Spotlight Article: Thou Shall NOT Cut-In to the Kentucky Derby!

For our longtime readers, you'll remember this story from last year (and the year before). If you are a new reader to the "Director's Cut" blog, I invite you to share a story that will forever haunt me about the Kentucky Derby ---

Originally posted: 5/2/07

This Saturday is the big Kentucky Derby...a day that brings back some wonderful memories of how NOT to do a breaking news cut-in.

As a cloud of black smoke drifted over downtown, we thought we were onto a big story. Could it be a major fire... an explosion... something crashed or blew up? We were convinced we were onto something big. Really big. The smoke was getting thicker and the adrenaline began to flow.

The producer alerted me and the crew to stand by to do a breaking news cut-in.. The control room crew all raced into position. We were ready to go. The only problem was that the Kentucky Derby was still on and we didn't dare to cut-in.

So the decision was made to wait until the winner crossed the finish line...then we'd go.

We waited and waited...and finally - down the stretch they came... and over the line.

The producer says go - so we went...

To my horror, two very bad things happened... one was the reporter on the scene came on the air and told us that a junkyard was on fire... a "tire fire" as it became known. Who cared...

The best part of the story was that after the horses crossed the finish line, there was a controversy that ensued and we missed showing it to the viewers because we weren't really listening to the show, just watching the video at the time before we did the cut-in.

The phone lines rang non-stop for HOURS...every manager's voice mail was filled...there were plenty of meetings the next day...and let's just say, some folks moved on in their careers.

It's a fun directing story that I think about every year about this time.

NEVER....NEVER cut in to the Kentucky Derby.

Enjoy the Kentucky Derby this Saturday. For more info: www.kentuckyderby.com

Video Feature: Director's Cut Interview

This afternoon, my good friend Eric Mansfield was here in the Channel 3 Newsroom and had his trusty flip cam with him, so he stopped by my desk to ask yours truly a few questions.

One of the fun parts of this business is that you never know when someone is going to throw a camera in your face...and want to know the inside scoop on folks here at Channel 3 News.

After all, that's why you read this blog.

Well, I'm not sure Eric got any good stuff today...but feel free to check us out on his blog "Have I Got News For You."

To see me being interviewed by Eric: CLICK HERE

Enjoy!

Happy First Anniversary to the Director's Cut Blog

Today marks the one year anniversary since the launch of "The Director's Cut Blog" here on WKYC.COM.

It's been quite a year as we close in on our first 100,000 page views thanks to big stories like the SuccessTech Academy Shootings, a flash flood at the station, a visit by NBC Nightly News anchorman Brian Williams and tons of stories about what goes on behind the scenes here at WKYC - including exclusive in-studio photos.

We were quoted & we were criticized in great on-line media like "Ohio Media Watch," "NewsBlues," "Cleveland.com," "TV Newsday," "Shop Talk" & others.

We brought you great "Where Are They Now?" features on former WKYC employees Terry Burhans, Lisa Colagrossi, Connie Dieken, Art Edwards, Doreen Gentzler, Amy Murphy (Hasten), Eileen Korey, Marshall McPeek, Joe Mosbrook, Dawn Stensland and Donna Terrell

Our popular "Get to Know Team 3" offered you inside information on several of our staff members including Joe Brown, Dave Chudowsky, AJ Colby, Lydia Esparra, Betsy Kling, Maureen Kyle, Eric Mansfield, Mike O'Mara, Carole Sullivan and Chris Tye.

We were the first to bring you breaking news on the hiring of News Director Rita Andolsen, a brand new morning show, the hiring of Tom Meyers, Bruce Kalinowsky, Abby Ham, Bruce Drennan and other news releases from WKYC and NBC.

Our classic Channel 3 promos have been viewed by more than 25,000 people.

And, we started a live "Director's Cut Blog Chat" every Wednesday to answer questions about the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center and the transition of television to all digital broadcasting.

So THANK YOU for our first successful year.

The best is yet to come!

News: 60,000 & Counting!

Just a quick note of thanks to all our readers of the "Director's Cut" Blog.. The numbers are in for October and our blog has now surpassed the 60,000th reader mark since launching in January.

October was a huge month for us in several ways, with expanded coverage of the SuccessTech Academy shootings, the announcement of our morning show team of Mark Nolan and Abby Ham & our regular features: "Where Are They Now?," "Get to Know Team 3" and classic Channel 3 Promos.

In the coming weeks, we have plenty of new and fresh material coming thanks to your ideas and suggestions. A reminder, you can reach us anytime at fmacek@wkyc.com or on Facebook and Myspace for on-line extras.

Again, thank you for reading the "Director's Cut" Blog. Be sure to tell your colleagues to stop by and visit.

Web Link: New "Director's Cut Blog" Widget

We have added a new widget for our "Director's Cut Blog". This will enable you to get the latest news and information from behind the scenes of the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center the moment we post it.

Plus, it's a feature you can add to your own blog to give your readers even more interesting reading material to read through.

You can customize the widget by color and how much info is displayed.

Click on the link below (or the picture) to get the "Director's Cut" Widget:

Director's Cut Widget

News: Hosts Named for 4th hour of "Today"

Update: 8/14/07 @ 6:45 PM

As we reported yesterday, NBC has indeed made the official announcement regarding the new hour of "Today" confirming what we first reported yesterday. Read more details at WKYC.COM: CLICK HERE
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The Director's Cut Blog has learned that Ann Curry, Natalie Morales and Hoda Kotb (all pictured) will be named hosts of the fourth hour of NBC's "Today" Show beginning September 10th on WKYC. The network is expected to make an official announcement tomorrow, August 14th.

Sources also say that a rotating list of guest hosts include the Food Network's Giada De Laurentiis and New York Giant running back Tiki Barber, who became a "Today" correspondent in April.

Regular "Today" Show co-hosts Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer will NOT be part of the 4th hour. Vieira contractually can not appear past 10 AM because of her work on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."

Therefore, the new fall lineup on WKYC will be:
7 to 10 AM: "Today" Show
10 AM: "Good Company"
11 AM: "Today" Show (4th Hour)
Noon: Channel 3 News Midday

Spotlight Feature: Behind the Scenes at SportsTime Ohio

When you go to a game at Jacobs Field, you can see and feel the electricity of the Indians and the fans. But, what if you are watching it at home?

Channel 3 Lydia's Esparra goes behind the scenes of SportsTime Ohio with the men and women who bring that same feeling right into your living room.

Pictured is Emmy Award Winning Indians Director Pat Murray (left) and the STO Control Room (right).

This is the same control room where your blog jockey, Frank Macek, gets to direct the Indians pregame show called "Indians On Deck" for away games (along with our other WKYC staff of Directors - Al Wohl, Eric Carrel, Mark Bogden & Matt Babb).

To Watch our exclusive story, CLICK HERE

News: WKYC & Gannett Go Mobile

Breaking news, sports, weather and other must-have local information now can be accessed easily by mobile phone users in more than 100 local markets, including Cleveland...WKYC's parent company, Gannett, has announced.

