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WFTS brings in a new face
By ERIC DEGGANS, Times TV Critic
© St. Petersburg Times From initial discussions to job offer, it took about two weeks. So it's understandable if Wendy Ryan is feeling a bit exhilarated following the news that she will replace anchor Martie Tucker at Tampa ABC affiliate WFTS-Ch. 28. Ryan, the primary female anchor at WICS-TV in Springfield, Ill., joins WFTS on April 7. Tucker left the station in February for a job at WFTV in Orlando (where she'll be known by her maiden name, Martie Salt). Tucker turned down a contract with WFTS after a dispute with station management over taking dinner breaks every evening. And even though she'll replace the only primary female anchor WFTS has had -- the station's news department started in 1994 with Tucker in the top spot -- Ryan remains unfazed by the challenge. Mostly because she has handled similar circumstances before. "When I came (to Springfield), I replaced a woman who had been here for 18 years as anchor," said Ryan, an Ohio native who has anchored for business channels in Los Angeles and Miami. "It's really about just being myself. People will like you or not like you based on who you are. . . . It's about getting involved in the community and letting people know who I am." WFTS executives haven't finalized which anchors will handle which shows, though Ryan said she expects to co-anchor the station's 6 and 11 p.m. news with lead male anchor Brendan McLaughlin. And though some in the industry expected 5:30 p.m. anchor Linda Hurtado to get the top job, WFTS general manager Sam Stallworth downplayed the significance of hiring Tucker's replacement from outside the station. "We're going to give (Hurtado) more responsibility . . . and we had to hire someone new anyway because we're down a person," Stallworth said. "It's a good combination to throw in some new blood and at the same time give people internally a change. (Ryan) is quite energetic and passionate. . . . She's a real devoted journalist." WFTS faces continual ratings challenges. It finished fourth among the area's four broadcast news outlets in most newscast time slots during February's sweeps ratings period. "It just takes time," Ryan said. "A lot of it is just letting people get to know the new faces." For executives at WTSP-Ch. 10, it all went according to plan. Overnight household ratings indicate that the station's decision to move popular syndicated show Dr. Phil to 5 p.m. weekdays may have paid off. Monday's episode scored higher ratings than any competing newscast on rival channels. Nearly 14 percent of households watching TV were tuned to Dr. Phil at 5 p.m. Monday, compared with about 11 percent watching Fox station WTVT-Ch. 13 and 9 percent watching NBC affiliate WFLA-Ch. 8. It was the first day WTSP had moved the syndicated counseling show to 5, bumping its newscast Life Around the Bay to 4 (where it got viewership similar to the game show it replaced, The Weakest Link). WFLA, which won the February sweeps at 5 p.m. with 14 percent of TV-watching households, seemed to lose a significant portion of viewers who watched Oprah on its channel, then switched over to Dr. Phil and stayed tuned for WTSP's 6 p.m. news. (Dr. Phil host Philip McGraw began his TV career appearing on Oprah.) "People flocked to Dr. Phil . . . better than we could have hoped," said Pete Nikiel, director of marketing and promotion at WTSP. "But it's just the first day." At WFLA, executives hoped Monday's numbers weren't the start of a serious trend. "If Dr. Phil is going to be that strong (every day), then we've got a problem," news director Forrest Carr said. "But history is replete with examples of shows that debuted strong and faded." WFLA scored top ratings sign-on to signoff in last month's sweeps period (which ended Feb. 26), followed by WTSP, WTVT, WFTS and WTOG-Ch. 44. WFLA also scored top ratings in early evening and late night newscasts, losing by a small margin to WTVT in the morning news hours. As expected, Fox's two-hour Joe Millionaire finale Feb. 17 emerged as the market's most-watched individual show, attracting an average 32 percent of households watching TV. In the hours of common prime time, 8 to 10 p.m., WTSP's lineup of CBS shows scored top ratings, followed by WFLA (NBC), WTVT (Fox) and WFTS (ABC). Such figures don't note the age or gender of viewers -- those numbers will be released by Nielsen Media Research on March 15 -- which is the information station officials use to set advertising rates. WTSP and the St. Petersburg Times share news and features under a partnership agreement.
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