Comments on: Cejka Moved to Weekends by Ch. 4

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 04:35:43 +0000

Mike could do well at 7, but they’re in worse budget shape than 4. However, with Jennifer Stanonis leaving, they only have 2 meteorologists right now, and a regular reporter who does the forecasting on weekends in Mike Spong.

As for 2, Maria Genero’s contract should be coming up for renewal in January or February so who knows at this point (she had signed a 2 year deal). My guess is if she were replaced, it could likely be by Mary Beth Wrobel who has been filling in and doing weather production at 2 since being canned by 4. Since they have 5 on their weather staff (counting MB). I don’t think that Cejka would be filling a position there unless they want to expand to 6 on their staff.

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:15:37 +0000

Lindsay was NOT natural in front of the camera when she started. She was unwatchable. She stumbled, said a lot of “umms,” had a very awkward delivery style. That said, when she left, her improvement was very noticeable. She really had improved and gained confidence in those 2 or 3 years. Channel 4 weekend viewers went through the growing pains, then she left. But good for her, whatever extra work she did to work on her delivery paid off.

By: Tina

Tina — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 19:09:19 +0000

I watched Mike last night. I must say it made me feel sort of bad for him after being with the station for so long to then be told “hey. you are now on weekends whether you like it or not”. Amelia is good but does not deserve to get the full time shift so soon.
Channel 7 might need a meteorologist, maybe he should do that and let Channel 4 try working with just 3 meteorologists again…we all know how well that worked out.

By: Tom

Tom — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 17:36:56 +0000

I acutally got a chance to see some of the newer weather videos from Lindsay’s new station LEX 18. Comparing now to her entire time at Ch 4, she definitely has come a long way since moving on. It could potentially be that her new station has longer weather segments than we have which allows her to explain things better and not rush through. Also, she doesn’t have to be a reporter during the week like she was here in some cases.

However if she had stayed here, I would easily watch her more than Bryan Shaw. At least she did get better over time.

As for Mike Cejka, I would not be surprised if it’s to try and force him out the door. 25+ years at a station is a long time. With LIN’s budget issues, it would save them a lot of cash compared to one of the new people coming out of school or their first tv job. Loyalty to a station or ownership means nothing anymore in most cases.

What 4 should have done is similar to what 2 has been doing for a while: hiring a mix of solid veteran reporters and then introducing the younger reporters into the fold. They seem to have struck a good balance and their consistancy/professionalism definitely outshines the other stations right now. On average, I think 2 has the best tenure among the actual reporting staff since most have been there at least 3-5 years or longer.

A good way to put it is that 2 is now what 4 used to be. 2 in the late 80′s/early 90′s kept having the revolving door while 4 kept rising to the top and eventually got there. Now, 2 is rising to the top while 4 is in a freefall with the revolving door.

By: Tom

Tom — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 17:23:24 +0000

Dave- Aaron Mentkowski moved to afternoons, doing the 5, 5:30, 6, and 11pm shows. Mike Randall moved to mornings. In fact, 7 last night put together some commercial about how they think it’s important to have the Chief Met on in the mornings now.

By: Tom

Tom — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 17:20:17 +0000

I agree with what you think about the looks of Rachel Kingston. An OK reporter but someone you don’t want to see on tv.

By: J. Myrle Fuller

J. Myrle Fuller — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 16:31:47 +0000

I wouldn’t think so. I think they saw Bryan’s résumé, saw “Lyndon State” on it, noted it was Cejka’s alma mater, and gave him the job. A lot of stations do that (PA stations, for instance, show heavy favoritism to Penn State grads).

By: Pergy's friend

Pergy's friend — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 13:50:15 +0000

That’s showbiz.

By: Tina

Tina — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 02:44:27 +0000

I thought Amelia was hired straight out of school. Don Paul kept talking about it and how she was a Penn State graduate. Lindsay was not camera ready when she was hired but learned fairly quickly. Bryan is just too hard to watch/follow because my attention span doesn’t allow me to sit through the “umms and uhh’s” for very long, exactly like Tom was saying. I still think Mike was demoted no matter how you look at it and it seems like a sneaky ploy to get him to leave.

By: Pergy's friend

Pergy's friend — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 22:23:30 +0000

I disagree. I thought Lindsay Schwarzwaelder had more personality and was much more of a natural in front of the camera. She’s way better than any of Ch. 4′s Kiddie Corps hires.