January 18, 2015
Greetings:
Another busy week, with FOUR new news director openings (two in top 30 markets) and FOUR newly hired news directors. My figures show 32 stations looking for a new news director.
ONE of those 32 stations (in a top 20 market) is advertising its opening below, one of THREE paid help wanted ads.
We have some updates to our list of Other News Management Openings, a handful of moves from news managers, and details on a TV station which is moving into a train station, and using one of our sponsors to design the set.
And we have a handful of General Managers moves to report as well.
New News Director Openings:
KNXV-TV, Phoenix, AZ…after two years as ND, PAT COSTELLO will leave this Scripps/ABC affiliate after the Super Bowl to return to Seattle as ND for KOMO-TV. Here’s how the KNXV staff learned from GM ANITA HELT about the move. More on this change below.
Butt
WBAL-TV, Baltimore, MD…we told you earlier this week about MICHELLE BUTT‘s promotion to GM for Hearst sister station WXII-TV in Winston-Salem, NC. Michelle worked as ND for WXII for three years before becoming ND at WBAL in 2003. She also worked for Hearst’s WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh, as well as in Raleigh and for two different station in Norfolk. Here’s the email sent to WBAL employees, and you can read Michelle’s bio on the WBAL website here.
Sapakie
WOOD-TV, Grand Rapids, MI…REBECCA SAPAKIE is stepping down as ND, effective immediately, for this Media General owned NBC to take a new position with the company, working with stations on digital initiatives. Here’s the memo she sent to contacts in the community. She’s been the ND here since 2009, and spent seven years at the station before taking a job as Senior Web Producer for WDAF-TV in Kansas City, where she worked for three years.
KMVT/KSVT-TV, Twin Falls, ID…MICHELLE BARTLOME has left this FOX/CBS duopoly for a PR job at an area hospital.
And please note the ad below for the news director opening at WOIO/WUAB-TV in Cleveland. We first told you about that opening a week ago.
Newly Hired News Directors:
Costello
KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA…as reported above, PAT COSTELLO returns to Seattle as the next ND for this Sinclair owned ABC affiliate. Pat’s spent the last two years as ND for KNXV-TV in Seattle. Pat told me family was behind the move: his four children and two grandchildren live here. Before moving to Phoenix, Pat was the Station Manager for KING-TV and as was ND for KING before that promotion. He’s also been an ND in Chicago and Salt Lake City, worked in Baltimore as an Assistant ND, and spent years as a photojournalist in Indianapolis and Columbia, MO. At KOMO, he replaces HOLLY GAUNTT who left late last year to become ND for KDVR/KWGN-TV in Denver, her hometown.
McGettigan
WHBQ-TV, Memphis, TN…in another move we told you about earlier this week, PATTI McGETTIGAN has been named ND for this newly-acquired-by-Cox FOX affiliate. (Read the news release here.) She’s been an EP in Columbus, OH, but has been an ND for stations in Indianapolis and Grand Rapids, MI. She’s also worked in Pittsburgh. Patti’s replacing KEN JOBE. Ken was ND here for eleven years but left the station shortly after Cox took over.
WTAJ-TV, Altoona, PA…CHRIS MILLER will be the next ND for this Nexstar/CBS affiliate. He replaces SCOTT LEVY who left in November after a year to become ND for WIVB-TV in Buffalo, NY.
WUTR/WFXV/WPNY-TV, Utica, NY…TOM COYNE joins this Nexstar ABC-FOX-MyNetwork operation as news director. He spent more than 17 years as program director for WKTV in Utica, and replaces DON DUDLEY who left at the end of the year.
Paid Help Wanted Ads:
News Director, WOIO/WUAB-TV, Cleveland, OH:
WOIO/WUAB, Raycom Media’s Cleveland CBS/MyNet duopoly, is looking for a dynamic, creative News Director to continue the growth track of our stations’ newscasts. The ideal candidate will be equally adept at leading the areas of content, presentation, budget management and newsroom culture. A long range outlook combined with a realistic approach to the current business dynamics of the broadcasting industry are a must. LeBron and the RNC both picked Cleveland as the place to be; here’s your chance to rock the Cleveland news scene.
EDUCATION/SKILLS REQUIRED:
Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, Mass Communication or a related field.
Ten years professional experience; significant previous News Director or similar experience preferred.
Demonstrated ability to lead an experienced staff emphasizing creativity and aggressive journalism.
Experience in a metered market; LPM market experience preferred.
Demonstrated ability to win in multiple dayparts with specific expertise building/revitalizing morning product is key
Track record of success supporting digital products and using social media.
