June 28, 2020
Monday, June 29, 2020 UPDATE:
Greetings:
Ramirez
Big news today from Houston, where KHOU-TV News Director SALLY RAMIREZ is leaving that Tegna-owned CBS affiliate.
That word came on the same day that her husband, 4:00 PM anchor RUSS LEWIS, announced he was leaving to return to Oregon. Russ plans to work with his father in the family’s business of developing property.
Houston media blogger MIKE McGUFF filed two separate stories on these developments.
Here’s his report on Sally’s departure (which will happen later this year.)
And here’s what he posted about Lewis’ move.
Sally’s been ND there for four years, coming from sister station KGW-TV in Portland, OR, where she was the assistant news director for the last five of her 17 years there. She’s also worked in Sacramento, Chicago, Washington, Tucson and El Paso.
Stanley
And one update on a story we reported yesterday, that of the death of JEANA STANLEY, VP of Finance for Hearst and wife of longtime newsman RANDAL STANLEY. Hearst posted this obituary on its website earlier today.
More in our full newsletter this weekend.
regards,
Rick Gevers
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Greetings:
A busy week.
We have FOUR newly named news directors to tell you about.
There are THREE newly opened ND jobs, ONE created by the upcoming retirement of a 37 year veteran Indiana newsman.
Those changes leave our count of open ND jobs at 26. ONE of those openings is featured among our TWO paid help wanted ads.
There’s a handful of news managers on the move, and we’re making a rare excursion from our normal course of business to share a link for a column written by my client ALAN SEALLS. That’s in Names in the News.
In our General Manager’s section, we’ve got details of the pending retirement of a Nexstar executive and a new GM in Corpus Christi.
And there are THREE obituaries: one for a veteran PBS and NBC news executive, and the other TWO for wives of news directors, one current, and a former one who played a big role in my career.
That’s all below.
Newly Named News Directors:
Tamez
KMPX-TV, Dallas, TX…CARLOS TAMEZ returns to Dallas as ND for this Estrella owned operation. He’s also oversee newscasts in Houston and Miami. Most recently, he was worked for a 24 hour news operation in Mexico, but he previously worked for the Telumundo station in Dallas. At Estrella, he replaces RUBEN OLAGUE who departed in May after two years. More in this story from Media Moves.
Ortiz
KFSN-TV, Fresno, CA…congratulations to MARTIN ORTIZ who stays within the ABC owned station group and returns to Fresno as ND of that o-and-o. He began his career at KFSN in 2007 as an assignment editor and moved quickly to producer. Martin then headed north to Oakland as a producer for KTVU-TV before rejoining ABC as a producer…and eventually EP…at KGO-TV in San Francisco. In Fresno, he replaces his new boss, MICHAEL CARR, who was promoted to GM in May.
Harper
WEAU-TV, Eau Claire, WI…JANIS HARPER has started as the next ND for this Gray owned NBC affiliate. We told you last week that Janis had left KTVA-TV in Anchorage, AK, though did not know her destination. She left KTVA on the seventh anniversary of her start, where she began as the Assistant ND and advanced to ND three years later. Janis has also worked in Evansville, Tyler, TX, Roanoke, Louisville, and Lake Charles, LA. In Eau Claire, she replaces LISA PATROW who spent more than two years as ND and earlier had been ND at another Eau Claire station.
Speaking of KTVA-TV, the station continues its search for Janis’ replacement, as you’ll learn in the Paid Help Wanted ad below.
Parker
KTEN-TV, Ada, OK/Sherman, TX/Addison, TX…JOEY PARKER is the new news director for this Lockwood Broadcasting owned NBC/ABC affiliates. He most recently was the anchor and assistant ND at KMIZ-TV in Columbia, MO. Joey’s been an ND in Utica, NY, and Casper, WY, and has also worked in Gainesville, FL, Hastings, NE, Montgomery, and Dothan, AL. At KTEN, he succeeds MARK FARRELL who died in April at the age of 55.
