The Virginian-Pilot
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Monday, March 6, 1995                  TAG: 9503040030
SECTION: DAILY BREAK              PAGE: E2   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Column 
SOURCE: Larry Bonko 
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   74 lines

APRIL WILSON HEADED FOR A BIGGER TIME

TODAY'S LOCAL TV BUZZ:

If you think it rains a lot here, wait until you get to Seattle - Who says you have to pay your dues for years and years before you move up in TV? April Wilson has been working in TV news full time for less than five years, including the time she spent at WTKR. That was enough for the news director of a station in Seattle, who recently hired reporter Wilson.

She moves up from the 40th TV market to the 12th largest while other more experienced, and dare I say, more polished, reporters here wait for a call to the big time.

Other comings and goings: Bob Cashen, who was WAVY's news director at this time last year, hitched up with Associated Press television in Washington, D.C., not long after leaving Channel 10. Here's a coincidence. At APTV, Cashen handles feeds from reporters working overseas. The other day, who should be beaming a story from London but LeAnne Rains Benedetto, who worked for Cashen at Channel 10.

It's a small world after all.

Janice Lee, who reported the weather at daybreak and on weekends for WTKR until a few months ago, called from her home in Pennsylvania to say she's still working in TV, but not in broadcasting. Lee's involved in industrial TV.

She says she doesn't miss the 4:30 a.m. wake-up calls.

Did they realize they were in on a scoop? - Debbie Stills' 4-year-old, Adam, loves the Olsen twins who appear on the sitcom ``Full House'' with former Norfolk resident Bob Saget. They've been on that show since they were 9 months old. When WTVZ staged ``The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley Sweepstakes'' not long ago, Stills entered on her son's behalf.

Surprise, surprise. The Stills family won an all-expenses paid trip to Universal City, Calif., to meet the twins and have dinner with them. Adam, sister Stephanie, 16, and a friend, Daphne Booth, made the trip with Debbie Stills. While in California, the family learned that ``Full House'' has been canceled after eight seasons on ABC.

It will probably still be around in syndication on WTVZ and other stations well into the 21st century. Debbie Stills told me that the Olsen twins took the news of the cancellation like old pros. She got the impression that Mary-Kate and Ashley will soon be in another series.

Now let's get the transmitter in place - It doesn't look or sound like doomsday around local public broadcasting affiliate WHRO. While budget cutters in Washington are ready to greatly reduce or eliminate money going to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, WHRO pushed ahead with an order for a new transmitter to be operating by summer.

And a few days ago, repairs were completed on Channel 15's transmission lines at the tower in Driver.

WHRO has been operating on reduced power (except on cable systems) since last October. The station received $950,000 in state and federal grant money to make the repairs before the Republicans took control and brought out the long knives. Critics say the service is obsolete because cable channels now supply the drama, nature shows and children's programming once exclusive to PBS.

WHRO is up to full power as the March membership drive begins.

When I polled Infoline callers about the proposed cuts, asking how many favor less tax money, or no tax money at all for public TV and radio, the readers supported PBS and National Public Radio by 2 to 1. Said Stephanie Kuhlmeyer in Chesapeake, ``I'd rather see my tax dollars go to sustain the programming we now have on PBS than pay a $50-a-month cable bill.''

It's the next best thing to Hollywood calling - Ever wonder if film or TV producers have put out casting calls in Virginia? Wonder no more. The Virginia Film Office has established an information line (1-800-641-0810) to keep you up to date on who is filming in Virginia and where, and if the filmmakers are hiring. They have put out casting and crew calls for two productions. by CNB