- Image by azipaybarah via Flickr
This is what I’m thinking:
* Talk about burning the candle at both ends.
For the past three days, Channel 4’s Joe Arena has been anchoring at 5 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
The 5:30 p.m. shift formerly was anchored by Lia Londa, who left for a job in Rochester three months after she filled in for Lisa Flynn after Flynn’s retirement.
Arena’s work schedule isn’t unprecedented even in this market. Channel 2’s Jodi Johnston anchors at 5 a.m. and 5 p.m.
But Arena’s situation should come with an asterisk. He is about to go on vacation to get married.
I’d say working the 5 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. shifts isn’t an ideal way to start off a marriage after a honeymoon.
* Speaking of Lando, her decision to take the Rochester job over Channel 4 wasn’t surprising because she lives there with her husband and children
What was surprising is that a Rochester TV station pays anchors more than a Buffalo station.
* NBC News reporter Kate Snow did a generally positive story on the NBC Nightly News Wednesday on Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino (see above) calling him “the stereotype of a renegade outsider with Tea Party support.”
Snow’s story was balanced, meaning it didn’t dwell on the negative. She let the Buffalo developer refute charges he is a racist because of emails he sent to friends. Snow also suggested his pocketbook could “put him within striking distance” of Democrat Andrew Cuomo.
“This year,” concluded anchor Brian Williams, “throw out everything you know about politics.”
Earlier Williams promoted the story by saying Paladino came “out of nowhere” and asked “can he pull of the political upset of the season?”
The NBC story surely won’t hurt Paladino’s chances.
It will be interesting to see if Nightly News follows up tonight with a report on Wednesday’s confrontation between Paladino and Fred Dicker of the New York Post.
All three Buffalo TV news operations opened their newscasts this morning with Wednesday night’s heated, finger-pointing exchange.
The exchange escalated when Dicker asked Paladino for proof about his claim that Cuomo was unfaithful during his former marriage.
Neither the candidate nor the reporter looked good in the exchange, but only Paladino is running for office. Dicker moved beyond being an aggressive reporter into being combative.
The most damaging comment from Paladino seemed to be a line that would cause many viewers to wonder if the candidate is a fan of HBO’s old “The Sopranos” or new “Boardwalk Empire.”
“I’ll take you out buddy,” Paladino told Dicker.
A Channel 2 reporter said this morning it was unclear what Paladino meant, but it was clear he wasn’t talking about taking Dicker to the movies or dinner.
While most candidates might be embarrassed about making that threatening comment in public, it wouldn’t be shocking if Paladino made the line one of his slogans in campaign commercials.
Alan Pergament was the television critic for The Buffalo News for 28 years. He currently is an adjunct professor at Buffalo State College and Medaille College, teaching courses in communications. He also writes a monthly column on the media for Buffalo Spree magazine.
