Rick’s Weekly Newsletter | Rick Gevers & Associates

July 2, 2018

Tuesday, July 3, 2018 UPDATE:

Tom Petner

Funeral services for TOM PETNER will be held this Friday, July 6th, at a funeral home in Freehold Township, NJ. We told you last weekend that Tom died Sunday, July 1st, of cancer at the age of 71.

Tom served as a news director in New York and Pittsburgh, taught at Temple (his alma mater) and other universities, edited the Shoptalk newsletter, and later started his own blog, the 24/7 Newsroom. Here’s his farewell from January 31, 2013, when he shut down the newsletter.

Information about Tom’s survivors, memorial information, and arrangements are in this obituary.

regards,

Rick Gevers

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Greetings:

We start with the sad news that veteran newsman TOM PETNER died today.

Tom Petner

I have few details, but was alerted by a kind reader to this post from Tom’s daughter on Facebook.

One of the gentlemen of our business, Tom served as an ND in New York and Pittsburgh, edited Shoptalk after DON FITZPATRICK died in 2006, and later started his own blog, the 24/7 Newsroom. He had other jobs as well: read about them on Linkedin.

I’ll update my website with details about services when I learn more.

On to our regular business.

And there’s a lot of business to tell you about! FIVE new news director openings, and THREE newly named NDs, TWO in top 20 markets. That leaves our list of open ND jobs at 32.

ONE of those news director openings is featured in a paid help wanted ad below.

In Names in the News, for the second week in a row we’re reporting the departure of a VP/Programing for a large group owner: this time it’s Tegna’s BOB SULLIVAN. And we have a GM change at two CBS owned stations, as JAY HOWELL returns to Pittsburgh after just a year in Sacramento.

All that and more below.

Newly Named News Directors:

Harris

WBBM-TV, Chicago, IL…we alerted you to JEFF HARRIS’s appointment as news director at this CBS o-and-o in our mid-week update. Jeff has been ND for Scripps’ WEWS-TV in Cleveland (his hometown) for about 3 1/2 years, earlier was ND for Scripps’ KMGH-TV in Denver, and has also worked in San Francisco. Chicago media reporter ROBERT FEDER has more (he calls Jeff an ‘itinerant news director’). He replaces another Jeff…JEFF KIERNAN who left in March to return to Milwaukee as Director of Content for Scripps’ WTMJ-TV (NBC).

Valadez

Kotsaftis

KUSA-TV, Denver, CO…ERIC VALADEZ has been named Director of Content and LINDA KOTSAFTIS has been promoted to News Content Director at this Tegna owned NBC affiliate. Eric has been the Assistant ND for the company’s Dallas station, WFAA-TV and has also worked in San Antonio and Denver. Linda has been at KUSA for more than 20 years. The opening(s) were created when CHRISTY MORENO was promoted to GM for Tegna’s WHAS-TV in Louisville.

Stanfield

KXLF/KBZK-TV, Butte, MT…we’re a few months behind in reporting that KEVIN STANFIELD is the new ND for these Cordillera Communications stations. He’s also the evening anchor and has been at the station since January. His Linkedin page has the full story of his career, which includes stops at two cities in North Dakota, Colorado and other stops. We told you in March that JOHN SCHERER was stepping down as ND after 12 years. He remains at the station as the morning producer.

Howard

KNPN/KNPG/KCJO-TV, St. Joseph, MO…veteran newsman JERRY HOWARD has been promoted to news director for this cluster of stations owned by News Press and Gazette. More in this item from sister NPG property NewsPressNow.com.

New News Director Openings:

WEWS-TV, Cleveland, OH…we told you above that JEFF HARRIS is leaving his hometown Scripps-owend ABC to become ND for WBBM-TV, the CBS o-and-o in Chicago.

Bardach

KOTV, Tulsa, OK…JEFF BARDACH is leaving this Griffin Communication owned CBS affiliate. TODD SPESSARD, Griffin’s VP of Content, tells me Jeff is moving home to help with family issues. He’s been ND here for just over a year, and spent a few months as the interim ND before being promoted. Jeff had been the Managing Editor at sister-Griffin station KWTV in Oklahoma City before that.

Monroe

KION-TV, Monterey/Salinas, CA…DEB MONROE is leaving this NPG owned operation after about three years as ND here. (updated 7/2/18) Here’s the note she sent me:

After three wonderful years at KION working with an incredible, talented team, I’ve decided it’s time to switch things up and take a break. My husband and I are freeing ourselves up to do some traveling for the next several months before deciding what’s next for both of us. I’m so glad to have had the opportunity to work for NPG. I’m very proud of the things we’ve been able to accomplish at this station, and will spend the next few weeks preparing for a smooth transition before my departure in early August.

