How Md. TV will say Happy New Year' 02

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Dec 27, 2001 by Daily Record Staff Business Writer

Wherever Marylanders are when 2001 turns into 2002, local television stations hope they are tuned in to a barrage of special New Year's Eve programming.

WJZ-TV, channel 13, for the third consecutive year, will broadcast a 90-minute special called "Baltimore's New Year's Eve Spectacular," which will feature the festivities in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

"New Year's Eve is a very interesting night," said Jay Newman, vice president and general manager of the Baltimore CBS affiliate. "A lot of people go out, but contrary to popular belief, a lot of people stay home and watch television. The response the last two years has been remarkable."

Newman said the special started out as a one-time event to ring in the millennium. But because of the number of viewers that year, the station decided to offer it again last year when it reached about 250,000 viewers.

"The response was so good last year that we decided to make it a permanent event," he said.

This year, the special, anchored by Denise Koch and Sally Thorner, will feature live coverage beginning after the station's regularly scheduled newscast. The broadcast will feature four live locations around the harbor.

"We'll have this covered from the ground and the air so people who can't make it out to the harbor can sit back in their living rooms and enjoy the festivities," Newman said.

The station, which has sponsored the downtown event for numerous years by offering free promotion, began the special programming in response to a need it saw in the local market.

"It occurred to us that a lot of people go out and party, but that's not the majority," said Newman. "Many stay home or go to small house parties. In most cities the coverage of the festivities is national. We thought, 'There's a terrific New Year's celebration in the Inner Harbor; why not put that on TV?"

Meanwhile, WMAR-TV, channel 2, Baltimore's ABC affiliate, is opting not to feature the local celebrations, instead broadcasting the ABC News special "ABC 2002," followed by "Dick Clark's Rocking New Year's Eve."

The ABC News special, which will run from 6:30 to 10 p.m., will share similarities with the 24-hour-long special that ABC aired in 2000.

In particular, it will feature New Year's Eve celebrations from around the globe. The show will include performances by music artists including U2 and Sting.

The special, live from New York's Rose Center for Earth and Science at the Museum of Natural History, will be hosted by ABC news anchor Peter Jennings and will focus on issues and events that have transpired during the past year.

Officials from WMAR did not return phone calls yesterday.

WBAL, channel 11, on the other hand, is not planning any special programming for the New Year's Eve celebration and only will feature live shots from Baltimore's Inner Harbor during "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."