So What's The Deal With Cathy Orosz?

[Mark_Giardina]

According to very reliable sources, Cathy is expected to leave WROC TV at the end of this month. The reason, again according to insiders, is that Cathy was not too pleased with management’s decision to replace her as host of “Wake Up Rochester” with former WUHF anchor Melanie Barnas. For those of you not familiar with recent events allow me to fill you in.

For a few years Melissa Long had been the host of “Wake Up Rochester” and Orosz was the field reporter for the early morning show. Earlier this year the decision was made to play musical chairs. Long went into the field and Orosz was moved to the anchor chair. The result was Long leaving Channel 8, where she now works as an internet reporter for CNN.

“Wake Up Rochester” then consisted of Orosz, Rob Haswell and Christine Crafts. Haswell left the station in November to work for another TV station while Crafts went to Brockport College to teach meteorology.

So the question that remains unanswered is Cathy leaving on her own accord and already landed a job in another market, or maybe at another station in town, or was she “asked” to leave by the front office?

Viewers to Channel 8 have noticed in recent weeks that Orosz has been anchoring the noon news, which would give her an opportunity to add more to her resume tape. Or it’s just that Barnas leaves early to take care of her baby son.

There are a number of “media-watchers” in Rochester who keep up to date on the goings on in the market. If they have any updates on this situation, please share them with the rest of us.


<P ID="signature">______________
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted and I won't be laid a hand on.
I don't do these things to other people and I expect the same from them".</P>

 

[unverviking]

I want to add fuel to the fire...

Noticed today that Elizabeth Harness was hosting Wake Up. She said that she was filling in for a few days for Melanie Barnas...

Would have figured that Cathy Orosz would have filled in...

Then in the 7:25 newsbreak, Elizabeth had Melanie's name under her... John realized it right away, and verbally corrected it...
Looks like a lot of happenings, even behind the scenes @ Channel 8.

I just wish they'd make up their minds and stick to something that worked... Like the Cathy, Rob, Christine show. The 3 of them had something that worked... very well

 

[Mark_Giardina]

Re: IMHO

>
> Noticed today that Elizabeth Harness was hosting Wake Up.
> She said that she was filling in for a few days for Melanie
> Barnas... Would have figured that Cathy Orosz would have filled in...

There could be two scenarios working here.
Either Channel 8's management doesn't want Orosz anywhere near "Wake Up" because of their decision to replace her with Barnas. OR...Orosz herself didn't want to fill-in for Barnas. It would be a professional slap in the face to be told you're out as host of Channel 8's morning show, only to be asked to fill-in for the person who took your job.




> Then in the 7:25 newsbreak, Elizabeth had Melanie's name
> under her... John realized it right away, and verbally
> corrected it...

I've noticed a number of technical screw-ups lately, especially on 8's newscasts when it comes to identifying whom reporters are interviewing.



> I just wish they'd make up their minds and stick to
> something that worked... Like the Cathy, Rob, Christine
> show. The 3 of them had something that worked... very well


There seems to be a motto at Channel 8. "If it works...break it."




<P ID="signature">______________
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted and I won't be laid a hand on.
I don't do these things to other people and I expect the same from them".</P>

 

[tvfriend]

Re: IMHO

Channel 8 has gotten nothing but intense criticism from viewes about the Wake Up changes. Wonder how long Barnas and Stehlin will last.

As for Cathy, she's not interested in staying at 8 if they are going to demote her to reporter, which is what they want to do. I would think that comes with a pay cut. Her contract is up the first week of January. If she stays longer than that, I doubt she'll be under contract.

Lots of changes at 8 - here's where the new management will be tested.

 

[Mark_Giardina]

Getting on my Soapbox

I can believe that WROC's management has been getting flack from viewers over changes made to "Wake Up Rochester." The station had a good thing going with Cathy, Rob and Christine and they blew it.

Not to sound repetitious but 8’s management really needs to bone up on the station’s history. A 25 plus year history that consists of Channel 8 starting to make progress in the ratings, only to have new owners and management come in with a broom and sweep out the talent that attracted people to the station in the first place.

As for your question how long Barnas and Stehlin will last, I’m willing to give them 6 months to a year before you see more changes on 8’s early morning show. My prediction is that Lia Lando will go to anchor Wake Up Rochester and Barnas will return to her former job as FOX 31 anchor. Or as I call that show, “News 8 Now” at 10 pm.

