March 20, 2022
Friday, March 25th, 2022 UPDATE:
Greetings:
Sorry to report that there are many stories reporting that the Black News Channel is shutting down, perhaps as soon as 5:00 PM Eastern time today.
That will cost 230 people their jobs.
The Los Angeles Times was apparently the first to report the news. Here’s the story. The Atlanta Journal Constitution quickly posted its own story.
While the channel was based in Tallahassee, FL, it had a significant presence in Atlanta.
The BNC website has no details. On the other hand, the website does not appear to have been updated in more than a month.
I’m sure there will be many other stories. We’ll try to find the most comprehensive for our Sunday newsletter.
regards,
Rick Gevers
**** ***** ****
Greetings:
A flurry of news director hires this week, with FIVE jobs filled and just ONE new opening, that created when the incumbent took an Assistant ND job.
So those of you betting the over/under won if you bet the under at 35 1/2, as our total list of openings number 35.
(It’s possible I’ve spent too much time watching basketball this week.)
Pleased to welcome back AccuWeather as an advertiser, whose ad is just below. They’ll be exhibiting at NAB in Vegas in April and you can sign up for an appointment via clicking on the ad.
We have TWO Paid Help Wanted ads, including a ad for a sales job with AP which might allow you to work from where you currently live….and an AND job in Texas.
Sorry to report the death of old friend JIM OGLE. We told you last week that the three time ND and longtime Topeka GM had entered hospice. Much more on this life and career below.
TWO new GMs, including ONE at a CBS o-and-o in San Francisco.
And NO items in Names in the News. Please send me your news!
All that and more as you read on.
Newly Named News Directors:
Combs
WTVQ-TV, Lexington, KY…MIRANDA COMBS completes the Lexington hat trick as she’ll be the next ND for this Morris Multimedia owned ABC affiliate. She joined WDKY-TV (Nexstar/FOX) last fall as its Assistant ND after a year+ working for the Kentucky Secretary of State. She also worked for WKYT-TV (CBS) for 13 years in two stints. Miranda replaces SARA HOWARD who had been ND there since 2017.
Salyers
KMTV, Omaha, NE…KRISTI SALYERS has been promoted to news director at this Scripps owned CBS affiliate. Here’s the note to staff from GM DAVE GERMAN. Kristi’s worked here for more than nine years, first as a producer, then EP, and since January 2019, as Senior EP. She’s also worked in Kearney, NE. Krtisti succeeds GEOFF ROTH who left in January for a job with Northwest Public Broadcasting after 3+ years here.
Cerbo
KIVI-TV. Boise, ID…CHRIS CERBO has been promoted to news director at this Scripps’ owned ABC affiliate. He’s been the Assistant ND here for the past year, coming from Charlottesville, VA. This note from GM MERRI HANSON provides more details. Chris has also worked in Myrtle Beach and is replacing J (cq) BATES who’s joining the Scripps recruiting team after four years as ND.
Vaughan
KOLO-TV, Reno, NV….MATT VAUGHAN has been promoted to news director for this Gray TV owned ABC affiliate. He’s been the EP there since August, 2020. Matt worked as a reporter at KOLO from 2014-2016 before taking a break from TV news, working for two non-profits in Reno. He replaces STANTON TANG who left late last year (after 7 1/2 years) to return to Grand Rapids, MI, as ND for Nexstar’s WOOD-TV (NBC).
Dodd
WMBD/WYZZ-TV, Peoria IL…veteran news director LAWTON DODD returns to the corner office as ND for this duopoly. (Nexstar owns WMBD and operates WYZZ). Lawton sent 22 years as ND for Hearst’s KSBW-TV in Salinas-Monterey and, more recently, seven months as ND as for Sinclair’s KVAL/KMTV in Eugene, OR. Lawton replaces SHAUN NEWELL who was promoted to GM after five years as ND. 
New News Director Opening:
Atwood
KMVT-TV, Twin Falls, ID…KADE ATWOOD is leaving this Gray owned CBS affiliate to head to the bright lights of Sin City (aka Las Vegas) as the new Assistant News Director for Sinclair’s KSNV-TV (NBC). He’s been the news director here for about 3 1/2 years. According to the KMVT news release when he was hired, Kade also coaches and trains multiple world champion American Paint horses.
