In September, Bay News 9 will celebrate
its 20th anniversary. The 24-hour local
news channel has become synonymous
with weather, breaking news, and
hyper-local news coverage. This is the first
time I have ever written about the early
history of Bay News 9. I was employee
number one, and I’m about to reveal
news details about the creation of what
has become the most popular local news
channel in America.
In 1997, there were dozens of 24-hour
local news channels in America. The idea
for a 24-hour local news channel in Tampa
Bay came from an amazing man named
Bob Miron. He was part of the Newhouse
family that owned cable systems in Tampa
Bay and Orlando in partnership with Time
Warner Cable.
At that time, Time Warner owned and
ran two news channels in New York State.
Miron pushed Time Warner to open local
news channels in Tampa Bay and Orlando,
and a small corporate staff was hired to
get that done.
Then in April 1997, I was offered the
job of general manager of Bay News 9, but
I soon faced a big challenge. I would be
working with a group of cable executives
who knew nothing about news or news
channels. Some were very supportive, such
as John Nix in marketing and Dave Hall in
ad sales, but most were skeptical.
When I arrived in May at a nondescript
office building on Ninth Street in north
St. Petersburg that housed Time Warner
advertising sales and a locally originated
channel, I was given a bare-bones office
with a smattering of resumes and tapes
scattered on the floor. I remember saying
to myself, “What do I do first?” I decided
to write down what I wanted this news
channel to be. The words, “employee
friendly,” “weather,” and “breaking news”
topped my list.
100 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE
Jenn Holloway, the original traffic anchor and then main anchor before going to Channel 8,
| JULY/AUGUST 2017
MEA DR ITA
Bay News 9
Changing the Face
of TV News
By Elliott Wiser
Photography by Elliott Wiser
sat at the news desk inside the original Bay News 9.
Elliott Wiser created the first
programming wheel, which still
hangs at the Bay News 9 studio.
Elliott Wiser and his daughter Ashley
posed in the unfinished Bay News 9
newsroom in June 1997.