City Living Magazine, October ’05 issue, Power of a TeleVISION
CBS Opens Bureau in Worcester offering 24 X 7 Eyeballs to County Happenings
By Christina I. Andrianopoulos

As I walked into the new CBS4 News bureau on the 7th floor of the Sovereign Bank Building, I had a magnificent view of one of Worcester’s Hallmarks, the beautiful clock tower of City Hall. As I observed this wonder from the state-of-the-art setting of the bureau, I couldn’t help feeling as if I was gazing through a looking glass of Worcester’s past while I was on a journey into the future. This profound feeling remained with me as I was greeted enthusiastically by Julio Marenghi, President and General Manager, and Ro Dooley-Webster, Director of Communication of CBS4, UPN 38 and UPN 28 part of the CBS4 team that have been instrumental in securing its Worcester County bureau in the heart of Worcester’s downtown. I was also introduced to Ron Sanders, the reporter and news anchor, and Terry McNamara the photographer, who cover the news for this bureau.

In mid-July, 2005 CBS launched its Worcester County bureau laying claim to having their finger on the news pulse and human interest of the people of Worcester and its surrounding towns. Since the well-attended launch party, the CBS4 team has been amazed at the continued out pouring of support from civic and business leaders, and the people of Worcester. They have been embraced by the Worcester Community and stand firmly committed to being an integral part of Worcester’s evolution. CBS4 News will offer news coverage that will not only address breaking news in this region but offer up lifting community and human interest stories that highlight the many cultural and ethnic diversity that make up the tapestry of Worcester. In addition, Worcester’s economic development initiatives are news in itself for any news services. Having a presence in Worcester allows CBS4 to partner with everything that is happening and positioned to spotlight the growing medical, biotech, academic, cultural and business sectors that are instrumental in Worcester’s economic development.

Julio relayed that opening a Worcester Bureau made economic sense, since Worcester County and the surrounding areas comprised 13% of the market place for New England. Boston represented only 10%. The timing falls perfectly as well with the economic development happening in Worcester. Worcester was never neglected, but as in other major metropolis, such as NYC or San Francisco, news from Boston many times over shadowed what was happening in Worcester. In addition, Worcester’s demographics and psycho-social lifestyle and patterns of its citizens were changing too, warranting a more central “pulse point” barometer to reporting and to keep up with these changes. Entering the new millennium commuters were moving away from Boston and settling in areas such as Worcester that offered more affordable options for families. The Boston Metro hub suddenly spread out to a 90-mile radius, which covered southern New Hampshire and west of 495. To keep up with these changes CBS4 started looking at the opportunity to open a bureau in the Worcester area. Worcester was chosen due to its substantial changes and market share. The enthusiasm and being embraced as they were was an unexpected and overwhelming pleasure. Julio states, “The attention is wonderful but we are not here only to be hugged. We are here to be an intricate part of the tapestry that comprises Worcester and its diversity. Our responsibility is to report the news while also offering coverage on the great things that are occurring right in front of us.” As he continued to expound on the benefits of being in Worcester, I couldn’t help feeling the excitement overtake me knowing that we were all witnessing a milestone in Worcester’s history.

One of the most important components of the success of the Worcester bureau is reporting and the news anchor, Ron Sanders loves taking on this important role and is very excited to work with Worcester and the people and businesses. He encourages anyone to approach him and chat with him and Terry McNamara when they are on assignment or out and about. His objective is to research and draw out interesting facts that really expound on the diversity of the region’s people. Ron stated that it is his responsibility as a reporter to report breaking news, bad or good, as it is all other anchors. He adds that by living and operating close to what is happening he is able to find insights into news that would be missed by central reporting. For example, one of the news stories was reporting on the police officers that were indicted. Through his research he discovered and reported that Worcester’s police force, boasting over 450, has kept crime down to the lowest it has been in its history, way below its other sister cities of its size. He felt that this positive information about Worcester’s police force and crime rate was equally important to keeping things in perspective in this incident.

Ro Dooley-Webster, CBS4’s Director of Communications encourages individuals who have news or human interest stories to alert the Worcester team. “We want to make sure that everyone knows that we are accessible,” Ro states. She cautions that all stories may not be featured, but wants to hear about information or events that are compelling to the different segments of the population and business. It gives the Worcester team a true cross section of activities that are important to the people who live here and do business in this area. She also states that the story or news will be kept on file and Ron and his team will try to get back to the people who sent in the information to see about highlighting them in the future.

The compelling question for CBS4 of what’s after 495 was answered with the launch of its bureau in Worcester? Having a presence in Worcester for CBS4 has given them an appreciation that Worcester truly is the heart of Massachusetts. With news reporting and human interests stories they take the responsibility of partnering with Worcester as it evolves. Julio surmises, “The answer is simple. Worcester is a great city.” He continued by listing the components that make Worcester great that an outsider sees…It has a new pro baseball team, the Tornadoes, (I was told that the fastest selling branded hats in minor league baseball was the Tornados); A city that hosted the final 4 college basketball games; A city that has the largest downtown development happening in Massachusetts outside of Boston; A city that has some of the most renowned medical scientists making discoveries that affect all of mankind; A city that boasts some of the best colleges and universities in the country. Worcester is a happening place! CBS4 and its team have made a vested interest in being part of the tapestry and future growth of Worcester…the future is now and CBS4 will make sure everyone who is watching will witness it.