Philadelphia Will Do

June 19, 2008

McNabb Not Just A Chunky Soup Pitchman

Take it away, Keith Russell, with our lead of the week:

June 18, 2008 (WPVI) -- Donovan McNabb is always focused on football, but today he was focused on hypertension.

Did McNabb take his focus away from football to focus on hypertension yesterday? That slacker!

McNabb focuses on high-blood pressure [6 ABC]

Posted by D-Mac at 09:13 AM | Comments (0)

May 23, 2008

NYC Anchors Ask Philly PD Questions

Yesterday's chat with the police brass on Action News' website brought out the best in everyone, from essentially ignoring a question about decriminalization of marijuana (thanks for asking, Philly NORML) to the cops subscribing to the broken windows theory (aargh!) to the brass vowing to crack down on people parking on the sidewalk in South Philly (this is going to be a nightmare!) to a deputy commish saying the cops are going to eradicate illegal drugs in Philly (ha!).

A friendly commenter also went through and noticed, um, all the ridiculous fake names that asked questions. Even stranger, all the names were people affiliated with New York City in some way! Let's reproduce some of his comment here:

N. Dinkins Middle initial and last name of one of the worst mayors of the City of New York ever.
Chuck Scarborough Longtime anchorman, WNBC. [The response to his question actually mentions New York.--dmac]
Tim Minton Reporter, WNBC.
Jonathan Dienst Reporter, WNBC (broke Fort Dix plot story).
Peter Mansbridge Anchor of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's flagship television news program The National. [This is my favorite one--dmac.]
Rosanna Scotto Longtime anchor, Fox 5, also seen on the Today show for cooking segments.
Donna Dixon Actress who has appeared in such productions as Bosom Buddies. and Spies Like Us.
James Goldman Award winning screenwriter and playwright (deceased). Also the real name of "Jim Gardner" the worst television anchor in the known universe. [Hey! You leave Jim Gardner alone; he makes fun of Gary Papa's cancer.]
Sue Simmons Longtime anchor, WNBC. Has co-anchored the 11 p.m. newscast with Chuck Scarborough for over 30 years... recently said the f-word on air.

Ha ha, these New York anchors and Canadians really care about Philadelphia policing. Thanks, guys!

Philadelphia Police Chat @ 6abc.com [6 ABC]
Yesterday: Police Chat on 6 ABC

Posted by D-Mac at 12:18 PM | Comments (1)

May 22, 2008

Police Chat On 6 ABC

Action News is having its first online chat with the police department brass since the fallout from the firing of four police officers involved in the kicking and such of shooting suspects. The over-under on the number of questions submitted that boil down to "Why aren't the police allowed to just beat up suspects?" is roughly 72.

I have no doubt this will be extremely interesting, though not as interesting as a chat with the guys who post on Domelights.

Posted by D-Mac at 12:33 PM | Comments (2)

May 13, 2008

Gary Papa's Emotional Moment

Hey, so here's Action News' Gary Papa on the 6 o'clock news last night, getting emotional after Eagles coach Andy Reid visits CHOP. Aww, Gary! After the commercial break, though, Jim Gardner makes it all better by joking that Gary was just upset because someone repossessed his car.

Also notable is Reid's comment to the media on the kids at Children's Hospital of Phialdelphia: "They're fired up and ready to go." He can't even stop using sports clichés during off hours! I can only imagine he followed that up with, "They really gave it 110 percent, took it one game at a time. Injuries: Well, this one kid has leukemia, another has cancer--clears throat--time's yours."

If YouTube is blocked at your work, here's a Redlasso clip.

