The Buffalo News from Buffalo, New York • 37

The Buffalo Newsriday May 2 2003 Ml Page 3 RADIO TELEVISION Radio tribute connects family peers By ANTHONY VIOLANTI WMMsBlEyR i nEH ROBERT KIRKHAMBuffalo News Embedded CBS radio reporter Rob Milford made an appearance at the WBEN studios in Amherst News Radio Critic chaos of war dominates Rob memory of the night that Lance Cpl Eric Orlowski died It was March 22 a black Satur day night somewhere near Basra on the road north to Baghdad when Milford an embedded re porter for CBS Radio heard gun fire He was with the 2nd Tank Battalion Delta Company in Iraq Orlowski 26 who grew up in Cheektowaga and graduated from West Seneca East High School served with the unit heard gunfire and everybody hit the Milford recalled this week during a visit to Buffalo were in a big wide open field Everybody was exhausted It was dark and all you could hear was the sporadic bursts of gunfire People taking any chances You just kept shooting You heard those big machine guns rip" According to the Defense De partment Orlowski the father of a 3 year old daughter named Camer yn was killed by the accidental dis charge of a 50 caliber machine gun amily members later told The Buffalo News he was by one of our as he got out of a tank Milford could not see what hap pened but said Orlowski's death took an emotional toll on the Ma rines hit the unit very very Milford said adding that about three dozen members of the unit are from Western New York had met him (Orlowski) and I was still getting to know a lot of the guys I tried to talk to as many as I On April 5 Orlowski was buried at St Cemetery in West Seneca Some Marines in Iraq wanted to let family know how they felt and taped a special tribute wanted to do something special for the family from his fel low Milford said were about 40 miles south of Bagh dad and we did it live in one Milford interviewed commanding officer Major Pat Cox who said Orlowski was to be a Marine and proud of Buffalo He was most proud of being a father to his Others Marines also spoke during the tribute which ran nationwide on CBS Radio This week Milford said (Orlowski) was a true American adding that the other Ma rines were also Milford admitted that it was difficult to be objec tive as a reporter in Iraq but feels the embedded process worked was an extraordinary op portunity for the media to get closeto the he said only limitation for reporters was not to talk about future operations We got to live with the Milford said he decided to a couple of his stories mostly be cause he was unable to check facts But overall Milford said those he covered nothing to He said his goal was to present a eye view of the war That meant sharing everything about war including fear now and then you would get scared but you're so focused on doing your job you just keep Milford said Tim Wenger program director of WBEN AM 930 the local CBS affiliate praised work gave a real insight into what it was like for the soldiers who were there We had a tremendous re sponse to the Major wife Sarah and family members of other Marines showed up at WBEN studios this week and met with Milford Many hugged him They praised his ef forts for what Mrs Cox called ting us know the troops were safe This was the only way we could hear their was very touching for me to meet the family Milford said a reporter not used to this kind of response and it feels good But I feel I did anything special I was just doing my job was basic reporting Taking the person in the war and present ing a picture of what he was doing to the people back Television may have dominated Iraq war reporting but there is still a place for radio fit perfectly in this Milford said immediate and portable All you need is a satellite phone and ready to mail: aviolantibuffnewscom WNYO will start 10 pm newscast If Channel 4 thought that the cancellation of the 10 pm news by Channel 2 on its Pax affiliate (WPXJ TV) was going to leave it competition free then going to get quite a jolt from this bit of news WNYO TV Channel 49 the WB affiliate is planning to pre miere an hour long newscast at 10 pm Mon day through Sunday that will mix local news with na tional stories provided from a Balti more bureau operated by its owner Sinclair Broadcasting Don Moran the general manag er of WNYO as well as ox affili ate Channel 29 said the newscast will possibly start this fall but more likely by the end of the year He ex pects to hire about 14 local people including anchors reporters cam eramen and news producers Moran feels that the newscast will have some key financial advan tages over Channel effort WNYO will have a stronger lead in from