WKYC news and information is available on virtually any mobile phone or handheld device. We are your mobile window to the world, anywhere you go, any time of day.

With FREE content specially formatted for your small screen device, WKYC Mobile allows you to stay in touch with all the latest breaking news 24x7.

There are three easy options to access this free service on your mobile phone:

*Simply type m.wkyc.com into the web browser on your Internet-enabled mobile device.

*Text WKYC to 59523 and we will send you this link to your phone via text message.

*Via links from the home pages of all Gannett newspaper and broadcast Web sites. For a complete list of links available: CLICK HERE

Requirements: Although the service is free from WKYC, carrier charges may apply for receiving a text message. Bookmark this address in your mobile browser and you'll always have robust, up to date mobile news and information from WKYC Mobile available whenever you need it.

News: Hal Fishman's Passing at KTLA

This story doesn't have much to do with WKYC, but it's a tv related item of interest which I felt is worth mentioning.

Early Tuesday morning, the broadcasting industry lost a legend - KTLA Anchor Hal Fishman. His passing is important because he was the longest-running news anchor in television history. Hal died at age 75 from colon cancer that had spread to his liver - a disease only he was aware of until he collapsed last week at home. His final broadcast was Monday, July 30th.

I regularly watched Hal anchor KTLA's 10 pm "Prime" newscast through Dish Network's Superstation service. Hal was one of the most polished & articulate news anchors I have ever seen. He had a journalistic integrity you rarely see anymore. You trusted what Hal said.

Hal was a fixture on Los Angeles TV for nearly 50 years. The last several decades, he was a mainstay on the newsdesk of Channel 5, KTLA - having been hired by Gene Autry when he bought the station in 1965.

He was also seen recently in the "Spiderman 3" movie, playing himself as a TV news anchor.

Our own WKYC General Manager Brooke Spectorsky worked with Hal and the KLTA team as director of programming from 1979 to 1981 - and I am sure Brooke remembers Hal well.

So, please take a moment of your time to visit the KTLA website and pay tribute to the man who, for so long, had a tremendous impact on more than just a few of us in the industry.

To watch video of KTLA's multi-part memorial to Hal: CLICK HERE

Photo Courtesy: KTLA

News: The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on WKYC

Preparing a year in advance, NBC Universal announced it will showcase round-the-clock coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games over 17 days, beginning exactly one year from today: 8-8-08 at 8 PM on WKYC/TV 3.

The plan, totaling 3,600+ hours, offers more televised coverage than all previous Summer Olympics combined in U.S. history (from 1960 to 2004). Coverage from Beijing will be seen on NBC, USA Network, MSNBC and CNBC, along with high-definition coverage on USA HD and Universal HD. Spanish-language coverage will be seen on Telemundo.

Additionally, NBCU will offer live streaming Olympic broadband video footage for the first time in the U.S. via NBCOlympics.com, and approximately 3,000 hours of highlights, rewinds and encores will be available on-demand.

Despite a 12-hour time zone difference, NBCU will feature must-see events in primetime from live swimming, gymnastics and beach volleyball.

To See the new Olympics Video Trailer: CLICK HERE
To Go to the NBC Olympics Website: CLICK HERE

Get to Know Team 3 - Lydia Esparra

Channel 3 reporter/weekend anchor Lydia Esparra stars in our "Get To Know Team 3" feature for this go around. Here's a couple of interesting things you may not have known about Lydia.

Q: Where did your career start?

Lydia: My career began at a cable company that had news and other types of programming. It was in Davie Florida. I really loved it! One show was called "Swing On a Star." I got to go around South Florida doing all these odd jobs like wrestling alligators and swimming with Dolphins.

Q: What other cities have you worked in besides Cleveland?

Lydia: Davie, Florida; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Miami, Florida; Albany, Georgia; Columbus, Georgia; Cleveland, Ohio.

Q: What is your favorite part of your job?

Lydia: Reporting stories that affect people's lives. I like it when you do a story and it really gets people thinking. It's informing the viewer. And you can never have enough information! I like bringing the viewer to the scene. I wish I had a million dollars to give to people who I meet that are down on their luck, lost a loved one or really need financial help for their children. We have good people out on the streets, we you just never get to meet them.

Q: What is the best story you have ever had to cover?

Lydia: Hands down...when the Buckeyes went to the first championship! I loved it and waited my whole life for the Buckeyes to win the National Championship and I was right in the midst of it. It was awesome!

Q: Who is your idol in the news business?

Lydia: Peter Jennings. I first started watching him and only him at the age of 13. He was the consummate newsman. He loved the field, loved the desk, excelled in politics, he had the whole package. And he was good. He was a high school dropout and he proved that knowledge indeed was power. He was Canadian born but loved being in America. He traveled the world and made a difference. I always wanted to meet him, but unfortunately he died from lung cancer in 2005.

Q: What do you always have in the fridge?

Lydia: Fruit. I love fruit. I can't give you my favorite because I love it all. Also, Tabasco sauce. I put hot sauce on just about everything.

Q: What celebrity would you most like to be in Hollywood?

Lydia: Well, Pope John Paul the Second wasn't a celebrity and didn't live Hollywood but there was a man who used his connections to change the world. I will never forget Easter Sunday when he gave his last homily from the Vatican. He was suffering so much but wanted to be with the people on last time. He died with dignity and respect. He knew the way to a better world was to enrich our youth. And oh, how they loved him!

Q: Do you collect anything?

Lydia: Not really, but I do have a lot of shoes.

Q: What is your favorite piece of clothing?

Lydia: I have a pair of baggy running shorts that I love. They are horrible but they are so comfortable. They encourage me to workout.

Q: What is the first song you're singing on Karaoke Night?

Lydia: Blue Moon!

You can email Lydia at: lydiaesparra@wkyc.com

News: New Program Guide for WKYC & STO

We've added a new feature to the "Director's Cut Blog" - a TV program guide for all our shows on WKYC and Sportstime Ohio.

This is located on the menu off to the right and gives you are complete list of which shows are on WKYC Analog Channel 3, along with those shows presented in High Definition on WKYC's Digital Service - 3.1 & Weather Plus 3.2 (Channel numbers may be different on your cable or satellite system).

You'll also find a daily program guide for SportsTime Ohio.

Enjoy!

Web Link: Ed Esposito Blog

We have added a link to our Director's Cut Blog located under "Frank's Link Favorites" from our good friend, Ed Esposito - who is the Editor of AkronNewsNow and also oversees news and information media for the Rubber City Radio Group Stations: WAKR-WONE-WQMX in Akron.

His informative blog is located at: http://edesposito.blogspot.com/

News: Freak Storm Floods Channel 3

This afternoon, an intense thunderstorm over downtown Cleveland led to 4.45" of rain falling in about an hour.

This led to severe flooding including at the Channel 3 Digital Broadcast Center. The basement parking garage had 6 to 7 inches of standing water at one point. Also, many cars surrounding the station were partially-submerged under water, while many roads were temporarily closed until the water could run off.

