November 25th, 2009 
joel At some times in the past 12 months, these pixels have fraught with negativity. I for one am tired of the gloom and doom, so for a least a moment, lets turn our thoughts to what we can be thankful for from the local media that we produce and consume.
So follow me as I count my blessings in my Erie media Thanksgiving list:
- I’m thankful for the late John Kanzius, who even as his body deteriorated in his final months, engaged his spirit and drive to ensure that the important work of research surrounding his amazing RF machine to fight cancer would continue on.
- I’m thankful for Dwight Miller and WQLN, who in the face of devastating budget cuts has continued to maintain a strong programming schedule on the public broadcasting stations, including keeping my radio favorite, Marketplace.
- I’m thankful for the Dave and Jimmy show, and the mighty Dave Kaelin himself, who is the first direct advertiser on Press and Tower. Wanna join him?
- I’m thankful for Buck Night at the Erie Seawolves, where you can load up on hotdogs and cheer on every pitch with a critical mass of 5,000 of your BFF’s.
- I’m thankful for Adam, Dave, and Coach Glus from the play-by-play crew at WCTL, who kept me connected with the football action from General McLane, Strong Vincent, McDowell, Union City, and many more.
- I’m thankful for Twitter, and the Twitter-crazy crew at Grace Church who taught me how to use it. Now I can note a breaking story in media throughout the day without having to write a whole post about it.
- I’m thankful for Mike Richwalsky, who when facing an ever-growing work schedule and the loss of key players, kept his dream alive and reinvented ErieBlogs.com with new writers, a new design, and new inclusiveness while keeping the assets like the blog feed and directory that people depend on.
- I’m thankful for WJR/Detroit and WBEN/Buffalo, along with the online feed from wabcradio.com, to allow me to get my little half-hour with Rush over lunch.
- I’m thankful for Bob Bohen, Tom Lavery, Raychel Vendetti, and the dozens of others who have lost their jobs in this devastating downturn and yet have articulated good cheer and a strong hope for the future. I want to express my gratitude for your service of information and community over all those years.
So, do you have a few to add to my list?
Happy Thanksgiving from Press and Tower!
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Joel: I am thankful that we still have good solid news reports like Dave Belcmondo’s “Homeless and Hungry” story which aired Tuesday. It was a good example of an issue in our community from the perspective of the less fortunate and the generous people of this community. It gave us all time to pause and think about what we should be truly thankful for this holiday. Hats off to Action News and Dave for a sweeps series well done! Now if we could only get the other stations to do news that is relative to viewers, then we might just raise the bar out of the current quagmire of mediocrity that the news product has fallen into most recently under the mantra “to do more with less”.
Thanks Joel. It’s been quite a year in terms of the shifting broadcasting landscape. Obviously I haven’t tuned into WQLN TV or radio since with other options for NPR and PBS in my area, I can tune elsewhere. I wish what’s left of the WQLN staff all the best in the future. Other things I am thankful is living in an area where the Bills cannot blackout any Steelers games thanks to the power of digital OTA. Also people like Captain Dan who still believes that quality still belongs on the Erie airwaves. Lynn Davis on Y-103 in Youngstown is another who cares about the listeners. To you & everyone reading the P & T, Happy Thanksgiving.
Thanks, Joel, this means a lot to me. ErieBlogs.com is definitely a labor of love, but when I look at the last year and the additions/changes to the site as well as adding 10 new content contributors (you included), I’m excited for what 2010 will bring.
Here you go gang…the classic WKRP In Cincinnati “Turkey Drop” episode. A THanksgiving tradition!
http://www.hulu.com/watch/322/wkrp-in-cincinnati-turkeys-away
Joel – thank you so much. I am thankful for the support from all our fans and friends. It truly is a better place outside of those walls. Enjoying life and still very busy!! Thanks again – it’s nice to know that we are not forgotten.
We love adding to the rich tradition of high school football on WCTL. Thanks for the shout-out and we’ll do it all again next season…we appreciate you too Joel!
~Q