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Local news
December 1, 2008
Couch spuds logging more viewing time, UT's ABC News Campus Bureau getting KVUE time
While we can watch TV shows on computers and even on our cell phones, we’re still a nation of loyal couch potatoes who prefer plopping down in front of our big-screen sets.
Nielsen reports that TV use is at an all-time high now, with home TVs turned on for an average of 8 hours and 18 minutes a day. That’s an hour more than the average viewing time a decade ago.
During the fall, when the Olympic Games and presidential debates were sucking us in, Americans gobbled up more than 142 hours of TV a month. That’s more than 4.5 hours a day.
New media options remain the trend to watch, but they’re not taking over yet.
Nielsen found that people who use the Internet spent about 27 hours a month online, with about 2.5 hours of that time watching TV programs and videos. But that’s nothing compared to actual TV viewing.
The bigger trend, which is no surprise, is that DVR viewing doubled last year, with Americans logging about 6.5 hours each month watching TV shows time-shifted by recording. And nearly 30 percent of TV households now have digital video recorders, so we can look for this trend to grow.
And people who have DVRs watch more TV shows because they don’t have to choose between two or three competing programs — and they don’t have to miss anything because they didn’t get home in time.
No wonder we don’t read enough books or exercise enough! We don’t have time!!
ABC News’ UT Campus Bureau
The University of Texas’ ABC News On Campus Bureau has made a deal with KVUE to introduce and package one or two reports a week live on the station’s weekend morning show.
“It’s such an incredible opportunity for them,” crowed UT faculty advisor Kate Dawson of her energetic team.
We’ll be watching.
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October 30, 2008
Time Warner bumps KLRU2 from Channel 20 to Channel 255
Time Warner is jiggling its lineup — again. And this time KLRU2 is following “The Dog Whisperer” to the cable company’s digital tier.
KLRU2 is public TV station KLRU’s second channel, currently available on the standard tier’s Cable Channel 20 and also on digital Cable Channel 255.
Effective Tuesday, KLRU2 will be dropped from Cable 20 and available only on Cable 255. (KLRU’s main channel will remain on Cable Channel 9.)
Launched in 1988, KLRU2 carries self-help and how-to programs in the daytime and mostly repeats of PBS programs in prime time.
You may recall Time Warner did the same thing with the National Geographic Channel (NGC) a few years ago, effectively bumping “The Dog Whisperer,” one of NBC’s most popular shows, off the basic lineup and onto the digital tier (Cable 232).
Time Warner spokesman Roger Heaney says the move was necessitated to free up bandwidth for more HD channels, although no replacement has been announced.
KLRU general manager Bill Stotesbery says he and his staff found out about the move in September, when they saw the notice on Time Warner’s Web site.
“We’re concerned to see it go off Channel 20 because it has developed a substantial audience, and we don’t know if they’re going to follow us to this digital tier channel,” Stotesbery said.
If you’ve got digital cable through Time Warner, KLRU2 will not cost extra on the digital-only tier.
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October 29, 2008
KXAN back on Time Warner ... who blinked?
After nearly a month off Time Warner Cable, KXAN returned to Austin’s biggest cable provider early Wednesday morning. Without notice, “The Today Show” beamed back into living rooms across Central Texas.
KXAN, an NBC station owned by Rhode Island-based LIN TV, had been off of Time Warner since Oct. 3, when negotiations between LIN, which owns 15 TV stations nationwide, and Time Warner broke down over LIN’s demand for retransmission payment for its signal.
“We’re very pleased with the outcome,” said KXAN general manager Eric Lassberg. “It provides what our original intent was, which was to receive fair market value.”
Specifically, LIN wanted “less than a penny a day per subscriber,” Lassberg said when the negotiations first broke down. That would have come to about $1 million a year for the 311,000 Time Warner subscribers in the Austin area. Time Warner insists it does not pay other local stations a per-subscriber fee to retransmit a free over-the-air signal and thus balked at LIN’s demand.
“We’re glad we’ve got KXAN back on,” said Stacy Schmitt, vice president of public affairs for Time Warner Central Texas. “We know it’s been an inconvenience, and we want to thank everyone for being patient.”
