Viewers Voice: Complaints about sports and compliments

By: Jay Warren | WSLS 10
Published: July 05, 2010

One loyal WSLS viewer called in with a question about our sports coverage.

Kenny Worrell said, “How come y'all don't have a sports reporter on most nights. You know the news anchor shouldn't give sports just like Jack Turner he quit yesterday and y'all was one day behind in reporting it. Plus, Friday you didn't even give the racing results, the qualifying. You know, here lately y'all just don't have sports, you know the newscasters do it and I don't think they should cause they're not up to date on what's going on in sports. I do it I do like your newscasts, but your sports is something else to deal with.”

WSLS responds: Kenny thanks for the call. We do have a sports director. It's John Appicello, and let me tell you he is one of the hardest working people in our newsroom. But everyone deserves some time off, including John. He took a couple of weeks of vacation last month which is one of the slower times of the year for sports. In his absence, Karen and I filled in as best we could. But John is back now for the long haul of the football season.

Another viewer feels like our Viewers Voice segments air a few too many compliments.

Edwin Miller called to say, “Every week at least a couple of times a week I hear Channel 10 try to pat itself on the back, or saying about how somebody has praised you all for doing a good coverage on the news or vice a versa. To be spoken about once a year and not two or three times a week.”

WSLS responds: Edwin thanks for your opinion. I try to make each Viewer's Voice a fair representation of the calls, letters, and emails we get into the newsroom each week. As is usually apparent, there are a fair number of questions and complaints which we are more than happy to respond to. In fact we encourage people to send them. But, we also get kudos from a few viewers and to show some balance we throw one of those in every so often. It's nice to hear something good every once in awhile.

Speaking of that, we'll end this week’s Viewers Voice with a call from Lisa in Roanoke.

She said, “I watch y'alls news all the time. I'm a retired nurse, 80-some-years old. I think you all do very good, regardless of what other people say. I think you all are doing great. So hang in there, take good care. I love you.”