Posts Tagged ‘WSEE’

Poll: How soon for local HDTV?

January 25th, 2010 joel

Blogs are the thing to P&T readers.

When we asked how often you read Erie-based blogs, two-thirds of respondents said that they were connected to local blogs at least weekly.

Peyton Manning

So I’m watching the Colts put the hurt on the Jets on my sib’s 50″ 120 Hz HDTV. The WSEE/CBS pass-through looked amazing. The game footage, the graphics, replays and the commercials were sharp and effective.

But then they went local. Actually the upsampling of the standard def spots and promos didn’t totally fall apart, but compared to the net, the local origination left a lot to be desired.

Now I know that the cost of changing over the local side is in the millions, and considering that we are still in a recession, that kind of capital outlay is difficult. But if not now, then when?

How soon for local HDTV?

  • I can't see it happening in the foreseeable future (63%, 25 Votes)
  • It will take 3 years (23%, 9 Votes)
  • Between 12-24 months (13%, 5 Votes)
  • Sometime in 2010 (1%, 1 Votes)

Total Voters: 40

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Posted in Polls Tags: , , , , 13 Comments »

Bremner’s blog booted

January 7th, 2010 joel

Screen capture of Scott Bremner's blog on GoErie.com

In a moment of very strange timing, the longest long-term blogger of them all, WSEE’s Scott Bremner has entered his last post for GoErie.com.

This comes just a day after I highlighted Scott’s blog for my weekly ErieBlogs Post-of-the-Week on the ErieBlogs.com site. Here’s a clip of what Scott said on Wednesday on his post, “This Week is Goodbye”:

As close as we can figure it, this is the 578th weekly column written for this space, a span that began with a handshake in November of 1998 and has continued uninterrupted for more than 11 years on GoErie until this week.

This week is goodbye.

Call it what you will; a “couldn’t come to terms” or an “inability to reach consensus” or an “agreement to move in different directions.”

It doesn’t matter.

What’s important is that sometimes the greatest journeys don’t begin with the first step but rather with a swift kick in the pants, and that’s what gets the first step going.

There are currently 18 other bloggers on the GoErie site, most of them current Times News staff members, but in 1998 few were willing to write original material in a little known corner of the Internet.

That’s what led to the almost unheard of relationship of a TV guy writing directly to a newspaper website, especially one where the author had the freedom to write op-ed pieces virtually unfettered.

Scott’s “web column” (we didn’t have the word ‘blogger’ back when he started) has been recognized with awards, including being named Best in the Nation by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists in 2000.

Bremner says that he is bound to show up again somewhere on the ‘Net. We’ll be watching.

Posted in New Media Tags: , , , , 6 Comments »

Top Erie media stories of 2009

January 1st, 2010 joel

Happy New Year and welcome to the “teens!”

As was the case with much of the last ten years, the decade ended last night with the media front and center of culture’s conversation. With top-talker Rush Limbaugh finally released from a Honolulu hospital, and Fox viewers in O&O markets thankful for a momentary reprieve from losing their football, media doings are never far from top-of-mind.

Here’s the top stories we were talking about in 2009, by month:

  • January: local TV stations and the Times-News cover the inauguration of President Barack Obama on January 20th
  • February: longtime Erie broadcaster and cancer machine inventor John Kanzius succumbs to cancer on February 18th
  • March: Nancy Dymond replaces David Calabrese as market manager of the Connoisseur Media radio cluster in Erie
  • April: a video capture of an apparently intoxicated off-duty Erie Police officer uploaded to YouTube created a local and national controversy about police relations with the minority community, and the new reality of social media
  • May: Lilly Broadcasting merged the newsrooms of WICU and WSEE, resulting in the elimination of about a dozen off-air and on-air jobs
  • June: WICU is the final TV station to switch off their analog transmitter and put Erie completely into the digital television age
  • Wards react to the reveal July: The seven day build of a home for Erie’s Clara Ward culminated in the July 2nd reveal of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition house
  • August: Star 104/WRTS increased it’s dominance in Erie radio as the Spring 2009 Arbitron ratings were released
  • September: Former Erie Congressman Phil English began his high profile blog “Presque Isle to the Potomac” on GlobalErie.com
  • October: The Erie Times-News was named Newspaper of the Year by the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association
  • November: Erie’s most-visited media website, GoErie.com underwent a major redesign
  • December: The weekend of December 12th and 13th turned out to be one of national media attention on Erie, as Saturday Night Live mentioned the fictional “Erie Chamber of Commerce” as part of a PGA spoof over the Tiger Woods controversy, then a two-hour special episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition showcased the work of thousands of volunteers impacting an eastside Erie neighborhood.

Next week, we’ll talk with one of Erie’s top media watchers about the past year and what we might see in the new year. Stay tuned.

