The LuLac Edition #3392, December 28th, 2016

TOP 5 LOCAL MEDIA STORIES

(in countdown order)

5. FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS….. Meryl Streep starred in a movie about Florence Foster Jennings who performed at Carnegie Hall in 1944. The singer was known for “murdering the high-Cs” with her unusual voice. The movie came to this area and of course the local media covered that. But through the efforts of Kathleen Smith and Tony Brooks, a commemoration of Jenkins’ life and career took place in Hollenback Cemetery. Among the more than 100 people who gathered that sunny September Saturday at the Hollenback Cemetery to honor Florence Foster Jenkins was Donald Collup, of New York City, who first heard the legendary voice of the would-be diva when he was a 10-year-old boy soprano in the Texas Boys Choir. Collup sported a pink tie and pink socks to the cemetery on Saturday in honor of Jenkins' favorite color and Kathleen Smith, of Ashley, regent of the Shawnee Fort Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, carried a bouquet of pink roses "for Florence" as well.
Smith organized the event so DAR members  placed the society's insignia at the final resting place of Florence Foster Jenkins and her mother, Mary Jane Hoagland Foster, who had joined the patriotic group in 1900. (Times Leader.com)

4. DREW SPEIR HEADS SOUTH….WBRE TV’s Drew Speir left and went back to Texas. He was replaced by Nick Toma, who came from the WQRF-TV, the FOX affiliate in Rockford Illinois. http://www.pahomepage.com/news/happy-trails-drew-from-eyewitness-news-at-7.
3. WNEP SAYS GOODBYE TO VETERANS........WNEP TV said goodbye to long time Anchor Marisa Burke (See Women We Love Edition) and 40 year weather veteran Tom Clark. As of this writing Clark’s departure date was going to be the end of December. Burke left in November. The duo took a buyout from the corporation. While the payday was reported to be generous, and WNEP clobbers everyone pretty much in the ratings, business is business.
2. FOX NEWS BEGINS NEWS PLANS….WBRE and WOLF TV announced earlier in the year that their relationship with the Fox affiliate was ending. Previously WNEP had Fox News at 10. The local affiliate has chosen to begin their own local newscast starting January 1st or thereabouts.

(Photo: Times Leader, Sean McKeag)

The Fox News team is being headed by Dawn Miller a veteran of both WYOU and WBRE TV.
1. THE DESIGNATED CAMEOS…..This is something that is rarely seen in TV markets. A local TV personality inserted into a network TV show. The last time I remember that happening was when WBRE TV Weatherman Josh Hodell appeared in the background on an episode of “The Office” But “The Office” was set in Scranton so that made sense.
This year the new hit show, “Designated Survivor” featured almost the entire news staff of WNEP TV. 

But it began with anchor Scott Shcaffer. Now Channel 16 is the most watched station in the nation so that makes a bit of sense too. But if you weren't paying attention, you have to hear about it the next day at work.
At first it was disconcerting but then it became a type of game when you watched the show starring Kiefer Sutherland. Thank God for DVRs though because to paraphrase Ferris Bueller, “TV today moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it."