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August 27, 2008
Familiar faces leaving KEYE's airwaves
Tough economic times continue to ripple through Austin media, most recently striking CBS station KEYE in the form of layoffs.
A couple of weeks ago, 14 of the station’s approximately 110 employees were quietly let go. Most of them worked in sales and administration. Next will be the departure of some of the station’s on-camera personnel.
KEYE general manager Amy Villarreal confirmed Wednesday that the station has decided to drop chief meteorologist Byron Webre, morning co-anchor Elizabeth Dannheim and veteran reporter Keith Elkins. Reporter Rebecca Taylor also will leave at the end of her contract.
“We are restructuring on-air talent, and there will be some changes beginning next week,” Villarreal said. “We are adjusting to accommodate what’s going on in the industry. The economy is down and advertising is down, so we’re making some tough calls. But we’ll come out of it when the economy comes back, and we’ll be well-positioned for the future.”
Because they have been instructed by station management not to comment on the down-sizing situation, none of the newsroom staff would speak on the record. The previous wave of layoffs included the station’s long-time receptionist Rose Davis and community affairs manager Thad Rosenfeld, who is married to KEYE news anchor Judy Maggio.
Villarreal shot down reports that the entire newsroom had been asked to take salary cuts or that, as one anonymous e-mailer claimed, the lights had been turned off in the station’s hallways to save money.
KEYE is owned by New York-based Cerberus Capital Management, which bought the station from CBS in February 2007 in a seven station deal worth $185 million.
Until recently, KEYE routinely finished third or fourth in the ratings among local newscasts, behind top-rated KVUE and second-place KXAN. But after launching the first high-definition local newscast last November, KEYE’s ratings began to improve, and in the most recent May ratings, the station finished second behind KVUE at 10 p.m.
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July 24, 2008
KEYE news guys hit by Dolly
Covering a hurricane is exciting duty, especially for TV folks (Dan Rather launched his career that way), but Austin’s KEYE news team found themselves in a little too much excitement on South Padre Island on Wednesday when Dolly struck.
Gregg Watson reported island damage from the storm on the 10 p.m. newscast, adding the personally scary stuff after anchor Judy Maggio asked him about it. Seems Watson and photojournalist Pedro Garcia got caught in some high winds when they scampered out of the Radisson Hotel to make sure their satellite truck was secured.
In the parking lot, glass started blowing out of cars and hotel windows, including two windows from the KEYE truck. Garcia took glass in his hand and knee; Watson had a few scratches but nothing that required medical attention. They rode out the worst of the storm for two hours in the truck, rocking and swaying in the wind.
“They’re both OK now,” said Deke Jones, KEYE’s news assignment manager back at the station. “But the truck is out of commission for now. We’re hoping to bring everybody home today.”
The guys on the ground for Dolly duty lucked out after their flying-glass attack because several doctors were staying at the Radisson and helped remove glass from Garcia’s knee. He later went to the hospital for stitches.
Dangerous duty, hurricanes, even when they’re relatively weak (Category 2) like Dolly. We’re glad the KEYE guys are safe and sound.
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July 7, 2008
Christine Haas leaving KVUE for Houston's KHOU
Christine Haas, anchor of top-rated KVUE’s evening news, is leaving the station in August to anchor the weekday morning news at KHOU in Houston. Both stations are owned by Belo Corp.
Rumors have been swirling for months about Haas, with speculation that she would be leaving Austin for a Top 10 market soon. When a morning anchor job opened up at WFAA in Dallas, Haas looked like a likely suspect, but that didn’t happen.
Now it turns out Haas is heading south instead of north.
“I am thrilled with the opportunity and so excited to make this move forward in my career, but it was a very, very difficult decision,” Haas said Monday night. “I am leaving behind so many friends, and Austin had truly become my home.”
Haas came to Austin from Minneapolis in 2003, replacing Judy Maggio after Maggio jumped from KVUE to KEYE.
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June 11, 2008
Your A-List: Best TV Reporter
KVUE consistently tops the Nielsen ratings for local news, but in our A-List poll for best TV reporter, a journalist from KXAN — Shannon Wolfson — took top honors.
After a week of voting, Wolfson received 32 percent of the online clicks with KVUE’s Clara Tuma coming in second with 22 percent.
Wolfson has been reporting for Austin’s NBC affiliate since November 2006. A University of Texas graduate from the Houston suburb of Sugar Land, Wolfson started her TV career in Sherman. Along the way she’s covered everything from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans to crime and flooding right here in Central Texas.
Tuma also is a native Texan and UT grad, but she started out as a print reporter for the Houston Post and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. After a decade reporting for Court TV, Tuma joined KVUE in 2001.
Here’s the full ballot and tally:
Shannon Wolfson, KXAN — 32 percent
Clara Tuma, KVUE — 22 percent
Bob Robuck, News 8 Austin — 11 percent
Amy Hadley, News 8 Austin — 11 percent
Nanci Wilson, KEYE — 5 percent
Reagan Hackleman, News 8 Austin — 4 percent
Quita Culpepper, KVUE — 3 percent
Kate Weidaw, KXAN — 3 percent
Arezow Doost, KTBC — 3 percent
Jim Swift, KXAN — 2 percent
Keith Elkins, KEYE — 2 percent
Jenni Lee, KTBC — 1 percent
Jason Wheeler, KEYE — 1 percent
Jim Bergamo, KVUE — 1 percent
James Irby, KTBC — < 1 percent
Write-ins: Stephanie Bradford, KAKW; Luis Gomez, KAKW; Christine Haas, KVUE; Loriana Hernandez, KTBC; David Herrera, KAKW; Elise Hu, KVUE; Ellen McNamara, KXAN; Matt Mitchell, KVUE; Diego Munoz, KAKW; Juan Jose Rodas, KAKW; Regina Rodriguez, KAKW; Nancy Zambrano, KTBC
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June 2, 2008
HD News: KEYE launches new channel, KVUE News goes HD
If you live in the HD world (and more of you do every week), you may have noticed that KEYE has a second channel now featuring classic TV series such as “Leave It To Beaver,” “Happy Days,” “The Fugitive,” “Perry Mason” and “Mission Impossible.”
The channel, called RTN (Retro Television Network), launched today over the air on Digital Channel 42-2 and Time Warner’s Digital Cable Channel 1532.
KEYE tested the equipment late last week, so some viewers may have gotten a peek at the channel early. But today’s the day for the full schedule, which runs 24 hours a day.
In addition to the old reruns, RTN is replaying KEYE’s early morning news, anchored by Fred Cantu and Elizabeth Dannheim, from 7 to 9 a.m. — a much more civilized time than the normal 5 to 7 a.m. (In my world, that’s still night.)
Also Sunday evening, KVUE jumped out early with a successful “soft launch” of its HD newscasts at 5:30 and 10 p.m. Today is the official HD debut, featuring a new set and all the bells and whistles that HD brings.
Check tomorrow’s Life & Arts section of the American-Statesman and Austin360.com for more info on KVUE’s HD transition. It is the second Austin station to go HD with local news. KEYE made the switch last November.
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May 7, 2008
ABC News opening 'digital bureau' at UT
University of Texas journalism students could wind up on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” “World News” and “Nightline” in the fall when ABC News opens a “digital bureau” here as part of an new initiative called ABC News on Campus.
Only five universities around the country have been invited to participate. Besides UT-Austin, the program includes Arizona State University, Syracuse University, the University of Florida and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The UT bureau will open in September under the supervision of broadcast journalism lecturer Kate Dawson, a 14-year TV news veteran who spent her career at Fox News Channel, WCBS in New York and ABC News Radio. She joined the UT faculty in 2006.
