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Greetings!
Welcome to our newly formatted quarterly
newsletter. This is being electronically
sent by a new software program designed to
make it easier for us to communicate with
fellow Broadcasters.
These are difficult times for the
broadcasting industry! The owners of local
television and radio stations have laid off
employees as they try to cope with an
economy that is in crisis. In this edition,
our Comings and Goings section will have
details on some of the lost jobs.
Yet, local broadcast journalists can take
pride in the way they covered the one of the
worst disasters in Buffalo's modern history
- the crash of Flight 3407 in Clarence
Center on February 12th. We'll share some
thoughts and perspectives from those who
were on the front lines.
And the Buffalo Broadcasters Association is
off to a good start with its film archive
project and the cataloging of the items
stored at our warehouse. Look for more
details, especially about how you can help,
inside this month's newsletter |
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Board Members Re-Elected, Officers Named |
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Members of the Buffalo Broadcasters
Association were asked to vote for the 2009
slate of board of directors candidates. The
following board members were re-elected:
Steve Cichon, WBEN Radio; Pat Feldballe, Pat
Feldballe Productions; Doris Jones, WGR-TV
(retired) and Lois Ringle, WUTV-TV
(retired). Officers were elected by the
board at its January 21st meeting. They are
Dave Gillen as president, Steve Reszka as
vice president and Herb Fleming as
secretary/treasurer. |
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Industry News |
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The local broadcasting industry is not
immune to the worst economic crisis this
nation has faced since the Great
Depression. All three of the major
corporate radio groups - Citadel, Entercom
and Regent - have laid off employees. Local
TV stations are offering buy-outs and/or
laying off employees. According to the
Buffalo News, eight union employees of WIVB,
including photographers and news producers,
accepted buyouts. Three other employees
were laid off. Western New York Public
Broadcasting, which operates WNED-TV, AM and
FM, laid off three full-time employees and
eliminated six vacant positions. WNED's
corporate officers voluntarily accepted a
7.5% salary cut. See our Comings and Goings
section for more. Meanwhile, the New York
State Broadcasters Association has canceled
this year's summer conference, Hall of Fame
induction and awards competition because of
the difficulties broadcasters are
experiencing.
Despite the tough times, WIVB's "Wake Up"
show that airs on Channel 4 from 5-7am has
been expanded. It now airs from 7-9am on
sister station WNLO, Channel 23. Melissa
Holmes is co-anchor of the Channel 23
version.
Time Warner Cable is launching a 24-hour all
news station March 25th on Channel 9.
CSPAN will move to Channel 96. Time Warner,
which increased its cable rates in February,
added the MLB Network, a 24-hour service
devoted to Major League Baseball, to its
digital line-up. Time Warner and Granite
Broadcasting also reached a deal that keeps
WKBW, Channel 7 on local cable.
The Arbitron radio ratings, 12+, for the
Buffalo market in Fall 2008 has WBEN at
number one with a 10.2 share. WYRK is in
second place at 9.9. Also in the top ten
are WGRF, 7.4, WBLK, 6.6, WJYE, 6.3, WKSE,
6.2, WTSS, 6.1, WHTT, 4.7 and WEDG and WGR,
4.5. WBUF ranked 11th in the fall book with
a 3.5, followed by CKEY, 2.2, WBFO and WLKK,
2.0, WNED-FM, 1.9, CFZM (AM 740), 1.8, WNED-AM,
1.4, WWWS and WXRL, 1.3, CHTZ, 1.1, WWKB,
1.0, CILQ, 0.8, WUFO, 0.7, WDCX, 0.5 and
CFNY, CHFI and WLVL, 0.4.
The federal government extended the deadline
for TV stations to turn off their analog
signals from February 17th through June
12th. Channels 2, 4 and 7 decided to
continue offering their analog channels
through June. But Sinclair Broadcasting,
owner of WUTV and WNYO, Channels 29 and 49,
ceased analog broadcasting on February 17th
and are now only available to viewers
through their digital signals.
WNGS, Channel 67, ceased offering classic TV
series through the RTN Network in January
and is now an affiliate of This TV, which
carries an extensive schedule of movies.
WKBW, Channel 7's 47th Variety Club Telethon
on February 22nd raised $1,156,877.
