Jim Cantore of the Weather Channel teaches at Lyndon State

Almost 30 years ago, when I was a reporter for the St. Albans Messenger, I discovered that curious readers wanted explanations for strange weather phenomena. Once I called Stuart Hall of WCAX to explain that double corona around the sun. He was very cordial and helpful, and I think the story was well read because everyone in St. Albans had seen the strange phenomena that morning and wondered what had caused it. And when the paper hit the streets that afternoon - voila! And by the way - the answer was "atmospheric ice crystals."

The following press release from Lyndon State College, one of the nation's finer training grounds for media people covering the weather, was printed on Vermont Digger this morning.

LYNDON CTR., VT.: The Weather Channel’s on-air personality and self-described ‘Weather Geek’ Jim Cantore (LSC Class of ’86) visited Lyndon State for his annual workshop “TV Weathercasting Techniques” on November 12. This is the eighth year Cantore has given the class. The full day class offers senior broadcast meteorology students the opportunity to be mentored, coached, and critiqued by Cantore.

Cantore was again joined by meteorologist Kerrin Jeromin (Class of ’08). Jeromin is the meteorologist for Fox 44 Local News This Morning and ABC22 This Morning in Burlington, Vermont.

The day began with a presentation about the general state of broadcast meteorology, strategies for breaking into the business, and trends from within the field including the push towards “hyperlocal.” Cantore stressed the importance of being both passionate and compassionate in your line of work. Both Cantore and Jeromin discussed the process of finding that first broadcast job and tips on becoming successful. The class visited via Skype with Lou Michaels of Talent Dynamics.

Michaels talked to the students about producing a solid resume tape. She also discussed developing a viewer-friendly personality and the importance of on-air appearance. Michaels spoke of the role of social media and helped with advice about the job search.

The afternoon session concentrated on one-on-one studio work. Cantore watched tapes of each student’s earlier broadcast work and offered individual critiques and guidance. The student then had time to work in front of the chroma-key wall (green screen) where weather maps are projected. These sessions were taped and allowed Cantore and the students a final individual session. While Cantore was in studio, Jeromin watched show tapeswith the other students and shared advice on improving on-air performance.

The class didn’t end there. Both Cantore and Jeromin subsequently send each student a written assessment. The pair will watch more broadcasts in the spring and submit analysis on the students’ progress.

---

Andy Potter, George Commo, John King, and Rudy Vallee named to HOF

From the Vermont Business Magazine website:

A news reporter, a sportscaster, a station executive and a legendary crooner have been named to the Vermont Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Radio and TV news reporter Andy Potter, sportscaster George Commo and Vermont Public Television President and CEO John King will be inducted during the annual VAB Awards Banquet November 19 in Burlington. Radio and movie star Rudy Vallee will be inducted posthumously.

Vallee was born in 1901 in Island Pond. A teenage bandleader, he drew attention with the band he started at Yale University, “Rudy Vallee and the Connecticut Yankees.” In 1929, Vallee began hosting “The Fleischmann’s Yeast Hour” on NBC, later “The Royal Gelatin Hour.” The show was one of the two most popular programs in the country for the next ten years (the other being “Amos ’n’ Andy”). His program was the first to present acts such as Burns and Allen, Milton Berle, Kate Smith, the Mills Brothers and Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy. His radio, stage and film career was lengthy. He worked into the early 1980’s, when he occasionally served as the opening act for the Village People. Vallee passed away in 1986. His wife, Eleanor Vallee, said she was thrilled with the VAB honor. “I’m so pleased and appreciative of this honor for my late husband, my ‘vagabond lover,’” she said from her home in Los Angeles. “Vagabond Lover” was the name of Vallee’s first film, in 1929. Eleanor Vallee, a prolific actress and model in her own right, is planning on attending the VAB Hall of Fame ceremony.

The recently-retired Andy Potter is a legend among news reporters in Vermont. He started his radio career while attending Middlebury College in the mid-1960’s. After serving in Vietnam, he returned to Vermont, where he brought his reporting skills to a variety of radio stations, including WJOY, WDOT and WKDR among others. He carved a second career on TV, where he was a longtime senior reporter for WCAX in Burlington.

George Commo is a nine-time winner of the Vermont Sportscaster of the Year award and is also a member of the Vermont Press Association Hall of Fame. George has been a radio and TV sportscaster since the early 1970’s and was the longtime voice of UVM Hockey and Vermont minor league baseball. Since 1998, he has been covering Norwich University Hockey for WDEV. Among his fans and peers, George is considered one of the greatest hockey play-by-play sportscasters to ever climb behind a microphone.
John King joined VPT in 1987 and has served as President and CEO since 1998. He also serves on the PBS Board of Directors and has served as Chairman of the Vermont Television Broadcasters Co-location Association. He is credited with helping to form a strong bond between public and private broadcasting in Vermont.

WDEV Radio in Waterbury has been named the “Broadcaster of the Year” for 2011. The station did an extraordinary job of keeping the public informed during and after Tropical Storm Irene. Their around-the-clock coverage of the disaster is credited with saving lives and keeping people informed.

