CHANNEL SURFING
Geator with the Heater really cookin' this weekend

Philadelphia radio legend Jerry Blavat will be inducted into the Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame on Sunday.
By LAURA NACHMAN
Courier Times

It should be a big weekend for Philadelphia radio legend Jerry Blavat.

Tomorrow, he'll be inducted into the Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame then on Sunday "Jerry Blavat's Sunday Music Matinee," featuring music from the '50s, '60s, '70s and '80s, debuts on WPEN 950-AM from 3 - 5 p.m.

"The Geator with the Heator," "The Boss with the Hot Sauce," 62, still makes a myriad of appearances, including every Thursday at the Buck Hotel in Feasterville. Dean Tyler, Edie Huggins, Diego Castellanos of Lower Makefield, the late Bill Bransome, and the late Ed Papazian will also be inducted in to the Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame. Larry Kane will be honored with the "Person of the Year" award.


NAME GAME

Beginning Jan. 1, KYW will start calling itself CBS-3. A station source said that the KYW name is already being downplayed, the old logos have been taken down, and new graphics are coming for the newscasts. This is just the latest in a series of changes since Dennis Swanson took over the CBS stations a few months ago.

As for the name game, CBS and NBC switched affiliates in 1995, and WCAU has branded itself as "NBC-10" for years. WPVI uses "6ABC," WTXF calls itself "Fox-Philadelphia," WPGS is "UPN-57" and WPHL is known as "WB17."

Also, weekday morning anchor Tom Negovan, who anchored the weekend evening news last week may move there permanently to make room for weekend weather anchor star Paul Deanno, who may switch to news. That would free up a weather slot for Chris Dunn who will be reassigned when Kathy Orr arrives from WCAU.


I SAW IT ON THE RADIO

WMMR 93.3-FM's Pierre Robert won awards for news at the ninth annual March of Dimes Achievement in Radio (A.I.R) awards last week. The reason? KYW 1060-AM did not submit entries. That could also explain why no one from WIP 610-AM won in the sports categories. However, WIP morning comedian Joe Conklin won for Best Original Feature. Also noteworthy: WPLY 95.7-FM's Preston and Steve were named Best Weekday Morning Team, WPTP' 96.5-FM's Kim Douglas was named Best Weekday Midday Host, WPTP's Rich Kaminski was named Best Weekday Afternoon Host and WPTP's Dave Cruise was named Best Weekday Evening Host. WPLY led all stations with seven awards, of which one recipient quipped at the podium "I'm glad we've been in format long enough to win something."

PROFESSOR JILL

Former WTXF news anchor Jill Chernekoff will be teaching the class Writing and Speaking for Television at Rosemont College beginning in January. Chernekoff already has a star pupil in Linda Swain, whom she trained to become television-ready for WCAU's show "10." Swain does "Moms on the Move" reports for the magazine show.


MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

The Philadelphia Business Journal reports are now on WPHL. Newcomer Tracy Sabol will handle the business updates for 10 p.m. newscast. Meanwhile, Mary Fay, who anchored the reports for CN8 has become a full-time employee of CN8 and is hosting her own financial show called "Money Matters Today" weeknights at 8 p.m.


MOLL-E! WOOD IN HOLLYWOOD

Yes, that was former "Good Day Philadelphia" entertainment reporter Molly Mayock doing "Holiday Movie Guide" segments on E!'s "Die Another Day Premiere Special" on Monday ... Former WCAU reporter Andrew Glassman is producing a pilot for NBC called "24-Hour Pass," a primetime reality series featuring unmarried couples who get one day apart to explore "inner fantasies." Wonder if he got that idea when he dated former WCAU news anchor Jane Robelot?

Reach Laura Nachman at bradyresident@aol.com.

November 21, 2002