So far I don’t see any problem with Stehlin’s work. He comes across as a likeable personality, which I’m sure is one of the reasons 8 hired him. Besides where would management place Stehlin should they want to move him out of mornings and noon? He certainly isn’t going to replace Scott Hetsko at 6 and 11pm. You think viewers are complaining about changes to the morning show, wait and see what would happen if Hetsko was ever replaced, or left.

This is what I don’t understand about Channel 8. They have the talent to break stories days before their competition. Yet management is constantly “tinkering” around with personnel at that station. Maybe if they stopped listening to the damn consultants and asked people who either have worked at the station for a number of years, or local media experts, management might finally get the clue that the best thing to do is keep your talented staff and promote the hell out of your news operation.

I will say this for a final time. Rochesterians are conservative viewers. They don’t like changes, especially new faces all the time on TV. You think people watch 13 just for the news? Hell no! It’s because Don Alhart has been there for the past 40 + years and has become engrained in the community.

So if 8 keeps on tossing monkey wrenches into their on-air operation believing that change is going to take them out of third place in the ratings, I have some swamp land in Bergen I would be happy to sell them.
<P ID="signature">______________
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted and I won't be laid a hand on.
I don't do these things to other people and I expect the same from them".</P>

 

[Bob1370]

Re: Getting on my Soapbox

> Not to sound repetitious but 8’s management really needs to
> bone up on the station’s history. A 25 plus year history
> that consists of Channel 8 starting to make progress in the
> ratings, only to have new owners and management come in with
> a broom and sweep out the talent that attracted people to
> the station in the first place.

It really all began with two things. First there was a panic over slight aging of the demos in their then-market leading audience in 1973 followed by an unnecessary makeover that took popular personalities like Bob Mills out of the mix and eventually convinced Yom Decker to seek greener pastures elsewhere. Then that was followed by a nasty and unnecessary labor dispute when the then-owner tried to bust AFTRA in 1974 and drove well-liked people like Anne Keefe out of town (they thought she wasn't good enough for Rochester---she promptly proved she was plenty good enough to own St. Louis every afternoon for the next 25 years). That blowup sent Channel 9 to a permanent third place and may well have driven the news director of the time, Ron Robitaille, to an early grave---the turmoil literally broke his heart.

> This is what I don’t understand about Channel 8. They have
> the talent to break stories days before their competition.
> Yet management is constantly “tinkering” around with
> personnel at that station. Maybe if they stopped listening
> to the damn consultants and asked people who either have
> worked at the station for a number of years, or local media
> experts, management might finally get the clue that the best
> thing to do is keep your talented staff and promote the hell
> out of your news operation.

They have made major mistakes repeatedly in that regard. A few years ago they had Bob Kirk in the anchor chair and he began to catch on---they were really starting to close the gap on second-place Channel 10. A new news director came in and promptly demotes him, putting someone else, now long gone from town and long forgotten, in the job. The ratings tanked, Kirk got the ND job, but evidently wasn't allowed to put himself back on the air (which would have been the best move at the time). And the front office then blew up a successful early morning and noon package by playing skinflint over Jerry Fiore's contract renewal (the numbers have been weaker ever since he left and AFAIK he's retired completely from the business now). Musical anchor chairs got played until finally the current main anchor team (which is a talented group that deserves a good audience) was assembled; once again it looks like it's starting to solidify and build. That must mean the front office brain trust will soon shake it up again, don't you think? ;-)

> I will say this for a final time. Rochesterians are
> conservative viewers. They don’t like changes, especially
> new faces all the time on TV. You think people watch 13 just
> for the news? Hell no! It’s because Don Alhart has been
> there for the past 40 + years and has become engrained in
> the community.
> So if 8 keeps on tossing monkey wrenches into their on-air
> operation believing that change is going to take them out of
> third place in the ratings, I have some swamp land in Bergen
> I would be happy to sell them.

They'll probably buy it and apply for a CP to move their transmitter there from Pinnacle Hill. ;-)

 

[roc-my-world]

Are You Kidding?

> I can believe that WROC's management has been getting flack
> from viewers over changes made to "Wake Up Rochester." The
> station had a good thing going with Cathy, Rob and Christine
> and they blew it.

