Ron Fineman's ON THE RECORD

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What really surprised me most was how few votes Rick Garcia got. Three parttime anchors did better.

You may find it interesting that Kim Lores, the person who spurred the idea for this latest poll (claiming Jim Hill is the most popular sports broadcaster in LA) voted, even though she is not a subscriber. So I am wondering, for polls like this in the future, should we only include subscriber votes? Any thoughts?

One other thing...this is has been the best week for letters in a long time. I think the more letters we have, the more interesting OTR is. So thank you for writing, and please do keep it up.

I don't know how long it might take for the casual viewer to notice, but KCAL's 10pm news has started something very unusual. All camera shots of Pat Harvey and David Jakcson are 2-shots, like you see above. Normally, you might see a dual anchor lead-in going into a live shot or going to break. But two-shots are now the norm, no solo anchor.

A couple of insiders tell me this is to establish "anchor presence." That is they want to promote Pat Harvey and her relatively new co-anchor David Jackson as a team. Executive Producer Jason Ball gave the word to the producer this week. One source tells me they were already reconsidering it during the first night, but decided to give it more time.

I can see adding more two-shots. But all two-shots? Why don't they ask me before trying these new-fangled ideas? I have a feeling this won't last long.

In case you missed the update that I added on Wednesday Night, KCAL/KCBS has announced that Miami weather anchor Jackie Johnson will be coming to replace Byron Miranda on KCAL in the coming months. Miranda will continue with weather at KCBS. Though really, I just can't imagine what management sees in her.

As you know from Monday's OTR, I was getting some mixed signals from different people on this. I thought Miranda would be on his way out, but that is not the case. So far, I don't have a start date for Jackie Johnson on KCAL.

Btw....when I got word on this Wednesday Night, besides adding it to current edition, I also sent out an email to those who I notify when the latest OTR has been uploaded. So if you'd like to be on that reminder and update list, just let me know.

He was being fired at while on the road, and finally decided to stop at the area of the freeway you see above. He got out of his truck and was then shot dead. KTLA's Ted Garcia reported that "authorities also trying to figure out why Nguyen stopped here. He was only a block away from a hospital, King-Drew Medical Center."

Did KCAL anchor Mia Lee hit a new "low" last week? I don't know, but the woman who makes her rep on her breasts, seemed to show more than usual one day last week.

If those lapels were wider, I would swear that Magers has been saving that suit since 1971. Or perhaps he borrowed it from Big Max Calvada?

KABC had a story about how people get so-called tension headaches from holding in anger. So while they're telling us this, here is some video they cut to:

(It was panning upward, and so I froze it so you could see both the customer and part of the face of the haircutter). Anyway, I just couldn't see the relevance of this video at that point. Are barbers known to get angry. Or did KABC decide to show someone's head because they're talking about headaches?

They then showed a generic scene of people walking on the street and some guy sitting at a desk. Those shots didn't bother me. But the one above? It just didn't make sense.

KNBC's Jennifer Bjorklund was doing a live shot on the shooting death of the truck driver mentioned above. She was saying "detectives are also listening to audio tapes between dispatchers, documenting the last few..."

And then all of a sudden, the screen goes to black and then back to an unprepared Chuck Henry.

You can see he was not ready. And even though I figure Henry to be a pretty good ad-libber, he made no reference at all to what happened. Strange.

Last Friday Night, Pat Harvey said that Byron Miranda was off, recuperating from dental work. According to fill-in Henry DiCarlo "Dental work, that might be the only way we can get Byron quiet."

Of course another way might be to report on your web site that he's on his way out, and ask him to comment.

I guess sometimes, that's show biz.

AN AMAZING STORY

KNBC was among the stations which had the story of a Marine from Sun Valley who was declared dead twice in Iraq. CNN doctor Sanjay Gupta happened to be in the area, doing a story on Navy Medics. This Marine had been shot in head, and Dr Gupta used a Black and Decker hand drill on his head, inside a tent in a sandstorm! The doctor was able to release pressure that a blood clot was putting on his brain.

RAY CHARLES

What a great singer he was! I am especially impressed at how wonderful he was at singing country music. I don't know how many years later it was that I realized that his #1 hit from 1962, "I Can't Stop Loving You," was a country song - written by Don Gibson.

In a 1973 interview in Rolling Stone, Charles said that his record company told him that he couldn't do country music because "you gonna lose all your fans."

When the distributors got his first country album, they actually asked if it was a joke. But it turned out to be the first gold album ever released by ABC-Paramount Records. Yes, it was so popular that Charles did a second Country album. What a terrific talent he was.

SEE ME, HEAR ME

Regarding the Enron story - the one where those scum joke about stealing our money - KTLA anchor Hal Fishman said "You're going to hear those explosive video tapes."

THAT'S CLASS

After he rode the winner, Birdstone, which defeated Smarty Jones in the Belmont Stakes, jockey Edgar Prado said "I'm very sorry that it had to be me."

It would be hard not to be moved by those moments, when President Reagan's family stood before his casket for their final goodbye.