September 12, 2009

Wednesday, September 16, 2009 UPDATE:

There are two changes in top 20 markets to tell you about today.

Andrea

Andrea

ANDREA PARQUET-TAYLOR has left WXYZ-TV in Detroit, where she’s been the news director for more than five years.  That’s the Scripps-owned ABC affiliate.  Andrea has also been an ND for Scripps’ WMAR-TV in Baltimore and at WRAL-TV Raleigh, NC.

Suarez

Suarez

And in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, JOSE SUAREZ has left WSFL-TV, the Tribune owned independent there.  The station produces a local morning program.  Jose has also worked at WTVJ-TV in Miami as an EP, and also was a news director for WUPW-TV, the FOX affiliate in Toledo.

It’s shaping up to be a busy week.  We’ll cover all of it when we do our full report on Friday.

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Monday, September 14, 2009 UPDATE:

Maliska

Maliska

A surprising move in Orlando today, where WOFL-TV VP/News GAVIN MALISKA has suddenly left the station.  He’s been there since last December, coming from WXIN-TV in Indianapolis where he was ND for more than two years.  Gavin was the Assistant ND for Fox’s WJBK-TV in Detroit and previously the Managing Editor for another Fox o-and-o, WFLD-TV in Chicago.  He began his career in newspapers.

More on this and all the week’s changes later this week.

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Greetings:

A very busy week to tell you about in this slightly delayed version of your weekly newsletter covering news director and news management changes.

There are FIVE new ND openings this week, including TWO in top 20 markets.  And there have been FOUR new NDs named since our last report.  One of those new NDs is being promoted to replace his former boss who is assuming a larger, regional role for her company.

Our count of open ND jobs increases slightly to 30.

We have a paid ad for one of those new openings…be sure to check that out if you’re looking for a new challenge.

There’s a new Assistant ND opening in our listing of other news management openings.

And we have a handful of Names in the News, as well.

All that and more after this week’s changes:

NEW NEWS DIRECTOR OPENINGS:

Newschannel 8, Washington, DC….JEREMY SETTLE has resigned as News Director for this cable news channel owned by Albritton.  He’s been ND there since last November. BILL LORD, who’s VP/News for Albritton’s WJLA-TV, says Jeremy will be replaced but that decision won’t happen for a few months.

Richards

Richards

WTSP-TV, Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL…DARREN RICHARDS has resigned as the ND for this Gannett-owned CBS affiliate.  He’s taken a new job as VP of Tampa-based PR firm Tucker/Hall.  Darren’s worked for Gannett for 19 years, including five years as ND here, seven years as ND for the company’s WFMY-TV in Greensboro, NC, and in news management roles at Gannett stations in Phoenix, Denver, and Jacksonville.  He’s also worked in Topeka, KS, and Ft. Myers, FL.

WHAS-TV, Louisville, KY…GENIE GARNER is leaving this Belo-owned ABC affiliate to become ND for KITV in Honolulu.  More on that below.  She’s been the ND here for less than two years, and was previously the Assistant ND for sister-Belo station KMOV-TV in St. Louis.  She’s also a former ND in Terre Haute, IN.

WHP/WLYH-TV, Harrisburg, PA…CAROLINE IMLER is returning to North Carolina for family reasons. She’ll leave this Newport TV owned CBS/CW Network duopoly sometime next month.  She’s been the ND here for just over two years.  Caroline has also been an ND in Myrtle Beach, SC, and also worked in Louisville and Norfolk. More on this opportunity in the paid ad you’ll find below.

KALB-TV, Alexandria, LA…MICHELLE GODDARD has been promoted to General Manager.  Michelle has been ND here since she was promoted to that job in December, 2002.  KALB is owned by Hoak Media and is an NBC affiliate.

NEW NEWS DIRECTORS NAMED:

KITV,    Honolulu, HI…GENIE GARNER returns to Hawaii as ND for this Hearst TV owned ABC affiliate.  As noted above, Genie has been ND for WHAS-TV in Louisville, but earlier in her career she worked as a producer for another Honolulu station.  She’s also been an Assistant ND in St. Louis.  At KITV, she replaces TOD PRITCHARD who left in July after almost eight years as ND.

