December 31, 2017
January 5, 2018 UPDATE:
Greetings:
There’s another large market news director opening to tell you about today, with news that FRED D’AMBROSI has parted ways with Raycom’s Cleveland duopoly, WOIO/WUAB-TV (CBS/CW).
D’Ambrosi
Fred’s been the ND there since the spring of 2015. He’s also been an ND in Milwaukee, San Diego, and Washington, DC. Fred worked at another Cleveland station earlier in his career as well as in Green Bay and Columbia, MO.
We’ll have a full slate of news in our complete newsletter later this weekend.
regards,
gevers
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January 3, 2018 UPDATE:
Greetings:
It didn’t take long for the New Year to produce two big stories: the pending retirement of a longtime news director and a big promotion for a corporate news executive.
Berra
In Tampa, veteran news director BILL BERRA has announced his retirement at the end of March. Here’s his note to the staff along with the note from his GM, SKIP VALET.
As Bill mentions in his note, he’s worked for almost every major company, and has been a news director in Columbus, OH, Orlando, Phoenix, St. Louis and Memphis. More on his background here (at least back to 1988). He plans to stay in Tampa.
McCreery
The other big story of the day comes from Meredith, where PATRICK McCREERY has been promoted to Executive VP of Operations for the group. Here’s the note from President PAUL KARPOWICZ in which he explains that all GMs will report to Patrick.
Patrick’s been VP of News and Marketing for Meredith for the past four years. He’s been with the company since 2002, starting as an EP in Phoenix, moving to Portland as Assistant ND, then ND, and eventually general manager.
I’m just guessing here, but I suspect we have a lot of big news in the weeks and months ahead.
regards,
gevers
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Greetings:
Hope 2018 is everyone you and yours hope it will be.
For another holiday week, a surprising amount of activity. We have TWO new news director openings, with ONE newly named news director. That means our always unofficial list of openings stands at 22.
Just ONE item in Names in the News this week. We always welcome your submissions.
Among our THREE obituaries this week is one for a legendary Buffalo anchor who once served as his station’s ND. The others were for a well known former GM in Orlando and for the mother of a four-time news director.
We have ONE new GM to tell you about…as a former news executive moves into the big chair in a top 30 market. And we have a very interesting list of longtime general managers who have retired during the past year.
That’s all below.
Don’t party too much tonight. 🙂
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Newly Named News Director:
Fobe
WTAJ-TV, Altoona, PA…KYLE FOBE trades the bright lights of Las Vegas for the news director’s job at this Nexstar Media owned CBS affiliate. He’s been the dayside EP for KVVU-TV in Las Vegas for the past year, and worked for WBND-TV in South Bend, where he began as a producer while still in college and worked his way up to EP. At WTAJ, he replaces CHRIS MILLER who was ND here about three years.
New News Director Openings:
Hundley
WTMJ-TV, Milwaukee, WI…as we first told you in an UPDATE on Thursday, JANET HUNDLEY has left this Scripps’ owned NBC affiliate after 3 1/2 years. Janet shared some thoughts with her staff in this farewell email.
She’s spent most of her career at ABC owned stations:
12 1/2 years at WLS-TV in Chicago as the Assistant ND.
5 1/2 years at WTVG-TV in Toledo (ABC owned then) as ND and Assistant ND
Almost 8 years at WTVD-TV in Raleigh-Durham as a photojournalist, producer and Operations Manager
She’s also worked for another Raleigh station and began her career in Wilmington, NC, as a reporter and one woman bureau reporter.
Bernhardt
WVLT-TV, Knoxville, TN…TONY BERNHARDT has left this Gray Television owned CBS affiliate after about 2 1/2 years as news director. Before that, he was the Assistant News Director for WTNH-TV in Hartford/New Haven, CT. Tony’s also worked in Washington, DC, Tampa, Orlando and Colorado Springs, where he began his career on-air
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Other News Management Openings:
ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR:
WAAY-TV, Huntsville, AL (listed 11/12/17)
KWWL-TV, Waterloo, IA (listed 11/26/17)
KVRR-TV, Fargo, ND (relisted this week)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:
WJLA-TV, Washington, DC (AM EP, listed 11/5/17)
KRIV-TV, Houston, TX (Evening EP, relisted 11/26/17)
KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA (2 openings, AM & PM, listing revised 12/16/17)
KGTV, San Diego, CA (Dayside EP, relisted 12/3/17)
WBNS-TV, Columbus, OH (Dayside EP, listing revised 11/26/17)
WPTV, West Palm Beach, FL (PM EP, listing modified 12/10/17)
WIVB-TV, Buffalo, NY (Nightside EP, relisted this week)
WJXT-TV, Jacksonville, FL (Nightside EP, listed 11/19/17)
WRGB-TV, Albany/Schenectady, NY (listed 11/12/17)
WDTN-TV, Dayton, OH (relisted 11/5/17)
KWCH-TV, Wichita, KS (AM EP, relisted 11/26/17)
WTVG-TV, Toledo, OH (listed 12/23/17, see ad above!)
