A few parting words...
But before I go, there's one thing that's been on the back of my mind since WYOU News was axed, and that's the film archive lurking in the bowels of 62 South Franklin Street in Wilkes-Barre. I've written about the archive before, and the importance of preserving it for the sake of local history, since WBRE and WNEP no longer have film archives. This collection dates back to the 1950s, and was preserved due to the efforts of longtime WDAU photographer Jack Scannella. A lot of important events were recorded on that film, as were everyday events.
You may not care that WYOU is no longer doing local news, but would you care if important pieces of local history wound up in the trash? Think how you would feel if someone threw away your treasured and irreplacable family photos or videos. The WYOU film archive could meet that same fate, unless someone steps forward to preserve it. NEPA is home to many libraries and universities that would accept the film and perhaps even preserve it in a digitized form for all to see.
And if you're a Nexstar/Mission Broadcasting executive, think of the good publicity you'd get from donating the film archive! Sure, you may have killed a local news outlet, but in a way, you would be saving local news by donating the film. Better yet, I'm sure you could get a tax write-off, and save even more than the $900,000 estimated savings. Besides, it's not like you're going to need that film archive for any WYOU newscasts, right?
If you feel the same way I do, won't you please contact WBRE/WYOU and politely ask general manager Lou Abitabilo to preserve WYOU's film archive? You can either call him at (570) 823-2828, send him an e-mail to labitabilo@pahomepage.com, or use this Web form to contact him. Your efforts may help convince WBRE/WYOU to preserve important pieces of local history, before it's too late.
As Forrest Gump would say, "That's all I have to say about that."