WBOC Anchor Quits

2gigch1

2gigch1

Well-known member
I know we have a lot of WBOC alumni here; this just came in on DCRTV:

Anchor Turmoil At 16 - 2/24 - News Blues sheds more light on the sudden removal of news anchor Steve Summers earlier this week at Salisbury MD's Channel 16/ WBOC. "Twenty minutes before the 6 PM news, (Summers) got up from his cubby, said something to the effect that he had 'enough of this sh*t,' stormed out of the station, got into his car and drove off. About 10 to 15 minutes later, he returned, walked down to the studio and started putting on his microphone." Adds NB: "That's when GM Rick Jordan intercepted him and peacefully escorted him out of the building. It was amazing to see how quickly the station pulled his promos and other WBOC connections off the air, and how they altered the news shows on the fly that evening." Summers joined WBOC in 1988.....

Wow!
 
Summers

As a WMDT alumni the rumor was that Mr. Summers was bi-polar and that he was prone to random outbursts. I was watching the newscast and they didn't mention his deparure until half way through the show which seemed kind of odd.
 
wow

I was at wmdt for a few years, this is very surprising!!! He's been at wboc forever. I wonder if it was one big problem or years of little problems. There have been a few big changes in that market with Kelly Rouse leaving WMDT after decades of being there as well.

*EDIT: I just saw on WBOC's website that it looks like Kelley Rouse left 47 to go there. I know 47's senior photog went there too. Exodus?
 
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Yeah with Mark and Kelly gone there is no one there to train the reporters or the photogs. There is not a soul in the newsroom with more than three years experience. Its a shame cause Mark was a great photographer.
 
Bound to happen. I would say it was a deep-seated emotional problem aggravated by the litany of typical news frustrations. On his good days, he was allright. He would bend over backwards towards visiting anchor/reporters.

But: He also had a bottle of Chloriseptic (sp?) for an emotional crutch. He was definately obsessive, though.

As for "they didn't mention his deparure until half way through the show", I'm guessing it didn't cross the wires until then!! I'm sure ch16 will do a story on it once they read it in tomorrow's newspaper.


BTW: How bizarre that I happened to be wearing my WBOC sweatshirt today! Well, off to buy lottery tix......
 
2gigch1 said:
"Twenty minutes before the 6 PM news, (Summers) got up from his cubby, said something to the effect that he had 'enough of this sh*t,' stormed out of the station, got into his car and drove off.
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Okay…and this was different from any other night how?

goon said:
As a WMDT alumni the rumor was that Mr. Summers was bi-polar and that he was prone to random outbursts.
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Being bi-polar implies that half the time he was happy. And the outbursts weren’t random. He just hated incompetents. Basically, having Summers as an anchor/producer was the equivalent of having Dyckerson in the same role.

salty dog said:
I just saw on WBOC's website that it looks like Kelley Rouse left 47 to go there. I know 47's senior photog went there too.
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Kelly left ‘cause she’s dating Uncle Charlie, got it? As far as Mark goes (great shooter but better human being), puppie, Mark worked for WBOC BEFORE working at WMDT. I know because I was there for it. GD I’m old!!!

Kut Masta Kurt quoting from Suck-Ass News Blues said:
It was amazing to see how quickly the station pulled his promos and other WBOC connections off the air, and how they altered the news shows on the fly that evening.
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I got from a very, very, very reliable source that the station knew well ahead of time what was going to happen. Hence, the immediate yankage of all Summerage promotions. Steve promised not to make a big deal of leaving (it wasn’t all his decision) but those snakes made it sound like he did something wrong.

Don’t get me wrong, Homes could be a total ass sometimes. But if you were on his good side, you were set.
 
focusthis said:
Bound to happen. I would say it was a deep-seated emotional problem aggravated by the litany of typical news frustrations. On his good days, he was allright.
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Dude, I totally thought his departure was going to be like the end of “Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid”. Steve shooting his way out and me re-loading for him.

focusthis said:
How bizarre that I happened to be wearing my WBOC sweatshirt today!
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Andrew, I thought you would be the first to cast out a Steve Summers story. I’ll admit that I ended a legacy. Long ago, when Steve moved to Stinktown, he left a couch in the possession of Jon ****N as in Nancy, M as in Mary**. The tradition was when someone moved away, they’d have to give the couch to a WBOC employee. Since I’m an old bastard, it was bequeathed to me. Well, when I left, no one wanted it. So, it’s still in storage.

