Fox29’s Rohrer feels a little bit of luck behind the camera
Bill Rohrer is the first to call himself “lucky.”
In an age of barely distinguishable cookie-cutter newscasts that display little personal enterprise, Rohrer, a photographer for Channel 29, has license to roam the Delaware Valley looking for human interest stories, mostly about ordinary people who have achieved remarkable things and turn them into packages Fox 29’s “Ten O’Clock News” airs in sequence on regularly scheduled special programs called “In Focus.”
The next batch airs Friday and Saturday.
“In Focus” was a great surprise to me the first time I saw it. The critical comments about local newscasts are mine, not Rohrer’s. I find most shows formulaic and wonder, often, why, with up to 10 hours of news time every day, stations lack variety and personality. Frankly, the blandness has made me watch local news more to keep up with this column than to glean information or pay close attention to much more that the weather report.
“In Focus” made me sit down, stay with Channel 29 instead of madly flicking through the newscasts as usual and appreciate what Rohrer was doing.
I didn’t even know Rohrer was responsible. I saw something different in tone, content, and voice than I’d seen anywhere, Channel 3’s Vittoria Woodill excepted.
I caught three stories, and they were all fresh, simple, without gimmick or self-consciousness, and open to letting the people features be themselves and express who they are, what they’re doing, and why they do it in a way that told me everybody was having a good time and free to relate to the camera in a warm, inviting way.
One keynote of “In Focus” pieces was enthusiasm.
Talking a Bill Rohrer, a native of Feasterville, now living with his wife and daughters in West Chester, I see why.
Rohrer is audibly excited about what he does, loves the people he features, and cognizant that he has been given a unique role in today’s newsroom structure.
You can hear the happiness and passion in his voice. You know immediately why people open up to him the way “In Focus” segments reveal they do.
“In Focus” is Rohrer’s beat. He wanders the streets of the region keeping a lookout for unusual characters, collects stories others tell him about people doing interesting things, especially in sports, another’s of Rohrer’s passions, and spends time with his subjects before picking up his camera and beginning his shoot.
Rohrer has the luxury to work on three stories a week. These pieces are banked and the best appears on “In Focus.”
This anomaly of enterprise began as enterprise.
A news photographer, Rohrer wanted to expand his knowledge of the field and the possibilities it opens to tell stories. On “In Focus” segments, you hear Rohrer’s voice, but you never see him or a reporter.
The National Press Photographers Association holds seminars in storytelling throughout the country, but the two main sessions are in Oklahoma and Texas.
“The Oklahoma seminar explores the ins and outs of photography,” Rohrer said. “The Texas classes go into advanced storytelling.” Rohrer wanted to attend the classes, but they are expensive and up to the photographer, in most cases, to pay his way.
“I looked for someone to go with me, to split at least a hotel room, but I had no takers, wanted to take these seminars, and went on my own,” Rohrer said.
Dividends came immediately. While in San Antonio, with his camera, Rohrer happened upon Barry Smith, age 90, who collected toilet seats. Smith would decorate the toilet seats and put them on display at this home.
“Smith’s painted toilet seats are now a popular tourist attraction in San Antonio,” Rohrer says.
“The story was irresistible. And Smith was great. I asked one question, and he went off for a halfhour telling about where he finds the seats, how he thought to paint them, and the public interest in them.
“This piece was done on the cuff with not tracking and little production aside from editing. I wanted to show the producers at Fox 29 what I was up to, so I sent the package to Erik Smith (once chief photographer at 29, now news operations manager). Just so he could take a look at it and get an idea of what I had in mind to do.
“Erik showed it to Jim (Fox 29 news director Jim Driscoll), and next thing I know it’s on the air at 5 p.m.
“When I returned to Philadelphia, interest was high. I was assigned to do a piece a month. That became two pieces a month, then one a week. Now I’m out every day and produce a piece three times a week.”
“In Focus” spots I’ve seen deal with entrepreneurs of a modest but successful kind, people who do great things with food, and, of course, sports, particularly kids and sports. It’s good to know someone is on the prowl looking for these positive, unusual stories and capturing them so entertainingly. In addition to paying attention wherever he goes, Rohrer says he gets ideas from newspaper articles, TV spots, and messages to his Facebook page. In addition to sports, Rohrer says he is drawn to dance, for one reason because it’s so visual and plays so well on the camera. His daughter’s, Lily, soon to be age 9, and Emily, 6, also inspire him.
“I want them to see stories about people who give their all to pursue what they love,” Rohrer said. “That way, they and other children will know that doing what you love and getting what you want is possible. My daughters inspire me, and I want to inspire them.
Stories and people have been the staple of both newscasts and literature from time immemorial. Rohrer says his decision is based on the characters he finds.
He also spends time to build a rapport, so that people will be as talkative as Smith once the camera rolls.
“People are intimidated by a camera, especially a television camera. Rather than speak to them with a big piece of equipment on my shoulder, and while I’m fussing with sound levels, and other technical things, I spend an hour having a general conversation. You know, get to know them as they’re getting to know me. That way, when we’re talking, they’re not distracted by all the stuff I’m fiddling with. The burden is on me to keep clean shots, record clean sound, and keep things animated while following what the people are saying and forming comments, questions, and thoughts, that will elicit m more. “
So far, Rohrer has been a voice on “In Focus” segments. The absence of a reporter may be one of the elements that denotes them as so different.
Rohrer says he is not bucking to get in front of the camera but might, someday, want to ease into a reporter’s role. He cites Channel 29 senior sports anchor, Tom Sredenschek, as a model of someone who worked for years behind the scenes and moved to the commentator’s role later in his career.
“Tom is a mentor. Remember how much I love sports. He has been a great guide in addition to being a great guy.”
Rohrer gives a lot of credit to his alma mater, Neshaminy High School, in inspiring his career and helping him learn some basics. He was graduated from college in 2001 and says it seems like yesterday.
The Royal Wedding
Channel 10 is among local stations sending a reporter to Saturday’s wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. News anchor Jacqueline London will cover.
Shirleen Allicot, once at Channel 6, and now at its New York sister station, will offer reports to both stations.
Channel 29 will rely on reports from Fox correspondents. No word yet from Channel 3.
Binging time of year
Every year for the last six, Comcast, via its handy X1 box, offers subscribers a Watchathon, opening up hours of programming to people to sample and binge. This year’s Xfinity Watchathon, held in April even included DogTV, an outlet that lets you take in canine antics.
The Watchathon certainly drew a crowd. Xfinity reports viewed watched 105 million hours of television, a record-breaking amount, 30 percent higher than the 2017 total.
For me, the fun is finding out which shows garnered the most viewers.
The Top Ten, in order, are HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” ABC’s “Roseanne,” Showtime’s “Homeland” (my favorite series in its prime), Showtime’s “Billions” (an upcoming binge for sure), HBO’s “The Sopranos,” HBO’s “Westworld,” Starz’s “Outlander,” AMC’s “The Waling Dead,” Showtime’s “Shameless,” and Fix’s “Empire.”
Next time Xfinity has a Watchathon, give a look to a series that has come back to its best quality this season, AMC’s “The Americans.”