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| LINDA, ANNA, LEXI, AND ME |
My
New Years’ resolution is to resurrect this blog and do it bi-monthly. Some of you have asked me to do it, and it
gives me a chance to do without the restrictions of social media. So I will give you my thoughts of what is
going on in the news, sports, and in my world.
2013 was a great year for me. So
let me begin this year end blog with some breaking news and why I think 2014 is
a year I am looking forward to.
MOOSIC – WNEP Investigative Reporter
Dave Bohman has signed a two year contract and will remain as the Investigative
Reporter through January 2016. Terms of
the deal were not disclosed.
I am
truly excited about this. About nine
months ago, I thought I would be leaving for a couple of reasons. I had a couple of feelers in larger markets,
though nothing of substance came through.
Also, WNEP was being sold, and I was concerned that one of the bottom
feeding corporations that own several stations would buy us. Luckily, Tribune bought us instead, and since
Trib had already operated our station, it seems like the new boss is the same
as the old boss. I expect changes to
come. TV news is always changing. I just don’t expect things like drastic cuts,
or a different focus on news that might de-emphasize investigative work. The changes will be dictated by market
conditions in our industry, not by a corporation that has a differing
philosophy of how to run a station group.
We
are the highest rated ABC affiliate in the top 100 markets. The November ratings book just came in, and
we just had a 21 rating (not share, rating) for the 6PM news. In most major markets, only NFL games
involving the home teams, and the grand finale of American Idol get 21 ratings.
Being
a member of the Newswatch 16 team is an honor.
I have worked in several markets, and can tell you the talent level for
the market size is very good here. They
do things the right way, keeping established anchors, and have a good record of
new hires. And they put me in position
to succeed with the support of time and resources to get results. Most investigative reporters in markets my
size usually have just a title, and spend most of their stories at murder
scenes, house fires, and court cases that have few if any investigative
elements.
On a
personal level, staying is perfect for my daughters who really have established
deep friendships here, and love their school.
As for my wife, let’s just say our daughters really like it here, and so
do I.
THE HOLIDAY
SEASON
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| Photo Courtesy: Steve Senter |
I am
headed to Cape Cod to spend next week with my mom and brothers in Chatham, the town I grew
up in. I also had to put the
investigative efforts on hold due to holiday staffing levels, and spent time in
Dushore on an unusual and sad Christmas Day fire, and in rural Bradford County, on the strange shooting death
that may or may not soon be labeled a murder.
When I get back, I have a few investigative priorities to get to, and in
the first few months of this year, I promise follow ups on the breach of patient information at a Williamsport dental office and what looks like the beating of a juvenile inmate at the Lackawanna County Juvenile Corrections lockup.
These two stories were the among the best I did this year.
WHAT I WON’T BE DOING
If I
have a pet peeve about my job, it’s the public perception that I am a consumer
reporter. Larger markets often have one
and for several years, WNEP had someone (with the Action 16 title) who would
take calls from people who claimed they were victims of rip-offs from
contractors to car dealers. We don’t
have such a person, but I get calls from people asking, sometimes demanding
that I do a story about the car dealers, landlords, bosses, etc.
Why is there no consumer reporter at
Newswatch 16 (and there hasn’t been one for about seven years)? I don’t know. But when I took the
investigative job here in 2010, one of the first warnings from my boss was,
“Don’t do consumer!” As someone who once
ran a newsroom and has access to research I can hazard a guess. Research shows consumer reporting has very
little interest among TV viewers. And it
really doesn’t build good will. If we do
a story about a bad landlord, and get that landlord to make things right, we
will get hundreds of calls from people in the same boat who will be
disappointed and angry I am not taking their cases too. And a recent research project
from the respected TV consulting firm AR&D showed that next to weather,
investigative reporting is the most important element of local newscasts. More important that breaking news, health
news, sports, features, and yes, consumer reporting. In fact the top stations in the US have more
people working on their investigative units than their sports departments. This is a trend that I think will
continue. So please, PLEASE think of me
when you have a story about corruption, crime, and social trends that can be a
subject of one our investigative reports.
WNEP does not have a consumer reporter, and I doubt it will have one any
time soon.
SYRACUSE ORANGEMEN
I
had dinner at the Sand Springs Clubhouse the Friday after Christmas and watched the Syracuse
Orangemen defeat Minnesota
in the most exciting football bowl game of the year. And this afternoon the #2 ranked Orange basketball team beat Villanova after being down
18. I never had a doubt, and am looking
forward to this year.
RANDOM DAVE BOHMAN PICTURE OF THE WEEK
BECAUSE THIS IS MY BLOG!!!
Fellow
Orangeman and Phi Delta Theta fraternity brother Matt Siegel visited on his way
to upstate New York
on a weekend when I anchored the news.
We both have aged pretty well over the last gulp! 36 years since this
picture was taken. For the record Matt is on the left in the first pic, and on the right on the second. And the picture proves that I decided a long time ago the Pete Rose haircut was not working, and that I now spend more money on ties.
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| Moosic PA recently |
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| Phi Delta Theta 1976 |
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