July 27th, 2009 
joel Last week we waxed nostalgic for the bygone days of television news, before the segmentation of 24-hour cable news and advocacy anchors. When P&T readers were asked who was their favorite former anchor, the late Peter Jennings won a plurality of the vote, followed closely by Walter Cronkite and Tom Brokaw. Jennings and Brokaw contemporary Dan Rather on the other hand received just one vote.
Let’s take this look back local: who are your favorite anchors on local TV? I have to admit that this is a partial list of the bigger names that I can remember. If you have a favorite that’s not on here, let me know in the comments and I’ll add their name to the poll. You can pick up to three on this one, so you may want to vote for just 1 or 2 early and wait til later in the week for your final vote. Of course, our votes will add up to more than 100%.
Who are your favorite former Erie TV anchors? (choose up to 3)
- Lisa Zompa (27%, 24 Votes)
- Ned McGrath (27%, 24 Votes)
- Hyle Richmond (25%, 22 Votes)
- Don Shriver (22%, 19 Votes)
- Karla Mullenax (22%, 19 Votes)
- Bob Sutherland (18%, 16 Votes)
- Scott Baker (15%, 13 Votes)
- Kelly Gaughan (14%, 12 Votes)
- Bill Knupp (10%, 9 Votes)
- Trina Orlando (10%, 9 Votes)
- Frank Rizzone (9%, 8 Votes)
- Kiren Chetry (9%, 8 Votes)
- Tony Victor (7%, 6 Votes)
- Raychel Vendetti (7%, 6 Votes)
- Paul Wagner (5%, 4 Votes)
- Carol Pella (5%, 4 Votes)
- Al Benedict (3%, 3 Votes)
- Angie Dickson (2%, 2 Votes)
- Nerissa Sugars (1%, 1 Votes)
- Jim DeSantis (0%, 0 Votes)
- Lisa Guyton (0%, 0 Votes)
- Drew Sugars (0%, 0 Votes)
- Evan Lovett (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 88
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It should be “Ned McGrath”…not McGraff. You’re probably too young to remember him.
One of my favorite memories is staying up late one Friday when I was a little child to watch “ICU News 11th Hour Edition” with Ned McGrath, Bill Knupp and Vance McBryde.
Bill was having an off night and was mispronouncing names of athletes. When he went to go to commercial he uttered a classic line…..”we’ll be right back with more sports including Mike Shit, er Schmitt…stay tuned!”
You could hear Ned and the cameramen erupt into laughter.
Ahh….nothing like memories! Needless to say Bill was crimson faced and did the rest of the sports without incident.
Just my favorite old time memory.
This should jog some memories Joel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DszO2xFIZk
PR…more typo than memory lapse. However, I don’t remember what year Ned left and was it Frank who replaced him? Wasn’t there a Frank/Lisa Adams/Hyle configuration at some point in the 80′s?
I’m also drawing a blank on Kevin’s co-anchor who was on the air between Kiren and Amanda…she coined the phrase “shut ‘em down” when they first started doing “Behind the Kitchen Door.”
Finally, did Sudsy have a coanchor?
We need the old-timers to create a comprehensive chronological list of Erie’s news anchors from 1949 to present.
I don’t remember Suds ever having a co-anchor
Joel,
Kevin did have another co-anchor, but for the life of me I can’t remember her name…tall, blonde, nice person. As for the 80′s era, I was out of Erie so I can’t fill in that time…maybe some of the others can.
He’s certainly not a “favorite” but one guy I remember is Lloyd Newell who was on WSEE in the mid 80′s. I remember him because when he first came here he pronounced Ashtabula as “ash-TAB-u-la.”
Ex WEYZ jock Bob Collins was also an anchor on WSEE for awhile in the mid-late 70′s if memory serves.
Let’s not forget Jim DeSantis and Carrol Pella who also handled anchor duties at 12th & Peach years ago. Trina Orlando is now anchoring the weekend news on KDKA in addition to her weekday Westmoreland county reporting duties for the station.
