Goodbye TMW...Hello Vegas Valley View

It's time to hang the "Closed sign" up on TMW.

Hello Vegas Valley View. Yes, Vegas...as in Las Vegas!

Visit and bookmark the all-new Vegas Valley View on http://vegasvalleyview.blogspot.com/

Thank you, Greensboro, for the memories.

E.C. :)

Time Warner update

TMW continues to silently follow two bills in the state legislature designed to protect municipal utility monopolies, such as cable television.

One of those bills has essentially been gutted, thankfully.

My friend Jay Ovittore writes, via Facebook:

S1004 will be in the Public Utilities Committee tomorrow and for the first time I don't have to worry about it. The Senate used a procedural rule to gut the bill and replace all text with new text that allows Progress Energy to convert some of it's Coal fired plants to Natural Gas.

The [sic] is not a mere mention of cable, municipalities, Time Warner, none of it.

HB1252 is still alive and I will track it as always.

For now we can all claim another victory against Big Cable!

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E.C. :)

More belt-tightening at Gannett

AP reports Gannett will cut over 1,400 staffers, or about 3% of its workforce. It doesn't mention if its newspaper or broadcast division will be affected specifically. Gannett is the parent company of WFMY-CBS 2.

E.C. :)

Robb Ellis doing well in Wilmington

After some well-deserved days away from the Triad, I'm back...and it is good to be back.

And while lounging around on Oak Island Beach, I was watching the NBC affiliate in Wilmington, WECT, and ran into former WFMY meterologist Robb Ellis. Seems as though he's fitting in quite nicely down there.

E.C. :)

Rowe looks into the changing landscape of local news anchors

N&R writer Jeri Rowe looks into why there are no more news veterans at local television stations, this in the wake of recent movements over at WFMY.

And yes, more reader comments. They are intense.

E.C. :)

Go digital tomorrow

Finally...

Are YOU ready???

E.C. :)

We know what newsradio is...but newsradio is NOT...

...newsradio is NOT a simulcast of a TV news broadcast. That's simply...a simulcast.

It's what college radio WNAA (90.1FM) does during the noon hours everyday with a simulcast of CBS-2 news @ noon. It is also what WXII did on their former 830AM signal before giving it up to Truth Broadcasting's WTRU back in 2000.

Just venting...I see Roch is venting too...

E.C. :)

Bloggers watching the media in upcoming municipal elections

At least one Greensboro area blogger will be watching the media for what he calls "potential biases" in the city's closely-watched upcoming municipal elections this fall.

Dr. Joe Guarino says in a post on his blog that "there is enormous potential for biased media coverage of the 2009 elections." He posted a link to a story in a recent issue of YES! Weekly.

Guarino:

A reader has brought to my attention a story about the 2009 City Council elections.

One should note the discussion of the District 4 race. Challengers Joel Landau, and to a much lesser extent, Teresa Jobe, are given favorable ink. Incumbent Mary Rakestraw is not...Watch for sympathetic, positive portrayals of Joel Landau in particular; and watch for, at best, the absence thereof for Mary Rakestraw.

And when this happens, we need to point it out as best we can.

He also adds:

...it would be a mistake to give the voters too much credit in a place like Greensboro-- particularly when the media does not do its job well in terms of covering candidates and elections.

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E.C. ;)

June 3 Storm Coverage: TV gets an "A", radio gets an "F"

(N&R)

Wall to wall storm coverage yesterday afternoon as the City of Greensboro nearly flooded with a record amount of rainfall.

Local TV did a fairly good job of covering the storms during the event itself. I thought FOX-8 and News 14 Carolina had pretty good coverage.

Local radio...noooope!

After leaving work early last night to rush home to ensure everything was AOK at the Huey ranch, I was disappointed that there was nothing on local radio, and driving conditions between Winston-Salem and Greensboro on I-40 were terrible at 8pm last night. Nothing on WSJS nor WZTK. WMFR? Nope. College stations...WNAA? No. WSNC? No. WUNC? No. WFDD? No.

Discovery? You bet...the Triad has NO local news radio station at all. Pathetic, in a time like last night. Even more pathetic is when WSJS is running promos on its station touting that they stay on the air during weather emergencies.

Something to think about...perhaps an opportunity can be created here.

E.C. :)

YES! Weekly unveils redesign

This week's edition of the YES! Weekly is summed up in one word...sharp. A redesign of the area's alternative weekly shows many surprises.

Editor-in-chief Brian Clarey:

The new YES! Weekly is sleek, clean and more sophisticated in its appearance than we ever thought it could be.
I think it looks like Rolling Stone, before it got tiny.

Big props go out to the new design team — Art Director Lindsay Emeigh, Ashleigh Waters and Loren Bailey — who logged some pretty serious hours on this project.
And kudos to Publisher Charles Womack, who was bold enough to drive this redesign through and see it home.

Don't worry — YES! Weekly still has the same great content from the same great writers, but we look a whole lot prettier.

I agree.

E.C. :)