She’s previously worked in TV in Salt Lake City and worked for KGO radio in San Francisco for a few years. You can learn more about this opportunity in the Paid Help Wanted ad below.

KIII-TV, Corpus Christi, TX…OSCAR GARCIA is leaving this Tegna owned ABC affiliate after two years as news director. Oscar previously worked at KFOX-TV in El Paso as an executive producer for almost six years. He’s worked for four years at another El Paso station.

Eaton

KOSA-TV, Odessa, TX…SAM EATON has left this Gray TV owned CBS affiliate after a year as ND. He shared this message with me:

I resigned a couple weeks back. I got married 2 days ago, and am looking to move. Feel free to share! Thanks!

He’s also been an ND for WRBL-TV in Columbus, GA, and has worked in Charlotte, Kansas City, Columbia, SC, Augusta, GA, Lynchburg, VA, Midland, TX, and as an associate producer in Dallas.

Paid Help Wanted Ad:

News Director, KION-TV, Monterey/Salinas, CA:

KION News Channel 5, located in beautiful Monterey County, California, is seeking an extraordinary journalist to lead a growing news team. In addition, to CBS we produce news daily on CW and Telemundo.

Our News Director will be a visionary coach who understands how to produce compelling and distinctive content on all multi-media platforms. Must have proven skillset to maximize content and customer engagement on digital and social media platforms. Must demonstrate a passion for the product with strong oversight and consistent communication and feedback.

The successful candidate will be called upon to provide strategic direction for daily news coverage as well as working closely with the General Manager on long-range planning, special news coverage and station projects.

Applicants should be prepared to discuss:

Previous experience
Creative approaches to building and innovating news brand
Digital and social strategies
Effective use of social media in a broadcast environment
Previous experience managing financial, technical and people resources

KION was acquired by News-Press & Gazette Company in December 2013, and has recently made significant capital investments to build a strong local news organization.

Candidate must pass a drug test and background check. A valid driver’s license is required.

Please apply online by submitting brief cover letter that includes resume, and source of referral to: www.kion546.com (go to “About” tab, then Jobs)

NPG of Monterey-Salinas, CA LLC.is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Posting closes when position is filled.

Other News Management Openings:

ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR:

WABC-TV, New York, NY (listed 6/8/18)
WSNS-TV, Chicago, IL (listed 6/17/18)
KPRC-TV, Houston, TX (listed 5/28/18)
WPTV, West Palm Beach, FL (new listing this week)
WLOS-TV, Asheville, NC (listed 6/17/18)
KTNV-TV, Las Vegas, NV (relisted this week)
WWL-TV, New Orleans, LA (listed 6/24/18)
WIS-TV, Columbia, SC (listed 6/24/28)
KYTX-TV, Tyler, TX (new listing this week)

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:

KRIV-TV, Houston, TX (Evening EP, relisted 4/22/18)
WGCL-TV, Atlanta, GA (AM EP, relisted 6/8/18)
KPNX-TV, Phoenix, AZ (AM EP, new listing this week)
KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA (PM EP, relisted 4/22/18)
WFTS-TV, Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL (Dayside EP, listed 5/28/18)
WTSP-TV, Tampa/St. Petersburg (Senior EP, new listing this week)
KMGH-TV, Denver, CO (PM EP, listed 5/28/18)
WKYC-TV, Cleveland, OH (new listing this week)
WOIO-TV, Cleveland, OH (listed 5/28/18)
WRTV, Indianapolis, IN (new listing this week)
KUSI-TV, San Diego, CA (AM EP, relisted this week)
KCTV, Kansas City, MO (listed 5/13/18)
KTNV-TV, Las Vegas, NV (new listing this week)
KVVU-TV, Las Vegas, NV (AM & PM EPs, listed 6/17/18)
WMC-TV, Memphis, TN (AM EP, listed 5/13/18)
WRGB-TV, Albany, NY (relisted 5/20/18)
WBIR-TV, Knoxville, TN (new listing this week)
WLUK-TV, Green Bay, WI (Nightside EP, relisted 5/13/18)
WKOW-TV, Madison, WI (Senior EP, relisted 6/3/18)
WBTW-TV, Myrtle Beach, SC (new listing this week)
WCTV, Tallahassee, FL (listed 6/3/18)
KERO-TV, Bakersfield, CA (PM EP, listed 5/28/18)

MANAGING EDITOR:

WMAQ-TV, Chicago, IL (listed 6/17/18)

Names in the News (and other items):

Sullivan

It appears that veteran broadcaster BOB SULLIVAN has left Tegna, where he was the Senior Vice President/Programming. His Linkedin page says, as of June, 2018, he is the GM of Sneaky Big Studios, which describes itself this way: SNEAKY BIG Studios is a world-class, state-of-the-art production facility in Scottsdale, Arizona. I’ve emailed and called Bob (at possibly outdated contact information) and haven’t heard back yet. Bloomberg has a good summary of his background.

