August 4, 2019
Friday, August 9, 2019 UPDATE:
Greetings:
The ‘nationwide search’ for a new news director for Tegna’s WFAA-TV in Dallas ended up…with someone already in the newsroom.
LESLIE McCARDEL has been promoted to Executive News Director for this ABC affiliate. The full story is in the station’s news release.
Leslie’s been the director of content and strategy at WFAA since 2016 when she returned after a brief hiatus that’s explained in the news release. She first joined the station in 2006.
She’s also worked for sister Tegna station KHOU-TV in Houston and at KSBY-TV in San Luis Obispo, CA.
Leslie replaces CAROLYN MUNGO who was promoted to station manager at WFAA after seven years as ND.
I’ll be on the floor at NABJ today and hope to see many of you there.
regards,
Rick Gevers
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Wednesday, August 7, 2019 UPDATE:
Greetings:
It’s our favorite kind of UPDATE…where we get to report the promotion of a news director to general manager.
Granato
So we’re happy to tell you that WENDY GRANATO has been bumped up to general manager for KTRK-TV in Houston, the ABC owned station there. More in this story.
She replaces HENRY FLORSHEIM, himself a former news director, who announced his retirement in April after 22 years at the station.
Wendy’s been the ND here since 2014 and has worked at the station for 17 years. Before her promotion to news director, she was the EP of special projects.
Wendy started on air in Lafayette, LA, and then moved to Houston to work for KNWS-TV, a now defunct 24 hour news channel. She later became ND there.
More on this in our full newsletter this weekend. And I hope to see many of you at the NABJ conference, where I arrive tomorrow.
regards,
Rick Gevers
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Greetings:
I hope to see many of you at NABJ this weekend in South Florida. I’ll be on the floor Thursday afternoon and all day Friday.
We can talk about (but why would we?) the TWO newly named news directors in this week’s report, or the FOUR new ND openings.
We have paid help wanted ads for THREE of the 31 opening in our list, TWO of the FOUR new openings are among those advertised.
We have details on a former network o-and-o news director and GM joining the corporate staff at Nexstar. There’s also a new assistant ND at a New York City station, and a former North Caroline ND has written a book.
And there’s ONE obituary, for a former WTOL-TV news director (obviously not me!)
All that and more as you read on.
Newly Named News Directors:
Wilson
WITI-TV, Milwaukee, WI…JIM WILSON has been upped to ND for this Tribune owned (but may be Nexstar by the time you read this) FOX affiliate. Details here. He’s a 30 year veteran of the station, starting as a photojournalist, moving to chief photographer and, in 2017, assistant news director. He’s been the interim ND since JOHN LaPORTE left in June after eight years to become ND for KIRO-TV in Seattle.
Gors
KTTC-TV, Rochester, MN…MICHELE GORS returns to a newsroom as she’ll take over this Quincy Media owned NBC affiliate. Michele tells me she’s from northern Iowa so it’s a return to familiar territory. She’s a former ND in Wichita, Memphis and Cedar Rapids, and spent seven years as GM for Wichita’s PBS station, KPTS-TV, a job she left in 2015. (You may remember last year Michele was named ND at another Quincy station, WAOW-TV in Wausau, WI, but a family matter prevented the move then.) At KTTC, she’ll replace NOEL SEDERSTROM who is retiring after more than 11 years as ND.
New News Director Openings:
Gaylord
KOCO-TV, Oklahoma City, OK…REBECCA GAYLORD is leaving this Hearst owned ABC affiliate at the end of August. General Manager BRENT HENSLEY shared the news in this email. She’s been there six years and earlier worked for another Hearst station, KOAT-TV, in Albuquerque as the Assistant ND. She previously had been a morning EP in Denver and worked in Dallas and St. Louis. Rebecca overcame breast cancer as detailed in this 2017 story.
Gardner
KGAN-TV, Cedar Rapids, IA…BECKY LUTGEN GARDNER is leaving this Sinclair Broadcast Group owned CBS affiliate but will stay through the transition. She’s been the news director here for almost six years, putting an end to a six news directors in seven years streak that had preceded her time there. Becky earlier had been the ND for another Cedar Rapids station.
