June | 2024 | Rick Gevers & Associates

June 23, 2024

Sunday, June 30, 2024 UPDATE:

Greetings:

Due to travel, this week’s newsletter will be delayed. I hope to have it posted by early afternoon (Eastern time) on Monday.

But there’s lots of movement in it, so it will be newsworthy.

Thanks for your understanding.

Rick Gevers

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Greetings:

Regular readers know I always enjoy the IRE Conference, which was held this week in Anaheim. I don’t have a final attendance number but at last word it was close to 1,600 journalists from all over the world. And thanks to those broadcasters who recruited there: CBS, Scripps, Tegna, Nexstar, Gray, and Talent Dynamics.

Mark your calendar for next year’s conference in New Orleans, June 19-22.

On to our regular business.

TWO new NDs named this week, including ONE in the number ONE market. And just ONE new ND opening, leaving our count of open ND jobs at 42.

THREE GM changes, including TWO in Baton Rouge.

And changes in the executive ranks at Tegna and Gray, along with a salute to an out going Chicago GM and a big honor for a longtime Missouri ND and educator.

All that and more as you read on.

Newly Named News Directors:

Ashgar

WNYW/WWOR-TV, New York, NY…Friday’s UPDATE told you that EMAD ASHGAR would be the next news director for this FOX o-and-o. The FOX news release has more. Emad has been the Assistant ND here since 2011 and first joined 16 years ago as the EP for Good Day New York. He’ll replaces BYRON HARMON who left in April after about ten years as the ND.

Stocksdale

KMVT-TV, Twin Falls, ID…congratulations to ADAM STOCKSDALE who gets his first ND job at this Gray Television owned CBS affiliate. GM ERIC WALTERS shared this news in this email. Adam’s been the Assistant ND for Tegna’s KTHV-TV in Little Rock and has worked in Phoenix, Milwaukee, and Palm Springs, CA. He replaces JOE MARTIN who’s been pulling double duty as both ND and anchor.

New News Director Opening:

Waggoner

KSHB-TV, Kansas City, MO…MATT WAGGONER is leaving this Scripps owned NBC affiliate for job outside of TV. KSBH GM KATHLEEN CHOAL (who’s also a regional GM and will oversee the newsroom during the search) sent this memo out. Matt’s been the ND here since 2019 and added station manager duties last year. He’s also been an ND in Indianapolis. His Linkedin page has more.

Interview an expert:

Outdoor air quality and wildfire smoke

(U. of Wisconsin-Madison)

Thursday, June 27 (2-4 p.m. EDT) – Zoom

The U.S. wildfire season is getting longer and fires are getting more intense, exposing Americans to record-breaking amounts of wildfire-related smoke.

Book a 15-minute, 1-on-1 Zoom interview with Dr. Tracey Holloway (U. of Wisconsin-Madison). She can discuss:

How to stay informed about local air quality—including what “AQI” means, and how it is determined;
Health effects of wildfire smoke and other air pollutants, and how to protect yourself and your family from unhealthy air;
Why wildfire smoke is worsening; and
Strategies to improve the nation’s air quality, including what is happening already, and what could be next.

REGISTER HERE

Crash course:

Stats essentials for math-averse reporters

Tuesday, June 25 (2-3 p.m. EDT) – Zoom

Many journalists lack confidence when including numbers in their reporting, or they fear misrepresenting the data when it comes to covering facts and figures, studies, or technical reports. This free, one-hour “crash course”—designed for reporters who cover science, health, or environment issues but lack statistics or data training—aims to take the stress out of reporting on the numbers that could be crucial to your next story.

REGISTER HERE

SciLine, a philanthropically funded, free service for reporters, also runs a free expert matching service that connects reporters rapidly to scientist-sources on deadline.

Other News Management Openings:

ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR:

KUSA-TV, Denver, CO (relisted 4/14/24)
WVEC-TV, Norfolk, VA (listed 4/21/24)
WBIR-TV, Knoxville, TN (listed 6/2/24)
WDKY-TV, Lexington, KY (listed 6/23/24)
WLTX-TV, Columbia, SC (relisted 5/19/24)
WSYR-TV, Syracuse, NY (relisted 6/16/24)
WCYB-TV, Tri-Cities, TN & VA (listed 4/28/24)
KWES-TV, Midland, TX (listed 4/7/24)

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:

