Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 5, 1994 TAG: 9410050123
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: COLLINSVILLE LENGTH: Long
Bill Wyatt, a Martinsville newsman who lost his job after a rival exposed an extramarital affair, has proved the old adage: If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
Wyatt's dirty laundry was strewn all over the country after Henry County's tabloid-style television station, Cable 6, exposed his affair with a co-worker.
Wyatt, the news anchor and man behind the start-up of Martinsville's Channel 57, was fired by station executives because of fallout from the scandal - a scandal that was dissected on the Oprah Winfrey and Maury Povich shows, as well as in the National Enquirer.
One would think Wyatt's taste for Cable 6 and its owner Charles Roark would be a tad bitter.
Think again.
Tuesday, Roark made a wacky story even wackier when he confirmed that Cable 6 has hired Wyatt, the man whose career it helped temporarily destroy.
"Cable 6 didn't do the damage; the people at Channel 57 did," Wyatt said. "They controlled what I could do. They tied my hands. They wouldn't let me respond to what Cable 6 was doing. In the end, I wouldn't cooperate with them."
To make things even more interesting, Wyatt still owns 23 percent of the stock in Channel 57's parent company, Southern Broadcasting. He sank $100,000 - "my life savings," Wyatt says - into the station and worked for two years to secure a broadcasting permit for it.
Wyatt says he also is considering his legal options, including a possible wrongful-dismissal suit against the Southern Broadcasting board of directors, of which he is still a member.
"If they hold a meeting, I expect to be there," Wyatt said Tuesday.
Pete Bluhm, owner of WMVA Radio in Martinsville and a member of the Southern Broadcasting board, said "as long as Bill's a member, he can attend the meetings."
Asked if it raises concerns that Wyatt could report details from the meetings on Cable 6, Bluhm said: "Of course it concerns me."
Bluhm went on to say that the board is considering a plan of action, but did not discuss specifics.
Wyatt mentioned the possibility of a merger.
"The only way I see this working long-term is if some type of relationship develops between Channel 57 and Cable 6," he said.
But for the meantime, Roark, Wyatt and Cable 6 reporter Bob Sharp say they make a great team: Wyatt has a polished on-air presentation, Roark is a talented producer, and Sharp sniffs out the stories.
Their first order of business, they say, is to "expose an establishment interested in gaining control of television in the Martinsville and Henry County area."
The establishment?
"Frank Cassell," says Roark.
Frank Cassell is Henry County's sheriff. He has battled accusations made by Cable 6 on everything from corruption to limited media access at the Henry County jail.
Further details regarding the latest accusation will be addressed by Cable 6 in coming weeks, Roark said.
Cassell was out of town and could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
CABLE 6 CHRONOLOGY
MAY:
Channel 57, the brainchild of Bill Wyatt, goes on the air in Martinsville/Henry County with cable-television and UHF access.
JUNE:
Ramona Hines, a sales associate with Channel 57, begins working with Wyatt, the station's news anchor, as a technical assistant.
JULY:
Cable 6, a competing Henry County cable station, airs an interview with Glen Hines, Ramona's husband. Hines alleges that his wife and Wyatt are having an affair. "Bill Wyatt stole my wife," Hines tells Charles Roark, Cable 6 owner and the station's news producer.
Wyatt goes on an extended leave of absence from his job. Ramona Hines is fired.
AUGUST:
Wyatt returns to the air, admits to the affair and apologizes to his family and co-workers.
Hines makes frequent appearances on Cable 6 call-in shows, blasting away at Channel 57 for firing her and appealing to Wyatt to disclose additional information about their relationship and his feelings for her.
A national media frenzy begins. The list of takers includes Maury Povich, Oprah Winfrey, The American Journal, People magazine, The Washington Post and the National Enquirer.
SEPTEMBER:
During his nightly call-in show on Channel 57, Wyatt takes a live call from Ramona Hines, who asks, "Did you or did you not ask me to marry you?'' A Channel 57 executive immediately has the show cut from the air. Wyatt walks out of the studio and does not show up for work the next morning.
Cable 6 shows live video of Wyatt picking up Hines in front of its Collinsville studio the next evening.
After two days of no communication between the Channel 57 board of directors and Wyatt, the news anchor is fired "for business reasons," according to a release from the station.
OCTOBER:
Cable 6 hires Wyatt, who still owns 23 percent of stock in Channel 57's parent company. "We make a great team," says Roark.
by CNB