We told you earlier this week that Raycom Media and Gray Television were combining into one company. If you missed it earlier, here’s the news release including the handy list of what stations will be spun off.

In an unrelated move, Scripps is selling its Oklahoma radio stations to Griffin Communications, which owns CBS TV stations in Oklahoma and Tulsa.

And congratulations to our friends (and longtime newsletter supporters) at Devlin Design Group, which won its fifth consecutive PromaxBDA Gold award for best set. This news release is here, and the picture is below.

Wesh Set

General Manager News and Notes:

Howell

JAY HOWELL returns to Pittsburgh as GM for CBS o-and-o KDKA-TV. His father, JOHN, spent many years as GM for WPXI-TV there, so it’s a homecoming for John. Jay just joined CBS not quite a year ago as GM of the company’s KOVR/KMAX-TV in Sacramento. He’s a former executive with LIN media and served as a GM in two Texas markets. More from Broadcasting and Cable.

TEANSIE GARFIELD has been named General Manger for a cluster of Sinclair owned stations in Northern California. More in this story from the Radio + TV Business Report

Our Full List of Open ND Jobs:

Here’s our list of open ND jobs as of Sunday, July 1, 2018:

It’s unofficial, there may be others that are open, and some of these may have been filled. If you know of any in either category, please let me know: rick@rickgevers.com

Verizon Fios 1 News 800 Westchester Avenue, Rye Brook, NY 10573
WUSA-TV 4100 Wisconsin Ave NW Washington DC 20016
KPIX-TV 5855 Battery St. San Francisco, CA 94111
WUVG-TV 3350 Peachtree Road #1250, Atlanta, GA 30326 **
KARE-TV 8811 Olson Memorial Hwy, Golden Valley, MN 55427
WEWS-TV 3001 Euclid Ave. Cleveland, OH 44115
WKYC-TV 1333 Lakeside Ave E, Cleveland, OH 44114
KUVS-TV 1710 Arden Way, Sacramento CA 95815 **
KATU-TV 2153 NE Sandy Blvd. Portland, OR 97232
WFSB-TV 333 Capital Blvd. Rocky Hill, CT 06067
WVIT-TV 1422 New Britain Ave. West Hartford, CT 06110
WBNS-TV 770 Twin Rivers Drive Columbus OH 43215
KTNV-TV 3355 S Valley View Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89102
WTKR-TV 720 Boush Street Norfolk, VA 23510
WHAS-TV 520 W Chestnut St, Louisville, KY 40202
WTEN-TV 341 Northern Blvd, Albany, NY 12204
KOTV 303 N. Boston Ave. Tulsa, OK 74103
WHIO-TV 1611 S Main St, Dayton, OH 45409
WTVG-TV 4247 Dorr St. Toledo, OH 43607
WTOC-TV 11 The News Place Savannah, GA 31405
KTVB-TV 5407 West Fairview Ave. Boise, ID, 83706
KAPP/KVEW-TV PO Box 1749. Yakima, WA 98907
KION-TV 1550 Moffett St. Salinas, CA 93905 (see ad above!)
WRBL-TV 1350 13th Ave. Columbus, GA 31901
KIII-TV 5002 South Padre Island Dr. Corpus Christi, TX 78411
KHSL/KNVN-TV 3460 Silverbell Rd. Chico, CA 95973
WAOW-TV 1908 Grand Ave, Wausau, WI 54403
KOSA-TV 4101 East 42nd Street Suite J-7, Odessa, TX 79762
KPVI-TV 902 E Sherman St, Pocatello, ID 83201
WOAY-TV 7113 Legends Hwy, Oak Hill, WV 25901
KMVT-TV 1100 Blue Lakes Blvd N. Twin Falls, ID 83301
WABG-TV 849 Washington Ave. Greenville MS 38701

**: Spanish language station

June 24, 2018

Monday, June 25, 2018 UPDATE #2:

Greetings:

One of the largest market news director openings on our list has been filled today.

Harris

JEFF HARRIS is headed to Chicago as news director for CBS’s WBBM-TV. Jeff is currently the ND for Scripps’ WEWS-TV in Cleveland, a position he’s held since late 2014 . Before returning to his hometown of Cleveland, Jeff was the ND at Scripps’ KMGH-TV in Denver for six years.

Jeff worked at WEWS earlier in his career as a producer before leaving for his first stint at KMGH. He left Denver for four years at KPIX-TV in San Francisco before returning to KMGH as ND.

In Chicago, he replaces JEFF KIERNAN who left in March to return to Milwaukee as Senior Director of Local Content for Scripps’ WTMJ-TV. Jeff spent almost nine years as ND in Cleveland.

