Channel 6 is 60 years old

[Jul]

On September 13 2007, Channel 6 WFIL/WPVI celebrated its 60th anniversary on the air. I would like to get your comments on the station, the local programs they aired and Action News.

 

[imhomerjay]

They've struck a chord with the viewers for decades, in a way not many other stations have done for such a long period of time. Like it or dislike it personally, their job is the get viewers, and on that count they've succeeded, even when the network wasn't providing any ratings support.

They have been remarkably consistent, and many of us who watch appreciate that, rather than the flavor-of-the-day approach on other stations. Change for change's sake leads to an equally fickle audience, and it seems WPVI's management has realized that.

 

[Stuart]

Happiest Moments......Whenever Jim 'OBrien did the weather. "Hottest Place".... CASA GRANDE!!
Saddiest Moment........When Jim 'OBrien died.

Interesting trivia...(I am sure everybody knows this) Jim 'OBrien's Daughter played Roz on the show "Frazier" and
Dave Robert's Son played Angel on "Buffy" (and now Bones). Two Weathermen with kids on Television.

 

[Nertz!]

Wasn't this the station that rebroadcast without warning some guy killing himself by blowing his brains out?
If it is the station is lower than scum.
Do they still have that awful dated music?
Of so they really suck.

 

[BRNout]

Do they still have that awful dated music?
Of so they really suck.

Oh yeah they do (on both counts)! Someone on this board directed me to some You Tube clips of channel 6 from back in the 1970's and - amazingly - the news intro was THE SAME. Same v/o guy, same music, and almost the same screen shots. There's no need for them to do a 60th anniversary retrospective, because the run one every night at 6 and 11!! ;D

I still cannot believe that they get this show on TV, let alone that it is number one!

Then again, I'm not from around these parts.....

 

[Stuart]

BRNout,

If it ain't broken, don't fix it ;D Here is something else you will probably not believe. Up until a few years ago, they did not have computer graphics for their weather reports, just a board with the "Weather Words" on them!!

Does Dave Roberts still show the cut-outs of how the kids should be dressed in the morning waiting for the school bus ???
I met Jim Gardner at a wedding about twenty years ago, he was one of the nicest people I ever met!!
Get well soon Gary Papa

ACTION NEWS : KISS.....Keep It Simple Stupid

 

[jerseyfla]

I met Jim Gardner at a wedding about twenty years ago, he was one of the nicest people I ever met!!

Haha, this must be before he got real high on his horse with his ego. I have heard numerous stories of how people say hello to him on the street and he ignores them. Not to mention when Gary Papa announced his cancer has come back for a third time on the air, Gardner did nothing but make a mockery of poor Gary by stupidly "roasting" him as he is holding back tears.

 

[Nertz!]

I met Gardner once and he was an a**hole and I think that isn't even his real name. It was mentioned in something I read last year about him getting arrested in New York.

 

[imhomerjay]

Yes, Nertz, as you've made clear countless times, the man uses an on-air name. Oh the horror, oh the horror.

And as for Gary's announcement, we all know that when you're close friends and colleagues with someone, you may use a humor that you share that outsiders don't get. I've done it, I've known others that have done it, and wouldn't presume to know the dynamics in the relationships other people have.

As for the how to dress the kids thing, David Murphy does it in the mornings, though it's computer generated now.

And can anyone explain how it's the least bit different to stand in front of a magnetic board or a green screen and tell you it's going to rain? Nope.

 

[dustintv]

Magnetic board vs. Green screen

I think Jim Gardner being arrested in New York turned out to be a rumor, one that seemed to be picked up by news sites though. I know Gardner is like what, 57, 58? but but in my opinion Gardner looks like he's in his 70s. On the contrary, his colleague weatherman Dave Roberts is in his 70s but looks at least 10-15 years younger. Funny how that works.

And can anyone explain how it's the least bit different to stand in front of a magnetic board or a green screen and tell you it's going to rain? Nope.

Actually, I can. A magnetic board is used by some cheap-skate station in Nebraska with a news anchor who calls himself a weatherman but has no real actual background in weather, sort of like Dave Roberts. A green screen is used by an actual meterologist who is either AMS or NWA. BOO-YAH!

 

[imhomerjay]

And the rain is still rain, weather predicted by someone who does or doesn't have a certain degree. Since the forecast is still prepared by meterologists, who reads it and what kind of map is behind them is meaningless window dressing.

 

[BRNout]

And the rain is still rain, weather predicted by someone who does or doesn't have a certain degree. Since the forecast is still prepared by meterologists, who reads it and what kind of map is behind them is meaningless window dressing.

No, not true. You need someone who can interpret what the NWS comes out with. For one thing, sometimes they're wrong - for another, they only normally update their forecasts 3 times per day. It's up to the Met to take a look at the models and forecasts and interpret them for the broadcast area. A "smiling face" cannot do that. You need someone who knows what they are doing. And yes, the public can tell the difference. Such as a certain guy whom I once worked with - who is now hawking mattresses on infomercials!

As for graphics, more modern ones make for a better presentation and some of the new tools can really localize breaking weather events. Easy to forget now, but how about when severe weather is approaching? A good Met can keep you informed and make your station the "go to" source for late-breaking weather info. Likewise, an undereducated weather 'presenter' can make your news look unprofessional when it becomes clear that weather is the story and their weathercaster knows not what he (or she) is doing.

It is important.

 

[qtpieislit]

And can anyone explain how it's the least bit different to stand in front of a magnetic board or a green screen and tell you it's going to rain?  Nope.

