News-Press from Fort Myers, Florida • Page 25

ORIDA 1 Go prnvrrTi 0 NSW grandeurmagazine.com Read all about living the good life in Lee County Eo (is 3 Log on to -to read more and share your own good news. KOSDAX SEPTEMBER 26,2011 SUMM ERT ME "Miiiir ME MORI ES BY FRANCESCA DONLAN We asked for your silliest, hap- to publish the people photos that piest, sweetest summer moments made us smile. Two-year-old enjoys dog days of summer Two-year-old Tucker Ramsay and his dog friend Dakota spent some time happily playing in the grass in West Point, Utah, in July. Tucker is the great-grandson of Sam and Doris Ramsay of Fort Myers who submitted this photo. and you sent more than 100 pho- Here are the best of the bunch.

Summer ended three days ago. tos in response. Thank you for your submis- But lets not forget summer so You sent lovely sunsets and lots sions. We posted all of them fast- of animal photos but we decided 1 i Th Ml 11 -m 2-. 4T Trip up North includes some time on beach a r.i Amy D'Altrui, of Fort Myers, snapped this photo of her niece, Taylor Davidson, 2, in Beach Haven on Long Beach Island in New Jersey last month.

Amy was visiting family and spent all day on the beach. The entire family, including Taylor, didn't want to leave so they ordered pizza and had a spontaneous picnic on the beach. 1 v-h Girl enjoys some barbecue in Michigan This barbecue enthusiast is 4-year-old Sara Killeea She was enjoying a barbecue birthday party in Traverse City, celebrating Geri Campbell's 70th birthday. Geri and Jack Campbell live on Sanibel and spent this summer with family for a Michigan vacation and a surprise party. The picture was taken by Sara's 16-year-old cousin, Jack Campbell.

"She is the cutest little button," Geri said. Cousins watch the sunset in Clearwater Five cousins waded into the children pictured from left to celebration of their aunt's water at Clearwater Beach right: Hannah Stover, 5, Olivia 100th birthday, during Memorial Day week- Fantigrossi 8, Richie Jones, 11, In the distance of the sunset, end. Jack Fantigrossi, 6, and Victo- the children think they can Lee Hart of Cape Coral sub- ria Stover, 7. spot a pirate ship on the hori- mitted this photo of her grand- The children gathered for a zon, Lee said. Great-grandmother enjoys time with little one on Sanibel Francesca's favorite: The photos selected were chosen by professionals.

But I couldn't let this photo go unseea Who can't smile at this pair? Isabella West-Volz, 8 months, from Fort Worth, Texas, enjoyed the beach on Sanibel with her great-grandmother, Ruth Mary Youngblood of Cape Coral. Spending some time in slough Greg Madsen snapped this photo of his cousin, Sharon Tilbe of Cape Coral, during a summer's walk through the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve in Fort Myers. Greg described his delight in finding this "magnificent" hidden treasure in his own backyard. He and Sharon literally walked through nature enjoying the sights and sounds of the slough. At one point, it got so deep Sharon had to swim.

1 I- Im Jm 4 Ami am Local news stations continue to duke it out for ratings Media CHRIS WADSWORTH cpwadsworthverizon.net It's been awhile since we took a look at the local television ratings and how competing news stations score. Frankly, there's rarely too much movement and that's going back a decade or more. WINK-TV and NBC2 tend to duke it out for first place while Fox4 and ABC7 fight for third. (Of course, this is when all the stations are going head to head. In the 10 p.m.

hour, when only Fox4 and TV6 have a newscast, Fox4 comes in first.) As regular readers know, there are now two separate ratings services measuring TV audiences in Southwest Florida: the old stalwart Nielsen ratings and the new kid on the block Rentrak ratings. So far, both services have gotten similar results in their polling. In the most recent July ratings, here are the headlines I see: NBC2 has long dominated in the morning newscasts, but this past summer (May and July), WINK-TV has moved within striking distance. That's a sons for this, but I personally believe that it's at least partly the "American Idol" effect at work. When the popular singing competition show is on in February and May, Fox stations around the country see a boost in their 10 p.m.

ratings. That bump often disappears when "Idol" is not on. Regardless, Fox4 still handily beats its competition the WINK newscast that airs on sister station TV6. See MEDIA D4 with WINK. At 4 p.m., WINK-TV recently launched an hour-long newscast to go up against NBC2, which has had a 4 p.m.

show for years. In just a matter of months, WINK has basically tied up the race remarkable growth for a new show. The so-called "main" newscast of the day comes at 6 p.m. and the race is tighter than ever. NBC2 is in the lead, but barely.

In the 10 p.m. hour, Fox4 saw its ratings dip from May to July. There could be many rea major change from just a few years ago when NBC2 was untouchable. Conversely, NBC2 is doing better in the race at noon. WINK was long dominant, due in part to the popularity of "The Price is Right" and Bob Barker at 1 1 a.m.

As that game show wanes, NBC2 is now neck-and-neck.