February 25, 2018
Friday, March 2, 2018 UDPATE:
Meredith has filled its VP of News and Marketing job with a former news director turned VP/News turned agent, who’s returning to the operations side of the business.
Brown
GARY BROWN will join the company as its latest VP/News. The official news release is here.
He’s spent the last five years as an agent with Napoli Management Group. Before that he was VP/News, Marketing. and Web Content for Newport.
It’s a return to Meredith for Gary, who spent just over a year as ND for the company’s WFSB-TV in Hartford. He’s also been an ND in San Diego, Providence, Toledo (his hometown), and Steubenville. He’s also worked in Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
McCreery
Gary succeeds PATRICK McCREERY in this role, following Patrick’s promotion to Executive Vice President of Operations for Meredith earlier this year.
In our full newsletter this weekend, we’ll also have details about a veteran news director on the move, and we’ll tell about TWO former NDs turned GMs who are leaving their stations.
That’s called a tease. 🙂
regards,
Rick Gevers
**** ***** ****
Wednesday, February 28th 2018 UPDATE:
Greetings:
There’s a new news director in a top 20 market to tell you about today.
Rubin
IAN RUBIN is headed to Cleveland as news director for Raycom Media’s WOIO-WUAB-TV. That’s the CBS-My Network duopoly.
Here’s the news release, courtesy of General Manager ERIK SCHRADER.
Ian’s spent the past 14+ years as news director for Meredith’s WNEM-TV (CBS) in Saginaw/Flint, MI. He’s also been an ND in Dayton (WKEF-TV), for WRNN-TV in New York, and worked as an EP for the News 12 Networks in New York and for WHDH-TV in Boston.
At WOIO, he replaces FRED D’AMBROSI who left the station in January after almost three years as news director.
We’ll see you this weekend with our full report.
regards,
Rick Gevers
**** ***** ****
Greetings:
While there is just ONE new news director opening this week, it is in the number one market. And there are TWO new (well, one’s new, the other one’s already been on the job a while) news directors.
Those changes leave our list of open ND jobs at 26.
ONE of those openings is one of THREE paid help wanted ads this week. If you’re tired of winter, check out one of the other ads for TWO management openings in a great (and warm) place to live.
In Names in the News, TWO veteran local news directors are being honored, and the ‘Babe Bracket’ loses its name…but will continue.
And there are TWO general mangers moves, ONE involving the number one market.
Newly Named News Directors:
Jones
KETV, Omaha, NE…VONN JONES has ascended to the news director’s job for this Hearst owned ABC affiliate. He’s been the Assistant ND there for the past 18 years, working for ROSE ANN SHANNON who just retired after spending 25 years (of her 31 at the station) as ND. The official news release has more. Vonn first joined KETV as an intern then worked in Milwaukee before returning to Omaha.
Gaylord
KRTV, Great Falls, MT…we strive to be timely in our coverage. We dropped the ball on this one. ERIC GAYLORD has been the ND for this Cordillera Communications owned CBS affiliate since last June. (!) Apologies for missing that one. Eric’s worked in a number of much larger markets, primarily as a photographer. More from his Linkedin page. At KRTV, he replaced JOEL LUNDSTAD who left in April 2017.
New News Director Opening:
WNBC-TV, New York, NY…we first told you on Friday that SUSAN SULLIVAN is leaving this NBC owned station for a job in standards and practices for NBC News. Susan’s been the ND here for seven years. She’s also been an ND in San Jose/San Francisco, Washington, Phoenix, and for another New York City station. She’s also worked for both WABC-TV and WCBS-TV in New York as well as in Los Angeles. It’s not her first time working for the network side of NBC: She was news director for MSNBC and later served as VP of daytime programming for the cable channel.
Paid Help Wanted Ads:
Ass’t. ND & Executive Producer, KUSI-TV, San Diego, CA:
Work in America’s Finest City, San Diego.
KUSI News, one of the top cutting-edge stations in the country, seeks an experienced Assistant News Director for the Station and, also, an Executive News Producer for our powerhouse news broadcast Good Morning San Diego program.