Sportstime Ohio, which has a studio in the basement, was almost forced to higher ground during a live broadcast of "All Bets Are Off with Bruce Drennan" because of the flooding situation. However, they continued broadcasting as former Tribe Skipper, Mike Hargrove, was being interviewed by Bruce.

To see our storm coverage @ 6 PM: CLICK HERE
To see a live report from Paul Thomas @ 7 PM: CLICK HERE
To watch video for amazing pictures of swamped roadways: CLICK HERE

These are pictures from the Channel 3 Studios & Parking Garage....

These are other pictures around the station:

News: WKYC is #1 Again in July at 11 PM

July sweeps are over.

WKYC is again the #1 late, local news leader at 11 PM both Monday thru Friday...and Monday thru Sunday (12+ numbers).

Also, the station continues to have the highest rated weekend morning newscasts as well.

Overall, viewing was rather low for all broadcast stations in the market for the month. This is generally true each summer when people spend more time outdoors than they do watching TV during June, July and August.

The next major book will be in November.

Breaking News: News Director Named at WKYC

Updated: 5:15 PM
WKYC General Manager Brooke Spectorsky has just announced to the staff the permanent appointment of Acting News Director Rita Andolsen to News Director - officially beginning a new chapter for Channel 3 News.

Rita has worked hard in a variety of management roles in the WKYC newsroom since coming to Channel 3 from WJW-TV 8. Most recently, she had been Assistant News Director until Mike McCormick left.

Congratulations to Rita!
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Here is a portion of the official press release from WKYC:

"Channel 3 is pleased to announce the appointment of Rita Andolsen as News Director," said WKYC President and General Manager Brooke Spectorsky. Rita has served as Interim News Director since May. "She knows Cleveland, WKYC and has worked closely with almost every single person in the newsroom over the past seven years," added Spectorsky, "and I know she is passionate about leading WKYC into the future as we develop new ways to reach our audiences on-air and on-line."

Rita has been with Channel 3 since 2000 when she joined the staff as Senior Executive News Producer. More recently she has served as the Assistant News Director. Prior to coming to Channel 3, she was an executive news producer at FOX 8.

"Over the years I've had the opportunity to work with a great team here at Channel 3 including Tim, Romona, Mark and Jim. As News Director my aim will be to take our news to the next level," said Andolsen. "Right now our industry is facing a very competitive landscape. My entire newsroom is committed to providing Northeast Ohio the best news coverage possible through our daily newscasts and on wkyc.com. We hope to build on a great legacy here at Channel 3 and everyday we remember our promise to viewers and online users - report the facts, respect the truth."

Where Are They Now? - Connie Dieken

This month, we asked Connie Dieken to share with us some exclusive information on our Director's Cut Blog about what she has been up since leaving the WKYC family in our "Where Are They Now Feature?" We have video of Connie anchoring the 11 pm news at the end of the story.

Connie spent 16 years broadcasting the news to Cleveland television viewers, beginning at Channel 3 in 1984. Her first duties at the station were as weekend anchor and consumer reporter. She quickly moved up and joined co-anchor Tom Sweeney on the anchor desk for the 5 PM broadcast...and became a main anchor of Channel 3 News at 6 & 11 PM.

Her work garnered numerous high profile communication awards including Emmys, Tellys and being named Best TV Host by Cleveland Magazine. Viewers always loved Connie for her friendly & warm approach to bringing them the news of the day.

Also during her stay at Channel 3, she married former Browns offensive lineman Doug Dieken.

Her quiet departure from the airwaves in 2000 left many Clevelanders scratching their heads, "Where did Connie go? Why did she walk away from the spotlight?"

Turns out, Connie reversed the spotlight. She launched a communication coaching and consulting firm to help business leaders deliver powerful, high profile messages. Her firm, onPoint Communication, helps leaders develop and deliver high profile communications for mergers and acquisitions, annual meetings, product launches, sales presentations and media relations.

Connie has also been busy co-authoring 4 business books and is the author of the upcoming communication book, "You Lost Me at Hello: How to Talk to a World of Short Attention Spans."

Recently, Connie was honored with the 2007 Leadership Think Tank Award for small business in Ohio. Other awards include being one of the Top Ten Women Business Owners of 2006 and being honored by the National Speakers Association (the CSP) - an award given to less than 7% of speakers worldwide.

Connie still lives in Greater Cleveland with her two children, ages 18 and 14. Her oldest child is heading to college this fall. Her career change from the evening news to entrepreneur allowed her to balance her dual commitments to career and family, and gain both personal and professional success.

To Email Connie: connie@conniedieken.com

The following is Connie anchoring on WKYC with Dick Feagler on July 28, 1993. Press the play to begin watching video. If you can't see the video on this page, CLICK HERE

HDTV: Local HD Channel Assignments

Fellow WKYC Producer/Director Matt Babb has been researching High Definition TV as he upgrades...and shares with us some information you might interested in regarding where to find our local HD channels.

Here are the analog TV channels and their corresponding "over the air" HD channel assignments.
Note: When tuning though, you will still see the stations displayed as X.1, X.2, X.3 (depending on how many multi-cast channels each station offers).

Station-Analog (New Digital)

WKYC-TV 3 (Digital 2) - Displayed as 3.1, 3.2, etc. ***Will Move to Digital Ch 17**
WEWS-TV 5 (Digital 15) - Displayed as 5.1, 5.2, etc.
WJW-TV 8 (Digital 31) - Displayed as 8.1, 8.2, etc.
WOIO-TV 19 (Digital 10) - Displayed as 19.1, 19.2, etc.
WVPX-TV 23 (Digital 59) - Displayed as 23.1, 23.2, etc. **Will Move to Digital Ch 23***
WVIZ-TV 25 (Digital 26) - Displayed as 25.1, 25.2, etc.
WUAB-TV 43 (Digital 28) - Displayed as 43.1, 43.2, etc.
WNEO-TV 45 (Digital 46) - Displayed as 45.1, 45.2, etc.
WEAO-TV 49 (Digital 50) - Displayed as 49.1, 49.2, etc.
WBNX-TV 55 (Digital 30) - Displayed as 55.1, 55.2, etc.
WQHS-TV 61 (Digital 34) - Displayed as 61.1, 61.2, etc.

News: Former NBC Talk Show Host Dead at Age 71

Sad to report that former TV show host Tom Snyder died Sunday in San Francisco from complications associated with leukemia which he announced in 2005.

Snyder was not your typical broadcaster....and usually smoked cigarettes during his interviews. But, he was polished and a great interviewer.

He left "The Tomorrow Show" which followed "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" on NBC and WKYC in 1982. (He was host from 1973 to 1982).

In 1978, Tom brought his show to town with then Mayor Dennis Kucinich over breakfast at Tony's Diner at W. 117th & Lorain Avenue.

He then returned to late night television on CBS with the "Late, Late Show" following David Letterman more than 20 years later. Tom was eventually replaced by Craig Kilborn on that show.

