THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 9, 1997 TAG: 9701090034
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY BONKO, TELEVISION COLUMNIST
LENGTH: 66 lines
BARBARA CIARA is leaving WVEC's 11 p.m. newscast to become co-anchor with Mike Lewis of ``Pilot 13 News,'' the primetime flagship newscast of the soon-to-be-launched Local News on Cable. She will also be the program's managing editor.
The announcement was made Wednesday at WVEC's studios in Norfolk by officials of the ABC affiliate, Cox Communications and The Virginian-Pilot - the partners in Local News on Cable.
LNC is expected to sign on at 10 p.m in mid-February. There will also be a 9 a.m. weekend version of ``Pilot 13 News.''
WVEC's newscasts will be seen throughout the day on LNC - local news on demand, its producers call it.
The announcement by Channel 13 general manager Richard J. Keilty that Ciara was joining LNC, and moving up to the management ranks at WVEC, ended weeks of speculation about her future with the station. Keilty said Ciara has been signed to a long-term contract, but he did not reveal the terms.
She will be replaced at 11 p.m. by Regina Mobley, who is also the station's co-anchor at 6 p.m. At 6 and 11, Mobley will share the anchor desk with Terry Zahn.
``It's exciting be involved in this ground-breaking venture, to be on the cutting edge,'' Ciara said. ``Cable news on demand is the wave of the future. I look forward to taking a leadership role in helping to launch `Pilot 13 News.' ''
Ciara will continue to co-anchor ``13 News at 5.''
Her partner at 5 p.m. will also be Lewis, who said: ``I welcome the opportunities at 5 and with `Pilot 13 News.' It's not every day you have the chance to be in on the ground floor of such an exciting idea in television.''
``Pilot 13 News'' will originate live from WVEC's studios and The Virginian-Pilot newsroom. Pilot reporters will be involved. The newscast will be beamed to more than 350,000 Cox cable subscribers on Channel 4 in Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach, Channel 8 in Chesapeake and Channel 29 in Newport News.
LNC's general manager, Ed Power, promised that ``Pilot 13 News'' will not be a rehash of WVEC's 6 p.m. newscast. ``The content will be unique,'' he said.
Keilty echoed Power's words, saying, ``We will strive to make this newscast a very different product.''
WVEC is not new to a 10 p.m. newscast. Following WTKR's partnership with WGNT to deliver a local 10 p.m. newscast, WVEC began airing news at 10 anchored by Lewis and Velma Scaife on WPEN. That newscast, said Keilty, showed there is a strong appetite for an early primetime newscast in Hampton Roads' early-to-bed, early-to-rise market.
Also announced at Wednesday's press conference was the appointment of Shelly Chevalier as LNC's sales manager. She comes to the enterprise with experience, having worked in New Orleans on ``Newswatch,'' a local-news cablecast in which Belo Broadcasting, owners of WVEC, and Cox Communications were partners.
``Newswatch,'' said Chevalier, was extremely successful. Keilty, Power and Cox officials here expect the same for LNC. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Mike Lewis and Barbara Ciara will anchor will anchor "Pilot 13
News."
Photo
Regina Mobley will replace Barbara Ciara as co-anchor of WVEC news
at 11 p.m.
KEYWORDS: LOCAL NEWS ON CABLE