TV/RADIO
Mathis may get back to WCCB
Station may audition once-zany forecaster as host of morning show
MARK WASHBURN
Mathis
may get
back to
WCCB Station may audition
once-zany forecaster as
host of morning show You may not have seen the last of Mark Mathis.
Mathis, whose zany weather forecasts and struggle with alcoholism made him a comic-tragic figure in Charlotte broadcasting, returned to the airwaves of WCCB (Fox Charlotte, Channel 18) this week.
He appeared in a taped interview segment and live by phone on the station's "Fox News Rising" show Thursday for a "Where Are They Now" series.
Where he is now is Grand Junction, Colo., near Aspen. He does weather for the CBS affiliate there. His contract is near an end and he's thinking about moving on.
Or moving back.
"I've got a couple balls in the air right now," he says. "My heart is in Charlotte and if everything comes together, I'd like to be there."
John Hutchinson, Fox Charlotte's general manager, says he's thought about considering Mathis for the station's morning show. "I wouldn't rule anything out," he says.
Fox Charlotte is looking into letting Mathis guest-host the morning show by satellite hook-up from Colorado. If it happens, consider it an audition. Clearly viewers remember him: The show was up by about a third in ratings on Thursday.
Mathis came in 2002 and quickly set himself apart from weather-wonk forecasters.
One time he sang the forecast. One time he celebrated his birthday by plunging head-first into a cake. One time he dressed as Marilyn Monroe.
What the station lost in respect it made up for in ratings. Fox Charlotte's newscast climbed to first among 10 p.m. news shows.
Privately, Mathis was struggling with alcohol. Twice, the station helped get him into extended-stay rehab. When he went on a bender at the beginning of a ratings period in 2004, he was fired from WCCB, owned by the Bahakel family.
"I made bad choices," says Mathis, now 42 and 20 pounds lighter. "Now I have the gift of three years to look back and reflect on what I did. I don't know if I ever said how much Fox Charlotte did, how many chances they gave me, John Hutchinson and the Bahakels."
Mathis says he's been sober for 3 1/2 years now.
"It gets easier. Sobriety is hard work, but at this point in the game, I kind of have the cat by the tail -- unless I do something really stupid, I'm going to make it through the day."
But it's a different station than the one he left. Clownish schtick wouldn't work today. Fox Charlotte, still the smallest TV newsroom in town, has moved on. Unlike competitors, it doesn't focus on cheap crime stories for ratings and its product, including its thoughtful "Defend Charlotte" series, has set it apart.
Mathis, if he makes a comeback, would have to play Regis Philbin, not Bozo.
Murrow awards to WCNC
WCNC (Channel 36) won five regional Edward R. Murrow Awards this month from the Radio-Television News Directors Association. WCNC won for its coverage of the fatal shootings of two police officers, for feature reporting, for its investigative series on whether customers really get the kind of fish they order, sports reporting and spot news reporting for the collapse of the SouthPark parking garage.
Media Movers
Three national awards go to Spanish-language weekly Mi Gente from the National Association of Hispanic Publications, including the first-place José Martí Award for best series to Patricia Ortiz for her coverage of the immigration program at the Mecklenburg Jail. Cartoonist Gavi was recognized for an immigration reform cartoon and Rafael Prieto for a column about the pledge of allegiance ...
Among the personalities on the second season of TV Guide Network's "Making News" will be Jennifer Beale, formerly of Fox News Charlotte and NBC News Channel. She now works in Savannah at a struggling station that is the focus of the TV Guide documentary ...
Travel guru Peter Greenberg will broadcast his radio show from Charlotte, 10 a.m. to noon today, from the lobby of the Ballantyne Resort. It can be heard on XM (Channel 166) ...
WSOC (Channel 9) has settled on its contestants for its July "Idol"-like series "Gimme The Mike! Charlotte." They are Andrea Kanakry of Huntersville, Loretta Mackey of Charlotte, Farris Cloer of Hudson, Arthur Barnette of Kannapolis, Mathew Gibson of Polkton, Bucky Reynolds of Crouse, Adrienne Vaulx of Charlotte, Malachi Stanley of Charlotte, Travis Keziah of Concord, Marvin Curry of Charlotte, Shannon Roschke of Huntersville, Kris Aubry of Charlotte, Nichole Broome of Gastonia, Stan Grady of Troy, Randy Moore of Mount Holly, Jarad Furr of Albemarle, Rebecca Little of Monroe, Shelly Burris of Richfield, West Adams of Charlotte, Songserre Tay of Gastonia, Oliver Highman of Cornelius, Ruby Edwards of Mint Hill, Alvy Morales of Gold Hill and Katie Morton of Charlotte ...
Three members of the Bobcats broadcast team have picked up national TV assignments during the NBA playoffs: Stephanie Ready was sidelines reporter during the first round between the Magic and Raptors for TNT; Steve Martin did play-by-play for NBA TV Tuesday for the Pistons and 76ers game; and Jerome Ingram will be a field producer for TNT.
tv/radio tv/radio Mark
Washburn