Tom held a brief stint as an anchor at KYW-TV in Cleveland, currently WKYC, at age 29.

Known for his improvised and relaxed style and hardy laughs, Snyder did a number of memorable interviews including John Lennon, Charles Manson & Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols.

Tom will always be remembered in our hearts for his catchy phrase: ''Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air.''

TV Trivia: Which TV Show Reminds You Of Your Boss?

According to CareerBuilder.com survey, some TV bosses are pretty close to the real thing. When asked which TV boss most reminds them of their own boss, the most popular responses included:

1. Sam Malone from "Cheers"
2. Charlie from "Charlie's Angels"
3. Judge Judy from "Judge Judy"
4. Donald Trump from "The Apprentice"
5. Simon Cowell from "American Idol"
6. Mr. Burns from "The Simpsons"
7. Miranda Bailey from "Grey's Anatomy"
8. Michael Scott from "The Office"
9. Tyra Banks from "America's Next Top Model"
10. Jack from "Lost"

Courtesy: CareerBuilder.com

News: Another News Helicopter Goes Down

It's been a really bad couple of days for news helicopters.

Another helicopter carrying a pilot and two traffic reporters crashed landed after losing power Monday morning in Texas (near Grand Prairie), leaving the passengers bruised but alive.

Chip Waggoner, who was reporting for Dallas Fox O&O KDFW-TV, told his station that the aircraft lost power about 7 a.m. and that pilot Curtis Crump was able to make a hard emergency landing.

Waggoner said he and Crump appeared to be unhurt, and radio traffic reporter Julie DeHarty was sore but able to walk. DeHarty is the traffic reporter for Dallas radio stations KRLD-AM and KVIL-FM.

Courtesy: KDFW-TV

Director's Alert: 2 News Helicopters Crash Covering Chase

Updated: 8:50 PM

To watch compelling video taken from the KPNX chopper of the accident, CLICK HERE
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It was bound to happen at some point - and today, it did... two news helicopters covering a police chase collided in mid air and crashed in Phoenix, Arizona, this afternoon.

Our Gannett sister station KPNX (which did not have one of the two choppers involved in the accident) reports both the pilots and photographers on each of the two aircraft died when the helicopters collided over Steele Indian School Park. The helicopters, as well as those from other stations, were covering a police chase at the time.

There did not appear to be any casualties on the ground.

Channel 15, the local ABC affiliate, reported that pilot Craig Smith and photographer Rick Krolak were on board their aircraft. Channel 3, the an independent station, reported that pilot Scott Bowerbank and photographer Jim Cox were on their aircraft.

For the latest information on this story, we refer you to the KPNX website: CLICK HERE

Courtesy: KPNX and Azcentral.com

TV Trivia: Ads We Can't Get Our of Our Heads

Our sister publicaton, USA Today, continues its 25th Anniversary celebration with Weekly Top 25 lists.

This week's list looks at the Top 25 Ads "We Can't Get Out Of Our Heads."


Here are the Top 10:

1. Life Alert: I've Fallen, and I Can't Get Up! (1990)
2. Apple Macintosh: 1984 (1984)
3. Wendy's: Where's the Beef? (1984)
4. Isuzu: Joe "Trust Me" Isuzu (1986)
5. Energizer: Energizer Bunny (1989)
6. Bartles & Jaymes: Thank You For Your Support (1985)
7. California Raisin Advisory Board: Heard It Through The Grapevine (1986)
8. Budweiser: Croaking Frogs (1995)
9. Bush campaign: Willie Horton (1988)
10. California Milk Processors Board: Got Milk? (1993)

To read the rest of the list, CLICK HERE on the USA Today website.

Courtesy: USA Today

News: The Show Must Go On...

If you were watching Channel 3 News Today at 5:00 am Wednesday morning, you may have noticed something unusual - the anchors were forced outside after the station's fire alarm sounded.

Although, there was no fire - there was a low water pressure issue in the building which set the system off as a precaution.

Barb, John and Hollie spent the first 15 minutes anchoring the show from in front of the building, since you would not have been able to hear them over the alarm.

As they say, the show must go on...and it did!

News: Gannett Names Dave Lougee President of Gannett Broadcasting

Gannett, parent of WKYC-TV, has named Dave Lougee as president of the Broadcasting Division for Gannett Co., Inc., effective July 30th.

Lougee, who is executive vice president/Media Operations of Belo Corp., replaces Roger Ogden, who retired on July 1.

"Dave's background in award-winning journalism, his experience running a strong affiliate operation and his knowledge of Gannett make him a perfect person to head up our Broadcasting Division," said Craig Dubow, chairman, president and chief executive officer. "We are thrilled he will be joining us."

As executive vice president/Media Operations for Belo, Lougee has been in charge of the company's 19 TV stations and 4 cable news operations outside of Dallas. In 2005, he was a senior vice president of Belo. He joined Belo in 1998 as news director at KING-TV in Seattle/Tacoma, becoming president and general manager of Belo's TV and cable operations in Seattle/Tacoma in 2000. Lougee was vice president/News at WRC-TV in Washington, DC from 1996 to 1998. From 1990 to 1996, Lougee was news director at KUSA-TV in Denver, a Gannett station. While he was there, the station received the national Edward R. Murrow award for "Overall Excellence." He began his broadcasting career at KCNC-TV in Denver in 1982.

Director's Alert: Former WKYC Reporter John Herrington Dies

Memorial Contributions:
Bethesda on the Bay Lutheran Church or the The Huntington Playhouse, 28601 Lake Road, Bay Village, Ohio 44140
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CLICK HERE to see video of John in this morning's mention of his passing on Channel 3 News Today from our website, WKYC.COM.

CLICK HERE to see an ad when John was anchor of the 10 pm News at WKBF

CLICK HERE to post your memories & comments about John

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Former WKYC reporter, John Herrington passed away Tuesday evening (7/24) at age 76.

Herrington joined worked here at WKYC for twenty-five years as a reporter beginning in 1971 as a reporter, and in-studio & field anchor frequently reporting on events of national interest for NBC during the period that it owned & operated WKYC. He took early retirement from the station in 1993. John was best known at Channel 3 as the "Energy Warden" and his stylish hats.

John came to Cleveland from Kansas City, MO, where he worked at WDAF-Radio and TV for 10 years starting in 1958. In Cleveland, John worked at WKBF (Channel 61) which was an independent TV station serving Cleveland owned by a joint venture between Kaiser Broadcasting and Field Communications. In an attempt to bring unique programs into the market to gain profitability, John became the main anchor of a 10 PM newscast simply called "The 10 O'Clock news" under News Director Alan DePetro.

In 1995, John was presented a Silver Circle Award by the Lower Great Lakes Chapter of the National Television Academy for his outstanding work as a journalist.

Since retiring from WKYC, John worked as a free-lance producer for several network and syndicated television reports, covered community events for a suburban weekly newspaper and wrote a periodic column for a local Cleveland website.

