Matt Buckler: Debt forgiveness a major story on local newscasts

Aug. 25—The state's late local newscasts all agreed on one thing Wednesday — that student loan debt forgiveness is a big deal. Considering that the state has $17.5 billion dollars in student debt, the station had to figure that a lot of viewers would be interested in it.

WFSB-TV3 reporter Christian Colon had more details than anyone else, assembling a solid picture of what the proposal is all about.

All stations did a good job of stressing the positive — that people who need the help the most are going to get it — while stressing the negative — people who paid off their loans without any help from the government claim the proposal is unfair while Republicans who oppose the bill claim it's a pre-election stunt that will hike inflation.

Students, however, who can save up to $20,000, only care about one kind of inflation — the inflation of their bank accounts.

WTNH-TV8 reporter Bob Wilson disclosed an interesting fact about Bradley International Airport — it ranks sixth in the nation in canceled flights.

That was a distressing stat, but it probably has more to do with New England weather than anything else.

No one likes the inconvenience of a canceled flight — but at least you can hang out at Teletheater until the flight is ready to go.

Wednesday, several stations reported that the Republican candidate for governor, Bob Stefanowski, lost the nomination on the Independent Party ticket, losing in a tie-breaker. He quickly announced he may take legal action against the party because the tie-breaking vote was against the party by-laws.

Everyone had that story Wednesday except for Channel 8 — political reporter Jodi Latina had the story on Tuesday.

Tuesday, WTIC-TV61 reported on the four-way battle for quarterback on the UConn football team without telling us the names of the players involved. Channel 3 sports reporter Joe Zone, however, plugged up that void Wednesday when he showed us the names of the four players on the UConn roster.

It's good to know who the four players are for one reason — if the season opener against Utah State gets nasty Saturday, all four might get in the game.

Giddish gone

When it comes to "Law & Order" series, cast departures are nothing new. Viewers have grown accustomed to them. The spokes may change on the show, but the wheel keeps rolling.

The latest casting change, however, is different — it took people by surprise.

The actress getting ready to walk away is Kelli Giddish, who has been with the series for 12 seasons.

Her character, Detective Amanda Rollins, will hit the exit ramp at some time during the upcoming 24th season.

"I wanted to address the chatter I've seen online and let everyone know this will be my last season on "Law & Order,"" Giddish said in a statement to TV Line.

Giddish will start the season, but will be retired by the time it ends.

Before she leaves, however, Giddish is expected to be part of a crossover special among NBC's three "Law & Order" series.

Apparently, following that crossover, it will be a good time to say goodbye.

'Cinderella' slump

The 25th anniversary of ABC's "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella" Tuesday was treated with viewer neglect. It was watched by only 1.5 million viewers, about 58 million fewer viewers than watched the original in 1997.

More people watched the reunion show — 1.01 million — than the actual presentation. Perhaps those 60 million viewers turned into pumpkins.

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Matt Buckler is television and radio editor of the Journal Inquirer.

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