Ex-political insider steps into role as
'gossip-girl'
From politician to "Gossip Girl,''
former Upper Makefield township supervisor Coleen Christian is
part of the rotating panel on the new entertainment/gossip show,
"The Insiders,''
By LAURA NACHMAN
Courier Times
E-mail
From politician to "Gossip Girl,'' former Upper Makefield
township supervisor Coleen Christian is part of the rotating panel
on the new entertainment/gossip show, "The Insiders,'' on the
Fox News Channel on Sundays at 10:30 p.m.
Christian, 32, is a columnist for "Steppin Out'' magazine
and the "Tabloid Baby'' Web site. In 1991, while a political
science major at Villanova University, Christian, whose father is
former congressional candidate Dave Christian, became the township
supervisor, making her the youngest female in state history to be
elected to office. However, always having an interest in news, she
left the post after two years when offered a job at "Inside
Edition.'' Christian then spent most of the decade working the
"Hard Copy'' / "Extra'' / "American Journal''
circuit.
Christian and her husband, Fox News Channel senior producer
Jerry Burke moved back to the area two years ago to raise their
children Maeve, 3, and Jerry, 11/2.
First in ratings, last in the sports highlights
Years after the other local broadcast channels have been doing
a Sunday night sports highlights show following their late news,
top-rated Channel 6 is finally getting into the game with "EaglesTotal
Access with Gary Papa'' debuting after the Eagles opener Sunday.
It joins WB17's "Sunday Sports Extra,'' Fox-Philadelphia's
"Sports Sunday,'' NBC 10's "Sports Final'' and KYW-3's
"SportsRap.''
Big green liar
Former Phillie Phanatic Dave Raymond went to bat on "To
Tell The Truth,'' last night on WB17 at 10:30 a.m. Raymond, 45,
the Phanatic from 1978-'93, runs the Raymond Entertainment Group,
which helps companies and sports teams create their own mascots.
On the installment, the celebrity (using the term lightly) panel
of Paula Poundstone, Meshach Taylor, Fred Willard and Brooke Burns
had to guess whether Raymond or two imposters ran a mascot school.
The episode was taped a few months ago, before Poundstone was
accused of child abuse and checked into alcohol rehab.
Philly girls make good
Philly's Patti LaBelle and Jill Scott were honored at the
"Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards'' taped Aug. 28. It airs
Saturday night on WB17 at 8. LaBelle was honored for outstanding
career achievements and Scott was named "Entertainer of the
Year." Most of the presenters and award-winners acknowledged
Aaliyah, who died in a plane crash last week. She had been
scheduled to perform.
New faces
John Clark hopes to make his mark as the new weekend sports
anchor at NBC 10. The 27-year-old Strath Haven High and Temple
University graduate arrives from West Palm Beach, Fla. Clark
replaces Derek Castillo, who left the station in July. NBC10
evidently must employ somebody from the University of Texas at all
times. As Texas alum Castillo leaves, fellow Longhorn Lisa Kelly
has joined the station as a general assignment reporter.
One of the first official acts of new news director Susan
Schiller was to ditch the "RealPeople/Real News'' theme at
KYW. According to a newsroom insider, the station is going in a
"harder news'' direction.
Janet Tegley, of the recently canceled "Philly After
Midnight'' joins the production staff of "It's Your Call with
Lynn Doyle'' on CN8 seen weeknights at 9. Tegley was a producer at
6ABC from 1994-2001.
Meanwhile, "Iyanla,'' the show that replaced "Philly
After Midnight,'' is not getting as high ratings as its
predecessor. In its first two weeks on the air, "Iyanla'' is
averaging a 2.2 rating. In the May sweeps, "Philly After
Midnight'' had a 3.0. Each rating point averages around 26,000
households.
Tales of many cities
Karen Jordan of WB17 and Christian Farr of Fox-Philadelphia
were married Aug. 11 in Karen's hometown of Chicago where her
father Robert Jordan is a longtime anchor on superstation WGN ...
Former KYW-3 and NBC 10 consumer reporter Orien Reid, who is now
chair of the board of directors of the National Alzheimer's
Association, spoke at Maureen Reagan's memorial service that was
televised on CSPAN. Reagan died at the age of 60 of cancer ...
Larry Rosen, former sports anchor for PRISM, was spotted on HBO's
"Hard Knocks with the Baltimore Ravens,'' Aug. 15. Rosen is
the senior director of broadcasting and production for Baltimore
... A few episodes of "Arliss'' the last couple of seasons
were directed by Northeast High and Temple University graduate
Michael Grossman. Some of his other credits include the HBO
miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon'' and "Earth 2''
... Cassie of PBS' "Dragon Tales'' will appear at Sesame
Place this weekend. "Dragon Tales'' is the top-rated PBS show
among children 2-5.
Thursday, September 6, 2001
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