KNBC-TV, Los Angeles, CA (relisted 4/14/24)
KIAH-TV, Houston, TX (AM EP/Special Projects, listed 6/16/24)
KHOU-TV, Houston, TX (listed 5/19/24)
KAZT-TV, Phoenix, AZ (listed 6/23/24)
KPNX-TV, Phoenix, AZ (relisted 5/19/24)
WFLA-TV, Tampa, FL (listed 5/5/24)
WFLA-TV, Tampa, FL (Executive Digital Producer, listed 6/16/24)
WTSP-TV, Tampa/St. Petersburg (AM EP, relisted 5/19/24)
KDVR/KWGN-TV, Denver, CO (AM EP, listed 6/23/24)
KUSA-TV, Denver, CO (AM EP, relisted 5/19/24)
WJW-TV, Cleveland, OH (listed 6/23/24)
KATU-TV, Portland, OR (Digital EP, listing modified 4/21/24)
Spectrum News 1, Raleigh NC (listed 5/12/24)
WNCN-TV, Raleigh, NC (relisted 6/16/24)
WTHR-TV, Indianapolis, IN (AM EP, relisted 5/19/24)
KTVX/KUCW-TV, Salt Lake City, UT (listed 5/27/24)
KGTV, San Diego, CA (listed 5/5/24)
KSWB/KUSI-TV, San Diego, CA (relisted 6/2/24)
WTNH-TV, Hartford, CT (relisted 5/5/24)
WSPA/WYCW-TV, Spartanburg, SC (Lifestyle EP, listed 5/12/24)
WVEC-TV, Norfolk, VA (AM EP, (relisted 6/2/24)
KRQE-TV, Albuquerque, NM (Nightside EP, relisted 6/23/24)
WGRZ-TV, Buffalo, NY (listed 5/19/24)
WINK-TV, Ft. Myers, FL (two openings, listing modified 6/2/24)
WRIC-TV, Richmond, VA (listed 6/9/24)
KVEO/KGBT-TV, Harlingen, TX (relisted 5/5/24)
KOAA-TV, Colorado Springs, CO (Digital EP, relisted 4/28/24)
KSBY-TV, San Luis Obispo, CA (listed 6/9/24)
WKBT-TV, LaCrosse/Eau Claire, WI (listed 4/7/24)

MANAGING EDITOR:

WJYZ-TV, Charlotte, NC (relisted 6/2/24)
WTMJ-TV, Milwaukee, WI (listed 6/9/24)

More News Management Openings:

Relisted 6/2/24;

WTIC-TV, Hartford, CT (Digital Director)
WBNS-TV, Columbus, OH (Director of Digital Content)

Listed 5/5/24:

WJW-TV, Cleveland, OH (News Assignments Manager)

Listed 4/28/24:

KSDK-TV, St. Louis, MO (Digital Director)

Names in the News (and other stuff):

Steib

Monday’s UPDATE told you about a change at Tegna. DAVE LOUGEE is retiring next month and will be replaced as CEO by MICHAEL STEIB. He is currently CEO of Artsy, which the news release describes as ‘the world’s largest online platform for discovering and collecting art.’ Before that he was the CEO of the parent company of The Knot, a wedding planning website. Earlier Steib’s spent ten years with NBC and Google developing ad supported businesses.

Zurik

Gray Television promoted THREE people to new roles, including LEE ZURIK who is now Senior VP/News Strategy and Innovation. Lee’s a busy fellow…he anchors at Gray’s WVUE-TV in New Orleans and also co-hosts the company’s weekday program, InvestigateTV+, in addition to serving as Gray’s VP of Investigations. Click here for more details on Lee’s new role…and the other two who were promoted.

Graves

Another week, another on-air tribute to a retiring news director. This time it’s JENNIFER GRAVES who’s leaving ABC’s WLS-TV in Chicago after a remarkable 23 years as ND and 32 years at the station. Here’s the link to the well-deserved on-air tribute. Jennnifer also worked in St. Louis at KSDK-TV and for KOMU-TV in Columbia, MO, where she graduated from the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism,

Woelfel

Speaking of Missouri, congratulations to longtime faculty member STACEY WOELFEL who is (deep breath!) the 2024 Edward L. Bliss Award winner for Distinguished Broadcast Journalism Education, awarded by AEJMC in early August at the conference in Philadelphia. He’s the longest serving ND at Missouri’s KOMU-TV and was the founding director of the school’s Murray Center for Documentary Journalism.

General Manager News and Notes:

Shenkan

TWO new General Managers are headed to Baton Rouge, LA.

