Post by gartv on Apr 11, 2006 5:00:30 GMT -3
Macon Television has a lot of sad tradition.
Traditionally keeping the same tired and boring personalities in prime roles just because they have been there for decades while letting great talent go away to bigger career rewards in other cities.
Traditionally low budget and incompetent
Traditionally just a temporary "first job" after graduation for most people.
Here are my examples:
WMAZ-13: Frank Malloy has been with the station for over 20 years. He is the boring "dean" of Macon TV who started as a Sports Anchor and moved into the Anchor chair with the "queen" of Macon TV, Tina Hicks, who was on WMAZ for more than 25 years. Tina Hicks, an African-American was a wannabe Monica Kaufman at best. She "retired" from WMAZ in 1999 but rumors say she was difficult to work with and they let her go. She was not featured in the 50th anniversary special for the station in 2003.
WMAZ also had a "Senior Forcaster", the late Bill Powell. Who was not a real meteorologist but a popular personality of several decades and in Macon you don't mess with someone who has been around for a long time. It does not matter if there are people better qualified for the job. Today we have a wannabe comedian as a meteorologist in Ben Jones. He has about a much talent as the class clown in middle school, but he is a native. You just have to have someone on the air that grew up locally! The only person on WMAZ that I truly enjoy to watch is Suzanne Lawler (and I am biased because I have met her personally...she is a great person) I wonder how much longer will she stay in Macon? She has been here as long as I have..12 years.
WMAZ recently lost so many great people who's careers clearly would not have grown if they had stayed at this station. There was no way that management would put these people in the positions they so deserved or pay the salaries they deserve. The list of former WMAZ personalities is way too long to list.
Former WMAZ talent Ben Hoover, Calandra Wright, Chris Smith (now at WGCL), Lori Johnson, Adam Murphy (also of WGCL), Bill Gaines (of NBC-17 Raleigh) and Arch Kennedy (former WSB now WFTV Orlando) are some of the people with top notch qualities that could have made WMAZ every bit as good as the other GANNETT owned stations. Also WMAZ has been very slow to fill some of the vacancies. They do promote from within, but it seems that the promotions are premature.
Currently, WMAZ is remodeling their news set. I doubt they are planning anything as good as the new WXIA set and I would be surprised if HD newscasts are in the near future for this station. But they are dealing with a strong (re)up-start competitor in town.
Which brings me to my concerns about the "new" news department in Macon, WMGT-41(NBC). This was basically a cheap little station that happened to be an NBC affiliate for its entire life (38 years). Their studios were at the transmitter out in the country, they had local newscasts until the early 1990's and for years ran Simpsons episodes at 6 and 11.
WMGT restored an old building in downtown and moved into the city in 2000 with plenty of studio space, started a newscast in 2004 with mostly fresh "just graduated" talent and a great promise for bringing quality news to Macon. They are now the #2 station locally but they too have lost many people. Co-anchor Susan Jackson and several reporters have left the station. Many have left for "family reasons" but like WMAZ, none of these people have been replaced yet.
WGXA- FOX 24 was once a crappy little ABC affiliate. When they became a FOX station in 1996 there was this promise of bringing a cutting edge news product. Well how about cutting one's throat! That is how one feels when watching this FOX station compared to other FOX stations around the counrty.
WGXA failed with a morning newscast and cut their early evening and weekend newscasts. The only program is a 30 minute news at 10 followed by a local call-in talk show at 10:30. This is where all of the un-educated majority of the area calls in with stupid questions for equally stupid politicians. It is really painful to watch this program.
AS for the short lived attempt of Macon's ABC station WPGA-58...well High School News Productions or old silent home movies have a better chance at winning an emmy. WPGA was as low budget as in using coupons at the Dollar Store. The attempt died quickly.
There are smaller markets with superior quality newscasts. Macon/Warner Robins is NOT one of them.
Traditionally keeping the same tired and boring personalities in prime roles just because they have been there for decades while letting great talent go away to bigger career rewards in other cities.
Traditionally low budget and incompetent
Traditionally just a temporary "first job" after graduation for most people.
Here are my examples:
WMAZ-13: Frank Malloy has been with the station for over 20 years. He is the boring "dean" of Macon TV who started as a Sports Anchor and moved into the Anchor chair with the "queen" of Macon TV, Tina Hicks, who was on WMAZ for more than 25 years. Tina Hicks, an African-American was a wannabe Monica Kaufman at best. She "retired" from WMAZ in 1999 but rumors say she was difficult to work with and they let her go. She was not featured in the 50th anniversary special for the station in 2003.
WMAZ also had a "Senior Forcaster", the late Bill Powell. Who was not a real meteorologist but a popular personality of several decades and in Macon you don't mess with someone who has been around for a long time. It does not matter if there are people better qualified for the job. Today we have a wannabe comedian as a meteorologist in Ben Jones. He has about a much talent as the class clown in middle school, but he is a native. You just have to have someone on the air that grew up locally! The only person on WMAZ that I truly enjoy to watch is Suzanne Lawler (and I am biased because I have met her personally...she is a great person) I wonder how much longer will she stay in Macon? She has been here as long as I have..12 years.
WMAZ recently lost so many great people who's careers clearly would not have grown if they had stayed at this station. There was no way that management would put these people in the positions they so deserved or pay the salaries they deserve. The list of former WMAZ personalities is way too long to list.
Former WMAZ talent Ben Hoover, Calandra Wright, Chris Smith (now at WGCL), Lori Johnson, Adam Murphy (also of WGCL), Bill Gaines (of NBC-17 Raleigh) and Arch Kennedy (former WSB now WFTV Orlando) are some of the people with top notch qualities that could have made WMAZ every bit as good as the other GANNETT owned stations. Also WMAZ has been very slow to fill some of the vacancies. They do promote from within, but it seems that the promotions are premature.
Currently, WMAZ is remodeling their news set. I doubt they are planning anything as good as the new WXIA set and I would be surprised if HD newscasts are in the near future for this station. But they are dealing with a strong (re)up-start competitor in town.
Which brings me to my concerns about the "new" news department in Macon, WMGT-41(NBC). This was basically a cheap little station that happened to be an NBC affiliate for its entire life (38 years). Their studios were at the transmitter out in the country, they had local newscasts until the early 1990's and for years ran Simpsons episodes at 6 and 11.
WMGT restored an old building in downtown and moved into the city in 2000 with plenty of studio space, started a newscast in 2004 with mostly fresh "just graduated" talent and a great promise for bringing quality news to Macon. They are now the #2 station locally but they too have lost many people. Co-anchor Susan Jackson and several reporters have left the station. Many have left for "family reasons" but like WMAZ, none of these people have been replaced yet.
WGXA- FOX 24 was once a crappy little ABC affiliate. When they became a FOX station in 1996 there was this promise of bringing a cutting edge news product. Well how about cutting one's throat! That is how one feels when watching this FOX station compared to other FOX stations around the counrty.
WGXA failed with a morning newscast and cut their early evening and weekend newscasts. The only program is a 30 minute news at 10 followed by a local call-in talk show at 10:30. This is where all of the un-educated majority of the area calls in with stupid questions for equally stupid politicians. It is really painful to watch this program.
AS for the short lived attempt of Macon's ABC station WPGA-58...well High School News Productions or old silent home movies have a better chance at winning an emmy. WPGA was as low budget as in using coupons at the Dollar Store. The attempt died quickly.
There are smaller markets with superior quality newscasts. Macon/Warner Robins is NOT one of them.