Zimmerman

Zimmerman

WAFB-TV, Baton Rouge, LA…ROBB HAYS has been promoted to news director here, replacing longtime news director VICKI ZIMMERMAN who is assuming regional responsibilities for station owner Raycom.  She’ll work primarily with the company’s many stations in the South.  Robb had been the Assistant News Director for this CBS affiliate.

Jam Sardar

Jam Sardar

WLNS-TV, Lansing, MI…JAM SARDAR has been promoted to ND for this Young Broadcasting owned CBS affiliate.  He had been the Assistant ND here, and replaces PHIL HENDRIX who left the station in June after six years as ND.  Jam started as a reporter, and worked for another Lansing station, as well as in Lafayette, IN, Grand Rapids, MI, and for a cable news operation in Philadelphia.  He’s a former National VP for AAJA.

John LaPorte

John LaPorte

WEAU-TV, Eau Claire, WI…JOHN LaPORTE is the new ND here, replacing the late JOHN HOFFLAND.  (You’ll remember that John died several months ago at the age of 64, after 25 years as ND in two stints at the Gray TV owned NBC affiliate.)  John LaPorte has been the Managing Editor for KPRC-TV in Houston, but previously was an ND in Milwaukee and Palm Springs, CA.  He’s also worked in Green Bay, Albany, NY, Hartford, and Omaha. John tells me he’s happy to be back in Wisconsin and closer to his son who’s in college there.

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PAID AD:

new-cbs_21_logo-copy

NEWS DIRECTOR, WHP/WLYH-TV, Harrisburg, PA

CBS 21 News, the CBS affiliate serving market 39: Harrisburg-Lancaster- Lebanon-York, PA, has an immediate opening for an experienced News Director to manage the efforts of the CBS 21 News team, including the 10:00 pm news on sister station CW 15.

The successful candidate will have a proven track record of leadership in all areas of news management, with emphasis on crafting compelling coverage and winning breaking news.

This position requires previous successful television news director experience, excellent communication skills as well as the responsibilities for department budgeting and resource management. A Bachelor’s degree is required.

No phone calls, please.

Email cover letter and resume to resumes@cbs21.com, fax to 717-234-7076, or via mail to:

WHP-TV/WLYH-TV
Attn: News Director Opening
3300 North Sixth Street
Harrisburg, PA 17110

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OTHER NEWS MGMT. OPENINGS:

ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR:

KWWL-TV, Waterloo, IA (listed 7/31/09)
WBRZ-TV, Baton Rouge, LA (listed 8/7/09)
WSJV-TV, South Bend/Elkhart, IN (listed 9/4/09)
WAFB-TV, Baton Rouge, LA (new listing this week)
WLNS-TV, Lansing, MI (new listing this week)

EXECUTIVE NEWS PRODUCER:

KIAH-TV, Houston, TX (PM EP, relisted 6/14/09)
KCPQ-TV, Seattle, WA (PM EP, listed 7/31/09)
KING-TV, Seattle, WA (AM EP, listed 8/28/09)
Northwest Cable News, Seattle, WA (PM EP, listed 8/7/09)
WXYZ-TV, Detroit, MI (listed 9/4/09)
WOFL-TV, Orlando, FL (listed 8/28/09)
KXTV,    Sacramento, CA (AM EP, relisted 6/19/09)
KSDK-TV, St. Louis, MO (AM EP, listed 7/31/09)
WXIN-TV, Indianapolis, IN (two jobs, AM & PM, listed 8/14/09)
KCTV,    Kansas City, MO (AM EP, listed 9/4/09)
KMBC-TV, Kansas City, MO (AM EP, listed 8/28/09)
WPEC-TV, West Palm Beach, FL (listed 8/14/09)
WZZM-TV, Grand Rapids, MI (listed 8/7/09)
WREG-TV, Memphis, TN (listed 7/24/09)
KVVU-TV, Las Vegas, NV (PM EP, listed 9/4/09)
WFTX-TV, Ft. Myers, FL listed 8/28/09)
WDBJ-TV, Roanoke, VA (relisted 6/19/09)
WLTX-TV, Columbia, SC (listed 6/14/09)
WPTA/WISE, Ft. Wayne, IN (listed 8/14/09)

