May 28, 2009 (Late Friday)
I stayed over at my pal Mr. A's apartment during the last weekend of the Inside Out LGBT Film Fest. My overnight bag included a CM4040 Indoor-tenna, as well as my recently purchased Zenith DTT900 digital converter box. (I loved the DTT901 so much that I wanted another Zenith to use for "travel" DXing.) It was a year ago in May that I picked up Syracuse & Utica, NY stations for the first time at Mr. A's place. Sure enough, I picked up Utica again in time for the late repeat of WKTV's evening news featuring Caroline Gable (via RF29)!
What made this evening especially neat was that Mr. A had recently gone on a trip to New York with our mutual friend Chantal. Chantal brought back a TV Guide for me, and Mr. A brought back a Syracuse newspaper!
Mr. A laughed as I sat on his couch reading the Syracuse newspaper as I waited for Syracuse's WSYR (RF17) to come in. And luckily, I got it...I got it...I got it, got it, baby yeaaaahhh.
I was on a reception high, which seemed appropriate given the time on the Doppler Radar screen pictured below on WSYR-2. (Or as Mr. A likes to put it - I'm a recluse for Syracuse...)
I was also astonished by the most divatastic alligator strolling by on WSYR! He looks like a shady character, if you ask me.
May 30, 2010 (Late Sunday)
Back at my own home, Erie, PA's WQLN (RF50) popped up with one of many Memorial Day specials being shown on TV.
Utica, NY's WKTV (RF29) showed up with their overnight infomercial block with Joan Rivers promoting her Right To Bare Legs campaign. At least they leave a nice station ID bug on screen during the infomercials. (On a sidenote, the recently released documentary Joan Rivers - A Piece Of Work is excellent!)
Syracuse's WSYR (RF17) also arrived with an ad encouraging criminals to turn themselves in to police, featuring Helen Hudson and Frank Fowler. (What's with all the awesomely alliterative names?)
Later on, WSYR was showing ABC's World News Now and gave us pictoral proof that, indeed, Miley Cyrus can't be tamed.
May 31, 2010 (Early Monday)
I got my first real look at the morning news on Erie, PA's WICU (RF12) which had undergone major changes since I last saw it. Jill McCormick was let go in Dec. 2009, and even meteorologist Julie Coates was relegated to weekend duties after being a longtime staple of 12 News Today. Kara Coleman was brought in to co-anchor with Mark Soliday, and also does the weather reports now. (Kara is very professional, and growing on me, but I still miss Jill McCormick's more off the cuff humour and presentation style. On a sidenote, Jill hilariously lists former rival WJET's "Good Morning Erie" as a "Favorite Show" on her Facebook page.)
WICU featured reports on Memorial Day events in Erie, and the second pic features reporter Liz Crawford, another new station hire.
Erie's WQLN (RF50) has been promoting their Road Trips program which includes a stop at the Andy Warhol Museum. Check out my pal Mr. A's Flickr set from his own road trip to Pittsburgh which included a visit to the Museum!
June 1, 2010
I remember going to bed and thinking the tropo wasn't very strong. Rochester, NY signals seemed to be blinking a bit on the Zenith DTT901, so I left my antenna aimed in that direction and parked it on RF45 so I could see if WROC got strong enough to decode overnight. Imagine my shock upon waking up to see Detroit, MI's WDIV stored on the box the next day! (See pic below.) Getting WDIV itself isn't tremendously unusual, but receiving it while aimed at Rochester's WROC is highly unusual. It makes me wonder just how strong the Detroit tropo was to be able to come in with that positioning! It's a shame I missed it!
Here's some more fun with Erie, PA's WQLN (RF50) and their Road Trips campaign. This ad includes the cutest sandwich and baseball loving stick figure I've ever seen!
I was quite surprised and impressed to see an ad on Rochester, NY's WHAM (RF13) promoting a law firm that specializes in cases regarding same sex partnerships! Go Richard A. Kroll!
While antenna surfing, I came across Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on Rochester, NY's WHEC (RF10) with Kim Cattrall and Jimmy in drag doing a faux Sex and the City 2 promo with some atrocious puns. (And by "atrocious puns" I mean puns so bad I wish I'd thought of them myself!)
June 2, 2010
It's always fun to see the morning news with Rebecca Leclair on Rochester, NY's WHEC (RF10)! She gives the news with personality! Click here to watch her bio video at the WHEC site.
Erie, PA's WICU (RF12) was also coming in again, and I saw their story about a Rib Cook Off that included a Canadian team as part of the competition!
During the commercial break I got to see an ad with WSEE's Ray Petelin and WICU's Kara Coleman, who were both off their trolley (shortly before getting on it for the Flagship Wine Tour!)
At 6am, I switched over to Erie, PA's WSEE (RF12-3) for Mornings Live With Stephanie And Ray. I liked this show before, but totally fell in love with it during this broadcast. I also noticed that they started the hour with a "candid" look at the team before officially opening the show.
Stephanie and Ray make a great team because their banter is fun and snappy, and feels very natural. I especially enjoy the humour of meteorologist Ray Petelin, who made some hilarious cracks after his weather report about Erie's Rib Cook Off.
During breaks from WSEE's Mornings Live, I switched to WICU's subchannel WBEP (RF12-2) for The Daily Buzz which seems like a fun show. I've seen Daily Buzz mentioned before on fellow TV blog DXing From Lincoln County AR. I only get to see The Daily Buzz when I have reception of "CW Plus" affiliates from Erie, PA or Utica, NY. Buzz doesn't air on any stations closer to me (like Buffalo or Rochester.)
Back on WSEE, Stephanie and Ray are discussing how the upcoming rain would help folks attending the Erie Rib Cook Off wash their hands after the contest.
Rochester, NY's CW affiliate (CW-WHAM, RF13-2) chooses to run their own newscast (with Doug Emblidge and Marty Snyder) instead of The Daily Buzz. Note the CW16 branding in the bottom corner of the screen, which is inspired by their cable positioning.
June 6, 2010
Pledge drives never looked as divalicious as they did this day on Rochester, NY's WXXI (RF16)!
Carole King was belting out "I Feel The Earth Move" on WXXI, which would have been more appropriate a few weeks later when a mild earthquake rolled through much of the Eastern parts of Canada and the US!
I was also lucky enough to catch the Independent Lens documentary Ask Not, which is about the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy recently struck down by the Obama administration. It aired on WXXI's subchannel 21-2 PBS World (RF16-2). It was neat to see as it bridged the gap between the Inside Out festival, and the upcoming Gay Pride parade in Toronto! (It didn't also hurt that some of the subjects were very attractive!)
Stay tuned to TV Garth for more Reception Reports and TV related fun, including my big Toronto Pride recap coming soon!
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