Schano back on 4

Fifty years ago, Eleanor Schano was the first (and only) woman in the newsroom at WTAE-TV (4). Now, she’s back at 4 with a new program called “Live Well/Live Long with Eleanor Schano.” The program, created by Schano and writer Gina Catanzarite, will be a series of 90-second mini programs during the first commercial block of the Thursday Noon newscast on 4, although the hope is to eventually have enough sponsor backing to do a segment with a variety of topics each weekday. The creation comes after Schano’s most recent project, “LifeQuest” on WQED-TV (13) was cancelled in 2007.

The new program isn’t aimed at the 50 and older crowd. “Everyone wants to live well and live long,” Schano told the Post-Gazette. She also points out that this project will take her back to her reporting days as the reports will be field-based, something she couldn’t do at WQED where money was tight.

The segments will also be available on WTAE’s website and the digital sub-channel devoted to weather and traffic. Schano’s original intent was to do a half-hour series, but available time slots were not attractive. The 90-second segments was a more doable option.

Schano will also be a part of WTAE’s 50th Anniversary special scheduled for August 28 at 8:00 pm.