KUSI-TV, the news leader in San Diego, produces 8 1/2 hours of news Monday-Friday and 7 1/2 hours of news on the weekends for the eighth largest city in the country.
Join a winning team and go to Kusi.com, click on contact us and go to the job opportunities to complete the application, or email resume and salary retirements to sluck@kusi.com
Digital Content/Weekend Manager, WIVB-TV, Buffalo, NY:
WIVB-TV, the CBS affiliate in Buffalo, NY is looking for a strong news leader to oversee digital content gathering, special projects and weekend newscasts.
The Digital Content/Weekend Manager will work collaboratively with the entire news team to organize and help distribute content across all platforms on a supervisory level.
In this role, the successful candidate will:
Help our news team develop unique content for digital platforms, newscasts and special programming.
Organize shoot schedule for all sweeps pieces, special news programming and other unique content.
Skillfully use social media and digital tools to research, discover and distribute content on all digital platforms.
Write and post daily on all digital platforms including social media.
Assigning photographers and reporters as part of the daily news gathering process.
Coach/train journalists how to write for digital including attaching images and streaming video.
Use contacts to develop sources and enterprise news stories.
Use creative graphics and new forms of media (viewer pictures, webcam interviews, etc.) to enhance stories on all platforms.
Perform other functions as required by supervisor or executive producer.
Education/Experience:
College degree required
2-years of experience
People who work at WIVB and WNLO are able to take advantage of the rich cultural and social scene Buffalo offers. From two professional sports teams to world-class museums and restaurants appealing to nearly every taste and budget, Buffalo offers a vibrant lifestyle for people of all ages.
If interested, please apply online: http://www.nexstar.tv/careers/
EOE/Minorities/Females/Vet/Disability
News Director, KCAU-TV, Sioux City, IA:
KCAU, the Nexstar owned ABC affiliate in beautiful Sioux City Iowa has an exciting opportunity. We are searching for a News Director who has the vision talent and drive to lead our news team.
You will work in a brand new state of the art broadcast facility which launched in February 2017.
The successful candidate will be an enthusiastic, skilled communicator who leads our team in the execution of market-leading breaking news, weather coverage and community service on all platforms. This is a rare opportunity to join one of the best stations and the best broadcast group in the country.
Sioux City is located on the banks of the Missouri River and borders the states of South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa.
Applicants should apply online by clicking here.
Other News Management Openings:
ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR:
KUSI-TV, San Diego, CA (new listing this week, see ad above!)
KTNV, Las Vegas, NV (relisted 1/14/18)
WAAY-TV, Huntsville, AL (relisted 1/14/18)
KWWL-TV, Waterloo, IA (relisted 1/28/18)
KVRR-TV, Fargo, ND (relisted 12/31/17)
KSBW-TV, Monterey, Salinas, Santa Cruz, CA (listed 1/14/18)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:
WTTG-TV, Washington, DC (listed 1/14/18)
KRIV-TV, Houston, TX (Evening EP, relisted 2/4/18)
KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA (PM EP, listing revised 2/18/18)
KDVR/KWGN-TV, Denver, CO (listed 2/4/18)
WRAL-TV, Raleigh, NC (relisted this week)
WXIN/WTTV, Indianapolis, IN (listed 1/21/18)
KUSI-TV, San Diego, CA (AM EP, new listing this week, see ad above!)
KTNV-TV, Las Vegas, NV (AM EP, listed 2/18/18)
WJXT-TV, Jacksonville, FL (Nightside EP, relisted 1/21/18)
KMTV, Omaha, NE (AM EP, listed 1/14/18)
WTVG-TV, Toledo, OH (listed 12/23/17)
WAAY-TV, Huntsville, AL (relisted 1/14/18)
WISC-TV, Madison, WI (AM EP, relisted 1/21/18)
MANAGING EDITOR:
KWCH-TV, Wichita, KS (listed 1/21/18)
Names in the News (and other items):
Honors for two longtime local news directors this week:
Hodak
Congratulations to longtime WJRT-TV (Flint, MI) News Director JAYNE HODAK who joined the NATAS Silver Circle this week. She’s been the ND at this Gray TV owned ABC affiliate for six years and has worked there for 15. Jayne’s also worked in Traverse City, Lansing, Raleigh and Detroit. If that rings a bell, it’s because her father JERRY HODAK spent many years as the chief meteorologist for WXYZ-TV.
