THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 20, 1995 TAG: 9502180036
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: Long : 127 lines
GET OUT the knife and fork. Got a full menu of local TV morsels:
Shall we call it Son of WAVY or WAVY II? - It's been a big year for a low-power station in Virginia Beach previously known to a handful of viewers and maybe a sea gull or two. First, WVBT hitched up with the new Warner Brothers network. Then, it landed on the Cox Cable system with 190,000-plus customers.
Now, Channel 43 is partners with NBC affiliate WAVY in a marketing and programming deal. WAVY's general manager, Llye Banks, arranged for daily live coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial on WVBT. No commentary. No commercials.
If you miss Channel 10's news at the dinner hour, you can catch it on WVBT at 7:30. When the ratings for ``Donahue'' fell on WAVY, Banks put the oldest daytime talk show in the business on WVBT mornings at 9 rather than cancel it. Banks gives you two stations for the price of one.
Speak up and say what's on your mind - You probably have a zillion questions about the future of public television and WHRO now that the state and federal budget cutters have vowed to pick PBS' bones clean in 1995.
Anticipating your angst, the WHRO executives will open the phones Tuesday night from 8 until 11. Participating in ``Ask the Manager'' will be WHRO's president and general manager, John R. Morison, and his lieutenants, including Mary Pruess, vice president for television service, and Raymond Jones, who runs things on the radio side for WHRV and WHRO-FM.
``It's an opportunity for viewers and listeners to reach us directly with their questions,'' said Pruess. ``Ask the Manager'' will be carried on Channel 15 and both radio stations. The call-in segments will not upset regular programming, said local PBS spokeswoman Rosalyn Teichroew.
``Tuesday night's programs will air uninterrupted. Questions will be taken before and after the programs,'' she said.
One question sure to be asked: Why has ``Sesame Street'' been cut back from three times a day to one? If Angie Callahan, manager of WHRO's children's programming fields that question, she'll tell you that Big Bird's lower profile in Hampton Roads has nothing to do with the current money crunch.
In January, WHRO began accelerated programming for pre-schoolers daily starting at 6:30 a.m., and for older children beginning at 3:30 p.m. The 5 1/2 hours of programming, which includes educational messages called ``PTV Pointers,'' leaves room for only one airing of ``Sesame Street'' at 8:30 a.m.
Get the little ones to check out ``Puzzle Place'' at 6:30 a.m. Cool show.
The comings and goings - Tom Colbin is the fresh foot soldier on the WAVY news team. Colbin, who recently checked in from Alabama, started out strong with a nice piece on the fifth-graders and their teacher who shaved their heads in order to make a classmate feel better about losing her hair to chemotherapy.
Gerald Owens is the new reporter on WTKR, replacing Jennifer Jones, who moved to Tampa, Fla. Beverly Kidd has been promoted to full-time reporter with Channel 3. She's the one with the dimple in her chin.
Last year, this film was the buzz of Hollywood - ``Forrest Gump'' is making the big Oscar news, but a year ago, Steven Spielberg was the toast of Hollywood for ``Schindler's List.'' TCI of Virginia, the cable operator in Chesapeake with 43,500 subscribers, will beam out ``Schindler's List'' to subscribers hooked up to the Starz! channel Feb. 25 at 8 p.m.
Spielberg might have pocketed a ton of money if he had optioned his Holocaust drama to pay-per-view, but chose to bring it to TV first on Starz! ``We're honored to have this exceptional film,'' said Stephen Shelanksi, director of the channel's program acquisitions. Starz! is a premium channel that costs $4.75 extra in Chesapeake. TCI offers Starz! and Encore both for $4.95.
GET OUT the knife and fork. Got a full menu of local TV morsels:
Shall we call it Son of WAVY or WAVY II? - It's been a big year for a low-power station in Virginia Beach previously known to a handful of viewers and maybe a sea gull or two. First, WVBT hitched up with the new Warner Brothers network. Then, it landed on the Cox Cable system with 190,000-plus customers.
Now, Channel 43 is partners with NBC affiliate WAVY in a marketing and programming deal. WAVY's general manager, Llye Banks, arranged for daily live coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial on WVBT. No commentary. No commercials.
If you miss Channel 10's news at the dinner hour, you can catch it on WVBT at 7:30. When the ratings for ``Donahue'' fell on WAVY, Banks put the oldest daytime talk show in the business on WVBT mornings at 9 rather than cancel it. Banks gives you two stations for the price of one.
Speak up and say what's on your mind - You probably have a zillion questions about the future of public television and WHRO now that the state and federal budget cutters have vowed to pick PBS' bones clean in 1995.
Anticipating your angst, the WHRO executives will open the phones Tuesday night from 8 until 11. Participating in ``Ask the Manager'' will be WHRO's president and general manager, John R. Morison, and his lieutenants, including Mary Pruess, vice president for television service, and Raymond Jones, who runs things on the radio side for WHRV and WHRO-FM.
``It's an opportunity for viewers and listeners to reach us directly with their questions,'' said Pruess. ``Ask the Manager'' will be carried on Channel 15 and both radio stations. The call-in segments will not upset regular programming, said local PBS spokeswoman Rosalyn Teichroew.
``Tuesday night's programs will air uninterrupted. Questions will be taken before and after the programs,'' she said.
One question sure to be asked: Why has ``Sesame Street'' been cut back from three times a day to one? If Angie Callahan, manager of WHRO's children's programming fields that question, she'll tell you that Big Bird's lower profile in Hampton Roads has nothing to do with the current money crunch.
In January, WHRO began accelerated programming for pre-schoolers daily starting at 6:30 a.m., and for older children beginning at 3:30 p.m. The 5 1/2 hours of programming, which includes educational messages called ``PTV Pointers,'' leaves room for only one airing of ``Sesame Street'' at 8:30 a.m.
Get the little ones to check out ``Puzzle Place'' at 6:30 a.m. Cool show.
The comings and goings - Tom Colbin is the fresh foot soldier on the WAVY news team. Colbin, who recently checked in from Alabama, started out strong with a nice piece on the fifth-graders and their teacher who shaved their heads in order to make a classmate feel better about losing her hair to chemotherapy.
Gerald Owens is the new reporter on WTKR, replacing Jennifer Jones, who moved to Tampa, Fla. Beverly Kidd has been promoted to full-time reporter with Channel 3. She's the one with the dimple in her chin.
Last year, this film was the buzz of Hollywood - ``Forrest Gump'' is making the big Oscar news, but a year ago, Steven Spielberg was the toast of Hollywood for ``Schindler's List.'' TCI of Virginia, the cable operator in Chesapeake with 43,500 subscribers, will beam out ``Schindler's List'' to subscribers hooked up to the Starz! channel Feb. 25 at 8 p.m.
Spielberg might have pocketed a ton of money if he had optioned his Holocaust drama to pay-per-view, but chose to bring it to TV first on Starz! ``We're honored to have this exceptional film,'' said Stephen Shelanksi, director of the channel's program acquisitions. Starz! is a premium channel that costs $4.75 extra in Chesapeake. TCI offers Starz! and Encore both for $4.95. by CNB