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This is what I’m thinking:

* So those “new programming opportunities” that Channel 4 General Manager Chris Musial was talking about is a morning show called “Wingin’ It, Buffalo Style.”

The station has begun running promos for the new show, which will air at 8 a.m. weekdays on WNLO-TV in place of an hour of the 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. edition of “Wake Up.”

The promos note that the program is “coming soon.”

I’m told that CW23 spokeswoman Allie Hartwick is going to be the host and the show is tentatively set to premiere April 11. According to sources, it will be a mix of paid and unpaid segments.  

“Wake Up” co-anchors Joe Arena and Victoria Hong are prominently featured in the promos. If they are involved, let’s hope that the show isn’t loaded with paid programming disguised as features. It isn’t a good idea to have news personnel involved in a show with paid segments.

Channel 2′s Saturday paid program, “WNY Living,” is hosted by Janet Snyder, who isn’t part of the news staff.

* Speaking of paid programming, MyTVBuffalo 49 is carrying one starting next week that makes one wonder if an amateurish commercial that has become a local TV classic can be turned into a half-hour TV show. I’m not sure I’ll buy it.

Airport Plaza Jewelers – The Kiosk – is premiering a half-hour morning show at 7 a.m. Monday on WNYO-Channel 49. “The Kiosk Presents: People Inc. and the Chocolate Sale” will run Sunday through Friday. The hosts will be Don Hoffman and staff members Rick, Melanie and Eric. According to a release, the show will feature cash and prize giveaways but viewers must register at www.airportplazajewelers.com/contest.

Additionally, the show will feature “Kiosk Auditions” by aspiring local performers, interviews that showcase Buffalo-area businesses and features on the human services agency People Inc.

* Channel 4’s ratings for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament from Thursday through Sunday were only down 25 percent from a year ago. I say “only” because the local CBS affiliate had competition from games on cable’s TBS, TNT and truTV and it lost its biggest local draw – Syracuse – to truTV.

A year ago, Syracuse’s wins over Vermont (6.3) and Gonzaga (6.8) were the highest-rated games on Channel 4 during the first two rounds. Cornell’s game with Wisconsin also had a 6.3 local rating a year ago.

The highest-rated game so far this year was a 6.0 for UCLA and Florida. Duke’s narrow win over Michigan and Ohio State’s romp of George Mason had ratings in the 5s.

* It is rare I watch much of stodgy YNN, Time Warner’s 24-hour cable news channel. But last Friday, I caught “Capital Tonight” just in time to see host Liz Benjamin and a panel of three newspapermen weigh in on New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s (see above) shot at Buffalo.

Benjamin asked if Mayor Byron Brown’s PG-13 shot back at Bloomberg was appropriate. Nick Reisman, a Gannett News Service reporter, seemed apologetic about quoting Brown as being “pissed off.”

Does Reisman realize what words are routinely aired on cable?

I was told that some news organizations bleeped out Brown’s words. If so, that was unfortunate. The words are pretty tame by most language standards and bleeping them out may have made some viewers think the mayor said something far worse. The PG-13 expression also served to illustrate the anger of the normally mild-mannered Brown.

Later in the segment, Reisman apparently tried to put Brown’s salty language in perspective by adding that “Buffalo is the city of Carl Paladino.”

That’s an unfair representation. Sure Paladino won the area decisively when he ran for governor against Andrew Cuomo, but his behavior hardly represents that of the majority of  people in our area. Lately, Paladino’s email hit list has included gratuitous shots at reporters Jim Heaney, Scott Brown, Donn Esmonde and anyone else who has recently done stories on him or his business dealings.

Ken Lovett, the New York Daily News bureau chief, noted that he went to school in Buffalo and added it does have a chip on its shoulder. “It is a good city,” he said. “Because of the snow or whatever, it should have it. It really was an insensitive remark (by Bloomberg) when breaking it down.”

And Jimmy Vielkind of the Albany Times-Union put it all in perspective by noting that “it is just Mayor Bloomberg putting his foot in his mouth again, which I think he has a penchant for doing.”

Then he added, “go ahead, pick on Albany next and I’ll come after you.”

Funny stuff. I may have to watch YNN more often.

pergament@msn.com

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