September 25, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009 UPDATE:
Harding
CORRIE HARDING, news director of Cox’s WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh for the last 4 1/2 years, has left the station. GM RAY CARTER told the staff he and Harding had “mutually agreed to go our separate ways”. Carter, a former ND at sister Cox station WSB-TV in Atlanta, will oversee the newsroom, along with WSB’s Managing Editor MIKE DREADEN until a replacement is named. And that could be soon…Carter’s memo said the first candidate will visit the newsroom tomorrow (Tuesday, September 29).
Greetings:
Once again, we have a lot of action to report to you. THREE new news directors named this week, one returning to the ND chair after two years out of the business.
And there are TWO new openings to report, one involving an ND who’d only been on the job for seven months.
We still show a total of 32 stations with an ND opening.
Also this week, we’ve got an ad for a pretty neat service that will improve your traffic coverage…and maybe even save you some money.
There’s an obituary for a long-ago ND who’s credited with overseeing the construction of the Newseum’s new facility.
There’s also good news for two stations honored with National EMMYs, details about an upcoming name change for RTNDA, and some Names in the News.
Read all about it below!
NEW NEWS DIRECTOR OPENINGS:
WFTX-TV, Ft. Myers, FL…FRANK VERDEL has left this Journal Broadcasting owned FOX affiliate after just seven months as ND. His replacement will be the fifth ND since December, 2003.
Grantham
WBBJ-TV, Jackson, TN…BRAD GRANTHAM is leaving this ABC affiliate after three years as news director. He and his wife are moving back to Louisiana to be closer to their families. (We told you a few months ago that Brad and his wife ANGIE had a stillborn baby this summer.) WBBJ is owned by Bahakel Communications.
NEW NEWS DIRECTORS NAMED:
WOOD-TV, Grand Rapids, MI…REBECCA SAPAKIE returns to West Michigan as ND for this LIN-owned NBC affiliate. She worked here for seven years earlier in her career, eventually becoming Assistant News Director before leaving to become Senior Web Producer for WDAF-TV in Kansas City three years ago. Rebecca replaces PATTI McGETTIGAN who was promoted two months ago to become ND for sister-LIN station WISH-TV, the CBS affiliate in Indianapolis. Patti had been the ND in Grand Rapids for eight years.
Weindel
KBCI-TV, Boise, ID…JULIE WEINDEL returns to the ND chair as she moves west to this Fisher-owned CBS affiliate. Julie’s a former ND at WHIO-TV in Dayton who’s owned her own media business since leaving WHIO more than two years ago. Julie tells me she and her husband have wanted to move to the Rockies. At KBCI, she replaces YVONNE SIMONS who left in July to become the Assistant ND at WBTV in Charlotte. Julie becomes the sixth ND here in seven years.
Chapman
WBNG-TV, Binghamton, NY…CANDACE CHAPMAN has been promoted to ND for this Granite-owned CBS affiliate. She’s been the EP there as well as the anchor of the 6:00 news. Candace has also worked in Lawton, OK, and Columbia, MO. Her promotion to ND allows GREG CATLIN to concentrate on his GM duties here. Greg has been doing both jobs since being promoted to GM earlier this year.
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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)
WLNS-TV, Lansing, MI (listed 9/12/09)
EXECUTIVE NEWS PRODUCER:
KIAH-TV, Houston, TX (PM EP, relisted 9/18/09)
KNXV-TV, Phoenix, AZ (Special Projects, listed 9/18/09)
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 this week)
KSDK-TV, St. Louis, MO (AM EP, listed 7/31/09)
WTHR-TV, Indianapolis, IN (PM EP, listed 9/18/09)
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 (relisted 9/18/09)
WZZM-TV, Grand Rapids, MI (listed 8/7/09)
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 9/18/09)
WLTX-TV, Columbia, SC (relisted 9/18/09)
WPTA/WISE, Ft. Wayne, IN (listed 8/14/09)
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OBITUARY:
Max Page
I’m sorry to report the death of one-time news director MAX PAGE. He died on September 15th from a heart attack at the age of 60. Max had been working for the Freedom Forum and the Newseum in Washington, and oversaw the design and construction of the new facility. Earlier in his career, Max was a news director at WNEP-TV in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, an EP in Atlanta, and the Washington Bureau Chief for Gannett News Service. He also worked in Wichita, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, and Dallas. Much more on his life in this obituary from The Washington Post.
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NAMES IN THE NEWS (and other stuff):
Congratulations to KHOU-TV in Houston and KSTP-TV in Minneapolis-St.Paul for winning national EMMYs. KHOU won for an investigative report, while KSTP was honored for its coverage of the I-35 bridge collapse. Read more here.
If you haven’t already heard, RTNDA becomes RTDNA in a few weeks. The explanation for the name change is in this letter from the board.
RICHARD HOLDEN has been promoted to morning EP for WREG-TV in Memphis. He first joined the station 2007 as a producer.
KALISA WELLS, wife of forme KGTV News Director DON WELLS pled guilty this week to a felony charge of corporal injury. She shot Don at their home last May. More details in this article.
Apologies to SAM JULIEN, who we told you last week had been promoted to EP at WXIN-TV in Indianapolis. We referred to Sam as a ‘he’ when in fact Sam is a ‘she’! That’s a good lesson about not assuming anything.
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Here’s a complete list of all stations that I believe have a current ND opening, as of Friday, September 25, 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 affiliate)
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
WXYZ-TV 20777 W. 10 Mile Road Southfield MI 48037
WTSP-TV 11450 Gandy Boulevard St. Petersburg FL 33702
WSFL-TV 200 E. Las Olas Blvd. Fort Lauderdale FL 33301
WOFL-TV 35 Skyline Dr. Lake Mary FL 32746
WCNC-TV 1001 Wood Ridge Center Dr. Charlotte ND 28217
WZTV-TV 631 Mainstream Drive Nashville TN 37228
WWMT-TV 590 W. Maple St. Kalamazoo MI 49008
WHP/WLYH-TV 3300 North 6th Street Harrisburg PA 17110
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
WFTX-TV 621 SW Pine Island Rd. Cape Coral FL 33991
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
WPBN/WTOM-TV 8518 M 72 West Traverse City MI 49684
WMGT-TV PO Box 4328 Macon GA 31208
WBBJ-TV 346 Muse St. Jackson TN 38301
KALB-TV 605 Washington St. Alexandria LA 71301