“ABC was really impressed with UT’s credentials and considered this a great journalism school,” Dawson said.
The ABC News-campus partnership will create a multimedia bureau at UT that will include new video and computer equipment, paid internships for student staffers and a paid position for Dawson as the faculty adviser. The first student bureau chief is Sara Loeffelholz, a senior from Aledo. The other bureau staff members have not yet been chosen.
“These college bureaus will extend the newsgathering reach of ABC News throughout the country,” said ABC News president David Westin in a statement. “In addition, they will enable us to nurture bright young journalism students, giving them hands-on training from some of the most seasoned news professionals in the business and the opportunity to see their work appear on ABC News platforms.”
No doubt ABC also sees the campus initiative as a way to lure some of the country’s 33 million 18- to 25-year-old viewers into watching TV news. Younger viewers have abandoned nightly newscasts since the arrival of online and cable news.
The UT bureau will receive training and on-site mentoring for the student bureau chief and faculty liaison at ABC News headquarters in New York twice a year.
Every day, year-round, students will pitch stories to the ABC news producers. If one is accepted, the bureau will engage its multimedia operation. A print journalism student might write the script, a broadcast journalism student might do the standup and several students would be in charge of shooting and editing, with online additions available, too.
“This is an amazing opportunity,” Dawson said. “We’ll learn from each other and have access to resources at the other college campuses… . ABC News is interested in a variety of issues, from campus security to features on college trends. They want the college student’s points of view, which is something you don’t see very often on network news.”
In the fall, the UT group also will help out with ABC affiliate KVUE’s general election coverage.
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April 28, 2008
KVUE News going HD soon!
Christine Haas and Tyler Sieswerda are about to get new makeup and a spiffy new look to their anchor perch on KVUE’s local newscasts.
Why? The Belo-owned station is switching its newscasts to HD. We’ve noticed for several weeks that the anchors aren’t in their usual set, and the lighting looks a bit harsh sometimes. Turns out that’s because KVUE is building a new deck for their old set to accommodate the transition.
We found this out, by the way, not from the station but from an article in Broadcast Engineering.
This morning we called for confirmation from KVUE’s long-time chief engineer Mike Wenglar. The specific date for the HD debut has not been released, but late May or early June look probable.
Look for a big promotional extravaganza closer to the premiere, when news, weather, sports and field reports all will be telecast in HD.
KEYE’s newscasts, you might remember, went HD last November — just in time for the important sweeps period. Ron Oliveira and Judy Maggio sailed through their ready-for-their-closeup makeovers.
KXAN and KTBC both have HD-ready news sets but no launch time for the high-def switch. Presumably, however, all local Austin news will be in HD by the end of this year.
J.Lo and the twins on reality TV
TLC has landed a deal with Jennifer Lopez and her husband Marc Anthony for a reality series that will focus on the glam life of J.Lo and the more down-and-dirty job of taking care of twins Emme and Max, born Feb. 22.
The series will be produced by Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, another celebrity couple. No air date has been set — and no title either.
Suggestions? “Hot Mama?” “J.Lo & The Babes?”
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April 21, 2008
Austin stations win Texas AP Awards
Austin stations, not surprisingly, hit the motherlode in the just-announced Texas Associated Press Broadcasters Awards.
Competing in Division 2 (against San Antonio but not Dallas or Houston), Austin’s ABC affiliate KVUE raked in the most, winning 14 awards and 5 honorable mentions.
But every local news station in town won AP Awards.
Kudos to all. Here’s the list, as posted by Texas AP:
Best Newscast
KXAN, Austin. Staff. News at 6 p.m.
KENS, San Antonio. Kara Gennett & Ray Silva. 6 p.m. News.
Honorable Mention: KXAN, Austin. Staff. News at 10 p.m.
Best Sportscast
WOAI, San Antonio. Don Harris & Mike Klein.
KVUE, Austin. Mike Barnes. KVUE Sports at 6 p.m.
Honorable Mention: KEYE, Austin. Bob Ballou. 10 p.m.
Best Weathercast
KVUE, Austin. Mark Murray. 10 p.m.
KXAN, Austin. Jim Spencer. 10 p.m. Weathercast.
Honorable Mention: News 8 Austin, Austin. Burton Fitzsimmons. 8 a.m. Weather.
Best News Anchor/Team
KVUE, Austin. Christine Haas.
WOAI, San Antonio. Randy Beamer.
Honorable Mention: KTBC, Austin. Jenni Lee.
Best Spot Coverage-Station
KVUE, Austin. Georgetown Drowning.
KENS, San Antonio. Eagle Pass Tornado.
Best Spot Story/Individual
KVUE, Austin. Kevin Peters and Robert McMurrey. Georgetown Drowning.
KENS, San Antonio. James Munoz and Larry Burns. Corn Collapse.
Honorable Mention: News 8 Austin, Austin. Amy Hadley and Ed Keiner. Ice Storm.
Best Feature/Serious
KVUE, Austin. Shelton Green and Woody Harrison. Ghost Bikes.
WOAI, San Antonio. Delaine Mathieu and Ben Cruz. Babies Saving Their Own Lives.
Honorable Mention: KEYE, Austin. Judy Maggio and Dennis Bateman. Champion for Kids.
Best Feature/Light
KENS, San Antonio. Marvin Hurst and Patricia Norman. Selling the Moon.
KVUE, Austin. Amy Johnston and Doug Naugle. Cedar Park Quints.
Honorable Mention: News 8 Austin, Austin. Crestina Chavez and Ed Keiner. Fidographer.
Best Investigative
KVUE, Austin. Rudy Koski and Dathan Hull. Justice Denied.
WOAI, San Antonio. Brian Collister and Steve Kline. VA Medical Mistakes.
Honorable Mention: KVUE, Austin. Christine Haas and Todd Rogenthien. Maravilla Troubles.
Best Photojournalism/Station
KVUE, Austin.
KXAN, Austin.
Hon Men: KENS, San Antonio.
Best Photojournalism/Individual
KXAN, Austin. Jonathan Uhl.
KVUE, Austin. Todd Rogenthien.
Honorable Mention: KENS, San Antonio. Michael Humphries.
Best Sports Story
WOAI, San Antonio. Don Harris, Keith Van Prooyen, Mike Klein. Daddy is on God’s Team.
News 8 Austin, Austin. Shane McAuliffe. Deaf Football Team.
Best Series
KEYE, Austin. Ron Oliveira, John Salazar and Benjamin Pollchik. Manopause.
KABB, San Antonio. Staff. S.A. 360.
Honorable Mention: KVUE, Austin. Clara Tuma and Todd Rogenthien. Looking for Love.
Best Specialty/Beat Reporting
1.KTBC, Austin. Chris Coffey, John Craven and Shane Gordon. 7 On Your Side.
- KVUE, Austin. Elise Hu. Political Reporting.
Best Reporter
KEYE, Austin. Jason Wheeler
KABB, San Antonio. James Keith
Best General Assignment
WOAI, San Antonio. Jaie Avila and Joey Mendoza. Car Wash Theft.
KABB, San Antonio. Stephanie Rivas and Jack Greene. Amber Jones Memorial.
Honorable Mention: KVUE, Austin. Clara Tuma and Todd Rogenthien. Intel Implosion.
Best Continuing Coverage
WOAI, San Antonio. Brian Collister and Steve Kline. Failed Principal.
KENS, San Antonio. Staff. Mount Helotes Burning.
Honorable Mention: KVUE, Austin. Staff. Goodbye Lady Bird.
Best Website
KEYE, Austin.
KVUE, Austin.
Honorable Mention: KTBC, Austin.