A busy day, with TWO updates. Who knows what the rest of the week will bring!

regards,

Rick Gevers

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Monday, June 25, 2018 UPDATE:

Greetings:

Another day, another broadcasting mega-deal, as Gray Television is combining with Raycom Media.

The result, as detailed in this news release:

142 full-power television stations serving 92 markets, the third largest portfolio of stations and markets in the country.

Raycom’s current CEO, PAT LaPLATNEY will become Gray’s President and Co-Chief Executive Officer, while HILTON HOWELL, currently the top man at Gray, will become Co-CEO and Executive Chairman.

There are NINE markets where both companies own stations. The news release (linked above) explains that they will sell stations in those markets, rather than request a waiver. And there’s a handy-dandy chart explaining which stations will be sold.

Raycom is employee owned, while Gray is publicly traded. In early trading, Gray’s stock is up about than 10 percent.

I’m sure you’ll see much more coverage of this deal in the hours and days ahead.

regards,

Rick Gevers

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Greetings:

A busy week of news director changes, and we have some interesting news items for you, as well.

FOUR new news directors…one in Los Angeles. And there are TWO new openings, leaving our list of open ND jobs at 30.

And our ONE paid help wanted ad is for a news director’s job in a very attractive place to live.

There’s obituary for a long time Tennessee news director and anchor who also served in the Tennessee legislature…twice. And there are some interesting articles in our Names in the News (and other stuff) section.

All that and more below.

Newly Named News Directors:

Lee

Spectrum News, Los Angeles, CA…this not-yet-launched cable news channel named CATER LEE VP of News. She’s spent the last seven years as Vice President of Programming for Scripps, but has worked at several Los Angeles stations, both on-air and as a news manager. You can learn more about her background via her Linkedin page.

Norred

WFXR-TV, Roanoke, VA…KAY NORRED moves to this Nexstar owned FOX affiliate as news director. She’s been the ND at another Nexstar operation, WRBL-TV in Columbus, GA, for almost three years. Kay’s been an ND for WHSV-TV in Harrisonburg, VA and has also worked in Tampa, Sarasota, Tallahassee, and Pensacola, FL. At WFXR she replaces ROB TOMPKINS who left the station in March after 2 1/2 years as ND.

Plyler

WDTV, Bridgeport, WV…ADAM PLYLER is the new news director for this Gray Television owned CBS affiliate. More in this news release from his proud alma mater. He’s been working as a producer for WSAZ-TV in Huntington-Charleston and has worked at WOWK-TV there. NATE SMAIL has been the ND and anchor at WDTV, and his bio is still on the website. Perhaps he’s just going to anchor. (I emailed him and got no response.)

Silberstein

WETM-TV, Elmira, NY…MARK SILBERSTEIN starts Monday (June 25) as the next news director for this Nexstar owned NBC affiliate. Mark most recently has been the senior producer at WNEM-TV in Flint/Saginaw, but has worked in a number of places during his career: Linkedin tells the story. BOB ROCKSTROH was the ND here before being transferred to Nexstar’s WFFF-TV in Burlington, VT.

New News Director Openings:

Bennallack

WHIO-TV, Dayton, OH…DAVID BENNALLACK is retiring after 30 years with Cox Media, the last eleven as ND for this CBS affiliate. He also oversees the company’s radio stations in Dayton. More in this news release. Dave started with Cox at the company’s flagship, WSB-TV in Atlanta before moving to El Paso, TX, to launch a news department for KFOX-TV.

WRBL-TV, Columbus, GA…we noted above KAY NORRED’s promotion to ND for sister-Nexstar station WFXR-TV in Roanoke, VA.

And be sure to check out the Paid Help Wanted ad below for the News Director opening in Portland, OR.

Paid Help Wanted Ad:

News Director, KATU-TV, Portland, OR:

Do you want to live in one of the most desirable cities in the country? (US News 2018 Ranking – #2 Most Desired Place to Live)

Welcome to Portland, Oregon and KATU TV.

Portland has a quality of life like none other. Always awarded with top cultural rankings (most vibrant music scenes, “greenest” cities, best food truck cities, best breweries and more), Portland is also home to great professional sports (NBA and Major League Soccer) as well as outstanding arts (opera and ballet companies). It’s also home to phenomenal outdoor adventures. From cycling and hiking to the mountains and the beaches, Portland has it all in a vibrant and diverse community. You’ll love living here!

KATU TV is looking for a highly competitive and aggressive news manager to oversee content and strategy for all local news platforms in this great market. You will need a full understanding of what content works best on each platform and how to develop it. You would join a tremendous team of award-wining and respected journalists in this highly competitive market.

To find out more about the job and to apply, click here!