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HulkieD's Year End Awards pt. 1: The Talent


Jess

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We're ten days from the end of the year and since civilization hasn't ended, I wanted to do a year-end look at Philadelphia's TV stations. This is going to be a three-part thing. Part 1 will recognize the talent. Part 2 will note the stories, moments, and trends of the past year. Finally, Part 3 will give out the individual newscast awards, and the coveted Station Of The Year award. I'm also splitting these into multiple posts so that you can read them.

 

2012 was a remarkable year not just in news, but for the stations that covered them. NBC 10 got new management, then began a rebuilding phase that so far has resulted in remarkable momentum for that station. Fox 29 got NBC 10’s old management, and lost Schwaid, but you could finally see stability emerging at that station for the first time. CBS 3 more or less stayed the course, while PHL 17 has become Philly’s independent station once again. All the while, 6ABC continued its dominance, while nurturing new talent and expanding to new battlefields.

 

These awards are, of couse, subjective. You have the right to disagree with them (and I have the right to disagree with your disagreement). I don't know if there is such a thing as unbiased, but I've made an effort to consider all stations equally. This is also limited to the six broadcast TV stations in this market, meaning WFMZ, CSN Philly, and KYW Newsradio among others aren't eligible. (Though CBS 3 has started to use 1060 staffers as on-camera reporters.)

 

So here, for the first time, are the first annual HulkieD awards for the outstanding achievement in the field of excellence:

 

Best Anchor:

JIM GARDNER

 

I'm starting this out with the Best Anchor award because, well, why string you along with this one?

 

Jim Gardner isn't the best local news anchor in town. He's possibly the best local news anchor in this country. His delivery is without peer. His newscast scripts about as tight and well-written as you can expect. He has a killer sense of humor and is able to turn on-air gaffes into memorable moments almost singlehandedly. And incredibly, he's improved over the years - right now I think he's putting out the best anchor work I've ever seen him do, and he's been there almost 35 years at this point. Simply put, he operates on a higher plane than every other anchor, at his station or at any others.

 

I think this is the year we all realized how much of a treasure Jim Gardner is to this city. I think the Penn State scandal played a large part in that. His coverage of this story, through Twitter and otherwise, focused on the students as well as the scandal, in a way that seemed truly sincere. 6 also featured coverage of Penn State's THON fundraiser, and I'm pretty sure he was the one pushing for that. And he hit it out of the park on the day of the Sandy Hook shootings, with a newscast that just happened to include a prescient gun-control discussion WITH THE FRIGGIN' PRESIDENT and a sincere moment of reflection with Cecily Tynan, who is from Newtown.

 

Gardner could realistically anchor World News Tonight. Yet he's our anchor - and we are lucky to have him. Jim Gardner isn't the easy pick - he's the only pick.

 

So, just like the battle for #2 is more entertaining than the battle for #1, I've created a special Best Anchor award where Jim Gardner is excluded.

 

Best Anchor Pairing:

RICK WILLIAMS/MONICA MALPASS

 

There's a promo 6 is airing that has Rick and Monica around town separately - the joke being that the one anchor is always asked where the other one is. This isn't exactly true - Monica takes a lot of off-days, and Rick has an additional newscast and is one of the primary substitutes for Jim Gardner - but it's a testament to how well they work together.

 

They have an easy, friendly rapport that none of the other anchor pairings have. They're always eager to joke around, and while it's often at the other anchor's expense, it's that friendly delivery and chemistry that really make this team worth watching.

 

Best Weather Person:

GLENN "HURRICANE" SCHWARTZ

 

Glenn is not the most attractive person in the market, but damn if he isn't the smartest. While there are good weather people at all of the stations, Glenn's expertise and knowledge of weather is unparalleled. Some of the stations make you wonder what if they know what they're talking about sometimes - which is a pleasant way to say a particular word that starts with "Moron" and has been applied to a certain meteorologist over at 6.

 

I never get that from Glenn. What he lacks in looks he more than makes up with talent. If there is a big weather event, I try to hear everyone's opinion, but I put my stock in with the Bowtie more often than not.

 

Best Sports Person:

HOWARD ESKIN

 

Eskin has always been one of my favorite people in the media, even though there are those who love to hate him. I think that's been his appeal - he's like a great bad guy in professional wrestling. Even if you hate his opinion, you still want to see what he says. And most often, he has an insight or a bit of news that NOBODY else has.

 

So when Fox 29 picked him up, I cheered. In an age when most people leave the bulk of sports coverage to ESPN and Comcast SportsNet, Eskin sets 29 apart as an analyst who is not afraid to offer his opinion - and gives that station a tie to the city it sorely needed.

 

Best Reporter:

LUANN CAHN

 

This is not only an honor to one of the city's best veterans, but to the reinvention of NBC 10 as a credible news source. LuAnn is one of the very few people who's been at the station since CBS. But in recent years, she was kind of floundering between ill-defined roles. (Remember her stint as host of the 10! show?)

 

Under the new management, LuAnn has been recast in the role of bulldog reporter who asks tough questions and arrives first to the scene. Equally at home covering a fire or covering City Hall, her daily appearances back up the new image of 10 as a station committed to reporting.

 

Best Contributor:

ALICIA VITARELLI

 

"Contributor" seems to describe her role on Action News at 4 more than anything else ("Big Board Girl" is another), but that's doing a disservice. She's what gives that newscast a spark more than anything else. She has great delivery and an energetic presence that suits the lighter tone of the 4pm (and the social media coverage she provides on the other newscasts) well.

 

She's also proved surprisingly competent as an anchor - since the 4pm-ers are now being used as the primary subs for Rick or Monica at 5, she's been at the big boy desk quite a bit. While she will never be a "serious" anchor, her softer presence works well when it's needed, and it's easy to imagine her settling in nicely as a morning anchor should that job open up.

 

---

 

Next, we'll look at the most underrated talent, as well as the, uhm, "least impressive" talent.

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I don't live in Philadelphia, but I do agree with your assessment on Jim Gardner.

 

These awards are, of couse, subjective. You have the right to disagree with them (and I have the right to disagree with your disagreement). I don't know if there is such a thing as unbiased, but I've made an effort to consider all stations equally. This is also limited to the six broadcast TV stations in this market, meaning WFMZ, CSN Philly, and KYW Newsradio among others aren't eligible. (Though CBS 3 has started to use 1060 staffers as on-camera reporters.)

That's strange. I could have sworn that the Lehigh Valley was in the Philadelphia market.

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