Channel Surfing
By Laura Nachman
August 26, 2002

     It didn't take long for new KYW general manager Peter Dunn to shake things up at the third place station, as he lured 25-year WPVI veteran Marc Howard to Channel 3 to anchor the 11 p.m. news beginning in January of 2003.  Though Howard is still technically an employee of WPVI until the end of the year, he won't be seen on the air again on Channel 6.  His last newscast with longtime 5 p.m. partner Lisa Thomas-Laury was Wednesday. 
     According to a memo sent to KYW employees from Dunn, current 11 p.m. anchors Larry Kane and Denise Saunders will continue to anchor the 6 p.m. newscast in 2003.
     For Howard, this means an opportunity to be the number one guy and to escape from Jim Gardner's shadow.  Besides the newscast, he'll also host a Sunday morning talk show similar to "Inside Story" which he has hosted for 15-years on WPVI.  Another plus is that Channel 3 is walking distance for Howard from his Center City residence.
     In-house candidates for Howard's job at 5 p.m. include morning anchors Monica Malpass and Rick Williams, and weekend anchor Rob Jennings.  Long shots are 5 p.m. sports anchor Scott Palmer, who is a news anchor on weekend mornings and "Sunday Live" host Wally Kennedy.
This is not the first time that KYW has raided WPVI for talent.  A few years ago, Dave Frankel moved from Channel 6 to Channel 3.  However, Frankel's transition from weatherman to news anchor never clicked and he was released from the station.