I was sitting in John Baldwin's office March 20 when he reached across the desk to show me a photocopy of a check.
Baldwin, the creative services director at WGAL-TV 8, said the check for $165.75 was made out to the American Red Cross and was mailed to him from Belle Aire School in Lombard, Ill.
The attached letter read: "Please accept the enclosed gift to use toward the Midwest Tornado Relief (Harrisburg, Ill.). The Belle Aire Elementary School student council in Downers Grove, Illinois, held a book raffle with all the monies raised earmarked for the relief fund."
Baldwin said he sent press releases to several Midwestern publications, detailing the efforts of WGAL, local schools and community groups to raise money for the disaster relief efforts of the American Red Cross following the tornadoes earlier this month in the Midwest and South. An Illinois media outlet ran a story off the release.
Baldwin said the fundraising was started to support victims in "sister towns" — towns that share the names of towns and cities in central Pennsylvania, such as Harrisburg, Ill.; Lebanon, Ohio; Lebanon, Mo.; and Elizabethtown, Ky. — and has raised more than $11,000 so far.
To contribute, mail checks to Red Cross Spring Storms Fund at WGAL, P.O. Box 7127, Lancaster, PA 17604.
More WGAL news: The TV station added a new broadcast translator just north of the city of Harrisburg. This should improve the station's over-the-air signal, the company said in a press release.
Since the June 2009 switch to a digital signal, some viewers have been unable to pick up WGAL's free over-the-air signal. The latest upgrade, and several incremental power increases to the main transmitter, were done to help residents who use an antenna for TV reception in their homes.
Viewers with an antenna should rescan their TV.
WGAL's new translator operates on UHF channel 49. Most digital televisions or set-top digital converter boxes will translate this signal to display 8.1 or 8.2 (WGAL's digital movie channel, "This TV").
New hire: Meredith Marakovits was named the clubhouse reporter for baseball's New York Yankees games for the Yankees TV network, YES.
You might know Marakovits from her sideline reporting for Philadelphia 76ers basketball games on Comcast SportNet.
Promoted: Hall Communications announced the promotion of Manheim Township graduate Billy Baldwin Jr. to the position of station manager.
Baldwin will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of local stations WROZ-FM 101.3 "The Rose," adult contemporary format; "WKZF-FM 92.7, classic rock; and WLPA-AM FOX Sports Radio 1490.
Nielsen's top 5 TV shows: America loves singing shows. The Nielsen rating service reports that three of the top five Nielsen-rated shows for March 12-18 were vocal competitions. The top five were:
1. "American Idol," Wednesday, Fox, at more than 18 million viewers; 2. "American Idol," Thursday, Fox, more than 16 million viewers; 3. "The Voice," Monday, NBC, more than 14 million viewers; 4. "NCIS," Wednesday, CBS, more than 12 million viewers; and 5. "CSI," Wednesday, CBS, more than 11 million viewers.
Jesse Stone is back: In a network press release, CBS set a May 20 date for airing a new "Jesse Stone" movie with Tom Selleck, 67.
Staff writer Eric Stark discusses trends and tidbits in broadcast media each week in the Sunday News. Write to him at estark@lnpnews.com.
