Al Zobel "not very connected to the whole blogging thing"
Former WBRE news director Al Zobel has found an outlet to opine about various things. You can read his thoughts on "Behind the News," a blog at WKOW in Madison, Wisconsin, where he became news director in 2003.
Don't expect anything too insightful though, as most of the posts are self-congratulatory about WKOW. Still, I commend Zobel for attempting to be somewhat transparent with his viewers.
Don't expect anything too insightful though, as most of the posts are self-congratulatory about WKOW. Still, I commend Zobel for attempting to be somewhat transparent with his viewers.
posted by Howard Beale at 9:04 AM
48 Comments:
Anyway we can hold of WKOW's numbers since Zobel got his hands on the place? It'd be really interesting to see if he's managed to work his magic there yet. Remember, it was Al Zobel who threw away two-thirds of WBRE's audience.
Write to him. azobel@wkowtv.com
WKOW is a shit station, just like the two Wilkes-Barre stations he was partially responsible for driving into the ground. That guy has some brass balls to post any type of broadcasting blog anywhere. The guy is a stain on the underwear of television news. Also, his assistant news director, Ron, was a producer at WBRE. Ron is also the husband of WBRE's former anchor Charlotte. Charlotte and Ron supposedly both hated Zobel during their WBRE tenures...and were very supportive of the union. Now Ron is Zobel's puppet? Give me a break. I hate fake people.
Before coming to this market, there was one man I was told never to work for: AL ZOBEL.
It's a pity this spineless tyrant is still employed in this business. I guess there are stations out there that still need to cut back and scale down. Why doesn't somebody forward this link to AL ?
Among the man's many endearing charm's is that he lies easily and often, and apparently without hesitation. He told more than a few staffers that most anything sleazy and deceitful was okay because, "...after all, this is TV."
I did find a forum called madison.com. There was a thread there regarding his firing of an anchor. Here it is...
"The manager f'ed things up royally, and to cover for his mistakes he "made bold personnel moves." In other words, he made a couple of sudden firings and then made a bunch of incomprehensible reassignments."
This is precisely what Zobel did at WBRE. He is stupid and stubborn, a very dangerous combination. Oh, and don't let me forget evil. He is indeed a bad guy. And it's all there in B&W, he took WBRE right into the toilet, and made WYOU the miserable also-ran that it is today.
Charlotte left WBRE because of this guy, he refused to negotiate a contract with her, so she walked. Some claim it was the straw that broke the camel's back, it was what got him fired here. How her husband can work for this guy is one weird situation.
Charlotte and Ron must have been more fake than I thought. Towards the end of thier tenure they hated the union.
Anonymous said...
Charlotte and Ron must have been more fake than I thought. Towards the end of thier tenure they hated the union.
WTF???
Here we go again!
They were good peeps when I worked with them (Ron and Charlotte, not Zobel)
It was always easy to tell when Zobel was lying.
His lips were moving.
Yea, Ron and Charlotte were fake people. During the union's contract negotiations at the end of 2001, Ron always wore the union jacket at the station and told people how much he didn't like Big Al. I'm sure during the end of Al's tenure, Al knew where he was going and promised Ron a job. Then, of course Ron is going to kiss Al's ass. Those two clowns deserve each other.
What restuarant in Madison is Charlotte waiting tables? That's what she was doing when she left WBRE...waiting tables.
Al is being like Ron now in terms of posting on blog sites. Ron spends his time spewing venom over on Medialine, under several different screen names. The stupid moron doesn't seem to realize that we know who he is. Perhaps he's the one who was posting over there as Mighty Dyckerson?
(("I'm sure during the end of Al's tenure, Al knew where he was going and promised Ron a job. Then, of course Ron is going to kiss Al's ass."))
Ron left the station a year before Al was fired to work at (of all places) Make-A-Wish. So you're saying Al promised Ron a quid-pro-quo job a year before he even knew he was going to Madison? Doesn't make sense, even for Al.
(("What restuarant in Madison is Charlotte waiting tables? That's what she was doing when she left WBRE...waiting tables."))
