BANGOR, Maine — Craig Colson never left the Bangor media market, but he says being named the new news director for Bangor TV stations WVII and WFVX feels like a homecoming.
Colson, who spent nearly 25 years working at Bangor TV station WABI, Channel 5, will back in the Bangor television news picture soon as news director and anchorman for sister stations Channel 7 and 22.
“I’ve always loved TV news. That’s what I was trained to do,” said Colson, 46. “I pretty much spent my whole adult life doing it and I thought at some point along the line I’d be back doing TV, so I’m excited about this.”
For the last 3½ years, Colson has been the news director for four Brewer-based local radio stations now owned by Townsquare Media.
Colson worked his way up from an 18-year-old photographer when he was hired by WABI-TV in 1985, to field reporter, weekend anchorman and evening-late night anchorman before being let go as part of a staff downsizing and budget-cutting move by the station in April 2009.
“I didn’t like the way things ended with my last job in TV,” Colson said. “This is kind of like a new beginning for Channel 7 news and me. It’s a great opportunity and the people there have been so welcoming already.”
Mike Palmer, general manager of WVII and WFVX, couldn’t be reached for comment, but said on the stations’ website, “We are very excited about Colson and look forward to working with him.”
Colson’s official on-air start date has not yet been determined.
“I’m going to work for radio two more weeks and help train someone to get ready,” Colson said. “I plan to start working TV on Dec. 26, and maybe start on the air in early January.”
Colson replaces Cindy Michaels, who resigned as news director and anchorwoman on the air during a newscast last month after six years with WVII-TV.
“I think this is exactly what this market needs. Competition makes everything better,” he said.
WVII has historically finished third in the local TV news market ratings. In the most recent Nielsen ratings for the Bangor Designated Marketing Area taken last July, WABI-TV ranked first in average viewers, ages 18 and older, for 6 p.m. Monday-Friday with 36,000. WLBZ-TV, Channel 2, had 20,000, and WVII-TV had 2,000. In average number of adult viewers (ages 25-54) from 6 to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday, WABI ranked first at 10,500; WLBZ at 6,300; and WVII at 500. WFVX joined the market in 2003 as a Fox affiliate and WVII’s sister station.
“They’ve struggled for a lot of years, having their little niche at No. 3 and now they want to get more competitive with the news, especially their 10 o’clock report,” Colson said of WVII. “ They’re making an investment in it. They’re serious about it, and if they weren’t I wouldn’t be interested in this position.”
Colson said he still gets comments from local viewers who tell him they miss him on TV.
“Everywhere I go I hear that. It’s not as frequent as it used to be, but I still hear it,” Colson said. “I think it’s great that people are so supportive.”
Wow, I enjoy listening to Craig and JR on the Q in the mornings driving to work…..was always disappointed that WABI canned Craig…..will be good to see him back on the TV news…..
Good for him! Welcome back, Mr. Colson.
Smart move. Craig is exactly the one to lead them to create a true competitive *local* alternative to WABI. (WLBZ and its use of Portland makes them not really *local*.)
Whats your definition of local???
Bangor.
So when u dismiss lbz it’s because it uses talent from portland? I mean wabi covers more than just Bangor
Well, d’oh. WLBZ news is just WCSH in its PORTLAND studios. Sure, Steve McKay does the weather from Bangor. He’s it. So, I’d say if the news is produced 140 miles away, it isn’t local. You mean you didn’t realize WLBZ is just a simulcast of WCSH with the little bug logos changed?
sorry David but that is not true. take a ride down mt hope ave and see for yourself.
Nobody’s home at 11 p.m.
Yes, that is my issue. They use folks from, and broadcast out of Portland . I might just as well get my info from the net than to watch folks from 200 miles away tell me about what happened in my town.
WLBZ employee’s were all over BANGOR last week collecting coats and Toys for needy children
So? That doesn’t change the fact that Gannett gutted WLBZ. There are some days WLBZ doesn’t even bother with sports. And, of course, WLBZ no longer has an 11 p.m. newscast. WLBZ’s secondary channel is nothing but a five-minute newscast from Portland that repeats over and over and over and over…
Dec. 26
WLBZ carries local news at 5-5:30, and 6-6:30. Even the Ch 6 Portland originated news shows at 5:30 and 11:00 carry extensive Bangor metro news (as well as statewide) and even uses Steve McKay for weather a lot.
I think what happens here is why doesn’t WLBZ provide news to Bangor viewers from 5:30 to 6? The other thing is like right now, WLBZ apparently has a problem with a Fiber from Bangor to Portland giving us Bangor reporting, however on any other day it seems like with the weather for example when WCSH does it and Steve is not around we get “Outside in Portland” or “the record for Portland” etc and seems to focus some of its broadcast geared towards Portland, I won’t complain in the sudden instance that everything seems to be coming from WCSH tonight but one would think each viewing area should get viewing and news of one station not another.
