October 30, 2016
Greetings:
Happy Halloween to you and yours. If you get more peanut M&Ms than you want, send ’em my way!
While it may be Halloween, nothing spooky in this week’s newsletter, with TWO new ND openings and just ONE newly named ND. That brings our list of open ND jobs to 22. (We have removed the open ND listing for WMAQ-TV in Chicago but have added an Assistant ND opening there.)
TWO of those 22 open ND jobs are featured in our FOUR paid help wanted ads.
We have details about the closing of a 21 year old cable news network serving several states in the Pacific Northwest. We have quite a few news managers on the move, and, sadly, obituaries for two general managers, one current and one former.
All this and more as you read on.
New News Director Openings:
Stalvey
WRCB-TV, Chattanooga, TN…DERRALL STALVEY announced this week that he’s leaving his job here sometime in 2017. He’s been the ND here since August, 2007, and earlier worked as an Assistant ND in Knoxville. Derrall says he and his family plans to stay in Chattanooga. Here’s part of the note he sent his staff. WRCB is an NBC affiliate owned by Sarkes Tarzian.
WTOK-TV, Meridian, MS…this Gray Television owned ABC affiliate is advertising for a news director. My records show JOHN JOHNSON has been the ND there since 1985, and anchored at the station until 2011.
UPDATED 10/31/16: John Johnson is retiring after 32 years at the station. Congratulations and best wishes to him!
Newly Named News Directors:
Pickey
WOAY-TV, Beckley-Oak Hill WV…SCOTT PICKEY will start tomorrow as the news director for locally owned Thomas Broadcasting’s ABC affiliate. Scott most recently was the ND for WWAY-TV in Wilmington, NC. Scott’s a former ND at another Wilmington station and in Fayetteville, AR. He’s also worked in El Paso, Huntsville, Raleigh, Richmond, and Syracuse. He replaces DAVID MILLER who left the station just six months after adding the ND job to his anchor duties.
Paid Help Wanted Ads:
Senior Executive Producer, KRIV-TV, Houston, TX:
Fox 26 KRIV, the Fox O&O in Houston, TX, is seeking a highly competitive and innovative applicant for the position of Senior Executive Producer to oversee day-to- day news operations in the gathering, execution and production of content across multiple-platforms. The primary responsibility of this position is to create timely and compelling content with the highest standards of journalistic accuracy and excellent production values. In addition:
Be a creative and innovative thinker, content developer and “show doctor”
Possess strong breaking news skills and control room experience
Work with news director to recruit talent and train staff
Be able to communicate goals, motivate the team and commit to measureable results
Collaborate with executive producer of special projects on unique and promotable content for newscasts, long-form specials and digital platforms.
Have the ability to produce extensive live coverage whether in the studio or on a live remote
Serve as liaison for news department with marketing team
Attend editorial meetings, maintain schedules and perform other duties as assigned
Candidate should have a minimum of 7 years’ experience in a medium to large market news operation producing local or network news. Minimum of 3 years management experience. Knowledge of control room automation, desktop editing, I-news, and Microsoft pc-based systems is preferred. Bachelor’s Degree required. Valid driver’s license required.
Click on this link to apply:
NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE. EOE/M/F/Veteran/Disabled
News Director, WTVA-TV, Tupelo, MS:
WTVA in Tupelo-Columbus, Mississippi, has an immediate opening for a news director. The ideal candidate is a high energy person with a positive and competitive personality who possesses leadership skills to quickly gain the respect of a very strong team of journalists.
This person will be expected to take an award-winning newsroom to new heights of success.
WTVA is the NBC/ABC television station for Northeast Mississippi. It is located in Tupelo, the birthplace of Elvis and the regional hub for shopping and services. The city is near two SEC-affiliated universities and is a short drive to Memphis and Birmingham.
Send résumé and cover letter to:
Jerry Jones
WTVA-TV
P.O. Box 320
Tupelo, MS 38802
jjones@wtva.com
Also, let us know in your cover letter how you learned of the opening.
WTVA is an equal opportunity employer.
News Director, KMIR-TV, Palm Springs, CA:
KMIR-KPSE in beautiful Palm Springs is looking for a News Director.
If you’re reading Rick Gevers’ Newsletter, you know what a News Director does: we want to know what you can do?
Can you lead a team, develop an innovative plan, break a few rules and lead a great television station into the future?
How would you incorporate all things digital and social into the equation every day?
How would you run a newsroom? Lots of questions and we know there is not one right answer.
You just have to be willing to take chances, try new things, and know you’ll work for a company willing to innovate. No corporate News Director, just a local team out to win, in what has to be the best small market in America – Palm Springs.