Comings And Goings
WIVB, Channel 4 reporter Ellen Maxwell and
"Wake Up" co-anchor Lisa Scott were released
from the station in December. Maxwell is
now employed in a communications position
with Erie County Executive Chris Collins.
Scott was seen freelancing for CNN following
the crash of Flight 3407. Channel 4
reporter Alysha Palumbo also left the
station, but did so voluntarily as her
husband Chris Garvin, a former producer-videographer
at WGRZ, Channel 2, accepted a position with
New England Cable News in Boston.
WGRZ, Channel 2's longtime consumer
reporter, Mike Igoe, accepted a buyout and
left the station January 2nd.
Jim Aroune, a graduate of St. Bonaventure
University's School of Journalism and Mass
Communication, is the executive editor of
the new Time Warner local news channel that
launches this month. He has been an anchor
and reporter at Time Warner's R News in
Rochester. Bill McCarthy, former managing
editor at WKBW, Channel 7, has been named
executive producer. Named as anchors are
Jen Markham (weeknights), Kassata Edwards
(weekdays ), Giselle Phelps (weekend
evenings ) and Katie Morse (weekend
mornings). Markham is a native of Brockport
and Morse is from Amherst.
Jeff Glor, a 1993 graduate of Kenmore East
High School, has been named anchor of the
Saturday CBS Evening News. Glor's first
night in the anchor chair took place in his
hometown as he anchored from here as part of
CBS' coverage of the crash of Flight 3407.
Jim Pastrick, one of the most talented radio
professionals in Buffalo, was laid off by
Citadel in late January. He was the mid-day
host on WHTT-FM. Pastrick was also involved
in the production of the pre-game show for
Buffalo Bills radio broadcasts on WGRF.
WJYE-FM has hired Chuck Stevens as program
director, succeeding Joe Chille, who is now
focusing on his morning show.
John Landis, the longtime host of an
afternoon classical music program on WNED-FM,
left the station in February.
Brad Riter has moved from evenings to PM
drive at WECK-AM. The first two hours from
4-6pm consist of general talk. The 6-7pm
hour focuses on sports. Riter is filling
the hole created when Fox talk-show host
Bill O'Reilly gave up his daily radio show.
Also at WECK, morning talker Scott Leffler
expanded his show by an hour and is now
heard from 9-11am
And former Rochester TV reporter Kevin Jolly
is temporarily handling the local hosting
duties during All Things Considered from
4-7pm on WBFO-FM.
In Memoriam...
The Buffalo Broadcasters remember the
following broadcasters who have died in
recent months:
Tim White - WECK, WJYE and WMJQ, former
board member of the Buffalo Broadcasters,
local actor
Brian James - voice of liners and promos on
WBEN
Joe Radder - local advertising executive and
friend of the Buffalo Broadcasters
Association
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Broadcast Coverage of the Crash of Flight
3407
By Mark Scott |
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Through the years, I've listened to public
radio colleagues from other cities as they
reported on the NPR news magazines about
disasters in their communities. I would
have two thoughts - one, that I was grateful
we never had to deal with a major loss of
life in a disaster here, and the second
thought was how would we respond if such a
disaster happened here. Perhaps the
broadcast journalists reading this have
pondered similar thoughts.
Sure, we've covered some fairly significant
stories - the most recent the October 2006
snowstorm and its aftermath. But the crash
of Continental Connection Flight 3407 in
Clarence Center on February 12th was
different. Fifty lives were lost in an
instant. It's been said if you didn't
personally know someone on board Flight
3407, you know someone who did. And the
broadcast industry - both television and
radio - responded admirably.
I was fast asleep when the phone rang at my
house. NPR's newscast editor, John Stempin,
an old friend from Buffalo and an alumnus of
WEBR and WGR, called to say a plane had
crashed into a house in Clarence. It was
time to implement the WBFO emergency plan
for the first time since the October
snowstorm. I woke up Eileen Buckley, who
quickly made her way to Clarence Town Hall.
She filed live reports during the overnight
hours and then on Morning Edition, including
an interview with NPR's Steve Inskeep that
aired nationally. Reporter Joyce Kryszak
conducted a half-dozen interviews. Bert
Gambini anchored our coverage and was joined
by Morning Edition back-up host Howard
Riedel.
