| Topic Name: |
Altoona, PA Market |
| Message Name: |
Altoona Weather |
| Date Posted: |
05/16/2005 |
| In Reply To: |
I agree nearly 100% with "jtowner" and the information he/she posted.
I've never worked in that market, but I lived in State College for several years in the mid-late 1990s. I get back there every now and then, and get a chance to view each station to see how they're doing.
First thing I noticed -- WTAJ hasn't changed a bit. Stale certainly is an appropriate word. Definitely time for a fresh coat of paint. New or updated set & graphics are beyond necessary. And what's the deal with solo anchors at 5:00 and 5:30? The evening news block is where all the resources are directed -- why not have traditional co-anchored newscasts? Those shows would be more watchable if that were the case.
WJAC seems to have been "Cox-ified" during the past few years -- meaning that some of the cookie-cutter Cox newscast policies made their way to WJAC. Many of those directives don't work in the "folksy" small market setting (such as no weather tosses or chat). The newscasts are not very friendly. I did enjoy seeing Marty Radovanic continuing to anchor -- he's the market's best, in my opinion, and is a nice familiar face to see whenever I return.
And finally, WWCP/WATM. I could write a novel on everything that is visibly wrong with these stations' newscasts. Someone really needs to do these stations a favor by coming in and teaching the staff how to put on a respectable news product. I realize this is market 95, but come on -- the product should really be better. But perhaps I'm expecting to much from these stations -- they were painful to watch 10 years ago, and they're just as painful to watch now. |
| Message: |
Weatherwise, this is a strange market in that you've got Penn State, one of the major meteorology schools in the country, not too far away. WTAJ's Joe Murgo is far and away the best wx source in the market, and he's a valuable asset to the station.
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