Nexstar-Tegna merger and WNY

NBC 2 WGRZ On Your Side studios in Buffalo; 16 August 2021.

Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

 TV station conglomerates Nexstar and Tegna have announced their merger. Of course, this needs approval from the FCC and FTC, and some stations will have to be sold off, particularly where they overlap. One area I know is Buffalo. Tegna, which spun off of USA Today owner Gannett, own NBC 2 WGRZ, their only station in New York State. Nexstar are far bigger, owning NBC 2's competitor CBS 4 WIVB, as well as CNY's ABC affiliates NewsChannel 9 WSYR in Syracuse and ABC 20 WUTR in Utica to name a few. Since Buffalo is a larger market than Syracuse, having the boys' turf nearby for added ratings to boot, having it like CNYcentral back in my area may not work, which has CW 6, while CBS 4 is sister to O&O CW 23 WNLO. So much for WNYcentral, if you like. NBC 4 could be sold to Hearst, Hubbard, Weigel, Mission, Cox, Gray, or Deltavision. Scripps already have yet another WNY station, ABC 7 WKBW, while Sinclair have Fox 29 WUTV and my 49 WNYO. Even in the age of streaming, these deals are still lucrative. Tegna also own ABC 16 WNEP in the Scranton/Wilkes Barre area, the other NBC 3 WKYC in Cleveland, and flagship CBS 9 WUSA in Washington, DC.

American Dad!: 20 Years On

Roger and Klaus at ComicCon in San Diego County, 2007

 Two decades after it started and over once since it changed networks, American Dad! is coming home to Fox after eleven series at TBS. The Warner Bros.-Discovery merger has not been the best move, and studio brass David Zaslav is getting much of the blame. Even the studios own animated legacy isn't safe, with the classic catalogue dropped from Max and a third-party distributor reportedly finally releasing Coyote vs Acme after being held back. Disney actually own American Dad! and other 20th titles, and they maintain a working relationship with Fox several years after their separation, while the latter have also started their own shows. In the age of streaming, Hulu would also carry all of these along with the Fox app. One stipulation is that Dad! won't be quite as edgy anymore since it will be back on terrestrial, and can go no further than related series Family Guy. I won't have to subscribe to Hulu or go to a pirate site to watch new episodes anymore. I can watch it locally like old times for pennies. It's just that some shows have to be put on hiatus for a period, and there's still an emphasis on reality shows and live-action scripted series. American Dad! should last more than three years' time when they return in September to outlive their run on TBS, where they'll still have reruns until 2030. 

Fox and WOLF

Gnax the Fox furry and Wolfhard the red WOLF furry

 It turns out there are two stations called WOLF affiliated with Fox; one being Fox Sports Radio right here in Syracuse where I am, and the other being a TV station in Northeast Pennsylvania, which is why the post is based there. With Fox Sports Syracuse 92.5 FM and AM 1490, the latter original station used to be Top 40, hip hop/R&B/urban contemporary, and Radio Disney. Fox 56 is in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area. The two are unrelated, and the FCC can allow a radio station in one market and a TV station in another to have the same callsign. While I've known about both for a long time (the local one longer, of course), I only recently learned that the one in my hometown are now part of Fox Sports. Terrestrial network radio hasn't been as much of a thing in the US since TV became more dominant in the '50s. Stiff competition from Spotify, Sirius XM and podcasts make it obsolete. Network TV also has less relevance today because of streaming, and Lackawanna and Wyoming Valleys are a "UHF island" because of VHF cross-signal interference with the tri-state, Philadelphia quad-state, and NYs Southern Tier (mainly just CBS 12 WBNG in Binghamton now, while analogue channels 6, 8, and 10 were retired, even after 2009s DTV mandate and LP/CD [not that kind] exemption). To boot, Craig Fox owns the WOLF in CNY (he is likely not related to the late William Fox, founder of the original Fox studio). He is a presenter who owns several radio stations in the region. Now that's irony. It takes a Fox to know Fox, or one Canidae to another.

MyNetworkTV in Miami and Boston

 

Bay State Capital Region fantasy logo

MyNetworkTV was founded in 2006 by Fox after the merger of the WB and UPN formed the CW (now owned by Nexstar) in order to fill the vacuum. Today, it's more of a syndication service much like its sister network in early days. Ironically, two of the largest DMAs on the east coast no longer have a MyNetworkTV affiliate of their own. It could be that it never had high ratings to begin with, exacerbated by the rise in streaming services. Even smaller markets still have it. It depends more on reruns now and stopped having original shows such as English-language telenovelas (Latin American style soaps) and wrestling, which moved to cable.

