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Television executive Ron Winders was concerned about Channel 9's evening news ratings a decade ago, so he turned to the soaps for help.
When WAFB-TV's 5 p.m. newscast was finishing second to WBRZ-TV in the early 1990s, Winders, who retired as the CBS affiliate's general manager as of Dec. 31, and the station's then parent company AFLAC Inc., had a novel idea. They approached CBS about moving its top-rated soap opera The Young and the Restless from its customary 11 a.m. spot on Channel 9 to afternoons at 4 p.m. As a lead-in to WAFB's evening news, the sizzling daytime drama helped Channel 9 close ground (and eventually surpass) rival Channel 2.
Moving the soap, which routinely cleaned up a 40 percent share of all viewers in the Baton Rouge metro area, was one of several moves Winders gained acclaim for during his broadcast career.
"What it did was bring in a young female audience and feed them into the newscast," said Winders of the 5 o'clock news, which now draws a 36 percent share, according to the July 2001 Nielsen Station Index. WBRZ-TV's 5 o'clock news draws a 26 share.
"You try to give (viewers) something of interest so they'll stay with you," Winders says matter-of-factly.
When AFLAC took over the station in 1988 from former owner Guaranty Corp., it spruced up the place by sinking $2 million into the station-buying new cameras and equipment, and refurbishing the newsroom and news set. The company kept many of the on-air personalities recognizable today at WAFB, including weekend anchor and investigative reporter Paul Gates, weather personality Diane Deaton and the sincedeparted Vernon Roger. However, the station...