Jan. 12: Sniglets On Bernie Madoff and the Good and Bad Of WTVJ

By Sylvia Gurinsky

To paraphrase the Monopoly card, Bernie Madoff should go to jail....go directly to jail.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hnkPe640MG8WMCAvAwv5GqtqxsOAD95LOUO00

The many people and charitable organizations who have lost livelihoods certainly won't agree with Judge Ellis. He had a chance to take a paddle to Madoff, but shook a finger instead. Shame on him.

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Note to all reporters covering the local protests over the Israel-Hamas conflict: Watch your words.

Steve Litz of WTVJ-Channel 6 in Miami blew it in his coverage of local Jewish community rallies yesterday. He mentioned he had spoken to local supporters of the Palestinian community who had called Israel terrorists for going into Gaza.

First of all, that's loaded language in this community, which has close to a million Jews. Second, he didn't get anyone on the air from the Palestinian community, for any comments. At the very least, he could have gone to local representatives of Arab-American groups, or to local mosques. And if they wouldn't comment on camera, he should have said so.

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Finally, so long to Tony Segreto after 40 years at WTVJ.

Segreto is a rare breed, a South Florida native who stayed and made good. WTVJ has been his only professional home, first as a sportscaster for so many years and finally as a newscaster.

He excelled at both - who can forget the early morning of Aug. 24, 1992, the day Hurricane Andrew blew into town - but will likely be remembered most for sports because his station's sportscasts were truly "must-see TV" in an era before South Florida had four professional sports teams. Segreto's sportscasts were major league in every way.

Here's a link to a curio: Segreto tossing to pioneer sportscaster Jane Chastain for a story about basketball:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbPWkLsfumU

Segreto also has a strong involvement in the community, with membership and participation in organizations as diverse as Gilda's Club, the Make-a-Wish Foundation and the Dan Marino Foundation.

Here's to you, Tony.