So who blinked? Did Time Warner pay or did KXAN cave? It’s not clear. A non-disclosure clause signed by both sides prevents terms of the new contract from being made public. It is likely that KXAN received some compensation for retransmission but probably not the per-subscriber fee originally requested.
After nonstop negotiations over the past few days, a deal affecting LIN’s stations nationwide was made late last night — a day before the beginning of the all-important November sweeps. Coincidence? Probably not. The sweeps help local stations set advertising rates for several months and help boost viewership of local news and network programming.
During the month KXAN was off Time Warner, ratings dropped off as much as 40 percent. Such a precipitous decline would also indicate lost revenue, although Lassberg insists the economic impact was not that great.
“We had some advertisers wanting lower investment levels, but we were able to work with them and re-negotiate,” Lassberg said. “It’s not just about flat rates but also about frequency the ads are played, so we were able to restructure the delivery in most cases. And since we felt this was a short-term situation for long-term prosperity, the impact was pretty much what we expected.”
KXAN’s local news took the biggest hit. According to Nielsen overnight ratings, the 6 p.m. newscast averaged a 5.7 rating during the week of Sept. 22 (before the blackout), compared with a 3.5 rating for the same newscast the week of Oct. 6, the first week after the station was dropped from Time Warner. (A rating point is one percent of 635,860 TV households in Central Texas.)
Time Warner says its customers did not flee during October, as some had predicted.
“We didn’t see anything out of the ordinary as far as disconnect,” Schmitt said.
Retransmission contracts with cable companies typically include ads and station promotions rather than cash payments to the stations. But with cable companies forking over large fees to carry signals from cable channels such as ESPN and TNT, local stations have been asking for money in recent negotiations.
Cable companies insist they would have to pass on such station payments to their subscribers, but local stations counter that cable companies already have such large profits that they wouldn’t have to charge customers more.
During KXAN’s absence from Time Warner, viewers could watch NBC programming online, over the air with an antenna or on satellite services such as DISH or DirecTV. About 65 percent of KXAN’s Austin audience comes from Time Warner (21 percent from satellite and 14 percent over-the-air).
In the early going, viewers tended to blame Time Warner, but increasingly the negatives turned toward KXAN. And as the days dragged into weeks in mid-October, viewers soured on both sides in online comments.
“Our family is getting tired of all this and may stop watching NBC and give up Time Warner,” wrote Mary Lou Morrison earlier this week.
Comments posted after KXAN was back on Time Warner on Wednesday morning included multiple shouts of “Who cares?” and more than a few shrugs of “I stopped watching them weeks ago.”
LIN and Suddenlink, a cable company that serves about 30,000 subscribers in Williamson County, had a similar contract dispute earlier this year. KXAN was dropped from that cable system from January through March, although Suddenlink replaced KXAN with an NBC station in Temple. The Federal Communication Commission frowns on such substitutions, because KXAN has an exclusive right to NBC programming, and is about to hand down a rule prohibiting it, which is why Time Warner substituted Starz Family Network for NBC in Austin.
LIN also owns TV stations in Buffalo, N.Y.; Columbus, Ohio; Dayton, Ohio; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Green Bay, Wis.; Indianapolis; Mobile, Ala.; Springfield, Mass.; Terre Haute, Ind.; and Toledo, Ohio.
Luckily for KXAN, the new contract was signed before NBC’s Nov. 16 “Sunday Night Football” game featuring the Dallas Cowboys. According to the Buffalo News, the LIN station there lost about $50,000 in ad revenue on Oct. 14, when the Buffalo Bills game was dropped from Time Warner.
Austin’s other local stations either have retransmission contracts in place or are close to signing them, according to Schmitt. But whether the deal with LIN has an impact on those negotiations remains to be seen.
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October 27, 2008
KTBC gets new general manager
Fox Television announced Monday that it has promoted Mark Rodman from sales manager to vice president and general manager of KTBC Channel 7, Austin’s Fox-owned station.
Rodman replaces Danny Baker, who was general manager of KTBC for more than a decade until he retired earlier this month.
Rodman was sales manager at KTBC for 10 years. He previously worked in sales at TV stations in Salt Lake City and Providence, R.I., but he began his broadcast career as a reporter-producer in Fort Wayne, Ind. and Orlando, Fla. He has a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.