Paid Help Wanted Ads:
National Sales Executive, Associated Press:
AP ENPS is hiring! Come join our great team.
The Associated Press is seeking a National Sales Executive, North America to join the ENPS news production team. The National Sales Executive will build on the success of ENPS news production and Playbook editorial planning software and develop this expanding business throughout the United States and Canada.
Main areas of responsibility:
· Work with Sales and Account Management colleagues to further develop existing customers and identify new business.
· Grow new customer base, increase the proportion of revenue which is from cloud-based SaaS solutions.
· Liaise with product management and support teams, both to channel development requests and to troubleshoot customer questions.
· Market and license SaaS cloud-based editorial systems initially to the news sector, as well as to content producers and other adjacent market segments.
· Develop business opportunities with online publishers, broadcasters, news agencies and other organizations managing news output (sports or finance information networks, social networks, associations, aggregators).
The ideal candidate will have:
· College Degree or equivalent relevant industry experience
· Experience of successful SaaS sales strategies either in a sales role directly or with compelling exposure to a range of sales and marketing activity
· Background in news, online publishing, media
· Network of contacts within the target businesses described above
The successful candidate may work on a hybrid schedule based in the Washington, D.C. office, AP’s New York headquarters or any U.S. city with an AP office and will report to the National Sales Director/AP ENPS & Playbook.
Assistant News Director, KBTX-TV, Bryan, TX:
KBTX, the legacy CBS station in Bryan-College Station, Texas, is looking for an inclusive, collaborative leader to serve as the station’s Assistant News Director.
You’ll work in a well-resourced, market-leading newsroom in one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. Bryan-College Station is consistently named one of America’s best college towns, recognized for quality of life no matter the last time you set foot in a classroom.
This is a growth-focused position at a station that prioritizes team members meeting their personal and professional goals. Each day, you’ll oversee KBTX’s multiplatform programming with a commitment to the station’s core values, providing editorial direction, leadership, support, and encouragement to a growing team of journalists. You will also help craft and oversee the newsroom’s strategic plan and development strategies.
KBTX has a deep commitment to community and a strong history of fostering the best in our team members through close, personal relationships. We work each day to build an inclusive, diverse workplace where all ideas and perspectives are valued, ensuring our product best reflects the vibrant community we serve.
You’ll succeed in this role thanks to a community-minded spirit and a vision to maintain and expand the station’s legacy of community outreach. Each year, KBTX’s newsroom helps to raise millions of dollars for local organizations and serves as a trusted community partner to dozens more. As assistant news director, you’ll serve as a direct conduit and among the strongest sustaining forces behind this vision.
To learn more or apply now, click here.
Other News Management Openings:
ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR:
KTLA-TV, Los Angeles, CA (Digital AND, relisted 1/16/22)
WRTV, Indianapolis, IN (relisted 2/27/22)
WXIN/WTTV, Indianapolis, IN (relisted 1/30/22)
WBNS-TV, Columbus, OH (relisted 2/27/22)
WXBW-TV, Buffalo, NY (listed 3/13/22)
KTNV-TV, Las Vegas, NV (listed 3/13/22)
KXAN-TV, Austin, TX (listed 2/20/22)
WRIC-TV, Richmond, VA (listed 2/27/22)
WDKY-TV, Lexington, KY (listed 3/20/22)
KOLR-TV, Springfield, MO (relisted 1/9/22)
KBTX-TV, Bryan, TX (listed 2/27/22, see ad above!)