Yes, it gets hot in the summer (but it’s a dry heat)
And when the snow starts falling in a few weeks, it will be 80 degrees here.
Resume and thoughts on above to PalmSpringsND@KMIR.com.
EOE
Executive Producer, WOI-TV, Des Moines, IA:
Come make a difference in a newsroom that takes risks, invests in real journalism and allows you to grow. The perfect person for our Executive Producer position is someone with big ideas, an innovative spirit and has a love for creating great television with great sound and video.
If your dream is to become a News Director soon, this is a great starting place. Local 5 news in Des Moines, Iowa is looking for an energetic thinker who can take great content and make it shine. This position is for an upcoming, savvy producer or leader in a smaller market ready to apply what you’ve learned.
Des Moines has all the amenities of a big city (minus the professional sports teams.) We are consistently rated as a Top 5 best city in America for young professionals and overall well-being by the likes of Forbes, Bankrate.com, Gallup and Dell. Our music, dining and arts scene is thriving. Our news market is just as good.
Our newsroom is filled with storytellers, journalists and strong producers. Email me if you want to join us on the adventure.
April Samp
News Director
asamp@weareiowa.com
Other News Management Openings:
ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR:
WMAQ-TV, Chicago, IL (new listing this week)
KXAS-TV, Ft. Worth/Dallas, TX (relisted 9/4/16)
KNTV, San Francisco/San Jose, CA (listed 9/4/16)
KNXV-TV, Phoenix, AZ (new listing this week)
WTAE-TV, Pittsburgh, PA (relisted 10/23/16)
KMBC-TV, Kansas City, MO (relisted 10/16/16)
KSHB-TV, Kansas City, MO (listed 10/2/16)
WJXT-TV, Jacksonville, FL (relisted 10/23/16)
WREG-TV, Memphis, TN (listed 9/4/16)
KEZI-TV, Eugene, OR (relisted 10/23/16)
KTXS-TV, Abilene, TX (relisted this week)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:
KXAS-TV, Ft. Worth/Dallas, TX (relisted 9/4/16)
WGCL-TV, Atlanta, GA (2 jobs, Sr. EP & Spec. Projects Sr. EP, listed 9/25/16)
WXYZ-TV, Detroit, MI (Special Projects/Investigative, relisted this week)
KRIV-TV, Houston, TX (Senior EP, relisted this week, see ad above!)
KWGN-TV Denver, CO (listed 9/25/16)
WEWS-TV, Cleveland, OH (Dayside EP, relisted this week)
WOIO/WUAB-TV, Cleveland, OH (listed 9/18/16)
KMOV-TV, St. Louis, MO (AP EP, listed 10/23/16)
KPTV, Portland, OR (relisted 9/11/16)
WXIN-TV, Indianapolis, IN (two openings, listed 10/23/16)
WBNS-TV, Columbus, OH (two openings, listing modified 9/18/16)
KCTV, Kansas City, MO (PM EP, relisted 9/18/16)
WPTV, West Palm Beach, FL (AM EP, relisted this week)
KLAS-TV, Las Vegas, NV (AM EP, relisted this week)
KOAT-TV, Albuquerque, NM (PM EP, relisted 9/4/16)
KOB-TV, Albuquerque, NM (relisted 9/25/16)
WREG-TV, Memphis, TN (listed 9/4/16)
WFTX-TV, Ft. Myers, FL (AM EP, new listing this week)
WOI-TV, Des Moines, IA (listed 10/23/16, see ad above!)
WAAY-TV, Huntsville, AL (PM EP, relisted this week)
WCTI-TV, New Bern, NC (relisted 9/25/16)
WTXL-TV, Tallahassee, FL (listing revised 9/11/16)
Obituaries:
Brown
UPDATED 11/1/16: The location for the services for “BUD” BROWN has been changed to:
Buffalo Gap Chapel
133 William Street
Buffalo Gap, TX 79508
and will still be held this Saturday, November 5th, at 3:0O PM.
(Flowers should be sent to KTXS at 4420 Clack Street, Abilene, TX 79601)
Funeral services for KTXS-TV (Abilene, TX) General Manager ALBERT BELMONT “BUD” BROWN will be held next Saturday, November 5th, at the Elliott-Hamil Funeral Home at 542 Hickory Street in Abilene, TX. Bud died unexpectedly last Tuesday at the age of 64. He’d been the GM for this Bonten Media owned ABC affiliate since 2012, and previously was a GM in New Orleans, Spokane, and Tulsa. Bud was the GM for WWL-TV in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. The station reports on his death here, while the funeral home obituary (which I assume will be updated later this week) is here. Our sympathy to his wife LINNIE and their five year old son.