Posted by D-Mac at 08:48 AM | Comments (4)

May 12, 2008

Marvin Harrison Tale Gets Surreal

Dan Gross reported last week that 6 ABC's Keith Russell talked about the Marvin Harrison situation on a radio show and didn't exactly stick to the, um, facts (apparently I missed it on PFT also):

6ABC sports anchor Keith Russell has reportedly supplied wholly unsubstantiated details to a Florida radio station about last week's shooting linked to Marvin Harrison, the Indianapolis Colts and Roman Catholic football star. [...] According to ProFootballTalk. com, Russell appeared with Jason Jackson on Miami's WQAM, and said his sources told him that the man who was shot had come to carry out a gangland-style hit on Harrison. According to the Web site, Russell said during the segment that the issue relates to Harrison's father, who Russell told the radio station was incarcerated.

Harrison's father is deceased, according to several stories. But, hey, who knows! Maybe his pops is the movie version of the Kingpin and we've all been lied to!

6ABC's Russell's tale baseless [Daily News]

Posted by D-Mac at 10:11 AM | Comments (0)

April 17, 2008

Ed Rendell Is All WTF On Debate

Ed Rendell was on 6 ABC's post-debate show last night, and man was he pissed! I certainly don't think last night's debate is going to blow up the world or anything, but Rendell certainly seemed to; he asked Monica Malpass, "What is wrong with America?"

Naturally, Rendell was talking about the first 45 minutes to an hour of the debate, which featured questions exclusively on Hillary's lie about dodging sniper fire, Barack Obama's pastor, "bitter" Pennsylvanians and some dude from the Weather Underground who supports Obama.

Video after the jump.

Continue reading "Ed Rendell Is All WTF On Debate"

Posted by D-Mac at 09:01 AM | Comments (3)

April 16, 2008

One Pissed Off Alleged Criminal

Like, get it? You're in trouble! Hey, that's pretty clever, Action News. Anyway, Delaware police caught a man wanted for an assault in Philadelphia because he pissed onto the side of a service plaza instead of just going into the bathroom a few feet away. That's some good work there.

Posted by D-Mac at 09:46 AM | Comments (1)

April 03, 2008

Headline Of The Day

Chrissmari: "That's a headline you'd write."

Oh, totally. Watch out for the moon man!

Moon man arrested for abandoning kids [AP/6 ABC]

Posted by D-Mac at 10:42 AM | Comments (3)

April 02, 2008

Reporter Fools Young Child

Yesterday, Action News spent a full 2 minutes of its newscast reporting on the First Family of April Fool's Day; the parents were born on the exact same day and their first born son was also born on April 1. (The wife also kinda sounds and looks a little bit like Jennaphr Frederick.)

Walter Perez then really gets things going, as he reads stats from a Penn researcher let us know the chances of sharing a birthday with your spouse is 1 in 365 (and a quarter, I assume) and later fools a mohawked child into believing he is on the Philadelphia Eagles. Uhh, April fool? Video after the jump.

Continue reading "Reporter Fools Young Child"

Posted by D-Mac at 08:18 AM | Comments (1)

March 10, 2008

Lead Of The Day

READING, Pa. - March 10, 2008 (WPVI) -- Saturday night into Sunday there was a series of storms and high winds the hit the area around Reading, Pa. But the same time, at the home of a supermarket chain executive, something deadly was going on.

Gary Redner, 55, was found dead outside his home in Lower Heidelberg Township. The father of 2 adult children is divorced and lived alone.

Supermarket executive murdered [6 ABC]

Posted by D-Mac at 04:36 PM | Comments (346)

March 03, 2008

Vince Fumo Is Britney Spears

Vince Fumo is still experiencing some discomfort and remains in the hospital. He's still in critical condition.

Above, Vernon Odom covers all angles of the Fumo heart attack. We are now hearing as much about the state senator's health as we do about ... well, any Hollywood celebrity. This can show Vince, at least, that he's finally made it.

Posted by D-Mac at 04:32 PM | Comments (1)

February 18, 2008

Fake News Now On Regular News

Really, guys. I know this sounds weird coming from someone who runs a blog like mine, but don't you guys have to report the actual news? This feels like an attempt at doing some sort of Daily Show-style report, only on the real news. And, uh, it's two and a half minutes long!

Naw, I'm just kidding, keep doing dramatic exclusives on the missing M&M man. What's on Lost this week!