John Likakis, Executive Director of WBTN-AM in Bennington is also being recognized for outstanding coverage of Tropical Storm Irene. Likakis is one of two winners of the VAB’s Distinguished Service Award. Likakis and station volunteers at WBTN provided critical information to their community before, during and after the storm. For days, they were the only link between local emergency officials and stranded citizens.
The other Distinguished Service Award will be presented to Ginny McGehee of WJOY radio in Burlington. Ginny is the longest-serving female radio personality in Vermont history, having started at WJOY in 1983. Her radio family wouldn’t think of starting the day without her good humor and upbeat attitude. She’s served her community in other ways as a board member of Champlain Valley Crimestoppers and the Vermont and New Hampshire Valley chapter of the American Red Cross.

The Alan Noyes Community Service Award is going to WJJR-FM in Rutland for their amazing annual Gift-of-Life blood drive. WJJR personalities Terry Jaye and Nanci Gordon helped collect 1,400 pints of blood in one day last December, breaking a New England record set in Boston. The annual drive has been a focal point of community involvement in Rutland. The regional and national record has since been eclipsed by Manchester, New Hampshire. This year’s drive is scheduled for December 20.

Two other Community Service Awards will be presented to WOKO-FM and ABC22/FOX44-TV. WOKO radio in Burlington has been conducting their “Big Change Round-up for Kids” for seven years. Last year, the station raised an astounding $206,000 for the Vermont Children’s Hospital at Fletcher Allen. The annual campaign culminates in a four-day radiothon.

ABC22/FOX44 is being honored for organizing a telethon for June 8 that raised more than $45,000 for the local Red Cross. The stations took action when reporter Natalie Paterson came back from covering damage from Vermont’s spring floods and asked General Manager Vic Vetters what the stations could do to help their neighbors. The telethon helped replenish the local Red Cross coffers at a critical time.

Funeral services for John Curran, AP reporter, 54, to be held Thursday, 11 am

Just a week after posting news of the untimely death of a well-respected member of the Vermont media, Susan Jarzyna of the Hardwick Gazette, vermontpressconnections sadly reports yet another passing of a journalist in the prime of life. John Curran, head of the Vermont bureau of the Associated Press, died Saturday afternoon at Central Vermont Medical Center after suffering a heart attack while mowing the lawn at his Colonial Drive, Montpelier home. Visiting hours will be held on Wednesday, and a funeral mass will be held Thursday morning (see Burlington Free Press obit below for details).

Sunday afternoon, I was talking with a prominent attorney who has represented several high-profile, unpopular causes. He praised John as a "fair" reporter, meaning of course "fair and balanced" in the true sense. Speaking as someone who has worked both as a reporter and with my former colleagues in a "flack" capacity, this is a goal to which all aspire and some achieve better than others. Based on my dealings with John as a communications professional for various not-for-profits, I agree wholeheartedly with my lawyer friend. I gladly pay John one of the highest compliments that can be paid to any reporter: "If he/she had a bias, I never knew what it was."

At his press conference Tuesday, September 20, Gov. Peter Shumlin praised Curran as "an extraordinary journalist and friend." On behalf of those who knew him he expressed "extraordinary grief and loss" and said that our hearts go out to his wife Trisha, and children Julie, Mary and Patrick. "Our love and prayers are with Trish and his family at this tough time," he said.

Before the press conference began, one of his peers noted - without referring to John in particular - that the life of the newspaper reporter is not always conducive to healthly lifestyle choices. There are long hours, lots of pressure and endless deadlines, lots of travel, too much fast food, and an over-reliance on caffeine and an underreliance on sleep (AKA "the poor man's medicine"). It would be well for all news professionals "of a certain age" to self-evaluate and not put off that annual checkup.

JOHN FRANCIS CURRAN MONTPELIER - John Francis Curran, 54, of Colonial Drive in Montpelier, died unexpectedly on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011, in Central Vermont Medical Center. He was born on Sept. 16, 1957, the son of S. Robert and Mary (Sullivan) Curran in New York City, N.Y. On Aug. 19, 1989, he married Patricia Flynn in Southbridge, Mass. He worked as a Journalist for the Montpelier Bureau of the Associated Press. Survivors include his wife, Patricia "Tricia" Curran of Montpelier; children, Julie Curran, Mary Curran and Patrick Curran of Montpelier; and brothers, S. Robert Curran, Jr., of West Islip, N.Y. and Mark Curran of New York City, N.Y. He was predeceased by his parents. Calling hours will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011, at the Guare and Sons Funeral Home. A funeral mass will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011, at St. Augustine's Church in Montpelier. Those wishing to express condolences may do so online at www.guareandsons.com. Memorial contributions may be made to the Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice, 600 Granger Road-Berlin, Barre, VT 05641 or to St. Augustine's Church, 16 Barre Street, Montpelier, VT 05602.

Free Press cans Monday business section, debuts "innovate" Thursday; Lt. Governor sells advertising

It's Twofer Monday at vermontpressconnections. First, the Burlington Free Press ran a Page One, Above the Fold, Right Hand Column story today on the demise of Business Monday and the creation of a new Thursday business section, "innovate". (See story from BFP website below.) Good to see that the Free Press has acknowledge vermontpressconnections as a trendsetter by assigning a lowercase, one-word name to its newest project. (Just kidding, everyone.)