Posted in From The Editor Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , No Comments »

Three of Lilly’s ladies leave

December 29th, 2009 joel
Jacqueline Policastro

Jacqueline Policastro

It is contract time at the area’s two broadcast television companies. Not all of the talent you see is a-under contract, and b-up for renewal. However, this moment of decision-making has led to a significant change at one duopoly: Lilly Broadcasting.

The anchor of WSEE Newswatch at 6 & 11, Jacqueline Policastro has opted to leave Erie for a big-time market jump to anchor the morning news at WISH/Indianapolis. That’s a jump from DMA #146 to #25 for those keeping score at home. Although, she was offered a renewal and enjoyed her 18 months in Erie, Jacqueline says that she is excited at the new opportunities to help WISH continue their “multi-platform” initiatives.

“I will be working with the news director to help direct the newsroom switch to ‘multi-platform’”, Jacqueline said to P&T. “They have already done quite a good job, with Blackberry and iPhone apps, etc… but it will be exciting to help move that forward even more.”

Perhaps the biggest highlight of Jacqueline’s tenure here at WSEE was her regular “one-man-band” reporting from Washington, and the national political conventions for all of the Lilly stations, bringing the national stories home and relevant to Erie viewers.

(more…)

Posted in Television Tags: , , , , , , , 6 Comments »

Poll: Who will survive until 2020?

December 28th, 2009 joel

P&T readers tend to have a love/hate relationship with radio stations that offer the all-Christmas formats during the holidays. In our poll, the same percentage said that they were more likely as said “less likely” to go to a “Holly, Jolly”-formatted station.

As I said yesterday, the “aughts” has been a tumultuous decade for media, even locally. Remember it was nearly  ten years ago when Myron Jones sold Jet-FM and Froggy to Next Media, ending local control. And then we truly became a one-newspaper-town in September 2000, as the long and painful process of merging the Morning News and Erie Daily Times came to fruition. Of course, P&T has covered extensively the merger of the WICU and WSEE newsrooms this past June.

Even with all that change, we have not seen a media outlet go dark since the Daily Times stopped landing on our stoop in the afternoon sun. Since World War II, that’s the only major media stream to stop cold: every licensed radio and television station continues to operate with FCC authority, and the Times Publishing  Co. still delivers seven days a week.

So my question to you is, will that be the case in the next ten years? Will we actually lose media streams, or will they morph to an online presence and dump their transmitters or presses? Honestly, the question makes me shiver, but it is worth the ask.

On a scale from 1 to 5, will the current traditional Erie media streams (newspaper, TV, radio) exist in ten years?

  • 2 - It's not likely (49%, 21 Votes)
  • 4 - I think so (19%, 8 Votes)
  • 1 - Not a chance (16%, 7 Votes)
  • 3 - I'm not sure (12%, 5 Votes)
  • 5 - Absolutely (4%, 2 Votes)

Total Voters: 43

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Posted in Polls Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment »

Raychel Vendetti returns to Erie TV

December 9th, 2009 joel
Raychel Vendetti

Raychel Vendetti

Just in time for holiday vacation relief comes news of the return to Erie television of former WSEE morning anchor/producer Raychel Vendetti. You’ll remember that Raychel along with Jennifer Mobilia was a causality on the on-air talent side of the merger of the Lilly Broadcasting newsrooms of WSEE and WICU back in June 2009.

This time, Raychel will have to take the long route up Peach Street to the studios of WJET/WFXP, where she says she’ll be “very part-time.”

The truth is I was contacted by Lou Baxter and asked if I would be interested in joining their crew as a part time reporter. Its on a very occasional basis – like Brian Sheridan. I have agreed and will work when they need me. I am excited to be back in the industry part time while I continue to develop the media production company my partner and I started after WSEE’s layoff.

That new venture, the LINEAR_ production house seems to be keeping her busy, but it will be great to see the spunky McDowell and Penn State-Behrend grad back on the beat in this town that she so loves.

Posted in Television Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 11 Comments »

Lilly telethon for Kanzius fund live tonight

September 17th, 2009 joel

The folks at Lilly Broadcasting’s WICU, WSEE, and the CW understand that it will take a lot of money to push the cancer-fighting radiowave machine invented by the late Erie broadcaster John Kanzius to human clinical trials. So last fall they held a live telethon on all their Erie stations simultaneously to raise support for the Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation and received nearly $100,000!

They are at it again tonight with the 2nd annual Community for Kanzius telethon.

You can support this hugely important cause for our community and humanity as a whole with a click of your mouse below. Read more about the science and how far the Kanzius Non-invasive Radio Wave Cancer Treatment has come since John’s pie plates and hotdogs experiment. Then give generously.

You can also call between 5 & 8 PM at 814-454-5201 extension 0, or 1-800-533-8812.

Note to bloggers: I think everybody should have this banner and link on their blog today. Let’s give a real boost to the folks at 12 & 35 and encourage them in their good work!

Posted in Television Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment »
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