It is amazing, though, that we have to put both "Action" and "News" in quotes when discussing this clip.

Posted by D-Mac at 12:56 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)

February 13, 2008

When Murder Turns Deadly

Not just that, but this homicide was against the law!

Homicide in Claymont [6 ABC]

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February 07, 2008

TV Show Solves All Your Dating Problems

Erin O'Hearn's weekly "Right Now On The Net" feature has showcased Brad Maule's work on Phillyskyline and, last night, it showcased... online dating! This whole segment is worth is just to see the awkward interaction between Jim Gardner and O'Hearn at the end.

Posted by D-Mac at 02:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

January 29, 2008

OMG Hai Kids Here's A New Show!

On Saturday, 6 ABC debuted its new show aimed at teenagers, called IMphilly. I'm not sure why Philly is lowercase in the title, but who knows. Basically, the show is Rick Williams in a leather jacket talking to teenagers; there are a few teen-oriented features, including one in the first episode about Redskins QB Mark Brunell's daughter for some reason.

So.. yeah. A regular stupid boring teen show, and not even any YouTube moments. You will note, of course, that all the teen panelists are from the suburbs.

Posted by D-Mac at 08:15 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

January 09, 2008

A.J. Feeley Apparently A Viable Pitchman

I try to avoid linking to Channel 6's website, because they have this annoying dude in a white shirt and glasses who pops up and tells you to buy a Toyota. I've been blocking these ads for forever, but when browsing on a different computer earlier this morning, I ended up realizing that KYW 1060's website does it too!

And look who the pitchman -- for some product I was able to forget the name of, thankfully -- is: A.J. Feeley, ex-boyfriend of Heather Mitts and superstar backup Eagles quarterback. Unfortunately, I was not able to forget the 50-60 interceptions he threw this year in just two games, managing to throw the ball to the other team when driving for the game-winning touchdown in back-to-back games.

Anyway, with Feeley up on the website hawking something, it is only a matter of time before the ghosts of backup quarterbacks past begin popping up all over. Look for Jim McMahon to be pitching Delilah's on this blog any day now.

Posted by D-Mac at 09:45 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

November 28, 2007

CBS 3, 6 ABC In Dead Sweeps Heat (I Guess)

Have the rumors of Alycia Lane bikini photos brought Alycia Lane and Larry Mendte -- the photos are of Alycia -- to the top of the news charts? Laura Nachman has the preliminary sweeps numbers as of Tuesday and CBS 3 trails 6 ABC by just 1 share point (whatever that is) on the 11 p.m. newscast.

Action News -- who seems to have been amping up its Erin O'Hearn commercials recently, if you've noticed -- leads in the 11 p.m. ratings with an 8 rating/16 share, while CBS 3 trails just behind with an 8 rating/15 share. (Each ratings point equals one or two old people falling asleep after the weather. Each share equals nothing.) NBC 10 has a 5 rating/10 share. (The lead-ins are important, too, with CBS beating ABC beating NBC. I'm pretty sure the Peacock doesn't even have a prime-time lineup anymore; it just runs infomercials.)

At 6 p.m., Jim Gardner (6 ABC) is way ahead with a 12 rating/22 share; Tim Lake (NBC 10) has a 4 rating/8 share and Mendte and Lane have a 4 rating/7 share. Obviously, viewers know if Alycia's going to show her bikini, it'll be at 11 p.m.

The Nach Attack: NBC 10 Muffs 11 p.m. Sweeps [The Daily Examiner]

Posted by D-Mac at 03:48 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

November 21, 2007

Headline Of The Day

Oh, Action News. This makes up for that text-messaging report.

Polygamist Gets Multiple Sentences [AP/6 ABC]

Posted by D-Mac at 08:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

October 10, 2007

Rocket Man, Sort Of

Tomorrow on Action News at some ungodly hour like 5 a.m., anchor Matt O'Donnell will show you footage of his trip in a rocket simulator. It's like Space Camp, only somehow more exciting.

