Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 25, 1994                   TAG: 9403250219
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Melanie Hatter
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CHANNEL 10'S NEWS AT 5 REALLY IS 1ST

The newscast beat out its competition with a 12 rating and a 28 share in the Nielsen Station Index for the Roanoke-Lynchburg market released this week. (A rating is the percentage of all TV households, and a share is the percentage of households watching TV.)

February was an eventful month with many things affecting television viewing: More people than ever before tuned in to watch the Olympics on CBS, which helped lead into Channel 7's 11 o'clock news; ice storms caused major power outages across the region leaving many viewers unable to watch TV and some stations stuggling to remain on the air; and when the power was on, more children were at home watching kids' TV.

Channel 10 News Director Bill Foy says the station is over the moon. ``We didn't do anything differently. What works is familiarity,'' he said. ``And it has to do with chemistry too. ...Whenever numbers go up it's a team effort.''

November's winner, ``The Oprah Winfrey Show'' on WSET (Channel 13), dropped into second place with a 10 rating and 24 share. Foy said he is especially pleased to beat ``Oprah'' because the talk-show queen has a history of being the dominant afternoon show across the country. WDBJ (Channel 7)'s newest 5 o'clock newscast gained some points from November but remained in third place with an 8 rating and 21 share. WJPR/WFXR got a 3 rating and 8 share with ``Saved by the Bell.''

``It's just gonna take some time,'' said Jim Shaver, vice president of news and programming at Channel 7. ``We've come out with a good-looking product.... But it hasn't been but 90 days [since it started in November]. We're just gonna build on it and stay the course.''

Many people were tuning into the news for weather reports and weather-related stories, and Foy believes that's what helped his 5 p.m. newscast. But a spillover of viewers from ``Little House on the Prairie,'' which won the 4 p.m. time slot with an 8 rating and 25 share, could have contributed. At 5:30 p.m., ``The Andy Griffith Show'' on Channel 7 got a 12 rating and 27 share. Channel 10's ``Cops'' got a 9 rating and 20 share, and ``Family Matters'' on WJPR/WFXR got a 4 rating and 9 share.

At 6 o'clock: WDBJ got a 21 rating and 36 share; WSLS, a 14 rating and 24 share; WSET, a 12 rating and 20 share; and WJPR/WFXR, a 4 rating and 6 share with ``Full House.''

At 11 p.m.: WDBJ got a 13 rating and 36 share; WSLS, an 8 rating and 23 share; WSET, a 5 rating and 14 share; and WJPR/WFXR, a 1 rating and 2 share for ``Cheers.''

After five years and one month as a DJ at WROV-FM (96.3), Cheryl Ann Robinson is jumping ship.

She is joining the staff at WDBJ (Channel 7) to produce the morning newscast. She starts March 28.

She says it's time ``to explore a different aspect of broadcasting'' and put her journalism degree from Radford University to full use.

But the time came for a change. Robinson approached the television station about getting an opportunity to get her foot in the door to TV broadcasting. Then Channel 7's news director, Jim Kent, called her and asked if she wanted to get both her feet wet.

Robinson said she is ``extremely overwhelmed'' at the prospect of doing television news, she said.

WROV-FM General Manager Mike Slenski said that because Robinson was one of the station's pioneers, her ``creative force will be dearly missed.''

Here's a chance to see some of your favorite radio personalities in one evening. ``The Great American Read-Aloud: Night of a Thousand Stars'' is set for April 20 in the Roanoke City Public Library at 7 p.m. Reading from their favorite books are: morning DJ Sam Giles and Saturday oldies show host Delvis ``Mac'' MacCadden of WROV-FM (96.3), Duke Ellington of WTOY (1480 AM), morning co-hosts Sally Sevareid and Monty ``Mofo'' Foster of K92, and Kenny Shelton of WYYD (107.9 FM). The event is open to all the family.

It's sponsored by the American Library Association and the American Association of School Librarians to promote family literacy and encourage families to read together. For more information, call the Roanoke City Public Library Youth Services at 981-2955.