THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 10, 1995 TAG: 9507080092
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
HERE'S GOOD news for Ed Hughes, WTKR's anchorman without a contract: The readers of this column prefer Hughes over other anchormen in this market by a margin of 5 to 1.
Hughes, who showed last week that he is not one of those I'm-afraid-to-get-my-hair-mussed, desk-bound anchormen by getting out and working up a sweat with the Coast Guard's search and rescue team, easily out-polled Jim Kincaid of WVEC and Les Smith of WAVY in more than 200 votes cast. They reached me by way of Infoline (640-5555, press 2486), e-mail (RSUE30A(AT)Prodigy.com) and the regular old-fashioned U.S. Postal Service.
Hughes, who has been with the CBS affiliate since way before it changed from WTAR to WTKR, is among several on-air personalities who have not signed with the station's new owner, The New York Times Co. Sensing that the new broom on Boush Street in Norfolk may be ready to sweep the place clean after closing the $96-million deal, readers have rallied around blue-collar Ed.
``If Hughes leaves, we leave, too. Ed Hughes is Channel 3,'' said Martha and Thomas Warner of Portsmouth. They have been inviting Hughes into their living room for more than 25 years.
Cathy Eckhard in Chesapeake says she'll change channels if Hughes isn't around to do the news on WTKR. ``I'm very fond of Ed and would be upset if the new owners did not keep him.''
Others also said they'll begin channel surfing if Hughes is no longer at the anchor desk at 5, 6 or 11 p.m. ``I've always regarded Ed as the Walter Cronkite of this region,'' said Theresa Scott of Norfolk.
Carmen King, 18, of Virginia Beach says Hughes is like this cool grandfather on TV, and it would be just awful if he left WTKR.
``I'd like to give him a hug,'' she said.
King's mom, Crystal Curry, said her daughter has been crazy about Hughes ever since meeting him in a Farm Fresh grocery store, and would be devastated if Channel 3 did not renew his contract.
Same sentiment from a Portsmouth reader. ``The new management should renew Ed's contract without delay,'' said Eunice Facenda.
She also had nice things to say about former war correspondent Kincaid on Channel 13. Same story from Owen Etheridge in Shawboro, N.C., who said in his Infoline call, ``I like Jim, Barbara Ciara and Cynthia Lima on Channel 13 because they bring a down-home friendliness to what they do. My wife says that when Jim Kincaid is on the air, it's like her Uncle Jim is talking to her.''
Ciara, who is seen on Channel 13 at 5 and 11 p.m., did better than any other local anchorwoman in this little poll about whom the viewers love and hate. ``I vote for Ciara because she seems like the most sincere and friendliest of the women on TV here.'' That's from Frank Kelly in Virginia Beach.
Of Ciara's colleague, Lima, David Addison in Virginia Beach said, ``She's a babe, the best-looking anchorwoman on any channel here. She ought to go national.''
Here is how other readers feel about the men and women they see on TV almost every day:
Jim Newsome, Norfolk: ``My favorite is Jane Gardner of WTKR. I like her style. She seems to be intelligent and literate. . . . I wish they'd put her back on the 6 o'clock news because I don't get home in time to see her when she's on earlier in the day.''
Tony Katrina, Virginia Beach: ``A guy who doesn't get enough kudos is John Miller, who does the news mornings on WVEC. He has presence, a great delivery, everything an anchorman needs. I also think that Jane Gardner on WTKR is great. As for Lima on Channel 13, I need only one word to describe her. Vapid.''
Nothing about these news readers escapes the viewers. Ed Monroe of Virginia Beach called to ask if Jan Callaghan of WTKR's weekend team changed her hairdo recently.
I'll check on that, Ed.
KEYWORDS: SURVEY POLL by CNB