Posted by D-Mac at 01:32 PM | Comments (13) | TrackBack (0)

October 09, 2007

A.C. Mayor To Come Out Of Hiding To Resign?

It appears Bob Levy's reign of green beret terror is coming to an end. Levy is expected to come out of hiding to resign his seat sometime this week.

And if he doesn't come out and resign, he's just going to be removed from office since, well, he disappeared without a trace and verbally left some guy in charge. Somehow, this led a mob of angry citizens led by Steve Young to storm City Hall. Arguments are scheduled today to see if the mayor can be legally removed from office and just who becomes mayor after him.

Meanwhile, the beach is pretty nice today.

Public Waits For A.C. Mayor [6 ABC]

Posted by D-Mac at 10:55 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

August 21, 2007

Magic Object/Rock/Bullet Theories

KYW 1060:

A SEPTA bus was traveling south on 26th Street near Aspen Monday night around 9 o'clock when its driver heard a sound and felt a piece of glass hitting him. He stopped the bus and noticed that the driver's side window was broken.

Police say the driver suffered only a small scratch and did not require medical treatment. The driver told investigators he saw four teens approximately 13 to 16 years of age running north on 26th Street. Detectives say it appears they threw an object, possibly a stone at the bus while it was in motion.

6 ABC:

Philadelphia police are on the lookout for the group of teens that hurled rocks at a SEPTA bush and hurt the driver.

The rocks shattered the bus windshield, injuring the driver.

It happened at 26th and Aspen in Philadelphia's Fairmount section around 9 o'clock.

NBC 10:

A SEPTA bus came under fire in the Fairmount section of the city Monday night. Several bullets or BBs were fired at a bus at 26th and Aspen streets, police said.

The bus driver was hit by flying glass after windows were shattered by the shots. He was not badly hurt.

All together now: One of these things is not like the other...

Posted by D-Mac at 09:47 AM | Comments (14) | TrackBack (0)

July 05, 2007

TV Viewers Demand Access To Fireworks Displays

Okay, so it was raining, and everybody thought the fireworks were cancelled, and it turns out the fireworks actually weren't cancelled, and so nobody saw the fireworks. Shitty, but alas, nothing anybody can do about it now, and who wanted to sit out in the rain at 11:30 to watch fireworks anyway? End of story, I suppose.

Of course not. The big story on CBS 3 right now is, of course, the "fireworks fiasco," which is a major fiasco for CBS 3 because 6 ABC broadcasts them, not CBS 3. (It's also the lead story on NBC 10's website.)

After the Hall & Oates concert ended, the police repeatedly broadcast announcements saying, in effect, the fireworks were canceled. As in, the announcement went something like, "The fireworks have been canceled." But, whoops!

A spokesman for the Philadelphia Mayor's office contends the city did not cancel the show. Joe Grace said they told spectators to leave the parkway for public safety reasons, but "they were never cancelled." Grace said because of localized flooding and lightning, they decided the show would go on for the television viewing audience only.

Uhh, what? What the hell is the point of watching fireworks on television? Who watches fireworks on television? Damn you, 6 ABC! If you're home at 11 on a holiday night, you probably have work the next day and are probably already asleep. Ooh, let me stay up to watch the fireworks on my 13-inch bedroom television!

Once again, Philadelphia proves it can't do anything right. I'm surprised after the Declaration of Independence was written, John Hancock didn't spell his name wrong while singing it and then accidentally chuck it into the Delaware.

Update, 3:48 p.m.: I think a shortened version of this post is in order. Here we go: After Hall & Oates, the fireworks were postponed. The cops said it, 6 ABC said it, everyone heard it. Somebody (Sunoco or 6 ABC or John Street or The Pope or whoever) then made the decision the fireworks should go on, and so after everyone had cleared out the fireworks went on anyway.

Fireworks Fiasco: Off, On, Off? [CBS 3]
Philly Fireworks Go Off Despite Cancellation [NBC 10]

Posted by D-Mac at 01:51 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)