WB programs And though a news staff is expensive the costs will be offset because the station have to buy an hour of syndi cated programming also will put me in a (sales and news) game that not said Moran Channel final newscast on WPXJ Wednesday anchored by Victoria Hong scored a 17 rating which was within range of the 23 that Channel 4 scored with its news on its sister station WNLO TV If the race had been that close the past two years Channel 2 and Pax might have found a way to make this partnership continue The abandonment of the low rated newscast calls into question the as sumption that lifestyle changes made a 10 pm newscast in this market an idea whose time had come Channel newscast on WNLQ has often out rated Chan nel on WPXJ TV by a 2 1 mar gin but collectively the two news casts rarely equaled the 5 fating that Channel 4 General Manager Lou Verruto has cited as a long term goal for WNLO The need for a 10 pm newscast in this market was debated for years before the two stations Alan Pergament Ate jumped in At various times Chan nel 29 and Channel 49 were con sidered the most likely candidates because their prime time schedules end at 10 pm WKBW TV also considered buying WNGS TV so it could launch a 10 pm news but its deal fell apart The theory behind the 10 pm news was that people go to bed earlier and would watch a local newscast if it came on an hour be fore the traditional 1 1 pm news cast However those assumptions ignored the history of Buffalo which still gives the networks sig nificantly higher ratings than the national average That is especially true at 10 pm where such net work shows as Or Order: Amy" and a get exceptional ratings Ad ditionally Channel 29 has been scoring for years with reruns of at 10 pm In short the 10 pm newscast had to break strong viewing habits to succeed in a town that is known for its reluctance to embrace change The 10 pm battle wasn't really a fair fight for the last two years Channel News on WNLO had advantages It is the top rated news operation and it was able to pro mote the WNLO newscast on its own station as often as it wanted And the network WNLO now is af filiated with UPN is much stron ger than Channel partner PAX giving WNLO a stronger lead in Channel 2 which remains No 3 in local news despite its recent re surgence under Gannett Broad casting had to find ways to get people to find WPXJ Deals to car ry Buffalo Bills and New York Yankees games were made to help people locate the station The ef forts failed know if I like the word said Channel 2 General Manager Darryll Green SHEDS GAZEBOS GARAGES I 0 A $5000 free options Statuary 10 OH ountains 10 OH Top Soil $147 Pond Supplies Huge Hoch Selection Sand 4 Gravel We deliver any amount Qcmdett ACpft wwwamlshclaycom I A 2921 NB (Rt 62) RQA RARH Inear Ward Ton 0310100 We deliver any amount entirely in our con trol I was proud of our newscast We tried a lot of things The 10 minute block Vic (Victoria Hong) standing next to Kevin (weather man Kevin I thought Vic Kevin and Ed (sports director Ed Kilgore) did a great In the end nothing seemed to attract enough viewers Linder terms of the partnership Green said PAX paid Hong and the producer director and pho tographer The decision to aban don the half hour appears to have been a financial move made by PAX not Channel 2 On Monday two nights before Hong anchored the final broadcast Channel irst at Ten more than doubled its PAX lead in and still only had a 7 rating Incredibly it was the highest rated half hour on PAX all day But it was about one third the audience that WB affili ate WNYO had with its syndicated dating show or 10 pm news to be con sidered a success it just has to beat On Monday WNLO TV had five times the PAX audience with a 36 rating at 10 pm It almost dou bled its lead in and also was the highest rated half hour on its sta tion But it was below the 44 that a rerun of had on Chan nel 29 Verruto still is hoping that 10 pm newscast will eventually average a 5 rating But after two years it looks like the 10 pm news battle has been much ado about well nothing mail: apergamentbuffnewscom our acres of water gardens ponds fountains on display Waterplants fish liners pumps supplies classes and expertise This Week! Hanging Baskets 50 Off 11500 Broadway in Alden 10 minutes east of Transit 937 7742 9 8 Sat Sun 9 5 gWATER GARDEN GALLERY GARDENING Its not too early to start planting May Day has just passed and with the gorgeous weather we have been having this week everyone is chomping at the bit to get out there and get planting A word of caution even though we might be walking around in our shorts: The ground is still pretty cold to plant all of your flowers and vegetables But let my caution stop you from adding some color to those flower beds If you are al ready bored with the beautiful tu lips daffodils and hyacinths that are in bloom here are some flow ers to add to the explosion of spring color I visiter! Weber Greenhouses in West Seneca and was treated to an entire greenhouse in full bloom I thought I had stepped into a time machine and was transplanted to June Here were rows and rows of miss the great deals (and nightly on Western New York's premier home shopping extravaganza! 