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October 10, 2008
Familiar face to replace KXAN's Valles
A familiar face will soon be perched alongside Robert Hadlock on KXAN’s evening newscasts.
Beginning Oct. 27, Leslie Rhode — better known to Austinites as Leslie Cook — will slide into the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. co-anchor slot vacated by Michelle Valles. Valles left the station last month after turning down a contract extension she deemed unacceptable.
Rhode returns to KXAN, where she helmed the station’s morning and evening newscasts from 1995 to 2003, after relocating to Washington, D.C., to be with husband Patrick, who worked with President Bush. In D.C., she was a reporter and weekend anchor at ABC station WJLA. The two moved back to Texas earlier this year.
“The way things timed out was great,” said KXAN news director Michael Fabac. “Our opening came up at the same time Leslie became available.”
“I’m just thrilled to be back,” Rhode said. “Austin feels like home to me and home to my family.
“I did not expect this opportunity to come up. I kind of feel like this was meant to be.”
Fabac said news of Rhode’s return was warmly received by KXAN staffers.
“People here were sad to see her leave,” he said, “and they’re glad to have her back.”
The station plans to place Rhode into the field from time to time to take advantage of her reporting skills, something Hadlock regularly does, as well.
“Her credibility and familiarity with the market will let her hit the ground running,” Fabac said.
Photo courtesy of WJLA-TV, Washington, D.C.
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October 7, 2008
KVUE's Tyler Sieswerda gets a new co-anchor
KVUE’s Tyler Sieswerda won’t be flying solo much longer.
Without a partner at 6 and 10 p.m. since the August departure of Christine Haas, he’ll be joined soon by Terri Gruca who, like Haas, comes to Austin from a station in Minneapolis.
“It’s a really interesting set of circumstances,” said Frank Volpicella, KVUE’s news director.
Gruca says she had just arrived in the Twin Cities five years ago when Haas left for Austin, but she’s kept tabs on her former competitor over the years. And when Haas departed for a job in Houston earlier this year, the two reconnected.
“Christine is terrific,” Gruca said. “She understands what it’s like to go from Minneapolis to Austin, and that really helped me.”
Gruca, who grew up in North Carolina, says she fell in love with Austin — and KVUE — instantly.
“The station has such a rich history of quality journalism,” she said. “The people are amazing.”
That admiration extends to Sieswerda, her new co-anchor.
“He and I completely connected from the moment I walked in the door,” she said. “You just don’t see that very often.”
Volpicella says more than 200 people — from all corners of the nation — applied for the job. Gruca immediately impressed him.
“She’s a good reporter and a good anchor who has broken a lot of solid stories,” he said.
Those stories include an expose on the jewelry found in gumball machines that led to a nationwide recall, a look at the dangers escalators pose to small children, and a piece on exploding thermoses.
In Austin, she, like Haas, will file investigative reports for KVUE’s Defenders franchise.
Gruca starts Dec. 8, but plans a house-hunting trip before then with husband Greg, a day trader.
“I love the way Austin feels,” she said, “and I want him to experience that.”
Photo courtesy of WCCO-TV, Minneapolis
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October 3, 2008
KXAN goes dark for Time Warner customers
It’s midnight, and KXAN has been dropped from Time Warner Cable’s lineup. The Oct. 2 deadline for a new retransmission contract came and went without a settlement.
Negotiations will continue Friday in an attempt to settle the dispute and return KXAN and its NBC programming back to Time Warner’s Cable Channel 4. At issue is KXAN’s demand to be paid “less than a penny a day per subscriber,” according to the station, and Time Warner’s insistence that a free, over-the-air station should not be paid for its signal.
But “Today” viewers and fans of other NBC shows today likely will need to switch off their cable and resort to rabbit ears. Or, if you planned ahead, you may already be on Dish or DirecTV satellite services or AT&T’s U-verse. Smaller cable companies in your areas, like Grande and Suddenlink, also continue to carry KXAN. And you can also go to NBC.com to watch most of the network’s prime-time shows.