Kimble
WJFW-TV, Rhinelander, WI…LANE KIMBLE is leaving this Rockfleet Broadcasting owned NBC affiliate to be the Assistant News director for KYTV in Springfield, MO. Lane’s been ND here since November 2017 and had earlier worked there as a reporter and anchor from 2011-2013. In between, he worked as a reporter in Milwaukee. You can learn more about this opportunity in the paid help-wanted ad below.
Wilhelm
WBNG-TV, Binghamton, NY… After just four months on the job, ADAM WILHELM has left this Quincy Media station. Adam had been working in Orlando before moving to WBNG, and had previously worked for stations in Atlanta, Miami, West Palm Beach, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, and Louisville. You can learn more about the opening at this CBS affiliate in the paid help-wanted ad below.
There’s also an ad for the ND job at WCMH-TV in Columbus, as well as one for a faculty/newsroom position at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
Paid Help Wanted Ads:
News Director, WJFW-TV, Rhindeland, RI:
WJFW, the NBC affiliate for north central Wisconsin, wants to find a news director with energy and vision to lead its newsroom.
Newswatch 12 promises best-in-class training and opportunities to entry-level video storytellers.
The next news director will need to enjoy recruiting, hiring, training, teaching, and managing young journalists.
This position might be the successful applicant’s first news directing opportunity. Newswatch 12 provides support for strong journalists who want to gain top-level managerial experience. The successful applicant could also be someone with wide experience who wants to return to small-market television news in a peaceful, beautiful part of the upper Midwest.
Visitors come here year-round to experience the Northwoods. You could live that experience every day.
You should prefer to lead by example. You will lead every aspect of modern newsroom activity working alongside young reporters. You will be a department head reporting to the General Manager.
If you’re the person in your newsroom right now who makes your colleagues think they’re lucky to have you around, we want to talk with you. Leadership in smaller-market newsrooms demands effective communication, inspiration and feedback skills. It’s likely you already demonstrate those capabilities.
We want to make our community better by making our news product better every day. If you want to lead that effort, please apply.
Send a cover letter and resume to John Quarderer, News Advisor jquarderer@wjfw.com
https://www.wjfw.com/careers.html
News Director, WBNG-TV, Binghamton, NY:
WBNG-TV in Binghamton, NY seeks a News Director to help guide our news department to new heights of journalistic and ratings success. This is an exciting opportunity to join a great team in one of New York’s most beautiful places to live.
The successful candidate will be responsible for establishing and maintaining market leading standards for newsroom operations and content. Other duties include hiring, coaching, supervising and evaluating news personnel, as well as preparation and administration of newsroom budgets and capital requests. The News Director is expected to work closely with other department managers to achieve the company’s overall performance goals.
A minimum of 4 years television news management experience and a college degree in broadcast journalism preferred. Must be able to demonstrate strong working knowledge of community issues and sound journalistic principles. Must have the ability to make fast, accurate journalistic and logistical judgments.
If you have a passion for excellence, and a burning desire to lead the best local broadcast news operation in Binghamton, NY, we want to hear from you.
Please send your resume and cover letter to:
Bob Krummenacker
General Manager
WBNG-TV
560 Columbia Dr.
Johnson City, NY 13790
rkrummenacker@wbng.com
NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE
WBNG is part of Quincy Media, a family owned company with television stations in 9 states.
Throughout Quincy, positions are available for candidates with all levels of experience and the advancement you are seeking. Visit www.quincymediacareers.com for links to all stations and opportunities.
WBNG-TV is an Equal Opportunity Employer
News Director, WCMH-TV, Columbus, OH:
WCMH-TV, the NBC affiliate in Columbus, Ohio, one of the great cities in America, DMA #34, seeks a News Director to lead and supervise all aspects regarding the creation, execution and distribution of news, weather, sports programming and special projects, on all platforms, including our primary TV station, dedicated websites, apps and social media sites.
The News Director stays abreast of changes to the industry that affects both media consumers and journalists and has the ability to devise plans to collect and distribute relevant, meaningful content to audiences regardless of platform.
Manages all aspects of the News Department (other than Production.)
Plans and manages staffing, training, and performance evaluations for the News Department.
Makes decisions regarding hiring, evaluation, promotion and termination of employees.
Develops news coverage strategy for the station and its website.
Critiques newscasts daily to correct errors, improve coverage and provide mentoring feedback to news staff.
Assigns projects to staff and verifies that deadlines are being met.
Ensures growth and achievement of viewer rating goals and online engagement metrics.