Farris
ELIZABETH “BETSY” FARRIS, a former general manager for KRCG-TV in the Jefferson City/Columbia, MO, market, died Saturday, October 21. She was 57 and lost a battle with cancer. She began at KCRG in sales and was GM for that CBS affiliate for about ten years before leaving to work for an entertainment business in Columbia. Betsy also worked in St. Louis and Sacramento. This obituary appeared in a Columbia newspaper.
Names in the News:
After 21 years, Tegna is closing its 24 hour cable news network in the Pacific Northwest, Northwest Cable News. The move affects the jobs of about 20-25 people. This article quotes GM JIM ROSE as saying he hopes to find jobs for about half those people in the company.
RTDNA celebrated its 70th birthday this week.
In Colorado Springs, CO, KXRM-TV News Director JOE COLE is stepping off the anchor desk for this Media General owned Fox affiliate to concentrate full time on the ND duties. The station honored him on his final newscast.
Ioos
JAMIE IOOS moves across Phoenix to become the Content Manager for KTVK/KPHO-TV there. She’s been the Assistant ND for KNXV-TV in Phoenix since September, 2014, had been an EP there, is a former news director in Las Vegas and Albuquerque, and once worked as a consultant for Crawford Johnson & Northcott. She’s also worked in Boston, Providence, and Cedar Rapids.
After almost 18 years at WDBJ-TV in Roanoke in a variety of roles, KIMBERLY ELLER is headed to WBTV in Charlotte as an Executive Producer. She starts at that Raycom Media owned CBS affiliate on November 2nd.
TIA BROZ heads east on I-74 to Cincinnati to become an Executive Producer for Scripps’ WCPO-TV. She’s been a producer for WISH-TV in Indianapolis and has also worked in South Bend and Ft. Wayne.
JENNIFER NICKELS returns home to Ohio as the Assistant News Director for WBNS-TV in Columbus. She’d been an EP for WAVE-TV in Louisville, and has also worked in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbia, MO.
General Manager News:
ERIC DUNCAN returns to Texas as General Manager for KXXV-TV in Waco. I’m told he has deep Texas roots. Eric spent about the last 18 months as GM for sister-Raycom station WSFA-TV in Montgomery. He’s earlier worked in Lubbock and Austin, TX.
Schrader
The Cleveland Plain Dealer profiles new WOIO/WUAB-TV (CBS/CW in Cleveland) General Manager ERIK SCHRADER, who arrived in town just in time for the World Series. Erik’s a former ND in a number of markets, whose first GM job was just three years ago in Wichita…he later served as a GM in Birmingham.
Our Full List of Open ND Jobs:
Here is my list of stations with open ND jobs, as of Sunday, October 30, 2016:
If you know of any additions/deletions/updates, please email me at: rick@rickgevers.com
KTVT-TV 5233 Bridge Street, Fort Worth TX 76103
KOIN-TV 222 SW Columbia St. Portland OR 97201
WCPO-TV 1720 Gilbert Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45202
WIVB-TV, 2077 Elmwood Ave. Buffalo, NY 14207
KOKI-TV 2625 S Memorial Dr, Tulsa, OK 74129
WTEN-TV 41 Northern Blvd, Albany, NY 12204
WKRG-TV 555 Broadcast Dr. Mobile AL 36606
WCSH/WLBZ-TV One Congress Square Portland, ME 04101
WAND-TV 904 South Side Drive Decatur, IL 62521
WRCB-TV 900 Whitehall Road Chattanooga, TN 37405
WCTI-TV 225 Glenburnie Drive New Bern, NC 28560
WFFT-TV 3707 Hillegas Road Fort Wayne, IN 46807
KIMA/KEPR-TV 2801 Terrace Heights Dr. Yakima, WA 98901
KAPP/KVEW 114 N. 4th Street Yakima, WA 98901
WTVA-TV PO Box 320 Tupelo MS 38802 (see ad above!)
KX Network 1811 N 15th Street Bismarck, ND 58501
KARD/KTVE-TV 200 Pavilion Road W. Monroe, LA 71292
KESQ-TV 31276 Dunham Way Thousand Palms, CA 92276
KMIR-TV 72920 Parkview Dr, Palm Desert, CA 92260 (see ad above!)
WTOK-TV 815 23rd Ave. Meridian, Ms. 39301
KMVT-TV 1100 Blue Lakes Blvd. N Twin Falls, ID 83301
KYOU-TV 820 W Second St. Ottumwa IA 52501