{"id":5694,"date":"2025-06-22T16:52:13","date_gmt":"2025-06-22T16:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/5694\/"},"modified":"2025-06-22T16:52:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T16:52:13","slug":"neal-zorens-broadcast-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/5694\/","title":{"rendered":"Neal Zoren’s Broadcast Media"},"content":{"rendered":"

The late Orien Reid enjoyed conversation.<\/p>\n

And it wasn\u2019t confined by where to get the best prices on food, commodities and household goods.<\/p>\n

A natural doer, an instinctive leader, and a person who lived the usual parallel lives as a professional, a wife, a daughter, a mother, and consumer, Orien\u2019s talk was wide-ranging.<\/p>\n

She was open about what was happening in her life, shared a lot of information and insights, and said what she learned or concluded from them.<\/p>\n

For some reason, as I write this, I hear Orien saying, \u201cThus and so,\u201d a phrase with which she punctuated points she was making.<\/p>\n

To the public, Orien Reid was a consumer reporter, who pored over ads and trooped through multiple supermarket aisle to tell her listeners and viewers where they could get the best prices on items the need and use everyday.<\/p>\n

My grandfather, who was an entrepreneur in food retailing, once said he went into the food business because customers have to buy it fresh on a constant and regular basis.<\/p>\n

Orien Reid would do the research to tell shoppers how they could save $6, $7, $8 a week, which in the years she was most active, the \u201970s into the \u201990s, that was a useful amount of money.<\/p>\n

I had the pleasure of seeing and working with Orien every day while we both were at Channel 10 and visited with her at her Laverock home after that.<\/p>\n

To people who knew her, she was always warm and gracious.<\/p>\n

That didn\u2019t mean she didn\u2019t have strong opinions she would happily let you know. It meant that all was conversational and part of a reasoned, civil discussion.<\/p>\n

She could make her case or tell her point of view while not demeaning yours or by explaining clearly how she arrived at herconclusion instead of arguing.<\/p>\n

Oh, Orien could become fiery if she couldn\u2019t get a crew to accompany her to stores to do her consumer spots on the evening newscasts or if anything impeded her getting what she wanted done when she wanted it \u2014 she was determined to get things done efficiently \u2014 but generally she chatted easily in the distinctive voice all Delaware Valley radio listeners or TV viewers would recognize with an introduction.<\/p>\n

Even when she was insistent or standing her ground, she was what would complimentarily in her time be referred as a lady.<\/p>\n

One of her colleagues at Channel 3, reading a simple, \u201cR.I.P. Orien\u201d I posted on Facebook, wrote \u201cWhat a sweetheart,\u201d and I think that denotes Orien perfectly.<\/p>\n

\"OrienOrien Reid in an undated photo.<\/p>\n

Orien did not start out to be a broadcaster.<\/p>\n

She went to school in Atlanta, a city that would figure into various segments of her life, and earned a degree in social work.<\/p>\n

That led to working primarily with children, particularly adolescents.<\/p>\n

One of her last jobs in counseling was with the School District of Philadelphia. After her broadcast career, Orien used her knowledge in social work, psychology and leadership to work with several organizations, many times as a member of the organization\u2019s board.<\/p>\n

Orien became prominent on the air when she arrived at KYW Newsradio, then with its catchy 1060 jingle, in 1972.<\/p>\n

As noted before, her voice was immediately recognizable, and she developed a following by comparing prices, especially for food, and advising on how to deal with contractors and others working in your house.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t long before Orien was invited to bring her reports to television. In 1973, she joined KYW-TV Channel 3, and was part of the station\u2019s glorious Camelot era, one of the most august in Philadelphia broadcast history, a time when Channel 3 was defining local news while \u201cAction\u00a0News\u201d was catching fire at Channel 6 and Channel 10 was struggling some before the arrivals of Larry Kane at its anchor desk and Steve Cohen as general manager.<\/p>\n

Orien would arrive at Channel 10 about the same time Kane did in 1979 and be part of that station\u2019s renaissance as a powerhouse news outlet.<\/p>\n

