HEADLINE: WAVY CHANGES ANCHOR LINEUPS ON NEWSCASTS
Published: Saturday, November 5, 1994
Section: Lifestyles
Page: D1
By DAVID NICHOLSON Daily Press

The November ratings period, which began Thursday, should help the folks at WAVY-TV, Channel 10, gauge the popularity of its new, 5:30 p.m. newscast.

The 5:30 news launched last Monday contains a story that viewers won't find on any of the station's other newscasts, says WAVY News Director Gary Stokes.It also contains a special, call-in segment, which drew viewers' comments this week on reporter Andy Fox's series about bad drivers.

"The staff has been hustling," says Stokes. "The flow from one show to the next works well, and the amount of repetition has been minimal."

WAVY viewers are seeing new faces on the early evening news. Former weekend anchor Lisa Joyner has teamed up with Carolyn Castleberry at 5 p.m. That will relieve Les Smith, who will report with Alveta Ewell at 5:30, 6 and 11 p.m.

Beginning this weekend, Lisa Parker, the station's "10 On Your Side" reporter, will join Kelly Wright to anchor the weekend news.

GOOD MORNING, INDEED. CBS' "Good Morning America" will be visiting Virginia on Tuesday. Hosts Charles Gibson and Joan Lunden will be anchoring from Richmond to report on the Virginia Senate race. Closer to home, weatherman and Virginia native Spencer Christian will visit Nauticus, Norfolk's maritime tourist attraction.

The two-hour program also will feature Money Editor Tyler Mathisen from Monticello and the University of Virginia and filmmaker Ken Burns ("Baseball" and "The Civil War") talking about Virginia's role in the Civil War.

The Virginia episode is part of the program's "Great Chesapeake Bay Bus Tour" that will take place in Annapolis, Washington, D.C., and other points of interest Sunday through Friday. "Good Morning America" airs from 7-9 a.m. weekdays and 8-9 a.m. Sundays on WVEC-TV, Channel 13.

WALSH DEBUTS. WGNT-TV, Channel 27, has launched a locally produced public affairs program called "On Cue." Gerald Walsh, a 1993 Hampden-Sydney College graduate, produces and hosts the show. This week, Walsh looks at the upcoming political elections with guest Mike Rau of WTAR-AM (790). You'll have to get up pretty early to catch it. "On Cue" airs at 6 a.m. Sundays.

NEWS NEWS. "First News," the Williamsburg-based cable news operation, has expanded since it began in May. First News now offers 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts seven days a week on Continental Cablevision's Channel 26 in James City and York counties and Warner Cable TV's Channel 21 in Williamsburg. Anchors Mike Heid and Melanie Young are backed up by a team of three reporters, says executive producer Gilinda Rogers.

HIS GREATEST YEAR. If you think television has come a long way, check out R.D. "Rich" Heldenfels' book, ``Television's Greatest Year: 1954." In this pivotal year, Gore Vidal, Paddy Chayevsky and Rod Serling wrote live dramas for TV; Lucille Ball, Jackie Gleason and Sid Caesar were making viewers laugh; and composer Leonard Bernstein made his first television appearance. "The Tonight Show" with Steve Allen and Fred Rogers' "The Children's Corner" also began that year.

Heldenfels, a former Daily Press reporter, now covers television for the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal. His book is published by Continuum and costs $24.95.

Published correction ran Tuesday, November 8, 1994.
The Broadcast News column in Saturday's LifeStyles section incorrectly identified "Good Morning America" as a CBS program. The show appears on the ABC network.

Copyright 1994, Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

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