WBBZ Owner, Phil Arno talking with Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz. WBBZ is seen on channel 67 on DirecTV and channel 5 on Time-Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS and Dish Network.

I’m a big fan of political roundtables, a staple of Sunday morning talk shows where guest commentators weigh in on the current state of affairs on the national political scene and around the world, for that matter.

Unfortunately, local television rarely engages in political commentary of any kind other than stories about who’s running for what and the occasional sound bite from a candidate that is usually short on substance and almost never examined. Viewers are bombarded with political advertising but informed reporting and commentary is rare.

Well, that is changing thanks to Phil Arno, the former news photographer who used an injury settlement from a Los Angeles helicopter crash to buy WBBZ and launch a show called “Political Buzz” that began last Thursday with former gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino, former Erie County Democratic Steve Pigeon, and former Erie County Republic Chairman Bob Davis. The moderator is former WIVB-TV anchor Mylous Hairston, not known for political commentary but a well-known local TV personality.

Arno is seeking to promote local participation for “Political Buzz” by having an audience on hand for the taping on Thursday afternoons in the station’s new $2 million studio in Eastern Hills Mall, and eventually opening the show up to a kind of town hall setting where the audience can ask questions of the panel on the issues.

“I was on pins and needles,” said Arno during an interview about the first local show. “I knew we would have some rough spots but we had heavy hitters, credible guests, and it was very major league.”

Arno closed his deal to buy WBBZ for more than $2.75 million in September 2010 and the station went on air with Me-TV (Memorable Entertainment Television) a digital subchannel network that airs television shows from the 1950s through the 1980s.

The idea for the local show has been in his mind for four years, says Arno who grew up in North Buffalo, is a graduate of Canisius College, and worked in local radio and at Ch. 7 and Ch. 29 as a photographer before taking his camera to Los Angeles where he was injured when the helicopter he was shooting from went down while he was covering the Academy Awards.

Arno says WBBZ is building an audience, saying classic shows like the Untouchables, Perry Mason, and The Twilight Zone carried by Me-TV “are getting a tremendous response. I couldn’t imagine anything better. Basically we are ahead of Ch. 23 and Ch. 49 in viewers for the total day.”

WBBZ does not subscribe to the Nielsen television ratings but that could change, according to Arno. For now, the station is relying on surveys by Media Audit to measure its reach. Arno says the station is covering 17 percent of the market which he called “extremely high” for a young station.

Arno says the average age of his audience, based on the Media Audit survey, is 48 with the largest age group from 40 to 60. Arno says a close second is the 20 to 25 age bracket “who are discovering shows like we did.”

David Luka, vice president of sales, says WBBZ is receiving great response with its Yankee coverage, saying it has been so successful “we’re committed through 2013, with 21 prime time games this year and next year. We are also going to be the carrier of the prime time game between the Bills and the Dolphins on Thursday, Nov. 15 that will include a two-hour pre-game show and a one-hour post-game show on the NFL network.” So how did WBBZ land the game? “We won the bid,” says Luka, certainly a sign the new kid on the television block is serious about making a serious play for viewers. Luka says the station’s success is getting response from local advertisers, mentioning big names like M & T Bank, Cellino and Barnes, and West Herr among clients.

For Arno , perhaps the most exciting feature is “Political Buzz,” and the opportunity to connect with people on important of issues of the day. That is the reason he put his new studio in the mall where it will be easy for shoppers to get involved in the taping.

“Political Buzz” tapes at 4 every Thursday afternoon and tiered seating in the studio can handle 100 people. The shows air at 7 on Thursdays, and rebroadcasts several times.

This week’s show features former Erie County Executive Joel Giambra and former Buffalo Mayor Tony Masiello. There will be least three to four guests each week, along with moderator Hairston. With plenty of big races going on, it should make for some lively debate, something I’ve always felt would work in this market where politics may be second only to the Bills in water cooler talk.

I used to host a political show on election nights when I was the investigative and political reporter at Ch. 7 a few years ago. It was well received then and I think Arno has a chance to win viewers to his show as the political season heats up. There are people out there who want more than political ads and campaign spin to help them make their choices.
We’ll keep you posted on how it goes.