I lost a friend today over this site--a good friend, one of my best friends. Losing friends was always a risk of doing this site, and in a way I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner. I don't think I can get this friend back; I've been told not to respond [...]
KGW's Tracy Barry has been inducted into the Silver Circle, the Hall of Fame of television broadcasters. At the Northwest chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) 46th Annual Emmy Awards ceremonies held Saturday in Seattle, Barry was inducted by her close pal and co-anchor,' [...]
Tracy Barry, news anchor at KGW was a Silver Circle Inductee at the Northwest Regional Emmy Awards held this past weekend in Seattle. Joe Donlon presented a moving tribute to his co-anchor. Barry has been with KGW since 1985 and she is one of the most recognized faces in the [...]
I intend to do a lot of blogging here firstly because I am such a news junkie...I observe almost all aspects of television news from set design to graphics to the inns and outs of the personalities. Since this is the weekend I thought I would keep it light and [...]
Patrick McCreery has one job again. Current Special Projects EP Corey Hanson has been promoted to News Director. GM McCreery's memo:
After an extensive external and internal search, I am very pleased to announce that Corey Hanson has been promoted to News Director.
Corey has worked at KPTV as an Executive Producer,' [...]
I was going to make a contribution to Oregon Public Broadcasting this year, but after reading their tax return I realized that they would use most of the proceeds from the spring radio drive to pay the salary of their CEO.
According to its latest federal tax return (available at opb.org/insideopb), [...]
Byron Beck reports that KNRK midday jock Tara Dublin was shown the door yesterday:
The lay-off was mandated directly from KNRK's parent company, Entercom Radio Networks. Now that Dublin's position is eliminated Greg Glover's morning show will be extended until 10 am, with automated music filling in Dublin's other hours.
OMI's' [...]
Beau Breedlove, ex-whatever of Our Mayor, must be tired of his 15 minutes. WWire and the Oregonian itself are reporting that he's filed a restraining order against Oregonian reporter Brent Walth:
In January, Walth interviewed Breedlove about his relationship with Adams, as well as exchanging text messages with him during' [...]
The evening newscast at Channel 2 is in major need of a shake-up. I find it incomprehensible why the station uses four anchors but does not rotate them better during the evening newscasts. I think Deb Knapp and Steve Dunn are well-suited for the late newscast, but I think the [...]
This was Dave Salesky on Memorial Day. After 21 years at KGW, Salesky is reportedly leaving 15th and Jefferson for KATU Channel 2, where he is expected to succeed Rod Hill as the station's chief meteorologist later this' [...]
KATU's noon newscast goes for the last time on Friday. Apparently it's being replaced with some syndicated programming.
[Lynn here: Following some kvetching from some KATU people on Twitter, I should add that I've heard this from at least two other people, but no one I would call definitive. We'll see. [...]
Dave Salesky is leaving Channel 8 for destinations unknown, wink wink. Today was his last day on the air, and staff were told in a surprise 1:15 meeting. There was even a goodbye cake. That's fairly classy in this biz, where "goodbye" usually involves a cardboard box, hovering HR people,' [...]
I am hearing so many weatherpeople rumors I can hardly keep them straight. The latest, which I've heard from three different people now, is that a certain weatherman at KATU is out (as of today, in fact) and a certain weatherman at KGW is replacing him.
Update: The speculation in the' [...]
Better "It Mom" Holly Resnick lost her husband, Scott, in a plane crash last night near Prescott, Arizona. He and a friend were flying from Hillsboro Airport, where Scott worked at Northwest Aircraft Maintenance, to attend his uncle's funeral. Scott leaves behind his wife, and four children. OMI's best to [...]
Estrella TV is coming to four Belo stations, including KGW:
Estrella TV's slate of originals includes musical-variety, comedy, scripted drama, talk and game shows, as well as a daily national newscast and a news magazine show. The array of Hispanic digital channels is growing, and includes LATV and Mexicanal.
Don't know [...]
WWire reports that former Oregonian reporter Wade Nkrumah will sue Mayor Sam Adams and the city of Portland for damage to his business reputation. Nkrumah was Adams's spokesman until late January; he resigned over lies Adams allegedly told about when the mayor began fooling around with the still-improbably-named Beau' [...]