In Boston, WSBK 38 went back to their indie roots once more (formerly on cable well into UPN days when some other areas had yet to get theirs until SyndEx made 38 useless). Non-network rival WHDH 7 could either have their main channel be the affiliate, or put it on .3.

In Miami and Ft Lauderdale, WBFS 33 could make a late switch. It's one the biggest markets in the South, of course. Then, you wonder if any small towns are missing out.

South Florida affiliate logo. A bit simplistic.

UPDATE (27/3/25): Warren Buffetts ABC/Local 10 WPLG will go indie on 4 August 2025 when ABC moves to 7.2 at Sunbeams (not the bread) Fox 7 WSVN of all places (rare for a Top 10 DMA), moving a local subchannel down. My10 would work too, even though either station could add another subchannel for MyNetworkTV. I only found this out just by going direct to WSVNs site when looking up something more suited to our sister blog (had the wrong area), but anyway. Sometimes, you just know when to strike while the iron is hot. I will update again if I learn anything else on the Gold Coast.

Another lazy composite. I did suggest it to them on X.

Carriage Dispute Healing

Part graffiti, part abstract art, part ransom note!

The TV business, like life, is one big Whack-a-Mole! Until Congress stop messing about (don't get me started), laws not upgraded since the Clinton administration will keep cable and satellite providers and broadcasters and networks, as well as the taxpayers to their own devices. Once again, I had to go beyond earthly means as described in the last post.  This time, the list on the left says Dish, DirecTV, Comcast Xfinity (Comcast as both owner of NBC O&OS like NBC 4 in NYC and LA and with the telecom Xfinity), and on the right, Hearst, Nexstar, Mission, Cox and Comcast again. The peace symbol from the previous entry is in the middle. I had to edit out typos and unrelated names on the desktop, which is why it now looks like a mishmash and so I wouldn't have to upload a hard copy all over again. Of course, this will only happen again, and I just can't keep up. Hearst owned many newspapers in the postwar era (I just know the Albany one), and are now a minority owner of ESPN, which is dominated by Disney, yet only have NBC 5 in Clinton County in my state. I took off Dish a while ago due to downsizing and other personal reasons. I drew one of these for the UAW strike too, but they're having less trouble by comparison, as far getting back to the bargaining table instead of another shade trade.

Back to the Table Talk

What the spirits led me to make.

I haven't posted in a period, not necessarily in solidarity with the writer and actors, but rather, there hasn't been much to add here that the established media hasn't already covered, and I've focused more on the sister blogs, as well as my own life. However, in a desperate search for answers, I went to the book shop and bought City Magick by Christopher Penczak. In the chapter Language of the Streets, he talks about Graffiti Sigils (not signals per se). One that stuck out was one that stood for making peace, which is what the studios and unions need to do after months of unending anguish. I'm no expert on wicca myself, mind, but I tried drawing the sigil (as opposed to tag or sign) and even wrote the names of the union and organisation initialisms, studios and a couple key names in sloppy, graffiti-esque font, along with other symbols for divine femininity (for Nanny star turned SAG-AFTRA leader Fran Drescher), health and balance, and removing obstacles, trying to conjure healing. The peace sigil even looks like the word strive, which is what the SAG-AFTRA and WGA-E & W members continue to do each day as they fight for everything they're owed.  I even tried pulling out the late Lew Wasserman, who knew Ronald Reagan when the later US President became head of SAG during the 1960 double strike. The 1988 writers strike was the last major Hollywood one in eithers lifetime and the second in mine. They didn't live to see the 2007-08 one, let alone this. They wouldn't be surprised by this one.

The latter and AMPTP return to the table this coming week. They must sort out the mess by this stage, then the others have their turn and we can move forward. A right fortune has been lost on many fronts.

In my drawing, the list on the left has Netflix, Hulu, Comcast, AMPTP, amazon, Sony, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), Disney and Paramount. In the centre are the sigils for health and balance, divine  femininity, Fran (Drescher), peace, and higher guidance. On the right are IATSE, WGA-E, WGA-W, SAG-AFTRA, Lew (Wasserman) [typo fixed after upload], Reagan (Nancy might've gotten all this) and my signature. I wouldn't dare buy a tin of spray paint and go Banksy on someones property. MC Hammer said to do it on paper on a show he had in 1991 (that always stuck with me). Some may think shaman is sham and man put together, and I'm not one of those or using any label here, but I do have empath abilities, and it drives what I do. Life is not always like it is on TV, even "reality" TV.

