CHANNEL SURFING
WB17 testifies on its own behalf
WB17 is defending its decision not to break into regular programming when the Fred J. Neulander mistrial announcement was made two weeks ago.
By LAURA NACHMAN
Courier Times
WB17 is defending its decision not to
break into regular programming when the Fred J. Neulander mistrial announcement
was made two weeks ago.
A station spokesperson said, "WB17 made a conscious decision not to air
the Neulander mistrial announcement live because we were airing children's
programming at the time. Because parents entrust us with their children from 3
to 5 p.m. each weekday during 'Kids WB' interrupting that with a murder verdict
would not have been appropriate."
Rich Scott (WB17 news director) and Leslie Glenn (WB17 general manager)
discussed airing the mistrial announcement and both agreed it was not the right
thing to do. WB17 and Fox-Philadelphia were the only stations airing children's
programming at the time of the mistrial. Fox-Philadelphia interrupted "Digimon"
from 3:50-4 p.m. WB17 chose to continue with "X-Men" and "Pokemon."
Why doesn't Channel 6 have room for award-winning journalist Wally Kennedy on its news team? Kennedy, the longtime host of "AM Philadelphia"/ "AM Live"/ "Philly After Midnight" now only appears once a week as the host of "Sunday Live," plus occasional special events. While other 6ABC personalities such as Scott Palmer and David Murphy have transitioned into new roles, Kennedy is not getting the same chance. Through a station spokesperson, 6ABC station manager Dave Davis stated he does not comment on personnel matters.
Traffic star Dorothy Krysiuk, who hit a bump in the road when she was dropped by NBC10 last month, is now parked at Fox-Philadelphia. The popular curly-haired traffic reporter joins Andrea Lacca on the "Good Day Philadelphia" traffic team from 6-9 a.m. ... Flourtown and Temple"s Craig Shoemaker will appear on the Christmas episode of "Family Law" which airs Mondays at 10 p.m. on CBS. Shoemaker plays a (surprise) lawyer in the guest shot ... Though the Eagles are having trouble scoring on the field, they have no problem scoring ratings-wise as the Dallas/Eagles game had an impressive 22.2 rating/45 share; just putting it behind "ER" and "CSI" the week it aired.
KYW-3's Marge Pala threw up on camera when she reported from an F-16 Fighting Falcon with the New Jersey National Guard 177th Fighter Wing Squadron ... KYW-3 is moving "The Outer Limits" to the Saturday at 11:30 p.m. timeslot to replace the canceled "Howard Stern Radio Show," which many say traveled to the outer limits of good taste ... Cyber-geeks unite. The NBC 10 "Family Techfest" debuts at the Pennsylvania Convention Center Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. NBC 10 personalities Tracy Davidson, John Bolaris, Cherie Bank, Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz, Kathy Orr and Bill Henley will be on hand.
Auditions for the daytime version of "The Weakest Link" will be held at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia tomorrow at 10 a.m. The number for contestant applicants to call is 800-390-1001. The daytime version, sans Anne Robinson, debuts Jan. 7 on KYW-3. G'bye ... There are two more new general assignment reporters on KYW-3: Esther Miller arrives via Buffalo, N.Y., and Cydney Long joins the station from Austin, TX.
Laura can be heard on WBCB 1490-AM Monday and Friday at 8:45 a.m.
Thursday, November 29, 2001