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Dates Times: in 7 II CNTLR OR PATLIAWECARE riday May 2 6 pm' 11 pm General Merchandise Saturday May 3 2 pm Midnight General Merchandise Sunday May 4 2 pm 11 pm Wine Dine ine Entertainment Saturday May 10 Noon 6 pm Children's Merchandise 6 pm midnight General Merchandise riday May 9 6 pm 1 am Travel Leisure Thursday May 8 6 pm 11 pm Canada Night Monday May 5 6 pm 11 pm Antiques Collectibles riendly Markets Tuesday May 6 6 pm 11 pm General Merchandise MA Wednesday May 7 6 pm 11 pm Home Garden nun summer blooming plants in full color and scent Reds yellows purple and lavenders Herbs overflowing in baskets beckoning to be snipped and used in sauce or a salad Hang ing baskets ready for the porch and annuals begging to be added to your garden plot I compared notes with Pam Weber on what can be safely planted outside now Weber started with pansies and viola which can go in the ground now especially the more cold hardy types like the icicle pansies Weber suggested putting some in now and said you probably will want to add a few this summer Stocks which are great as cut flowers and have the most beauti ful delicate scent can go into the garden now These resemble snap dragons and are in fact from the same family Stocks come in several colors white lavender pink and deep blue They have small many pet aled flowers and can grow up to two feet tall They will bloom all summer and even into the first frost of fall You certainly get your worth with these plants Ranunculus is another great flower for planting now These flowers resemble small multipe taled roses and come in lots of bright wonderful colors They can reach 18 inches and will bloom for nearly four months Ranunculus enjoys the cool weather and will give your beds an explosion of color Weber says we are riding the rail right now of planting petunias It still might be a little cool but give these pretty faces a try waste those Easter bulbs Plant all those presents you got this year and you may be able to enjoy them again next Easter In the vegetable patch now is the perfect time to plant peas let tuce onions beets and any of the cooler crops All of these thrive in cool temperatures If got a cold frame you can plant some frail plants With any of the plants the key to success is going to rely on how the plant was grown In the greenhouses these plants may look beautiful full grown and in full flower But this doesn't mean they are ready for your gar den Be sure to choose plants that have been hardened off This means that the plant has become accustomed to the outside Hardening off is usually done as a gradual process Plants are moved outside during the day and brought back in or covered at night It is a process of gradually getting the plant used to cooler temperatures particularly in the evenings Ask if the plants you are pur chasing have been hardened off Weber says: for plants that are short and stubby take the ones that are tall and spindly" This is a good sign that they have been raised well and can with stand the move to their outdoor home There are lots of choices to put bright colorful flowers in your beds Choose wisely plant carefully and jump into the new gardening season and enjoy Jackie Albarella 17 7 1 GardenNotes The orest Stream Garden spring luncheon will be held at 11:30 am Saturday in the ox Valley Country Club 6161 Gene see St Lancaster or tickets call 633 7122 A miniature design course will be presented by Betty Nosbisch at a meeting of the Bowmansville Garden Club at 7:15 pm Monday in the Bowmansville ire Hall The May basket exchange will be held al the meeting HUM The Willow Ridge Garden Club will hold its friendship night and membership tea at 7:30 pm Wednesday in the Dexter Terrace Elementary School Alayne Wer ner will speak on bonsai The Niagara rontier Orchid Society will meet at 7:30 pm Thursday in the Town of Aurora Senior Center 101 King St East Aurora PANSIES SALE OVER 30 VARIETIES 4 Packs PLANT Peg S2 99 a carl BEDBVie NURSERIES 4 GARDEN CENTER Cnnni 5203 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