Reception Reports: June 2012 (Part 2)

Greetings TV Garth readers! My journey through June continues with appearances from Rochester and Syracuse, NY plus Detroit, MI and Cleveland, OH! The biggest surprise was the appearance of Syracuse, NY's WSYT which slipped through on a night when Toronto's TV Ontario was off the air for transmitter work! I also enjoyed seeing Detroit, since my reception from the Motor City was pretty scarce in 2011!

June 23, 2012

I was really Psych'ed to see Syracuse, NY's ION outlet WSPX show up briefly on RF15!



Springville, NY's WBBZ (RF7) was also speeding through with some retro action on Car 54 Where Are You?



June 26, 2012

Longtime anchor Victoria Hong left Buffalo, NY's WIVB (RF39) in late June for a communications job at Delaware North Companies! Check out Alan Pergament's article about Hong's big move!



I had a super time watching the hunky George Stroumboulopoulos talk about the influx of gay characters in comics on Toronto, ON's CBLT (RF20.)



Things got even more super when I picked up Syracuse, NY's WSYT (RF19) for the first time digitally! (I remember catching it back in the day in analog on Channel 68!) Toronto, ON's TVO transmitter was off the air overnight, allowing shows like It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia to sneak through!



Catching the rare WSYT made me feel like I had tiger blood running through my veins, especially when a Two and a Half Men promo came on!



There was a great FOX 68 logo on screen during their Seinfeld ad!



This ad for Brzostek's Auction Service looked like something I might have seen back in the day on WSYT, which is why I loved it! Their website also has links to lots of cool stories about their auctions!



FOX 68 cares, y'all! This promo made prominent use of WSYT's web address!



In Syracuse, it was semi-scandalous that Jeopardy and Wheel Of Fortune were moving to WSYT away from rival WTVH! Check out this article on CNY Radio's blog for more info!



June 27, 2012

Today In CNY's Lisa Spitz was excited to hear that I was picking up WSYT! (Seen via Syracuse, NY's WSTM, RF24.)



It felt like there was a Syracuse Festival taking place in my house with WSTM and WSYT blasting in!



I looked as puzzled as Julia Louis-Dreyfus when I saw how strong the signal was on Syracuse's WSYT (RF19) that morning!



Toronto, ON's TVO (RF19) came back on the air a little after 5:30am, but as you can see, WSYT was still cutting into its signal!



As much as I wanted more WSYT, I have to give props to TVO's Steve Paikin who hosts the awesome current affairs program The Agenda. Paikin does a great job covering a wide range of topics and viewpoints with his guests!



Rochester, NY's WHEC (RF10) was also in that morning with Nikki Rudd wearing a fab striped top!



A bit later, I was excited to see Detroit, MI's WDIV (RF45) arrive with Local 4 News featuring Guy Gordon and Bisi Onile-Ere talking to Today's Natalie Morales.



WDIV's meteorologist Andrew Humphrey had the temperatures right at his fingertips that morning!



London, ON's CFMT translator (RF48) also came in with Clara Abreu anchoring OMNI News: Portuguese Edition! Abreu has been with CFMT since 1985!



Woodstock, ON's CITY repeater (RF31) was in with the awesome Kevin Frankish anchoring Breakfast Television!



Detroit, MI's WMYD (RF21) arrived with a promo for News at Ten featuring Jorge Avellan. I heart that their newscast is "Straight To The Point!"




It wasn't Payne-ful to see this promo for a Tyler Perry comedy on WMYD!



WDIV's Paula Tutman was reporting from Detroit's West Side that day about an 11 year old's death defying joyride! I'm not at all 4 that type of behavior.



Cleveland, OH's WEWS (RF15) also showed up briefly with Christine Ferreira, Mike Dunston and Macie Jepson anchoring!



Meteorologist Christine Ferreira is always a fabulous part of the WEWS morning news!



Also fabulous in the AM? Breakfast Television's parade of scantily clad models on Toronto, ON's CITY (RF44.)



The children of Faithville recoiled in horror at the nearly naked folks on display above! Well, at least one kid recoiled and the other looks sorta fascinated... (Seen via Rochester, NY's W42CO Family subchannel, RF42-3.)



Rochester, NY's W42CO (RF42) was showing an extended trailer for the film Escape From Hell. I'm resisting the urge to declare it a hot film with an underground following...



Also escaping from hell that day was NBC's Ann Curry (seen via Rochester, NY's WHEC, RF10.) Curry's departure from the Today Show was marred by leaks to the press about her exit, as well as unflattering comments from NBC brass. Curry is a great reporter and anchor and deserved better...



Rich Caniglia was all too aware of the stormy situation at NBC as he delivered his weather report on WHEC's subchannel!



Later that day, WROC (RF45) had Maureen McGuire talking to Mark Gruba about the Rochester Jazz Festival, one of the few events where tooting your own horn is a good thing!



There was also a story on WROC about the bullied bus monitor Karen Klein meeting up with Toronto's Max Sidorov, who started the online fundraiser to send Klein on a vacation!



WROC also covered National HIV Testing Day and featured an interview with Ernest Wilson, who was encouraging people to get tested.




"You Keep Me Hangin' On" could be my ode to tropo reception, so it felt appropriate seeing Diana Ross on WROC's Bounce subchannel!



I love Rochester, NY's WHAM (RF13) so it felt great to see that they love their viewers right back! The "13 Loves You!" promo also used the classic "Hello Rochester" jingle heard on the station back in the 1980s!



That wraps up Part 2 of the reception captured in June! Stay tuned for Part 3 with more Detroit, more Cleveland, more Erie and of course, more Rochester!