Channel 10 never reached the heights Channel 3 did in its Camelot days, and could never catch up with Channel 6 in ratings, but in Cohen\u2019s era, through the \u201980s, it built one of the strongest and most enterprising news departments the market has known.<\/p>\n

The period between 1972 and 1992, which includes the inception of Channel 29\u2019s newscast, was the richest time for news the Philadelphia market has known.<\/p>\n

The stations, still in a three-channel world in terms of average viewing and not competing yet with cable outlets or streamers, competed fiercely to see which team could find and break stories.<\/p>\n

The tone of each newscast was urgent and journalistic as opposed to today\u2019s easy, breezy, and I think, bland and commonplace style of delivery.<\/p>\n

The anchors and reporters seemed more involved with news and how it is presented than the on-air folk of today.<\/p>\n

There seemed to be less attention to press releases and more from what you could learn while at City Hall, police or school headquarters, and from cultivated sources.<\/p>\n

Reid was part of that expertise, part of that quest to find information unique to her broadcast. She knew her topic thoroughly. She researched profusely.<\/p>\n

She could tell what she knew and what she recommended in understandable terms with grace.<\/p>\n

If Philadelphia television had a Golden Age, Orien was an integral part it.<\/p>\n

She became instantly known for doing what she did, far more than any other consumer reporter. She also did the groundwork and set the standard for consumer reports, just as her colleague, Cherie Bank did, for medical reporting, and Herb Denenberg did for a different kind of product and service.<\/p>\n

Orien presented herself as well as she presented the information she organized and indexed. Tailored to the nth degree and with good taste, she set as much a standard for grooming on television as she did for reporting.<\/p>\n

Along with doing newscasts, Orien spoke to groups and gatherings about how to get the most for your money with retailers and contractors.<\/p>\n

She also had a personal life and took a great interest in caring for the people closest to her.<\/p>\n

When her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer\u2019s disease, which would later afflict Orien, she put the same copious energy she used in compiling her reports to learning about Alzheimer\u2019s and becoming active in Alzheimer\u2019s organizations.<\/p>\n

By the time Orien was rising in national leadership roles for the Alzheimer\u2019s Association, I was involved in nonprofit development, and we had many discussions about how charities operate and how to maximize their effectiveness.<\/p>\n

Using her communications skills, her knack for leadership, and penchant for doing things thoroughly and \u201cnow,\u201d Orien became the national chair of the Alzheimer\u2019s Association, a high honor.<\/p>\n

She was the first woman and first African-American to hold that post.<\/p>\n

Orien was a tireless advocate for her cause, speaking throughout the country and beyond to raise awareness of and funds for a malady with which she would eventually have to cope.<\/p>\n

I remember the time when Orien cared for her mother and her telling me about the odds leaning towards her also contracting Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Orien\u2019s Channel 10 colleague, Ren\u00e9e Chenault-Fattah, produced a telling 2019 documentary, \u201cOur Right Mind,\u201d about Orien and her wide-range experience as an advocate for and a person living with Alzheimer\u2019s. It was at one time available on Netflix.<\/p>\n

It rankles me that I can\u2019t remember exactly when Orien left Channel 10.<\/p>\n

I know she was with the station at the time in switch affiliations with Channel 3 and became NBC-owned after 45 years of being CBS-owned, so it was after 1995 that she left regular appearances on the air.<\/p>\n

At that point, all of her talents and experience merged, and Laverock visits became less frequent because she was so busy.<\/p>\n

Orien\u2019s consumer expertise benefited various businesses\u00a0such as Shop-Rite and a plumbing company for which she consulted or became an on-air spokesperson.<\/p>\n

Her researching and journalistic skills, along with her social work background, make her a useful, productive member of board. She worked with the University of Pennsylvania Institute on Aging and Abington Memorial Hospital among others.<\/p>\n

Orien received a lot of industry recognition. In 2018, she was elected to the Hall of Fame of the local Broadcast Pioneers, the keeper of local broadcast history and its memories.<\/p>\n

Of course, Orien also had a personal life. She was a devoted daughter and attentive mother to her own daughter.<\/p>\n

She was married to Charlle Nix, a caretaker during her ordeal with Alzheimer\u2019s and in most of the headlines referring to her recently is called Orien Reid Nix.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t refrain from using her married name until now for cavalier reasons.<\/p>\n

