January 6, 2019
Greetings:
I hope your holidays were great.
They were probably pretty good for the TWO people who got news director jobs. And there are NO new openings to my knowledge.
That means our list of open news director jobs stands at 29.
One of those ND appointments filled a vacancy created when her predecessor was promoted to GM. We’ll fill in the details.
A former Dallas and Seattle news director takes a corporate job with Sinclair. There’s a new Assistant ND in Los Angeles, and two former NDs are retiring from their jobs, one still in TV and one long removed.
And we have an obituary for a former Denver and North Carolina news director who’d moved to a career in financial planning.
Also, please join me in thanking both Stephen Arnold Music and Stringr for renewing their commitments to supporting this newsletter. Check out their ads below to learn more about them.
Newly Named News Directors:
Moore
WFTS-TV, Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL…our updates earlier this week brought you the news of SARAH MOORE’s promotion to news director for this Scripps owned ABC affiliate. She’s been the Assistant ND here for the past 3 1/2 years. More in this news release. Sarah’s also worked for stations in Indianapolis (WTHR-TV) and Nashville (WTVF-TV).
Brown
She replaces MATT BROWN who’s being promoted to general manager of new sister-station WTXL-TV in Tallahassee. (Scripps acquired WTXL which was one of the stations spun off as part of the Gray-Raycom deal.) He started as WFTS as ND in October, 2014, has been a news director in Tulsa and Sherman, TX, and has worked in Kansas City, Austin, TX, and Wichita.
Miller
KRCG-TV, Jefferson City/Columbia, MO…MARIA MILLER is promoted within Sinclair to be the next ND for this CBS affiliate. She’s been the Assistant ND for the company’s WJAC-TV in Johnstown, PA and began her career as a reporter and anchor.
New News Director Opening:
I’m not aware of any new openings this week. If you are, please share that news with me!
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News Management Openings:
ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR:
KXAS-TV, Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX (listed 11/18/18)
KUSI-TV, San Diego, CA (listed 12/30/18)
WKRN-TV, Nashville, TN (listed 12/23/18)
WBND-TV, South Bend, IN (relisted 12/30/18)
WJHL-TV, Johnson City, TN (listed 12/23/18)
WJAC-TV, Johnstown, PA (new listing this week)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:
KNBC-TV, Los Angeles, CA (AM EP, relisted 12/16/18)
WUSA-TV, Washington, DC (Dayside EP, relisted 11/25/18)
KPRC-TV, Houston, TX (Special Projects EP, relisted this week)
KGO-TV, San Francisco, CA (Dayside EP, listed 11/11/18)
KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA (PM EP, relisted 11/18/18)
WCCO-TV, Minneapolis, MN (AM EP, listed 12/23/18)
WEWS-TV, Cleveland, OH (listed 12/23/18)
WSMV-TV, Nashville, TN (PM EP, relisted 12/9/18)
KCTV, Kansas City, MO (AM EP, relisted 12/2/18)
WBNS-TV, Columbus, OH (Senior EP, new listing this week)
WIVB-TV, Buffalo, NY (listed 12/30/18, see ad above!)
WINK-TV, Ft. Myers, FL (TWO EP openings, relisted 11/25/18)
WATE-TV, Knoxville, TN (TWO openings, listed 12/30/18)
WIS-TV, Columbia, SC (relisted 12/9/18)
WCTV, Tallahassee, FL (relisted 12/30/18)
MANAGING EDITOR:
WMAQ-TV, Chicago, IL (relisted 10/21/18)
KXAS-TV, Dallas/Ft. Worth (listed 11/18/18)
OTHER NEWS MANAGEMENT OPENINGS:
Listed 12/9/18:
WTOC-TV, Savannah, GA (Digital Content Manager)
Re-listed 11/11/18:
WCPO-TV, Cincinnati, OH (Senior Manager of Editorial Content)
Obituary:
Cepnick
GARY CURTIS (real name: GARY CEPNICK) died this week. He was a news director in the 80’s at KMGH-TV in Denver and for at least two stations in North Carolina before moving to a career in financial planning. Here’s his bio from that career. And there’s this anecdote from one of his former employees:
Also the only news director I know of who, back in the day, forbade food and drink in the newsroom — but permitted smoking. (He was, of course, a big smoker himself, at least at the time. And this was North Carolina, after all.)
