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Television in Utica

Z

zackwonse

A couple of questions for anyone knowledgable about the tv situation in Utica:
1. What is Tom Coyne's health status? Last I heard he was back in the hospital and things were not getting better. That was some time ago. Hopefully he has taken a turn toward getting better.
2. What is the latest news on news on the Nexstar Stations? WKTV is overripe for some competition.
3. The latest rumor heard here in my outlying circles is that WKTV is looking to unload Bill Worden and that he is not ready to leave. There was also a strange rumor heard from a former KTV reporter that Steve Merenn was being courted as the new GM of Nexstar in Utica. That is just bizarre.
 
> A couple of questions for anyone knowledgable about the tv
> situation in Utica:
> 1. What is Tom Coyne's health status? Last I heard he was
> back in the hospital and things were not getting better.
> That was some time ago. Hopefully he has taken a turn toward
> getting better.
> 2. What is the latest news on news on the Nexstar Stations?
> WKTV is overripe for some competition.
> 3. The latest rumor heard here in my outlying circles is
> that WKTV is looking to unload Bill Worden and that he is
> not ready to leave. There was also a strange rumor heard
> from a former KTV reporter that Steve Merenn was being
> courted as the new GM of Nexstar in Utica. That is just
> bizarre.

I have heard variations of all of above. I hope Tom is doing better too. If WKTV is trying to get rid of Bill Worden, it's probably because they think they are paying him too much. One more reason why Nexstar needs to bring back local news on WUTR & WFXV. If Bill wanted to, I bet he could get a part time gig on WTLB, the adult standards radio station in Utica.
As far as Steve Merren going to Nexstar, that would be huge for the local TV community. And, who knows, he might even bring Bill over with him!
 
> > A couple of questions for anyone knowledgable about the tv
>
> > situation in Utica:
> > 1. What is Tom Coyne's health status? Last I heard he was
>
> > back in the hospital and things were not getting better.
> > That was some time ago. Hopefully he has taken a turn
> toward
> > getting better.
> > 2. What is the latest news on news on the Nexstar
> Stations?
> > WKTV is overripe for some competition.
> > 3. The latest rumor heard here in my outlying circles is
> > that WKTV is looking to unload Bill Worden and that he is
> > not ready to leave. There was also a strange rumor heard
> > from a former KTV reporter that Steve Merenn was being
> > courted as the new GM of Nexstar in Utica. That is just
> > bizarre.
>
> I have heard variations of all of above. I hope Tom is
> doing better too. If WKTV is trying to get rid of Bill
> Worden, it's probably because they think they are paying him
> too much. One more reason why Nexstar needs to bring back
> local news on WUTR & WFXV. If Bill wanted to, I bet he
> could get a part time gig on WTLB, the adult standards radio
> station in Utica.
> As far as Steve Merren going to Nexstar, that would be huge
> for the local TV community. And, who knows, he might even
> bring Bill over with him!
>

Take a look at Nexstar stock. This company isn't going to spend money.
 
> 2. What is the latest news on news on the Nexstar Stations?
> WKTV is overripe for some competition.

Nexstar's live coverage of the Boilermaker shows that they've definitely been rebuilding their arsenal of equipment. Previous owners all but gutted the place of all ENG gear before they handed over the keys... so Nexstar's been doing a decent job (above my expectations, anyway) of re-equipping the place.

As for news, people I know "with an in" have been hearing 2006 as a possibility, but nothing's concrete. Starting up a news operation from scratch takes a lot of time and planning. From the time they begin soliciting applications for a News Director, I'd say local news is 8-12 months away. Maybe sooner, as I'm guessing it's more likely they'll have to hire based on who's willing to accept the small market salary, rather than who's the most talented person available for the job.

> 3. The latest rumor heard here in my outlying circles is
> that WKTV is looking to unload Bill Worden and that he is
> not ready to leave. There was also a strange rumor heard
> from a former KTV reporter that Steve Merenn was being
> courted as the new GM of Nexstar in Utica. That is just
> bizarre.

First I've heard of the Worden rumor. Interesting, but not surprising. As soon as Smith sold WKTV to Boston Ventures, everyone knew cost-cutting would be priority number one. Apparently a bunch of people were let go this spring and ParkerVision was installed. With Merren out of the picture, I'd guess Worden is the highest-paid employee, if not Vic Vetters. It's nice to be earning the most, but it also makes you a big target.

