| Topic Name: |
Altoona, PA Market |
| Message Name: |
here's the info |
| Date Posted: |
05/16/2005 |
| In Reply To: |
Hi,
Could anyone be nice by giving me info about the market?
I am sort of partial to 6, but TAJ would be nice too.
Please tell me about JAC. What is pay like? What is station morale like? What about their newscasts? Weekdays and weekends.
Thx |
| Message: |
First be warned this is a spread out market.. Johnstown is 45 minutes from Altoona, State College is 45 minutes from Altoona/an hour and a half from J-town.
That said it's not a bad small market. Big stories do happen here. JAC and TAJ are in a great competition. Both stations have Sat trucks, several bureaus.
JAC has been going through some tough times. A few years ago it swept the ratings during a May book. Since that time it has been falling more and more behind TAJ. Insiders blame former News Director for chasing out people who knew what they were doing, hiring those who didn't. He was fired. Word is the new news director is under a lot of pressure to turn things around, but that hasn't been easy. Station has tried doing things differently.. reporters only fronting live vo/sots, few pkgs.. playing up breaking news (even when it's not breaking).. and other bells and whistles. May not work in such a conservative market.
TAJ seems to enjoy it's position as market leader...although it has a stale product. Set is around a decade old, so are the graphics. Word here is that main male anchor is jumping ship... speculation is an insider will take the job. 10 benefits from it's location. More people in market relate to Altoona than out-of the way Johnstown.
As far as the three cities are concerned, State College is a great town.. Altoona isn't bad. Johnstown is pretty rough.
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