I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! US Series 3

Caitlyn Jenner, 2017

 While all strikes eventually end, reality shows filled the vacuum since writers aren't needed.  Cops on Fox helped pave the way back in 1988, despite its reputation and also being an occasional target for parody (usually by another show on the network).  The turn of the millennium made "reality" a reality.

I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! is a franchise from the UK made by ITV and also has international counterparts.  Twice, they tried in the US, several years apart; Series 1 on ABC, which included the now-Caitlyn Jenner (she went to the flagship later), and Series 2 six years on at NBC.  Neither did well in the ratings and were cancelled, making it another yet thing that just didn't catch on here in the States.  We even had Ant & Dec themselves over once for their other franchise Wanna Bet?, and they can't get arrested here either!  I heard of the Tyneside duo through The Irish Sun years ago.

Whilst we wait for a truce, maybe a third season could be pitched to another network or streamer.  It could be seen as an all-star Survivor, if you like, or even like a Celebrity Big Brother in the wilds.  Forgotten or washed-up celebs like A Martinez, Roseanne Barr, or even Lori Beth Denberg could revive their careers by going on the show.  Martina McBride doesn't know if she'll ever sing again and recover like country competitor Shania Twain, so she can do all these challenges in the middle of nowhere.  Singer-actor Jill Scott may participate since the athlete of the same name just did the last UK series with Boy George.

I stopped watching this kind of show a long time ago because I have no interest.  Annie Lennox has spoken out about celebrity culture.  I know that she and four others I mentioned are more suited for the sister blog.  I love Boy George to bits, and he signed a big deal to do the show just after he and Culture Club were in town again despite a row with the ex.  Anyway, it's just an idea of what could be done for now, as this is a bridge that has to be repaired, not burned, if you will.  Even when everything's back to normal, IACGMOOHUS might be a reboot that reintroduces the overseas sensation to North American audiences.  There could also be two Canadian versions, each in English and French, for Canadian content purposes with people from there, and they can also go to Australia or South Africa, staying in the Commonwealth, or go to Costa Rica or another out of the way locale, like the US or UK versions.

WGA Strike

Tim Robbins at the 2007-08 strike downstate (WGA-E), November 2007 (the ex went to Albany instead this year)

 Here we go again.  The studios and the Writers' Guild of America have failed in negotiations and WGA are once more are on the picket line.  A strike is the last resort for any union.  The last one from November 2007 to February 2008 cost over a billion dollars in lost revenue just before the last recession to boot.  I just hope this one isn't as long.  They don't last forever.  Every union eventually have to return to the bargaining table and sort it out with management.  Streaming and now AI are everywhere, and residuals aren't as guaranteed after fifty years time.  The pandemic has also affected Hollywood and pretty much all of society, and has emboldened workers to fight for more, from a rise to benefits to better treatment.  We all want that, and it's frustrating to see an industry tied up when one side or the other isn't ready to haggle.  For less lucrative labour, when David or Goliath is at the end of his rope at it were, then it's time to settle.  Glad I was too young to notice when this happened in the late '80s.  This isn't the kind of business that can have scabs like a plant because of the money and lawyers involved.  We had less trouble with the railway row just a while ago, even though they didn't get everything they demanded.  I'm no Norma Rae myself, mind, but I was in a union myself once.

Writers, we all love you and appreciate all of your hard work.  Fight the good fight and go back to the table soon so history doesn't repeat itself.  I'm not trying to meddle or cross the picket line, but nobody wants this to drag on into next season.  I'll ask the spirits when we can expect you to reconcile with the studios with the crystal ball, the original AI or AP wire since antiquity, if you like (it says 13 May or 8 June [checked thrice], or even when strike funds run out).  Good luck in the trenches.  Come back soon.

Watch Cartoon Online

The Simpsons mascots TM & © 20th Century Studios, Inc.