From one viewpoint, you could just keep paying Worden his high salary, knowing he's probably going to retire within the next several years. Just suck it up, be patient, and know that it won't have to last forever. This would be the decent thing to do, letting him retire gracefully.

From a money viewpoint, WKTV still has a monopoly on news. People will watch no matter who's sitting at the anchor desk... because they have no other choice. Why pay Bill the big bucks when you can get the same ratings (and revenue) with a 20-something anchor who's willing to work for a fraction of the cost? Especially when you have shareholders (that dreaded S-word) to answer to.


I do know Nexstar has already hired at least one key behind-the-scenes person away from WKTV... and it was interesting to see former WKTV employees Kathy Contino-Turner and Teresa (Lee) Jones on the WUTR Boilermaker broadcast. Kathy's also been on WUTR for a number of other recent local events.

Even though Nexstar's stock price may not indicate they've got a ton of money to spend on talent, a simple 6/10/11pm news operation doesn't require a very big staff. Reporters can be hired cheap, and if there's only a 6, 10 and 11, you only need to hire one good-quality anchor and one good-quality meteorologist... because they can do all 3 shows in a regular 8-hour shift.

Guessing 6 and 11 on WUTR and a 10 on either Fox (most likely) or UPN. No mornings or weekends, just the barebones to get something presentable off the ground. Going all-out with weekends and mornings and noon would require more anchors and additional shifts of production people. Smart move would be to see if the 6/10/11 can gain some ground on KTV and be profitable for quite awhile, before spending to expand into live mornings/noons... then weekends last.
 
> A couple of questions for anyone knowledgable about the tv
> situation in Utica:
> 1. What is Tom Coyne's health status? Last I heard he was
> back in the hospital and things were not getting better.
> That was some time ago. Hopefully he has taken a turn toward
> getting better.
> 2. What is the latest news on news on the Nexstar Stations?
> WKTV is overripe for some competition.
> 3. The latest rumor heard here in my outlying circles is
> that WKTV is looking to unload Bill Worden and that he is
> not ready to leave. There was also a strange rumor heard
> from a former KTV reporter that Steve Merenn was being
> courted as the new GM of Nexstar in Utica. That is just
> bizarre.
>

Hello...I might be able to shed a little light on the Utica TV situation. First off, I have heard from staff at WKTV that Tom Coyne is doing much better and has lost over 50 pounds due to his recent illness. It appears that he is on the mend. I wish him the best and you hope that Boston Ventures still holds his position open for when he returns.

I would agree that it would be a big mistake to let Bill Worden go. The man is a class act and he in my opinion is the only reason WKTV has held on to their older, but loyal following of news viewers. I feel it would be a big mistake to let him go, because when Time Warner begins their NEWS 10 NOW next spring after taking over Adelphia, WKTV will be ripe for the pickens and if Bill Worden is gone, Time Warner will have an easy time of defeating WKTV news.

I do not persoanlly think it will make any difference or not if WUTR and FOX bring back local news. It has never worked before, so why should it now, but, I could be wrong.

Finally, I have all the respect in the world for Steve Merren. I think he would be perfect for Nexstar and would bring in so much more business and operate it the way it needs to be. Current management needs to learn people skills and not be so arrogant, with an ego attitude when it comes to staff and advertisers. If Steve Merren is ever offered the position, I hope he accepts. WKTV will then have some competition.
 
> Hello...I might be able to shed a little light on the Utica
> TV situation. First off, I have heard from staff at WKTV
> that Tom Coyne is doing much better and has lost over 50...

Glad to hear he's doing better. I join you in hoping that he'll be welcomed back by Boston Ventures.


> I would agree that it would be a big mistake to let Bill
> Worden go. (......) I feel it would be a big mistake
> to let him go, because when Time Warner begins their NEWS 10
> NOW next spring after taking over Adelphia, WKTV will be
> ripe for the pickens and if Bill Worden is gone, Time Warner
> will have an easy time of defeating WKTV news.

Have you SEEN News 10 Now? If you're an Adelphia customer, all you've seen are some of the billboards in Rome and the Valley, and some of the radio spots that have aired in Utica and Syracuse. These ads really dress up News 10 Now to be something much bigger and better than it really is.

