June 21, 2020
Greetings:
We have a fairly busy report for you this week, with TWO new news director openings and TWO new news directors to tell you about.
That leaves our list of open ND jobs at 23. TWO of those 23 openings are featured in our Paid Help Wanted ads.
We have way too many (FOUR) obituaries, THREE items in our Names in the News segment and TWO general managers on the move.
That’s all below.
Newly Named News Directors:
Flannigan
KCTV, Kansas City, MO…SCOTT FLANNIGAN moves within Meredith to become news director for this CBS affiliate. Here’s the note from GM CHARLIE HEINRICH. Scott’s been the ND of sister Meredith station WALA-TV (FOX) in his hometown of Mobile, since March 2014. Before that, Scott was ND at WCBD-TV in Charleston, SC, for four years and KPLC-TV in Lake Charles, LA. He’s also worked in Miami and Birmingham. At KCTV, he replaces CASEY CLARK who left the station in April after less than two years.
Martin
KKTV, Colorado Springs, CO…LAURI MARTIN is now the ND for this Gray Television owned CBS affiliate. She had been the assistant news director. I believe she replaces LIZ HALTIWANGER who had been serving as both GM and news director. The station’s website now lists KERRI BLANCO as the GM. She had been the sales manager there.
New News Director Openings:
WALA-TV, Mobile, AL…if you’ve been paying attention 🙂 you learned above that SCOTT FLANNIGAN is leaving one Meredith station for another. He’s the new news director for KCTV in Kansas City. Scott’s been ND here for just over six years.
Harper
KTVA-TV, Anchorage, AK…JANIS HARPER is leaving this GCI/Denali Media Holdings owned CBS affiliate after three years as ND. Janis first joined the station as the Assistant ND in 2013 and was upped to the big chair three years later. She’s also worked in Evansville, Tyler, TX, Roanoke, Louisville, and Lake Charles, LA. You can learn more about this opportunity in the Paid Help Wanted ad just below.
Paid Help Wanted Ads:
News Director KTVA-TV, Anchorage, AK:
Looking for an adventure? Keep reading!
KTVA, the CBS affiliate in Anchorage, Alaska needs a News Director.
While the market is 150+ you would not know that when you watch. The creative team of journalists, including regional Murrow and Emmy winners, wants someone to guide them through the next big thing. Oh boy, are there big things that happen here: politics is basically the unofficial state sport, nearly 24 hours of sunlight in the summer, the beauty of the northern lights in the winter and the occasional earthquake.
Alaska has its challenges; the goal of our newsroom is to talk about those issues and offer solutions-when we can. Our goal has been, and continues, to focus on helping our communities be stronger, safer and well-informed. We do this through enterprise storytelling and investigative reporting.
You have the support of a pro-active engineering team and tireless creative services department to get your message to the masses.
It may sound too good to be true; it’s not. Apply here to find out.
News Director WCAV-TV, Charlottesville, VA:
WCAV in Charlottesville, VA is seeking a highly motivated News Director to lead our talented staff.
Duties:
Plan, staff and train news department
Develop news coverage for station and digital platforms
Quality control news stories to correct errors and improve content
Develop strategy for news content to meet station goals while collaborating with Creative Services and Sales departments to ensure those goals are met.
Skills:
Excellent communication skills, both oral and written
Able to use Microsoft Office
Ability to meet deadlines and priorities (prioritize) assignments
Ability to work as a team leader for news staff
Excellent problem-solving skills
Be able to work under pressure in a fast-paced environment
Requirements:
5 years working in a newsroom
2 years working as a news director or assistant news director
Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism or related field or an equivalent combination of education and work-related experience.
The ideal candidate will possess excellent news judgment, motivational skills, and the ability to find and develop talent.
Send resume to: John Cochrane at jcochrane@lockwoodbroadcast.com
Other News Management Openings:
ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR:
WXYZ-TV, Detroit, MI (new listing this week)
WNCN-TV, Raleigh, NC (listed 5/31/20)
KUSI-TV, San Diego, CA (relisted 5/10/20)
WDJT-TV, Milwaukee, WI (relisted 4/12/20)
WGBA-TV, Green Bay, WI (relisted this week)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:
WGN-TV, Chicago IL (new listing this week)
KRON-TV, San Francisco, CA (Digital EP, listed 6/14/20)
WWSB-TV, Sarasota, FL (relisted 6/7/20)
KING/KONG-TV, Seattle, WA (relisted 5/3/10)
WNCN-TV, Raleigh, NC (PM EP, relisted 4/5/20)
KVVU-TV, Las Vegas, NV (relisted 6/14/20)
WKBW-TV, Buffalo, NY (EP of Lifestyle Content, listed 5/24/20)
WIVB-TV, Buffalo, NY (Digital EP, listed 6/7/20)
WTVR-TV, Richmond, VA (relisted 5/17/20)
KNWA-TV, Fayetteville, AR (PM EP, relisted 5/31/20)
KRIS-TV, Corpus Christi, TX (new listing this week)
MANAGING EDITOR:
WJAX/WFOX-TV, Jacksonville, FL (new listing this week)
More News Management Openings:
New listing this week:
KRIS-TV, Corpus Christi, TX (Senior Broadcast Manager)
KRIS-TV, Corpus Christi, TX (Real Time Desk Manager)
Relisted this week:
KARK/KLRT-TV, Little Rock, AR (Digital Director)
Obituaries:
KTVO-TV in Kirksville, MO/Ottuma. IA posted this remembrance to its late assistant news director, ANDY GROVE. We told you last week that Andy died suddenly on June 10th.
