Vociferous Vice Back on Channel 3 April 18, 2013

For a generation of Connecticut television viewers he was known as the “Money Man.” Jim Vicevich was a business reporter for WFSB for thirteen years in the 80s and 90s, and was a reliable mainstay in a period of tremendous economic change. He filed his first report for Channel 3 as the Carter malaise came to a close, covered the boom of the Reagan era, and signed off shortly after the first President Bush was sent into retirement.

To give you a sense of just how big of a deal Jim was back then, whenever he would walk into a lending institution during the banking crisis of the early 90s, employees began to sweat. They instantly knew that the Money Man knew what they didn’t know; that their bank was closing. Jim Vicevich had great sources.

I was a Channel 3 rookie then, and after watching a couple of Jim’s reports I had doubts about whether I could make it here. He was that good; always the consummate journalist, known for breaking big stories and double checking his facts. Whether he was reporting from the Soviet Union or CityPlace, Jim was never unprepared. He spoke with such determination, Denise D’Ascenzo nicknamed him the “Vociferous Vice.” Our news director Mark Effron once told me Jim was “one of the best reporters around.” I learned a great deal from him.

This past Sunday on Face the State, Jim returned to Channel 3 to share details about the current chapter in his life, one he is facing with with determination and optimism. Jim suffers from Lupus, an autoimmune disease that doesn’t get the attention cancer or heart disease receive, but affects millions of people. During our taping, Jim explained how Lupus has changed his life, and how he is using his position to help find a cure. You can watch the segment below.

Seven years ago this month, Jim launched Sound Off Connecticut, a daily show on WTIC AM 1080. He’s been called the “Rush Limbaugh of Connecticut,” but he calls himself simply a proud libertarian. Sound Off is one of the most listened to radio programs in the state.

Also on Sunday, Jim joined our political roundtable discussion with Christine Stuart of ctnewsjunkie.com and Matt DiRienzo of Connecticut Magazine and the Torrington Register Citizen as we talked about the Tom Foley interview and the governor’s race.

Watch Jim right here: http://www.wfsb.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8797070

Watch Jim in a report from 1988: http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/face-the-state-flashback-the-skyscraper-boom-that-never-happened/
…and this report from 1993 https://dennishouse.wordpress.com/tag/g-fox-department-store/

Watch Tom Foley, Vicevich, Stuart and DiRienzo right here: http://www.wfsb.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8797070

Watch these segments on other Channel 3 alumni:

Bill O’Reilly http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/bill-oreilly-the-lost-wfsb-tapes/

Gayle King http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2011/11/15/gayle-king-at-wfsb-the-hartford-years/

Mika Brzezinski http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2011/06/23/mika-brzezinski-at-wfsb-the-hartford-years/

Bob Steele http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/tag/bob-steele-wtic-channel-3/

Al Terzi http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/02/23/goodbye-big-al/

Melissa Francis http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/12/07/melissa-francis-at-wfsb-the-hartford-years/

2013 Hartford St. Patrick’s Day Parade March 11, 2013

WFSB photographer Mike Fisher grabbing a shot of our team careful not be devoured by the land shark that is a 1965 Buick Electra

What a weekend! Members of the Channel 3 Eyewitness News team were privileged to be part of the 2013 Hartford St. Patrick’s Day parade on Saturday, and Mother Nature provided us and the tens of thousands of people along the parade route with a spectacular day. After a brutal winter, it seems everyone was in the mood to get outside and have some fun.

First of all, kudos to the Celtic committee and the many folks who put this event together every year. It’s not easy, like herding cats, in fact. Denise D’Ascenzo, Kara Sundlun, Irene O’Connor and I have been honored to be parade honorees and persons of the year in the past, and we wear our emerald green sashes with pride every March. Along with Channel 3′s Kim Lucey, Courtney Zieller, Jill Konopka and Matthew Campbell, we had an awesome time marching through downtown.

Secondly, I want to thank all of the Channel 3 viewers who came out to say hi, wave, or shout out a compliment. Our team is truly humbled to see and meet many of you. Connecting with the people who invite us into their homes everyday, and into their iPads and phones is the best part of the parade.

Thirdly, thanks to Denise’s daughter Kathryn who snapped many of these pictures and to some of you who sent them in! Enjoy.

check out last year’s pictures: http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/03/10/2012-hartford-st-patricks-day-parade/

2010 pictures: http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2010/03/15/hartford-st-patricks-day-parade/

another parade: http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/10/01/channel-3-at-the-southington-apple-harvest-parade/

Covering the First World Trade Center Attack February 26, 2013

20 years ago I embarked on what was at the time the biggest assignment of my young Channel 3 career. Terrorists had attacked the World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring a thousand others. It was a shocking event to Americans, although in retrospect, it paled in comparison to what would happen at this very spot after the turn of the century.