John was one of those rare reporters who could handle many different types of stories from the very entertaining to very serious, depending on the subject matter. All will agree, John was well respected in the Cleveland television market for his work.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife of 27 years, Carol Ann...and his entire family.

News: Tivo Introduces New HD Recorder

TiVo's new, wallet-friendly high-definition digital video recorder debuts today.

The DVR pioneer begins taking orders for the new machine, priced at under 300 dollars, on its Web site this morning, and units are expected to hit retail outlets by early next month. The TiVo HD DVR has many of the same technical features as its Series-3 cousin, which is priced at 800 dollars: it has two tuners, so subscribers can record two different shows in HD at the same time while watching a third, recorded show.

It also has two built-in slots for CableCARD, allowing users to access digital programming without a separate device from the cable TV provider. The new model will have a smaller hard drive -- 160 gigabytes instead of 250, meaning it can store about 20 hours of high-definition programming or up to 180 hours of standard programming.

Courtesy: WKYC.COM

News: US Online Video Viewing Increases

Online video reached 81 million people or 63% of US Internet users as of March 2007, up for 70 million just 6 months ago. Net video viewing was found to be addictive to TV viewing rather displacing; 33% of those surveyed said watching video online actually led to an increase in TV viewing.

Consumers indicated that greater awareness of where to find the videos they are after, better navigation interfaces and availablility of internet video via home television sets could significantly drive future broadband video content use.

Courtesy: CTAM/Neilsen Entertainment & NielsenConnect

Director's Alert: Dave Chudowsky Joins the Ch 3 Sports Team

WKYC has announced that Dave Chudowsky is joining the Channel 3 Sports team from ONN in Columbus where he was a sports reporter, photographer & editor.

Previous to Columbus, Dave also worked in Toledo and interned at WKYC back in the late 90's when the station was still located at E. 6th Street.

Dave has also recently appeared as a guest on "All Bets Are Off with Bruce Drennan" on SportsTime Ohio where he has made a number of appearances leading up to his hiring by WKYC.

Dave is a graduate of Bay Village High School. While at ONN, Dave did a lot of work covering The Ohio State University and knows plenty about the Browns, Indians and Cavs.

Dave replaces Brian Colleran on the WKYC's sports desk along with Sports Director Jim Donovan and reporter/weekend anchor Joe Brown as we continue to bring our local viewers the best sports coverage in the market.

Spotlight Article: What Size Screen Is Right For You & Your Room?

With the traditional analog TV set, you generally needed to sit about 8 feet away from a 32 inch screen to get the best picture quality. If you were closer, you would start to notice the scanning lines that form your picture.

Today, the HDTV (and HDTV capable) sets have much higher resolution screens that allows you to put a much larger set in your room or gives you the choice of sitting much closer - based on your preference. But keep in mind, you want to measure your room and go with a size that is comfortable, not crowded.

High quality video material like DVD's and HDTV programs look amazing on these new sets. But you may also find that the noise and distortion in lower-quality analog signals (like standard broadcast and cable TV) are exposed and magnified.

That's why the suggested viewing distance chart below offers a range for each screen size, based on suggestions from manufacturers.

If most of your viewing is DVD quality or better, you'll see more details by sitting closer. If you want more regular (non-HD) video, sit farther back for a smoother picture.

Naturally, personal preference factors into viewers distance too. Just like in a movie theater: some people sit up front, some in back and some prefer the middle. Lots of people buy a TV, only to discover they should have bought something larger. That's why we recommend thinking carefully about how big your room is, what experience you wish to have, and your budget.

Size ---- Suggested Viewing Distance Range

30" ---- 3' 3/4" to 6' 1/4"
34" ---- 4' 1/4" to 7'
42" ---- 5' 1/4" to 8' 3/4"
50" ---- 6' 1/4" to 10' 1/2"
56" ---- 7' to 11' 3/4"
62" ---- 7' 3/4" to 13'
70" ---- 8' 3/4" to 14' 3/4"

From the Mailbag: Pixel Amounts for HDTV

From: Jim in Parma

Q: How many more pixels are their between regular TV and High Definition TV?

A: Well, it depends on what type of HD capability your TV has. An ordinary analog TV (like the ones we are used to) has "only" 346,600 pixels on the screen. An 720 HD TV has 921,600 pixels. A full HD 1080 has 2,073,600.

For the best picture quality, a 1080 is the way to go.. though a 720 will do for most people who want HD without the huge price tag.

News: Lebron to Host SNL

Cleveland Cavs star Lebron James will host the season premiere of "Saturday Night Live" on NBC and WKYC on September 29th at 11:30 PM it has been announced by a publicist for the network.

The 22-year-old James will be the latest, prominent athlete to host "S-N-L" -- following in the footsteps of his boyhood idol, N-B-A superstar Michael Jordan, who hosted the show in 1991. Last season, Colts quarterback Peyton Manning also hosted an episode.

Perhaps his recent stint as "Bobby Brown" at the ESPY's Awards on ESPN got him some notice... If not, it just could have the positive reviews he got from just co-hosting that show earlier this month with comedian/talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.

Director's Alert: WKYC Launches New Weather Blog

WKYC is launching a new weather blog called "Fair Weather Fans" which features all things local weather for the Greater Cleveland Area. This will include audio forecasts, graphics from the Channel 3 Weather Plus Forecast Center, the latest watches and warnings & information about various weather phenomena.

You can post your storm reports & pictures that will aid our forecasting team with severe weather events. We might even use some of your pictures on the air.

Get a sneak peak and bookmark the blog at: www.wkyc.com/weblog/weather

Get To Know Team 3 - Joe Brown

The newest member of the Channel 3 Sports team, Joe Brown, is this week's "Get to Know Team 3" feature. Joe came to WKYC from Altitude Sports in Denver. His first day was Thursday, May 17th. His first assignment was covering the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals. We recently sat down with Joe and asked him the following questions:

Q: How did you decide your calling was to be a sportscaster?

Joe: When I was 15 years old worked in the press box at Mac Arthur Stadium in Syracuse. Just knew that the only thing I wanted to do was to be around sports.

Q: You last worked & lived in Denver, how does that city's spirit compare to Cleveland? (Both have die hard sports fans)

Joe: Denver was a lot of fun. But there is no comparison. People there follow the Broncos. But here fans love the Browns, Indians, Cavs and Ohio State unconditionally. So I have noticed a big difference.

Q: What is your favorite sport to do play-by-play for?

Joe: Without a doubt baseball. At my last job I did a handful of game for triple a Colorado Springs. I actually took a 2nd during the game and thought to myself how lucky I was to be sitting in the press box describing the game and being out on a beautiful night, and also being paid to do it.

Q: What is your favorite sports-related movie?

Joe: There are so many movies I could chose from and I think I own them all. "Rudy" is incredible, "Bull Durham" is another one. But I would probably have to say "Remember the Titans." Great football scenes and an even better message.

Q: Who is your favorite national sportscaster?