Doty
RALPH DOTY, former news director and anchor for KBJR-TV in Duluth, MN, died June 13th at the age of 78, Doty passed away from a combination of diseases, Frontotemporal Dementia, PSP, and Parkinsonism’s and had been ill for sometime. He also served in the state senate and is survived by seven siblings, one of whom is former Duluth mayor GARY DOTY.
Sutton
A former CEO of Media General who also headed the Home Shopping Network and helped launch the Golf Channel died June 7th. BOB SUTTON was 80 and held many executive positions, including general manager for WFLA-TV in Tampa. More in this obituary.
And BILL TURNER, who was the general manager for both KCAU-TV and KTIV-TV in Sioux City, IA, for much of 1970s and 1980s, died June 16th in Naples at the age of 90.
Names in the News (and other items):
Johnston
One-time WFXT-TV (FOX) Boston news director PAMELA JOHNSTON is the new General Manager for News for WGBH. Most recently, Pamela has been the Senior Director of Strategy and Audience for Frontline, the investigative documentary series produced by WGBH. She spent eight years at WFXT, the last four as ND before leaving for two PR jobs. She’s also worked in Raleigh and Portland, ME. More details in this story from the WGBH website.
JASON BALTHAZAR returns to WFTV (ABC/Cox Media Group) in Orlando as Managing Editor. He’s spent the last two years as (according to his Linkedin Page) the Multiplatform Content Manager at Cox’s WJAX-WFOX-TV) in Jacksonville but had earlier spent more than twenty years at WFTV.
KEN DUNHAM, who served five years as an news director in the early 70’s, is retiring from his latest job, Executive Director of the West Coast Lumber & Building Material Association. That’s the latest stop in a long and varied career that included being ND at KFBB-TV in Great Falls MT, from 1971-1976. Ken kindly sent me this note explaining his other career moves.
General Manager News and Notes:
Nexstar has promoted MIKE LEE to GM for KWKT-TV (FOX) in Waco, Temple, and Bryan, TX. He’s been the GM for the company’s KMID-TV in Midland and Odessa, TX.
He’ll be replaced at KMID by MARK GARCIA. More about Mark and his background here.
Our Full List of Open ND Jobs:
Here’s our list of open ND jobs as of Sunday, June 21, 2020:
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
KABC-TV 500 Circle Seven Dr. Glendale, CA 91201
WFMZ-TV 300 E Rock Rd, Allentown, PA 18103
KXTX-TV 4805 Amon Carter Blvd. Ft. Worth, TX 76155 **
WUVG-TV 3350 Peachtree Road #1250, Atlanta, GA 30326 **
WBFF-TV 2000 W 41st St, Baltimore, MD 21211
WPMT-TV 2005 South Queen Street York, PA 17403
WNYT-TV 715 North Pearl Street, Albany, NY 12204
WRGB-TV 1400 Balltown Road, Schenectady, NY 12309
WALA-TV 1501 Satchel Paige Dr. Mobile, AL 36606
WKEF/WRGT-TV 2245 Corporate Place Miamisburg, OH 45342
KYTX-TV 2211 E SE Loop 323, Tyler, TX 75701
KVAL/KMTR-TV 4575 Blanton Rd., Eugene, OR 97405
KRIS-TV 301 Artesian Street Corpus Christi, TX 78401 *
WLTZ-TV 6140 Buena Vista Rd. Columbus, GA 31907
KOMU-TV 5550 Old 63 S, Columbia, MO 65201
KTVA-TV 2550 Denali St. # 1604 Anchorage, AK 99503 (see ad above!)
KPLC-TV 20 Division Street, Lake Charles, LA 70601
WCAV-TV 999 2nd Street, S.E. Charlottesville Virginia 22902 (see ad above!)
WLFI-TV 2605 Yeager Rd. West Lafayette, IN 47906
Delta News 837 Washington Av. Greenville, MS 38701
KIDY/KXVA-TV 5 S. Chadbourne Street San Angelo, TX 76903
KGWN-TV 2923 E. Lincolnway, Cheyenne, WY 82001
KAVU-TV 3808 N Navarro St, Victoria, TX 77901
* Position is Senior Director of Local Media Content
**: Spanish language station