Best Feature Editing
KENS, San Antonio. Patricia Norman. Taking on Taggers
KVUE, Austin. Todd Rogenthien. Canine Chaos.
Honorable Mention (tie): KVUE, Austin. Todd Rogenthien. Seaholm Swan Song.
KENS, San Antonio. Wes Sewell. S.A. Street Racers.
Best TV Magazine/Special
KVUE, Austin. Kathy Hadlock. KVUE Close-Up.
News 8 Austin, Austin. Rachel Elsberry, Drew Moses and Chris Rodriguez. ACL Music Festival.
Honorable Mention: WOAI, San Antonio. Don Harris, David Chancellor and Mike Klein. Race for the Rings Spurs Special.
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April 11, 2008
KVUE rakes in six Regional Murrow Awards
Austin stations fared well in the Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, announced Friday afternoon.
Competing in Region 6 (which includes Texas and Oklahoma), KVUE raked in six prestigious Murrows, including one for overall excellence. KVUE, an ABC affiliate owned by Belo Corp., also won for its 10 p.m. newscast, investigative reporting, sports reporting, spot news coverage and videography.
CBS affiliate KEYE received a Murrow for its Web site (KEYETV.com), Time Warner’s 24-hour local news channel News 8 won for (what else?) continuous coverage and NBC station KXAN picked up an award for news writing.
In the radio category, KUT won three Murrows: overall excellence, feature reporting and news documentary.
The Murrow awards are bestowed each year by the Radio-Television News Directors Association.
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March 27, 2008
Time Warner's Weather Radar Channel moving to digital-only tier
Weather nerd alert!
Time Warner Cable is moving the Color Weather Radar Channel to the digital-only tier, effective April 10.
Why? Allegedly to add lots of bells and whistles to the previously basic Sven-narrated radar picture. But it doesn’t take a genius to know that this is just another nudge by Time Warner to move customers from basic service to digital. More channels, yes; more money, you bet.
To make the move even more annoying, Cable Channel 44, where weather radar currently resides, will be blank after the new-and-improved weather radar channel moves to Digital 355.
Why not just leave the old-fashioned weather radar on the soon-to-be-empty Channel 44? Time Warner spokesman Roger Heaney, who is always polite and pleasant, didn’t know but figured it was a “technical problem.”
What’s the big deal with the digital-level radar channel?
“We’ll be able to provide customized, community-level imagery,” Heaney said. “The enhancements they’re making requires it to be on digital.”
Heaney said the digital weather radar channel will customize the radar image right down to your neighborhood and, through the miracle of digital transmissions, automatically know where you are — or at least where your cable box is.
Heaney also said moving the weather radar channel off the lower tier opens up the possibility of adding three or four HD channels in the future, for which he says customers are clamoring. More HD, less weather. Really?
Time Warner customers who are not on digital service, Heaney says, can still catch weather updates every 10 minutes on Time Warner’s local cable news channel, News 8. And, of course, weather radar is plentifully available on various Web sites.
But that’s not exactly the same as watching the big red and purple storm blobs roll in as Sven calmly describes “possible tornadic activity in the area.” Those of us already on digital no doubt will relish the fancy technology, but we’ll miss Sven’s comforting monotone and the hypnotic images of Central Texas weather.
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March 25, 2008
KXAN back on Suddenlink Cable
After months of wrangling, KXAN and Suddenlink Cable have reached a retransmission agreement, and now viewers in Pflugerville, Georgetown and Leander can watch weatherman Jim Spencer again. And for the first time, they can see KXAN in high-definition.
KXAN was bumped off the Suddenlink system in Williamson County on Dec. 31, leaving viewers without NBC programming for almost a week, until NBC station KCEN in Temple joined Suddenlink’s lineup. Neither KXAN’s corporate owner LIN Television nor the Missouri-based Suddenlink would divulge details of the arrangement. But effective Tuesday, KXAN’s local news, syndicated programming and NBC shows were back up and running in 30,000 Suddenlink households.
“The terms are confidential, but I will say we’ve always stated that it’s about fair market value, and we’ve received fair market value,” said Eric Lassberg, general manager of KXAN.
The dispute between Suddenlink and KXAN did not affect the more than 300,000 households in Central Texas that have Time Warner Cable.
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March 11, 2008
KEYE's Allison Smith gone ... 'The Saint' returning?
Time sometimes gets away from us, and before we realize it, someone we’re used to seeing on TV isn’t just gone for a little while, she’s gone for good.
Allison Smith, KEYE’s hard-working and wonderfully competent weekend and fill-in weeknight sports anchor has moved to Los Angeles with her husband. Bummer.
“We would love to have kept Allison,” said KEYE’s news director Suzanne Black. “She’s a terrific person.”
We’ll try not to begrudge Allison her personal happiness, but we’ll miss her.
The new weekend/fill-in sports anchor is Chris Pelikan, hired from a station in St Louis. Yes, he’s been on the air for a while, but (duh), we thought maybe he was either a third sports anchor or temporary replacement. He’s full-time and permanent.
Sorry for the late welcome, but welcome to Austin, Chris.
Return of ‘The Saint?’
Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana, famous for such hard-hitting, gritty crime dramas as “Homicide: Life on the Streets” and “Oz,” are this close to helming a revival of the light-hearted, 1960s crime series “The Saint.”
British actor James Purefoy (Mark Antony in HBO’s “Rome”) is at the top of the list to star in the show as Simon Templar, the super-rich sophisticate who specializes in helping the less fortunate.
“The Saint” revival was originally on TNT’s development list last year but was dropped and now is searching for a network home. A two-hour pilot starts production later this spring … surely someone will step up to the plate and pick up the series. Please?
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March 10, 2008
February Nielsens: KVUE top dog in local news, 'Family Guy' big in late-night
The Nielsen ratings for February are in, and the big news isn’t that KVUE continues to hog the lead in local news ratings. Or that KXAN remains in second place with KEYE giving it a run for its money.
No, the big news in February is the late-night competition. Was “Nightline” No. 1 in our highly educated TV market? No, that was No. 2, followed in order by “The Late Show with David Letterman” on CBS and then “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” No, dear readers, the top-rated late-night show in Austin was (drum roll) “Family Guy” reruns on KTBC.
Now, back to the news ratings. At 5 p.m., Austin’s Univision station KAKW finished behind our four English-language network affiliates but ahead of KNVA’s reruns of “Everybody Loves Raymond.” That’s a move up for Univision.
Austin continues to favor “ABC’s World News” among the network newscasts, with “NBC Nightly News” in second place and the “CBS Evening News” last.
At 6 p.m., KVUE remains top-rated, but KXAN is a very close second. At 10 p.m., again with KVUE on top, KXAN and KEYE are neck-and-neck.
KTBC’s late Fox 7 News, which runs for an hour at 9 p.m. (instead of up against the other guys at 10 p.m.), had extremely strong ratings this time around — maybe because the writers strike has caused prime-time ratings to sag or maybe also because we’re in the heat of a blockbuster run of “American Idol.” Or maybe because Central Texans just like Fox 7 News.
FEBRUARY NIELSEN RATINGS
5 p.m. local news
KVUE - 7.1
KXAN - 3.6
KEYE - 3.0
KTBC - 2.3
KAKW - 1.9/4
KNVA (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) - 1.2
5:30 p.m. network news
ABC - 7.3
NBC - 4.8
CBS - 3.4
Univision - 2.2
KNVA (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) - 1.3
6:00 p.m. local news
KVUE - 6.5
KXAN - 5.3
KEYE - 3.9
KTBC (“TMZ”) - 2.6
KNVA (“Friends”) - 1.7
10 p.m. local news
KVUE - 6.1
KXAN - 5.3
KEYE - 5.1
KTBC (“The Simpsons”) - 4.4
KAKW - 2.7
[KTBC (9-10 p.m.) - 6.2]
(A rating is 1 percent of the 602,340 TV households in the Austin viewing area.)
