THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, April 23, 1996 TAG: 9604230046
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
TODAY'S LOCAL TV buzz:
Are you listening, Montel? - In response to a recent Montel Williams show called ``Dying to Be Thin,'' several readers including Carol Deemer, Joe Godwin and Janice Delaney, called to say they are happy and healthy after surgery that helped them lose weight.
Montel recently brought on three women who told horror stories about stomach stapling and the gastrointestinal bypass but did not introduce viewers to patients for whom the operations were successful. His show was one-sided.
Delaney, who lost 120 pounds, called the surgery a lifesaver.
Her surgeon, Dr. Stephen A. Schechner of Virginia Beach, appeared with Williams, but he was not asked to bring along patients who, like Delaney and Deemer, say the operations changed their lives for the better. Deemer is down to 128 from 238 pounds in 1993.
``And I'm very healthy,'' she said. Godwin, who is not one of Schechner's patients, weighed 330 pounds in high school, 380 in college and is now much thinner since surgery. ``It was the gift of life,'' said Godwin.
Send your message to the advertisers, Mom - Lisa Schutt of Virginia Beach, the mother of a 3-year-old and a 7-year-old, is upset with the trash talk she hears on the syndicated daytime talk shows, especially Maury Povich's hour on WVEC.
She was watching the generally harmless ``Live! With Regis & Kathie Lee'' with the kids one day not long ago when Channel 13 did a segue into Povich at 10 a.m. The subject: prostitution. ``What a jolt,'' said Schutt. ``Disgusting.''
How's a mom to fight back against such tasteless programming, Schutt asks? First, complain to the station. Secondly, boycott sponsors who support TV trash, which will come in great waves during the May sweeps.
Program note: Povich at 10 a.m. replaced the soon to be canceled ``George & Alana,'' which airs in repeats on WVEC at 1:05 a.m., a TV graveyard.
And they still can't afford a general manager in Norfolk - The Sinclair Broadcast Group, the absentee owner of Fox affiliate WTVZ in Norfolk, recently acquired River City Broadcasting LP for $1.2 billion, a deal that will result in Sinclair's owning or operating 29 TV stations and 34 radio stations.
Since buying WTVZ from local owners, Sinclair (1) fired the general manager without replacing her and (2) lost its Fox affiliation here and in Raleigh, N.C. WVBT in Virginia Beach in 1997 will become Hampton Roads' Fox outlet.
With combined properties earning more than $200 million a year, you would think that Sinclair could find a measly $150,000 or so to hire a general manager at Channel 33 here. A question yet to answered: In 1997, will WTVZ operate as an independent or go after the Warner Brothers affiliation now held by WVBT? Stay tuned.
Take a bow, Tim - While meeting in Las Vegas not long ago, the Broadcasters' Foundation honored youngish Tim Robertson as an American broadcast pioneer. Robertson is president and chief operating officer of International Family Entertainment and The Family Channel, based in Virginia Beach.
Robertson was hailed for quickly bringing FAM to the forefront of the cable industry and blazing new paths in entertainment. Great. But shouldn't the award have gone to Pop Pat Robertson, who built a mega TV and cable empire here on a shoestring? He's the pioneer.
More good news for the Robertsons: The Family Channel's ratings for the first quarter of 1996 were the highest ever, reaching 934,000 households in prime time. Nielsen figures show FAM's decision to go with programming that includes original films, the Three Stooges and Columbo re-runs elevated ratings among young viewers. ``We're ecstatic,'' said an IFE spokesman. by CNB