Well folks, sweeps is just about in the books. It’s been quite a month for our local news readers. Let’s look back at the May that was, and hand out a few roses and rocks for the entertainment they brought to us through the ol’ boob tube:
Roses for Russ
Russ scored the hottest story of the month when he broke the East Waynesville Baptist Church story about the Rev. Chan Chandler preachin’ politricks from the pulpit. The story went national, a real winner for a local TV station during sweeps.
Russ reported the story in his normal straightforward fashion. Russ is probably the most evenhanded reporter WLOS has, and he knows how to work his Waynesville (and surrounding areas) beat well. He’ll push the limits sometimes, like the story about the Maggie Valley boys who claimed they uncovered a visage of Mary in an old log they were sanding, but for the most part Russ keeps ‘er twixt the ditches.
He does it all while still looking cute in his skivvies over at the Haywood Regional Medical Center’s fitness center. (Yes, Ashvegas is all seeing, all knowing.)
Keep up the good work, Russell.
DunkelRock
A rock to the noggin of Victoria Dunkel for her out-of-bounds comments to Kermit the Frog. During a promotional tour to hype the Muppet version of “The Wizard of Oz,” Dunkel confessed her undying love for Kermit. The rest is history. (See earlier posts.)
Rocks and Roses for Le
To John “Punnyman” Le for his inane, pun-packed “humor” report on the Pillsbury Doughboy, and any number of others where his idea of funny is a hackneyed pun.
Le can hit the right note on serious stories, such as his Memorial Day report, but he’s got no range when he does “stories” on such matters as “cats named Darcel.” (Yes, he did that story.)
Le gets roses for toning it down a bit tonight. We cringed as Le teased to his story about a local bellydancing class by looking us in the lens and stating “aspiring dancers go belly up,” but, at least for Le, he kept the groaners to a minimum. He tossed in a “strip down those stereotypes” and noted that for some, bellydancing “is more than just a gut feeling.” But that was about it.
WunderRock
Julie Wunder, as well as Jay Seltzer, get a bag of rocks for totally boffing the big Memorial Day forecast. Dire predictions between the two all weekend characterized our mountains as caught in “unstable weather patterns” which surely meant a “washout” of a weekend, where the “bottom would drop out” of the weather.
Keep that umbrella handy, you two, and whack yourselves in the head with it a couple of times.
Roses for all LOS lovers
Scott and Candice walked down the aisle and made it official (I guess that little fling with Mike Hydeck a while back meant nothing to Candice). Cherub Charu cleared up some rumors flying and touted her devotion to her hubby-to-be in a personal note to Ashvegas (our first celebrity post). And Julie Wunder is also planning to tie the knot soon.
All the best to you and yours!
1 Comment
Yes, kudos to Russ, who has remained virtually pun-free while keeping every hair in place. I once saw him eyeing the duds in a Structure store, the likes of which he sometimes sports on those WLOS standups. Cool leather jacket, man.
I gotta say, I also love me some Charu and Michelle. They’re the chicks hittin’ the streets to make Darcel’s “reporting” look legit. God bless ’em all — even John Le, cuz he needs it most.