March 9, 2009

Greetings:

A promotion within the Hearst chain fills ONE open ND spot this week and creates ONE new opening this week. With the elimination of an open ND spot in Peoria (more on that below) our list of open ND positions now stands at just 18.

We have one new news management opening added to our list of open management positions.

And we have LOTS of Names in the News, including a new baby for a Connecticut ND, a big anniversary for a veteran newsman, and the first steps on the road to recover following heart surgery for another longtime newsie.

That and more after this week’s changes:

NEW NEWS DIRECTOR OPENINGS:

WMUR-TV, Manchester, NH…we reported to you in an emailed UPDATE earlier this week that ANDREW VREES is leaving this Hearst-owned ABC affiliate to become ND for sister-Hearst ABC affiliate WCVB-TV in Boston. More on that move below.

NEW NEWS DIRECTORS NAMED:

WCVB-TV, Boston, MA…ANDREW VREES will be the next ND for this Hearst-owned ABC affiliate. We told you above that Andrew has been the ND at Hearst’s WMUR-TV in nearby Manchester, NH, for the past five years, and worked as an Assistant ND in Albuquerque and Toledo before that. He replaces COLEEN MARREN who left WCVB at the end of 2008 after eight years as ND there.

Please also note that we’re removing the open ND listing for WHOI-TV in Peoria, IL, after this week’s announcement of the arrangement under which Granite’s WEEK-TV will produce news for WHOI. DON SHAFER, currently ND for WEEK-TV, will be the ND for both stations. The same type of arrangement will take place in Syracuse, where Barrington Broadcasting will produce news for Granite’s WTVH-TV.

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OTHER NEWS MANAGEMENT OPENINGS:

ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR:

WTVJ-TV, Miami, FL (listed 1/30/09)
WEWS-TV, Cleveland, OH (listed 1/11/09)
WREG-TV, Memphis, TN (relisted 1/16/09)
WNEM-TV, Saginaw, MI (new listing this week)

EXECUTIVE NEWS PRODUCER:

KIAH-TV, Houston, TX (PM EP, listed 2/13/09)
WFOR-TV, Miami, FL (Morning EP, relisted 1/23/09)
WTVJ-TV, Miami, FL (listed 1/30/09)
WESH-TV, Orlando, FL (listed 1/30/09)
KXTV, Sacramento, CA (Morning EP, listed 1/30/09)
WCNC-TV, Charlotte, NC (Nightside EP, listed 12/12/08)
WSOC-TV, Charlotte, NC (Nightside EP, relisted 1/16/09)
WZTV, Nashville, TN (relisted 1/23/09)
WXII-TV, Winston-Salem, NC (Dayside EP, relisted 12/12/08)
WDBJ-TV, Roanoke, VA (relisted 1/16/09)
KITV, Honolulu, HI (listed 2/27/09)

OPERATIONS MANAGER:

WTVJ-TV, Miami, FL (listed 1/30/09)

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NAMES in the NEWS:

WFSB-TV (Hartford, CT) News Director DANA NEVES is back on the job after giving birth last November to a son named WILLIAM HENRY. William joins three year old Jack in the Neves’ family.

Raycom’s KSLA-TV in Shreveport has a new Managing Editor: SONJI ALEXANDER joins the station. She’s previously worked in Dallas and Amarillo.

One-time ND MARCI BURDICK has been named to the NAB Board of Directors. Marci was ND for Schurz’s KYTV in Springfield, MO. She’s now VP of Broadcast and Cable for the company, and is also a past RTNDA Chairman.

GARY WHITAKER’s publishing empire continues to expand. Gary, a former ND in Albany, NY, and St. Louis, now heads Whitaker Publishing, which produces 417 Magazine in Springfield, MO (417 is the area code), several other Springfield publications, and Wichita Magazine. Now the company is adding Branson Vacation Magazine aimed at prospective visitors to the area. Full disclosure: Gary and I were classmates at the University of Missouri.

One time Atlanta (WSB-TV) and Montgomery, AL, (WSFA-TV) ND SKIP HALEY is on the mend after successful open heart surgery to replace his aortic valve. As long as they had him open, they did a bypass on an artery as well. Skip’s currently at WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge as Director of Information Services. The surgery didn’t impact his sense of humor…he writes that his prognosis is that he’ll live long enough to stand in any number of unemployment lines before he’s done. If you liked that line, send Skip your joke at: skip@wbrz.com

Congratulations to veteran newsman LOU PRATO and his long-suffering wife CAROLE as they celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Lou’s a former ND in Dayton and Detroit but may likely best known to you as either the longtime RTNDA treasurer, or as head of Northwestern University’s Medill DC program. Around here, he’s also known as a big Indy 500 fan who joins us each year in May for The Greatest Spectacle in Racing. You can send Lou and Carole your anniversary wishes via email to: louprato@comcast.net

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Here’s a complete list of all stations that I believe have a current ND opening, as of Sunday, March 8, 2009. If you know of any updates, corrections, or additions to this list, please let me know via email at: rick@rickgevers.com

KTLA-TV   5800 Sunset Blvd.               Los Angeles, CA 90028
WWSB-TV   1477 10th St.                   Sarasota FL 34236
KXTV      400 Broadway                    Sacramento CA 95818
KDKA-TV   One Gateway Center              Pittsburgh PA 15222
KPTV      14975 NW Greenbrier Parkway     Beaverton OR 97006
WCMH-TV   3165 Olentangy River Rd.        Columbus OH 43202
WSYX/WTTE-TV 1261 Dublin Rd.              Columbus OH 43215
KUTV      299 S. Main St. #150            Salt Lake City UT 84111
WSPA-TV   250 International Drive         Spartanburg SC 29301
WFMY-TV   1615 Phillips Avenue            Greensboro NC 27405
KMPH-TV   5111 E. McKinley Ave.           Fresno CA 93727
WFFF-TV   298 Mountain View Dr.           Colchester VT 05446
KDBC-TV   2201 E. Wyoming Ave.            El Paso TX 79903
WHOI-TV   500 N. Stewart St.              Creve Coeur IL 61601
WMGT-TV   PO Box 4328                     Macon GA 31208
KNOE-TV   1400 Oliver Rd.                 Monroe LA 71211
KTVE/KARD-TV 200 Pavilion Rd.             West Monroe LA 71292
KSAX-TV   PO Box 189                      Alexandria MN 56308

Rick Gevers
Rick Gevers & Associates
PO Box 577
Zionsville IN 46077
317-769-7900 (phone)
317-769-7910 (fax)
rick@rickgevers.com
www.rickgevers.com

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