July 3, 2009
Tuesday, July 7th UPDATE:
Donnellan
There are TWO new news director openings today. BRENNAN DONNELLAN is leaving WLWT-TV in Cincinnati this Friday after six years as the ND for this NBC affiliate. And TOD PRITCHARD is leaving KITV in Honolulu, where he’s been the ND for the past seven years. Both stations are owned by Hearst. We’ll have more on these developments in our regular Friday newsletter later this week.
Saturday, July 4th, UPDATE:
John Hoffland
I’m sorry to report the death of longtime WEAU-TV (Eau Claire, WI) News Director JOHN HOFFLAND. He died this morning of an apparent heart attack at his home. He was 64 years old and a Vietnam veteran. John first became news director here in the 80’s, retired in 2007, took a job as ND for a local radio station, and returned to WEAU as ND in January, 2008. He is survived by his wife, Penny, and son, Lucas. John also worked in La Crosse, WI, Waterloo, IA, Milwaukee and Minneapolis. The station’s report on his death is here.
Greetings:
Best wishes for a safe holiday weekend.
There’s just ONE new news director to report to you today, with just ONE new opening, and both moves were created with one ND change within a company.
That means our list of open ND positions remain at a very low 15.
Please join me in congratulating all this year’s Edward R. Murrow award winners. The complete list is here.
And we have three obituaries this week, involving either children or parents of current and former news directors.
That and more after this week’s changes:
NEW NEWS DIRECTOR OPENING:
WOOD-TV, Grand Rapids, MI…PATTI McGETTIGAN is being promoted within owner LIN Television to be the ND for the company’s Indianapolis station, WISH-TV. More on that below. Patti has been the ND here 2001, and has worked for this NBC affiliate (her second time there) since 1995. She’s also worked in Lansing and Pittsburgh.
NEW NEWS DIRECTOR NAMED:
McGettigan
WISH-TV, Indianapolis, IN…as noted above, PATTI McGETTIGAN will be the next ND for this LIN-owned CBS station. Patti has been the ND for WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, MI, since 2001. She re-joined the station in 1995 as EP, and was promoted to Assistant ND in 1998. At WISH-TV, she replaces KEVIN FINCH who left the station last month to join an Indianapolis-based documentary producer after more than two years as ND.
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OTHER NEWS MANAGEMENT OPENINGS:
ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR:
WMUR-TV, Manchester, NH (listed 4/25/09)
WNEM-TV, Saginaw, MI (relisted 6/19/09)
EXECUTIVE NEWS PRODUCER:
KIAH-TV, Houston, TX (PM EP, relisted 6/14/09)
WESH-TV, Orlando, FL (relisted 5/15/09)
KXTV, Sacramento, CA (Morning EP, relisted 6/19/09)
WDBJ-TV, Roanoke, VA (relisted 6/19/09)
WLTX-TV, Columbia, SC (listed 6/14/09)
KRNV-TV, Reno, NV (listed 5/22/09)
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OBITUARIES:
Bryan Barbin
Funeral services were held yesterday (Thursday, July 2, 2009) in Columbus, OH, for BRYAN BARBIN, the 18 year old son of veteran news director LYN TOLAN and her huband, BRAD BARBIN. Bryan died last weekend after an incident at a Columbus festival, as reported in this story from The Columbus Dispatch. You can find more details about Bryan and his life in this obituary. Lyn’s a former ND in Columbus, Hartford, Orlando, Cincinnati, and Grand Rapids, MI.
I’m sorry to report the death of FRANK SHAFRAN, father of former Jacksonville (WJXT-TV) and Houston (KPRC-TV) news director NANCY SHAFRAN. Mr. Shafran died just two weeks short of his 90th birthday. He was a nuclear engineer who worked on the Manhattan Project and helped build the first nuclear power plant in this country. He ran his first marathon at age 60! Your note of sympathy would reach Nancy at: nancyshafran@thenwtgroup.com
And our sympathy to WBBJ-TV (Jackson, TN) news director BRAD GRANTHAM and his wife ANGIE who had a stillborn baby last month. The family has established a memorial fund to both cover medical expenses and hopefully contribute to the Preeclampsia Foundation. If you’d like to donate, you can send a check to:
Evangeline Rose Grantham Memorial Fund
Acct # 9530449308
c/o Regions Bank
11 Murray Guard Drive
Jackson, TN 38305
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Here’s a complete list of all stations that I believe have a current ND opening, as of Friday, July 3, 2009. If you know of any updates, corrections, or additions to this list, please let me know via email at: rick@rickgevers.com
WNBC-TV 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York NY 10012
WDIV-TV 550 W. Lafayette Blvd Detroit MI 48231
KXLN-TV 9440 Kirby Dr. Houston TX 77054 ***
WTVJ-TV 15000 SW 27th Ave. Miramar FL 33027
WOOD-TV 120 College SE Grand Rapids MI 49503
WZZM-TV 645 Three Mile Road NW Grand Rapids MI 49504
WKRG-TV 555 Broadcast Dr. Mobile AL 36606
WAND-TV 904 South Side Dr. Decatur IL 62525
WFFF-TV 298 Mountain View Dr. Colchester VT 05446
WLNS-TV 2820 E. Saginaw St. Lansing MI 48912
WNCT-TV 3221 S. Evans St. Greenville NC 27834
WPBN/WTOM-TV 8518 M 72 West Traverse City MI 49684
WMGT-TV PO Box 4328 Macon GA 31208
KTEN-TV 10 HighPoint Circle Denison TX 75020
KSAX-TV PO Box 189 Alexandria MN 56308
(BOLD indicates new opening this week.
*** indicates Spanish language station)