Asheville News

WLOS: When a brief mention becomes a lead story

Jason Sandford January 16, 2006

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

Over the weekend, WLOSers had quite a change of mind concerning what’s news. On Saturday night at 11, the local teevee people led the precious first five minutes of the news-reading-cast with wind. As in windy weather. After we got a report about the weather in Charlotte, too, WLOSers mentioned that an Army pilot from Leicester died “last week” in a helicopter crash.

That all changed on Sunday night. The death of the helicopter pilot had devastated a community, Holly Headache told us as she led the news-reading-cast with news that the pilot died in a crash on Friday. (Funny how the description of when the incident happened changed, no?) She said the pilot, a graduate of Erwin High School on his second tour of duty in Iraq, was being remembered as a war hero who would be dearly missed.

How did this all change? Isn’t the death of a local soldier in a far-off war always top story material? We’re not quite sure. But it sure is confusing.

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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5 Comments

Jeremy Brett January 17, 2006

Best quote from the noon broadcast on Monday the 16th: Bob asking the chef from Bistro 1896 if the habañero sorbet will be served warm. No, Bob; I believe we’d call that "juice."

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david January 17, 2006

"you actually have to have experience anchoring before you can get an anchor job in market 35."

Well, no, you don’t. It’s true that Holly’s not ready for an anchor chair, even if she would want it. But your blanket statement doesn’t hold true.

Mark Pompilio. First anchor job: WLOS weekends.
Jay Siltzer. First anchor job: his current WLOS morning gig.
Sherrill Barber. First anchor job: WLOS weekends.
Keith Taylor. First news anchor job: WLOS weekend mornings (granted, he had news desk experience from sports anchoring).
Alan Mason. First anchor job: WYFF, I think (may have just been sports, there).
Tom Crabtree. First anchor job: WSPA.
Fred Cunningham. First anchor job: WSPA (another convert from the sports desk).
Nigel Robertson. First anchor job: WYFF

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respond January 16, 2006

you actually have to have experience anchoring before you can get an anchor job in market 35.
holly can barely report…much less anchor.
let’s fine tune those skills before we throw in adlibs and breaking news situations.

the weekends will either go to russ bowen or michelle boudin..who have both anchored and are good….that is if they don’t bring someone in from another station.

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david January 16, 2006

My money’s on Russ or Susan. They’ve each been passed over for a couple o’ anchor chairs, and either would definitely be a good choice. They’re too good to rot over in the Western Carolina News Sidewalk or the early morning roadside for much longer. I’d say it’s time to start looking for a bigger station somewhere, if the usual "everyone’s better if they come from somewhere else" mentality prevails again.

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White Lightin' January 16, 2006

Hey, least they didn’t pull that "in a story we FIRST told you about" nonsense this time.

That bullcrazy just drives me in-frickin-sane, as we’ve already mentioned.

Hey, WLOSers, when is Barbie leaving the weekend news desk? Will there be a teary-eyed sendoff when she retires her news-reader crown? Any word on who’s sitting there next?

My money is on honey Holly Headache, but I don’t think they’ve ever let her sit down for a televised show. Closest she’s been to the three shot is standing beside the weather wall for the story intro chroma. Am I wrong?

C’mon Loe-big; give the girl the chair. Least it will make her look taller.

bwah.

Kaboom! rumble, rumble, rumble.. Executive Producer White Lightnin’ has spoken….

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