Yea. Cut out's for the sulfur rain era, green screen for the digital rain era. Whats a matta', can't ya tell the diff-rence? 

 

[dustintv]

And the rain is still rain, weather predicted by someone who does or doesn't have a certain degree.  Since the forecast is still prepared by meterologists, who reads it and what kind of map is behind them is meaningless window dressing. 

No, not true.  You need someone who can interpret what the NWS comes out with.  For one thing, sometimes they're wrong - for another, they only normally update their forecasts 3 times per day.  It's up to the Met to take a look at the models and forecasts and interpret them for the broadcast area.  A "smiling face" cannot do that.  You need someone who knows what they are doing.  And yes, the public can tell the difference.  Such as a certain guy whom I once worked with - who is now hawking mattresses on infomercials!

As for graphics, more modern ones make for a better presentation and some of the new tools can really localize breaking weather events.  Easy to forget now, but how about when severe weather is approaching?  A good Met can keep you informed and make your station the "go to" source for late-breaking weather info.  Likewise, an undereducated weather 'presenter' can make your news look unprofessional when it becomes clear that weather is the story and their weathercaster knows not what he (or she) is doing. 

It is important. 

Exactly! Now to be honest I had a little too much Barcardi last night when I posted, but I simply think it's more classier to have an upscale operation with a green screen. But obviously WPVI's magnetic board was classy enough for Philly viewers, and knowing those folks, it's a losing battle. So we pray for the day someone comes in and causes the station to implode like WKBW, who used the same theme music until 2003.

 

[drpickle]

The music rules! My old band covered the song. Usually it was the last song of the evening. I would take my shirt off aka Jim Morrison style and scream "move closer to the world my friend in addition to various adlibbed poetry. The crowds loved it.

 

[drpickle]

Channel 6 is the best news! The opening theme is awesome and then the stern, serious face of Jim Gardner tells you about another murder. It's powerful! Channel 6 forever!

 

[Stuart]

Quick question,

Did Larry Kane do the News before Jim Gardner? or Did Larry replace Mort Krim and Vince Leonard on KYW when they were an NBC Network?

Remember...Mort, Vince, Bill Kuster (with his Kuster Kids) and Big Al Meltzer on Sports? I think with that cast, KYW was the best News Station of that time. I almost forgot Jessica Savitch on the weekends!! With a nod to Trudy Haynes, Malcolm Poindexter, and a young Jim Hickey.

 

[Nertz!]

The Arrest of Jim Gardner

I think Jim Gardner being arrested in New York turned out to be a rumor, one that seemed to be picked up by news sites though.

Can we put this to bed and find out the truth about him getting arrested. It would be quite funny if he was since it would be some nice karma.

 

[imhomerjay]

For years, there was no separate weather person on weekends, just a quick read of the forecast. And amazingly, that sufficed. We knew if it would rain/snow/bake/freeze over the days ahead. Overall, I think the amount of weather info is overkill for average viewers—not “news geeks” who get aroused by new graphics packages, and not “weather geeks” who live to talk isobars and jet streams (and I'm both of those). Yes, the radars are helpful in letting people know about imminent dangerous weather, but how often is the Storm Tracker Mega Super Dooper Quintuple Doppler 97 Billion being shown to illustrate…..well, nothing. Then comes five minutes of pretty graphics, before you get to what people care about most days—how to dress the next day.

There certainly are good, helpful innovations in the way news is presented. The ticker and time/temp bugs provide convenient information; crisper graphics that make it easy to read; HD to make the pictures look better. All nice, all helpful in their own way. Much of the rest is just window dressing: “Oh wow, look---this anchor stands in five different places during the show---that MUST mean they’re more on top of the story!” It's akin to a car that can do zero to 60 in three seconds--sounds great, but how often is it necessary to do that?

Maybe, just maybe, many backwards-thinking folk in Philly realized all along that the flavor-of-the-week approaches on the other channels left something to be desired—the personal element, the consistency. Those things have value to consumers—it matters more WHO delivers the news than what the studio looks like. That doesn’t mean you can’t make some updates now and then, but building something new every 18 months just to give the stage hands something to do, and rotating anchors like used underwear, does nothing to make viewers loyal to you.

And Nertz, it's well established that your false rumor about Jim Gardner being arrested is bogus. For now, I guess your biggest reason for the vendetta is use of a stage name.

 

[BRNout]

For years, there was no separate weather person on weekends, just a quick read of the forecast. And amazingly, that sufficed. We knew if it would rain/snow/bake/freeze over the days ahead. Overall, I think the amount of weather info is overkill for average viewers—not “news geeks” who get aroused by new graphics packages, and not “weather geeks” who live to talk isobars and jet streams (and I'm both of those). Yes, the radars are helpful in letting people know about imminent dangerous weather, but how often is the Storm Tracker Mega Super Dooper Quintuple Doppler 97 Billion being shown to illustrate…..well, nothing. Then comes five minutes of pretty graphics, before you get to what people care about most days—how to dress the next day.

Lots of graphics without someone knowledgeable to explain them IS useless. And, it comes off as hollow. In most markets, the number one station in the market inevitably ends up with the top meteorologist too - eventually. When the weather gets rough (and people pay attention), the audience expects to see someone who knows the science of weather and exudes competence. They can tell a 'good looking' weather reader from a real met.

Real news markets have a weekend meteorologist and I am surprised to learn that any major stations in Philly didn't have one => at least in the age of color TV. Even little places like Richmond, Va and Springfield, MA did, as early as the 70s (if not before).

Exceptions to this rule seem to include NY and LA, but elsewhere it counts. Look to Chicago and Dallas as good examples of what a local newscast should look like.