Names in the News (and other items):
Ginther
We told you earlier this week about MARK GINTHER’s new job. The veteran news director starts tomorrow as Director of News and Operations. Sinclair Senior VP/News SCOTT LIVINGSTON sent this note to the company’s NDs. Mark most recently as an ND for KXAS-TV in Dallas, has been an ND in Seattle and Des Moines, an assistant ND for another Dallas station, and began in Minneapolis in radio before moving to TV.
Chen
There’s a new Assistant ND at KABC-TV in Los Angeles. PAM CHEN has been promoted from executive producer, as ND ROB ELMORE explains in this note to the staff. Pam’s a 14+ year veteran of this ABC o-and-o, and has also worked for another Los Angeles station and in San Diego.
Two one-time news directors are retiring from different jobs.
Tom Mc.
The end of the year brought the end of 70 year old TOM McCLANAHAN’s 47 year career as an anchor in Terre Haute. He worked for two stations and served as ND for one in the early 2000s. The local newspaper paid him appropriate tribute in this lengthy and interesting profile.
And former WSEE-TV (Erie, PA) news director PIERRE BELLICINI retired after almost 20 years as director of communications for the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. You’ll see how that institution has grown during his time there in this article (second item).
General Manager News and Notes:
We noted above MATT BROWN’s appointment as GM for WTXL-TV in Tallahassee. That move came as Scripps’ acquired the station as one of the spin-offs from the Gray-Raycom deal.
Also as a result of that spin-off, ADAM CHASE was named GM of the other stations Scripps acquired, KXXV/KRHD-TV in Waco-Temple-Bryan, TX. He’s been the GM for the company’s KERO-TV in Bakersfield.
Our Full List of Open ND Jobs:
Here’s our list of open ND jobs as of Sunday, January 6, 2019:
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
WJLA-TV 1100 Wilson Blvd. , 6th Fl. Arlington, VA 22209
WUVG-TV 3350 Peachtree Road #1250, Atlanta, GA 30326 **
KIRO-TV 2807 Third Ave., Seattle WA 98121
KSTP-TV 3415 University Ave W Saint Paul, MN 55114
KUVS-TV 1710 Arden Way, Sacramento CA 95815 **
WTHR-TV 1000 N. Meridian Street Indianapolis, IN 46204
WPBF-TV 3970 RCA Boulevard, # 7007, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
WTLV/WJXX-TV 1070 E Adams St, Jacksonville, FL 32202
WHBQ-TV 485 S. Highland. Memphis, TN 38111
WLEX-TV P.O. Box 1457 Lexington, KY 40588-1457
WGBA-TV 1391 North Rd, Green Bay, WI 54313
KMTV 10714 Mockingbird Dr, Omaha, NE 68127
KHQ-TV 1201 W. Sprague Ave. Spokane, WA 99201
WHEC-TV 191 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14604
WCSH/WLBZ-TV One Congress Square Portland, ME 04101
KKTV 520 E. Colorado Colorado Springs, CO 80903
WAPT-TV 7616 Channel 16 Way Jackson, MS 39209
WEVV-TV 477 Carpenter Street Evansville, IN 47708
KYTX-TV 2211 ESE Loop 323 Tyler, TX 75701
KDLT-TV 3600 S. Westport Ave Sioux Falls, SD 57106
WFFT-TV 3707 Hillegas RD Ft. Wayne IN 46807
WCTI-TV 225 Glenburnie Dr. New Bern, NC 28560
KRNV-TV 1790 Vassar St. Reno, NV 89502
WLTZ-TV 6140 Buena Vista Rd. Columbus, GA 31907
KIII-TV 5002 South Padre Island Dr. Corpus Christi, TX 78411
WTVA-TV P.O. Box 320 Tupelo, MS 38802
KAAL-TV 1320 Salem Rd SW, Rochester, MN 55902
WOAY-TV P.O. BOX 3001 Oak Hill, WV 25901
**: Spanish language station