Gandy

GANDY FROM PAGE A1 ment make for better forecasts." Gandy's return marks another escalation of the growing rivalry between WLTX and perennial market ratings leader WIS. Since its purchase by Gannett, WLTX has upgraded its local news staff and is preparing to meet its competition on the weather map. "Every study and poll we've done showed that weather reports were No. 1 with most viewers," said media research adviser 1 Tom Summers, who now works for Gannett. David Dodds, general manager at Columbia ABC affiliate WOLOTV, said Gandy's return makes for a "very competitive market. It will be interesting to see of what kind of an impact he has." Grimes said he and his station "wish he had never left us. It's puzzling why he did." "I really was tired of the daily grind when I left WIS, and at the time, I didn't know if I ever wanted to go back on the air," Gandy said Monday at a press conference "It will be interesting to see what kind of an impact he (Gandy) has." David Dodds, general manager at WOLO-TV announcing his return. Gandy had a while to make up his mind. He couldn't join WLTX right away because of an exclusivity clause in his WIS contract that prohibited him from appearing on a competitor's station for 12 months. During his time as a consultant, he filled in on-air for Gannett stations in Atlanta and Washington. "I guess it was while I was in Washington that I began to think about returning," Gandy said. He said one of the things that appealed to him about returning to the air on WLTX is that "my schedule won't be as hectic as it was (at WIS). It will give me more time to produce quality weather segments." When Gandy was at WIS, the station's staff not only produced its own newscasts, but also the nightly news at Fox affiliate WACH-TV and updates on WISW radio. Although he won't have the High-Definition Super Doppler radar to work with at WLTX as he did at WIS, Gandy said there are plenty of plans for improvement ahead. "I'm already impressed with the things WLTX has done in the past year, and I know they're committed to make this even better." Rich O'Dell, WLTX general manager, who last month announced a "nationwide search" for a meteorologist, said the deal with Gandy wasn't formulated until last Saturday. While at WIS, Gandy developed a loyal following. He also made a name for himself with his ability to accurately predict the path of approaching storms. In 1989, Gandy was on target with his forecast that Hurricane Hugo would slam into South Carolina even though the National Weather Service said otherwise. Gandy replaces Camille Bradford Hugg, who had been reporting the weather on WLTX since 1978. Last month, she was named the station's community-affairs director. Gandy's hiring is just one of several major changes since Gannett, purchased the CBS affiliate. Audas took over as news director last year. Then O'Dell was brought in from the Cleveland market to replace Debbie Holland, who resigned. News co-anchor Trinnell Moore left to pursue another career and was replaced by Deloris Keith. Co-anchor Gene Upright retired in October after more than 50 years in the business and was replaced by newcomer Michael Chisholm, who co-anchors WLTX's 6 p.m. and. 11 p.m. newscasts with Keith. Last month, the station unveiled new sets and launched its two-hour, early-morning newscast, 5-7 a.m. Doug Nye edits TV Weekly and writes about television. He can be reached at (803) 771-8395 or by e- mail at dnye@thestate.com.

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Gandy

Gandy

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