Second, at long last the advertising salesmen are getting recognition!  Lt. Gov. Phil Scott, who even looks a little like Mike Rowe of the Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs", announced today that tomorrow morning he will be selling advertising for the Addison Eagle as part of his Vermont Everyday Jobs program. As a former foot soldier in these particular trenches, here's what I want to know - what's his commission, and does he get to sell the plum accounts or is the paper giving him the grouchy old misers that no-one else wants?

* * * * * *
Free Press launches "innovate" Thursday

For the first time in memory, the Monday edition of the Bur­lington Free Press is without a Business Monday section.

That section has been a Free Press sta­ple, one valued by readers for its coverage of local companies. I’m pleased to an­nounce today that in the spirit of reinven­tion and delivering excellent products, the Free Press is re­creating its approach to business coverage.

The new section will be moving to Thurs­days as part of our ef­fort to enhance daily content with passion sections as we’ve done with our Green Mountain, ARTSbtv and Savorvore sections.

The new section will be known as innovate and launches this Thurs­day.

You can expect to see deep cov­erage and bold presentation as we focus on creativity in the work place, Vermont style. While we’ll continue to carry some of the existing favorite features of Busi­ness Monday, you will also find topical stories that get at our love of finding out “how to.” With that, we’ll feature profiles of Vermont businesses, and essays by local business people on topics that touch on the theme of innovation.

Look to your new innovate sec­tion every Thursday for an unfil­tered voice from those who make their living doing business in Ver­mont.

- Jim Fogler is President and Publisher of the Burlington Free Press.

At the Rutland Herald, the Medium is the Massage

Every editor and reporter knows what it means to massage a story. At the Rutland Herald, though, they take the M-word literally. See the August 11 post from Darren Marcy at the daily's Vermont Today website:

Massage time

Today is a big day. A huge day. It's massage day at the Rutland Herald.

The company generously provides 20-minute massages for employees once a month.

It may not sound like much, but I look forward to my 20 minutes of horizontal heaven for 29 1/2 days every month.

Today's magic fingers time is 1:40 p.m.

So, if you hear a huge sigh at about 1:42 p.m. today in downtown Rutland, you'll know what is going on.

Longtime WDEV radio man retires, WPTZ weatherman starts BBQ restaurant

Jack Donovan will retire on August 31 after 39 years at WDEV, according to an article in the World newspaper.

Donovan has been a major on-air personality, and for 15 years has also served as program director. He was inducted into the Vermont Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2010. Listeners have enjoyed the on-air, tongue-in-cheek adversarial relationship between him and station owner Ken Squier.

"His consistent daily effort six days a week over all those years is extraordinary," Station Manager Eric Michaels said. "The warmth and friendliness of Jack's on-air presentation is an ideal that few announcers achieve." A longtime resident of Plainfield, he and his wife Diane have three children, Heather, Patricia and James.



After more than a decade at the station, Jim Moore will be leaving WPTZ/WNNE-TV, according to an online posting August 11.
.

"It has been an honor delivering the morning weather reports at WPTZ/WNNE for the past 11 years," said Moore. He will be leaving the television business to start a new BBQ restaurant in Plattsburgh, NY. It's been Jim's life-long dream to run his own business.

 

"Jim's been a rock for our morning team over the years," said News Director Sinan Sadar. "His enthusiasm has been a great asset in front of as well as behind the camera. He will be missed."

 

Jim's last day is Friday August,12. WPTZ will announce a new morning meteorologist, shortly.

Is Fair Online Search In Sight?

The controversy continues as search engine fairness, or the possible lack of it by Google, becomes an issue in the online search realm. The FTC has begun an investigation of Google and their recent practices and the US Senate is now following suit.

As Google’s goal of providing consumers with a “free” service turns into a $30 billion organization, many are left questioning Google’s intentions, as “Google can use its control over search to take all of their customers away regardless of how well these other companies do their own jobs,” says Eric Clemons, Professor at The Wharton School.

To read more about why there is reason for investigating Google, click here: http://www.fairsearch.org/search-manipulation/wharton-professor-clemons-google-certainly-worthy-of-investigation

This September, The Senate Committee on the Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights (incl. Sen. Patrick Leahy) will hold a hearing on Wednesday, September 21^st entitled “The Power of Google: Serving Consumers or Threatening Competition?”

To read more and learn about the details, click here: http://www.fairsearch.org/uncategorized/senate-antitrust-subcommittee-announces-sept-21-hearing-the-power-of-google-serving-consumers-or-threatening-competition

I look forward to learning the outcome of this hearing.

It is interesting that there are three major Vermont public figures at least tangentially involved: AG William Sorrell, Sen. Patrick Leahy, and former gubernatorial candidate and Google executive Matt Dunne. Also, who wins and who loses may seriously affect many web-based Vermont businesses and media, as increasingly search capability is part of their business strategy.