Comings and Goings

One of the questions i'm frequently asked is, "why do your on-air people come and go? No sooner do we get used to them than they're off to somewhere else."

Fair question. And, most folks really do know the answer before they ask.

Every city in America is assigned to a television market, and those markets are "ranked" in terms of numbers of television households. So, no surprise, places like NY, LA, Chicago and SF are considered the "bigs," the places where TV folks with the most ambition and talent aspire to go.

Many on-air folks commit to themselves to be mobile, at least during the first part of their career. And generally, they find themselves seeking jobs at stations located in incrementally larger markets. They tend to move around until they settle down for a while (or perhaps permanently) into a place and job that they particularly like. For some, it's all about the business. For others, lifestyle, climate, relationships or family matters dictate where they choose to "hang their hat" a while.

Lake Charles is a small market in the "tv pecking order." In fact, our market rank is about #175. Now, we also serve Lafayette as their NBC station, but Lafayette is designated as a separate television market from Lake Charles. Put the two together, and they'd be equivalent to about the 83rd largest television market in the United States...what the industry calls a "top 100."

KPLC and the other stations in Lake Charles and Lafayette generally approximate the quality of an "80th" market more than they do a "175th market." (That's not bragging...it's a reflection of the population size actually served by these stations. Most industry observers who watch the tv stations in Southwest Louisiana and Acadiana comment that they are far more sophisticated than the officially-designated market sizes would indicate.)

So, we are able to attract many fine people at or toward the beginning of their careers. If they are mobile, they'll stay for a few years and then (assuming they haven't found "someone special" here in town) they'll begin their search for a position in a larger market. KPLC is on the "radar" of many stations in considerably larger markets because they know that we have a track record of producing good broadcasters with great experience. (It doesn't hurt that Southwest Louisiana tends to be a boiling cauldron of "real" news which belies its market size. For better or for worse, there's always something interesting for newspeople to report on here.)

Fortunately for us, we also have several people who have settled in and declared SWLA and KPLC their home. These include people you see on TV such as Cynthia Arceneaux, John Bridges, Pam Dixon and Theresa Schmidt...and also many people behind the scenes that you don't see all the time, but are just as much a part of KPLC.

I first arrived at KPLC back in 1975. I used to be an anchor and reporter then (plus a little of just about everything else). If you have been here a while, you may remember some of the people who were on the air with me. They included Ray Valdetero (who passed away a few years back), Justin Quigley, Kelly Lane, Jim Wright, Dennis Roper, Carlton Adams, Becky Barnett, SJ Gomez (a longtime Gridiron fixture), Kirby Raymond, John Pronk (still on the air at WFAA in Dallas), and of course, Rob Robin, who has for years done the weather at the Cumulus radio stations here in Lake Charles.

I remember when each of us was a "newbie." Had someone not gone on to another market, none of us would have gotten our shot here. And when we moved on, hopefully there were a few viewers who groused about "losing the people they knew so well." But, we made way for a new crop of people who learned their trade and became honorary Cajuns, then moved on, and the whole thing started all over again. Some, like me, end up coming back in other capacities. I never had more fun in my career than I did in Lake Charles in the 70's (more on that in a future blog), and was very happy to be able to come back to stay.

I gotta admit I love the Internet...and one of the things I love most about it is that I get to keep in touch with some of the great people who have worked at KPLC and moved on to distinguish themselves in bigger markets. We have pictures and notes from many of these people on our 50th anniversary page here on kplctv.com. "Recent" grads I keep in touch with who have gone on to become news stars in the "bigs" include Laila Morcos (powerhouse WWL Radio in New Orleans), Janelle MacDonald (now at our biggest Liberty station in Louisville, Kentucky...check out her stories on streaming vid at wave3.com), and Danner Evans (WSET in Lynchburg/Roanoke, Virginia). Three great KPLC news producers are now at KPRC, the NBC station in Houston...Erica Young, Kenneth Hickson, and Melissa McDonald. And, many of you watch Rob Marciano and Bonnie Schneider doing the weather on CNN. I don't mean to slight anyone here, and will be mentioning other KPLC alum in future posts. If we ever have a KPLC reunion, we may just have to rent the Civic Center Coliseum. ; )

Speaking of KPLC alum, please join me in congratulating former Sunrise anchor Amy Giuliano, who is going to be married in Columbus, Georgia in September. Amy has traded in the anchor desk in Columbus for a medical center marketing position there, and her lucky beau Matt is also in healthcare...he is a dentist.

We're going to be saying goodbye soon to two more familiar faces. Dan Bubany will join the sports staff at the Fox station in Greenville, South Carolina. And, Shelley Brown, who has brightened our Sunrise show each morning for the past few years and reported in the evenings, will be leaving us as well. Shelley will be staying in the Liberty family, going to one of our very biggest stations, WTOL in Toledo. She'll be anchoring weekends and reporting during weekday evenings. Check out the television column archive at the online Toledo Blade newspaper, and you'll see a very nice article written about Shelley.

Please join me in wishing Shelley and Dan all the best. We'll miss them as we miss all the fine folks who grace us with a portion of their careers. Each of them leaves here a better broadcaster, and they leave KPLC a better station. I'm very proud of our entire KPLC family, and that includes those who have gone on to what I like to think of as "temporary assignments" elsewhere. Thanks to each of you, our loyal viewers, for your role in helping to nurture so many fine broadcasters through our lil' ole shadetree tv station here in Cajun Country!