I don’t get Channel 2 anymore. They did something when the digital switch occurred and it doesn’t come in now.
I think if you watch from 5-6:00 or from 5:30-6:30 you get complete coverage of the entire state. I have watched all the channels and think that WLBZ and WCSH have some pretty reliable weather forecasters. I know a lot of Snowbirds who watch WLBZ & WCSH online from the South in the Fall and Winter, deployed military folks, too.
Apparently they let the guy go once already and now he trusts them!!!!!
Read the story again. Pay attention this time.
WABI let him go, not WVII.
They sure seemed local last week when they were collecting coats and toys for kids all over BANGOR at Shaw’s and Hannaford.
Much better than Cindy. She seemed very arrogant. Never cared for her
i disagree. She was quieter and more reserved, but not arrogant. She was also the best interviewer around.
yay finally glad he got it
good guy, great personality…. got me as a watcha!….and maybe Sharon Pelletier!!…. weather, the big guy, Tom Shamansky or Kerry Kinsey…. sports, Throcky .
Nice Kinsey reference!! Don’t forget Jim Bigney!
Please, Sharon Pelletier couldn’t read the teleprompter…
that’s true
Now if they can get a new weatherman, preferably located in Bangor. Their current weatherman irritates me and I have to change the channel.
I agree, local weather is needed, you are not a local station if you are outsourcing local things for someone else to do.
You are right. He is no Chris Ewing or Steve McKay.
I agree, the weather should be locally originated. However, the current out-of-towner is so much better than Jim Kosek that at least he’s tolerable.
Do you really think the “local” weathermen forecast the weather by looking out the window? They use the same compute models that out of town forecasters use…you could forecast the weather from the North Pole and come up with the same results.
Yes, I don’t miss someone standing out in the snow to report snow!
Me either. I never thought much of making the weather people stand outside in a blizzard, as if the t.v. viewers weren’t smart enough to look out the window to see what was going on, and I don’t think it shows much regard for the employees of the t.v. stations that do stuff like that to their personnel.
Maybe so, but it’s a farce when the weather guy in Pennsylvania remarks it was so cold up here he had to wear a scarf to work down there. He’s lying. That’s not good for journalists. Then there are the awkward pauses because the recording (and it is a recorded forecast) doesn’t quite align itself with the phony “banter” from the WVII anchor. And, of course there’s the obvious fact the Pennsylvania guy can’t tell you the actual current conditions around the state because God knows when he recorded his segment.
As for when the weather forecast comes from Portland, again, the “banter” and “stretch” comments pertain only to Portland, not Bangor and beyond.
Aside from those things, a local meteorologist can take into account data from this area and use it to qualify what the National Weather Service’s models are predicting.
Ric Tyler was always a fun weather-reader. Craig should invite him on board.
Hope he doesn’t.
Jim Kosik is why I started watching channel 7 news, I miss him!
He was totally annoying
Too bad they had to get rid of Tony Consiglio to do it. I like him and think he did a good job for a station that is obviously run by b-list management.
i watched 7 come on the air back in the middle 60’s…. they have been swirling the drain since for local news
He’s replacing Cindy Williams…
Michaels. Cindy Michaels.
Thank you! Yes, you are so right! I don’t watch ‘VII’ and lately seem to have developed a certain ‘mental block’, as they say. My apologies to Cindy Williams!
Funny mistake you made though, considering Cindy Williams (Shirley of Laverne and Shirley) also quit in the middle of the production of L&S and disappeared quicker than Chuck Cunningham, Oliver Brady, or the original oldest My Three Son!
Since Oliver was Carol’s nephew, his last name would not have been Brady. This is an article about the news, after all, so I thought we should keep things accurate.
Cindy Williams is also an anchor for WCSH 6…
Bangor’s ‘Cindy Williams’ is on Channel 6.
Wrong ‘Cindy’, all around. I’m not the only one not a big fan of Bangor TV News, I gather! Our ‘Cindy Williams’ is a local news anchor on Channel 6.
not really.
the channel that nobody watches?
I never watch WVII/WFVX much but maybe by hiring someone who is no stranger to viewers, that the station may actually overtime be taken a little more serious with viewing, not that I expect it to be a number one station because it does seem some reporting needs to be changed up a bit What would be a start is a set that doesn’t look like something designed from my high school “AV Club”
The Jan Smith experiment WVII did a few years ago didn’t nudge the station’s standing.
