THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 31, 1996 TAG: 9601310027
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: LAWRENCE MADDRY
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
NO FIRING of a local media personality has generated more letters to the editor - or, I suspect, more phone calls and letters to local columnists - in the memory of this newspaper staff than Dr. Duane Harding's dismissal by WTKR-TV.
The station's management - which has every right to run its station the way it thinks best - has dug in its heels on this one.
So, as this is written, it appears the many folks who were shocked and dismayed that Dr. Duane will no longer be bringing them the weather on Channel 3 are out of luck.
If there is a ray of sunlight in this emotional weatherscope it is surely the way viewers have flocked to the meteorologist's support.
As editorial writer Pat Lackey said the other day - after scratching his head over another pile of mail arriving in support of Dr. Duane - this shows a lot about people in Hampton Roads.
``All of it good,'' he added. How true.
Here's what I think we've learned:
We like people that are honest and know their stuff.
We prefer substance over gimmicks.
We like people who act like our neighbors.
We are surprisingly loyal.
We take our weather very seriously in these parts.
A person's life can hang on a weather report. Even those of us who work indoors but drive to other places can be put in harm's way. A good example is the recent blizzard that gridlocked the Northeast and put a deep blanket of snow west of I-95 in Virginia.
I had a talk with Andy Roberts, the popular former weatherman for WTKR-TV, a few days back. He and Dr. Duane became good friends at the station. ``It hit me hard when I heard about it,'' he said. ``Duane is a really, really nice man. He was the best weatherman in this area and the most knowledgeable.''
I think the fact that large numbers of Dr. Duane's audience found him to be so weather wise is not astonishing. (That's not to say that the other folks doing weather around here aren't competent. They are.)
But when someone is obviously doing a great job, it really troubles viewers when they are no longer on the air.
And it seems to especially trouble folks here. In larger media markets, say New York, Philly or Chicago, people are too busy to notice or care when a local media personality is sacked. After all, they rarely know who lives in the next house or apartment.
I suspect that Manhattanites sum up such things by saying, ``That's the way the cookie crumbles.''
But down here, where the scenery and climate is better and the pace a bit slower, we tend to look at folks who come on TV in our dens and living rooms as neighbors because we are neighborly ourselves.
And we deeply resent it when they are taken from our company. Particularly anyone who exudes sincerity and decency the way Dr. Duane did. He seemed the kind of neighbor you'd enjoy chatting with over the back fence.
So, when someone does something to a good neighbor like that . . . well, stand back, because Hampton Roads will rumble and blow its stack like a volcano.
Well, whadayaknow. I think we've learned something here. And as Lackey says, it's something we should be proud of.
Anyway, here's hoping Dr. Duane improves his station - in one sense or another - very soon. by CNB