New News Director Openings:
Hardy
WWSB-TV, Sarasota, FL…JENNIFER HARDY has left his Gray Television owned ABC affiliate that’s technically part of the Tampa market. Jennifer spent four years as ND here, and earlier was an ND at WAAY-TV (ABC) in Huntsville for more than 2 years and at KOLO-TV (also ABC) in Reno. She’s also worked in Las Vegas (two stations), Tulsa, Spokane, Memphis, and Tucson.
Luque
WJZY-TV, Charlotte, NC…TINA LUQUE is leaving this now-owned by Nexstar FOX affiliate (once a FOX o-and-o) after more than four years as news director. She’s been a news director at WTKR-TV in Norfolk for more than seven years, and WIS-TV in Columbia, SC, for five years. She’s also worked in Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Charleston, SC.
Linn
WANE-TV, Ft. Wayne, IN…fellow Indy 500 mega-fan TED LINN is retiring in September, around the time he turns 66. Ted’s spent 43 1/2 years in our business, more than 37 of them with one company (well, one company that’s had several owners…currently Nexstar, which bought Media General, which bought LIN.) Ted’s been the ND for this CBS affiliate for 16 plus years, and spent the previous 21 years at sister station WISH-TV in Indianapolis, ending up as the Assistant ND. He’s also worked in Dayton, Lafayette, and began his career in radio in Kokomo, IN.
Paid Help Wanted Ads:
Content Manager, Morning News, KOKI-TV, Tulsa OK:
KOKI-TV/Fox 23 and Cox Media Group are searching for an experienced journalist who has the drive, energy and passion to work as the station’s Content Manager for our 5- hour long morning newscasts.
The successful candidate will execute the station’s strategic plan on all platforms, utilizing research to oversee content and coverage on our TV, radio, digital, and social media platforms. “
KOKI-TV, Fox 23, is Tulsa’s most trusted news source, Covering News That Matters. Next year will mark the 40th anniversary of the station, which debuted in October of 1980. Since 2012, the station has been owned by Cox Media Group.
Tulsa is known for being a dynamic city with a variety of bustling urban districts, exceptional dining, an unsurpassed love of the arts and one of the largest collections of art deco architecture in the nation.”
You can learn more about this opportunity and apply by clicking here.
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.
Other News Management Openings:
ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR:
WXYZ-TV, Detroit, MI (listed 6/21/20)
WNCN-TV, Raleigh, NC (listed 5/31/20)
KUSI-TV, San Diego, CA (relisted 5/10/20)
WGBA-TV, Green Bay, WI (relisted 6/21/20)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:
WGN-TV, Chicago IL (listed 6/21/20)
KRON-TV, San Francisco, CA (Digital EP, listed 6/14/20)
KIAH-TV, Houston, TX (new listing this week)
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)
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 (listed 6/21/20)
MANAGING EDITOR:
WJAX/WFOX-TV, Jacksonville, FL (listed 6/21/20)
More News Management Openings:
New listings this week:
KOKI-TV, Tulsa, OK (AM Content Manager, see ad above!)
KTVX-TV, Salt Lake City, UT (Managing Editor/Digital News)
Listed 6/21/20:
KRIS-TV, Corpus Christi, TX (Senior Broadcast Manager)
KRIS-TV, Corpus Christi, TX (Real Time Desk Manager)
Relisted 6/21/20:
KARK/KLRT-TV, Little Rock, AR (Digital Director)
Obituaries:
Crystal
LES CRYSTAL died this week. He was 85 and succumbed to pneumonia and brain cancer. Les spent more than 20 years as the executive producer of the PBS News Hour. He also served as the President of NBC News from 1977-79 and was the executive producer for the NBC Nightly News from 1973-76. More details about a remarkable career in this obituary from PBS.
Our next two obituaries are for wives of news executives, one current and one former.