Like many who ARE TW Customers, I fell victim to the hype and I was excited to see it when it debuted. But honestly, it's nothing special at all. You see, NTN covers such a large area, actually too large of an area. They're based in Syracuse, with bureaus in Rome, Oswego, Watertown, Cortland and a few other far-flung places. With news coming in from so many different places, NTN is stuck trying to be many things to many people, rather than superserving one particular market. Adding Utica to the mix will only dilute the amount of news that's "truly local" to any random viewer.

I've said before that TW's takeover of Utica will significantly help NTN's cause, as Utica will become NTN's second-largest city, adding significantly to the number of potential viewers. But I've also said that people in Watertown don't care very much about news from Ithaca or Herkimer. People in Syracuse don't care what's happening in Utica or Massena. Large coverage area: the one strength that NTN loves to brag about is actually it's biggest weakness. If you want to see one story about Utica, you get to sit through stories from Syracuse, Watertown and Cortland first. And probably a few franchise items like fitness, cooking, weather or "that's your business........ now." Who has time?

Don't get me wrong... I'm not saying NTN is a non-threat. It wouldn't hurt the Smith Hill gang to turn down the ego factor by a few notches, and work a little harder.

But I doubt News 10 Now will ever be more of a threat to WKTV than WUTR ever was. As it stands now, NTN has way too much territory to cover to really compete with the broadcast stations in any one market. And they're right in the midst of that switchover where the anchoring duties will all be done out of Albany... once that's done, it'll be interesting to see if they get even worse ratings, or what else happens.
 
> > Hello...I might be able to shed a little light on the
> Utica
> > TV situation. First off, I have heard from staff at WKTV
> > that Tom Coyne is doing much better and has lost over
> 50...
>
> Glad to hear he's doing better. I join you in hoping that
> he'll be welcomed back by Boston Ventures.
>
>
> > I would agree that it would be a big mistake to let Bill
> > Worden go. (......) I feel it would be a big mistake
> > to let him go, because when Time Warner begins their NEWS
> 10
> > NOW next spring after taking over Adelphia, WKTV will be
> > ripe for the pickens and if Bill Worden is gone, Time
> Warner
> > will have an easy time of defeating WKTV news.
>
> Have you SEEN News 10 Now? If you're an Adelphia customer,
> all you've seen are some of the billboards in Rome and the
> Valley, and some of the radio spots that have aired in Utica
> and Syracuse. These ads really dress up News 10 Now to be
> something much bigger and better than it really is.
>
> Like many who ARE TW Customers, I fell victim to the hype
> and I was excited to see it when it debuted. But honestly,
> it's nothing special at all. You see, NTN covers such a
> large area, actually too large of an area. They're based in
> Syracuse, with bureaus in Rome, Oswego, Watertown, Cortland
> and a few other far-flung places. With news coming in from
> so many different places, NTN is stuck trying to be many
> things to many people, rather than superserving one
> particular market. Adding Utica to the mix will only dilute
> the amount of news that's "truly local" to any random
> viewer.
>
> I've said before that TW's takeover of Utica will
> significantly help NTN's cause, as Utica will become NTN's
> second-largest city, adding significantly to the number of
> potential viewers. But I've also said that people in
> Watertown don't care very much about news from Ithaca or
> Herkimer. People in Syracuse don't care what's happening in
> Utica or Massena. Large coverage area: the one strength
> that NTN loves to brag about is actually it's biggest
> weakness. If you want to see one story about Utica, you get
> to sit through stories from Syracuse, Watertown and Cortland
> first. And probably a few franchise items like fitness,
> cooking, weather or "that's your business........ now." Who
> has time?
>
> Don't get me wrong... I'm not saying NTN is a non-threat.
> It wouldn't hurt the Smith Hill gang to turn down the ego
> factor by a few notches, and work a little harder.
>
> But I doubt News 10 Now will ever be more of a threat to
> WKTV than WUTR ever was. As it stands now, NTN has way too
> much territory to cover to really compete with the broadcast
> stations in any one market. And they're right in the midst
> of that switchover where the anchoring duties will all be
> done out of Albany... once that's done, it'll be interesting
> to see if they get even worse ratings, or what else happens.

