Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 26, 1995 TAG: 9502240030
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The anchor of the 5 and 11 p.m. newscasts on WDBJ (Channel 7) is doing just what she wants to do, she says.
"My goal has always been to have a main anchor spot in a nice-size market and city. I've reached that goal."
Breaking into her wide smile, she confesses: "I'm pretty happy."
The 31-year-old native of Utica, N.Y., reveals a couple of obvious reasons for joy. One is that she is making plans to get married. She's reticent to reveal too many details, but her husband-to-be is a central New York State native like herself, and the ceremony is planned for the fall.
The other reason is the comfortable dominance of her shows in the ratings.
When ``News 7 at 5'' went on the air in November 1993, the station was consistently being beaten in that time period. WSLS (Channel 10) was already on the air with a half-hour 5 p.m. newscast that was attracting an audience. Oprah Winfrey's talk show was at the head of the pack, though, on WSET (Channel 13).
WDBJ decided to counter with its own 5 o'clock news, anchored by Jadhon - who had been hired a year before to take on the 11 p.m. anchor slot replacing Rick Mosher.
Within seven months, ``News 7 at 5'' took over the number one ratings spot for its time period. Now 15 months later, the show's ratings have gone up even more, and it holds "a comfortable lead," as Jadhon described it.
Though she said she really doesn't keep up with those numbers - "that's somebody else's job" - knowing the show is on top "is very satisfying." The translation of the numbers, she said, is that people like and appreciate the work of the news team.
That is true also of the 11 p.m. newscast, she says, which, along with the 6 p.m. program, has traditionally dominated its time slot.
Competition is a good motivator "to go out there and do the best job we can every day." But, Jadhon insists, she is "trying consistently to do a good job and not worry about what the other guy is doing. Our goal is to have the best newscast every day." That is how the station can "continue to be number one."
Because she is on the air live at the same time the competing stations are broadcasting their news programs, she doesn't even get to see them, Jadhon said. "I can't even think about what the other guy is doing.
"We think we put a good product on the air. We try to make it interesting. We know people have just gotten home and turned on the TV, so we really keep it moving."
That means generally shorter stories and lots of live shots - from the Simpson trial in Los Angeles, to Patrick Evans for a feature story, to any one of the other reporters for a breaking story.
"It goes by fast - and it can be crazy - but it's fun to anchor," Jadhon says with a convincing smile. Because of the opportunities for live interaction by reporters and anchors, this is the newscast in which viewers get a see a little bit more of the personalities of the people who bring them the news, Jadhon said.
On the set with her each day at 5 are Connie Stevens reporting on health and medicine, Robin Reed with the weather and Steve Mason with sports. The studio anchors "all get along" with a chemistry she believes viewers can sense.
Jadhon also can interact with any of several reporters who are using the station's live remote broadcast trucks.
The atmosphere at 11 is more traditional, including a full sports segment. As the sole news anchor, Jadhon has more reading to do in a show that has a heavier emphasis on national and international news than the earlier broadcasts.
Still, just as in the early evening newscasts, local reporting is the heart of the show.
Jadhon says she sometimes does miss reporting - which she did at previous jobs in New York State and Florida - but that anchoring is her first love.
She writes her own copy for the 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. shows in a workday that begins about 2 p.m. During the afternoon she works with the show's producers, watching network story feeds and tapes of reporter's stories for the newscast. That process repeats for the 11 o'clock program.
"I feel I have to have a hold on every story. If I don't understand it, it will not make sense when I deliver it. ... I go over every other [reporter's] story at least once to make sure I understand everything in the newscast. I'm the final editor, per se."
The nature of television news today demands that anchors be flexible, capable of accommodating breaking news at the last minute. That can mean reading something for the first time as it crawls up the TelePrompTer after being written by someone else in the newsroom or interacting with a reporter live at the scene of a story.
"There is a real sense of satisfaction when everything comes together. Then this is fun. I really enjoy it."
Jadhon also seems to enjoy the celebrity that accompanies her anchor position. Though the attention can be a little disconcerting when someone recognizes her "at the grocery store, with my hair in a ponytail and no makeup on," Jadhon knows that goes with the territory. "I would be worried if people did NOT come up to me" and say hello. "They see me every day and feel they know me."
The people who do speak nearly always have something positive to say, Jadhon says.
Though there's been a fair amount of turnover on the Channel 7 news staff of late, Jadhon says she has "no plans to leave."
These are times of great opportunities for women in television news anchor positions, Jadhon says.
"I feel I've gained some respect in this business. I think [her employers] feel a lot of confidence in me."
Given her shows' ratings, viewers apparently feel confident and comfortable with Jadhon as well. "We try to leave them with a good feeling - that we've told them what is going on, but also had some fun, too."
Keywords:
PROFILE
by CNB