WFSB photojournalist Tom Lang and I arrived on a scene that was surprisingly accessible. Police had cordoned off the streets beneath the World Trade Center, but we still got fairly close. Those towers were massive, and at the time it never occurred to me they could be brought down. A huge bomb detonated in a truck had blown a hole in the garage, but most of the damage was smoke damage.

Our assignment was to report the latest information and to track down Connecticut folks who were in building. We did both. Tom and I ended up staying in lower Manhattan for three days and just expensed what we needed, including clothes.

Eight years later, I was back.

This Sunday in our Face the State flashback, you will see one of our several reports from the scene of the first attack on the World Trade Center. In this report that aired March 1, 1993, I was inside the lobby, which was one chaotic scene as people returned to work for the first time since the attack. You’ll see Denise D’Ascenzo, and some people from our state who were there when it happened. One local man told me he wasn’t afraid to go back inside the twin towers, saying “if they wanted to bring it down, they would have.”

Watch the entire flashback that aired Sunday at 11AM on Face the State, only on WFSB Channel 3 right here: http://www.wfsb.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8532290

About the author: http://www.wfsb.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=7316421

The Channel 3 Family Blizzard Vacation February 9, 2013

Word that a giant blizzard was about to blast Connecticut meant it was time for the Channel 3 travel agent to plan a trip for the Eyewitness News family to a resort. Disneyland? Nope. Atlantis in the Bahamas? Uh-uh. Cue up the jealousy folks, we went on vacation to Hartford South.

Hartford South is the name the Sheraton has given to its newly acquired hotel in the Hartford suburb of Rocky Hill. Glee and anticipation were palpable among our Channel 3 colleagues as we learned whether they would be the lucky ones to be awarded the vacation of a lifetime.

Channel 3′s Kara Sundlun kicked off our extended coverage of Blizzard Charlotte by anchoring our first two hour special Friday afternoon. Her duty done, Kara was disconsolate when she learned her resort wear would go unused and instead she would get to be home with our children, playing games in front of a fire, cooking and riding out the blizzard in the comfort of a warm home.

More than a dozen of us did make the cut, while others had to stay in other hotels which we later learned would offer such amenities as cold and frigid running water, sporadic plowing, and a hunger-triggering dearth of food.

WFSB Promotion Manager Shelly Smith learned her car was useless in the snow

Hartford South had excellent food, and the service was above the top. The recently renovated hotel featured copious pillows, treatlets, and impromptu entertainment in the form of a woman who went on a liquor fueled rant in the parking lot at the height of the snowstorm.

The booking of the trip sent Denise D’Ascenzo into a tizzy. She went on an urgent shopping trip for new swimsuits. “There is no way I am frolicking in the Hartford South pool with the Eyewitness News team in a bathing suit from 2012,” she bristled.

The main attribute of the Hartford South getaway is its proximity to the WFSB studios, and work took up most of our time, so regretfully there was no time to take advantage of the local tourist attractions. Instead, the highlight of the trip was a fleeting glance of the Eiffel Tower of high tension wires.

Office park snowshoeing is a popular sport that allows people to marvel at the scenic vistas of I-91 and the architecture fitting of a neighborhood adjacent to an expressway, but our free time was limited. Denise was also distraught over not being able to squeeze in leading a water yoga class for her comrades.

Assistant News Director Patience Hettrick trekked across snow covered road to make sure the news went on

On a serious note, Hartford South was great. The food is excellent..gourmet in fact. I cannot say enough good things about the people there. The workers were beyond helpful, with service that was personalized and heartfelt. Maintenance folks helped us dig out our cars, although some vehicles were beyond hope for a while. Many of of the Channel 3 folks had to hoof it to work, because we want to honor our commitment to our viewers to be on the air when we are needed.

It also gives a chance to bond. I had lunch with some colleagues I don’t ordinarily see because of different schedules.

We also learned all-wheel drive or four wheel-drive is not overrated. Our employees with these types of vehicles fared much better than those who do not. Denise’s Buick Enclave saved the day for u as it sliced through the heavy blizzard snow like “buttah.” I have an Enclave, too, but Kara took it
home and sailed effortlessly down a snow covered I-91.