A good thing going? In May, they had a 1 rating. 13 had 6 times as many viewers and 10 and 4 times as many. They weren't making any headway. How long do you stick with it? Not long in this business.
>
> Not to sound repetitious but 8’s management really needs to
> bone up on the station’s history. A 25 plus year history
> that consists of Channel 8 starting to make progress in the
> ratings, only to have new owners and management come in with
> a broom and sweep out the talent that attracted people to
> the station in the first place.
>
> As for your question how long Barnas and Stehlin will last,
> I’m willing to give them 6 months to a year before you see
> more changes on 8’s early morning show. My prediction is
> that Lia Lando will go to anchor Wake Up Rochester and
> Barnas will return to her former job as FOX 31 anchor. Or as
> I call that show, “News 8 Now” at 10 pm.

You are probably right on that one.

>
> So far I don’t see any problem with Stehlin’s work. He comes
> across as a likeable personality, which I’m sure is one of
> the reasons 8 hired him. Besides where would management
> place Stehlin should they want to move him out of mornings
> and noon? He certainly isn’t going to replace Scott Hetsko
> at 6 and 11pm. You think viewers are complaining about
> changes to the morning show, wait and see what would happen
> if Hetsko was ever replaced, or left.
>
> This is what I don’t understand about Channel 8. They have
> the talent to break stories days before their competition.
> Yet management is constantly “tinkering” around with
> personnel at that station. Maybe if they stopped listening
> to the damn consultants and asked people who either have
> worked at the station for a number of years, or local media
> experts, management might finally get the clue that the best
> thing to do is keep your talented staff and promote the hell
> out of your news operation.
>
> I will say this for a final time. Rochesterians are
> conservative viewers. They don’t like changes, especially
> new faces all the time on TV. You think people watch 13 just
> for the news? Hell no! It’s because Don Alhart has been
> there for the past 40 + years and has become engrained in
> the community.

Nice theory, but Alhart isn't on in the morning. 13 has a good bench that will keep it going long after he is gone. No matter how good some of 8's reporters are, and 10 and 13 have some good reporters to, thats not why people watch. it is mostly about anchors.
>
> So if 8 keeps on tossing monkey wrenches into their on-air
> operation believing that change is going to take them out of
> third place in the ratings, I have some swamp land in Bergen
> I would be happy to sell them.
>

 

[Mark_Giardina]

Re: Are You Kidding?- No I'm Not.

> > I can believe that WROC's management has been getting
> flack
> > from viewers over changes made to "Wake Up Rochester." The
>
> > station had a good thing going with Cathy, Rob and
> Christine
> > and they blew it.
>
> A good thing going? In May, they had a 1 rating. 13 had 6
> times as many viewers and 10 and 4 times as many. They
> weren't making any headway. How long do you stick with it?
> Not long in this business.
> >

You are correct that Channel 8 lags behind 10 and 13's morning shows. And the reason for that, in my opinion, is that while 10 and 13 have had the same on-air personalities for a number of years, 8 is always playing musical chairs. This year alone there have been three hosts for "Wake Up Rochester"; Melissa Long, Cathy Orosz and now Melanie Barnas.

The point I was trying to make is that Cathy, Rob and Christine seemed to make a good team and that I believe, if given more time, they might have increased 8’s audience.

<P ID="signature">______________
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted and I won't be laid a hand on.
I don't do these things to other people and I expect the same from them".</P>

 

[dampier]

Re: Getting on my Soapbox

> So if 8 keeps on tossing monkey wrenches into their on-air
> operation believing that change is going to take them out of
> third place in the ratings, I have some swamp land in Bergen
> I would be happy to sell them.

As a lifelong resident who spends time with lots of relatives who are also lifelong residents, I can say the Don Alhart -is- Rochester is the key point why Channel 13 ratings are the best year after year. His factor is so strong, it makes people stick with 13 even when he's not on the air. "If 13's 6pm news is the best, so goes every other newscast they have" seems to be the attitude. It was like that in the 60s and early 70s with Channel 8, and I recall when Channel 10 made lots of waves in the mid-late 1970s with a set/logo change and Gabe Dalmath. WROC has tried EVERYTHING since they tumbled to number three and they still aren't making any real progress.