You've probably been hearing promos on the Clear Channel stations about how they're hosting a job fair. Rich, ain't it?
This morning in All Access there's an article about the CC job fairs, with this amazingly tone-deaf quote from CEO John Hogan:
We realize this is a difficult time for many [...]
Does anybody remember?
Back in the early 80s my wife and I saw Larry King broadcasting from the Benson. Larry was radio-only at that point.
Tom McCall was on and then there was a man who was hawking some chemical preparation that cured pain or some such thing, and the chemical really [...]
Willamette Week and the Portland Mercury walked away from the 14th annual AltWeekly award finalist announcements with a bunch of bragging rights. The rundown:
Willamette Week: News Story, Long Form, circ 50,000 and over: Señor Smith by Beth Slovic 1st in Cover Design, circ 50,000 and over: The Queer and the Qur'an,' [...]I commented to a recent post that BBC radio could provide inspiration for what's possible in American public radio, so I thought I'd post some suggestions for what to check out, starting with some comedy for the weekend.
The BBC operates several radio stations. My favorite is BBC Radio 4. Radio [...]
Byron Beck reports that The Oregonian's Director of Sales and Marketing Brad Harmon is leaving. His last day is May 22nd.
' [...]Several blog entries discussed the personal proclivities and peccadillos of the owner of Mattress World. The last blog entry talked about those awful commercials ---> http://oregonmediainsiders.com/node/1289
In the words of the "Great Communicator," there she goes again. What started with a makeover set of commercials has blossomed into a [...]
KPTV looks to have scored a blow against waste at Multnomah County--or at least the perception of it. WWeek reports today that County Chair Ted Wheeler has canceled plans to hire a social media coordinator:
After KPTV ... broke the story on May 8th about the $70,000-a-year job and national [...]
I was SO afraid this would happen. CBS Radio, having moved the manic talkfest known as the Rick Emerson Show from middays on 970 to morning drive on KUFO, has decided to cut the heart out of the show--namely, Rick, Sarah and Tim. WWeek reporter Kelly Clarke:
The new schedule, [...]
The Oregonian reports this morning that Paul Allen's Vulcan Inc. is selling Rose City Radio to a group led by Larry Wilson. Rose City Radio is the holding company for KXL and The Game 95.5 (KXTG):
Wilson said Monday that he plans to maintain the format of each, and in' [...]
Welcome 105.9 Listeners is the banner headline on the K-Hits website as KQOL 105.9 flips its format into limbo land today. All the frequency's currently playing are promos for 106.7, urging listeners to switch over.
The speculation at PDXRadio is that 105.9 is going to flip to "Everything Country,"' [...]
I'm not an Oregonian, I don't know the history of OPB radio, nor it's local reputation. So, I would enjoying hearing what you all have to say about what has gone on there... and what the heck is going on there now?
My biggest gripe is that OPB radio repeats so' [...]
In all of last week's chaos, I neglected to mention that Matt Davis, former Unpaid Intern, is now the Merc's News Editor, with new hire Sarah Mirk as reporter. Well done, Mr. Davis, and deserved.
ETA: Forgot to add--he says he's looking for "spunky freelance pitches," so sharpen your pencils.
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Note: I'm on painkillers. So this is barely coherent but heartfelt.
The more I think about Clear Channel moving its Portland news operations to a "hub" in Sacramento, the more pissed off I get. And I don't really know why I'm pissed off. I mean, all CC is doing is' [...]
All Access has information on exactly how Clear Channel proposes to replace all the local news people they fired this week. They'll be feeding stations in San Francisco, Modesto-Stockton, Monterey, Spokane and Portland from a "news hub" in Sacramento:
In the plan distributed to stations this month, the local Operations' [...]
I've heard that the KOHD newsroom is getting a little thinner. Apparently, staff members were brought in one by one yesterday and told management would not be renewing some contracts and would be outright laying off other folks.
Non-renewed contracts, I'm told, include sports reporter Rachel Azevedo, reporter Allison Martin (once [...]