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January 22, 2008
Laura Hall professes innocence on ‘48 Hours'
Local news coverage of Laura Hall, including pre-arrest photos of her grinning and partying in Mexico with murderer Colton Pitonyak and, later, rolling her eyes at TV cameras in court in Austin, bear little resemblance to the pretty woman proclaiming her innocence on tonight’s edition of “48 Hours” (9 p.m. on CBS, KEYE Channel 42).
You remember the University of Texas student, accused by Pitonyak of dismembering the body of Jennifer Cave, whom Pitonyak killed in some sort of drug-induced rage in 2005. The gruesome murder rocked Austin and especially UT, with the enigmatic Hall perhaps the most mysterious character of all in this bizarre saga.
Hall was convicted of evidence tampering and helping Pitonyak flee to Mexico, but she is petitioning for a new trial in hopes of overturning those convictions.
The “48 Hours” news release titles tonight’s episode “In Too Deep,” and the clear implication is that Hall might have been more of a victim than a villain in the murder of Jennifer Cave. Throughout her trial, Hall was seen entering the courtroom expressionless, sporting a variety of hair colors and styles. She never spoke to reporters, she usually frowned and she frequentlly sighed and looked alternately bored and annoyed by the whole mess.
Scenes from tonight’s interview show a strikingly different Hall, and not just because she’s been professionally styled for the cameras. She proclaims her innocence with great energy, insisting she had nothing to do with the murder or the dismemberment. She says she was afraid of Pitonyak and that he forced her to go to Mexico with him. She is earnest and occasionally even smiles.
Is Hall conducting a public relations performance or telling the truth? You be the judge. If what she’s saying now is different than what came out in her trial, why didn’t she say it then? And if she did say it then, why didn’t the jury believe her?
KXAN’s Sally Hernandez promoted
KXAN news director Michael Fabac announced over the holiday weekend that Sally Hernandez will permanently take the morning anchor job, partnering with long-time morning guy Chris Willis. She has been filling in for quite a while, replacing Tonya Kerr, who quit abruptly and rather mysteriously in October 2007.
Hernandez, who graduated from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio in 2001 and immediately went to work for KXAN, has anchored weekend mornings and weekend evenings during her tenure at the station.
“Sally’s impressive track record is a testament to her skills and strong work ethic. I am proud to be able to internally promote an employee who has established strong connections in the community and proven herself as an advocate for our viewers,” said Fabac.
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December 28, 2007
KXAN dropping off Suddenlink cable?
Are Suddenlink cable subscribers in Central Texas going to lose NBC programming on New Year’s Day? No parades? No bowl games?
Possibly, but probably not.
Austin’s NBC station KXAN raised the prospect in a rather alarming message on its 10 p.m. newscast Thursday night. The written posting came from general manager Eric Lassberg:
“I would like to take this opportunity to inform you about our negotiations with Suddenlink for carriage of KXAN-TV, Austin’s NBC affiliate station on Suddenlink’s cable systems. Our current contract with Suddenlink expires on Dec. 31, 2007. We have attempted to reach an agreement with Suddenlink for the fair market value of our station, without success, and therefore we expect Suddenlink to pull KXAN-TV off its cable system on December 31, 2007.”
The station manager’s full message is posted on KXAN’s Web site. Lassberg apologizes for “any inconvenience to our viewers.”
But an executive with the Missouri-based Suddenlink Communications insists the cable provider will not yank KXAN off its lineup — unless the station’s owner, LIN TV, refuses to agree to a short-term extension of the current agreement while negotiations continue.
“We are not that far apart on a final agreement and are hopeful KXAN’s parent company will recognize the same and continue these negotiations, which have been very friendly and cordial to date,” said Pete Abel, Suddenlink’s vice president of corporate communications. “In good faith negotiations, where both parties are making progress toward a reasonable agreement, we believe it would be incredibly unfair of LIN to use KXAN’s viewers as pawns in this matter. We don’t want that outcome. Viewers don’t deserve such treatment.”
Courtney Guertin, public relations specialist for LIN, issued the following statement: “We have not reached an agreement with Suddenlink yet, but we certainly hope to.”
In a reply to Lassberg’s posting, Suddenlink’s Abel wrote on KXAN’s site: “We were surprised and confused that KXAN’s owners would direct the station’s GM to put up this message on their Web site. Regardless, please know that we will leave this station on your line up as long as KXAN’s owners allow us to do so. Only they can force it to be removed.”
Suddenlink serves about 35,000 customers in our area, mostly in Pflugerville, Georgetown and Leander. Time Warner is the major cable provider in Austin and Central Texas.
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November 16, 2007
KXAN's Michelle Valles busted but keeps her job
Michelle Valles, who anchors KXAN’s weeknight newscasts, was busted last night for DWI. She posted $3,000 bail and was released early this morning. This is very sad news, and we hope she is able to recover and make the best of a bad situation.
Eric Lassberg, her station’s general manager, told me this morning that Valles still has her job. He said she will take some time off to deal with the situation, but he fully expects her to return to the anchor desk with Robert Hadlock.
Valles, a UT grad, has been a vital part of Austin’s Hispanic community since joining KXAN in 2003. She is active in a variety of charities and does more than just lend her name. Drinking and driving is incredibly stupid and dangerous, but we hope Valles uses the incident to educate herself and others as we enter the holiday season.
‘Family Guy’ feud
Creator/executive producer/star Seth MacFarlane is decidedly unhappy that Fox is airing an episode of his animated comedy “Family Guy” this Sunday.
Why is that?
According to industry trade papers, the upcoming episode of “Family Guy” was nearly finished when the writers’ strike started, but the fine-tuning that always happens before broadcast had not been done. With MacFarlane on strike, Fox added the finishing touches.
Like many other so-called hyphenates (writer-producers), MacFarlane is siding with the writers’ and refusing to perform his show-running duties — hoping the additional pressure will force producers back to the bargaining table.
Legally Fox has the right to tinker with nearly completed episodes, but writer-producers traditionally handle the final cuts. MacFarlane might be out-gunned on this one, but without him on board in the future, “Family Guy” will be dead.
Permalink | Comments (35) | Categories: Local news
November 13, 2007
KEYE's HD news gets ratings boost ... 'Damages' survives
Cause or coincidence? Hard to know, but KEYE got a nice little boost in the ratings from its Nov. 1 introduction of HD local news.
It’s still early in the November sweeps, but the 10 p.m. KEYE news, anchored by high-def anchor duo Judy Maggio and Ron Oliveira, is now comfortably in second place, behind long-time leader KVUE. That surge gently shoves KXAN into third place at 10 p.m. — at least for now. On Nov. 1, the night the HD newscast debuted, KEYE won the time period with a healthy 7.2 rating and a 12 percent share of the audience.
We’ll have a better sense of how HD is playing into viewers’ choices for local news at the end of the month. We’ll keep you posted.
And while we’re patting KEYE on the back, let’s give it props for something other than high-def. The newscast has ditched the annoying, messy-looking “crawl” at the bottom of the screen. The look is cleaner and clearer. Thanks, guys. I can’t be the only one who finds these grammatically challenged “headlines” distracting.
Blue Monday turned happy
Yesterday, as most Mondays are, was a drag — especially with the writers’ strike threatening to leave us with nothing but “Survivor” and “Big Brother” for months to come.