 For the past several years, I've been watching some of my animated shows on a Magyar-based pirate site called Watch Cartoon Online (even though that kind of thing is more discussed on the sister blog).  At first, it was for American Dad! after it moved from Fox to TBS before I got Dish.  Then my DVR crashed, and I got a new one when I moved house. Now if Duncanville is renewed and is on Hulu for Series Four, I can watch it on WCO instead of paying for a subscription since I can't do streaming like most people these days (although I am considering getting it and a stronger ISP and leaving Dish.  What drove me to write this however was the other night, I fell asleep and missed most of the Sunday night lineup!  Then I learned that I have to register and pay for it now, and it's sort of a poor mans Netflix for animation, whether it's this type, or anime and Manga from Japan.  I could even go back to a certain episode of Bobs Burgers or The Great North (not on long enough yet for syndication).  WCO said that rises in electricity for the servers left them no choice, given recent events of the past year, and in a country with a little less money and a history.  I tried to watch them legally on the FOX NOW app, but it wouldn't properly recognise my Dish account.  I've had less trouble with the social, mind.

I'd only planned on using the site once in a while, but now if I nod off again in future, or something comes up and I forget to record or it can't wait, I have backup now.  WCO have tonnes of material.  They even have Loren Bouchards only current non-Fox series Central Park from Apple TV that I could look into.  It may not work on peoples TVs like the real streaming services, just phones and devices.

Duncanville

Series star and co-creator SNL alum Amy Poehler at the 2012 Peabody Awards

 I'm still on my prom kick, and Duncanville is primed to be the next show to have one since the characters there seem old enough now (it already came up this season).  Duncan tries to plan a prom-posal for his girlfriend Mia, who is a free-spirited liberal who thinks prom is an outdated ritual, despite becoming more inclusive in recent years.  She does say yes.  Their other three friends manage to get dates.  Duncans parents Jack and Annie recall when they went to prom.  Their Kimberly can't wait until she's old enough, while little Jing is too young to fully understand what it's all about beyond being like a ball in a faery story.  Popular teacher Mr Mitch also DJs the do (he does it all in their small town).  Something must happen at the hotel or wherever it'll be held so we have a show.  Could happen next year in Series 4.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, Fox cancelled the show, and the remaining episodes will only be on Hulu (which I can't afford, so I will just go to "the other place"). Only having the show air during the summer didn't really help when ratings are generally lower.  Also, an episode Hulu aired showed the kids at a semi-formal, which is close enough to prom.

Bobs Burgers

Menu at a real life restaurant in the Benelux (same copyright as The Great North)

 With the Bobs Burgers film coming out (the rare time that I go to the cinema for a scripted, fictional film; it has a water main break, which is common in my area in the winter because of ageing pipes), I had an idea for an episode.  The Belchers and Gayle, Lindas sister, are invited to a wedding of their cousin on the sisters' side of the family, but their elderly parents in Florida can't make the long trip.  There isn't much extended family known, and it's a rare event for them (although they catered a wedding several series ago).  While my prom episode prediction went where I least expected it to in a recent episode (their Tina wearing a prom dress for a fundraiser), I pictured the wedding being at some multi-room venue in town with the local high school prom next door and Tina crashes it with an older boy that she meets across the aisle from out of town about to go to his own another weekend, but now that would have to be reconsidered now that prom has been done in some form.  Gene and Louise would have to sit at the kids' table with the flower girl and ring bearer.  Single girl Gayle is determined to catch the bouquet thrown by the bride! (Ladies, can you relate?!)  The kids make sure their spinster auntie wins the pools by the end of the do!  Linda has a bit of champagne! Gayle also gets a couple numbers from men she meets there, perhaps.  Cue mess!

I've been to more proms than weddings (a story for another day, mind), so I would go too if it were for real.  As for the plot, this could probably work.  Maybe another day, Bob and Linda could go to an adult prom since they met well after high school, but he might find it a bit too contrived for his taste.  We'll just go with a wedding then.

The Great North

TM & © 20th Television (Disney).

Groundbreaking animated series The Great North set in remote small town Lone Moose, AK is in Series Two on Fox.  What there needs to be is an episode about prom, since two of the characters, Ham and Judy (second from top) are at that age, although a similar episode aired last season.  A side plot would be Moon (top) having to dissect a frog in class and being able to do so aimlessly since he knows how to clean fish as the family run a fishing boat, and there could be an adult prom for newlyweds and film fanatics Wolf and Honeybee to go to while doting dad Beef chaperones and shows Moon what prom is like several years ahead.  Judys boss at work Alyson from the photo studio would take snaps and set up a booth.  Ham already found a tuxedo at the charity shop in a recent episode.  We would have to see which boy would come up with a prom-posal for Judy.

