WNYT sets post-Kulbida anchor schedule December 30, 2008 at 11:08 am by Chris Churchill, Business writer
WNYT Ch. 13 has announced a shuffled anchor lineup to station employees, as the NBC affiliate in Menands attempts to move forward after the dismissal of about 20 workers.
Included in the forced departures earlier this month — a cost-cutting move — was popular anchor Lydia Kulbida, who with Jim Kambrich co-anchored newscasts at 6 and 11 p.m.
In a Monday e-mail to employees obtained by the Times Union, the station said longtime personality Benita Zahn (left) will replace Kulbida at 6 p.m., while Kambrich (right) will solo-anchor the 11 p.m. news.
Also, Elaine Houston will now anchor the station’s 11 a.m. news program, replacing Kelly Lynch, another victim of the layoffs. Today is Lynch’s last day at the station.
“This has been an incredibly difficult month for everyone as we adjust to our new reality,” Paul Lewis, news director at WNYT, wrote in the e-mail, adding that the..................................
5 to 7 a.m.: Phil Bayly, anchor; Paul Caiano, weather Midday (11 a.m.): Elaine Houston, anchor; Paul Caiano, weather 5 p.m.: Jim Kambrich and Benita Zahn, co-anchors; Bob Kovachick, weather 5:30 p.m.: Elaine Houston, anchor; Bob Kovachick, weather 6 p.m.: Jim Kambrich and Benita Zahn, co-anchors;, Bob Kovachick, weather; Rodger Wyland, sports 11 p.m.: Jim Kambrich, anchor; Bob Kovachick, weather; Rodger Wyland, sports.
Kulbida to be WAMC contributor Longtime WNYT anchor to freelance for public radio BY JEFF WILKIN Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Jeff Wilkin at 395-3124 or at wilkin@dailygazette.com.
A familiar voice is coming to local radio. Former WNYT anchor Lydia Kulbida will begin filing stories for Albany’s WAMC, Northeast Public Radio (1400-AM), in April. Kulbida said Thursday her freelance pieces will “run the gamut from health to business to race relations, everything. Whatever seems to be important to talk about in the community.” “We are thrilled and delighted to have the incomparable Lydia with us,” said Alan Chartock, president and chief executive officer of WAMC/Northeast Public Radio. “There’s no one who is brighter or is more inquisitive and with a better sense of humor. All of those things go a long way to endearing her to all of us, and we are just as happy as could be. I would give my eyeteeth to get her here full time.” Chartock and Kulbida have worked together before. Chartock has appeared on WNYT broadcasts as a political analyst, often discussing issues with station anchors. And Kulbida once participated in WAMC’s “Media Project,” which features local media professionals examining coverage of current events. Kulbida lost her longtime post at WNYT in early December. She had been with the Menands television station since January 2000 and was among the last of 18 station employees released in a late-autumn fl urry of layoffs. Kulbida, who is currently taking courses in education and literacy for a graduate degree at Russell Sage College in Troy, said the radio reports will allow her to keep her journalism skills sharp. She said some stories might be relatively short — four-minute pieces for regular newscasts. Others could be longer, 10-minute stories for air on WAMC’s popular “Roundtable” morning program. Kulbida’s reporting might also be heard on station education or health programs. Kulbida has worked behind radio ....................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01204
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
WNYT sees big ratings slide April 17, 2009 at 3:59 pm by Chris Churchill, Business writer
Is it the Lydia Kulbida effect?
WNYT Ch. 13, long the Capital Region’s ratings leader, saw a ratings slide in new numbers from Nielsen Co.
It’s the first ratings period since WNYT, the NBC affiliate in Menands, fired Kulbida, a popular anchor, and 16 other people in December.
At 11 p.m., for example, where Kulbida had been a co-anchor, WNYT recorded a 4.9 rating, down from 8.1 a year earlier.
At 6 p.m., WNYT’s rating fell from 11.9 in 2008 to a 8.8 this year.
To be fair, nearly every station saw a ratings drop, which might be attributable to the fact that Nielsen moved the ratings period from February to March to avoid a conflict with the planned switch to digital-only broadcasting.
And as Steve Baboulis, vice president and general manager at WNYT noted, his station’s ratings were still tops in the market, although Fox affiliate WXXA Ch. 23 in Albany continued to have the highest-rated late-night newscast.
“Because it was a March book, we’re finding it hard to compare to the February book,” Baboulis said. “It’s not an apples-to-apples comparison.”
Baboulis said some of his station’s drop could be blamed on March Madness, the CBS-carried college basketball tournament, or the poor performance of NBC’s prime-time programs. He did not think Kulbida’s absence had a major ratings effect.
The full ratings for 6 and 11 p.m. are below. The ratings in parenthesis are from 2008. Each rating point equals 1 percent of the total households in the market.
The problem with the decline in watching local news, is that it never follows up on certain issues. And they all try to be politically correct. Couple that with the lack of 'real' investigative reporting and we have nothing. Yes, Lydia was good, but no better than the others in their way of reporting. It is just all fluff. The gazette is the same. And they are ALL slanted for sure. I use to watch wnyt 13, but have switched (when I do watch it), to channel 6. And ONLY because I like to see Fred Dicker. He is to the point, no spin, no BS, no fluff.
I don't read the gazette and very rarely watch local news. You never get the true facts any way. It is all just fluff.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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