Demonstrated ability to lead and participate in strategic and tactical planning for the department and the station as a whole.
Working knowledge of all aspects of media law.
Top 20 market management experience a plus
Senior level experience working with a union represented staff and collective bargaining agreements.
Apply online and attach your coverletter and resume by clicking here.
No phone calls please. EOE-M/F/D/V
Morning Executive Producer & Producer, WCNC-TV, Charlotte, NC:
WCNC-TV the Charlotte, NC NBC affiliate is a part of Gannett, the largest local media company in the country. WCNC-TV is experiencing an exciting time in its newsroom and has an opening for a dynamic, creative Morning Executive Producer of Newscasts and an experienced, energetic Newscast Producer.
The Morning EP is a great teacher for young producers, someone who has production ideas that can be implemented daily and a desire to beat the other guys! We need a leader, manager, coach and most of all a problem solver as our Morning EP.
If you want the challenge of producing meaningful content in new ways – if you like the idea of being encouraged to be creative and look past the obvious, the Newscast Producer could be a great career move for you!
Interested applicants please via the links above or at www.gannett.com/jobs!
Assistant News Director, WHTM-TV, Harrisburg PA:
WHTM-TV/abc27 in Harrisburg, PA has an immediate opening for an Assistant News Director. We are the leading multi-platform news operation in Pennsylvania’s state capital and we need an experienced leader that understands the importance of content superiority on all platforms.
Harrisburg offers a great location, close to the great outdoors of Pennsylvania and just a short drive to Philadelphia, New York City, Baltimore and Washington D.C.
Our next Assistant News Director will have big shoes to fill. This person is the cornerstone in executing our editorial strategy and must be committed to applying our standards to TV, web, mobile and social media.
The AND works closely with the entire news staff, guiding reporters in the development of their stories, assisting producers in showcasing content and providing feedback often to the entire team. We are aggressive in the pursuit of enterprise content and breaking news. Our Assistant News Director must be able to maintain our excellence in these very critical areas.
If you have producing experience you will stand out as an applicant. Our AND needs to be able to fill in line-producing newscasts in a pinch or helping out on the assignment desk occasionally.
Learn more about this opportunity by clicking here.
SEND RESUME, EDITORIAL PHILOSOPHY AND COVER LETTER TO:
or to:
Human Resources
Harrisburg Television, Inc.
abc27 WHTM-TV
P.O. Box 5860
3235 Hoffman Street
Harrisburg, PA 17110
fx: 717-745-3997
*** NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE***
WHTM-TV/abc27 is an Equal Opportunity Employer. EEO/M/F
Other News Management Openings:
ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR:
EXECUTIVE NEWS PRODUCER:
WCAU-TV, Philadelphia, PA (relisted 1/11/15)
WFAA-TV, Dallas, TX (listed 12/21/14)
WFXT-TV, Boston, MA (relisted 1/11/15)
WJLA-TV, Washington, DC (2 positions, Dayside & Weekend, new listing this week)
WUSA-TV, Washington, DC (TWO openings, listed 11/21/14)
KPRC-TV, Houston, TX (listed 1/3/15)
KOVR-TV, Sacramento, CA (PM EP, relisted 1/11/15)
KTXL-TV, Sacramento, CA (PM EP, relisted 1/11/15)
KXTV, Sacramento, CA (PM EP, relisted 1/11/15)
WCNC-TV, Charlotte, NC (AM EP, new listing this week, see ad above!)
WSMV-TV, Nashville, TN (Morning EP, listing revised 11/30/14)
WTMJ-TV, Milwaukee, WI, (AM EP, PM EP & Spec. Projects, relisted 1/11/15)
WGHP-TV, Greensboro/High Point, NC (Morning EP, listing revised 1/3/15)
WIVB-TV, Buffalo, NY (listed 12/14/14)
WMTW-TV, Portland, ME (AM EP, relisted 1/11/15)
WCYB-TV, Tri-Cities, TN (relisted 1/11/15)
WTXL-TV, Tallahassee, FL (relisted this week)
ASSIGNMENT MANAGER:
Central Florida News 13, Orlando, FL (relisted this week)
WBNS-TV, Columbus, OH (listed 12/27/14)
MANAGING EDITOR:
WFXT-TV, Boston, MA (relisted t1/11/15)
NEWS OPERATIONS MANAGER:
WCAU-TV, Philadelphia, PA: (relisted 1/11/15)
Situations Wanted:
We offer a free situations wanted ad to news managers who are out of work and looking for a new opportunity. If you’d like to state your case to a well targeted audience, email me an item (max. 150 words). You may include a link to a website, an email address, and a photo. You must include your name. I’ll run it for one week. I don’t represent or endorse those listed, but merely trying to help.
