December 22, 2024
Greetings:
For the week before several major holidays, a surprising (at least to me) amount of news.
THREE new ND openings, TWO in top 25 markets. And there’s ONE new news director to tell you about.
If my math is correct, 41 stations are still looking for a new news director. That full list is below, and if you see a station that should NOT be on the list, please let me know.
We have the obituary of an engineer turned GM who later became President of his broadcast group.
In Names in the News (and other stuff!) we have details on court wins for an Oklahoma City station AND all journalists in Missouri.
New jobs for several former news directors, and details about the retirement of a longtime Toledo journalist whose first trip after his wedding was NOT a honeymoon with his wife, but a trip to Mexico on a story with me.
I don’t expect much news this week or next, but I do plan on publishing both Sundays.
Best wishes for great holidays to you and yours, and thanks for reading all these years.
Newly Named News Director:
Cheek
WNCT-TV, Greenville, NC…a move within Nexstar sends KRISTIE CHEEK to this CBS affiliate as ND. She’s been the EP at Nexstar’s WNCN-TV (CBS) in Raleigh for the last 3+ years after four years as a producer. She’s worked in multiple markets: her Linkedin page has more. At WNCT, she replaces DAVID BAXLEY. David left the station in November after nine months as ND due to a family situation.
New News Director Openings:
Robin W.
KDFW-TV, Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX…you first learned via our Tuesday UPDATE that ROBIN WHITMEYER is retiring after 13 years running the news department for this FOX o-and-o. She’ll step down near the end of February. Robin sent me this brief note looking back at her time there. Before Dallas, Robin spent more than 25 years at WSOC-TV (Cox/ABC) in Charlotte, the last nine as news director.
Gibson
WISH-TV, Indianapolis, IN…this independent station owned by Circle City Broadcasting is looking for a new news director. BRADY GIBSON has held that job since February when he was promoted from Assistant ND, reporting to VP/News AL CARL. Brady began at WISH as an EP in 2017 and earlier spent 17 years working at WRTV (ABC) in Indianapolis. He also worked in Evansville.
Rudy M.
KOKI-TV, Tulsa, OK…there’s a posting for a news director’s job on the website of this Imagicomm owned FOX affiliate. RUDY MURRIETA has been the ND here since May, 2023, after almost three years as Managing Editor. I reached out to Rudy, the KOKI General Manager, and an Imagicomm executive. No one responded.
Paid Help Wanted Ads:
No ads this week. If you want to reach a VERY targeted audience for your news management openings, please email me at rick@rickgevers.com
Other News Management Openings:
ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR:
KUSA-TV, Denver, CO (relisted 9/29/24)
WJZY-TV, Charlotte, NC (listed 12/8/24)
WNCN-TV, Raleigh, NC (listed 12/1/24)
WDAF-TV, Kansas City, MO (relisted 11/17/24)
WHAS-TV, Louisville, KY (relisted 9/29/24)
WJAR-TV, Providence, RI (listed 11/3/24)
WBRE/WYOU-TV, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA (relisted 11/10/24)
WDTN-TV, Dayton, OH (listed 11/10/24)
WFRV-TV, Green Bay, WI (relisted 11/10/24)
WROC-TV, Rochester, NY (listed 11/10/24)
WSYR-TV, Syracuse, NY (listed 11/3/24)
WCIA-TV, Champaign, IL (relisted 12/1/24)
KIVI-TV, Boise, ID (listed 9/29/24)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:
Spectrum Noticias, New York, NY (Senior EP, listed 10/27/24)