Yeah but it takes time, the right reporting, and better ways to attract an audience, I almost don’t care where I get my news from as long as it is not all one sided or Fox News style reporting. Everytime I tune to WVII it is something about that set more then anything that makes me feel like I am watching a dried out 80’s recording of a newscast. But I also used to watch Craig a lot for his time at WABI, and I hope he can do something with the 10PM newscast because I can not stand the WABI/CW at 10PM for news anymore. I just hope with it being a different time and his expertise that the station is a little more attractive for viewing.
WABI’s set looks ugly, too. Those narrow monitors remind me of the ones Walmart uses for product displays.
My thoughts exactly,I am almost waiting for ads to run in the background of the monitor during a newscast, those monitors really don’t serve much use it seems. It is like a way of saying “Hey we spent money on this and use it once a day otherwise we plaster our logo on it”
Jan stayed 2 months then moved done south when her husband got a job down there.. Jan is a professional and good at what she does.
She was at Channel 7 for more than two months.
But her “Good News Friday” thing at Channel 7 was just awful…
I only watch the 10:00 WVFX news (the sister station) since I’m too old ( :-) ) to stay up for the 11:00 news. Same cast as WVII 11:00 and pretty much the same news.
I can’t watch anyones 10PM news, and I can’t stay up to 11 anymore! I hope with the addition of Craig here that it will give me a good reason to give another try at their 10PM news.
Oh Gawd, not again!
Now if they can just replace the station manager then we are all set
Agreed.
Good move, maybe Graig wont whine and cry about a balanced approach to News and World events. Unfortunately , the station will still be horrible.
Agreed to make sure the news points in the right direction?
I think he will point the news in the left direction like a good sheep.
If you mean politically “right’, he’ll be under pressure to do that.
Yes he will with that manager.
Craig will be under some pressure to steal some viewers from 2 and 5. Good luck sir!
Keep to the news. Don’t get all folksy like Channel 5. And don’t go rogue like Fox. True journalism … just like you were taught! Congratulations, Craig! You’re perfect for this position!
maybe Channel 7 ,,,, WVII in Bangor Maine, will clean up their High Definition picture quality too….
At WVII, I think everyone goes home at 5;00 or 6:00. They’ve cleared up some of the tech problems they were having a couple of years ago, but still not the greatest. There was a time when they went to a computer to cue both taped syndicated shows and ads in the evening which resulted in botched ads, dead air, and even repeats of shows like Jeopardy since no human was minding the store.
The same thing happens with Channel 5 late at night.
A thumbs-down. Funny. I’ve had to send e-mails to WABI’s programming director, Steve Hiltz, because syndicated shows would abruptly stop and an infomercial would come on, or a syndicated show would re-start halfway through. Hiltz was nice about replying, explaining that the system was automated and that shows and commercials are not packaged nicely on a tape and simply played through. In the last year and a half, “Family Guy” has had the same episode run on back-to-back nights on a few occasions. No matter what the station, and regardless of whether a computer switches the tape machines on and off for shows and commercials, somebody needs to be paid to catch the computer glitches.
I got an email from the station 2 years ago apologizing for a similar error, told me in the email measures were taken so it will never happen again, yet it seems it happens more frequently.
How about “TMZ” not airing when it’s supposed to late at night? That has happened too many times for me to count.
channel 5 liberlism at it’s best, Plese don’t make tabloid like you had it over at 5 Craig
Channel 5 , liberal??? Not really.
Conservative spelling at its best!
So That is what you got out of the comment.. Very Good.. P.S. I am a Democrat, Just not a liberal..
No you aren’t. Nothing you say or do leans left it all goes right. At least be honest with yourself.
Kind of like that old poster darkcat33 that was a staunch tea party republican but claimed he was an independent.
He is certainly better looking than the last one they had!!
How shallow !
Can Lainie come back too? I miss both Craig and Lainie. Are they still together? Not that it is any of my business lol…good luck Craig. I’ll be watching.
Lanie Witt? God no. She was awful. She never appeared to know what she was doing.
And I don’t think Colson is a good anchor, either. He had a habit on Channel 5 of adding unprofessional comments such as “Good for him,” “We wish them success” after a story ran.
Yes, saying those things is unprofessional for a journalist. As I used to tell my mother, “What’s he going to say when that person is caught for stealing or something?”
Never watch Ch 5 I thought is was off the air!
Congratulations, Craig. Well done.
Now I will watch Channel 7 news – great addition!
Awesome, I may be switching the news I watch.
Hope they start at 4:30 a.m. or they won’t get me, if they do I’ll give ’em a shot
it’s about time someone put Craig back on tv – channel 5 has replaced almost all of it’s people and they look like a college station instead of what i’ve been used to.
