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Monthly Archive for July, 2002

give 7 news’ 11pm director an emmy!

Published by Shawn on July 25, 2002. 0 Comments

My good god, I am now taping the end of every 11pm 7 News-cast. The ending last night was Cat and Randy in the Weather Center, with the final shot coming from behind them, via the jib-cam. Now, tonight, I made sure to pop in a tape to catch what they would do this time. Randy and Cat wrapped it up from the desk, followed by that same shot on a monitor. They zoom out, and it was a shot from the Satellite Center. Click here to view snapshots.

You know, some of you are critical of their “flashy” camera shots, but it is nice to see that they can show some creativity with their shots.

Posted in Boston and WHDH (7NBC).

msnbc’s donahue interviews joe salvati, 30-year innocent inmate

Published by Shawn on July 17, 2002. 0 Comments

Joe Salvati, who served 30 years at Walpole Maximum Security Prison for a crime he did not commit, appeared on “Donahue”, MSNBC’s new news-opinion show from talk-titan Phil Donahue. Salvati, as some of you may know, was heavily publicized in Boston by WBZ reporter Dan Rea, who did several updates on the story, and played a key role in Salvati’s release.

Watch out friends! Here is my two sense. Phil Donahue is a television talk show staple. This we know. However, he has not proven himself yet, this being his 3rd show. He cannot control his guests, his opinions dominate the show (which makes one side of the argument lob-sided), and for the most part he seems rusty. I need proof that he is improving by next week, or I might repair my 89 Volkswagen and go outside at 8pm like a normal teen! Nonetheless, MSNBC is rolling in ratings, improving over 200% in the 8pm hour since “The Don” took the air.

Posted in Uncategorized.

first on btvn: pregnant kristen daly, truck op. for wb56′s understaffed weekend shift

Published by Shawn on July 13, 2002. 0 Comments

Anonymous sources are reporting that WB56′s understaffed weekend shift is operating without a truck operator. The scenario is this. A photographer, who was near the scene of a story, went to the scene to shoot video for the 10pm. However, by the time he was done shooting, the footage would have to be brought back to Boston with time to edit the footage. However, their wasn’t enough time. The only way to have the story ready for the 10pm was to send a microwave truck to beam the finished product to the studio.

The problem is that WB56 only has one photographer and no truck operators to work the weekend shift. It came down to having a reporter driving the microwave truck to the scene, and that reporter ended up being Kristen Daly, who, at the time was eight months pregnant.

Why would WLVI understaff weekends? Why wouldn’t their be a truck operator available at all times? Some say that live shots rarely happen during the weekend newscast, but others lay the blame on station GM Vincent Manzi, who has approved multiple layoffs as of late, most notibly, 17 firings directly after the cancellation of the WB morning show.

Maybe this was a one-time thing. But does not mean the WLVI newsroom isn’t understaffed. No matter how good, or bad your newscast is doing…you should always be ready “just in case”.

UPDATE: BTVN is working on comment from Tribune regarding WLVI’s situation, and when we do, you’ll see it here.

Posted in Boston, btvn Exclusives and WLVI (CW56). Tags: , .

after long delay…

Published by Shawn on July 6, 2002. 0 Comments

Welcome back friends! I hope you have been doing well since the de-construction of BTVN. Well, for now, I have slapped up the newly christened forum. Again, Ill say it, I will try to actually finish this site. Until I do, the forum will be up. I know all of you will play nicely, but if you don’t: The Views and Opinions Expressed On The BostonTvNews.com Forums Are Those Expressed By Their Respective Authors, And Are Not Necessarily Those Of BTVN, STORM Productions, or Shawn Tempesta.

As for the only major change to the site…I will not be posting on the forum. Just playing safe. Also, if you’ve noticed, the BostonHerald.com TalkBack page is gone (at last check), so I figured it was my duty to bring the forum back. Just remember that your posts have to be valid and newsworthy. Any slanderous posts will be deleted. You can complain, but it has to be done.

As you can see, the old forum is still being used for the time being. There is a new company that we are going to deal with soon though. No pop-up ads. Much better, and less searching for topics.

Email me @ shawn@bostontvnews.com. Thanks, and glad to see you back.

Posted in Uncategorized.