania to watch other stations where there is a Hispanic anchorperson who can and will be sensitive to the needs of Hispanic viewers."

When reached by phone, Cruz said, "To fire the anchor when the cameraman only gets suspended is not right.  Joe is well-known in the Hispanic community.  People respect him and he is a good role model for kids.  He was the only Latino anchor in the city.  We are weighing our options and are considering a boycott of the station."

Cruz mentioned that he hopes that Channel 10 hires a Hispanic anchor to replace Vazquez.

Meanwhile, Vazquez released a statement:

STATEMENT TO THE LATINO COMMUNITY OF THE DELAWARE VALLEY:

Friends,

I want to say thank you to my Latino friends in the Delaware Valley. You
have always made me feel a part of your family.

For me and my family, this has been a difficult time.  I greatly appreciate
the overwhelming offers of support from the Latino community.

Please keep in mind, this situation has nothing to do with ethnicity.  I
would ask that everybody remember that NBC-10 had the fortitude to hire me
and make me their first Latino anchor.  NBC-10 should be commended for that.
And they have taken admirable steps to hire an ethnically diverse
newsroom.

Right now I am focused on my family and my future. Please understand this is
a highly personal subject, and I am urging you to be calm and refrain from
taking any action on my behalf.

Thank you,

Joe Vazquez

News on 57

According to industry sources, a morning news show is in development on UPN 57, the sister station of KYW.  UPN 57 has been doing bits and pieces of news the last couple of years such as news updates during intermissions of Flyers games.  The new show will replace KYW Newsradio on television.

Action News Action
Jessica Borg is the latest hire at WPVI via KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh.  According to a WPVI spokesperson, it hasn't been determined if Borg will report, anchor, or do both.

Also, though there was scuttlebutt that WPVI might switch evening weather anchor Cecily Tynan to news anchor, a station spokesperson said that Tynan is staying in her weather position at 5:30 p.m. and 11 p.m.

News anchor Jim Gardner will host a town meeting from the National Constitution Center after the third presidential debate tomorrow night live at 10:30 p.m. on WPVI.

Ba Ba Booey
The news that Howard Stern will be going to satellite radio next year will have major ramifications in the Philadelphia market.  Philadelphia was the first city to syndicate Stern's New York-based show in 1986, and Stern has consistently been a ratings winner, earning millions in revenue for WYSP 94.1-FM.

Soul Patrol
Jon Bon Jovi (swoon) will be on "10" today between 10 - 11 a.m. on WCAU.

Request
The family of KYW 1060-AM reporter Mark Drucker requests that cards or letters be sent to Drucker instead of phone calls.  Drucker is being treated for cancer at Holy Redeemer Hospital.