That was a story...later retracted...in Geri Ann Kawkoski's newspaper column. I don't know anyone who can confirm it. Actually, Charlotte's doing PR in state government in Madison.
Charlotte and Ron had a baby boy not too long ago.
Charlotte was indeed tending bar/waitressing in W-B, no two ways about it. It wasn't a secret. And she wasn't ashamed of it, she considered it good and honest work, which it is. In a way, I always suspected that she might've done it to embarrass Zobel. Whatever the case, there was never any retraction on any story regarding this, because it was absolutely true.
The story was retracted because Charlotte wasn't working at the Cork and Keg like "journalist" Geri Anne had falsely written.
Yes, she was bartending, really enjoyed it and made good money for the ONE WEEK she worked before leaving the area.
And why should it matter how Charlotte and Ron sided on the union matter?
And if any of you truly knew them, then you would know the reason why they moved to Wisconsin.
They are really good people.
God, most of your comments on this posting reassure me that moving out of that area was the best thing Charlotte and I could possibly ever do.
Why did Charlotte and I leave NEPA? Because I HATED living in the area. We had and have kept some very good friends from there, but most of the people that live there are complete assholes. That entire area should be nuked.
It was the worst 3 years of my life having to wake up there everyday and see that worn down hole of a place called you people think is a "city". I refused to stay and my wife chose to not stay either.
Now, onto Zobel: I never "hated" Al. Charlotte can speak for herself on this issue if she pleases, but "hate" is a strong word. We had our disagreements with him, and he could be a jerk sometimes, but it's the business. I could work for Satan if I got paid enough and had benefits and liked what I was doing. The boss doesn't matter...it's what you make of your job...but all you union idiots couldn't see thru that becuase you feel like you are entitled to things. That's what communist unions do. How can I work for Zobel now? easily. I come to work, do my job, collect a paycheck and go home to my wonderful wife and child who mean more to me than a stupid job. Try it some time...you might see that there is more to this world than bitching about a man who hasn't worked in your shithole of town for almost 3 years.
Second. Charlotte and I HATED that union. It was a waste of time for either of us to belong to it. Why? Because we were smart enough to make our own contract deals. Why? because we aren't lazy. Unions are for the lazy. I wore the union jacket because it kept me warm. I laughed whenever I put it on because that union and it's leadership were a joke. I never supported it in 2001 after finding out my hiring was grieved by said union because I had worked out my own deal! MY OWN UNION GRIEVED MY HIRING??? AFTER I PAID MY DUES TO GET IN??? GIVE ME A BREAK!!!
I enjoyed working with many people at that station. If they think I am or was fake at the time, fine...think that. What you see with me is what you get. I make no bones about it.
What I post on Medialine, UNDER MY OWN NAME, BY THE WAY, is my opinion about alot of things. If you don't like it, good. That's the point.
Third. Al never promised me a job, jackass. I left WBRE in 2002 and worked at Make-A-Wish for a year and 2 months. I came to WKOW because I love Wisconsin, hated leaving here to live in crappy NEPA and wanted so badly to come back. It just so happened that Al got a job at a station in one of the best places in the country to live and I interviewed here with him and he hired me. We are now only 5 hours from Charlotte's family and since we have a child now, we can drive home to Grandma and Grandpa's.
Charlotte did work at Whiskey Business for a month before we left. It was a great time and the people who work there, run that place and most of the frequent patrons there are some of the best people in that town. Most of you "anonymous" assholes would learn a thing or two from the people in that bar. It's unfortunate we didn't spend more time at the "Biz".
I love how some of you "anonymous" posters who work at WBRE say that WKOW is a "shit" station and that Al and I deserve each other. I for one hope to forget working at WBRE and living in NEPA.
Fact is, I got out of that hell hole of a town and am glad I did. I wouldn't want to raise a family there with all you pieces of crap. You people who choose to stay in that god-forsaken station in that god-forsaken town and keep working for Nexstar, keep bitching about your lives and keep thinking you are entitled to something. You deserve to wallow in your ignorance and ineptitude.