That is pretty much where they get their talent now, out of college, less money. A couple of their anchors are still fine, but a lot of times I can not watch WABI, and the 10PM news makes my ears bleed
I spoke with the station manager the other day about the news they have put on( let me rephrase that) i left a message for him, still no return call a week later. I was told by staff that answered the phone, good luck in getting a return call at all
Good move Craig is very good as a news anchor
Time for Sharon Pellietier to join Craig Colson and I will switch to WVII
Awesome! WABI did him dirty and I hope he gets sweet revenge by dipping into their ratings. I, for one, will be tuning in for sure! Congrats, WVII and Craig.
Congratulations Craig! Good to have you back on the air! We’ve missed seeing you. Never been sure why WABI canned you and not the other guy…. but, here we are and you have a new opportunity to bring Bangor the news. With you at the helm, I trust that you will be able to help improve the station and raise it’s place in the market. Looking forward to it!
Wow, those Neilsen ratings astound me. It amazes me how few people watch the news and weather now. Today when you mention a certain news story or an impending storm people look at you like you are a mystic pulling that information right out of thin air. I mentioned Syria at the store the other morning and one guy thought it was the voice that keeps track of your appointments on an iPhone.
Today’s kids don’t have a clue. When my kids were in grade school we would make a game out of reading the newspaper articles to each other while waiting for the school bus to pick them up. They always knew what had happened recently. They still mention it to this day.
I always thought Craig and his father are great newsmen. I stopped watching WABI news when they let Craig go. I’ll be looking for him come January!
I didn’t care for Don Colson, either. Folksy, “good for him” reporting is dangerous in journalism, because there’s a suggestion of bias, not to mention outright embarrassment if the “him” later gets into trouble with the law. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some similar asides made in a story involving Bob Carlson. The elder Colson oftened mumbled.
The really bad part about Don Colson’s tenure was the ridiculous last newscast he anchored. There was actually a bleacher in the studio with Penobscot County Sheriff Glenn Ross and other local dignitaries and public figures. A truly serious journalist would have said “No way” to having an audience like that, because it calls your objectivity into question on every story you ever did involving those people.
Great news for local Bangor news. Congrates to Craig! What a shot across the bow of TV5 revenue as well as WLBZ, which I feel is very ripe for someone everyone really loved and enjoyed doing the local news who actually had INSTITUTIONAL/REGION memory. So we don’t see the same local flavor spots for the millionth time. And besides that. TV2 and TV5 are so boring………………………………….yawning……….
Fox news is still fox news no matter who delivers it. He’ll probably fit in well there.
Speaking of presenting the news. I do wish someone would advise the young lady who delivers the noon time news on channel 5 to stop presenting the news with her hands. It’s distracting and annoying.
That reminds me — Channel 7 needs to ditch the laptop computers on the anchor desk. It makes it look like the anchors are delivering the news between Facebook posts.
Great News for Craig and our market. Maybe just maybe, Craig will be able to focus on real investigating journalism & reporting instead of touch and go. Example is Fox 5 in NYC, what a great news teams and deliverance They seem to cover all the bases. Also, The sports on the other networks only believe in football, basket, base and soccer ball. No one ever reports who the heavy weight boxing champion is an who his next opponent is ? Same as wrestling or the state champion. The same with
horse racing and horse events/shows. There is a wide spectrum and its wide open as no one else thinks that the viewers, are interested but many are. Recently we went downtown Bangor and found several new business’s that we were not aware that were there and open. Someone needs to keep the viewer informed and I think Craig and his team may do just that. Hoping so, so we will be watching and will bid farewell to 5 as they have become stagnant and offer nothing, anymore.Young kids as reporters, don’t always work as weather folks with nasal or speaking delivery issues, do not either. Good Luck Craig.
“Maybe just maybe, Craig will be able to focus on real investigating journalism & reporting instead of touch and go.”
Not going to happen. Maine’s news media seem loathe to do anything that would require actually investigating an issue to any appreciable depth. And let’s be realistic here: The Bangor market is backward when it comes to scoops — the television stations quite often report on stories the Bangor Daily broke a day or two before.
He looks real pretty.
GREAT PICKUP, THIS IMMEDIATELY MAKES YOU RELEVANT….TONY AND CINDY WHO??
WABI’s morning show is so stiff compared to WLBZ, but I do flip it over to watch the weather as the southern Maine station doesn’t focus enough on central Maine’s weather. The local ABC station has never had it going.
Craig got stiffed along with a bunch of other veterans 4 years ago at WABI and their station hasn’t been as good as a result. His dad was too much though. That late mid-life leather Bush flying jacket was ridiculous.
Weather is the best on WABI, they put a lot of resources into it and it shows. For WVII to reach that quality, they will too need to put some $$$ where the weather is.
We in Maine love to know what the weather forecast is.
Because i enjoy gossip as much as the next person does, does anyone know why he was let go from WABI? Is he still married to Lanie Witt?
No, he is not.