I couldn't write a script for a radio advert if I tried, and fan fiction doesn't sit well with the solicitors or writers unions.  If nothing is planned this year, maybe next year as it takes several months for an idea to go from the drawing board to air.  The other animated shows from 20th on Fox or TBS (American Dad! since 2014) have already put prom into the storyline in one way or another except Bobs Burgers as those kids are too young (unless their Tina tries to sneak into a prom, although she got to be a prom queen for a charity limo race), Housebroken is about house pets, while Duncanville also has teenagers that could have prom, even though that only airs in the middle of the year (The Simpsons had a flashback or two and flash-forward in their record-setting long run).

UPDATE (1 May 2023): The Series 3 Finale will have Judy and her friend Kima trying to get dates for the do, so I guess the spirits were telling me all along.  The episode is a cliffhanger for Sweeps, and the plot is not one Mary Whitehouse would have liked to put it that way.

Nick Cannon Show

Nick Cannon in Canada, 2010.

 Nick Cannon is the latest celebrity to enter the talk show circuit.  While he's syndicated, Syracuse has yet to pick up the show (this has happened with some other shows in the past that were late to come to the area, even network ones).  There is room on the major network affiliates where informercials and low-rated programmes could be moved to the graveyard shift.  Weekdays at 11 on CW 6 WSTM 3.3 seems to be the only place to go, although an encore showing will also be on Bounce, which is available through NewsChannel 9 WSYR (I've asked them to get the rights for the main channel, the ABC affiliate).  Not everyone can stream the show.  I have reached out to the shows Twitter and Facebook and am waiting to hear back.  Cannon will continue to host The Masked Singer on Fox on the west coast (flagship Fox 5 downstate is his as well on the east coast).  CW 6 said they may not have room right now, but if his friend Wendy Williams can't start the latest series of her own show because of health issues, then Page Six, the gossip column, says he may get her spots and it's up to each affiliate, so hope springs eternal.  Until then, he has a YouTube feed if you can get that, but it's just not enough.

UPDATE: The show has been cancelled due to low ratings.  No wonder CNY Central never bothered.

TBD: To Be Done-Up

Not my Supertramp: Devin Graham (right) of The Extreme World of Devin Super Tramp.

TBD seem to have lost the plot.  The same programmes, viral videos. and documentaries (we all can't be Ken Burns) make rerun-reliant Decades, MeTV and Antenna TV seem fresh by comparison.  Their six hosts have unceremoniously left the network.  This has always been a low-budget, low-rated network to begin with.  I thought it was a sports type channel when I first saw it on the CBS 5 CNY Central tier.  It's one-of-a-kind more for younger people, but it has grown stale, and can't compete with streaming, where more people are going anyway.  The Extreme World of Devin Super Tramp and Parkour Adventures with Jesse la Flair have extreme sports that ESPN may only marginally offer.  The pandemic could also have caused cutbacks.  FailArmy and The Pet Collective have their own channels on FiOS and some cable systems, but it will be the same material (I'll just wait for the cat videos).  If the Nielsens get to non-existent, affiliates may not renew their licence and switch to competitors not yet in their markets (ThisTV, Quest, and Court TV for my area).  TBD could also appear on 33.4 in Utica (Fox 33 WFXV is on 33.1).

COVID-19

Dr Phil with SUNY Oswego alum Al Roker on the Today show, 2006.

With coronavirus the elephant in the room, all aspects of life are affected.  Shows with studio audiences like Dr Phil either have to close or tape without one (although reruns of his show are on OWN, other series that don't have to be current such as The Price is Right or soaps could go into their vaults).  Getting guests over would be a bit of a risk too on top of problems they may already have.  Like many people, I'm watching the news helplessly trying to cope with something unheard of before in living memory.  Meanwhile, Dish and Apollo/Cox have declared a truce ending their dispute as maybe other proviers and owners until after Easter as having people even tele-conferencing can be hard right now.  I'm ready to ask a psychic when any break will arrive.
Long-running shows in syndication could air reruns from recent past seasons if they go through this series' and can't make new episodes right now, but freshman shows will have the same episodes to go through sooner than usual.  We all hope all this will ease up someday.

Gears Firestick

NBC 4's studio at 30 Rockefeller Plaza

The other week, I went to the hairdressers and the TV was able to get flagship NBC 4 WNBC from downstate.  It seemed perplexing to get something from 200 miles away that easily.  Turned out it was Gears Firestick, which carries stations from around the country and globe, and includes all of what you'd find on cable and satellite.  It's a streaming service competing with Roku, Sling, amazon, Netflix and Hulu.  You'd have to have a good internet account with enough data and bandwidth.  Would make sense with the endless carriage disputes for which no law can stop as it'd compete with bigger issues in Washington.  Also, if something isn't available locally, you can find a channel that carries it.  I told the hairdresser how I got the NYC stations when I lived up the river two decades ago.  I also told her Italian pubcaster RAI may be on there too as she just went on holiday there.  She has the service at home too, but if I ever change course at home, I'd consider subscribing as well.  However, I heard somewhere, it could be a pirate service; todays version of the "cheater cable box" from thirty years ago (I'm old now!).