We are 3 years out of that shit place and you people still blame Zobel for your issues. What a bunch of fucking morons. You all deserve each other and that shithole called NEPA.
Ron, Ron, Ron...
I always knew you as the kind who whined and cried about everything, but never did a damn thing about it. And you've proved it once again. You bitch about the union, you bitch about NEPA...boy, you like to bitch. Gee, why did you even bother to come to this area in the first place? Better yet, if you didn't like the union, why did you even bother to work at WBRE?
And your statement about "working for Satan" really shows what a lack of morals you have about your job. Things here at WBRE are pretty bad right now. But I'd rather work at a crappy station than work at a good one that had the stupidity to hire you.
You, of course, are always welcome to your opinions. Hey, sometimes I think NEPA sucks as well...though I'd take NEPA over my head up Al Zobel's ass any day of the week. You, however, chose differently.
Make sure to wipe your nose before you kiss your wife...
You've got to be kidding me if you really fell for that post. Like Ron even wrote that??
"Ron Said" is a fake and just trying to get a rise out of anyone. And you just wasted your energy. Leave it be!
Read this stuff like you were reading your horoscope in a newspaper. It's just for your entertainment. We're not trying to pass a Bill or change the world on this silly blog.
Please, people. Enough of the piss and vinegar. All this stuff doesn't matter. IT DOESN'T MATTER!
Enjoy your life. Enjoy your freedom. Enjoy your family and your friends. Enjoy your health.
That's so beautiful...what Ron said.
I just everyone in every town in which these transients (anchors, reporters, producers, etc.) come and go, can read Ron's comments and know how these loving anchors, etc., who profess their on-air affininty for a new area REALLY fuckin feel. That is the epitome of those people who come through the area, make their "mark," and leave.
Thanks for clearing that up, Ron. Best to you, wifey, and baby, in whatever shithole you find yourself in. Hope it's not my hometown.
Ron's right...all of you are bitching about a man that has nothing to do with our lives.
I knew Ron hated it here, but, wow!
All I can say is wow.. and I wish I had spent more time at the Biz.. I was way too much of a hermit when I was at WBRE.
"Ron said..."
Well, we all saw what he said.
Thanks for opening my eyes to many things, Ron. I now know that I should (and do) hate my life, this area, and let's not forget, my job.
Tell Satan I'll be heading out to the rustbelt soon. I could really use a good reference.
Signed,
Fake but Communist free.
MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Is that really Ron? If so, I see anger management therapy in your future, especially with a young child now in the Giordan family. You need help.
How about a dose of reality as to what happened with Ron and Charlotte.
Already a couple, Charlotte gets to WBRE first, then Ron comes along. While there, they get married.
Ron despises Zobel, and despises the toxic environment Zobel has created in the newsroom. It is sheer poison. Ron wants out and wiggles his way into a job with Make-A-Wish, where he finds an equally toxic environment. He toughs it out while they wait for Charlotte's contract negotiations to begin. The clock is ticking. Anyone who knows Zobel and/or Nexstar knows that "negotiate" isn't in their vocabularies. They make an offer, you take it, or you take a hike.
There is an offer. It sucks. The increase is neglible, pennies really. They want her to sign a three-year deal for a dogshit raise and nothing else. Meanwhile, the guy sitting next to her is making over twice what she is. She tries to negotiate, hoping to make some headway. Not a chance. Zobel digs in his heels, Charlotte refuses the offer. She is now effectively gone. As soon as the contract expires, she is off the air and out of the building. And that's what went down.
To end this, let me state the obvious; if they'd made Charlotte a solid offer, she would have re-signed a three year contract and, in fact, she might still be here, so would Ron. So let's dispense with this bullshit that they couldn't wait to get out of this market. They were both more than willing to stay.
Wow...people pretending they're me and people dragging my name thru the mud.
And some of you believing stuff from "anonymous" posters.
No wonder WBRE is a crappy station. You people will believe anything anyone tells you!