Joe: Mike Tirico. I was lucky enough to intern for him when I was in college. I actually saw him during the Eastern Conference and NBA Finals. Very talented and a very good guy.

Q: What is your favorite season of the year?

Joe: The fall is the absolute best. Baseball is closing in on the playoffs and the NFL and college football has kicked off their seasons.

Q: What is your favorite snack to grab between sportscasts?

Joe: Whatever is in the vending machine. I have made a lot of runs between the newsroom and the kitchen in my short time here.

Q: What is your idea of a perfect vacation?

Joe: Last summer a friend and I went to Yankee Stadium and Fenway in back to back nights, that wasn't bad.

Q: Are you still a traditional radio fan or do you have satellite radio in your car?

Joe: Traditional radio for sure. I've thought seriously of getting satellite radio because of all the options with the sports packages.

Q: What is your favorite day or the week & why?

Joe: Saturday or Sunday. This time of the year it's a bit slower. But in the fall best chance to watch sports all day long.

You can email Joe at: joebrown@wkyc.com

News: NBC Tweaks Fall Lineup

New co-boss at NBC Entertainment, Ben Silverman, has announced some tweaks to the fall programming line up at NBC-TV.

Among the more noteable:

* "Deal or No Deal" is out from the 8 pm Monday timeslot. It will be replaced with the new series "Chuck" which joins "Heroes" & "Journeyman." Mondays will be a night of sci-fi

* "The Biggest Loser" will be expanded to 1 1/2 hours, with the new reality show "The Singing Bee" to finish out block. "The Singing Bee" moves from Friday Night and "Chuck" moves to Mondays.

* NBC has signed fired "Grey's" actor Isaiah Washington for a guest role in "Bionic Woman."

* NBC also has signed a deal with producer Norman Lear ("All in the Family") to produce a one-hour dramedy (drama & comedy) called "Phenomenon"about a mother who re-enters the Wall Street workplace and finds herself pitted against her late husband's ruthless partner.

* NBC's premiere week is going to feature one hour episodes of "My Name Is Earl" and "The Office" on Thursday, Sept. 27, and a two-hour season premiere of "Las Vegas" on Friday, Sept. 28.

* NBC is signing Jerry Seinfeld for a guest appearance on the season premiere of "30 Rock." Mr. Seinfeld, whose interstitials promoting his upcoming "Bee Movie" will air on the network this fall, will play himself on the half-hour comedy.

* NBC Universal announced "Green Is Universal," a week long programming initiative where shows across the company's platforms will adopt environmental themes.

From the Mailbag: Behind the Scenes Taping

From: Sam in Highland Heights

Q: I am an avid watcher of Channel 3 News, and also have an interest in the World of Broadcasting. Every now and then I visit your Director's Cut Blog, and enjoy reading it...I recall a few months back (January) you said that you would post a video of behind the scenes of a newscast. I was wondering if you still plan on doing it...Another question I had was will WKYC ever stream their newscasts online (like WMAQ in Chicago)?

A: Do I get extra pay for two part questions? The answer to your first question about the behind the scenes look at the news. Yes, I am still planning on doing that... When, I am not sure. There are some legal issues regarding using video on the web that may appear during a show I use - which makes the project a little more time consuming than I can get involved with right now since we are in the middle of Indians season and all we do for Sportstime Ohio too. But it's still on the agenda..

Secondly, we are not planning on streaming our newscast at the moment. Again, for the same reason. We would have to pay additional fees to rebroadcast video on the web and right now there isn't a way to justify the additional cost with limited return. But, it will happen.. When, is the best question.

Send your emails to: fmacek@wkyc.com

From the Mailbag: Akron Special on 45/49

From: Dan in Akron

Q: Hi Frank, what did you think of the Channel 45/49 show about the loss of Akron's only local TV station?

A: I got a chance to Tivo the show on Saturday...and overall, I thought the show was pretty comprehensive, but at times really dragged on about factors that may or may not have contributed to the loss of WAKC as a news operation. Yes, WAKR/WAKC did have a factors going against it - but it may have been the lack of direct market competition that doomed it more. If Akron would have had 3 or 4 local TV stations, there would have been a much better chance of the city standing apart from the Cleveland market in Arbitron, then Nielsen's eyes.

But since there wasn't, the lone station just got absorbed into Cleveland - which then suffered because it never had ratings, in relation. I think the Berk family made a bad mistake is selling the station. They feared they couldn't compete, but I don't think had enough courage to keep the station going in uncertain times.

Of course what Bud Paxson did was unforgivable - promising to keep local news going, then basically turning off the lights only hours after Pax's purchase. It really goes to show how much more a business TV is than a committment to the community which the FCC should really re-explore when they take future action. It's good to see that companies, like Gannett, still have the community in their vision.

Send me your emails to: fmacek@wkyc.com

Video: "Twentyfourhours"

As I was reading Eric Mansfield's blog tonight, I thought I'd share the following article he posted regarding an article about the recent documentary on Akron's Newscasts. That will re-air again this Saturday Morning at 3 AM on Channels 45/49.

While this new program hasn't been added to their video on demand web service yet, you can watch Twentyfourhours, a program first aired in 2001 about our local TV news at that time. To watch, CLICK HERE
------------------
From Eric's Blog:

Much has been made on a few media blogs and elsewhere about the documentary that aired a few nights ago about the death and rebirth of TV News in Akron. It will re-air at 3 a.m. this Saturday morning on PBS 45/49. Some liked it while others didn't. I still need to see it before I can weigh in.

If the topic really interests you, there's another documentary out there that is exceptionally well done, and it's available for free on the Internet. Twentyfourhours was put together in 2001 and looked at how all of the Cleveland stations cover Akron-area news. The report also looks back at how Akron ended up without a newscast for a five-year period.

While it's a few years old, this documentary really nails a lot of the big issues facing Akron news coverage and includes a broad group of interviews to tackle the subject. Let me know what you think. As fate would have it, the PBS crew was scheduled to visit our Akron newsroom on September 11th. So the video you see of our newsroom at the top of the documentary where folks are running all over the place and looking stressed on the phones was shot on the actual day of the attacks.

Where Are They Now? - Lisa Colagrossi

Several weeks ago, we mentioned former WKYC reporter/anchor Lisa Colagrossi in a story (CLICK HERE) about the WABC TV studios catching fire in New York City. Lisa has worked 6 years now at WABC as an early morning reporter/fill-in anchor.

Ironically, Lisa is the one who covered the story on the fire which gave us the idea to find out what's she has been up to since leaving WKYC.

Lisa tells us that she first headed to Florida where she went to work for former WKYC News Director Dick Moore (still her favorite) and WKYC General Manager Brooke Spectorsky who were both in Orlando at the time at Channel 7. Lisa's first duty was a 5:30 PM anchor and would add the 11 pm newscast to her resume.