Kevin MacDowell’s co-anchor for a time was the very talented Angie Dickson.
As for Ned McGrath he was sick from cancer when he passed away late in 1980 (I believe?) and was replaced as Anchor by Bill Knupp. Everyone at 12 was in shock over Ned’s passing – they still believed he could beat the Cancer so when Bill was promoted from Sports to News it was more a panic move than anything else. It was also around this time when WJET shocked Erie TV by hiring WICU News Director Eric Johnson away from TV-12…and the rest, as they say, is history.
There was never a Frank/Lisa/Hyle anchor configuration. TV-12 had a Frank Rizzone/Lisa Adams Anchor configuration with Hyle Richmond reporting. This was around 1985/1986 when WICU started to panic about WJET overtaking them in the ratings. A little later Hyle would file an age discrimination lawsuit against WICU/Great Lakes Communications and soak the station for a nice little pile of cash…at which point Hyle promptly retired.
Thanks to Mike Csop for helping me fill in the pieces for everyone. Any other questions feel free to ask!
I always like Paul Wagner on the anchor desk. Calm, cool delivery…very trustworthy.
I believe JET was already number one in the market before Eric Johnson ever got there. I’m not 100 % positive on that, but I’m fairly certain.
Is Angie Dickson still in broadcasting?
oh wow Angie Dickson. yeah now there was my fav!
Angie Dickson is out of broadcasting – that is broadcastin’g loss.
JET was ALMOST #1 before Eric Johnson arrived. Eric put JET’s ratings over the top.
IMO, Mr Lamb should have never let Eric go. Eric was the WICU wonderkid. he did it all: he was a great reporter and then while he was News Director he was also Program Director at the same time. Eric wanted to be General Manager after Bob Lundquist retired. Mr Lamb didn’t think that was such a good idea. Myron Jones got wind of a rumor that Eric wasn’t happy and ….. VOILA! Eric become JET News Director and put them over the top!
A lot of people think that the combination of Ned McGrath passing away along with Eric Johnson leaving for WJET and bad tactical decisions by Mr Lamb (who was getting quite old by 1982) put Channel 12 at a competitive disadvantage for several years.
I always liked working with Paul Wagner. A consummate professional who knows his way around the newsroom. Always had his scripts, tapes, rundown sheets ready by 10pm…made it very easy to edit tapes and prepare the show.
One weekend Paul was filling in for Lisa. We were all used to Lisa not getting everything ready until around 10:30 – Lisa always liked to have the latest reports, etc down off the Satellite. Paul walks back at 9:45pm with script, shot sheets, tapes, etc. I remember him saying “no problem – weekends are a piece of cake!”
What a pro!
Tim, could not agree with you more.
I am pretty sure there was a Frank/Hyle co anchoring team
Maybe 84-85 area?
I certainly trust my old friend Mike Csop’s memory but not sure on this one.
It was a fun place, most of the time, to work.
Lots of great people both in front and behind the camera.
Folks,
Jim, Angie, Carol and Paul all now added to the poll…thanks for the reminders and memories, all.
Keep voting…
Doug -
You sir are correct! Frank and Hyle did co-anchor together…that was my omission. They were co-anchors until 1985 or 86 when Hyle was replaced by Lisa Adams – and then all that other stuff with Hyle happened. My bad on that one! – Mike C made sure I got my facts right
Come down to Corry sometime and we’ll go golfing at North Hills!
Eric’s going to JET was the nail in 12 coffins. Management did not realize the connections that he had cultivated, and when he left all those tipsters went with him. EJ also did not have to contend with the union restrictions on his camera use at JET. He could shoot whatever and whenever he wanted. This was a big plus for 24 because Eric liked to chase the late night stuff. With EJ the saying “if it bleeds it leads” was never truer.