Jeana Stanley
JEANA STANLEY, VP of Finance for Hearst and wife of News 12 Networks VP of Operations RANDAL STANLEY died suddenly on Friday. She was just 54 years old. Jeana worked for WUAB-TV and WKYC-TV in Cleveland and WCPX-TV (now WKMG-TV) in Orlando. She first joined Hearst as Comptroller for WBAL-TV in Baltimore and later moved to Hearst Television’s corporate staff and then to parent company Hearst. Funeral services are pending in Akron, OH.
Randal Stanley
Randal posted this message on Facebook. Many of you know Randal, who’s been with News 12 for 13 years, first as Vice President and News Director for News 12 New Jersey, before being bumped to the corporate staff in 2018. He is a former ND in Washington (WUSA-TV), Cleveland (WKYC-TV), Buffalo (WGRZ-TV), and Lincoln, NE (KLKN-TV), and has worked in Indianapolis, Baltimore, and Salt Lake City. Our sympathy to Randal and the family.
Muriel Choate
Finally, MURIEL CHOATE died Saturday, June 20th, at the age of 91. She suffered from COPD. Here’s Muriel’s obituary . She was married to DAVE CHOATE for 48 years. Dave’s a former news director for Channel 7 in Miami (originally WCKT-TV, now WSVN-TV) as well as a former NBC Bureau Chief in Miami. He left TV in the late 80’s and spent 17 years running a Broward County Commission on substance abuse.
Dave Choate
A personal note, if you’ll allow. Dave was the Assistant ND at WCKT when I started there as a producer in 1976, my first job out of college. I was young and inexperienced: he was calm, smart, knowledgeable, helpful, funny, and served as a buffer between the newsroom and an ND who was unpopular with the troops. It’s not an exaggeration that everyone in that newsroom loved working for him. Even though it’s been more than 45 years since we worked together, I go out of my way to see him when I am in Miami.
My sympathy to Dave and his four daughters.
Names in the News (and other items):
There are two management promotions at Scripps’ stations.
At WKBW-TV (ABC) in Buffalo, SUE DOBMEIER has been promoted to the Executive Producer of Lifestyle. She used to produced the program (and filled in during the search.) Sue has most recently been the Director of Creative Services here.
And at WTVR-TV (CBS) in Richmond, JAMES JOBES has been upped to Executive Producer. He’s been a producer there since 2012 and earlier worked in Columbia, MO.
Sealls
Some of you may know (or know of) my client, Chief Meteorologist ALAN SEALLS of WPMI-TV in Mobile, AL. He’s worked in Mobile for more than 20 years and was dubbed “Best Weatherman Ever” by Reddit after a video of Alan explaining the latest on Hurricane Irma went viral in 2017. Recently, Alan wrote this column for the Lagniappe weekly newspaper in Mobile entitled: The sky is blue, my skin is brown.
I think it’s worth a few minutes of your time.
General Manager News and Notes:
Jones
BRIAN JONES, who’s been with Nexstar since 2003 and has been Executive Vice President and Co-Chief Operating Officer since 2008, is retiring August 1. That brings and end to a 40 year career in broadcasting. More on Brian and his career in this news release. Before joining Nexstar, he spent seven years as general manager for CBS owned KTVT/KTXA-TV in Dallas/Ft. Worth.
Pineda
RAMON PINEDA joins Scripps as general manager for the company’s KRIS-TV in Corpus Christi, TX. He joins the company from Univision where he oversaw sales teams in a variety of markets. He’ll have lots of opportunities to shape the news department there: the station is currently looking for a Senior Director of Local Media Content (you and I might call that news director) as well as a senior broadcast manager and a real time desk manager (which we might call Assignment Manager).
Our Full List of Open ND Jobs:
Here’s our list of open ND jobs as of Sunday, June 28, 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 **
WWSB-TV 477 10th St. Sarasota, FL 34236
WJZY-TV 3501 Performance Rd. Charlotte, NC 28214
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
WANE-TV 2915 W. State Blvd.Fort Wayne, IN 46808
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
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