Here’s what Time Warner customers saw if they tuned into KXAN after midnight:
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September 18, 2008
KVUE and KXAN need anchors . . . we're here to help
Want to be a local TV news anchor? Austin has a couple of big openings.
KVUE is still searching for a replacement for Christine Haas, who left during the summer for a morning anchor job in Houston. The empty seat next to Tyler Sieswerda still needs to be filled.
And KXAN is looking for a co-anchor for Robert Hadlock in the wake of Michelle Valles’ abrupt departure.
Nobody asked, but we have some thoughts on what we’d like to see (and not see) in the new anchors:
The unwritten rule in local news is that co-anchors must be male and female. We don’t think the world would come to an end with two male or two female anchors. “Good Morning America” is doing just fine with Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts. So, hire the best partner for los lonely boys at KXAN and KVUE; don’t worry about gender.
Austin is the 49th market now, which finally places us in the Top 50. We shouldn’t have to hire super-green anchors or reporters any more. Make sure the candidates can read a teleprompter. And give them some time to learn pronunciations, people and places that make Austin special.
Reporting skills? Local anchors don’t do a lot of reporting, but they should be able to cover a story. Hadlock is probably the best reporter/anchor in town. He handles political stories, environmental stories, and he’s even trotted off on foreign assignments as well, including a series of pieces about Pope John Paul II’s visit to Cuba. His new co-anchor should have some reporting credentials.
Looking good on the air doesn’t mean you have to be a beauty queen or a stud muffin. It’s all about grooming and presence. If the anchor is confident and smart — and doesn’t have any obvious, distracting physical deformities — beauty shouldn’t matter that much.
Communication is key. Talking to a camera, no matter what the average viewer thinks, is not easy. You have to pretend the cold, dead lens staring you in the face is a living, breathing person. And you have to do that while reading the teleprompter AND listening to people yammering in your ear-piece. A good anchor makes this juggling act look effortless — like Judy Maggio and Ron Oliveira at KEYE and veteran sports anchor Dave Cody at Fox 7.
It’s about the news; it’s not about the anchor.
OK, stations. You know what we want, so go out and fill those empty chairs!
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September 15, 2008
Updated: KXAN off Time Warner Cable? Michelle Valles gone from KXAN
UPDATE on the retransmission flap between KXAN (with its corporate owner LIN TV) and Time Warner Cable:
Here’s what KXAN has to say about this retransmission situation: “I’m hopeful but at the same time I’m skeptical,” said KXAN general manager Eric Lassberg. “Usually we do resolve these things before the station is pulled off a cable system. The difference this time is we haven’t even heard a response back.”
Here’s what Time Warner has to say: “This is a typical negotiation tactic for LIN,” said Roger Heaney, director of public affairs for Time Warner Austin. “We’re trying to manage cost for our customers, and LIN is just trying to make more money.”
And our FINAL UPDATE on Michelle Valles:
“Michelle Valles is no longer employed at KXAN,” said the station’s general manager Eric Lassberg.
So it’s official. As of Monday afternoon, Valles is gone.
Valles turned down a contract offer last Thursday and left the station. She plans to stay in Austin. KXAN will begin searching for a new co-anchor to work with Robert Hadlock.
ORIGINAL POST from earlier today:
KXAN and its parent company LIN TVannounced today that its current contract with Time Warner Cable will expire on Oct. 2.
You can check out the dire-warning announcement here.
What does this mean? It’s possible that Time Warner customers will be without the station’s local and NBC network programming, including local news, “Today,” “Tonight,” “The Office,” “30 Rock” and a slew of new and returning fall series.
You may recall that KXAN and SuddenLink Cable, which serves about 30,000 people mostly in the Williamson County area, engaged in a similar meltdown in January.
When KXAN’s retransmission agreement with the cable company expired Dec. 31, 2007, SuddenLink dropped the station from its lineup and substituted an NBC station, KCEN in Temple.
KXAN was off the air in SuddenLink’s service area until late March, when a new contract finally was signed.
What is a retransmission agreement? It’s payment by a cable or satellite company for programming from local stations. Local stations increasingly want more money for their programming, in part to offset the cost of digital and high-definition transmission.
It’s hard to imagine KXAN and LIN would profit from losing local viewers for any length of time, especially at the beginning of the new TV season and with the November sweeps just a few weeks away from the Oct. 2 deadline.