Tim,
You are correct about Paul Wagner. He always had his scripts timed out and time codes for all the sound bites. He also selected many of his b-roll shots and told you where to find them. He was a real pleasure to work with. He could spend the whole day covering a murder trial, come back to the station, write his script, time it, voice a track, and then hand it off to someone…then he was out the door for a live shot…and the editor would have no trouble putting his package together for the 5 and 6 shows. I know I did many times for him. I never saw him mad…frustrated sometimes…but never mad.
Since I’ve worked with about half these people as anchors, here goes. Hyle and Carol were the best pure journalists I’ve ever worked with. No nonsense, get the facts, put ‘em on-air. Drew and Nerissa were wonderful to work with on the morning show – they were willing to go with my ideas about making the show a little different from what Erie was used to. Zomps and Wagner were incredibly professional – so good on-air, and good people off-air. Tony Victor was the easiest person to get along with – a total pro in terms of news coverage, and a great guy to just hang with. Knupp and Shriver were just good guys to work with – very professional, did their jobs at work and had a good time afterward. I never had a single problem with Kelly Gaughan the time I directed her on “The Insider” – very classy. Scott Baker was a challenge. He had such great ideas for the show, but didn’t quite understand how small market tv was limited. Every show was an adventure – scripts wouldn’t be done until the show as on-air, tapes weren’t ready to roll until literally the last second, rundowns were meant to be incredibly fluid. Scott is a great guy and I stepped up my game working with him.
Sudsy was an Erie icon. An old-school newspaperman who was on tv before tv was about nice hair, big racks and slim builds!
An omission, though, Big Guy – what about Raychel and Ray on your list? They are easily the most naturally talented on-air people I’ve ever worked with.
Our list is becoming more inclusive…adding Evan Lovett and Raychel Vendetti. (I excluded Ray Petelin since he continues to be a current anchor…I don’t even want to get into that cat fight).
Anybody else I missed?
BTW, Bob…we have got to get our hands on video of Hyle’s reporting on the Patty Santafemia story…has to go into the Historical Society’s archives and on YouTube for all to enjoy!
To quote legend
“I always like Paul Wagner on the anchor desk. Calm, cool delivery…very trustworthy.”
100% agree
Joel –
Don’t forget Phil Fatica! Sports Anchor at TV-12 in the early 1980s then jumped to WSEE to become News Anchor for a couple years.
And for the REAL old-timers WICU Anchor Dave Forsythe. Dave was Anchor from the mid-1950s until the late 1960s and (according to Mike Csop) was the most popular Anchor of the time at WICU.
Cyndy Patton. Best.
And it is Kiran, not Kiren Chetry.
She was a fresh breeze and new perspective in her Erie days.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiran_Chetry
How about Lou Baxter? I know he is WJET News Director but didn’t he used to Anchor the weekend Newscasts during the 1990s?
Lou Baxter did anchor, for about 10 years.
Then there’s Harold Shields who did sports, but I believe he was a news anchor from time to time. Can anyone confirm that and maybe know his whereabouts?
Harold anchored weekends back in the 70′s. Not sure where he is now.
A few others that time has forgotten…Mark Spain WICU Weekend Anchor who was in Cleveland for many years, Mishka Marshall, now a corporate attorney in Texas I believe.
Janice Edwards whereabouts unknown. Gemma Eiswerth, (Lou Tullio’s grandaughter and former reporter/anchor at WJET) working in PR for a Cleveland area company. Ken White, former weekend sports anchor at WJET, now Ken White, Ph.D. head of communications for the business school at University of Virginia.
And one of my favorite people to work with, Taz Boga, who did morning fill in anchoring at WSEE and is now a top anchor/reporter in Canada for network news in Ottawa.
Ken White, a very good friend and had as much talent as anyone I have ever worked with. Could have easily anchored news.
Hey, we forgot Harry Hairston.