Kessie
And WLOX-TV (Biloxi, MS) News Director BRAD KESSIE is being inducted into the Mississippi Associated Press Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Brad’s worked for this Raycom Media owned CBS/ABC station since 1988 and has been news director there for the past nine years.
A Little Rock radio station will continue to run its ‘Babe Bracket contest but has changed the name to ‘A Contest with No Name’, a play on the show’s title. The move comes after KARK-TV News Director AUSTIN KELLERMAN called on the station to end the contest.
General Manager News and Notes:
Davis
WABC-TV (New York, NY) General Manager DAVE DAVIS announced his retirement this week, apparently effective immediately. Here’s the memo he sent to the staff. Dave’s career began as a photographer in Houston where he advanced to reporter, then producer. He moved to Dallas, back to Houston, and then on to ABC’s WTVD-TV in Raleigh/Durham as ND, followed by the ND job at WPVI-TV in Philadelphia where he was promoted to GM. Then he moved to WABC-TV as GM, went to ABC News as Executive VP before returning to WABC in 2010 as GM.
Castano
A new leader at WLNE-TV (ABC) in Providence, where TINA MARIE CASTANO has returned to that Citadel Communications station as GM. Tina most recently had been Director of National Sales/Regional Sales Manager for Sinclair, based in New York. She had worked at WLNE from 1988-2004 in a variety of sales positions before moving to other Providence stations.
Our Full List of Open ND Jobs:
Here’s our list of open ND jobs as of Sunday, February 25, 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
WNBC-TV, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112
Verizon Fios 1 News 800 Westchester Avenue, Rye Brook, NY 10573
WUSA-TV 4100 Wisconsin Ave NW Washington DC 20016
WUVG-TV 3350 Peachtree Road #1250, Atlanta, GA 30326 **
WFLA-TV 200 S. Parker St. Tampa FL 33606
WTSP-TV 11450 Gandy Blvd, St. Petersburg, FL 33702
KARE-TV 8811 Olson Memorial Hwy, Golden Valley, MN 55427
WOIO/WUAB-TV 1717 E. 12th Street Cleveland, OH 44114
KUVS-TV 1710 Arden Way, Sacramento CA 95815 **
WTMJ-TV 720 E Capitol Dr, Milwaukee, WI 53212
KVVU-TV 25 TV 5 Dr, Henderson, NV 89014
WJAX/WFOX 11700 Central Pkwy, Jacksonville, FL 32224
KOB-TV 4 Broadcast Plaza SW Albuquerque, NM 87104
WFTX-TV 621 S.W. Pine Island Rd. Cape Coral, FL 33991
WVLT-TV 6450 Papermill Drive Knoxville, TN 37919
WPSD-TV 100 Television Lane. Paducah, KY 42003
WFFF/WVNY-TV 298 Mountain View Dr. Colchester, VT 05446
WJHL-TV 338 E. Main Street Johnson City, TN 37601
KIVI-TV 1866 E. Chisholm Dr. Nampa, ID 83687
KTVB-TV 5407 West Fairview Ave. Boise, ID, 83706
KHSL/KNVN-TV 3460 Silverbell Rd. Chico, CA 95973
WAOW-TV 1908 Grand Ave. Wausau WI 54403
KMIR-TV 72920 Parkview Dr. Palm Desert, CA 92260
KCAU-TV 5993 Gordon Drive Sioux City, IA 51106 (see ad above!)
KECI-TV 340 W. Main St., Missoula, MT 59802
KFBB-TV P.O. Box 1139. Great Falls MT 59403
**: Spanish language station