Hello Bob:

I have to agree with you with your assessment of the local news future in Utica, however, talking to many businesses on a daily basis, leads me to believe that stranger things can happen.

In my opinion from what I have observed and heard, News 10 Now might do better than one would think. Sometimes I wonder if the average person in the Utica/Rome area really knows what a good, professional newscast even is. And can they tell a good story from a bad or if it was written and produced better than another organization, or do they really even care. I guess that is what interests me so much. It seems like most of the people I have spoken to that watch NEWS 10 NOW, are younger adults under the age of 50, and the people over 50 still comment on WKTV or one of the Syracuse stations.

With all of the NEWS 10 NOW hype, along with younger adults talking about it, will WKTV remain strong or will their audience erode? I do not think WKTV will lose their older audience, but are all bets off if Bill Worden wasn't still anchoring? Will the older audience feel betrayed and try a NEWS 10 NOW?

No matter what happens, I think it will be very interesting. Maybe it will make both organizations work harder to produce a better product.

Regards,

Dave
>
 
> In my opinion from what I have observed and heard, News 10
> Now might do better than one would think. Sometimes I
> wonder if the average person in the Utica/Rome area really
> knows what a good, professional newscast even is.

Probably not. Viewers may not realize it, but the Syracuse stations are miles and miles ahead of Utica. Even though WKTV for years enjoyed ownership that dumped money into the place like it was going out of style, they still don't have the same level of staffing and technology as Syracuse. Likewise, even when Ackerley spent a ton on WUTR to make it look like a "twin" of WIXT in Syracuse, it was still only a shadow of Syracuse.

Besides the levels of staffing (and experienced vs. rookie personnel), Utica also isn't a huge news town. There isn't as much going on to fill all those newscasts, so Utica newscasts get filled with a lot of fluff. In many markets, the idea of doing a 4-minute viewer call-in segment during the 5:00-6:30pm news would be laughed out of town faster than you can say VO/SOT. Even here, I think it's a joke, especially when nobody even calls in most nights... but pathetically, they just don't have anything better to fill the time with!

> seems like most of the people I have spoken to that watch
> NEWS 10 NOW, are younger adults under the age of 50, and the
> people over 50 still comment on WKTV or one of the Syracuse
> stations.

I'm well under 50, and I was excited about News 10 Now when it started. Not so much anymore. Especially since they moved the anchors to Albany this week... that move was also accompanied by several other subtle and not-so-subtle changes which have turned many people away. Visit the TV/Radio board at syracuse.com and you'll see many people just don't like the "new" News 10 Now.

I do give them credit for the idea of offering news all the time, and I will admit that I do turn it on every now and then... if there's nothing else better on TV and I know I won't be around to watch the news at the normal times. But if I'm home during any "traditional" news time, I'm watching one of the "real" broadcast channels (preferably Syracuse, not WKTV).

> With all of the NEWS 10 NOW hype, along with younger adults
> talking about it, will WKTV remain strong or will their
> audience erode? I do not think WKTV will lose their older
> audience, but are all bets off if Bill Worden wasn't still
> anchoring? Will the older audience feel betrayed and try a
> NEWS 10 NOW?

I think even if Bill Worden leaves (or "exits") WKTV, older viewers will still stay there. For years, I thought Vic Vetters was trying to position himself as the heir apparent to the 6 and 11pm anchor chair... anchoring election nights and other special coverage, stuff like that. But now that he's the GM, I'm guessing that's unlikely. The next obvious choice would be Andy Jenks and/or Kristen Lowman... even though they're 20-somethings, they've been at KTV long enough to be familiar to viewers. I think they'd be able to retain the audience... and even increase ratings on the WB11 News at 10 because they'd be able to loosen up and give it that hipper, younger edge that fits on WB.

Regardless of the anchor situation... I still think that for people in Utica and the Valley (who only get Utica on cable now), WKTV still stands a decent chance of holding News 10 Now at bay. Like I said before, WKTV has the capability to be local, local, local. With News 10 Now, you're sitting through 6 or 7 different stories from 6 or 7 different places before they get to news from your own town.

However, WKTV will need to make sure that it really does capitalize on that advantage. Get reporters out there, enterprising stories, doing more than just fundraisers, court cases and staged press conferences. Running 2 or 3 local stories, then filling the rest of the A-block with 3-minute packages off the NBC and CNN feeds, ain't gonna cut it when there's competition.

