Newsletter | Rick Gevers & Associates

May 1, 2022

Greetings:

It was great to see a few of you at NAB in Las Vegas this past week, though attendance (I saw a figure of 52,000+) was far below the 92,000 of 2019.

Thanks to those who said hello.

Another slow week of ND changes, with just ONE new opening and ONE new vacancy, created by the retirement of a three time ND who’s been in his current role for more than 20 years.

So our list of ND openings remains at 33.

ONE new paid ad this week from a Florida station.

There is ONE obituary for a former Tulsa news director who is MUCH better known for the jobs he held after he left Oklahoma.

And some big news involving managers at CBS News, NEWSnet, and Estrella Media, as well as a new EP in Houston and a long list of winners in one of the oldest award competitions in the country.

Newly Named News Director:

Post

WGME-TV, Portland, ME…AMANDA POST becomes ND at this Sinclair/CBS affiliate. She’s a Maine native and a ten year veteran of WGME. She’s now the Assistant ND and also worked for Spectrum News in Syracuse for nine years. More here. Amanda replaces JAY MISHKIN who returns to Washington as Director of Content for Sinclair’s National Weather Desk. Jay was ND here for three years and previously worked in Washington for WUSA-TV and at Sinclair’s WJLA-TV.

New News Director Opening:

Brennan

WSAV-TV, Savannah, GA…after 22 years. KEVIN BRENNAN will retire later this summer as news director for this Nexstar owned NBC affiliate. Kevin’s been an ND in Tampa, Jacksonville, FL, and New Orleans. Kevin’s complete bio is here. In a note to the staff, GM DAVID HART praised Kevin for making the news operation one of the most respected in the country, with frequent Murrow (and other) awards.

Paid Help Wanted Ad:

WjaxLogo

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Other News Management Openings:

ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR:

KTLA-TV, Los Angeles, CA (Digital AND, relisted 4/17/22)
WCNC-TV, Charlotte, NC (listed 4/3/22)
WCPO-TV, Cincinnati OH (listed 5/1/22)
WXBW-TV, Buffalo, NY (listed 3/13/22)
WHAS-TV, Louisville, KY (listed 4/3/22)
WHO-TV, Des Moines, IA (listed 3/27/22)
KBTX-TV, Bryan, TX (listed 2/27/22)
WAND-TV, Decatur, IL (listed 3/27/22)
WTVC-TV, Chattanooga, TN (listed 4/3/22)
WBND-TV, South Bend, IN (listed 4/3/22)
KIVI-TV, Boise, ID (listed 3/20/22)
WKBT-TV, La Crosse, WI (listed 3/27/22)

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:

WDCW-TV, Washington, DC, (Digital EP, listed 4/10/22)
KPHO/KTVK-TV, Phoenix, AZ (listed 4/3/22)
WFLA-TV, Tampa, FL (relisted 4/24/22)
WFTS-TV, Tampa, FL (listed 5/1/22)
KMGH-TV, Denver, CO (listed 2/27/22)
WJZY-TV, Charlotte, NC (relisted 4/3/22)
KMOV-TV. St. Louis, MO (Special Projects EP, listed 2/27/22)
WRAL-TV, Raleigh, NC (listing revised 3/27/22)
WTVF-TV, Nashville, TN (listed 2/27/22)
KSTU-TV, Salt Lake City, UT (listed 4/10/22)
KLAS-TV, Las Vegas, NV (Digital Content EP, listed 5/1/22)
KXAN-TV, Austin, TX (listing modified 5/1/22)
WJAX/WFOX-TV, Jacksonville, FL (Inv. & Spec. Projects, see ad above!)
WIAT-TV, Birmingham AL (relisted 4/24/22)
WKBW-TV, Buffalo, NY (listed 4/10/22)
WFTX-TV, Ft. Myers, FL (listed 3/13/22)
WRIC-TV, Richmond, VA (Digital EP, listed 4/10/22)
KJRH-TV, Tulsa, OK (listed 5/1/22)
WHEC-TV, Rochester, NY (relisted 5/1/22)
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, relisted 4/24/22)
KTSM-TV, El Paso, TX (relisted 4/3/22)
WBTW-TV, Myrtle Beach, SC (listed 3/20/22)
WBND-TV, South Bend, IN (listed 4/3/22)
WHBF-TV, Rock Island, IL (Digital EP, relisted 4/17/22)
KADN/KLAF-TV, Lafayette, LA (relisted 2/27/22)
KFDX-TV, Wichita Falls, TX (listed 4/17/22)
KSAN/KLST-TV, San Angelo, TX (listed 4/17/22)