I'm bedridden for the next couple of days and on limited movement the next few after that, which means I've got time to catch up on my reading. I've been poking at "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin" for a while, so I've taken that back up (no, really, he was [...]
For some time, I've been saying that the networks don't need affiliates any more; it won't be long until they're bypassing affiliates entirely. Here's more proof. Disney has joined the online streamer Hulu.com:
Upon closing, the agreement will enhance Hulu’s programming line-up through the expanded online distribution of Disney’s most' [...]
Earnings reports for KATU owner Fisher and KGW owner Belo continue the grim slide in revenues for TV stations. Yesterday, Fisher released its Q1 revenues, showing a 25% drop from the same quarter a year ago:
The Seattle television and radio station company (NASDAQ: FSCI) reported a first-quarter loss of [...]
Winter Arbitron ratings for Portland radio are out today, and before you start bitching, I only have 12+ available to me, no OPB numbers, and no day parts. If you've got better numbers, we beg you, post 'em!
Update: I now have OPB numbers, and as usual, [...]
Yeah, I know, I'm late with this but I have a really good excuse.
Clear Channel laid off a ton of people locally yesterday, including KEXers Brooks Burford, Mark Workoven and Janine Wolf (is anyone left over there?), Kool 105.9 morning guy John Williams, and accounts receivable gal Gail Swan.' [...]
THE BEST BLOOPER IN A LONG TIME HAPPENED TONIGHT....during the 6:30pm news, Matt refers to the beach as the B*T*H.......otherwise known as a female dog. Yes he knew it.....so did the anchors with him.
WAY TO KEEP IT TOGETHER EVERYONE.........I'm still rolling on the floor laughing out loud!!!!!!!!!!
Advertisement: ' [...]
Gossip house extraordinaire Byron Beck reports this morning that Paige Williams is out and former O critic Randy Gragg is in as Editor-in-Chief of Portland Monthly:
According to my moles Publisher Nicole Vogel and EIC Williams had a very heated "discussion" within ear shot of several people on Friday. Williams [...]
To absolutely no one's surprise, The Oregonian's circ numbers are down along with circ numbers at just about every other paper in the nation. So says WWire this morning:
Editor & Publisher reports that for the six months ending this March, circulation fell by 7 percent nationally for the [...]
KATU owner Fisher has taken its flagship building in Seattle off the market, citing a soft real estate market:
Fisher, which operates KOMO-TV as well as other broadcast properties, said in a recent conference call that it had quietly put on hold efforts to sell the 300,000-square-foot building. Despite interest [...]
Randi Rhodes, who's been off the air since she broke with the now-defunct Nova M in February, has signed with Premier Radio Networks. That's Clear Channel's syndication service, and the home of Rush Limbaugh. KPOJ's morning show announced she'd be back on local air some time in May.
Advertisement: ' [...]
Ok... So it's no surprise the Eugene's MyFox 5 News (call letters?) is well below par, but I was shocked to see that when they were running a story, they used an identical background to display text information as that of KATU. It is a slide where there's the corner' [...]
KSLM-TV now an RTN affiliate
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ken Lewetag, Manager
April 20, 2009 KSLM-TV TV 503-930-7228
KSLM-TV, the Salem areas newest television station, is pleased to announce it has reached an affiliation agreement with Retro Television Network, RTN.
Affiliation with RTN will provide quality of entertainment programming for the local television [...]
Not for coverage, but for participation:
As the news industry faces radical changes and many traditional news operations face financial peril, it is obvious that journalists need to adapt or die. I think the distinction between the work of journalists and the method of delivery needs to be recognized… journalism [...]
Where would the would the juiciest, high impact, and significant reports be without anonymous sources? Investigative reporting greatly depends on it. This site did, too. Certainly you have noticed the effect of having to register to post, right? I gave it a chance, but now I'm bored to death .
Advertisement:' [...]
The Oregonian has a new article looking into the life of former KOIN news director Jeff Alan:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/former_koin_directors_l...
More to come.
[...]Friends,
So many of you have sent messages of love and support to Les, I regret to share this news.