WAAY-TV, Huntsville, AL (listed 11/12/17)
WISC-TV, Madison, WI (AM EP, relisted 11/12/17)
MANAGING EDITOR:
KDVR/KWGN-TV, Denver, CO (relisted 12/3/17)
Obituaries:
Weinstein
IRV WEINSTEIN, a legendary anchor and one-time news director at Buffalo’s WKBW-TV, died this week at the age of 87. He suffered from ALS. Irv anchored for 34 years at WKBW, known for his rapid fire delivery and phrases like “pistol-packing punks”. This obituary includes his last newscast, delivered 19 years ago today.
Former WESH-TV (Orlando) General Manager JOHN E. EVANS died earlier this month. He was well known for his on-air editorials during his tenure at the station, and a noted civic booster. There’s a reason I included his middle initial, as you’ll find out if you read this.
Finally, our sympathy to WTHR-TV (Indianapolis) News Director KATHY HOSTETTER on the loss of her mother. EMILY HOSTETTER died December 22nd at the age of 75. More on her passing here. In additional to Indianapolis, Kathy’s been a news director in Ft. Wayne, Norfolk and Louisville and has worked in Grand Rapids and San Francisco.
Names in the News (and other items):
McFarland
We told you a few weeks ago that longtime Houston newsman RICK McFARLAND was retiring at the end of the year. His tenure in the market earned him this Q & A with longtime Houston media blogger MIKE McGUFF. Rick arrived in Houston in 1979 as a photographer at KHOU-TV, moved to KPRC-TV soon thereafter as a sports photographer, and eventually worked his way to ND before finishing his career as Senior Executive Producer. Full disclosure: we were college classmates at Missouri.
General Manager News and Notes:
Durbin-Scott
Scripps filled its open GM job at its Indianapolis ABC affiliate, WRTV, by moving LANA DURBIN-SCOTT into that role. Lana’s been a senior director of news strategy and operations for Scripps. More details in this news release from the company.
And check this unofficial list of veteran general managers (or GMs who became corporate executives) who have retired during 2017. 14 in all, nine of them former news directors. And that just includes those who retired and were not ousted, as best as I can tell. (While I’d like to take credit for compiling the list, thanks to one of the folks on the list…just retired Scripps executive STEVE WASSERMAN for sharing.) And if you know of someone who should be included, please let me know.
Our Full List of Open ND Jobs:
Here’s our list of open ND jobs as of Sunday, December 31, 2017:
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
KCBS/KCAL-TV 4200 Radford Ave. Studio City, CA 91604
WUSA-TV 4100 Wisconsin Ave NW Washington DC 20016
WUVG-TV 3350 Peachtree Road #1250, Atlanta, GA 30326 **
KOMO-TV 140 4th Ave N Seattle, WA 98109
WTSP-TV 11450 Gandy Blvd, St. Petersburg, FL 33702
KUVS-TV 1710 Arden Way, Sacramento CA 95815 **
Spectrum News 2505 Atlantic Ave. #102, Raleigh, NC 27604
WTMJ-TV 720 E Capitol Dr, Milwaukee, WI 53212
WJAX/WFOX 11700 Central Pkwy, Jacksonville, FL 32224
KOB-TV 4 Broadcast Plaza SW Albuquerque, NM 87104
WMC-TV 1960 Union Ave, Memphis, TN 38104
WVLT-TV 6450 Papermill Drive Knoxville, TN 37919
WOWK-TV 350 Quarrier Street Charleston, WV 25301 (see ad above!)
WSYR/WTVH 1030 James St.Syracuse, NY 13203
WJHL-TV 338 E. Main Street Johnson City, TN 37601 (see ad above!)
KADN/KLAF-TV 1500 Eraste Landry Rd Lafayette, LA 70506
WTVM/WXTX-TV 1909 Wynnton Rd. Columbus, GA 31906
KECI-TV 340 W. Main St., Missoula, MT 59802
WDHN-TV PO Box 6237, Dothan, AL 36302
KFBB-TV P.O. Box 1139. Great Falls MT 59403
KRTV P.O. Box 2989, Great Falls, MT, 59403
**: Spanish language station