I was covering a National Transportation
Safety Board news conference and had a
chance to talk with WGRZ reporter Dave
McKinley, who shared his incredible story
with me. Dave had made his way to the crash
site shortly after receiving word of the
crash. Many of the first reporters and
photographers on the scene were able to get
close before authorities established a
perimeter. Dave was equipped with a battery
powered computer and "Skype" software that
allowed him to provide an eyewitness account
of what was unfolding before him. Fearful
that he would be discovered, Dave says he
found a spot that offered some camouflage.
Standing in mud - in the snow and cold -
Dave stayed on the air until his battery
died. Hoping that someone was going to
bring a new battery, he stayed put. But
after hours of breathing the smoke from the
fire, Dave began to feel ill and actually
found a place on some twigs and sticks to
lie down. When it became apparent no one
was coming with a new battery, Dave came out
of his hiding place and was invited by the
residents of a nearby home to come in and
warm up.
After talking with Dave, I realized that
there were other stories to tell. And I
thought the Buffalo Broadcasters newsletter
would be the perfect venue to do so. I
reached out to colleagues at other TV and
radio stations to share their reflections.
From Jim Ranney, news director, WNED-AM:
Reporter Mike Desmond was still at the
station when he learned about the crash. He
went to the scene and provided updates
throughout the overnight. We dropped BBC
newscasts and did local news from midnight
to 5am when Morning Edition started. Mike
and Chris Caya provided live reports through
morning drive and Jay Moran and I did live
interviews. The station also provided live
coverage of all county briefings through
Sunday and all NTSB briefings through the
following week.
This was truly an "all hands on-deck" story,
especially given our small staff. I am
proud of the dedication and commitment
displayed byeveryone.
From John John Di Sciullo, Director of
Strategic Content, News Operations, and
Community Affairs, WKBW-TV:
At WKBW-TV, like all other media outlets,
the first word of the Crash of Flight 3407
came as multiple urgent calls from the
assignment desk scanners at approximately
10:21pm. I was at the station, and bolted
out of my office to join our Assignment
Editor Rick Kowalski, anchors Joanna Pasceri
and Keith Radford, with reporters John Borsa
and Steve Barber along with producer Jeff
Poth. After just a few seconds, this team
engaged in making the important decision to
totally ditch the entire rundown for the
11pm news.
Barber and Borsa left for the scene with
photographers Lou Chilelli, Jim Herr, and
Chris Podosek with John Warren in the
satellite truck following close behind.
What made the initial coverage so compelling
was that it was executed by a team that
relied on their years of experience. The
first reports aired as LIVE phone calls,
with maps and still images sent from cell
phones. It became obvious to everyone that
the initial scanner call that a 'small
plane' had crashed into a home was much more
than that. Keith Radford's steady on-air
demeanor, expertise in aviation, with
Joanna Pasceri's journalistic skills, kicked
off what would be sustaining coverage until
7am the next morning. Steve and John were
two of the first reporters on the scene,
witnessing the horrors, and processing
information...LIVE.
WKBW, like other stations, then brought in
more and more people to cover the story
on-air and online. The video that followed,
news conferences with brave first
responders, the NTSB, national media
convergence, and ultimately the information
on the victims and their families, brought
a community together like no other news
event in the history of WNY. Each and every
news outlet in WNY covered the story with
professionalism, dignity and respect.
From Barbara Burns, senior reporter, WBEN-AM:
It's the biggest story we will ever cover
but the story we never want to cover. In a
time when the media is so maligned for its
behavior, and in many cases much deserved, I
believe the WNY media, including radio, TV
and print, did not only the best job
professionally but showed a compassion
unmatched by any national organization.
After airing an interview with a survivor of
the crash, my phone and e-mail were
inundated with messages and requests from
many a national media outlet. Good Morning
America, Nightline, The CBS Early Show, The
Today Show...representatives of Inside
Edition and the NBC Nightly News even camped
out in the Entercom lobby convinced I was
still here Friday night after the crash.
Each "sounded" sincere but I shook my head
after one outlet suggested the country would
come to the aid of victims families if they
appeared on a "national" show.
When the first text came, I had no idea what
to expect. Within a very short period of
time, I realized the magnitude of what was
happening to our community -- our WNY
family. A long night turned into a couple
of long days. But it wasn't about us, the
media. Rather, this was about 50 victims,
each with family and friends and a story to
tell.