SUPERVISING PRODUCER:

KOMU-TV, Columbia, Mo (relisted 4/3/22)

MANAGING EDITOR:

KPRC-TV, Houston, TX (listed 4/3/22)
Spectrum News, Charlotte, NC (listing revised 4/3/22)
KOMU-TV, Columbia, MO (relisted 4/3/22)

More News Management Openings:

Listed 5/1/22:

WGMB/WVLA-TV, Baton Rouge, LA (Digital Content Director)

Relisted 4/17/22:

WJW-TV, Cleveland, OH: (Digital Content Director)

Relisted 4/3/22:

Missouri School of Journalism, Columbia, MO: (Director, Documentary Journalism Center)

Listed 3/27/22:

KTXL-TV, Sacramento, CA (Digital Content Director)

Listed 3/13/22:

KNXV-TV, Phoenix, AZ: (Assignment Desk Manager)

WFTS-TV, Tampa, FL (Manager of Real Time Depth)

KOAA-TV, Colorado Springs, CO: (Assignment Desk Manager)

Listed 3/6/22:

U. of Mississippi, Oxford, MS (Director of Student Media)

Obituary:

Hartz

A former news director for KOTV in Tulsa died this week, but you may better remember JIM HARTZ for his long career at NBC News, including a two year stint as host of the Today Show. He also anchored for NBC owned stations in New York and Washington. Obituaries from The Washington Post and The New York Times. Hartz also worked for PBS and wrote a book hoping to increase journalists knowledge of science.

Names in the News:

MANY local stations were honored with Headliner Award this week. The complete list is here. The Headliner Awards are among the oldest in the country, first awarded in 1934 by the Press Club of Atlanta City.

Ortiz

AL ORTIZ, who has been the interim executive producer for the CBS Evening News for almost a year, will retire this summer. I couldn’t find any reporting on this on the CBS News website, so we’ll offer this Variety article. He’s a 43 year veteran of the news division, who held many different jobs, including EP of the evening news when DAN RATHER anchored. He began with CBS at CBS Radio.

Hendrix

Longtime news executive PHILLIP HENDRIX has been named News Director of NEWSnet, which describes itself as a 24/7 news channel with a focus on headlines. Phil most recently worked for the Black News Channel as a senior producer, but spent most of his career working for several stations in three different Michigan markets. More about Phil’s hire…and NEWSnet…in this news release.

Diaz Warns

CARLOS DIAZ WARNS will be the next Senior Vice President of News for Estrella Media, based in Burbank. He has been the Mexico Bureau Chief for Univision and is a former news director for KLDO-TV in Laredo, TX. More in this news release from Estrella, which also has background about the company.

STACY HYDE has been promoted to executive producer for Graham Media’s KPRC-TV (NBC) in Houston. She has been a producer there.

General Manager News and Notes:

Our Thursday UPDATE shared news of TODD MOKHTARI’s promotion to President and GM for NBC’s KNBC/KVEA-TV (Telemundo) in Todd’s native Los Angeles. Todd’s a former ND at KNBC who has been was GM for San Diego’s NBC-Telemundo duopoly, KNSD/KUAN-TV. He also was an ND in Seattle and worked in San Jose-San Francisco and Sacramento. He replaces both STEVE CARLSTON (KNBC) and CELIA CHAVEZ (KVEA) who left the company last month.

Our Full List of Open ND Jobs:

Here’s our list of open ND jobs as of Sunday, May 1, 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