WKTV could lose some viewers if it doesn't make changes, but I don't think News 10 Now could ever score a "coup" against them. Also considering you need cable to see NTN and anyone can see WKTV for free... and there's lots of low-income people who can't afford cable. And if cable keeps raising rates, NTN will lose more potential viewers as they move to the dish or just the antenna.
 
>
> I'm well under 50, and I was excited about News 10 Now when
> it started. Not so much anymore. Especially since they
> moved the anchors to Albany this week... that move was also
> accompanied by several other subtle and not-so-subtle
> changes which have turned many people away. Visit the
> TV/Radio board at syracuse.com and you'll see many people
> just don't like the "new" News 10 Now.
>
> I do give them credit for the idea of offering news all the
> time, and I will admit that I do turn it on every now and
> then... if there's nothing else better on TV and I know I
> won't be around to watch the news at the normal times. But
> if I'm home during any "traditional" news time, I'm watching
> one of the "real" broadcast channels (preferably Syracuse,
> not WKTV).
>

I think you are giving too much credit to News 10 Now. I think of it as an alternative place to get news. Even a fast breaking local story can take an hour or more to get on the air.
In Rochester & its suburbs there is R News on Time Warner. It has never been that much of a factor on ratings. Sure it is successful or it wouldn't continue to run. It obviously has enough audience to sell spots but the impact on the local stations isn't really there. The last I heard the local anchors are still out of Rochester, but I believe the weather comes from Albany.
I don't think News 10 Now has been considered a threat to the Syracuse stations either. News 10 Now's impact on the Syracuse area may even lessen once people find out the anchors are not in town, but in Albany.
>
>
 
> > > A couple of questions for anyone knowledgable about the
> tv
> >
> > > situation in Utica:
> > > 1. What is Tom Coyne's health status? Last I heard he
> was
> >
> > > back in the hospital and things were not getting better.
>
> > > That was some time ago. Hopefully he has taken a turn
> > toward
> > > getting better.
> > > 2. What is the latest news on news on the Nexstar
> > Stations?
> > > WKTV is overripe for some competition.
> > > 3. The latest rumor heard here in my outlying circles is
>
> > > that WKTV is looking to unload Bill Worden and that he
> is
> > > not ready to leave. There was also a strange rumor heard
>
> > > from a former KTV reporter that Steve Merenn was being
> > > courted as the new GM of Nexstar in Utica. That is just
> > > bizarre.
> >
> > I have heard variations of all of above. I hope Tom is
> > doing better too. If WKTV is trying to get rid of Bill
> > Worden, it's probably because they think they are paying
> him
> > too much. One more reason why Nexstar needs to bring back
>
> > local news on WUTR & WFXV. If Bill wanted to, I bet he
> > could get a part time gig on WTLB, the adult standards
> radio
> > station in Utica.
> > As far as Steve Merren going to Nexstar, that would be
> huge
> > for the local TV community. And, who knows, he might even
>
> > bring Bill over with him!
> >
>
> Take a look at Nexstar stock. This company isn't going to
> spend money.
>

Who is running KTVs new dept now?
 
> Who is running WKTVs news dept now?


That would be Steve McMurray. He was formerly the sports director, then news director across the street at WUTR... when he saw the writing on the wall there, he jumped ship maybe a month or two before WUTR shut down news for good. WKTV hired him as assignment editor or managing editor, something along those lines.

When former ND Jerry Walsh left for a job in Albany, McMurray was promoted to ND. That was about, maybe 5-7 months ago? Or more, I forget exactly when... couldn't have been more than a year though.
 
> > Who is running WKTVs news dept now?
>
>
> That would be Steve McMurray. He was formerly the sports
> director, then news director across the street at WUTR...
> when he saw the writing on the wall there, he jumped ship
> maybe a month or two before WUTR shut down news for good.
> WKTV hired him as assignment editor or managing editor,
> something along those lines.
>
> When former ND Jerry Walsh left for a job in Albany,
> McMurray was promoted to ND. That was about, maybe 5-7
> months ago? Or more, I forget exactly when... couldn't have
> been more than a year though.
>

Im still having a had time believing that Jerry Walsh was ND.
 
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