Cropper bumped (again); Morris headed out; Knowledge nutshell grows
Pittsburgh:- PBRTV let you know a week or two ago, that WTAE-TV (4) has hired meteorologist Mike Harvey from WTKR-TV on the Virginia shore. As a result, Stephen Cropper will be bumped to weekends come September. This is the second time Cropper has been pushed to weekends, the last time being when Don Schwenneker was the favored pick for weekdays. News Director Alex Bongiorno has named Mr. Harvey as the "new chief meteorologist". Mr. Cropper is taking the news rather well, telling the Post-Gazette, "I believe God opens and closes doors for a reason and I trust He will continue to guide and protect me and my family."
- Meanwhile KDKA-TV's Alison Morris is leaving the station in September. She will move closer to her home of Long Island, to work for Hartford's Fox affiliate (WTIC-TV). It just so happens that KDKA's former news director, Colleen Marren is news director there now. (Coincidence?)
- Dr. Knowledge (a.k.a. Charles Reichblum) is going national. The weekend, overnight KDKA-AM (1020) host is being syndicated by CBS Radio News Five 60-second "Knowledge in a Nutshell Minutes" will air throughout the week in about 30 markets. His program on KDKA has been on the air since 2004.
Readers’ Forum
Please tell me that Harvey is a real live meteorologist with a four year degree and not one of those pieces of paper from Mississippi State.
Tim - August 02, 2010 at 01:58 am
That is a shame about Steven Cropper. Of all the meteorologists on Channel 4, I really like him the most. Definitely the most personable of the current group. I noticed the ornery side of his personality really shines thru when he fills-in doing news for the ‘DVE Morning Show. Maybe he has a future behind the camera??? I feel bad…it seems like nice guys do finish last. I wish him and his family the best.
deerejohn - August 02, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Bittersweet news.
It’s great that Dr. Knowledge is going national. His show is really quirky and different from what’s on the radio now.
It’s a shame about Steven Cropper getting bumped. Like deerejohn says, he’s the one with the most personality. Perhaps it’s all about the money.
Jennifer - August 04, 2010 at 3:41 pm
Maybe the station management became fed up with Cropper’s love affair with County Airport. He always made a point to point out the temperature there.
Rick - August 04, 2010 at 5:44 pm
BTW, Tim, Harvey could be both.
Rick - August 04, 2010 at 10:50 pm
Looked up his bio on the Channel 3 website. Says his meteo papers are from Mississippi State although he studied aeronautics at a college in the Denver area.
Tim - August 04, 2010 at 11:35 pm
Bongiorno should have been dumped by Hearst a while ago..4 is just about unwatchable..Wendy Bell is UNWATCHABLE
Eric C - August 07, 2010 at 8:54 pm
@Tim: Just because someone has a certification from MSU doesn’t mean they are not a good meteorologist on air. As long as you can make a reliable forecast and explain it well to the viewers, it’s all gravy! Sometimes people with the 4-year degrees can get all bogged down in the science and can’t relate to viewers. Most viewers just want to know if it’s going to rain or not and what the temperature will be.
Tim T. - October 02, 2010 at 11:54 pm
Agreed, Eric C. Alex Bongiorno needs to go back to a smaller market to hone her skills as a news director. It just seems as though she makes decisions in the newsroom, never has an actual explanation for those decisions and is just overall not accountable to the public for 4’s news operation. I have watched Stephen Cropper for as long as I remember and I believe that he has one of the most straight forward weather presentations in Pittsburgh. Further more, Bongiorno should have kept Michael Haynes had she wanted an heir apparent to Cropper. Haynes is probably the best up and coming weather talent in the entire country. But, back to Cropper…he should leave 4 the first chance he gets and hook up with a station that appreciates his talent and will give him the chief job and not keep removing him from it when it is convenient for the news director. He deserves better. 4’s viewers deserve better.
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