Tallahassee TV promotes Destin as a 'hidden jewel'

DESTIN, FL - Doing a television newscast about Destin is "a labor of love," Gary Wordlaw of Tallahassee's WTXL-TV says.

"I think Destin's one of the hidden jewels of my state," Wordlaw, the station's vice president and general manager said. "I drove over from Tallahassee with my wife and son - they'd never been to Destin before and fell in love with it. I wanted to get other people as excited about going there as I am, and I thought, how might I be able to do this?"

The solution? "Destination Destin" spotlight segments in WTXL's news show,  introducing WTXL viewers - the station's range extends from Lake City on the east up north to Albany, Ga. - to what Destin and the surrounding area have to offer.

"We've been going back and forth for about two weeks, doing various and sundry news stories," Wordlaw said last week, and Friday the station's newscasts will go out live from the area at 12, 5 and 6 p.m. Eastern time.

"We're talking about the wonderful water park there at Big Kahuna's," Wordlaw said, "and we're going to talk about those stand-up YOLO boards, about shopping at those wonderful malls over there and the golfing at Sandestin. Of course, we'll be profiling a lot about Sandestin, which is beautiful - I was stunned at how big that place is."