How could Ron despie Zobel but go and work for him somewhere else?
Please.
Ron and Charlotte know this business too well. Work in a good market is work in a good market.
The boss doesn't matter.
Just like the fake Ron said.
Why don't we e-mail Ron and ask him.
rgiordan@wkowtv.com
The 7:28 p.m. poster hit the nail on the head. Everything that person said couldn't be anything less than the truth.
If Charlotte was in fact tending bar at Whiskey Business, why the hell did she pick that dump to work in? I would imagine her standards were higher then that. Perhaps, they weren't.
Ron, if you are really posting here, stop pretending that you liked Big Al. You told everyone in the newsroom you couldn't stand him. You wore the union jacket all the time during the 2001 contract negotiations. You showed up at union meetings pissing and moaning when some idiots from the WYOU production department tried to get the union voted out. Those fools were studio camera and control room hacks. On a tangent here: one of those aforementioned morons actually laughed at a fellow employee who was involved in a car accident one winter during a terrible snowstorm...and told that person how stupid he was for driving in that weather. How else was that person supposed to get to work that day? And the fool I speak of was a "friend" of yours too. When the union was not voted out, your buddy complained like the bitch he is, and left the station.
Ron, I know you are here posting. You have to go somewhere since you were kicked off Medialine when you were posting as "Liberal and Lovin' It." The fools running that site are too stupid to realize you're back there. They should block your IP address. Just like "Howard" should block your IP address on this forum as well. You serve absolutely no purpose here. You're one of the biggest stains on the underwear of broadcasting. Al Zobel is the other.
So, now there's a "real ron".
I'm so confused! But of the two posts, I could actually see you spewing forth the bile in the first one.
In any case, go back to bed safe in the knowledge that we really don't give a shit about you. You're just a side-bar.
We do care about the Zobels of the world. We care about what kind of damage his type inflicts upon an organization and the folks that work there. We hope that we won't have to go through that again, or ever.
Let's move on before a third ron comes out of the woodwork. This back and forth belongs in the circular file.
I never saw Ron at any union meetings, guys.
He told Lonnie how much he hated that union everyday.
And I highly doubt Ron even knows about this site or cares about it.
I'm pretty sure he's got better things to do.
Oh...and who cares?
Fire the laser beams!
Petty fools with wool pulled over their eyes.
Must feel great to rip people to shreds who are no longer in this time zone.
Must feel fabulous to drag people in who have done nothing to you and are HUNDREDS of miles away from here.
So much hate. So much negativity.
So sad.
Yes, "union lover said..."
EXACTLY! Who cares?
Let's talk about who's new at the zoo instead!
Ron knows about this website too. If he's spewing his venom over on Medialine, he's posting here too...with worthless drivel. If he told an an employee that he hated the union, that proves Ron is two-faced. Why would someone wear clothing with union logos on it, and tell some people he hated Big Al, then go tell someone else he was not supportive of the union? We all know he's fake. If he really hated Big Al, he wouldn't be working for him right now. I couldn't stand Zobel. I would rather sling chickens at KFC before ever working for Big Al again.
Perhaps Ron just likes stirring the pot. Look how riled up he has everyone on here.
Oh Allan, go on a vacation with Monica.
Union Lover...or just somebody who likes to screw unions?
He did go to at least one meeting that I saw.
And was he telling Lonnie all that shit before or after Lonnie was a steward?
I know for a fact the old cup of warm spit - local president - asked Ron to consider running to be the new cup of warm spit. Seems like a lousy judge of character, huh?
Stupid warm spit. I don't care!
DING DING DING!
Tell them what they won Johnny!
Sorry...he never went to one meeting. His wife went to one, though.
He told Lonnie before and after Lonnie was a steward that he hated the union. They talked about it often while playing in their crappy "band" together.
And, Ron was never asked to be a steward. That would be a joke.
I have an idea. E-mail Ron and ask him!
rgiordan@wkowtv.com
Seeing as he would know the truth better than all of you...and seeing that he probably has no idea about this website, he'd get a kick out of it.
