The plot thickens...
Since posting about WBRE and WYOU sharing reporters, some of you are saying this is just the latest step in a total merger between both stations. One alert reader even pointed out this unfinished website, which claims to be your one-stop-shop for "News, sports, weather, community events, marketplace and much more!"
Who's behind pahomepage.com? Go here and type in the domain name. What do you get?
Who's behind pahomepage.com? Go here and type in the domain name. What do you get?
Registrant:
Nexstar Broadcasting
909 Lake Carolyn
Suite 1450
Irving, TX 75039
US
Domain Name: PAHOMEPAGE.COM
Administrative Contact , Technical Contact :
Nexstar Broadcasting
dnsmgr@nexstar.tv
909 Lake Carolyn
Suite 1450
Irving, TX 75039
US
Phone: 972-373-8800
Record expires on 09-Sep-2010
Record created on 21-Nov-2006
Database last updated on 21-Nov-2006
posted by Howard Beale at 9:41 PM
33 Comments:
Shouldn't your headlne read, "The Plot Sickens?"
Good detective work, Howard. You're a gol-durn one-person I-Team.
**yawn** as an informed resident of this area (who doesn't work in journalism...)this "conglomeration" of two stations into one still isn't going to make me want to watch anything 22 or 28 has to offer. bottom line. so sad, too bad, bye bye. next topic.
10:59 is evidently an "informed resident" because he watches 16...speaking of "yawn" and "so sad."
Anonymous said...
**yawn** as an informed resident of this area (who doesn't work in journalism...)this "conglomeration" of two stations into one still isn't going to make me want to watch anything 22 or 28 has to offer. bottom line. so sad, too bad, bye bye. next topic.
10:59 PM
Yeah, I'm with you. Let's get back to more Candace topics. Or how about something really edgy, like Britney Spears.
Someone please point out to me where 10:59 said anything about watching 16?
Anyway, nice work Howard on doing investigative work on the side. One is to assume that the writing is on the wall at this point.
How is this "yawn"? Seriously? Okay, our neighbors up to the north have THREE INDEPENDENT STATIONS in Binghamton, NY. FYI: Thats market 160-ish. And right here in market 53, were going from already 2.5 stations to 2. This is crazy, I wish Nexstar would sell one of them and get some competition back in Wilkes/Scranton.
Remember the olden WYOU days?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=bDNSN1KCFCI
http://youtube.com/watch?v=7uANp5XYaKc
http://youtube.com/watch?v=MJp9pyhIQRc
http://youtube.com/watch?v=IXS9i25Hs1I
Howard, feel free to kill this comment and just blog those video links. Not near e-mail right now.
ok...so what!!!
Does anyone realize(or appreciate)how Nexstar has destroyed the dynamic of local news in this market? Their greed alone has forever changed the landscape here, it will never be the same. Choices are gone, jobs are gone, salaries have taken a major hit, and that includes WNEP as well, since there is no need for them to pony up the bucks when the competition sure as hell isn't.
Personally, I'm solidly in the camp that believes a big move is about to made, that one of Nexstar's news departments(a loose term)is about to go away.
The Nielsen prelims should be due within days, correct? Here's hoping someone from WNEP(the lone subscriber)can post some of them here. My money says WBRE has the worst book in its history with a 5-6 share tops; WYOU sees a slight jump early in November because of curiousity, which vaporizes by the end of the month. Asterisks? Yeah.
"Remember the olden WYOU days?"
12:28 PM
Certainly glad you didn’t claim those were the “(g)olden days”
—A 1987 open eerily reminiscent of WNEP’s “flashing cities” opens from earlier in the eighties.
—G-G-G-Gary Es-Es-Essex with the N-N-N-N-News. A WNEP retread.
—Paul Heppner, also a retread: from WNEP third-stringer to WYOU star.
—A new set Debbie tells us was “built specifically for News 22” (I guess instead of bought off the showroom floor at “Sets ‘R Us”).
—1:14 of closing credits (must have been a slow news day).
—“Chopper 22” (a flying death trap piloted by a man widely suspected of falsifying his flying records).
—“SpaceLink 22 (the same satellite truck News Director Jim Church peeled open like a sardine can when he drove under a low bridge).
Come to think of it, things haven’t changed much at WYOU in the last two decades after all.
WOW! WYOU had a sat truck and a helicopter?