Reception Reports: May 2012 (Part 1)

Greetings TV Garth readers! I'm continuing on with my 2012 recaps with the hope that May-be I'll get them done before the end of the year! May brought some Syr-iously exciting reception from Upstate New York. Stay tuned for a rundown of Rochester, Syracuse and Utica, plus my first VHF-lo catch from Paris, ON!

May 11, 2012

Syracuse, NY's WSTM (RF24) greeted me with a kiss as they asked attendees of the NAACP Freedom Fund Awards Banquet what they thought of President Obama's support for gay marriage.



WSTM's sports director John Evenson thought the question was quite ballsy.



Meanwhile, Matt Mulcahy & Peter Hall were on the fence about weather or not to stay outdoors for their segment that day.



Kelly French added some je ne sais quoi to the morning news with Matt Mulcahy!



Syracuse's WSYR (RF17) also breezed in with their new meterologist Julia Weiden!



WSYR's anchors Tanja Babich and Dan keeps viewers aware of Cummings and goings in Central New York.



Sports director Steve Infanti is definitely a cat that's hitting his stride! (He's also my original recipe Syracrush!)



I had seen Kaylea Nixon a couple of times on WSYR before learning she moonlights as a Rapp-er in a series of infomercials for the Bill Rapp Superstore.



I thought Lady Gaga was finally showing some restraint in her videos until I realized it was a completely different artist - Raquel Reed! (Seen via Rochester, NY's Cool TV subchanel on WUHF, RF28-2.)



I've heard of people putting a smile on their face, but this is ridiculous! Dr. Andrew Dvonch's magical ad for Linden Oaks Dental certainly has bite! (Seen via Rochester, NY's WHAM, RF13.)




May 12, 2012

My very first VHF-lo catch came via Paris, ON's CIII repeater on RF 6. Originally this was Global TV's flagship station, before Toronto's transmitter supplanted it.



May 13, 2012

The forecast for testing out a new Samsung TV is bright and sunny when Syracuse, NY's WSTM (RF24) is floating through my neighbourhood with Mike Brookins.



"I heard that someone in Canada has a Syracrush on you," Lisa Spitz allegedly joked with sports anchor Niko Tamurian during WSTM's newscast!



WSYR (RF17) popped in just long enough to see Julia Weiden, James Gaddis and Sal Maneen at the tail end of their newscast.



It's good to see that they keep Komen up with ways to raise money for breast cancer research. WSYR's Carrie Lazarus appears in support of the Susan G. Komen foundation!



I still love ABC's World News Now (seen here on WSYR, RF17) with Rob Nelson and one of my fave temporary anchors Diana Perez.



Rochester, NY's WHEC is definitely Rich-er for having one Mr. Caniglia on their weather team!



May 15, 2012

Rochester, NY's WROC (RF45) is always fun to watch when Kevin Doran and Maureen McGuire are WROCin' the house!



May 19, 2012

Rochester's WHEC flashed a great logo during a promo on their MeTV subchannel (RF10-2).



Next on Perry Mason, The Curious Case of Christine Van Timmeren and the Exploding Peacock! It's a tale bound to ruffle a few feathers...



Josh Nichols popped up to shower us with the 7 day forecast on WHEC's weather subchannel (RF10-3).



Canadian drama The L.A. Complex got picked up by the CW for maximum exposure in the US! However, with all that tension bottled up on the show, someone's cork is bound to explode!



Adam Chodak and Alexis Arnold were anchoring the 10pm newscast on Rochester's CW-WHAM (RF13-2). When the number for Crimestoppers showed up on screen, I wanted to call and report that Adam had stolen my heart!



Meanwhile, Syracuse, NY's WSTQ (RF24-2) had Niko Tamurian on their newscast! All Syracrush-ing aside, what I love about Niko is the natural enthusiasm he displays during his sports reports! We view, he scores!



The trio of Niko Tamurian, Chris McGrath and Mike Brookins close out the CW6 newscast on WSTQ (RF24-2).



The only thing that made sense during this bizarre episode of Law & Order: SVU was the ID bug for WSTM in the bottom left corner!



Watertown, NY's WWTI (RF21) made a rare appearance this year with a promo for the awesome Modern Family. My pal Mr. A actually bumped into series star Jesse Tyler Ferguson during a visit to New York in 2010 and took a pic of him as he walked by!



Speaking of Mr. A, I thought he'd be happy that WWTI changed their "side borders" to a more subdued black and white. (When I used to DX at his old apartment, he thought their original purple ones looked gaudy...)



Watertown's WWTI still airs news from Syracuse's WSYR, though they keep their ABC 50 branding in the bottom right corner! James Gaddis anchored the newscast that evening.



Lilith Towers would make a FABULOUS name for a drag queen, especially if high heels and a jamboree are involved. But in all seriousness, Towers is a little girl from the Syracuse area that needs help with medical expenses. I couldn't find any direct links to support Lilith, but if you live in the area, try to check out any benefits that will help her out!



Utica, NY's WKTV (RF29) arrived with a story featuring Christopher Giruzzi, the owner of Sammy and Annie Foods. Giruzzi appears at Farmer's Markets in the Utica area to sell freshly made sauces and baked goods! Check out this article from the Utica Observer-Dispatch for more on Giruzzi's very inspiring story.



It's Reale-y good that WKTV's newscasts have plenty of Hart! Jill Reale and Nicole Hart anchored the newscast that Saturday Night. (I feel the air is getting hot!)



Stay tuned to TV Garth for Part Two of the Spring Reception May-hem!