We've gone beyond musical anchor chairs, set changes, and consultants with channel 8. They need to do something incredibly revolutionary to get sampled by Rochester viewers enough to get them to number two. That means things like -

- preparation for when Don Alhart retires. That will send viewers sampling what everyone else has to offer. Channel 10 has Rich Funke, who has been around since the 70s. Channel 8 has people around since 7 that morning. They need to do better. Throw a bone to Wanda Miller - the woman had to to Irondequoit Dodge ads to pay RG&E. Shameful.

- A total overhaul to how the station does news. Cancel the 6pm news and run it at 7. Change the attitude - I doubt a WSVN-style bloodfest would work in Rochester, but how about targeting -something- the other stations don't as much. Some wild ideas that might work or at least get things started - A newscast focused on suburbs at :15 in, or maybe focus more on the city, longer in-depth stories, spend a lot more time on their investigative stories, which are actually excellent, build a remote studio in Canandaigua and do Finger Lakes/Ontario county news at 5:30 (yeah, I know)... target the newscast to attract a younger audience... ANYTHING that sets them apart from doing a me-too-cast. Yeah, I realize some of these may not be practical, but kicking big ideas around is better than replacing perky blonde #34 with focus-group-tested brunette #15.

- Keep the promotion going back and forth with Channel 31. A lot of younger Fox viewers don't watch newscasts but could be drawn to channel 8 (and 31's own cast) with promotions for stories targeting their interests.

 

[Mark_Giardina]

Here Are Some Of My Suggestions

.
>
> We've gone beyond musical anchor chairs, set changes, and
> consultants with channel 8. They need to do something
> incredibly revolutionary to get sampled by Rochester viewers
> enough to get them to number two. That means things like -
>
> - preparation for when Don Alhart retires. That will send
> viewers sampling what everyone else has to offer. Channel
> 10 has Rich Funke, who has been around since the 70s.
> Channel 8 has people around since 7 that morning. They need
> to do better. Throw a bone to Wanda Miller - the woman had
> to to Irondequoit Dodge ads to pay RG&E. Shameful.
>
> - A total overhaul to how the station does news. Cancel the
> 6pm news and run it at 7. Change the attitude - I doubt a
> WSVN-style bloodfest would work in Rochester, but how about
> targeting -something- the other stations don't as much.
> Some wild ideas that might work or at least get things
> started - A newscast focused on suburbs at :15 in, or maybe
> focus more on the city, longer in-depth stories, spend a lot
> more time on their investigative stories, which are actually
> excellent, build a remote studio in Canandaigua and do
> Finger Lakes/Ontario county news at 5:30 (yeah, I know)...
> target the newscast to attract a younger audience...
> ANYTHING that sets them apart from doing a me-too-cast.
> Yeah, I realize some of these may not be practical, but
> kicking big ideas around is better than replacing perky
> blonde #34 with focus-group-tested brunette #15.
>
> - Keep the promotion going back and forth with Channel 31.
> A lot of younger Fox viewers don't watch newscasts but could
> be drawn to channel 8 (and 31's own cast) with promotions
> for stories targeting their interests.
>

Some good ideas Phil. Allow me to make some suggestions also.
Here are my recommendations for Channel 8 to make serious ratings inroads in Metro Rochester.

The first thing is getting a new station owner who is willing to spend what it takes to make Channel 8 successful. This nickel and dime routine just isn’t working. In order to make money you have to spend money. I’m not talking just about on-air talent, but also for support staff and equipment. Stop worrying about appeasing corporate accountants and start trying to please the viewers. After all less viewers means less ratings and less revenue coming into the station from ad agencies; Unless of course your ad revenue consists of auto dealers and lawyers during every commercial break.

The second recommendation would be to take a hard look at your news staff and its support team. Find out who brings strength to that department and do what you have to in order to keep those individuals while in the meantime weed out those only whose contribution is that they look good on TV. Don’t be afraid to spend some money to keep the good people you have and also give serious consideration towards hiring personnel from your competition; People that can help 8’s operation with their experience in the market. At the present time one has to ask the question, how many veterans who work at 13 and 10 would leave to work at 8?

Third: Build for the future. Channel 13 is the perfect example. WHAM-TV as had a plan in place for years when it comes to grooming future anchors. Stability is the key element to a broadcasting operation’s success.


Cross-promotion between 8 and 31 is very important. 31’s audience is much younger than 8’s.
















<P ID="signature">______________
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted and I won't be laid a hand on.
I don't do these things to other people and I expect the same from them".</P>