THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 2, 1995 TAG: 9503020048
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
HERE IN AN MTV minute is why The New York Times Co. put up $100 million or thereabouts to buy WTKR, the CBS affiliate in Norfolk:
``It is a strong station in a very attractive market.''
So said Lance R. Primis, president of the The New York Times Co. Broadcast Group when his company announced a few days ago it would purchase Channel 3 from Narragansett Television Inc. of Providence, R.I.
Rumor has it that CBS was also itching to purchase WTKR.
But the seller instead chose The New York Times Co., which already owns stations in Memphis, Tenn., Scranton, Pa., Huntsville, Ala., Fort Smith, Ark., and Moline, Ill.
As the deal was concluded, Primis in New York City said, ``We see WTKR as fitting perfectly into the expansion of our television group. While we will be in a market as large as the Norfolk market for the first time, our company has operated stations in markets such as Memphis and Scranton, which are similar in size. We are confident that our strategy of emphasizing local news and advertising will be equally as successful in Virginia.''
Among the country's TV markets, Hampton Roads ranks 40th, Memphis 42nd and Scranton 47th.
The New York Times Co. refused to reveal the purchase price. It will not be a secret for long, however.
The numbers will be revealed when papers are filed with the Federal Communications Commission.
The New York Times Co. is expected to take charge in Norfolk in about four months, if the sale is approved by the FCC. A spokeswoman for the Times said she wouldn't discuss what if any plans her company has for changing WTKR's on-air look or programming.
A new, fancier ``3'' logo, perhaps? Less orange on the news set?
``It's far too early for such discussions. Those matters are far down the road,'' the spokeswoman said.
Will there be sweeping changes at 720 Boush Street, the Norfolk headquarters of WTKR, when the deal is done? Will the people from The New York Times Co. turn the place inside out?
Order Peninsula anchor Ann Keffer to update her 1970s 'do? Break up Channel 3's Testosterone Four, its all-male anchor team at 6 p.m.?
Not likely, judging by what I've heard from sources in Memphis and Scranton.
They tell me that The New York Times Co. operates its TV stations in a solid, stable, easy-does-it fashion. ``It is not a slash-and-burn operation,'' said my contact in Memphis. An anchorman at WREG-TV in Memphis, Jerry Tate, has been on the job for about 20 years.
Sounds like stability to me.
In Memphis, the Times' station is deeply involved in covering local news but is not the news leader. Same story at WTKR. In Memphis, the Times' station has been finishing No. 2 to the NBC affiliate at 5 and 10 p.m. WVEC dominates in Hampton Roads.
Jeanne Pennington, director of public relations at United-Paramount affiliate WGNT in Portsmouth, worked at the Times' station in Scranton. She said the company participates big time in local news and community affairs. ``When I was there, we were doing seven newscasts a day,'' she said.
Pennington offered something else that should have ears perking up at WTKR: ``The Times Co. treats its employees very well.'' Does that mean turkeys for all hands at Christmastime?
Also in New York City, the chairman of the company that publishes The New York Times, and rates 80th among U.S. companies involved in broadcasting, said gushy things about the purchase of Channel 3. ``We are delighted to acquire WTKR and become part of the greater Norfolk community. Acquiring WTKR is an important step toward strengthening our position in the electronic media,'' said Arthur Ochs ``Punch'' Sulzberger.
Wonder what the chairman thinks of Channel 3's ``Eleven at Eleven'' newscast? Bet they don't have that in Scranton. by CNB