KPIX-TV 855 Battery St. San Francisco, CA 94111
WTSP-TV 11450 Gandy Blvd, St. Petersburg, FL 33702
KOVR/KMAX-TV 2713 KOVR Drive, West Sacramento, CA 95605
WCCB-TV 701 Television Place Charlotte, NC 28205
KDKA-TV 1 Gateway Ctr. Pittsburgh, PA 15222
KTVX-TV 2175 West 1700 South Salt Lake City, UT 84104
WPTV 1100 Banyan Blvd. West Palm Beach, FL 33401
WTLV/WJXX-TV 1070 East Adams Street Jacksonville, FL 32202
WYMT-TV 199 Black Gold Blvd. Hazard, KY 41701
KGMB/KHNL-TV 420 Waiakamilo Rd. Suite 205, Honolulu, HI, 96817
KHQ-TV 1201 W. Sprague Ave. Spokane, WA 99201
KXXV-TV 1909 S. New Rd. Waco, TX 76711
WBTW-TV 101 McDonald Ct, Myrtle Beach, SC 29588
WSAV-TV 1430 East Victory Dr., Savannah, GA 31404
KRNV/KRXI-TV 1790 Vassar St. Reno, NV 89502
KNDO/KNDU-TV 216 W. Yakima Ave., Yakima, WA 98902
KAPP/KVEW-TV 601 N. Edison Kennewick, WA 99336
KADN-TV 1500 Eraste Landry Rd. Lafayette, LA 70506
WLTZ-TV 6140 Buena Vista Rd. Columbus, GA 31907
WTVO/WQRF-TV 1917 N. Meridian Road Rockford, IL 61101
KMIR-TV 72920 Park View Dr., Palm Desert, CA 92260
KBMT-TV 525 Interstate 10 South, Beaumont, TX 77701
KIMT-TV 135 E William St. Albert Lea, MN 56007
KODE/KSNF-TV 1502 S. Cleveland Avenue, Joplin, MO 64801
WBNG-TV 560 Columbia Dr. Johnson City, NY 13790
KTAB/KRBC-TV 4510 South 14th St. Abilene TX 79605
KULR-TV. 2045 Overland Ave. Billings, MT 59102
KALB-TV 605 Washington Street; Alexandria, LA 71301
KXLF/KBZK-TV 90 Television Way, Bozeman, MT 59718
KMVT-TV 1100 Blue Lakes Blvd North, Twin Falls, ID 83301
Delta News 837 Washington Ave Greenville, MS 38701
KAEF-TV 540 E Street Eureka, CA 95501
KYOU-TV 820 West 2nd Street; Ottumwa, IA 52501

**: Spanish language station

April 24, 2022

April 29, 2022 UPDATE:

Greetings:

Another news director turned general manager gets a big promotion…this time to a GM’s job in the second largest market.

Mokhtari

TODD MOKHTARI returns to his native Los Angeles as President and General Manager for NBC’s KNBC/KVEA-TV (NBC-Telemundo.) Todd’s a former news director for KNBC who has been the general manager for NBC’s KNSD/KUAN-TV (also NBC-Telemundo) in San Diego for almost four years. He’s also been an ND for KIRO-TV (Cox/CBS) in Seattle and has worked in San Francisco/San Jose and Sacramento.

Here’s the news release from NBC.

At KNBC, he replaces STEVE CARLSTON and at KVEA he replaces CELIA CHAVEZ. We told you earlier this month that both were leaving and that their jobs would be combined into one.

Hopefully we’ll have more details in our full newsletter this weekend.

regards,

Rick Gevers

**** ***** ****

Greetings:

It’s a pretty slow week on the ND front, with just ONE new opening…that created when an ND left his station to return to his former market.

That means our always unofficial list of ND openings remains at 33.

ONE ads this week from a Houston station.

There’s an obituary for a veteran CBS News employee. NO GM changes that I know of, and just TWO items in Names in the News. Sadly, one of those items is a correction…of a correction. Embarrassing!

If you’re at NAB, I hope our paths cross.

Newly Named News Director:

Blanton

WZZM-TV, Grand Rapids, MI…BROOKS BLANTON starts May 31st, returning to West Michigan as the ND at this Tegna owned ABC affiliate. Brooks spent 7 1/2 years as ND for Grand Rapids’ FOX station, WXMI-TV (now Scripps) before leaving last year to be ND for Bahakel’s WCCB-TV in Charlotte. Brooks told me a change in his mom’s health brought him back. He replaces JULIE FLYNN who’s returned to sister Tegna station WKYC-TV (NBC) in Cleveland after three years here.

Brooks becomes the THIRD Grand Rapids ND to have been an ND for two different stations in the market.

DAN BOERS replaced Brooks at WXMI, crossing the street from Nexstar’s WOOD-TV.

STANTON TANG replaced Dan at WOOD. Earlier in his career he had been the ND at WZZM.

Only MATT JOHNSON at Sinclair’s WWMT-TV in Kalamazoo is a single station ND in the market.

New News Director Opening:

WCCB-TV, Charlotte, NC…as we shared above, BROOKS BLANTON is leaving this Bahakel Communications after just not quite a year as ND. He’s returning to Grand Rapids, this time as ND for WZZM-TV (Tegna/ABC).

Paid Help Wanted Ad:

KPRCLogo

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KPRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.