Bret Martin To Better Mornings

[FloydB]

I read this on Rodney's blog (sorry, forgot the link) that former Road Warrior Bret Martin will be on WGCL's Better Mornings. Can the warrior fix the joke in Atlanta AM TV?

 

[ShawtyBlack_ATL]

The entire show as well as that small tiny corner they broadcast from is a joke! The new weather chic is soooooooo annoying and thinks she knows it all. Where is Laura Huckabee for weather forecasting in the mornings? Get a load of the "so called" Instant Traffic updates. Always behind the competition when an accident breaks. CBS 46 needs to go back to the "Good Morning Atlanta" newscast with the beautiful black female anchor. I was a fan back then.

 

[FloydB]

Lori Wilson. Yeah, she's great. She's co-hosting "10!" at NBC 10 in Philadelphia now.

http://www.nbc10.com/meetthenewsteam/5868655/detail.html

 

[AJ JAM]

Yeah I remember Lori Wilson. Her co anchor was good to. The black guy from CNN I can't remember his name but he went on to host a national show. Anybody know who I am talkin about

 

[FloydB]

Are you talking about current CNN morning anchor, former WGCL 6p-11p anchor Tony Harris?

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/harris.tony.html

Yeah, he's a good talent, and some friends that worked at the same time as him there say he's a really nice guy.

 

[AJ JAM]

No. Not Tony Harris. He is a good guy but he did nights I think not early mornings. The guy I'm talking about did early mornings and was sort of like a "road warrior". He always did live remotes from various spots. He was a light skin black guy. I am gonna try to google it.

 

[AJ JAM]

Ok I just figured out who I was thinking about (assuming anyone cares). Chris McWatt! He hosts a show on HGTV!

 

[FloydB]

At first, I forgot he was on. Now that I think of it, I remember him being on for about a blip or two. They go through talent so fast, it's hard to keep track.

Like, for example, what was the name of the guy that co-anchored with Jane Robelot? They didn't last long, blamed the poor ratings on Robelot, but they just didn't have good support. Also, what ever happened to Andrea Arceneaux? I remember her from my school days back in Augusta where she was at WJBF-TV. She came up here to CNN, then went to Greenville, SC (I think), then back to WGNX when it was Tribune. For a quick second, Meredith had her as an anchor, then she disappeared. I think, if you look at Meredith's track record for anchors, Stephany Fisher's got the longest tenure.

Oh, and for the record: Sans Better Mornings, I think they've got a good news product. They need to get more stable in the talent department (anchors and reporters, accross the board) that the community remembers.

 

[AJ JAM]

If you go to wikipedia.com (which is officially my new Encarta) and look up WGCL or CBS 46 Atlanta they will give you a list of ALL anchors past and present.

 

[ClarkKent]

Like, for example, what was the name of the guy that co-anchored with Jane Robelot? They didn't last long, blamed the poor ratings on Robelot, but they just didn't have good support.

The guy on with Jane Robelot was Calvin Hughes, IIRC. I only know because I remember some weird radio spots they had at the time...some kind of chorus singing about them. I liked Jane...it's a shame what happened to her.

 

[FloydB]

Yeah, the promotions nut at the time thought it would've been a good idea to run promos with Robelot sung to the music of "Row-Row-Row your boat". I was there at the time as a truck op/master control op. When I heard that circuling through the station, I thought this had to be the dumbest promotions attempt of all time. Evidently, I wasn't the only one. They were pulled REALLY quickly.

That's what started the promotions disaster. The "brainchild" behind that was also responsible for the "Clear News" campaign, which 1)made every viewer confuse the station with Clear Channel, and 2)made softer news, which completely doesn't work. It dug them into a deeper hole than what they were already in.

 

[jonblaze]

The brainchild of the "Clear News" was Mimi Mathis. From what I heard, the news department took the idea in the wrong direction. The ND at the time was Fred Flintstone... Mike Cavender. The station still gets called Clear News to this day. It was a sucessful branding, but for the wrong reasons.

The Calvin/Jane anchor team was an interesting duo to work with. Calvin, IIRC, is now in Florida after spending time in Philly (I think). Jane is now at WYFF-TV in Greenville doing special series for the news called "Jane's Carolina"

Andrea I think is now an editor of a Atlanta-based magazine. She was good to work with... very professional.

Out of all the folks on air, Mark Harmon has been there the longest. Then Fred Powers. Stephany Fisher has been there the longest from the anchor desk, but because she is a blonde woman.

WGNX/WGCL has had its fair share of interesting people on-air.

 

[tlyle]

Where is John McKnight? I remember the early days when channel 46 started an evening newscast airing at 9 pm. It was different than the other 3 stations at the time.

 

[MissMitchie]

Brett Martin needs to go back to Good Day Atlanta!

 

[FloydB]

Thanks for clearing that up, Jon. Mimi wasn't over news and it wasn't her decision, but Cavender's, to go softer. It, IMO, was kind of a joint effort of screwing the pooch, but that's a different story.

And, you're right about Calvin. Googled him, and he shows up on Local 10, Miami. Here's his bio:

http://www.local10.com/station/10306152/detail.html

He really needs to get a photo update... after a haircut!

Two things interesting: I don't think he was married at the time he was here (which he is with a child now), and his bio mentions Atlanta as a blip on his resume radar. Even though it sucked, I would think being the 6pm & 11pm anchor at a major-market TV station would be a huge plug. Besides, WGCL's biggest promo chest-pump was that Robelot was a former CBS Network anchor.

Speaking of Robelot: I found this article about her. I either forgot or didn't know she had heart surgery in 2005. CBS did a story on it in March of 2006:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/16/earlyshow/health/main1410430.shtml

Her bio at WYFF 4 in Greenville, SC:

http://www.wyff4.com/wyffnewsteam/10715496/detail.html

I'm glad she's doing well. She was great to work with. WSPA was the flagship station of the company that owned WJBF in Augusta. We'd talk a bit about our old "Spartan" days, and our thoughts about when we found out the board sold the company to Media General.