| Submitted by: Frank Clynes, Oct 21, 2007 When Vance Eckersley became Channel 6's first general manager, the station was licensed to New Bedford. It had a low-power transmitter, broadcasting from an 800 foot tower hidden deep in the Tiverton woods. Vance was a lawyer by trade, not a broadcaster - but he learned fast. He decided early on, that he could not beat the competition by becoming a third rate copy. So he borrowed a few tricks from the Confederate Army; get there firstest with the mostest, and hit 'em where they aint. First he established a dress code. The photographers were expected to wear ties and jackets like the reporters. They represented the station on news assignments as much as the salesmen and reporters, and he wanted everybody to look like we worked for the leading TV station in the market. In time, WPRI had to grudgingly copy us. In 1963, Channel 12 was in first place. 
Six of the people in the WTEV-6 picture are photographers. Can you spot them? I'm between the female reporter in the white dress and the black photographer. He established the first full time local Washington, DC bureau by working tradeoffs with Sheraton Park Hotel and US Airlines. It was an instant success. Within nine months, WJAR was forced to establish a Washington bureau. Every Tuesday morning reporter Susan Schiffer and I would fly out of Green airport for DC and spend the day interviewing US Senators from Ma. Conn. and RI in the US Capitol. On Wednesday, we'd do the same with the US Representatives at the other end of the building. Thursday we'd be at the Pentagon interviewing Sec. of the Navy John Chafee or at Transportation with Sec. John Volpe or DiSimone. Friday she'd remain in Washington to do research for the next week, and I'd return to the station to shoot automobile commercials. Because of transmitter location, WTEV was very weak in northern RI but came in powerful in Eastern Connecticut and the Cape. Vance established a New London news bureau and sent in salesmen to sell advertising. He did the same with Cape Cod. The Providence bureau was just two rooms in the Biltmore Hotel. Later on, I was reassigned to start a Boston bureau in the Mass. State House, serving both as a reporter and photographer. Most of our photographers served dual roles. Eckersley encouraged every employee to be the best they could be, and to try new things. He saw a lot of potential in a young studio cameraman named Vin DiBona and became his mentor. In his later career, Vinny went out to Hollywood where he created America's Funniest Home Videos, the longest running television concept. Today Vinny maintains a home in Newport, where he spends at least half the year. WTEV-6 was the ship that launched a thousand faces. Countless people took the experience they gained there and went on to establish successful careers. Vance came damn close to making Channel 6 the number two station in the RI market. But Steinman Newspapers of Lancaster Pa. grew impatient with their television toy and wanted out. They drastically cut back on the financing and sold out to Pulitzer. Eckersley was forced out, but became the GM of another TV station in Atlanta, Ga. A lot of owners have come and gone, but the leadership and inspiration needed to make that station number one, was never seen again. But now it has a second chance. For reasons that defy all logic, WJAR has allowed WLNE to establish their HDTV transmitter on the Channel 10 Rehoboth tower. This is the future of television, and WLNE is now in the cat bird seat. Unlike Gary Chapman over at Lin Broadcasting - owners of WPRI-12, Kevin O'Brien at Global Broadcasting has only one TV station to look after; WLNE-6. And his new station manager is the former WJAR-TV news consultant, who helped them maintain their first place status. This is just the dawn. It's going to be a long, long day. Frank Clynes |
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