Orien would choose to be known as Orien Reid Nix.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just that to me, she\u2019s Orien, only Orien, one of a kind who needs only a first name to say all that was wonderful about her.<\/p>\n

Thank you, Charlie, for your ardent dedication to Orien.<\/p>\n

Orien Reid Nix died Tuesday at age 79.<\/p>\n

Her passing was announced by her daughter. Memorial services are scheduled for Saturday at the church in which she was, as usual, active and involved.<\/p>\n

RIP, Orien. You are one of the special ones.<\/p>\n

Kudos to Channel 3 fundraiser<\/p>\n

Channel 3 has been holding telethons to benefit Alex\u2019s Lemonade Stand, which works to fight childhood cancer, for a couple of decades.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s event, which took place last week on Channel 3 and involved more of its on-air staff, raised $8,477,342 for the charity named for Alexandra Scott, who diagnosed with cancer before she celebrated her first birthday in 1997.<\/p>\n

At age 4, Alex, from her own initiative, set up a lemonade stand on her front lawn and garnered more than $2,000, which she donated to research.<\/p>\n

Alex died from cancer in 2004 at age 8. By that time, she had singlehandedly raised more than $1 million for her cause.<\/p>\n

What a great tribute to Alex\u2019s memory and a worthy mission that Channel 3 viewers were so generous.<\/p>\n

Burrell was entertaining<\/p>\n

You could not watch The Food Network for long without encountering Anne Burrell.<\/p>\n

She was everywhere. If she wasn\u2019t hosting her own program \u201cThe Worst Cooks in America,\u201d she was a coach or judge on one of Food\u2019s numerous streaming shows.<\/p>\n

\"ChefChef Anne Burrell attends City Harvest Presents The 2025 Gala: Carnaval on April 22, 2025, in New York. (Andy Kropa\/Invision\/AP)<\/p>\n

Besides being ubiquitous, Burrell was immediately identified by her high, spiky quiff of bright white hair \u2014 sort of like Phyllis Diller with short sides \u2014 and her lively, boisterous personality.<\/p>\n

Burrell was congenial with contestants even when she criticized them and their cooking.<\/p>\n

Anne Burrell died last week at age 55. She was found unresponsive in her Brooklyn home with spilled pills surrounding her. The cause for her passing is being investigated.<\/p>\n

3 suns of song set<\/p>\n

Death also affected three of important, influential stars of the music industry, as within the last two weeks, Sylvester \u201cSly\u201d Stone of Sly and the Family Stone, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, and pop singer Lou Christie all passed away at age 82.<\/p>\n

Songs like Stone\u2019s \u201cDance to the Music,\u201d \u201cEveryday People,\u201d \u201cThank You,\u201d and \u201cI Want to Take You Higher\u201d; Wilson\u2019s \u201cDon\u2019t Worry Baby,\u201d \u201cGood Vibrations\u201d and \u201cGod Only Knows\u201d; and Christie\u2019s \u201cLightning Strikes\u201d and \u201cRhapsody in the Rain\u201d are cultural classics that will be sung for a long time.<\/p>\n

\"BrianBrian Wilson performs as part of Nissan Live Sets on Yahoo! Music in Los Angeles on July 30, 2008. (AP Photo\/Chris Pizzello)<\/p>\n

We hope they will be learned by future generations and remain part of the American sound they influenced.<\/p>\n

The swirling opening rhythms of \u201cDon\u2019t Worry Baby\u201d has earned it a place among my favorite songs of all time.<\/p>\n

I also thank Wilson and Christie for forcing to me to tame my falsetto so I could sing their tunes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The late Orien Reid enjoyed conversation. And it wasn\u2019t confined by where to get the best prices on…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5695,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5132],"tags":[5229,171,1269,1448,2830,1311,1072,7157,7156,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-5694","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-opinion","11":"tag-pa","12":"tag-pennsylvania","13":"tag-philadelphia","14":"tag-things-to-do","15":"tag-top-stories-reg","16":"tag-tv-and-streaming","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114728058654104109","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}