I visited with Harry a few years back when he was still in Detroit. One of those lovely broadcast mergers lead to him being let go. He now is lead investigative reporter and anchor at WCAU, the NBC O & O in Philly.
I’m glad to hear that…I always liked Harry.
I don’t remember Harry ever anchoring, but I do remember that he did some great reports for WICU. Nice to see he’s doing well for himself in Philly.
Janice was out in L.A. but if you Google her name there is a link for someone who looks like her listed as the Public Relations Coordinator at Breckenridge Village in Willoughby, Ohio.
There was also a tall bonde at 12, pre-Guyton, pre-Chetry. I can’t remember her name but she only there about a year and left to go teach. Maybe Mick Csop can remember who she was.
Also, morning anchors on 12 included Beth Adubato, and Lauren Perkins.
Found her name on one of Jack Tirak’s old pages…Amanda post . Like I said she was there about a year or so. I think it was actually post-Guyton, but pre-Chetry, because she was teamed with Kevin.
And another one: John Stehr anchored at WSEE. Moved to the CBS Morning Show as Financial Editor. Now anchor in Indianapolis at NBC affiliate WTHR.
PR
I think you mean Annette Tyler. Co anchored with Paul Wagner.
Harold Shields is a coroprtae big wig in Pittsburgh. Alcoa I think.
He is ..or was..also Chair of the trustees at Edinboro University.
Don’t forget Renee Phillips. A beautiful woman. Tall. Blond. Gorgeous. She was Paul Wagner’s co-anchor and was then teamed with Chris Knowles.
Also Kate Huben (sp?) did some reporting and fill in anchoring at WICU late 80s early 90s.
Doug White is correct – Harold Shields is a bigwig with Alcoa in Pittsburgh. He was also Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Edinboro.
And lets not forget the beautiful Margaret Shortridge. An excellent talent who left Erie for greener pastures. She had a lot of energy and was a real firecracker.
Dougie…you got it. I realized tonight tht I had a senior moment with it. You now CRS. Thanks for correcting me.
Rene is out in Reno, NV…she is out of broadcasting. And Kate is doing real well in Cleveland in the PR business.
Lest we forget the legendary Ron Widner and his short but semi-spectacular stay at WICU….the last I knew he was working at Sam’s Club…yes he had the plastic horn …….Geez.
and although he never anchored at WICU, he was featured in Dick Clark’s “bloopers” show on the 90( you knew he was from Buffalo). Yes John Stehlin…from Erie to Clevel;and to the Carolina to Philly to L.A. and then back home to Buffalo where he did weather in Rochester and was replaced by Brian Neudorf. Where is he know? In buffalo operating his own advertising agency and just hit the mega jackpot Wheel of Fortune at Seneca Niagara casino for…………….$825,263.00 !!
He’s doing fine now and I consider him to be my bestest friend forever…..lol !
You can find updates on many of the above-mentioned people at http://erietv.tripod.com . If you know the whereabouts of others, or updates on the listed names, please let me know so I can update the site.
-Chris
Can’t forget current C-Span regular..Steve Scully
And what about Lou Baxter
My favorite weather guy was Mark Guy Findlay..pre SNL, but hilarious. And weather ICON Shirley Ramsey.
I actually remember Harry Hairston at WSEE around 1980-1981. Later, he moved to WICU.
My two favorite memories of Harry Hairston – one, he knew everybody in the area. Once he got passes for me, Mike Shannon and himself to golf up at the Peak for free, just because he knew a guy who worked there. Bill Knupp bitched us all out when we came into work because we were sunburnned (skin cancer, anyone?) – well maybe not Harry!
Also, Harry only used one shirt when he did the weather on weekends at ICU. It was disgusting in real life – dark makeup crusted all over the collar – a few years worth!
Harry was one of those guys who really enjoyed being recognized when he went out, and now I’m glad that he has become more than that – he’s become a journalist.
Once I heard Harry refer to the weather out west near the “specific” ocean! …as opposed of course to the “Sea of vagueness”