KPRC-TV, Houston, TX (AM Broadcast EP, relisted 10/6/24)
WUSA-TV, Washington, DC (listed 11/3/24)
Spectrum News, Tampa, FL (National EP, relisted 12/22/24)
WFLA-TV, Tampa, FL (relisted 10/13/24)
WXYZ-TV, Detroit, MI (listed 10/13/24)
Spectrum News, Orlando, FL (relisted 10/27/24)
WESH-TV, Orlando, FL (relisted 10/20/24)
WCNC-TV, Charlotte, NC (listed 9/29/24)
Spectrum News 1, Raleigh NC (relisted 12/22/24)
WNCN-TV, Raleigh, NC (listed 12/22/24)
WTVF-TV, Nashville, TN (Senior Content Producer, listed 11/10/24)
WCMH-TV, Columbus, OH (Digital EP, listing modified 10/6/24)
WYFF-TV, Greenville-Spartanburg-Ashville, (listed 10/20/24)
WXMI-TV, Grand Rapids, MI (EP Lifestyle Show, listed 11/10/24)
WGAL-TV, Lancaster, PA (relisted 10/20/24)
WXII-TV, Winston-Salem NC, (Weekend EP, relisted 10/20/24)
KOAT-TV, Albuquerque, NM (listed 10/20/24)
WDSU-TV, New Orleans, LA (listed 10/20/24)
WVLA/WGMB-TV, Baton Rouge, LA (relisted 11/17/24)
More News Management Openings:
Listed 12/15/24:
KRON-TV, San Francisco, CA (Streaming/Weekend Executive Producer)
Relisted 12/8/24:
Tegna, Jacksonville, or Tampa, FL (Florida Digital Director)
Relisted 12/1/24:
KSWB/KUSI-TV, San Diego, CA (Digital Content Manager)
Listed 11/3/24:
KGW-TV, Portland OR (Digital Director)
Listed 10/27/24:
WGNO/WNOL-TV, New Orleans, LA (Digital Content Manager)
KARK/KLRT-TV, Little Rock, AR (Digital Webmaster & Content Dir.)
Listed 10/20/24:
WFTS-TV, Tampa, FL (Manager of Real Time Depth)
WVLA/WGMB-TV, Baton Rouge, LA (Digital Content Manager)
Obituary:
Elkins
KENNIE ‘KEN’ ELKINS began as an engineer and went on to be President of Pulitzer Broadcasting, a mid-size group owner until the stations were sold (many of them to Hearst). Ken died December 11th at the age of 87. He was GM of KSD-TV (now KSDK-TV) in St. Louis when he was promoted. His obituary is here and a bio (from his induction into the Nebraska Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame) is here.
Names in the News (and other stuff):
Congratulations to KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City. That Nexstar owned CBS affiliate won a long legal battle with the State Department of Education over access.
And journalists in Missouri are celebrating a win in a court case challenging a blanket rule calling for redaction of ALL names of witnesses and victims in court filings.
Solakian
MICHAEL SOLAKIAN has been named Chief of Hearst’s Washington, DC, bureau. He’s been the Assistant ND for Hearst’s WTAE-TV (ABC) in Pittsburgh since 2021. Michael’s also worked for Hearst stations in Louisville and Baltimore, and began his career at KOMU-TV in Columbia, MO. In DC, he replaces WENDY WILK who is leaving after 20 years for a new role with the Hearst Foundations. More on Michael’s and Wendy’s new roles here.
Rozman
MARIA ROZMAN is the new Senior Director of News for Spectrum Noticias in New York. We told you last edition that she was leaving her job as ND for WKTB, the Gray owned Telemundo station in Atlanta. She said she was moving to New York and promised more news soon. And she delivered. She’s a former ND for Telemundo stations in Washington, DC, and Denver, and worked for CNN and for the Univision station in Denver.
Balta
HUGO BALTA, a onetime ND for public station WTTW-TV in Chicago, is the new executive editor of The Fulcrum. He’s been the director of solutions journalism and DEI initiatives there. More about The Fulcrum from its website. Hugo’s also worked for MSNBC, ESPN, WCBS-TV in New York, and is a two time NAHJ President. More in his varied career via his Linkedin page.