Determines programming and evaluation of equipment needs to produce quality programming.
Responds to coverage questions.
Works with other senior station leaders or other departments in a collaborative way to establish and reach station goals.
Performs other duties as assigned
Reports directly to the station’s VP / General Manager
If you’re up for the challenge, apply by clicking here .
Assistant Professional Practice Professor/KOMU Digital Editor, Missouri School of Journalism, Columbia, MO:
The Missouri School of Journalism seeks a journalist with extensive newsroom experience and a talent for teaching at the university level. The ideal candidate will have at least five years of reporting and editing experience in a newsroom; some newsroom management experience is preferred.
This faculty member will manage the content and presentation of KOMU.com and teach students to create, curate and publish quality digital content for the website and various apps. This individual also will teach students and manage KOMU’s social media channels.
Knowledge of the latest trends and techniques in in interactive news presentation is a must.
The job includes a minimum of 30 hours per week at KOMU-TV, the School of Journalism’s NBC-affiliate television station, and supervising the work of student reporters, anchors, newscast producers and videographers. The job also includes classroom teaching and service to the Journalism School and the University.
Screening of applicants will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Hiring is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2019 with an immediate start date.
Please visit here and search job opening id #30809 to access the online application system.
The University of Missouri is committed to cultural diversity and it is expected that successful candidate will share this commitment.
MU is an Equal Employment Opportunity/ADA institution and encourages applications from women and minority candidates.
News Management Openings:
ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR:
KUSI-TV, San Diego, CA (relisted 7/14/19)
WHEC-TV, Rochester, NY (relisted 7/7/19)
KSPR-TV, Springfield, MO (listed 7/17/19)
WBND-TV, South Bend, IN (relisted 7/14/19)
WJAC-TV, Johnstown, PA (relisted 7/14/19)
KRNV-TV, Reno, NV (listed 6/9/19)
KERO-TV, Bakersfield, CA (listed 7/14/19)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:
KPRC-TV, Houston, TX (Special Projects EP, listed 7/7/19)
WXYZ-TV, Detroit, MI (AM EP, listed 6/16/19)
KDVR/KWGN-TV, Denver, CO (AM EP, listed 5/27/19)
KOIN-TV, Portland, OR (AM EP, listed 6/23/19)
WVIT-TV, Hartford, CT (Dayside EP, listed 6/23/19)
WBNS-TV, Columbus, OH (Senior EP, relisted 7/14/19)
WCPO-TV, Cincinnati, OH (new listing this week)
WISN-TV, Milwaukee, WI (AM EP, relisted 7/21/19)
WHP-TV Harrisburg, PA (listed 6/2/19)
WHTM-TV, Harrisburg, PA (Digital EP, listed 6/23/19)
WVTM-TV, Birmingham, AL (relisted 6/9/19)
WAVY-TV, Norfolk, VA (AM EP, relisted 7/7/19)
WWL-TV, New Orleans, LA (AM EP, relisted 7/7/19)
WBRE-TV, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA (relisted 7/14/19)
WNEM-TV, Saginaw, MI (AM EP, listed 7/21/19)
KMTV, Omaha, NE (AM EP, listed 7/28/19)
KWWL-TV, Waterloo, IA (listed 6/16/19)
WFFT-TV, Ft. Wayne, IN (listed 6/23/19)
WFXG-TV, Augusta, GA (listed 6/16/19)
WTAJ-TV, Altoona, PA (Digital Executive Producer, relisted 6/23/19)
KERO-TV, Bakersfield, CA (PM EP, listed 6/2/19)
KSBY-TV, San Luis Obispo, CA (PM EP, listed 6/16/19)
Other News Management Openings:
New Listings this Week:
WSPA-TV, Spartanburg, SC (Digital Content EP)
Listed 7/28/19:
WBRE-TV, Wilkes/Barre/Scranton, PA (Digital Content EP)
Relisted 7/28/19:
WRAL-TV, Raleigh, NC (Enterprise Executive Producer)
WTNH-TV, Hartford/New Haven, CT (Digital Content Manager)
Listed 7/21/19:
E.W. Scripps, Cincinnati, OH, (Senior Director of Content)
E.W. Scripps, Denver, CO (Senior Director of National Content)
Listed 7/7/19:
KMTV, Omaha, NE (Digital Content Manager)
Listed 6/30/19
KGET-TV, Bakersfield, CA (Digital Content Manager)
Relisted 6/23/19:
WKRG-TV, Mobile, AL (Digital Content Manager)
KFDX-TV, Wichita Falls, TX (Digital Content Manager)
Listed 6/16/19:
Rocky Mountain PBS, Denver, CO (Investigative Producer)
WBRC-TV, Birmingham, AL (Digital Content Mgr.)