Her husband's career then took her to the Big Apple in 2001. Lisa joined WABC-TV on the Sunday after the World Trade Center disaster as a freelance reporter and hit the ground running. Lisa has also covered other major stories including the crash of flight 587 in the Rockaways. She tells us she is currently working with a few other WKYC alumni including Tappy Phillips and Jim Dolan.

Lisa's work has garnered two Suncoast Regional Emmy's, five Emmy nominations, and numerous awards from the Florida Associated Press, and the Society of Professional Journalists.

In addition to working in Cleveland, Orlando and New York, Lisa has also worked at stations in Alabama and West Virginia.

Lisa calls Connecticut home now with her husband and two children, ages 7 & 3. Her parents and brother still live in Strongsville, but her sister lives near her in Manhattan.

You can e-mail Lisa at: lisa.colagrossi@abc.com

News: HDTV Cable Penetration Rises

HDTV penetration among cable subscribers has nearly doubled in the past year with 29% of cable customers claiming they have an HD set. That compares with 15% last year, according to new figures released by the Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM).

Digital cable customers are the most likely to make the leap, with 41% of the digital cable homes now HD ready.

Most homes that haven't upgraded, but plan to do so in the next 12 months say they will order a cable package to go with it within a month of their HDTV purchase.

83% say they will order at least basic cable

77% say they will get a digital package.

Courtesy: CTAM

Spotlight Article: Channel Branding with Digital TV

For years, all your favorite TV stations in the Greater Cleveland area, including WKYC, have branded themselves by their analog channel numbers. For us, it's Channel 3 as in "Channel 3 News." Channel 5 is "Newschannel 5." Channel 8 is "Fox 8 News." You know the drill.

But with the upcoming move of TV stations by the FCC to new digital channels in 2009, what will stations be called? The simple answer is: still Channel 3, 5, and 8.

In the analog world, there is a direct relationship between the channel number and the RF frequency. In the digital world, this relationship becomes indirect (but linked) using an electronic system called PSIP (Program and System Information Protocol). You can read more on the specifics at http://www.psip.org/

The PSIP is data that is transmitted along with the station's digital TV signal to alert your new digital TV where to find a station on its tuner. The PSIP identifies both the DTV channel and for now, the NTSC (analog) channel. Your TVs will electronically associate the two channel numbers making it easy for viewers to tune to our station(s), even if that do not know the new digital channel number. Thus, the digital channels really become irrelevant.

Today we are located on a very bad position at digital RF position Channel 2. In the next year, we'll move to our new digital RF position channel 17, but will still be known to viewers as "Channel 3." The important brands that TV stations have today will need to be preserved and they will be under this PSIP system.

Since we are already broadcasting digitally, WKYC (on analog Channel 3) is being coded on RF Digital Channel 2 as "Channel 3-1" (Channel 3 HD) and "Channel 3-2" (Weather Plus). We will have the opportunity to add even more TV or data channels in the future.

When we move to Channel 17, your new TV's will find us as 17-1, 17-2 and you won't need to do a thing.

Once the analog WKYC channel 3 channel is forced to sign off the air in 2009, the only change viewers will notice is that the analog signal disappears. You will be receiving only digital signals from that point forward.

It's an exciting time in the broadcast industry...and we'll be here with you to explain it to you in layman's terms as we go along.

DVR: TV Special on Akron's Newscasts

A Reminder: This show will air again this Saturday, July 14th at 3 AM on Channels 45/49 if you are interested.
--------------------------------
From our friends at Ohio Media Watch:

WNEO/45-WEAO/49 "PBS 45 & 49" will air a special tonight, Tuesday, at 9 PM titled "Akron, Ohio: The City Where Commercial Television News Went Black".

We'll presume it delves, in-depth, into the saga most of our readers probably know well...the end of local news on then-ABC affiliate WAKC/23 (nee' WAKR-TV), which eventually got sold to the PAX TV folks and was stripped of its news and ABC affiliation.The saga continued, as with help from the city of Akron, local over-air TV news was reborn as "PAX 23 News", produced by WKYC/3 from a new bureau in the heart of downtown Akron.

That newscast went off the over-air signal last year, when PAX TV's agreement with WKYC parent Gannett Broadcasting (and many other companies running PAX affiliates) ended. And to complete the story, of course, the newscast still airs on cable on Time Warner Cable channel 23 - or channel 15 in some of the western Akron suburbs on systems formerly owned by Adelphia.

And to close all the loose ends, WKYC/3 Akron-Canton Bureau chief Eric Mansfield, who helms the "Akron/Canton News" operation on TWC as anchor, is also the newly minted host of... 45/49's own "NewsNight Akron" weekly news roundtable discussion program.

Web: The Original Amateur Hour

"OriginalAmateurHour.com" is the official website for the Original Amateur Hour, the radio and TV series that started the talent competition craze that continues to fascinate audiences across the world.

The show helped launch the careers of over 50 majors stars including Frank Sinatra.

Long-time producer and show veteran Albert Fisher launched the website in 2005 to help promote and sell an archival DVD of the show, but the site has become a place where many of the 1 million of the show's former performers can obtain a copy of their lost 15 minutes of fame, which is provided on VHS at no profit as a service to the OAH community.

But the site also showcases some rare TV and radio memorabilia.

Check out the site for some memories: www.OriginalAmateurHour.com

News: The Apprentice WILL return to NBC

NEW INFORMTION:

Granting a reprieve from near cancellation, NBC has decided to renew Donald Trump's reality show "The Apprentice" for a seventh season - and eighth season, at least.

In mid-May, "The Apprentice" did not appear on NBC's 2007-2008 primetime roster but after NBC hired Ben Silverman, talks between the network, Trump and executive producer Mark Burnett resumed.

The new season will feature celebrity contestants and the list of who will participate has not been released yet. Instead of getting hired by The Donald for one of his real estate enterprises, the celebrities will raise money for various charities. In addition, Trump's children, Donald Jr. and Ivanka, will appear in several episodes as boardroom advisers.

Trump and NBC also have a partnership involving the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants as both were renewed last March through 2010.

From the Mailbag: A Note from Terry Burhans

From: Terry Burhans, former WKYC Meteorologist - now in San Diego at XETV...

Q: Frank...Nice work on your "Where are They Now?" blog (If you missed the article I did on Terry recently, CLICK HERE)

Here is something to add to your update...I'm Brian Christie's sidekick on "The Boomer Show" on Wealth TV. Check out our site www.Boomershow.tv or you'll get a great High Definition clip at www.wealthtv.net.

Life here is huge! No Lake Effect. You mentioned Steve Brown...he's in San Antonio Tx. Our "Mr. Inside & Mr. Outside" promos were in High Definition and were memorable to me because we shot them in New York in Queens in a huge 80 foot ceiling sound stage...The tape recorder they used that day was the only one in America at the time that recorded High Def and it's speed was 30 inches per second...(30 1ps) We did three segments...