Well, where in the hell was Andy when this "plot" entered the public domain? The vaunted "I" team must have been in outer space somewhere, chasing after another Internet(s) predator. Maybe the squad got lost on the way to Alpha Centauri?
KYW's satellite truck from the 80s was called "Spacelink 3." It was always in the shop, because it was a piece of crap. If I remember correctly, it was the same style satellite truck as WYOU's.
I found those old WYOU opens on You Tube last week. It was cool to see what a station I used to work at looked like back then. Nothing so far of any old WBRE video.
I know that the Rumors are based on good sources, but
they are starting to get a little carried away. These rumors
that Nexstar would be shutting down one of the two stations is
based on a misinterpretation on the current FCC Media Ownership Issue.
Its very likely that even if the FCC decides to forbid Duopolies,
that there may be a grandfather clause which allows the current
stations to continue operating under the same owners. There is currently no language
in the proposal that suggests a ban on Duopolies. They are
only seeking public comment which in turn can lead to unexpected
legslation. This is the purpose behind preservelocaltv.com.
The FCC's first public comment phase has now concluded and
they will be hosting a second public hearing in Nashville
on December 11th.
What you are witnessing with the Northeast Pennsylvania News
Alliance is nothing more than media convergence. Its the radio
joining hands with the newspaper joining hands with the Tv.
Lastly, Nexstar will not voluntarily shut down WYOU or WBRE
because operating them as two separate station provides two
sources of income and plenty of extra advertising space.
We live in a free country so I don't have anything against
people spreading rumors. Its just that they should be taken
with a grain of salt.
To the 12:28 poster....what are you on????
Give some credit where it is due. After years of not putting anything back into WDAU a new company comes to town and rather than cut staff actually put money into the station, both in people and equipment.
Chopper 22 a death trap? Says who
Yes the story about Jim Church and Spacelink is true, so what!
At least WYOU gave it a run, didn't work out but they did.
You have to admit. It was good seeing Debbie doing what she did best!
The director credit for Jack Kearney amde me smile. Two of local TV`s best ever!
"Nexstar will not voluntarily shut down WYOU or WBRE
because operating them as two separate station provides two
sources of income and plenty of extra advertising space."
1:38 AM
I don't think anyone here has said anything about shutting down one or the other station--just about simulcasting the news.
Perry Sook isn't stupid, he's just greedy.
My prediction is that WYOU becomes a "pass-through"--playing CBS programming, informercials, and a set of duplicated newscasts.
Imagine the money to be made (and saved) by running an entire network affiliate in market #53 with just three or four master control operators, a handful of sales people, and maybe an accountant to total the checks.
That's where Nexstar has been aiming since Day One: and especially since moving everyone into the Wilkes-Barre building.
Massive savings lie ahead: as do massive layoffs.
"Give some credit where it is due...At least WYOU gave it a run, didn't work out but they did."
10:40 AM
REALITY CHECK: I don't think Perry Sook grades on the curve. "A" for Effort? Take that to the bank (along with your severance check).
I agree with the other cat right there......more Candace topics
1:38 AM...
I believe that WYOU is run by Mission Broadcasting, and WBRE is owned by Nexstar...yes, I know, Nexstar runs them both, BUT, as far as the FCC is concerned, there are two seperate entities...
As far as one website is concerned, why should this surprise anyone? Jan Haswell is the marketing director for BOTH stations- wouldn't this make sense as the next step...
And for the record, as someone who worked in the Nexstar sales department, 7:20 PM-
Even thought they don't subscribe to Nielsen's- they have illegial copies of each quarter since they dropped Neilsen's...I should know- I made the copies for the GSM. Their NSM has them- hell, I even know where he keeps 'em!
As long as WYOU News brings in more money via commercials than it spends, it will stick around. The day the red ink appears is the day it will be shut down. You are all very premature in shoveling dirt on WYOU's casket.
"I believe that WYOU is run by Mission Broadcasting, and WBRE is owned by Nexstar...yes, I know, Nexstar runs them both, BUT, as far as the FCC is concerned, there are two seperate entities..."
4:33 PM
And there's the rub. I can't find it on the internet, but I remember an article a few years back showing that "Mission Broadcasting" was operating out of some guy's house in the Akron area--and that he couldn't quite remember the call letters of all the stations he "ran."
I guess Perry didn't want the FCC calling the local "Mail Boxes, Etc." looking for Mission's chairman.
It's all done with mirrors, folks. It's a dummy corporation, and Perry is counting on all of us being the dummies.