Face the State Flashback: Bob Steele at Channel 3 January 4, 2013

To mark the renaming of Grove Street in downtown Hartford after the legendary broadcaster Bob Steele, we have pulled some vintage film of Steele from his years at Channel 3. While most people remember Bob for his years on the radio, he is also a key figure in Connecticut television history.

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WTIC AM 1080 and Channel 3 used to be one big family until 1974, when the Travelers sold Channel 3 to the Washington Post, which led to our change in call letters to WFSB. The insurance giant later sold off the radio division, too. Grove Street, at the base of the majestic Traveler’s Tower, was the ancestral home of Channel 3 before the state of the art Broadcast House opened at Constitution Plaza in 1961.

Bob was an established name on the radio for a while when Channel 3 debuted in 1957, so he was the obvious choice to host our opening night before a live audience. You'll see that old film this Sunday in our Face the State, and chuckle as Bob deftly handled a series of technical problems.

I also uncovered some old footage of Bob anchoring Channel 3 coverage of the 1963 Yale Harvard regatta on the Thames River. This clip is classic Bob Steele, that showcased his command of the English language he was so known for.

In addition, we will show you Bob’s last official sportscast in 1966, although he continued to work on television after that, and on radio for the next three decades.

You can watch the entire Face the State flashback, this Sunday morning at 11 on WFSB Channel 3.

UPDATE: watch the flashback right here: http://www.wfsb.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8138465

Also read about Bob’s call to Denise D’Ascenzo

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/a-thanksgiving-lesson-from-legendary-bob-steele/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Watch these segments on other Channel 3 alumni:

Bill O’Reilly http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/bill-oreilly-the-lost-wfsb-tapes/

Gayle King http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2011/11/15/gayle-king-at-wfsb-the-hartford-years/

Mika Brzezinski http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2011/06/23/mika-brzezinski-at-wfsb-the-hartford-years/

Face the State in Washington for Lieberman’s Farewell December 13, 2012

Our plan for Face the State this week was to run an interview with Senator Joe Lieberman as he prepares to leave office in January The man who nearly became vice-president in the historic election in 2000, is retiring after nearly a quarter century of representing Connecticut in the U.S. Senate. Then came the Newtown shootings. WFSB news director Dana Neves and I talked about it several times over the past two days and ultimately decided to stick with our original plan. Eyewitness News and Face the Nation will devote their coverage to the lives lost in Sandy Hook, and we feel that a Face the State on what happened Friday might be repetitive.

This week, Face the State will come to you from Washington, D.C., where we talked with Senator Joe Lieberman in his office near the capitol. The senator talked about his four terms in the senate, including his triumphs, and disappointments. We also chatted about what Lieberman will do next, and how he wants the senate to change.

This Sunday, you’ll see some old video from election night 1988, when then Attorney General Lieberman defeated the powerful Lowell Weicker, Connecticut’s last Republican U.S. senator. As you’ll see in that archival footage fronted by then 11PM anchor Denise D’Ascenzo, you’ll notice Lieberman was surrounded then by nearly every Democrat in the state, a far cry from his farewell speech on Wednesday, when only three members of the Connecticut delegation were in the small audience: Senator Richard Blumenthal, Senator-elect Chris Murphy, and Congressman Jim Himes.

We’ll also hear from Senator Blumenthal on Sunday’s Face the State.

You can watch this special edition of Face the State, this Sunday morning at 11, only on Channel 3. We’ll also devote a segment to the life and times of Connecticut broadcasting legend Arnold Dean.

Watch it all right here: You can watch the interview right here: http://www.wfsb.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8073870

part 1: http://www.wfsb.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8073868

Connecticut Losing TV Viewers August 30, 2012

We received some unsettling news from Nielsen, the folks who conduct ratings for the television stations.      The Hartford/New Haven market remains the 30th biggest television market in the country, but we lost nearly 10,000 TV homes, or households…in one year!     For the 2011-12 season Nielsen listed 1,006,280 households, and 996,550 for the 2012-13 season.   Yikes!

We were not alone in the northeast.  # 7 Boston, #1 New York,  #53 Providence,  # 113 Springfield, # 80 Portland,  and # 95 Burlington, VT also suffered losses.     New York lost 3,000 households, and you don’t have to be a mathematician to see that our loss was far worse.

So who gained?  Plenty of places, including  #2 Los Angeles (gained 50,000 homes,)  #9 Atlanta, # 10 Houston,  #71 Honolulu, even #11 Detroit.     Markets 12-17 all grew:  Seattle, Phoenix, Tampa, Minneapolis, Miami and Denver.   My old market of Grand Rapids, Michigan jumped from 42 to 39, even though it lost households.