I guess I should view it as Obi-Wan Kanobi watching over Luke Skywalker. If anyone wants it, they can come and pick it up.
 
Being bi-polar implies that half the time he was happy. And the outbursts weren’t random. He just hated incompetents. Basically, having Summers as an anchor/producer was the equivalent of having Dyckerson in the same role.

Being bi-polar does not mean that half the time you are happy. It means that you peak out with really off-the-wall crazy days and then cycle down to total depressed, sometimes bed-ridden days.

On manic days, these people cannot be pleased. Everything must be done their way and in their time. The other person's competence has nothing to do with it. They are prone to sudden outbursts and sometimes violence, with little or no provocation. They must control EVERYTHING! They also tend to have excessive behaviors like shopping, exercise, or cleaning. They take bizarre risks because they feel invincible and they are ALWAYS in the right. It is not hormone related, but one way to think of it is as the PMS roller coaster x 100.

Unfortunately, most doctors tend to treat the depression, but not the manic side of this disease. It is the manic side that alienates their family and friends. It can make their family's lives a living hell. If you want a good story sometime, follow one of these people through a cycle or two over a few months (off their medication, even better). Talk to their family, employers, etc. I grew up with a bi-polar family member. It's almost like living with Jekyll and Hyde, but mostly Hyde.

Apologies to anyone on here who may be bi-polar, but this is the truth from the outsider's perspective.
 
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Dirge: The fabled Black Couch of Salisbury??


Steve was entertaining to watch. The kind of guy you hit the Caps Lock key on his computer just to piss him off. Even that would start the cycle of checking everything around his desk. I agree, if he was happy with you, all was Kosher.

Anyone ever make it to his OC home? The one with the fishing hole?

Whatever happened to Duck*****?

Are there still WBOC billboards that will need changing? I hear the faces aren't painted on, more like extra large Post-Its they just tear off!


/a bit of a H8R
//spent my 'BOC check on booze
///more like a two-year TV grad school
 
focusthis said:
Dirge: The fabled Black Couch of Salisbury??
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Oh no, not that couch! J If I had that one; it would be prominently displayed in my living room. I’d also have a web site dedicated to it. I wonder who has that now. That has a lot of history in/on it (live autographs and painted hand prints you pervs).

focusthis said:
The kind of guy you hit the Caps Lock key on his computer just to piss him off.
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I remember when J. Jensen found out what Summers’ password was, then logged on and changed it. Summers was fit to be tied!

focusthis said:
Whatever happened to Duck*****?
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She is working for the State of Delaware making big ducats (sorry) whipping up news releases for DUI/seatbelt checkpoints. Still the same old sweetheart she’s always been.

The Wonderful Birdy said:
It means that you peak out with really off-the-wall crazy days and then cycle down to total depressed, sometimes bed-ridden days.
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That’s the crux of it…there was no cycle. He was always grumpy. He’d go to the drive through and come back yelling, “That guy in front of me was an idiot!!! I swear to God, if I’d had my gun I would have shot him!” He’d never go into detail; but I’ve never experienced such strife getting fast food.

Oh my God, there are a million and one Summers stories.
 
Dirge, sorry about the psychiatric lesson, but that comment caught me on a day when I happened to be dealing with one of that family member's episodes.
 
My Father

Hi my is Garrett and I have just recently found out how much attention my father's career choices bring him. Not that I care much to know how other people think about my FATHER Steve Summers who's family I have never met in the 21 years of my life. Did anyone else know that he had a 21 year old son or am I the only one?
 
If mood disorder is behind this he should head off to his physician and see what help is available.

It would be a shame to throw away such a long career at one place.

Hope things go better for Mr Summers
 
Try again...he was fired from WHIO also..

Ironic, not long after the last post was made. See, I'm trying to locate the previous anchors and such of WHIO, it isn't easy.

Basically, according to the Cincinnati Dayton Media blog, Summers had two incidents(at least) with his new gig. One was leaving the station without permission(gee, that happened before lol), the other happened on the air with their new HD feed. I guess Parker Vision isn't the best thing for a hot mic, but it caught him saying "I need to take a piss" and when the weather guy Rich Wirdzek was calilng for more snow in April(2007), Steve said a real soft "Sh*t". Both are supposedly things that were heard on air. I'll have to see if he has the archive of this. He allegedly had many different run ins with many different people there. I just wonder where the heck he went and if anybody was dumb enough to hire him. He probably needs to be on Social Security with his problem.
 
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