8:00PM:
So glad you're here to figure out for us all the illegal stuff that the government hasn't realized yet. You certainly are smarter than the FCC.
Those YouTube videos are great. I almost forgot that, at one point, WYOU had a helicopter. I think I even have an old Chopper 22 magnet somewhere. And that satellite truck is hilariously oversized.
But what's the deal with Gary Essex winding up on WYOU? He was WNEP's golden boy back in the 1970s. How'd he end up at 22?
Gary Essex left WNEP for a "better" job. After he departed, Gary discovered he was just a cog in the big 16 machine and couldn't duplicate his success in another market. Gary returned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but few viewers noticed he was on 22.
Pay attention anchors and reporters. Newswatch 16 can make you a star, but you may not shine so brightly at another station.
"So glad you're here to figure out for us all the illegal stuff that the government hasn't realized yet. You certainly are smarter than the FCC."
9:27 PM
Thanks. Just looking out for the public interest. God knows the FCC won't.
OH...
.......MY...
..............GOD!
28's Dave Skutnick was on "Pennsyvania Morning" this A-M.
How will I ever find out what the weather is like in Scranton tonight?
It killed me the other day to see WBRE's sports guy on WYOU. At some point, this HAS to confuse the viewer.
It killed me the other day to see WBRE's sports guy on WYOU. At some point, this HAS to confuse the viewer.
Bugged you so much that good old whattsisiname crossed over, eh? Must have really ticked you off, you've forgotten his name. That ain't a slam at you - it's just a sad commentary about what has happened to both of those operations. Not only are the numbers about zero, so is any face and name recognition with the public.
Answer me this question folks... is Debbie Dunleavy still living at home with her parents... as was the case when she worked at 22.
Other than that... a damn good anchorette that squandered her talent in the "Valley With A Heart."
On the Essex deal... Gary's wife was his agent. No one pays a commission here...
She schleped his ass around in the Denver market after WNEP, but ending up at that shortwave CBS affiliate in Scranton. It is a long fall from being one of the top "cogs" at WABC / New York.
Last time I saw Gary, he was having dinner with the kids at Ridgeway's restaurant on Central Road in Bloomsburg. That had to be a minimum of ten years ago.
Debbie lived with someone whose name most of us would know, not her parents. Enough of that, her business alone, not mine. In a move that has become Nexstar's signature, they dumped her to save money. As I recall, she was makaing 90K. The consequence was the loss of what audience WYOU had at the time.
Nexstar did much the same at WBRE, same consequence, the audience vaporized. The also did it in a high profile case in Indiana with a married couple that anchored. Google it, you'll find the info.
Debbie did litigate. She prevailed. Nexstar's arrogance knows no bounds
Essex was indeed at WABC in NYC, he did early evening weather. He's one of the few people I am aware of whose career went backwards - started at a major, then it was toilet time after that. He never connected at WYOU, and it might have been because he really didn't care, the wind was out of his sails by then.
The reason you saw him in Bloom all those years ago is because he was the pastor of a church there. Gary was an ordained minister(Methodist, I believe)and had accepted a call to Columbia County post-WYOU. He was/is a very nice man.
Gary Essex was a major personality at WABC during the "Eyewitness News" glory days. His winning personality and ease on-camera made him a star.
BUT, he wanted to do news. WNEP gave him a shot, but found out quickly that, nice guy or not, he can't read on the air without stumbling. It happens. Some people can't. 'NEP being 'NEP everyone (audience included) overlooked the shortcoming because he was a part of "THE TEAM."
After 16, his downside became a glaring problem, and success eluded him. He tried to recapture the 16 glory at 22, but didn't have 'THE TEAM" behind him and failed.
That said, he was and is a nice guy, a caring guy, an intelligent guy. Just can't read.
I worked on-air with Gary Essex at WYOU. We enjoyed workplace comraderie and many conversations, including dinners at Jim Dandy's in Clarks Summit after the 6 PM news.
After putting in his time in New York, Gary wanted out of the 'rat race' of the big city, and preferred his identity in Scranton, as had been the case back in his WNEP days.
His decision to leave WYOU was one mutually reached with their management (Garry Ritchie) at that time. I personally agree with the bloggers that things didn't quite light fire the way that some would have anticipated. The WNEP magic wasn't at WYOU. After Gary left WYOU, he was quite content with his new career in the ministry. I have lost contact with him over the past 10 years, which is a shame. He is a terrific person and was a good friend.
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