But we did get a nice piece of good news from FX: “Damages” has been renewed for not one but TWO new seasons. The fabulous legal thriller, which debuted in July, will return next summer, assuming the strike doesn’t drag on and turn it into a winter series. The deal is for a total of 26 new episodes, played out over two summer seasons.
Glenn Close and FX apparently were both on the fence about whether they wanted “Damages” to continue. Close picks her projects carefully, and as the star of an hour-long drama, she knows the work days will be long. FX was disappointed in the lackluster ratings for the show, especially compared to some of its hits, such as “Nip/Tuck” and “The Shield” (which inspired Close’s decision to do a series).
As for details about the new season, we have only a few. Close has signed on (natch), and so has her young protege, played by Rose Burne. Tate Donovan, who co-starred as Close’s right-hand man, will return.
But the corporate villain, played by Ted Danson? Not signed — at least not now. So one might assume that his character really was shot dead in the first-season finale. Maybe.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Local news
October 29, 2007
Austin stations win Lone Star Emmys
The Lone Star Emmy Awards were handed out Saturday night in Dallas, and several Austin stations, people and programs picked up statues.
**News Excellence””
KVUE News
Frank Volpicella, news director
Breaking News
Georgetown Drowning - 3/13/07
KVUE News
Kevin Peters, reporter
Robert McMurrey, photographer
Spot News
Georgetown Drowning - 3/14/07
KVUE News
Kevin Peters, reporter
Robert McMurrey, photographer
Arts/Entertainment-Program Feature/Segment
“Downtown: Slam Poets” on KLRU
Downtown Austin Alliance & Action Figure Studios
Health/Science - News Single Story
“Stolen From The Grave”
KEYE News
Nanci Wilson, reporter/producer
Health/Science - News Series
“ER: In Critical Condition”
KEYE News
Seema Mathur, reporter
Texas Heritage - Program Feature/Segment
“Downtown: The Magi’s Gift’s Before He Was O. Henry” on KLRU
Downtown Austin Alliance & Action Figure Studios
Molly Alexander, executive producer
Children/Youth (12 & under)
“The Biscuit Brothers: Folk Songs”
Allen Robertson, producer
Jerome Schoolar, producer
Documentary - Historical
“Sniper ‘66’’
KTBC News
Whitney Milam, director/producer/writer/editor
Magazine Program - Program/Special
“Docubloggers: The Pilot”
KLRU
Domenique Bellavia, producer
Sean Cunningham, producer
Public/Current/Community Affairs-Feature/Segment
“Downtown: Experience Caring”
Downtown Austin Alliance & Action Figure Studios
Molly Alexander, executive producer
On-Camera Talent-Reporter, Specialty Assignment
“Covering Texas Lawmakers”
KEYE News
Nanci Wilson, reporter/producer
Permalink | | Categories: Local news
October 11, 2007
KXAN's Tonya Kerr quits
Tonya Kerr, KXAN TV’s morning and noon news anchor, resigned Thursday after the early morning broadcast and had left the station as of mid-afternoon.
News director Michael Fabac says the parting was amicable and referred us to the following statement:
“Tonya has been a valued member of the KXAN team since 2004. Her decision to leave is based upon family obligations.”
Fabac said weekend anchor Sally Hernandez will join co-anchor Chris Willis on the morning newscasts beginning next week, and a search has begun for a permanent replacement.
Permalink | Comments (16) | Categories: Local news
September 12, 2007
Your A-List: Best evening news anchors
Judy Maggio and Ron Oliveira might be anchoring a ratings-challenged newscast on KEYE, but they squeaked out a victory in the Best Evening News Anchors category in our Your A-List poll.
Just a few percentage points behind Judy and Ron were KVUE’s Christine Haas and Tyler Sieswerda, who helm the top-rated local news in Austin at 6 and 10 p.m.
Why did the No. 3 anchors beat the No. 1 anchors in our poll? Name recognition might have something to do with it. Ron and Judy have been anchoring together and separately in Central Texas for a couple of decades — including a victorious stint together at KVUE.
KXAN’s Robert Hadlock and Michelle Valles were a distant third in our poll, although a couple of the station’s weekend warriors — anchor Sally Hernandez and meteorologist Laura Skirde — received write-in votes.
Here’s how the poll results stack up:
Judy Maggio and Ron Oliveira (KEYE) — 43 percent
Christine Haas and Tyler Sieswerda (KVUE) — 40 percent
Robert Hadlock and Michelle Valles (KXAN) — 10 percent
Loriana Hernandez and Mike Warren (KTBC) — 3 percent
Crestina Chavez (News 8 Austin) — 3 percent
Gustavo Monsante (KAKW) — 1 percent
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: Local news
August 30, 2007
KVUE's weatherman wings it well!
Mark Murray gets the Golden Remote Award for stretching a 30-second weather tease into almost the entire first half of last night’s 10 p.m. news.
KVUE was felled by audio problems in the studio Wednesday night that affected anchors Tyler Sieswerda and Christine Haas but not Murray, huddled in his weather pod.
While the station wrestled with the audio problem, Quick-on-His-Feet Mark, the Music-Loving Meteorologist, plowed ahead, serving up hour-by-hour weather for Austin, Texas, the Southwest and much of the United States. All the bells and whistles of TV weather made an appearance, and Murray filled time without skipping a beat.
After a few extra-long commercial breaks, sometime around 10:15, Sieswerda and Haas were audible at last and started the newscast.
“Well, better late than never,” quipped Sieswerda upon returning.
Technical difficulties happen. It’s how you handle them that counts, and KVUE’s Murray charged ahead in splendid fashion. But I bet some weary late news watchers wondered if we were in a major weather crisis when they saw him flying solo through a big chunk of the newscast.
Dave & Oprah — Together again!
Whatever nasty feud existed between Opray Winfrey and David Letterman is officially over.
Dave, who NEVER does talk shows other than his own (maybe once or twice on pal Regis Philbin’s morning yapper), will plop down on Oprah’s couch on Sept. 10. What will he talk about? Geez, it’s hard to know. Oprah usually has themes to her shows. Maybe late-life celebrity dads? We’ll see.
The decade-long bad blood between the powerful show-biz duo apparently began when Letterman started making frequent jokes about her exploding wealth and her weight battles. Winfrey was not amused and declined several invitations to appear on Letterman’s “Late Show.”
But in 2005, Winfrey decided to drop by Letterman’s gig on her way to the opening of her Broadway production of “The Color Purple.” When she arrived, Letterman was at the curb to meet her and escorted her inside. He also escorted her out when she headed for the theater. And the two appeared in a Super Bowl ad together in February.
Kissing and making up no doubt benefits crusty Dave more than the beloved Oprah.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Local news
August 1, 2007
KXAN News: shifting and expanding
KXAN is shifting and expanding its local news. Viewership for TV news might be splintering and declining overall, but KXAN believes it’s time to grow.
“It’s more about what we feel is our core competency and core business,” said station general manager Eric Lassberg.
Starting Tuesday, Sept. 4, the NBC affiliate’s late afternoon news will move from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. And then on Monday, Sept. 10, the station is adding an hour-long newscast at noon.
Before all you “Jeopardy!” fans have a cow, the enduringly popular game show is not going away. It will air for an hour, from 4 to 5 p.m., with a rerun from the previous season leading off at 4 p.m. and the new episode a half-hour later.
“I’m hoping that people who really love ‘Jeopardy!’ will be pleased because they’ll have an hour,” Lassberg said. “It’s really just an hour time-shift.”
The station’s 5 p.m. news will have the same anchor team on board: Robert Hadlock, Michelle Valles, Roger Wallace and Jim Spencer.