Names in the News…and other things:
Media Moves, which covers news in Spanish language television, has stories this week on a new Assistant News Director at KVEA-TV in Los Angeles and a new news operations manager for KDEN-TV in Denver.
NICCI PUCCI JOHNSON gets a promotion at KVVU-TV in Las Vegas. She’ll be an Executive Producer for this FOX affiliate.
New Orleans native DONNELL JACKSON returns home as an EP for WDSU-TV, Hearst’s NBC affiliate. It’s also a return to WDSU for Donnell, who produced there for four years before moving to Hearst sister-station KMBC-TV in Kansas City as a producer in 2013. He’s also worked for the company’s WXII-TV in Winston-Salem, NC.
MISTIE LACKEY is the news Assistant News Director for KSLA-TV in Shreveport. She had been working as a Nightside EP for KOVR-TV in Sacramento. The move brings her closer to family in Nashville. She’s previously worked for two stations in Nashville, as well as in Atlanta, Orlando, West Palm Beach, Knoxville, and Johnson City, TN.
Congratulations to one of our sponsors, DEVLIN DESIGN GROUP, which has been tabbed to design the new set for KETV in Omaha. It will be an interesting project…KETV is moving its entire operation to the former train station in Omaha, called Burlington Station. You can learn more about the project…and see a photo of the building in this news release.
General Manager News:
DONITA TODD will retire from WIS-TV in Columbia, SC, at the end of February. She’s also been a GM in San Antonio and Ft. Myers, FL. More in this article from The State newspaper in Columbia.
Newsblues reported this week that BECKY BUTCHER is leaving WEYI/WBSF-TV in Flint/Saginaw, MI, after 17 years at the station and almost seven as General Manager.
Longtime Evansville broadcaster JEFFREY FISHER has been named GM of WEVV-TV there. He’s worked in the market for more than 25 years.
Our Full List of ND Openings:
If you know of any additions/deletions/updates, please email me at: rick@rickgevers.com
Here is my list of stations with open ND jobs, as of Sunday, January 18, 2015.
WPIX-TV 220 E. 42nd Street New York NY 10017
KWHY-TV 4975 W. Pico Blvd Los Angeles,CA 90019 *
KNXV-TV 515 N. 44th St. Phoenix AZ 85008
KCEC-TV 777 Grant St. #110 Denver CO 80203 *
KMGH-TV 123 Speer Blvd. Denver CO 80203
WOIO/WUAB-TV 1717 E. 12th St. Cleveland OH 44114 (See ad above!)
KSDK-TV 1000 Market St. St. Louis MO 63101
KATU-TV 2153 NE Sandy Boulevard Portland OR 97232
WBAL-TV 3800 Hooper Ave. Baltimore MD 21211
WCMH-TV 3165 Olentangy River Rd. Columbus OH 43202
KENS-TV 5400 Fredericksburg Road San Antonio TX 78229
KUTV 299 S. Main St. #150 Salt Lake City UT 84111
WOOD-TV 120 College SE Grand Rapids MI 49503
WWL-TV 1024 North Rampart St. New Orleans 70116
WGHP-TV 2005 Francis St. High Point NC 27263
WBIR-TV 1513 Hutchison Ave Knoxville TN 37917
WOWK-TV 555 Fifth Ave. Huntington WV 25701
WACH-TV 1400 Pickens St. Columbia SC 29201
WSYR-TV 5904 Bridge St. East Syracuse, NY 13057
KGBT-TV 9201 West Expressway 83 Harlingen, TX 78552
KFSM-TV 485 South Highland Ft. Smith AR 72901
WMBF-TV 918 Frontage Road East, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
WFFT-TV 3707 Hillegas Rd. Ft. Wayne IN 46807
WDAZ-TV 2220 S. Washington Grand Forks, ND 52801
KSNT-TV 6835 NW Highway 24 Topeka KS 66618
KFDM-TV 2955 Interstate 10 East Beaumont TX 77702
KCBD-TV 485 South Highland Lubbock TX 79404
WALB-TV 1709 Stuart Ave. Albany, GA 31707
WVVA-TV 3052 Big Laurel Highway, Bluefield WV 24701
KAIT-TV 472 CR 766 Jonesboro AR 72401
KMVT/KSVT-TV 1100 Blue Lakes Blvd. North Twin Falls, ID 83301
WBUP/WBKP-TV 1705 Ash Street Ishpeming MI 49849
* Spanish language station