Despite his courage, strong faith, and medical wonders, Les has lost his battle with cancer. He passed away at the hospital last evening, surrounded by his wife Rita and closest [...]
The Federal Trade Commission has fined DirecTV and Comcast for calling customers on the Do Not Call list--$2.31 million to DirecTV and $900,000 to Comcast:
"In both of these cases, DIRECTV and Comcast violated consumers' privacy by calling people who specifically had asked these companies not to call them again," said' [...]
Clear Channel Radio is offering up what it calls Premium Choice to its far-flung empire of stations that includes K103, KEX, KPOJ, Z100 and Kool here in Portland, says All Access:
According to Clear Channel, programmers will have "total choice and flexibility in choosing the Premium Choice programming elements. They" [...]
Salem S-J parent Gannett's earnings were down 60% for the first quarter. But as bad as that sounds, it's better than analysts predicted:
The McLean, Va.-based publisher of USA Today said its profit fell to $77.4 million, or 34 cents a share, in the quarter ended March 29, compared with [...]
Salem S-J parent Gannett is set to report quarterly earnings tomorrow, and the news is not expected to be good:
Gannett, publisher of more than 80 U.S. dailies including USA Today, faces many of the same pressures as its competitors. Though most of its papers are profitable, profits are shrinking. [...]
Welcome to the first post-required-account-apocalypse open thread. The ostensible topic, The Internet is not killing journalism, journalists are killing journalism:
Oh boy, you know this is going to be good — the Atlantic just published a poll of “media insiders” (the magazine’s words, not mine) asking whether the Internet helps [...]
WWire is reporting that KPAM and PTrib owner Pamplin Communications is doing some serious budget trimming, starting with the sale of their SE Division Street campus:
Included in the complex are three buildings that house the corporate offices of Pamplin Communications, and a 24,000-square-foot building that houses Pamplin’s enormous Christian [...]
Only 2 weeks to go until the May Book! Here are the final numbers from our strange March ratings period. Lots of dropping numbers here, especially morning and early evening. Some of the early evening shows got hit hard. We'll see if the trend continues in May.
() = comparison' [...]
Well! As you can see, there have been some changes made.
The first big one, obviously, is the look. I upgraded the site to Drupal 6 finally, a process that began with the last interim upgrade, and that meant that the interim theme went away; it's not supported in Drupal' [...]
The Associated Press is reporting (via OregonLive) that the Columbian is facing foreclosure on debts in excess of $15 million:
The publisher of The Columbian newspaper, Scott Campbell, says the action is not unexpected and the company is prepared.
Campbell says [Bank of America] will likely go to Clark County Superior [...]
Peter Zuckerman, who's been on extended leave from the Oregonian, has decided not to return, according to Byron Beck:
Zuckerman made his decision on Friday, but waited until Monday to disclose it. The award-winning investigative journalist intends to devote at least the next 18 months of his life to' [...]
Peter Ames Carlin has a pretty nice portrait of Les Sarnoff and his struggle with cancer:
Sarnoff is one of Portland's last radio legends, the embodiment of an era when local radio defined the city. That era is all but over, and by last spring Sarnoff began to suspect his' [...]
Byron Beck reports longtime fashion reporter Vivian McInerny is leaving the O, departing on May 1st:
McInerny is following in her hubby's foot steps, Oregonian columnist Jonathan Nicholas, who left the paper last fall.
I don't have many details about Vivian's departure, but I did hear that Greg Mandel will also' [...]
Former Portland Mercury editor Phil Busse is back in Portland, this time as the new general manager of the White Bird dance company--their first:
What makes Busse's selection a surprise is his checkered history in Portland. In 2001, he faced charges of plagiarism for an article he wrote for salon.com.' [...]
Yeah, a day late and a dollar short, but for all of you who didn't get the memo, here ya go. Best Overall still to be announced. Short version: KGW dominant in Division I (with strong competition from KATU), KVAL in Division II, and welcome back to the lists, KOIN!
Advertisement:' [...]
Comments are coming in on the PBJ thread that layoffs are under way at 15th and Jefferson. We can talk about it here.