Obituary:
McLoughlin
LAMONT McLOUGHLIN, who was the news director for Toledo’s WTOL-TV (CBS) in 1970, died last month at the age of 87. Unfortunately, you won’t learn much about him from this one sentence obituary (though there’s good information in the comments section) Lamont spent much of his career working for PBS stations in Toledo, Milwaukee, and New Orleans.
Names in the News (and other items):
Tully
Nexstar adds to its corporate staff as SUSAN TULLY joins the company as Senior Vice President of Local Content Development. It’s a new job for the company, as you can read in the news release. Many of you know Susan, who spent 28 years working for four different NBC stations, the last four as GM for WVIT-TV in Hartford/New Haven. Susan was ND for KXAS-TV in Dallas/Ft. Worth for 14 years, and also worked in Philadelphia and San Diego.
Rodriguez
ALEXA RODRIGUEZ, an executive producer for Telemundo’s WNJU-TV in New York, has been promoted to assistant news director there. Media Moves has the full story. She’s also worked (for 20 years) at the Univision station in New York.
Former WITN-TV (Washington, NC) news director GENE HUNTER wrote his memoirs by writing eight hours a day for 30 days. The result is “Life’s A Hoot – Memoirs of a TV News Journalist.”
General Manager News and Notes:
JERRY BREHM has been promoted to general manager (from director of sales) at Nexstar’s WTEN/WXXA-TV in Albany, NY.
Our Full List of Open ND Jobs:
Here’s our list of open ND jobs as of Sunday, August 4, 2019:
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
WFMZ-TV 300 E Rock Rd, Allentown, PA 18103
WFAA-TV 606 Young St, Dallas, TX 75202
WUVG-TV 3350 Peachtree Road #1250, Atlanta, GA 30326 **
KTVK/KPHO-TV 5555 N 7th Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85013
KUSA-TV 500 E Speer Blvd, Denver, CO 80203
KUVS-TV 1710 Arden Way, Sacramento CA 95815 **
KSDK-TV 1000 Market St. St. Louis MO 63101
KFMB-TV 7677 Engineer Road San Diego, CA 92111
KSHB-TV 4720 Oak St, Kansas City, MO 64112
WBNS-TV 770 Twin Rivers Dr, Columbus, OH 43215
WCMH-TV 3165 Olentangy River Rd. Columbus, OH 43202 (see ad above!)
WPEC-TV 1100 Fairfield Dr. West Palm Beach, FL 33407
KOCO-TV 1300 East Britton Rd. Oklahoma City, OK 73131
WBIR-TV 1513 Bill Williams Ave. Knoxville, TN 37917
WJRT-TV 2302 Lapeer Rd, Flint, MI 48503
WTOL-TV 730 N. Summit St. Toledo OH 43604
WAFF-TV 1414 N. Memorial Parkway. Huntsville, AL 35801
KGAN-TV 600 Old Marion Rd NE Cedar Rapids, IA 52402
KXXV-TV 1909 S New Rd, Waco, TX 76711
WLTZ-TV 6140 Buena Vista Rd. Columbus, GA 31907
KVII-TV 1 Broadcast Center, Amarillo, TX 79101
KRCR-TV 755 Auditorium Dr. Redding, CA 96001
WJFW-TV 3217 County Rd G Rhinelander, WI 54501 (see ad above!)
KCBD-TV 5600 Ave. A Lubbock, TX 79404
WDIO-TV 10 Observation Rd, Duluth, MN 55811
WBNG-TV 560 Columbia Dr. Johnson City, NY 13790 (see ad above!)
WOAY-TV P.O. BOX 3001 Oak Hill, WV 25901
KRTV 3300 Old Havre Hwy. Black Eagle, MT 59414
KXLF/KZBK-TV 1003 S Montana St, Butte, MT 59701
KAEF-TV 540 E St Eureka, California 95501
KAVU-TV 3808 N Navarro St, Victoria, TX 77901
**: Spanish language station