We haven’t heard back from Time Warner or KXAN management yet, but we’ll keep you posted.
For the good of Austin couch potatoes, this madness must be solved!
And speaking of KXAN … Anchor Michelle Valles said today that, as far as she’s concerned, she’s no longer with the station. Her contract negotiations ended less than pleasantly last Thursday, and she left the station.
Her photo is still up on KXAN’s web site, and station management still considers her to be employed there. So the impasse lives on.
We wrote about this situation Friday, and that little piece of news generated the biggest — and at times the nastiest — reader response the TV blog has ever seen.
Just so you know, I don’t post comments that are obscene or just too nasty for public consumption. Share your opinions, but keep ‘em decent.
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September 12, 2008
Michelle Valles in or out as KXAN anchor?
Valles says she walked away from her TV station home of the past five years on Thursday, after a contract renewal was offered that she deemed unacceptable.
“It was tough, but, yes, I walked away,” Valles said in an emotional conversation Friday afternoon. “We were under contract negotiations for a while, but they presented me an offer yesterday afternoon that wasn’t in my best interest. I wouldn’t even consider the deal that was offered.”
Eric Lassberg, KXAN’s general manager, disputes that claim, insisting that contract negotiations with Valles are ongoing. He released the following statement to the American-Statesman:
“Michelle Valles is a valued employee at KXAN Austin News. We are in the process of negotiating a long-term contract with Michelle. It is our policy not to comment on personnel matters.”
Neither Valles nor Lassberg would reveal the specific contract dispute. Asked if the problem was salary or job position, Valles said, “Both.” Lassberg would not comment at all.
KXAN may have offered her a contract with different duties than anchoring the station’s 5, 6 and 10 p.m. weekday newscasts. Valles, a University of Texas graduate, has co-anchored the newscasts with Robert Hadlock since joining the station in 2003.
KXAN news usually finishes behind top-rated KVUE, but KEYE often gives it a run for second place at 10 p.m. The Beijing Olympics in August, however, gave KXAN’s newscasts a boost.
But it has been a tumultuous year for Valles, who was arrested last November for driving while intoxicated. After a long weekend, Valles was back on the air, supported by the station, and made a tearful apology to viewers.
Last month, Valles, who has insisted she was not drunk at the time of her arrest, pled guilty to misdemeanor reckless driving, and the DWI charge was dropped. She was sentenced to two years probation.
Rumors of Valles’ current contract troubles bubbled up in July, but negotiations continued with both sides apparently hoping to work out an agreement. It is unclear if Thursday’s breakup is truly the end of Valles’ tenure at KXAN or if tempers will cool and she’ll be back.
“I’m really hurt right now,” Valles said. “But anything’s possible in time. I just want to be appreciated.”
Photo by Amber Novak FOR AMERICAN-STATESMAN
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September 10, 2008
KVUE wins A-List's Best Newscast poll
Alert the media! Austin’s top evening newscast, according to Nielsen ratings, also ranks at the top of our recent Your A-List poll for Best Evening Newscast.
Even without co-anchor Christine Haas, who traded Austin for Houston last month, KVUE is the favorite among our online readers.
Flying solo for more than a month, evening anchor Tyler Sieswerda and KVUE news raked in 49 percent of the votes, with Judy Maggio and Ron Oliveira of KEYE a distant second with 28.5 percent of the vote.
KVUE, an ABC-affiliated station owned by Belo Corp., has been the most-watched local news for more than a decade, so this is not much of a surprise.
Although the poll listed local stations and their news anchors, weather forecasters play a big role in local news popularity rankings.
KVUE’s Mark Murray, aka The Music-Loving Meteorologist (never misses a festival or concert), has been with the station since 1990 and undoubtedly has lots of fans.
Others receiving votes
- Judy Maggio and Ron Oliveira (KEYE), 29 percent
- Robert Hadlock and Michelle Valles (KXAN), 16 percent
- Gustavo Monsante (KAKW), 3 percent
- Loriana Hernandez and Mike Warren (KTBC), 2 percent
- Crestina Chavez (News 8 Austin), 2 percent
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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.