Jerry O'Connell

Jerry O'Connell at this years Comic-Con.

Jerry O'Connell is the latest celeb to launch their own talk show.  His is a spinoff of Wendy Williams, but I can only get listings for major city Fox O&Os/flagships.  He filled in when she was in the clinic, making it a backdoor pilot.  Since CW 6 WSTQ has the parent show in my area, you'd think that they would carry it as well, even in the middle of the night.  CBS owned Pop may have it too.  O'Connell used to fill in on Live.  Other syndicated and network talk shows in the past were late to air in Syracuse if they ever did.  So much for "check your local listings".

July 2021: He will join The Talk instead, replacing Sharon Osbourne.

Spectrum Northwest petition

Thrown together with what I had saved.

Please sign this everyone.
UPDATE: Four month dispute ended in June.

CW 9 WGN

Possible logo configuration

With Tribunes TV division being sold to Sinclair, perhaps they may look into re-establishing the Chicago conglomerates flagships affiliation with the CW, which went to my50 WPWR in Gary as I posted a while ago.  New owners often means new people and new decisions.  It would be like with my38 in Boston.  However, it would cause a seismic shift in the schedule for both stations.  It could take up to a year for Washington to approve and another for operations to be absorbed fully.  The local news might appeal more to the Collar Counties west of town after the sale is complete with Sinclair having a reputation similar to FNC (myNetworks sister station).  I wanted to start a new post instead of just adding onto the old one.  SBC already have CNYcentral near me which includes CW 6.  WGN meanwhile remains a separate animal from sister station WGN America (now NewsNation) which used to have channel 9 outside the Chicago DMA, just as CWs half-sister TBS now have a different agenda to the original channel 17 in Atlanta which remains indie.  In the meantime, WGN 9 is now sister to Newschannel 9 WSYR ABC in Syracuse and CBS 9 WNCT in Greenville, NC.

UPDATE: Even though WGN and the CW are now sister subsidiaries of Nexstar, Weigel flagship WCIU is the affiliate for the Chicagoland DMA today.

UPDATE 2: WGN will return to the CW on 1 September 2024 along with a reshuffling of Nexstar stations that include KLFY 10.2 laFayette Parish, LA and WVBT 43.2 Norfolk, VA, both which have room on their tiers to move down the smaller networks the CW are replacing. Back in Chicago, WCIU will go back to being the U (indie).

TV stars with CNY ties

Vanessa L. Williams in a red carpet-ready red dress!  The L is for local!

There is a plethora of household names that have past personal ties to Central New York as it's too easy to start in a big area.  Been meaning to do this.  Here is a list of ones I know:

Kevin James (attended SUNY Cortland)
Al Roker (attended SUNY Oswego)
Peter Falk* (also attended Hamilton College)

Richard Gere (lived in North Syracuse; appeared on the BBCs MotherFatherSon)
Mike Tirico*

Kevin Michael Richardson*

Bobcat Goldthwait (grew up in East Syracuse)

Tom Kenny (same)
David Muir* (born in Syracuse; formerly on CBS 5; now on ABC)
Jerry Seinfeld (attended SUNY Oswego)
Andrew Daly (attended Ithaca College)

Anne Burrell (grew up in Cazenovia)

Ina Garten*
Ricki Lake (also went to IC)
Ann Coulter (went to Cornell across town)
Keith Olbermann (went to Cornells east campus)
Megyn Kelly* (lived in Syracuse, but later lived in Albany County)
Tom Everett Scott* (does TV occasionally)

Edie McClurg*
Debra Wilson*
Jeff Glor* (formerly of NBC 3 WSTM; originally from WNY)
Bob Costas*

Lindsey Vonn*

Marv Albert*
Ted Koppel*
John Walsh (born in Auburn)
Annette Funicello (born in Utica)
Dick Clark*
Taye Diggs*
Jerry Stiller*
Vanessa L. Williams (pictured; was on Ugly Betty, and is now on Daytime Divas, and is the only local legend on both this and the sister blogs post on CNY)*

*SU alumni