BILL DOBILAS has been promoted to EP for Tegna’s WXIA-TV (NBC) in Atlanta. He’d been the Managing Editor there. Among his many other stops was five years as an ND in Chattanooga.
BRYAN LUHN has been promoted to Director of Media Relations at the University of Houston. He had been the Assistant Director there. Bryan’s a former ND in Charleston, SC, and worked in many other markets. More from his Linkedin page.
Kwapich
PAUL KWAPICH, a 43 year veteran of WTOL-TV (CBS-Tegna) in Toledo, is retiring. He’s held many jobs, including newsroom operations manager and chief photographer. In 1986, I took Paul with me to Acapulco, Mexico, in search of a federal fugitive. We found him, and our story made the front page of the local paper. Paul had been married less than two weeks when we left the country. Remarkably, Paul is still married to CINDY, and she still speaks to me.
General Manager News and Notes:
I am not aware of any GM changes this week.
Our List of Open News Director jobs:
Here’s our list of open ND jobs as of Sunday, December 22, 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
WPHL-TV 5001 Wynnefield Ave. Ste 3. Philadelphia, PA 19131
KDFW-TV 400 N. Griffin Street Dallas, TX 75202
WKTB 4675 River Green Pkwy, Duluth, GA 30096 **
KIAH-TV 7700 Westpark Drive Houston, TX 77063
WTVT-TV 3213 W Kennedy Blvd, Tampa, FL 33609
KSTP-TV 3415 University Ave. St. Paul, MN 55114
WISH-TV 1950 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis, IN 46202
KSL-TV 55 North 300 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84180
WOAI-TV 4335 NW Loop 410, San Antonio, TX, 78229
WHNS-TV 21 Interstate Court. Greenville, SC 29615
WHTM-TV 3235 Hoffman Street. Harrisburg, PA 17110
WHAS- 520 W Chestnut St, Louisville, KY 40202
WOLF-TV 1181 Highway 315 Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702 (News Manager)
KFSN-TV 1777 G St, Fresno, CA 93706
KATV 10 Turtle Creek Lane Little Rock, AR 72202
KOKI-TV 2625 S Memorial Dr, Tulsa, OK 74129
KLEW-TV 2626 17th St, Lewiston, ID 83501
WOWK-TV 350 Quarrier St, Charleston, WV 25301
WZDX-TV 1309 N. Memorial Parkway Huntsville, AL 35801
WCIV-TV 88 Allbritton Blvd, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
KNVO-TV, 801 North Jackson Rd., McAllen TX 78501 **
WSAV-TV 1430 East Victory Drive Savannah, GA 31404
KTBS-TV 312 E. Kings Highway. Shreveport, LA 71104
WSIL-TV 1416 Country Aire Drive Carterville, IL 62918
WNCT-TV 3221 South Evans Street. Greenville, NC 27834
KSFY-TV 325 S 1st Ave, Ste 100, Sioux Falls, SD 57104
WGXA-TV 599 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Macon, GA 31201
KHSL-TV 3460 Silverbell Rd. Chico, CA 95973
WREX-TV 10322 Auburn Road, Rockford, IL 61101
KQDS-TV 2001 London Road Duluth, MN 55812
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
WTWO-TV 10849 N US Highway 41, Farmersburg, IN 47850
WDTV 5 Television Dr. Bridgeport, WV 26330
KECI/KCFW/KTVM-TV, 340 W. Main St. Missoula, MT 59802
KTVQ-TV 3203 3rd Ave N., Billings, MT 59101
WWNY-TV 120 Arcade St. Watertown, NY 13601
KREX-TV 345 Hillcrest Drive Grand Junction, CO 81501
KIEM/KVIQ-TV 5650 S, Broadway St. Eureka CA 95503
KIDY-TV5 S. Chadbourne San Angelo, TX 76902
KYOU-TV 820 West 2nd Street; Ottumwa, IA 52501
**: Spanish language station