KXAN resisted having an early-evening newscast for years, at least partly because “Jeopardy!” has been so successful against the other local stations’ 5 p.m. news. A few years ago, KXAN introduced the 4 p.m. news, but the audience available at that time of day is considerably smaller than the 5 p.m. time slot.
“We’re in the news business, and we’re serious about news,” Lassberg said. “It just makes sense from the viewers’ standpoint to do it at 5 p.m.”
The noon newscast — to be anchored by KXAN’s early-morning team of Tonya Kerr and Chris Willis — will launch the same day that NBC’s “Today” adds another hour.
I know your head is spinning at this point, but here’s how KXAN’s daytime schedule will look as of Sept. 10:
7 to 9 a.m. “Today”
9 to 10 a.m. “Live with Regis and Kelly”
10 a.m. to noon “Today”
Noon to 1 p.m. “KXAN News”
1 to 2 p.m. “700 Club”
2 to 3 p.m. “Days of Our Lives
(Note: “Montel Williams” moves to KXAN’s sister station KNVA at 11 a.m. weekdays.)
Why is British TV filming in Austin?
“Wire in the Blood”, a popular procedural crime drama produced by the BBC, is filming an episode in Austin right now.
The series, which returns to the BBC America schedule sometime in the fall, focuses on an enigmatic clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Hill, played by Robson Green.
What does this have to do with Austin? Tony becomes an expert witness in the case of an American Iraq War veteran accused of killing his family. The killer claims he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Tony is hired to prove the claim is false, and he winds up in an Austin courtroom to make the case.
“I think it is a huge achievement for a small indie to move from the northeast of England to make a film in Austin, Texas,” executive producer Sandra Jobling said in a statement. “We are relishing the challenge of learning a new system of production and working closely with our American colleagues.”
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July 31, 2007
KEYE hires new sports guy
KEYE Channel 42 News is trading in a Baldwin for a Ballou on its sports desk.
Austin’s CBS station has chosen not to renew sports anchor Skip Baldwin’s contract, so he will depart KEYE on Aug. 10. Baldwin, a University of Texas graduate and 2007 Texas Associated Press award winner, came to KEYE in November 2004 from the Fox station in Nashville. He also has covered sports in San Diego, New Orleans, Midland and Waco.
We’ve been calling and e-mailing Baldwin for two days, but so far we have not heard back from him. We’ve seen him on the air, so we know he’s here. We’ll let you know if we talk to him.
“Skip is a wonderful man who has worked very hard, and we very much appreciate everything he’s contributed,” said KEYE news director Suzanne Black, who declined to say why she’s replacing him.
Bob Ballou, sports anchor/reporter for KENS, the Belo-owned CBS station in San Antonio, has been hired as KEYE’s new sports anchor. He joins the station the week of Aug. 13, but his on-air debut date has not yet been determined.
“Bob’s a very energetic guy,” Black said. “He has covered NBA championship teams, but the driving force for why we asked him to come work with us is his love of local sports.”
Originally from Dallas, Ballou is a graduate of the University of Missouri. He interned with WFAA in Dallas and worked in Columbia, Mo., for four years before joining KENS.
In the May local Nielsen ratings, KEYE’s newscast was ranked fourth at 5 p.m. and third at 6 and 10 p.m. The Belo-owned ABC affiliate, KVUE, is No. 1.
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July 19, 2007
'Friday Night' set visit: photos and video
The video of today’s visit to the “Friday Night Lights” set is posted. Cast members say hi to the fans in Austin.
And here are a few photos of cast members and crew I shot on the first day of shooting Season Two of “Friday Night Lights” and a video greeting from cast members Taylor Kitsch, Adrianne Palicki, Gaius Charles and Zach Gilford.
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'Friday Night Lights' cast returns for shooting
It was like the first day back to school for the returning cast of “Friday Night Lights,” which began shootings its second season for NBC on Thursday.
Probably compounding that feeling: they were shooting at an Austin alternative school.
Thought the show only earned two Emmy nominations when they were announced that morning (one for casting, one to Peter Berg for directing last season’s pilot), spirits seemed high on the set. Taylor Kitsch (Tim Riggins), returning from shooting an independent film called “Gospell Hill,” said he was glad to be back and was happy to slip back into Riggins’ world of problems.
“It feels funny. It feels good,” Kitsch said, “we are so lucky.”
Kitsch recently bought a condo in South Austin near the Alamo Drafthouse on Lamar Boulevard and is taking the show script by script. Kitsch said he wasn’t bitter about the show’s Best Drama snub, but, “Truthfully, Kyle Chandler really deserved it. He’s the spine of the show.” Kitsch thinks it’ll give the show more fuel for the fire and, “it hasn’t taken away from the confidence we all have in each other at all.”
Adrianne Palicki (Tyra Collette), who spent time back home in Ohio and in L.A. with Connie Britton for the summer, says a lot of loose ends from last season get tied up in the first two episodes of Season Two, including the return of a character who tried to rape Tyra near the end of last season.
She says she’s still getting lots of positive feedback from fans, especially those who appreciate the show’s strong female characters.
Gaius Charles (Brian “Smash” Williams) spent time in L.A., New York and the Caribbean in the summer and shot an episode of “Law & Order: SVU.” He spent the rest of his time off relaxing. “This is an intense job,” he said.
So what about Smash? The actor said that after last season’s championship win, the player’s on top of the world. “Imagine LeBron James in his senior year of high school. He’s exalted like never before,” Charles said. One of the first scenes of the season involves a college recruiter knocking on his door.
Gaius Charles said he enjoyed this year’s Television Critics Association tour, especially in contrast to last year. He says the show once fought to establish credibility, and now it’s getting “respect and reverence” from critics and supporters.
And Zach Gilford (Matt Saracen) returns to town with his dog Pippen (napping in his trailer during shooting) after spending time in his hometown Chicago and in L.A., Alaska and Seattle among other places. Gilford laughed as he explained some recent photos that had circulated from the press tour showing him shaggy of beard and wild of hair.
He was taking some high school kids into the mountains in British Columbia as he has the last five years and wasn’t sure what his start date would be for shooting. He let his hair grow for the whole summer and when he was told he’d have to clean up for the press tour, he decided to show some chutzpah and keep it. Fans will be glad to know, however, that he was clean-shaven and buzz-cut by call time. Whew. We were worried, dude.
You may catch him at Z’Tejas, which he plans to hit up immediately for some tasty food.
He says the first scene he shot for the second season took some adjusting to. “We were a little rusty and we all felt it,” he said. He was excited to begin shooting some scenes at his fictional house in the afternoon. He promises Matt will be beset by troubles as always, which is good for the character. As for the always modest and charming Gilford, “I’m just glad to be here,” he said.
Bonus: We’ve got video greetings to fans from the four “FNL” cast members mentioned in this entry. Click here to watch.
Permalink | | Categories: Entertainment, Local news
June 18, 2007
KVUE, KEYE win national Murrow Awards
KVUE, the long-time No. 1 local news station in Austin, has won a national 2007 Edward R. Murrow Award for overall excellence.
And KEYE picked up a national award for its news series, “ER: In Critical Condition” by Seema Mathur.
The winners were announced in Washington, D.C., this morning by the Radio-Television News Directors Association. The awards will be presented at the RTNDA Awards Dinner in New York on Oct. 15.
In all 52 news organizations were honored with 79 awards out of a pool of 3,150 entries from 580 news organizations.
To earn an overall excellence award, considered the top honor, a station or network must “consistently demonstrate depth and scope in its coverage,” according to the RTNDA.