KXXV-TV, Waco, TX (listed 3/13/22)
KIVI-TV, Boise, ID (listed 3/20/22)
WMBB-TV, Panama City, FL (listed 2/20/22)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:
WFLA-TV, Tampa, FL (listed 2/13/22)
KMGH-TV, Denver, CO (listed 2/27/22)
KTXL-TV, Sacramento, CA (relisted 3/13/22)
Spectrum News, Charlotte, NC (relisted 1/30/22)
WJZY-TV, Charlotte, NC (listed 1/30/22)
KMOV-TV. St. Louis, MO (Special Projects EP, listed 2/27/22)
WMAR-TV, Baltimore, MD (relisted 3/13/22)
WRAL-TV, Raleigh, NC (Streaming EP, relisted 2/27/22)
WTVF-TV, Nashville, TN (listed 2/27/22)
KTVX/KUCW-TV, Salt Lake City, UT (listed 3/20/22)
WDAF-TV, Kansas City, MO (Special Projects EP, listed 3/6/22)
WDJT-TV, Milwaukee, WI (listed 2/13/22)
WIAT-TV, Birmingham AL (listed 2/20/22)
WHTM-TV, Harriburg, PA (listed 3/6/22)
WGNO/WNOL-TV, New Orleans (EP Special Projects, revised 2/27/22)
WFTX-TV, Ft. Myers, FL (listed 3/13/22)
WHEC-TV, Rochester, NY (listed 2/27/22)
WROC-TV, Rochester, NY (listed 3/20/22)
WNEM-TV, Saginaw, MI (relisted 3/20/22)
WAFF-TV, Huntsville, AL (relisted 3/20/22)
KRGV-TV, Weslaco, TX (AM EP, listed 1/16/22)
WTVC-TV, Chattanooga, TN (listed 1/23/22)
KTSM-TV, El Paso, TX (relisted 1/30/22)
WBTW-TV, Myrtle Beach, SC (listed 3/20/22)
WJHL-TV, Johnson City, TN (listed 2/27/22)
WHBF-TV, Rock Island, IL (Digital EP, relisted 2/13/22)
KADN/KLAF-TV, Lafayette, LA (relisted 2/27/22)
KERO-TV, Bakersfield, CO (listed 2/27/22)
SUPERVISING PRODUCER:
KOMU-TV, Columbia, Mo (listed 1/30/22)
MANAGING EDITOR:
WCPO-TV, Cincinnati, OH (listed 2/27/22)
KOMU-TV, Columbia, Mo (listed 1/30/22)
More News Management Openings:
Listed 3/13/22:
Listed 3/6/22:
U. of Mississippi, Oxford, MS (Director of Student Media)
Listed 2/13/22:
KNXV-TV, Phoenix, AZ (Digital Director)
KOAA-TV, Colorado Springs, CO (Assignment Desk Manager)
Relisted 2/13/22:
E.W. Scripps, Cincinnati, OH: National Director of News Platform Strategies and Special Projects
Relisted 2/6/22:
WJW-TV, Cleveland, OH: (Digital Content Director)
Listed 1/30/22:
Missouri School of Journalism, Columbia, MO: (Director, Documentary Journalism Center)
Relisted 1/30/22:
Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY (Assistant Professor)
Relisted 1/23/22:
New York 1, New York, NY (Sr. Producer, Mornings on 1)
Obituaries:
Ogle
JIM OGLE, a former news director and longtime general manager in Topeka, died last Sunday of cancer. He was 64. Obituary here. His former station, WIBW-TV in Topeka, remembered him here. He left WIBW in 2006 but remained immersed in civic life in Topeka. He was an ND in Reno, Greensboro, and Lexington, KY. and also worked in Miami and Columbia, MO.
Names in the News:
No items this week. Please send your news to me at rick@rickgevers.com
General Manager News and Notes:
Warren
SCOTT WARREN, a longtime newsman with a diverse resume, will be the next General Manager for CBS’s KPIX-TV in San Francisco. He’s currently the Senior Director of News and Content at Spectrum News 1 in Los Angeles and previously worked as an executive producer for two Bay Area stations. His complete background is on his Linkedin page.
Butcher
She’s back! REBECCA BUTCHER returns to a GM job in Flint/Saginaw as she’s been named GM for Sinclair owned WSMH-TV (FOX). She’ll also oversee services for WEYI-TV (NBC) and WBSF-TV (CW). Rebecca served as GM for the later two stations from 2008-2015 before leaving to take a job with Adams Outdoor Advertising.
Our Full List of Open ND Jobs:
Here’s our list of open ND jobs as of Sunday, March 20, 2022.
It’s unofficial, there may be others that are open, and some of these may have been filled. If you know of any in either category, please let me know: rick@rickgevers.com