Matt Buckler: South Windsor student wrote letters to leaders

Oct. 5—Many people think electronic mail has replaced the old-fashioned post office driven mail as the No. 1 way to communicate.

South Windsor High student Max Schwartzman, however, showed there is still value in the non-electronic variety of mail.

WTIC-TV61 reporter Elisha Machado presented an exclusive story Tuesday of Schwartzman, who sent out 186 letters to world leaders this summer for an article he was planning to write for the school newspaper.

He received 20 responses, including a hand-written response from the leader of Iceland.

It was a feel-good local story, highlighting a high school student who had a great idea and worked hard to see it through.

There was only one drawback to Schwartzman's project — it must have cost a small fortune for all the postage.

WTNH-TV8 and reporter Bob Wilson also filed an exclusive report Tuesday on the rise in the theft of flatbed trucks in the area. Those trucks make it easier for thieves to steal cars and ATM machines.

The story focused on Jay's Auto in Manchester and Jay Pitchell who recently had a truck stolen from the property.

My car has been on that truck — let's hope they recover the truck and find the culprit before my car breaks down again.

The top sports story was a no-brainer — New York Yankees star Aaron Judge breaking the American League record for home runs in a season with his 62nd blast against the Texas Rangers.

WVIT-TV30, WTNH-TV8, and WFSB-TV3 led the sports segment with Judge's homer — what else was there to lead with?

WTIC-TV61 led with Judge at 11, but without any sound bites from his post-game news conference that the other stations aired. During the 10 p.m. sportscast, however, its lead story was on head injuries in football, a segment that already had aired at 5 p.m., followed by highlights of the New York Mets.

Judge was finally mentioned at the end of the report.

Granted, as anchor Jonah Karp said, everyone already knew Judge had hit the home run.

It still was a poor example of news judgement.

As far as the YES Network, which televised the game, is concerned, play-by-play broadcaster Michael Kay deserves credit for not using his signature phrase "see ya'" during his call of Judge's homer. This was a historic moment — it didn't need to be cluttered by a catch phrase.

YES also spiced up Judge's press conference by flashing many tweets which were sent in by some very well-known people and organizations.

It showed the magnitude of what Judge had accomplished — everyone seemed to be following it.

On radio, John Sterling became very excited — but he does for every Yankees homer, regardless of who hits it.

'Frasier' followup

One of the most successful sitcoms and spin-offs of all time is about to make a comeback.

"Frasier," which won five consecutive Emmy Awards for best comedy series and a grand total of 37 Emmys, will be back in business on the Paramount + Network with Kelsey Grammer in his familiar role as a psychiatrist-turned talk-show host Frasier Crane.

None of the other regulars on the original NBC show will be in the cast, but could be available for guest appearances.

During the 11 seasons of "Frasier" on NBC, stars from "Cheers," the series in which the "Frasier" character first appeared, made guest appearances — usually whenever there was a ratings period.

Frasier will still be a radio host, but will be working from another city.

According to Deadline TV, there should be about 10 episodes in the works for the first season.

There will be new supporting cast members — but Grammer should be able to carry the load himself if he has to.

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

Follow Matt Buckler for more television, radio, and sports coverage on the JI's Twitter @journalinquirer, and see his articles on the Journal Inquirer Facebook page.