Why the big drop?  Our ratings guru Rob Luciano says part of the plunge can be blamed on people switching from television to the internet.

On a depressing note, Denise D’Ascenzo told me when she was first hired at WFSB in 1986 this was market # 21.   When I got here in 1992 it had slipped to #23, and we were at #27 a few years later.   Nipping at our heels at #31 is Kansas City, Missouri.     It also lost households, so I think we might hold steady at #30 for a while.    

As you may know, the Hartford New Haven market comprises the entire state, with the exception of Fairfield County.   A strong argument could be made that part of the county should be in the Hartford market.   Danbury and Bridgeport are both closer to the capital city than midtown Manhattan.     Adding those cities would be a dramatic increase in households.

For sports fans:  we remain the biggest television market without a major league team.

A New Team on Eyewitness News at 11 August 28, 2012

Those of you got my tweet last night were the first to hear the news, before it was even announced.   After more than four years of being by myself on Eyewitness News at 11, I am getting a co-anchor!   Weekend anchor Hena Daniels will be joining me on the news desk for Connecticut’s most watched 11PM news sometime next month and we are excited about the new team.   

It’s been a lonely broadcast since 2008 when Denise D’Ascenzo decided she wanted to spend her nights with her family, and I am looking forward to the company. 

You can follow me on twitter for more details as they become available.   www.twitter.com/@dennishousewfsb     You can congratulate Hena right here at www.twitter.com/@henadaniels

Also read: http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2008/04/03/all-by-myself/

This too:  http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/marking-20-years-at-wfsb/

Marking 20 Years at WFSB May 22, 2012

For much of May, my good friend and longtime co-anchor Denise D’Ascenzo worked tirelessly  on a special report:  a celebration of my 20th anniversary here at WFSB.   At times, I can’t even believe 2012 will mark  two decades since my first report as a 20-something at Channel 3 after leaving WWMT, the CBS station in Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo, Michigan.     Even though I’ve covered countless stories and anchored hundreds, perhaps thousands of newscasts since 1992, I was impressed by how Denise managed to pull so many classic clips, including from a period when it appears I had a mullet!

Truth be told, my actual anniversary falls on August 31st, but with summer vacations, primaries, etc.,   we figured it was best to mark the milestone now.    I should note, we’d be lying if we said it was just a coincidence the flashback aired during May sweeps!   

It has been a great twenty years here at WFSB and I truly feel blessed to have been in a job this long, and still love what I do:  broadcast journalism.      I’ve have the fortune of being assigned to cover national political conventions, the O.J. Simpson trial in 1995,  UConn’s historic Final Four win in 1999,  a visit of a Pope, and the Pope’s funeral.   I immediately went to lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001 and stayed there for a few weeks.   Eight and half years earlier I stood in front of the Twin Towers after a truck bomb exploded in a garage.    I’ve been on the field at a World Series,  sat across from Oprah, and been in inner city neighborhoods as gunfire went off.     I once even ran through a snake infested field while covering wildfires in Florida with a young field producer named Dana Luby, who is now my boss!

Most importantly, I met my wife Kara here at Channel 3, and became a father two times.     Both of my children began their entrance into this world after the 6PM news.  When I wasn’t on the air at 11 those nights, viewers knew something was up.      It truly has been quite a ride. 

To our devoted and loyal viewers, thank you for watching and commenting over the years.  Without your support,  my bosses wouldn’t have kept me this long!    I should also thank my many co-workers and co-anchors, who always made me look good.   

 I first anchored with Denise in 1994, and then off and on over the next five years.   We became permanent co-anchors in 1999, and have been together ever since, making us the longest current anchor team in Connecticut.       Gayle King and I co-anchored Eyewitness News at 5:30 for four years before she left for O Magazine.    I also shared the desk with Virginia Cha, Mika Brzezinski and Janet Peckinpaugh, and with Kara numerous times in the past decade.     

You can watch Denise’s well-researched, and heartfelt report here:   http://www.wfsb.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=7316421

  Also read:  http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2008/10/28/marking-a-milestone/

Here are some other pictures from the past 20! 

Behind the Scenes at the 2012 Capital Catwalk May 22, 2012

Read all about the Catwalk right here:  http://courantblogs.com/java/dress-for-success-hosts-sold-capital-catwalk/

PHOTOS COURTESY:  Brian Ambrose Photography   more pics here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rib6ptwg4lcmzxj/n6eBXQu83H

Here is last year’s Catwalk:

http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2011/06/06/capital-catwalk-raises-record-for-dress-for-success-hartford/