Most experts agree that the one, true "Original Ray's Pizza" is the one at 465 6th Avenue at 11th St. in Greenwich Village. Beware of imitators.
What? Really? We're talkig about original RON?
Never mind.
Correction.. his wife went to three. But who's counting?
And THIS ISN'T A REST HOME!
Why don't you all do something else besides complain?
Try READING AND COMPREHENDING
"Mr. Bigglesworth's" post.
To the 8:05 p.m. poster: Ron does know about this website. He's posting here. He's friends with people who post here. I don't believe any of your worthless drivel for one second. Why don't you e-mail him yourself and tell him about this site...since you're so convinced he's not posting here. We're glad he's out of WBRE. We're glad his wife is gone. We're glad both of those losers are long gone. Oh yeah, we're even more happy that Zobel was shit-canned. Good riddance to the Three Stooges. They deserve each other.
Quartermain:
Ron and Charlotte left WBRE on their own. That makes them winners.
Losers, on the other hand, are those left behind to piss, moan and whine about their lot in life and rationalize that someone else (ANYONE else) is responsible for their misery.
If Ron and Charlotte are reading this toxic thread they must feel like concentration camp survivors.
Allan Allan Allan.. why don't you post your email address so we can talk?
Buddy, you have some SERIOUS issues with people who have NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE AT ALL!
Everyone can see that. Wake up! No one cares about YOUR WORTHLESS DRIVIL!
But go ahead and continue to stir the pot if that's what gets you off, and may God bless you and forgive you.
LMAO
Morons...all of you.
You are falling over each other to respond to someone who works in our newsroom who is laughing at all of us.
Allan Z, get a life.
Ron, Real Ron, et al... get a life.
Union Lover: has half the facts, but right about Ron not liking the union.
Ok..lets see here...People from PA calling madison wi the "rust belt"... Riiiigght.. losers
Paging Dr. Quartermain...
I find your thoughts and comments
fascinating...I'm surprised a thoughtful, obviously highly motivated person such as yourself -based on your choice to spew - has chosen to be so complacent and enjoy a job in a market that seems to show little or no upside since your two stations seemingly have failed to figure out how to topple the WNEP empire. Now I don't doubt you can trace some of those reasons to Al Zobel, but now that it's three years after the fact,
at what point do you begin to look around you and admit you have
contributed to your plight in not recovering that audience?
If there is one thing I know about Ron is that it takes A LOT for him to give up on a situation. Again, I'm sure Al contributed to that, but your work environment must have been one hell of a shithole for him to leave 14 months before his wife's contract expired. And after seeing some of your scripts, I understood the frustration.
Your cries of "faker" towards Ron come across as little more than being jealous of the fact he has both the talent and work ethic to not only leave your piddling market, but to find work so easily in a better market.
As glad as you are to be rid of them, I'm sure they are equally relieved to be rid of people such as yourself who know only to throw stones at glass houses.
Now, THIS is fun!
Beats having to empty the bedpans at the old folks home.
I beg to differ.
This is JUST like emptying bed pans.
Aren't there any people in the market happy to have a job, proud of their employer, convinced their work makes a difference?
...but to find work so easily in a better market.
Yeah, that's right, he easily found work. If Zobel hadn't called, Ron and Charlotte might be still be renting that house in Hazleton.
Look, I had no problems per se with the Giordans, but didn't really trust either of them because of their relationship with Zobel. They were a little too buddy-buddy with him. And to say that Zobel "contributed" to WBRE's demise is the very definition of understatement. Al Zobel destroyed WBRE.
What fascinates me most is how many people disliked Ron, and apparently Charlotte, too. Sure is a busy topic, sure makes for some good reading. Oh, for those who keep popping in to say, "...who cares" or "...no one cares." What, are you f***ing kidding me?
I'm getting sick of the damn union grudges and mud-slinging being posted here. Like it or not, the union at WBRE/WYOU is no more. It's old history...move on. I'm closing discussion on this post.
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