And for one of them it’s a return as ANDREW SHENKAN is coming back to Manship’s WBRZ-TV (ABC). He’s a former sales executive there and is currently the GM for Scripps’ WLEX-TV in Lexington, KY. Andrew’s also served as a GM in Lafayette, LA. More details about his new job at WBRZ in this news release.

Ingram

Also taking a GM job in Baton Rouge this week was veteran manager TIM INGRAM. He’s joining Nexstar’s WGMB-TV (FOX) there as you’ll learn here. Tim most recently was a Senior VP for Gray following a long run as GM for WVUE-TV (FOX) in New Orleans. He’ll also oversee NBC affiliate WVLA-TV which Nexstar operates for White Knight Broadcasting.

Pylant

STAN PYLANT is retiring as general manager of Nexstar’s WHNT-TV (CBS) in Huntsville, AL. Stan’s been the GM there for 17 years and worked at WHNT for a total of 27. More details in his post on Facebook.

Our List of Open News Director jobs:

Here’s our list of open ND jobs as of Sunday, June 23, 2024:

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

News 12 Bronx/Brooklyn, 930 Soundview Ave. Bronx, NY 10473
WFLD-TV 205 N. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL 60601
WLS-TV 190 N State St. Chicago, IL, 60601
WFXT-TV 25 Fox Dr. Dedham, MA 02026
WXIA-TV One Monroe Place NE Atlanta, GA 30324
KPRC-TV 8181 Southwest Freeway Houston, TX 77074
WRC-TV 4001 Nebraska Avenue NW Washington, DC 20016
KGW-TV 1501 SW Jefferson Street Portland, OR 97201
KTVI/KPLR-TV 2250 Ball Drive St. Louis, MO 63146
WZTV 631 Mainstream Drive Nashville, TN 37228
Spectrum News Texas (based in Austin, TX)
KSHB-TV 4720 Oak Street Kansas City, MO 64112
WDAF-TV 3030 Summit Kansas City, MO 64108
WTIC-TV 285 Broad Street Hartford, CT 06115
WTKR-TV 720 Boush Street Norfolk VA 23510
WOLF-TV 1181 Highway 315 Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702 (News Manager)
WHAS-TV 520 W. Chestnut St. Louisville, KY 40202
KITV 801 South King Street | Honolulu, HI 96813
WZDX-TV 1309 N. Memorial Parkway Huntsville, AL 35801
KTBS-TV 312 E. Kings Highway. Shreveport, LA 71104
KNVO-TV, 801 North Jackson Rd., McAllen TX 78501 **
KLEW-TV 2626 17th St, Lewiston, ID 83501
KYTX-TV 2211 ESE Loop 323. Tyler, TX 75701
KNDU/KNDO-TV 216 W. Yakima Ave. Yakima, WA 98902
WGXA-TV 599 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Macon, GA 31201
KHSL-TV 3460 Silverbell Rd. Chico, CA 95973
KDRV-TV 1090 Knutson Ave. Medford, OR 97504
KQDS-TV 2001 London Road Duluth, MN 55812
KXMB-TV 1811 N 15th St. Bismarck, ND 58501
KOSA-TV 4101 E. 42nd. Suite J-7. Odessa, TX. 79761
KMID/KPEJ-TV 1550 West I-20 Odessa, TX 79763
KWES-TV 11320 West County Rd. 127. Odessa, TX, 79765
KTTC-TV 6301 Bandel Road NW Rochester, MN 55901
WTWO-TV 10849 N US Highway 41, Farmersburg, IN 47850
WDTV 5 Television Dr. Bridgeport, WV 26330
WTVY-TV 285 North Foster St., Dothan, AL 36303
WGEM-TV 513 Hampshire Quincy, IL 62301
WWNY-TV 120 Arcade St. Watertown, NY 13601
KREX-TV 345 Hillcrest Drive Grand Junction, CO 81501
KGWN-TV, 2923 E. Lincolnway. Cheyenne, WY 82001
KYOU-TV 820 West 2nd Street; Ottumwa, IA 52501
KQTV 4000 Faraon St. Joseph, MO 64506

**: Spanish language station

June 16, 2024

Friday, June 21, 2024 UPDATE:

Greetings:

Hello from the annual IRE conference in Anaheim, which has been terrific. A few things have happened while I was here that I wanted to share in an UPDATE.

