Chris Stover

Maybe it’s the water.

In my undying attention to detail, I’ve noticed that personalities just keep leaving CBS3.  Here’s my analysis.

It began last summer when veteran reporter Marge Pala, who mostly covered Delaware, decided to leave.   Then, in November, veteran anchor Marc Howard (who made the switch from6ABC a few years back) retired without much notice.  Next, Alycia Lane decided to punch a cop in New York City, getting her contract terminated in December.

I learned the day before it happened that legendary reporter Dick Standish would also be collecting social security.  To be trendy, yesterday, Tom Lamaine gave his final forecast on CBS3.  And, to follow true Standish tradition, legendary reporter Robin Mackintosh will be retiring this summer.

That’s a loss of six people within one year (five voluntarily).  They’ve picked up about four in that time, also.  But we should expect similar things to happen in the next few years.

Since Philadelphia broadcasting is an obsession among many in the area (hence…this post), most broadcasters seem to get comfortable reporting here.  Therefore, they never leave.

But all these people mostly started around the same time.  Or they’ve been around long enough to be graced with the adjective “legendary,” as proved by this post.  And we’ve reached the tipping point - the point where they all retire very close to each other.

So in a news town like Philadelphia, it’s easy to get attached to people, and it’s hard to see them go.  But at least we had them in the first place, right?

Besides…all this means is more jobs for me!  But that’s neither here nor there.