Besides KVUE, which is owned by Belo Corp., the overall excellence winners this year are “NBC Nightly News” in the network category and KYW-TV in Philadelphia in the large market TV category. KVUE won in the small market category.
RTNDA has been honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971.
To see the complete list of winners, check the RTNDA Web site.
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March 29, 2007
TV kudos, C-SPAN's bus and more movies-on-demand
Austin racked up another batch of awards for TV and radio news today.
The Radio-Television News Directors Association announced its 2007 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, given for excellence in electronic journalism. Three Austin TV stations and one Austin radio station picked up prizes.
KVUE was honored for overall excellence, investigative reporting and broadcast-affiliated Web site.
News 8 Austin won for news documentary, sports reporting and writing.
And KEYE picked up the award news series.
KUT-FM, our public radio station, received three awards — for feature reporting, news documentary and use of sound.
The Murrow Awards are among the most prestigious regional awards for broadcast media and have been around since 1971. Austin competes in Region 6, which is Texas and Oklahoma.
To see the complete list of winners, check out the association’s site.
Here comes the bus
C-SPAN is lumbering into Austin this weekend with its brand-new Campaign 2008 Bus. The 45-foot mobile production studio is traveling around the country to promote the cable network’s “Road to the White House” political program, now in its 20th year.
The program — and the bus — travels to major political events, including debates and speeches in early primary states, and makes it a point to visit state capitols as part of an educational component for students and teachers.
The C-SPAN bus will be open to the public Friday, from 9 a.m. until noon, at the LBJ Library & Museum, and Monday, from 8 a.m. until noon, at Huston-Tillotson University.
It will also be parked at Canyon Vista Middle School on Friday from 12:30 to 3 p.m. and Bowie High School on Monday from 1:30 to 4 p.m. — but it will be open to students and teachers only at those school locations.
Guinea pigs for Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable in Austin is test-launching a new movies-on-demand service that will make Warner Bros. movies available to digital cable subscribers on the same day they are released on DVD.
But you can’t linger over them. They’re only accessible for a 24-hour period. And copies cannot be made.
This new service, available today, is called Day-and-Date Movies on Demand. Digital cable customers can find the titles in the “all new” and “movies A-Z” categories on their movies-on-demand menu.
First up? “DeepSea 3D,” “Happy Feet” and “Blood Diamond.” Coming April 3 is “Letters from Iwo Jima.”
Besides Austin, the new service is being tested in Columbus, Ohio.
Permalink | | Categories: Local news
March 6, 2007
KVUE is No. 1 in local news -- again
In the recently completed Nielsen ratings for February, KVUE dominated in every major local news period, starting with the early morning news and winding up with the late news at 10 p.m.
KVUE’s 5 p.m. news, anchored by Olga Campos and Tyler Sieswerda, raked in almost three times as many viewers as KTBC, the closest competitor.
But a harbinger of things to come may be KEYE squeaking out a second-place position at 10 p.m., bumping KXAN to third place. Is “The Ron and Judy Show” on KEYE finally catching on? The CBS station has had lots of ups and downs, but maybe the big ship is turning around.
On the other hand, KEYE finished dead last in the early morning news race and third at 5 and 6 p.m. Changes in local news tend to be glacial.
KXAN, meanwhile, has suffered through considerable behind-the-scenes tumult (churning through several news directors and a station manager). And it hasn’t helped that NBC is in a major slump. Nevertheless, KXAN remains a strong contender at 6 p.m. and only a fraction behind KEYE at 10 p.m.
Look for more details on the February sweeps in Diane Holloway’s March 13 column.
Permalink | | Categories: Local news
Austin's local TV news hauls in awards!
Once again, Austin stations raked in awards from the Texas Associated Press Broadcasters.
In the Division 2 category, KVUE brought in the most awards, but all of Austin’s news stations, including Time Warner’s News 8 Austin, picked up honors.
Here is the list of our distinguished winners:
NEWSCAST
KSAT, San Antonio
KTBC, Austin
Hon Men: KVUE, Austin
SPORTSCAST
KENS, San Antonio
KENS, San Antonio
Hon Men: News 8 Austin, Austin (Jeff Power)
WEATHERCAST
KTBC, Austin (Scott Fisher)
KVUE, Austin (Ilona Torok)
Hon Men: KVUE, Austin (Mark Murray)
NEWS ANCHOR
KXAN, Austin (Michelle Valles)
WOAI, San Antonio (Randy Beamer)
Hon Men: News 8 Austin, Austin (Paul Brown)
SPOT COVERAGE/STATION
KVUE, Austin. Flash Flood
KTBC, Austin. Underground Explosions
Hon Men: KVUE, Austin. May Storm
SPOT STORY/Individual
KVUE, Austin. Hays County Fire. Rudy Koski & Todd Rogenthien.
KVUE, Austin. Shoal Creek Flood. Lee McGuire.
Hon Men: KVUE, Austin. San Marcos Hail. Kevin Peters & John Fisher.
FEATURE/SERIOUS
KENS, San Antonio. The Dead in our Midst. Joe Conger & Michael Humphries.
KEYE, Austin. Unwed Mothers. Seema Mather.
Hon Men: KVUE, Austin. Amputee Golfers. Clara Tuma & Doug Naugle.
FEATURE/LIGHT
KXAN, Austin. J.L. Henry Mason. Jim Swift
KVUE, Austin. Band Fundraiser. Clara Tuma & Todd Rogenthein
Hon Men: KTBC, Austin. Videogamers. Craig Lucie, Chris Walker, Dan Goodman.
INVESTIGATIVE REPORT
KEYE, Austin. Stolen from the Grave. Nanci Wilson & Joe Moreno
WOAI, San Antonio. SAWS: Down the Drain. Tanji Patton, Mandi Johnston, Joey Mendoza.
Hon Men: WOAI, San Antonio. Sleeping on the Job. Jaie Avila, Joey Mendoza, Mandi Johnston.
PHOTOJOURNALISM (station)
KENS, San Antonio.
KVUE, Austin
Hon Men: KXAN, Austin.
PHOTOJOURNALISM (individual)
KVUE, Austin. Todd Rogenthein
KENS, San Antonio. Michael Humphries.
Hon Men: KVUE, Austin. Doug Naugle
SPORTS STORY
KEYE, Austin. Amputee Golfers. Skip Baldwin & Anthony Geronimo
News 8 Austin, Austin. Trading Helmets. Crestina Chavez & Chris Hardie
Hon Men: KVUE, Austin. Penguin Pride. Brian Mays
DOCUMENTARY
News 8 Austin. The Tower Shooting. Paul Brown & Rachel Elsberry
WOAI, San Antonio. Mission in Iraq. Randy Beamer, Maritza Nunez, Chris Graczyk.
Hon Men: KTBC, Austin. Tour of Duty. Arezow Doost, Chris Walker, Pam Vaught
SERIES
News 8 Austin, Austin. The Tower Shooting. Paul Brown & Rachel Elsberry.
KVUE, Austin. Star Loan Money. Christine Haas & Todd Rogenthein.
Hon Men: KEYE, Austin. Austin’s Miracle in India. Seema Mathur.
BEAT REPORTING
WOAI, San Antonio. Jaie Avila
KVUE, Austin. Elise Hu
Hon Men: News 8 Austin. Amy Hadley
REPORTER
KVUE, Austin. Melissa McGuire
KENS, San Antonio. Barry Davis.
Hon Men: KVUE, Austin. Kevin Peters
GENERAL ASSIGNMENT
KVUE, Austin. Bereavement Photography. Melissa Gale & Doug Naugle.
WOAI, San Antonio. Bloody Leak. Delaine Mathieu & Francisco Barragan.
