November 12, 2006
Television Notes
NBC 10 election coverage
Kudos to NBC 10 for airing a live election special Monday night dealing with the issues and candidates in the Delaware Valley. Steve Highsmith handles things like this very well, but co-anchor Tim Lake seemed like a lightweight sitting next to him. Among the highlights: conservative talk show host Michael Smerconish and Democratic analyst Rob McCord provided a nice right/left debate on some issues and tactics. WCAU really did their election coverage - pre, during and post - right.
Network tie in
But it isn't all kudos for NBC 10. Monday night they were over-promoting an exclusive interview with Hayden Panettiere, one of the stars of the NBC show "Heroes" (Mondays, 9PM), and the results of a website poll on people's favorite character. The interview aired on the 11pm newscast and basically wasted three minutes that could have been used for a news story.
Anchor demotion
NBC 10 morning anchor Dawn Timmeney has been demoted to reporter. Laura Nachman speculates that Timmeney may be on her way out, since insiders say there are only a few months left on her contract.
Forget it!
Thursday night, veteran Action News anchor Jim Gardner lost it on air when attempting to pronounce the word "acetaminophen" while introducing a live report by Dann Cuellar. A frustrated Gardner said, "Forget it!" Dann tried to calm him down and then went on with his report. At least they have one professional at ABC 6.
"30 Rock" has moved
No, not NBC's Manhattan headquarters, but their comedy "30 Rock," starring Upper Darby native Tina Fey. The show will be back on the schedule November 16th at 9:30 PM before taking a week break and returning November 30th sharing the hour with "Scrubs". The bad news is it will be up against "CSI" on CBS and "Ugly Betty" on ABC. "20 Good Years," the show that followed "30 Rock," wasn't so lucky and was mercifully put out of its misery.
Hall of Famers
The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia will induct three current television anchors/reporters into their hall of fame: Bill Baldini of NBC 10, Monica Malpass of ABC 6, and Larry Mendte of CBS 3. Baldini seems like a fine choice since he has been on the job since the 1960s, but Malpass and Mendte seem questionable. Malpass joined WPVI in 1988, while Mendte is best known for being the first host of Access Hollywood and falling into flood water while reporting. For the full list of inductees, vist the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia website.
60 Minutes' Ed Bradley, dead at 65
As we mentioned in our Friday news round-up, veteran CBS news correspondent Ed Bradley died from leukemia at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital on Thursday. Bradley was a native of Philadelphia and got his start in broadcasting with WDAS radio in 1963. The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia has a nice tribute, with some highlights of his early career and a local angle. He will be missed.
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Don't you people have anything positive to say?
Still it is good to see little Jimmy Goldman screw up. He is a sad and pathetic joke.
I agree that Baldini and Stone are shoe-in for the Broadcast Hall of Fame. Malpass, just by being at WPVI and number one in the mornings for so long, also deserves to be in. But I also think Mendte deserves to be in, even though he has only been in the market for ten years. He has caused more of a hakeup in the last decade than any anchor I can remember. He beat WPVI for the first time in 30 years when he was at NBC10. Then he went over to KYW and pulled hem out of the cellar for the first time in 15 years. The style of walking around in the studio was brough to Philadelphia with Mendte. I can remember when the Daily News did a big story on the "new moving anchor" entitled "He's got ants in his pants." No every station does it. Plus you add to the fact that he has worked at Acces Hollywood, WABC in New York and WBBM in Chicago. He may be the most qualified candidate.