The Herald has come up with it’s own scorecard on how the local sports guys are doing.
In short:
4 is ok for having “ancillary programming” all year long.
Channel 6 is allright, just get those “wandering sportsanchors” off the screen.
7 does good for having Rosenhaus around, but Steve Shapiro should lower the decibels (while we’re at the request line, can we have him anchor in shorts too? Please!). New guy Rod Burks is too nervous they say – gave the baseball scores in reverse (hey maybe he’s just dyslexic).
10’s Jimmy Cefalo is Mr. Smooth, big score for hiring the charismatic John Henry Smith and Will Manso is “versatile” (really? :wassat:)
Miami Herald
Keeping score of local TV
Posted on Fri, Jun. 25, 2004
ON SPORTS MEDIA
Keeping score of local TV
BARRY JACKSON
bjackson@herald.com
After a period of surprising stability, the local sports television landscape experienced a shake-up the past two months, with two stations hiring newcomers and Channel 10 dropping Frank Forte.
One viewer’s scorecard on how each station stands:
• Channel 4: Jim Berry’s occasional jingles have outlived their usefulness, but he has a pleasing personality and delivery. Kim Bokamper has improved as much as any anchor in the market during the past two years and doesn’t sugarcoat criticism of the Dolphins.
Jill Martin’s Sunday night feature stories stand out because they often give insight into the off-field lives of South Florida athletes, such as a recent piece on A.J. Feeley and Heather Mitts.
WFOR shortchanges sports during the four ratings sweeps months (February, May, July and November), often cutting the 11:25 p.m. report to one minute or less. That means, at times, bare-bone highlights and scant postgame reaction. That’s unacceptable in a market this sports-intensive. But WFOR deserves credit for keeping year-round ancillary programming, including a 7 p.m. Saturday magazine show.
• Channel 6: Although Craig Minervini didn’t deserve to be dropped 2 ½ years ago, Joe Rose has developed well as an anchor, moving through the highlights quickly and with energy.
Guy Rawlings, a clever writer, isn’t as adept as Minervini in ad-lib situations. Lindsay Czarniak has been smooth as a feature reporter and host on the weekly Dolphins magazine show.
Of the three 11 p.m. newscasts, NBC 6’s is the least likely to tinker with the length of sports coverage during sweeps months. Also, nobody gathers more postgame reaction from Marlins games than NBC 6. And NBC 6 has been consistently winning the ratings battle among the late Sunday night shows.
But during weekend sportscasts, why do we need to see news anchors wandering around in the background? It’s distracting.
• Channel 7: With a sharp wit, Steve Shapiro injects his personality into sportscasts more than anybody in the market (even Berry). Shapiro offers generally thorough reports and has justified his promotion to Ducis Rodgers’ old job, but he needs to lower the decibel level at times. His abrasive style can rub some the wrong way, but it works in the segments with agent Drew Rosenhaus.
Although Shapiro is the host, the star of the Sunday night show is Rosenhaus, who has toned down his delivery and become a polished TV presence. Does he speak objectively on all Dolphins issues? Of course not. But viewers are smart enough to know Rosenhaus won’t criticize his clients, and WSVN has benefited from his news tips and big-name guests. It was essential that Rosenhaus and Shapiro identify which players discussed are Rosenhaus clients, and they have done that the past several months. The Sunday show has more offseason football talk than its competitors’.
Mike DiPasquale is a capable No. 2, but the new No. 3, Rod Burks, has struggled. Burks seems nervous, which might explain why he misidentified Marlins catcher Mike Redmond and reported one baseball score in reverse (3 to 7).
• Channel 10: Jimmy Cefalo, Mr. Smooth, remains the one element of stability on WPLG’s staff. The station had no business dropping Forte. Versatile Will Manso is covering primarily news.
But news director Bill Pohovey scored with his hiring of ex-Raleigh, N.C., sportscaster John Henry Smith. Although too reliant on clichés, Smith has charisma and strong on-air presence. WPLG has de-emphasized sports somewhat and shouldn’t slash the time given to sports during sweeps months. But Channel 10 wisely has kept the viewer-friendly sports ticker (which NBC 6 has imitated, though not as well).