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NAMES IN THE NEWS:

WFTS-TV in Tampa has a new Assistant News Director.  SUSAN D’ASTOLI joins this Scripps-owned ABC affiliate from another Scripps owned ABC affiliate, KNXV-TV in Phoenix, where she was Senior EP for Investigations and Special Projects.  She earlier spent 12 years working in Atlanta.

Here’s an update on some management changes at WMUR-TV, the Hearst-owned ABC affiliate in Manchester, NY.  DAVID HURLBURT has been promoted to Assistant News Director here.  He had been the Executive Producer.  SHAUN NEVILLE replaces David as EP.  He had been a Special Projects Producer at Hearst’s Washington Bureau.

ERIC PAGE joins KWWL-TV in Waterloo, IA, as Content Manager/Assistant ND.  Eric has been a producer at KGAN-TV in Cedar Rapids, IA.  KWWL-TV is an NBC affiliate and is owned by Quincy Newspapers.

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Here’s a complete list of all stations that I believe have a current ND opening, as of Saturday, September 12, 2009.  If you know of any updates, corrections, or additions to this list, please let me know via email at: rick@rickgevers.com

WPIX-TV   220 E. 42nd Street              New York NY 10017
KNBC-TV   3000 W. Alameda Ave.            Burbank CA 91523
WYIN-TV   8625 Indiana Place              Merrillville IN 46410 (PBS affilate)
KNTV      2450 North First St.            San Jose CA 95131
NewsChannel 8  1100 Wilson Blvd.          Arlington VA 22209
WUSA-TV   4100 Wisconsin Ave NW           Washington DC 20016
KXLN-TV   9440 Kirby Dr.                  Houston TX 77054  (Spanish Language)
WDIV-TV   550 W. Lafayette Blvd           Detroit MI 48231
WTSP-TV   11450 Gandy Boulevard           St. Petersburg FL 33702
WCNC-TV   1001 Wood Ridge Center Dr.      Charlotte ND 28217
WZTV-TV   631 Mainstream Drive            Nashville TN 37228
WPEC/WFLX 1100 Fairfield Dr.              W. Palm Beach FL 33407
WOOD-TV   120 College SE                  Grand Rapids MI 49503
WHP/WLYH-TV  3300 North 6th Street        Harrisburg PA 17110 (see paid ad above)
WHAS-TV   520 W. Chestnut St.             Louisville KY 40203
WBRE-TV   62 S. Franklin                  Wilkes-Barre PA 18701
KSEE-TV   5035 E. McKinley Ave.           Fresno CA 93727
WNYT-TV   715 N. Pearl St.                Albany NY 12204
WKRG-TV   555 Broadcast Dr.               Mobile AL 36606
WSAZ-TV   645 Fifth Ave.                  Huntington WV 25701
WNWO-TV   300 S. Byrne Rd.                Toledo OH 43615
WAND-TV   904 South Side Dr.              Decatur IL 62525
WFFF-TV   298 Mountain View Dr.           Colchester VT 05446
WNCT-TV   3221 S. Evans St.               Greenville NC 27834
KRNV-TV   1790 Vassar St.                 Reno NV 89502
KBCI-TV   140 N. 16th St.                 Boise ID 83702
WPBN/WTOM-TV 8518 M 72 West               Traverse City MI 49684
WMGT-TV   PO Box 4328                     Macon GA 31208
WLOX-TV   208 DeBuys Road                 Biloxi MS 39531
KALB-TV   605 Washington St.              Alexandria LA 71301

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