At WBEN, it was all hands on deck. From the
news staff to talk show hosts to behind the
scenes folks, all wanted to contribute. We
let those with no connection to a victim but
who were impacted by the tragedy share their
thoughts and well wishes. WBEN was just one
resource for folks to turn to.
I'm sure many communities across the country
would respond with the same love and support
as ours did. But after a "few" years in
this business, I believe WNY is special, our
spirit and sense of community would be hard
to match.
Personally, I am in awe of and inspired by
the Town of Clarence, its leaders and
residents, every first responder and law
enforcer and the courage and grace of
victims' families.
To my colleagues, we occasionally have our
moments, but a more hardworking and caring
bunch I don't think I could find.
From Mylous Hairston, news anchor, WIVB-TV:
From the beginning I could tell this would
be like no story the News 4 Team had covered
before. It was surreal. The enormity of the
tragedy really hit home when members of the
News Team were personally affected, as they
lost friends on that flight. It was during
this time that I saw more energy directed at
not only trying to cover the story, but in
capturing the right tone. From one
perspective, it was the big one. The
breaking and developing news stories we all
live for. On the other hand, it was the
story we all wish had not taken place. I
think we were in as much shock as most of
the community.
From Mark Scott, newsletter editor and news
director of WBFO-FM:
I'd like to thank my colleagues who
contributed to this article. We might be
competitors. But we also work together,
especially at a time of crisis like this. I
know many more of you may have stories to
share. Feel free to send me a note at
mscott@wbfo.org,
and we'll include your comments in the June
edition of our newsletter.
The risk of doing an article like this is
that I am probably leaving out other
broadcasters who likely performed admirably
during this terrible time for our
community. I personally caught some of
WBEN's and WNED's coverage, and I watched
each of the TV newscasts in the days that
followed the crash. But there are stations
that I didn't get a chance to hear. For
instance, I was told by a couple of people
that Shredd and Ragan on WEDG did an
outstanding job on their February 13th
show. Tom Schuh, Tom Donahue, Loraine
O'Donnell and the rest of the staff provided
coverage and interviews on WECK-AM. And no
doubt, music intensive stations such as WGRF,
WJYE, WTSS, WHTT and WYRK made sure their
listeners were kept up to date on the very
latest information on the crash. |
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Hope you enjoy the newsletter. If you have
any ideas or an article you'd like us to
publish, please e-mail us at
bflobroadcasters@aol.com
Sincerely,
Dave Gillen
Buffalo Broadcasters Association
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Warehouse Work |
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About two dozen members of the Buffalo
Broadcasters Association turned out on a
cold Saturday morning in January for a work
session at our warehouse on Elk Street in
Buffalo.
Film footage from Channels 2 and 4 and
countless artifacts from Buffalo's
broadcasting history are stored at the
warehouse. The artifacts include old radio
control boards, a studio TV camera, old
video tape machines, radio station tapes and
much, much more.
The challenge for our association is
organizing all this material so there is a
record of what we have. By now, many of you
are familiar with our ongoing effort to
digitize the news film footage. Rich
Newberg is heading up the Archive Task
Force. Rich and photographer Mike Mombrea,
Jr. documented the beginning of this massive
effort by interviewing some of the
stakeholders at the January work session.
They then began cataloging the specific
stories that appear on 1966 film reels from
Channel 4, the earliest year for which film
exists.
Dave May is heading a group which is
inventorying and cataloging all of the
artifacts we have in the warehouse into a
searchable database. We are in need of
volunteers to help with this process
including identifying equipment,
photographs, artifacts, etc. photographing
items, laminating articles and photos,
scanning images into the computer and
entering data.
"I can't thank Dave May and his team enough
for wrapping their arms around this
project," said Dave Gillen, president of the
Buffalo Broadcasters Association. "They are
doing a fantastic job!"
"We began the process of organizing the
storage shelves and entering equipment in
the database after labeling it," May said.
"We were somewhat overwhelmed at the scope
of all that needs to be done, but we have
made a dent and now have a good idea of how
to go about the process."
Additional work sessions will be scheduled
on Saturday mornings in the coming months.
Check your email for more information.
Again, volunteers are needed.
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