Ashgar

We’ll start in New York, where EMAD ASHGAR has been promoted to Vice President/News Director for Fox’s WNYW-WWOR-TV. He first joined the station 16 years ago as EP for Good Day New York, became Managing Editor and has been the Assistant News Director since 2011. More details on Emad in this release from the station. He replaces BYRON HARMON who left earlier this year after about ten years as ND.

While one job filled, another opened up today.

Waggoner

MATT WAGGONER, who’s been news director (and more recently, ND and Station Manager) at Scripps’ KSHB-TV (NBC) in Kansas City, is leaving the station for an opportunity outside of television. Matt joined the station in 2019 as ND, coming from WTTV/WXIN-TV (CBS/Fox) in Indianapolis. He added station manager duties last year. More in this note from KSHB General Manager (and Regional VP) KATHLEEN CHOAL.

We’ll see you Sunday with a full report.

regards,

Rick Gevers

Monday, June 17, 2024 UPDATE:

Greetings:

Big news today from Tegna, where DAVE LOUGEE will retire next month and be replaced by what some might call a non-traditional hire.

Steib

MICHAEL STEIB will be the next President and CEO of Tegna beginning August 17. He is currently CEO of Artsy, which the news release describes as ‘the world’s largest online platform for discovering and collecting art.’ And before that he was the CEO of the parent company of The Knot, a wedding planning website. Here’s the full news release.

Earlier in Steib’s career, he spent ten years with NBC and Google developing ad supported businesses.

Many of you know Lougee, who came up the news side of broadcasting.

I’m sure you’ll see much more on this in the next few days.

regards,

Rick Gevers

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Greetings:

It was nice to see a few of you this week in Milwaukee for RTDNA. I expect to see more of you this week in Anaheim for this year’s IRE conference.

A little action this week on the newsletter front: TWO new NDs and TWO new openings, with means 42 stations are still looking for news directors.

Our friends at Sciline have an interview opportunity tomorrow on an important topic: check out the ad below.

A change in oversight of Florida’s FOX owned stations which results in the retirement of a former photographer turned ND turned GM.

And some interesting tidbits in Names in the News.

See you in Anaheim, I hope!

Newly Named News Directors:

Oder

WTOC-TV, Savannah, GA…MICHAEL ODER transfers within Gray to this CBS affiliate. Here’s the memo from VP/GM MARSHA FOGARTY. Since early 2022, Michael’s been the ND at Gray’s KTTC-TV in Rochester, MN. He was the assistant ND for KBTX-TV in Bryan, TX, and reported in Birmingham. At WTOC, he replaces BARI SOASH who left in February after 5 1/2 years as ND here.

Gallardo

KGNS-TV, Laredo, TX…YOCELIN GALLARDO has been promoted to news director for this Gray Television owned NBC and ABC affiliate. She’s been the executive producer and evening anchor and has worked here for almost five years. She’s also worked in Bryan, TX and Fresno. Yocelin replaces JERRY GARZA who left the station (and television) in late December after more than six years here.

New News Director Openings:

KTTC-TV, Rochester, MN…you learned above that MICHAEL ODER is transferring from this Gray owned NBC affiliate to sister station WTOC-TV in Savannah, GA. Michael was here a little less than 18 months.

KREX-TV, Grand Junction, CO…TERRI CHAPPELL-PAXSON has left this Nexstar owned CBS affiliate after about 2 1/2 years as news director.

Interview an expert:

Rise of hospital-acquired infections

with Dr. Nasia Safdar (U. of Wisconsin-Madison)

Monday, June 17 (2-4 p.m. EDT) – Zoom

Rates of hospital-acquired infections (also called healthcare-associated infections) that are resistant to multiple antibiotics are significantly higher now than before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Book a 15-minute Zoom interview slot with Dr. Nasia Safdar to learn more. She can discuss:

Why infections, particularly antibiotic-resistant ones, can easily spread in hospitals and other healthcare settings;
The latest on C. auris, a deadly fungal infection that accounted for fewer than 500 cases nationwide in 2019 but nearly 2,400 in 2022;
Her research on how health systems can prevent the spread of infections using prebiotics or other tools to manipulate the gut microbiome; and
What patients or their families can do to reduce their odds of hospital infections.

REGISTER HERE

Crash course:

Stats essentials for math-averse reporters

Tuesday, June 25 (2-3 p.m. EDT) – Zoom

REGISTER HERE

SciLine, a philanthropically funded, free service for reporters, also runs a free expert matching service that connects reporters rapidly to scientist-sources on deadline.