My Return To A Historic TV Studio
WRGB has the distinct honor of being deemed as America's FIRST TV station as they made their debut on the area's airwaves back in 1922. The world famous studios have called 1400 Balltown Road in Schenectady, New York their primary home base for decades. You can imagine the massive amounts of history and creative programming that occurred inside this building and it still remains as a testimonial to this day.
At one point, WGY radio in their hey day shared space with channel 6 as both entities were owned by General Electric and their plant still remains in operation not too far away from the TV station. Both mediums were a true fixture in bringing broadcasting excellence throughout New York's capital region and it's surrounding areas which also included Berkshire county in Massachusetts.
It's been a while that I paid a visit to this historical edifice, but that all changed this past weekend as The Capital Region's "Lois Lane" of TV news, Heather Kovar invited me to sit in during a Sunday morning broadcast weeks after she was a guest DJ on a recent Saturday morning show that aired back on February 1st on YOUR Home Town Station.
It was a joy to be present watching a LIVE newscast as it unfolded before my eyes within a two hour time period and let me say it is a much different experience than when you are watching the broadcast at home or on line as Heather and meteorologist Craig Gold exhibited their unique style and presentation in person that brought an aura of pure professionalism as I was impressed that both handled their own tasks on set that normally were dispensed by floor managers and camera crew members during the GE days.
Heather's broadcast combines an accurate re-cap of the developing stories from overnight and frequent weather updates from Craig, but what also makes the newscast impressive is her segments which feature an array of LIVE guests as they discuss upcoming community events within the viewing area. While I was observing quietly behind the scenes, she spotlighted a fund raiser "Bowling For Paws" which was sponsored by Albany's Damien Center to assist our four legged friends. Plus, the publisher of Saratoga Living Magazine discussed an upcoming screening of the memorable 1980 Miracle On Ice Olympic hockey game that took place in Lake Placid and a pair of entrepreneurs showed off their latest creation: a unique pair of athletic socks known as "soaks" (catchy name if you ask me). Before each segment, she became a floor manager bringing a podium to the center set where this feature was presented. In one word, "impressive".
During the broadcast, Heather also gives you a reminder of what you can do during the weekend and I truly enjoyed her and Craig bantering about their craving for pancakes in conjunction with a story focusing on why you should eat a big breakfast (I'm in on that idea for sure!).
I also found out that Craig is a frequent visitor to our neighborhood ski areas including Jiminy Peak, Ski Butternut and Catamount. Hope to see him at the slopes before spring time and I'm sure he'll be making weather observations as well.
Catch Heather and Craig as they bring their unique brand to the small screen every Saturday and Sunday morning on CBS 6. If you are outside the immediate viewing area, you can watch them LIVE on line by logging on here. Feel free to connect with Heather via social media on her Facebook page, Linked In and check out her photos on Instagram.
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