WPVI Promos Find Humor For Anchors Replacing Retired Jim Gardner
When WPVI Philadelphia’s legendary Jim Gardner retired after 44 years anchoring the 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts, the station turned to humor to promote his replacements.
After a year of farewells — including special recognitions on Capitol Hill and Philly’s Thanksgiving Day Parade — newscaster Jim Gardner anchored his final 6 p.m. Action News broadcast on WPVI Philadelphia Wednesday after 46 years on the air. Though only 30 minutes, Gardner’s final broadcast is one that will likely be remembered for years to come, with about 540,000 people tuning in from home and more watching from a parking lot tailgate held in the newscaster’s honor.
Millions of viewers in Philadelphia have watched Jim Gardner deliver the news weeknights at 6 and 11 on Action News on WPVI over the past 45 years. If you do the math, that’s about 11,000 hours that Gardner has spent in their living rooms. Maybe that’s why many viewers think of Jim Gardner as, well, family.