Update: Unconfirmed, but commenter in the PBJ thread says reporter Jane Smith, one editor, one director so far.
Update 2, pretty official: Five people, including the above and a [...]
With station revenue down 20 percent and a parent company bent on slashing 150 jobs, KGW is facing layoffs and/or hour reductions, says the PBJ:
DJ Wilson, the station’s general manager, said layoffs are under consideration and employees have been told reductions are likely. Wilson did not disclose a date [...]
KGW owner Belo has laid off 15 people at its Seattle properties--KING, KONG and NWCN:
The employees worked in different departments, including news, local programming, sales and engineering. No on-air talent was laid off.
Ray Heacox, president and general manager for the three stations, said the layoffs were the result of [...]
Not working until Wednesday, I only know two people for sure who were laid off, including my manager. I'll know more later.
The Seattle Times wrote:The employees worked in different departments, including news, local programming, sales and engineering. No on-air talent was laid off.
Ray Heacox, president and general manager for the' [...]
Better, which got its start on KPTV, is expanding to 50 markets total:
CBS O&O KTXA Dallas will begin airing the hour-long daily show based on content from Meredith's brand portfolio this spring. Houston's KTBU and Atlanta's WGCL will also add Better to their line-ups.
Other recent deals include stations in' [...]
The University of Portland's student newspaper the Beacon had its 3/26 issue pulled from campus newsstands after university official complained about a story on a student's suicide. WWeek reports the issue was also removed from the Beacon's website:
A Beacon editor with the paper says administrators called the article on' [...]
I'm pondering this, from earlier this month:
Meredith-owned KPHO-TV (CBS channel 5), Gannett-owned KPNX-TV (NBC Channel 12) and Belo-owned KTVK-TV (Channel 3) today announced an agreement to share the operation of a news helicopter beginning March 1, 2009. The agreement gives each station access to high-definition aerial photography of daily' [...]
Recently a couple of local anchors asked me what the deal was with Twitter. How should media people handle it? Separate accounts for personal and professional, or all in one? Do people really want to hear about your lunch? and so on. I answered them, but thought that the rest [...]
Paul Allen-owned Charter Communications filed for Chapter 11 as expected today:
The St. Louis-based company seeks to emerge from bankruptcy as early as the end of summer and doesn't plan on selling any of its assets to competitors. After Chapter 11, interest costs at Charter, which has never posted a' [...]
OPB and KMHD owners Mt Hood Commuity College are discussing the takeover of KMHD:
Facing a significant budget shortfall due to state funding reductions, the Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) District Board of Education will consider a proposal to transfer the operation of Portland’s only all-jazz station, KMHD (89.1 FM), [...]
Yesterday Gannett announced a second round of furloughs. According to a comment, SJ staffers were told they'd be included and that each fulltime employee faces an unpaid week. Anyone know of any further stuff from the SJ?
' [...]Oregonian owner Advance has announced mandatory 10-day furloughs along with a pension freeze at all its properties outside Michigan. Word came to the O today:
"Most of our papers will have two measures," [Advance.net Chairman Steve] Newhouse said. "One is a freeze of our defined benefit plan, or pension, that" [...]
Lars Larson, recently cut loose by sydicator Westwood One, has been picked up by Compass Media Networks, a start-up of former Westwood executive Peter Kosan. Westwood One will air "best-ofs" this week, and then Lars makes his debut at CMN on March 30th.
Lars joins CMN's only other' [...]
I rarely use this site for personal stuff (apart from open threads, where I frequently feature the Nutlings because let's face it, they're adorable). But this story has me crazy, and I want you to look at it, hard. I know you guys are out there; I hear you breathing, [...]
KATU owner Fisher Broadcasting has settled with ex-KOMO reporter April Zepeda, who was fired in 2007. Zepeda had filed a lawsuit alleging age, sex and racial discrimination. From Zepeda's mom's blog (!), Blatherwatch:
"Are you rich now? Will the company collapse like a cheap stroller? Will heads roll? Did you" [...]
