A year later, Lisa Bien still inspiring on PHL17
In the year since Lisa Bien began appearing regularly on Channel 17’s “PHL17 Morning News,” she has established herself as unique figure on television, local or otherwise.
Bien, who will be seen today during the newscast’s 7 a.m. hour, doesn’t present stories or scout for features. Instead, she provides motivation, giving viewers tips and methods to feel positive and hopeful.
It may seem obvious to add “especially in these time of shutdown, civil unrest, and general uncertainty” to that last sentence, but Bien was involved with encouraging people to be good to themselves, and be their best selves before the pandemic or other crises emerged.
Sunday marks the first anniversary of Bien bringing her upbeat brand of morale boosting to Channel 17. She was among the first freelance specialists PHL news director Matt Toal enlisted when he sought to expand his morning show’s coverage range. She is also the one who has appeared the most often.
Her spots tend to be specific to a moment. For instance, with Thanksgiving coming up, she will speak to keeping family gatherings pleasant and to how to keep spirits high when families may feel disappointed and isolated because they can’t gather.
Though Bien has been on Channel 17 for a year, her quest to make people feel positive began with herself. To improve her own attitude and boost her own self-esteem, she went on a campaign to take stock of her positive traits while improving roadblocks that stymied her. She wrote books and, seven years ago, began hosting a talk program on Temple University Television. Her message was how to bounce back from adversity. Now it’s expanded to individuals seeing themselves and the world in a positive light that doesn’t negate the worrisome but puts it in perspective. Being on the air at Temple and Channel 17 brings Bien closer to an ambition to spread encouragement everywhere.
“One thing that happened within this year is somebody called me an ‘influencer,” Bien said. “I had to think about that because it fit in to something that became apparent to me since I’ve been on Channel 17. I have a responsibility to the audience to be positive but real.
“You look at some of the things that happened in Philadelphia this year. What do I have to say that is true but addresses a tense situation?
“It’s ‘ be polite to each other,” ‘ be tolerant.’ Words, from me and others, mean something. We have to be careful even when we’re being candid. Words are powerful, and my time on Channel 17 has shown me how to condense my thoughts to fit into a time frame so they come through clearly and in a way that lets me share my experiences, about COVID, parenting, and living (She recently indulged her family and went camping for the first time.), with the viewer and influence for the good.”
Bien said if there’s one succinct way to express her message, it’s “You have to make yourself happy and it’s in you to do it.”
She thanks Matt Toal and her mentor at Temple, Paul Gluck, for their support and says he loves her give-and-takes with “PHL17” co-anchor Demetria Green.
A different kind of Thanksgiving Parade
Channel 6 is being creative.
And making some really sour lemons into joyful lemonade.
The station realizes it cannot stage the Thanksgiving Day Parade it has produced since 1986 and aired for several years prior, so it has come up with ways to present a festive Thanksgiving program by enlisting the imagination and whimsy of its viewers.
A couple of promotions show how one can participate in a Thanksgiving morning show. One way is to decorate show boxes, essentially turning them into themed floats, as meteorologist Adam Joseph is shown doing his children. Another is to take dolls and stuffed animals and assemble them into marching brigades.
No doubt Channel 6 will think up more ways to include its fans into the Thanksgiving proceedings. So far, its ideas are smart and admirable.
Film world comes to Delaware County
Philadelphians are quite aware actor Adam Sandler is in town shooting a movie, “Hustle,” is which he plays a sports agent promoting a foreign basketball player.
Delaware County is also a filming site. The Brandywine battlefield is the setting for baritone Johnathan McCullough playing soldiers in five wars in David T. Little’s opera, “Soldier Songs.”
The producer is Opera Philadelphia, which will present the finished movie on its Opera Philadelphia Channel.
A weeklong presentation of what amounts to opera cabaret comes to Opera Philadelphia Channel on Friday, as “Lawrence Brownlee and Friends in Philadelphia” features the tenor and sopranos Sarah Shafer, Lindsey Reynolds, and Karen Slack in a concert that includes works by Mozart, Donizetti, Massenet, and Clara Schumann. The cost is $20.
Smerconish on film
A full-length program Sirius XM radio host Michael Smerconish was bringing to theaters and auditoriums before the coronavirus shut down such places has been optioned for distribution by Virgil Films, a company that previously released “We Are Columbine” and pieces about Glen Campbell and Chris Farley.
Smerconish recorded his show, “Things I Wish I Knew Before Talking” at New Hope’s Bucks County Playhouse. It will debut in virtual cinema on Friday, October 30 and on VOD and DVD on December 8. The piece begins with some biography and moves ahead to shed light on how the United States became divided and partisan.