Hon Men: KXAN, Austin. Day Labor. Chris Willis & Frank Martinez
WEB SITE
KVUE, Austin.
KSAT, San Antonio.
Hon Men: News 8 Austin
MAGAZINE/SPECIAL
KTBC, Austin. Tour of Duty. Arezow Doost, Chris Walker, Pam Vaught.
KEYE, Austin. Sunday Sports Extra. Skip Baldwin & Anthony Geronimo.
Hon Men: KVUE, Austin. Town Hall Meeting: Austin’s Quality of Life. Kathy Hadlock.
Permalink | | Categories: Local news
December 26, 2006
Holloway is back ... and while I was gone ...
Yoo hoo! I’m ba-a-a-a-ck! Vacation’s over, I’m in the daily blog saddle again.
And not a minute too soon. December is supposed to be the dead month for television, with most series taking a winter snooze in reruns.
But this was a month that proved to be anything but quiet.
No sooner had I written the glowing please-watch-this-fab-new-show piece about “Day Break” then ABC axed it. No more Taye Diggs waking up to a new day of murder and betrayal.
ABC’s Ted Danson sitcom “Help Me Help You” got a pink slip for Christmas, too.
And “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” blew into town, built a house and left.
Our local stations, which should have been taking it easy during the holidays, got busy as well.
NBC affiliate KXAN hired a new news director, Michael Fabac, who replaced Bill Seitzler, the guy who stirred things up, oversaw the departure of several familiar faces (including weatherman Dan Robertson and weekend anchor Jim Bergamo, now at KVUE) and then left after less than a year on the job.
Fabac, who starts in January, comes to Austin from the Fox station in Little Rock, Ark.
KXAN reporter and former weekend co-anchor R.J. DeSilva turned in his resignation a couple of weeks ago. This is a big loss to the station and Austin’s local TV news. He was a terrific reporter and solid anchor.
KTBC’s Fox7 News hired a new co-anchor for Mike Warren, who had been flying solo on the weeknight 5 and 9 p.m. newscasts since Linda Stratton left in July.
The Fox 7 newcomer is Lori Ana Hernandez, previously of the NBC station in Dallas where she anchored the weekend morning news. She settles into her new anchor desk here on Jan. 8.
Now that I’m back, probably nothing new will happen for months.
Looking for some meaty TV?
Tom Brokaw puts a human face on the slippery topic of immigration in his latest NBC investigation, “In the Shadow of the American Dream,” at 7 p.m. tonight.
Focusing on a construction company in ski-resort heaven Colorado, Brokaw pays a personal visit to the company owner and immigrant workers who enable the building boom but are not legally allowed to be there.
The issue is looked at from several angles but is clearly sympathetic to the hard-working immigrants and the employers who skirt the law to hire them.
Permalink | | Categories: Local news
December 14, 2006
1 in, 1 out at KXAN
The revolving door at Austin’s NBC affiliate continues to spin.
This time around, a new news director is entering the building and a veteran reporter is exiting.
Michael Fabac, currently news director at KLRT, Little Rock’s Fox station, will lead the KXAN news team beginning in early January.
“I think it’s an amazing opportunity for me,” Fabac said. “I can’t wait to get there. The city obviously is a big draw.”
Fabac, 33, assembled Clear Channel-owned KLRT’s news operation from scratch, launching a nightly 9 p.m. newscast in 2004. Prior to Little Rock, he served as a news director at WNEM in Saginaw, Mich. His first paying TV gig was as a producer at KKTV in Colorado Springs, Colo., followed by stints as a producer at KTVI in St. Louis and WDIV in Detroit. He also served as executive news producer at CBS-owned WWJ and WKBD, both in the Motor City.
“I think Michael will bring a lot of positive energy to the newsroom,” KXAN General Manager Eric Lassberg said. “He comes across as a very passionate leader with a lot of integrity.”
Fabac’s hiring comes at a tumultuous time for the station. KXAN’s previous news director, Bill Seitzler, departed last month after less than a year on the job. Lassberg has been on the job for less than six months. An executive producer position remains open. And a number of familiar faces — avuncular weatherman Dan Robertson, weekend newscaster Julie Shields, and reporters Jim Bergamo and Silva Harapetian — also have disappeared from the station’s newscasts in recent months. Some were forced out; others left by choice.
Next out the door, according to Lassberg, will be longtime reporter R.J. DeSilva. The one-time co-anchor of the station’s morning and weekend newscasts has resigned and will leave later this month to work as a spokesman for a state agency.
Despite the well-publicized turmoil, Lassberg said the news director opening still drew a large number of applicants.
“Magid & Associates, our consultants, told us they had never seen so much interest in a news director position,” Lassberg said. He spoke with 15 hopefuls before inviting three finalists to meet with the station’s news team.
“Everyone’s very excited,” Lassberg said. “When I brought Michael in, I had him spend a lot of time in the newsroom. Everyone really liked his enthusiasm.”
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December 6, 2006
This just in . . . Big Foot
You know news is in short supply when “Austin’s news station” (that would be the self-proclaimed title of KVUE) features a big story on Big Foot. It happened Tuesday night at 10. I am NOT making this up.
I thought I was having some kind of horrible hallucination when anchor Tyler Sieswerda introduced the story, dubbed “the history of Big Foot in Texas.”
The piece appeared to come from Dallas (the reporter was not a recognizable staffer of KVUE), where a sad-looking fellow named Craig claimed to have seen Big Foot — the mythological creature believed by some to roam various woods and swamps in America.
Also interviewed were a couple of guys making a film about Big Foot in Texas.
As if to add authenticity, the report showed a clay mold of what was claimed to be a footprint of Big Foot. It was a big foot, alright.
To his credit, KVUE’s Sieswerda chuckled at the end of the report, but what the heck was it doing on the 10 p.m. news to begin with?
‘The King’ is back … do you care?
What does it say about the current state of sitcoms that CBS’ “The King of Queens”, which landed an Emmy nomination for star Kevin James last time around, is only now having its season premiere?
Not that I’m complaining about the show’s late arrival tonight (at 7 p.m.).
This is one of those lackluster shows, heading into its ninth — yes ninth season — that has always escaped me. The scripts are pedestrian at best and James is, well, NOT FUNNY. He tries hard but accomplishes nothing. Leah Remini, who plays his wife, is to be pitied. She is talented and deserves better.
The fact that “The King of Queens” is arriving at all is surprising. When CBS announced its fall schedule last spring, the show was nowhere to be seen. Execs vaguely hinted that it would return midseason. But after the Emmy nominations came out in July, the hurry-up-and-get-it-back plan was established.
We’ll see if anyone cares. Maybe it will help that most shows are in reruns this month, so competition won’t be terribly stiff.
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September 26, 2006
Austin's Lone Star Emmy nominations
The regional Emmys, dubbed the Lone Star Emmys, announced their 2006 nominations this week, and Austin stations fared pretty well.
The station with the most regional Emmy noms? KLRU, our swell public television station that has been churning out more fine original programming than ever.
“Downtown,” the magazine show produced by KLRU and the Downtown Austin Alliance, picked up five Lone Star Emmy nods in various arts and entertainment categories, as well as the magazine category.
Two of KLRU’s public affairs series, “Texas Monthly Talks” and “Austin Now,” received nominations, and the original children’s show “The Biscuit Brothers” earned a nomination in the children’s programming category.
KLRU also received two nominations for “Texas Parks & Wildlife TV” and one for its station promos.
KVUE was nominated for best newscast among TV stations in the 26 to 60 market size. (We’re No. 51, by the way.) KVUE also picked up nominations for a feature news report by Kevin Peters, a political report