Ex-OMI Steve Bartelstein has parted company with WCBS. Bartelstein says he left because he was sick of being underappreciated:
"I'm tired of this place not appreciating me for what I do for them," Bartelstein told the Daily News Wednesday.
Bartelstein said the breaking point came last week when his paycheck wasaccidentally' [...]
AllAccess.com is reporting that NPR is due for more layoffs in April:
The news follows a minor controversy engendered by the network's cancellation of all newspaper subscriptions as of APRIL 1 in favor of staffers using news websites to save money. The network's CALIFORNIA-based "DAY TO DAY" ends its run this [...]
Ouch! It's looking ugly out there at the halfway point. No need to freak out managers; apparently we are all going down together. Out of all morning, noon, evening, and night shows, only three show any growth in ratings year to year: KPTV-6am, KRCW-10pm, KOIN-11pm. All the rest are down, [...]
WWeek reports that along with last week's departure of art director Blake Martinez, Just Out lost two top staffers on Friday. News editor Jaymee Cuti and arts-and-culture editor Jim Radosta both resigned on Friday:
At issue, according to [publisher Marty] Davis, is that she has been a bit slow in' [...]
Much ominous print news today. WWeek is reporting this morning that the Columbian will be undergoing yet another round of cost cutting measures, including possible furloughs. An excerpt from publisher Scott Campbell's memo:
I've asked directors to develop a plan to cut 10 percent from their budgets. We believe that [...]
The Hearst Corp. announced Monday that it would stop publishing the newspaper, Seattle's oldest business, and cease delivery to more than 117,600 weekday readers.
The company, however, said it will maintain seattlepi.com, making it the nation's largest daily newspaper to shift to an entirely digital news product.
"Tonight" [...]
Fourth quarter same-station earnings at KATU parent Fisher Broadcasting were actually up 4%:
On a same-station basis, Fisher's 2008 fourth quarter TV segment revenue (which includes Internet) was $35 million compared with $33.7 million for the same period in 2007, an increase of 3.9%. The increase was primarily attributable to higher' [...]
The big meeting Wednesday at WWeek was to tell the staff that their salaries would be cut by 8%. Unlike a lot of management, though, publisher Richard Meeker and editor Mark Zusman took the biggest hit; they're taking a 25% salary cut:
As a result of all the cuts, the' [...]
Division Media Portland (http://www.divisionportland.com/) Tuesday announced it has partnered with Portland’s FOX affiliate, Fox 12 (http://www.kptv.com/) to provide local weather content to Portland area Digital HD Billboards.
The partnership will establish Fox 12 as the exclusive weather information source for Division Media and its digital HD signage [...]
Just Out, a newsmagazine serving the gay and lesbian community has an IMMEDIATE need for an art/design director. The person hired for this job will be responsible for all design content of the paper, including ads, cover, feature, center calendar spread and all other content pages.
Due to the slight economic [...]
Belo Corp. has announced today it's laying off 150 employees company-wide and ending its matching of 401k contributions:
"As a result of these actions, and other measures previously implemented, we expect 2009 cash operating expenses to be approximately 10 percent lower than 2008, excluding severance costs," said Dunia A. Shive,' [...]
Meet Air America's newest addition, Emmy award-winning host Montel Williams! His new Air America program is called “Montel Across America,” and it debuts April 6 airing weekdays from 9am-12pm EST on radio stations across the country. It will also be streamed live online at www.airamerica.com.
Advertisement: ' [...]
Rick Emerson is taking his show on the road down the hall to KUFO and moving from midday to morning drive. Better news for listeners who like their radio local: Newsman/comedy foil Tim Riley is returning to the show, and Sarah X. Dylan and Richie are coming along. The razor-sharp [...]
Seattle P-I staff were told this week who was staying and who was going as the lplans to move the P-I to online only coalesce:
One metro reporter, Hector Castro, said Riddick didn't ask him not to speak. The general assignment reporter, at the P-I for nine years, said he' [...]
The entire Oregon Daily Emerald staff walked out at 6 this morning in a dispute with its board of directors over student control and editorial independence:
The [four] demands address recent hiring decisions of the board that are far out of line with the Emerald's guiding values and ethics. The' [...]
