This building on 66th Street in Pinellas Park housed Bay News 9 until the station moved
JULY/AUGUST 2017
| TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 101
to the Carillon location.
On my first day, I went to 66th Street
in Pinellas Park, where the corporate
team was busy building the original
Bay News 9 studio. I had been hired without
seeing the building. Let’s just say I was
underwhelmed on my first visit. The
building was small, and the surrounding
area was the opposite of high tech. Yet,
that building survived hurricanes, animals
in the floors and ceilings, a car crashing
through the studio wall and massive roof
leaks. In time, I would look back fondly
on 66th Street, and ironically I would
move my corporate office there in 2008.
Today, it houses the sports channel and
the infamous Klystron 9 Radar.
Convincing people to join an unknown
news channel was not easy. Many of them
turned us down, including a number
of those locally originated channel
employees. In 2006, I was asked to oversee
those channels. Those folks helped me
launch Catch 47, which later became Bright
House Sports Network.
Meanwhile, back to Bay News 9. We had
four months to hire 81 people and build a
news channel. Frenetic times were ahead.
By June of 1997, the staff had grown to
eight people. In order of hiring, those
original eight were: me, Katie Green,
Sean Carpenter, Amanda Wagner, Steve
Weitekamp, Jon Greene, Maria Steijlan,
and Lisa Clark.
When we had outgrown Ninth Street
and were ready to move to Pinellas Park at
the end of June, Weitekamp’s van carried
everything we owned in two trips. The
building was still under construction, but it
was ours. It only took four days for disaster
to strike. The building’s roof had design
issues and a summer rainstorm flooded
offices and bathrooms.
However, on July 17, we were able to hold
our first meeting in the building. We had to
decide on a name for the news channel. The
working name was Bay News 9, but some
executives were concerned that folks in
Manatee and Polk would be turned off by
the word “Bay.” A long discussion ensued,
but I held my ground. I love the name
Bay News 9, and I loved the channel 9. The
other big discussion was about weather.
Time Warner’s big news channel in New
York City, NY1, only had one weather
anchor and you never saw him. He just
talked over maps. Some folks wanted me
to follow that path, but I resisted. I wanted
a team of experienced meteorologists doing
something called “Weather on the 9s.” In
the end, I was allowed to do it my way.
Now all I needed was programming.
Bay News 9 was going to do weather six
times an hour, but what else? Developing
a program wheel was my responsibility,
but I had writer’s block. It wasn’t until
one sunset at Sand Key Beach, with a cigar
and Grand Marnier as inspiration, that I
was able to draw the first programming
wheel. That wheel still hangs on the wall
at Bay News 9.
Everyone was working long days and
nights to get ready for the launch. There
was only one problem. The automation
system that would create and play our
wheels wasn’t working. We were guinea
pigs dependent on new technology. To say it
was stressful would be an understatement.
Adding to the stress was the media. Walt
Belcher at the Tampa Tribune (which owned
Channel 8 at the time), and Eric Deggans
at the then St. Petersburg Times, were
skeptical about the need for a Bay News 9.
They kept quoting local TV news directors
and general managers who added to the
skepticism.
On September 24 at 6:59 p.m., Bay News 9
launched to 550,000 households. At the
time, we were only seen in portions of
Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk and Manatee
counties. Everyone in the building was
excited until 7:05. The technology failed us
again, and the same story, a break-in at then
Tampa Mayor Dick Greco’s home, played
repeatedly. Eventually, we created many
uses for the technology, but even during
our last days in the 66th Street building,
we were battling technology issues.
In 2005, we moved to the Carillon
location and a much larger and nicer
facility. By that time, Bay News 9 was very
popular. It took hundreds of breaking
news stories, a dozen tropical storms,
and dedicated local news coverage to
convince viewers that Bay News 9 was
the channel they needed. Today, you can
see it in doctors’ offices, restaurants, and
on your TV when you turn it on. It is
synonymous with Tampa Bay news. But
back in the summer of 1997, it was only
a few dozen Bay News 9 employees and a
handful of cable executives who believed
in the channel, even though the rest of
Tampa Bay did not.
So Happy 20th anniversary Bay News 9. 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: For more on the early
history of 24-hour local news, visit elliottwiser.
com. Elliott Wiser spent 16 years with Time
Warner and Bright House Networks. He now is
CEO of a media/marketing consulting company
called Here’s An Idea, Inc. He also teaches
graduate classes at USFSP, and has returned to
his first love – wine reviews. Visit his Facebook
page and website: thevinovinoguy.com.
The original
Bay News 9 building
survived hurricanes,
animals in the floors
and ceilings, a car
crashing through
the studio wall and
massive roof leaks.
/thevinovinoguy.com