"Rain"...while Steve was safe and sound in the studio at the weather set I was chroma keyed on a pier on a huge body of water...presumably Lake Erie...with a humongous wave approaching..cut back to the studio ...more Steve safe and sound...cut back to Terry...being blasted with water from an off screen 20 gallon water cannon...we did 6 takes and I was soaked...cut back to Steve tossing to me..."Oh Terry...How's the Weather out there...Terry?"...cut back to pier and all you see is my sailors heavy weather yellow hat floating off the piercut to steve voice over..."Terry?...Oh Terry?".

"Wind" this one was my favorite...same edit set up...Steve...cut to Terry... cut to Steve... cut To Terry...But this on was about a huge wind storm event...Big enough to blow me completely off camera...sideways...of course...this concept was thanks to my mentor and possibly the funniest man ever on TV Ernie Kovacs... because we used one of his tricks to turn the camera 90 degrees and instead of falling down as gravity tends to make us do...I fell off the right side of the screen with a scream...Big yucks here...

"Snow" was a kick too...we even brought an authentic Cleveland no parking Snow sign and used it in the studio...it looked just like an 8 to 10 inch storm in downtown...The shoot was all done in one day...I stayed over night in a great hotel on Park Avenue and remember it like it was yesterday.

News: NBC Testing Effects of Fast Forwarding Commercials

Thanks to my WKYC directing colleague, Matt Babb, for tipping me off to this one...

Those of us who have Tivo or other DVR's know how nice it is to skip over the commercials in the shows we record. But, NBC is trying to figure out a way to keep our attention as those spots go zipping by.

According to an article in the New York Times, NBC's research department is trying to convince advertisers viewers are just as engaged while watching fast-forwarded commercials as they are when watching live TV. NBC-commissioned a study by Innerscope to measure biometrics such as heart rate, eye movement and breathing patterns. Viewers who watched the first 20 seconds of live ads scored an "engagement" score of 66 while those watching the same ads in Fast Forward scored a 68.

It's fascinating reading... Read the entire article. CLICK HERE

News: Congratulations to Jennifer Murphy

Congrats to Jennifer and her husband Joe on the birth of their daughter, Julia Rose, who was born just after 9 am this morning.

Julia weighed in at 7 pounds 10 ounces and is 20 inches long.

Mom and baby are both doing well.

Jennifer and her husband also have two sons. Since Jen has become a mom, she now works part-time here at WKYC.

Send your emails to Jennifier at: jennifermurphy@wkyc.com

News: WKYC to Air NBC's "Live Earth" Concert

NBC's big Live Earth concert is scheduled for this Saturday...7/7/07...and will be shown around the world in 8 cities on all 7 continents. 100 different musical acts will perform including Madonna, Sting, Spinal Tap, Smashing Pumpkins, The Police, Dave Matthews & Genesis.

Cities hosting the event include Rutherford NJ, Sydney, London, Tokyo, Johannesburg, Shanghai, Hamburg and Rio de Janeiro.

As for NBC, it will carry the event on a slight delay (in case of profanity) from 8-11p on WKYC, and on Bravo, CNBC, Sundance, Telemundo, mun2 and Universal HD.

Other coverage includes:

*Bravo - 18 hours starting Saturday morning at 8 am until 2 am Sunday Morning.

*Sundance and Universal HD - 22 hours beginning with Sydney's concert at 4 am ET and concluding at 2 am Sunday morning.

*Telemundo picks up the action at 7p.

*mun2 begins at 5p.

News: Plasma TV "Sells" for only $4.88 at Walmart

Thought you might find this article a tad funny after finding it on the newswires...

Wal-Mart is known for dropping its prices. But one Monroe, Louisiana, man took it upon himself to drop the price of a plasma TV to $4.88.

Police arrested Chandon Simms Tuesday on a charge of felony theft. Police say Simms carried a 42-inch Sanyo Plasma TV to a self-checkout aisle after switching the original price tag of $984 with one for only $4.88.

Wal-Mart Loss Prevention officers saw Simms' pull the switch-a-roo and called police.

News: Political Ad Spending Already Underway

With about 16 months left until the presidential election, Nielsen has reported the broadcast airwaves and online buzz are heating up.

Republican candidate Mitt Romney has placed more local television ads than all the other candidates combined at 4,549 as of June 10. Local TV ad spending started early this time, too, as Republican Duncan Hunter was the first to run a TV spot, starting 625 days before the November 4, 2008 election.

For the Democrats, Governor Bill Richardson has run the most TV ads at 2,232 spots in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Radio has seen some action, as Republican Rudolph Giuliani has placed 642 spots in many major markets with emphasis in Kansas City, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Providence.

According to Nielsen BuzzMetrics, Democrats have owned the online world so far with a 64.3% buzz share compared to the Republicans at 35.7%. And, without running any online ads, Senator Barack Obama has a 2 to 1 lead with online buzz volume through blogs and discussion at 45.5% share compared to his next nearest competitor Senator Hillary Clinton at 32% share. Republican Senator John McCain leads his party with the most online buzz at 37.9% share.

Read more of the study...CLICK HERE

Courtesy: Nielsen

Web: Television Tunes

Want to re-live some great TV memories with shows like "Hogan's Heroes," "Happy Days," "Gilligan Island," "Home Improvement," and hundreds more?

Check out this website I found called Television Tunes.

There is a huge archive of over 750 TV theme songs, all indexed alphabetically in the MP3 format which you can download to your computer.

Be warned, it's addictive!

Get to Know Team 3 - John Anderson

This time, we sat down with morning news anchor John Anderson and asked him some questions about his daily duties at WKYC and a few personal things he cared to share. John also has started a blog called "Pan Ohio Hope Riding."

Q: What was your first job anchoring the news?

John: My first TV job was actually in high school. We had a cable TV station inside my high school in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. I hosted a weekly show called Park Sports. I interviewed coaches of our high school teams. My first paying job was weekend sports anchor in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. I was hired when I was a junior in college. It was a lucky break that came my way.

Q: What time do you have to get up in the morning to be at the station?

John: I actually wake up at different times. On the days my wife works, I sleep earlier and get up by 5pm to be with the kids. Other days, I sleep until 8pm so that I can see the kids before bedtime and read stories. The schedule is different almost everyday of the week, but it's good to be different.

Q: What's your secret for looking so wide awake at 5:01 AM?

John: The only secret I have for being so wide awake at 5 in the morning is I love my job. I love coming into work and helping put the show together and then telling stories. Ever since I was a kid, I enjoyed telling stories, and that's what anchoring is all about. When you love your job, it sure makes it easier to go to work.

Q: What's the most difficult story you've ever had to report on?

John: There have been several, but the one that comes to mind right away is a tornado that hit Spencer, South Dakota. Spencer was a small town, about 12 blocks wide, and 11 blocks were wiped out. I remember meeting one of the survivors, who just happened to look out the window and witness one of her neighbors being killed by the tornado. She was one of the strongest people I've ever met, and my heart just went out to her when I heard this terrible story. But to show you the strength of some small towns and the people who live there, one thing left standing was the Little League Baseball Field. The next night, there was a game on that field. The residents told me that there was no way the tornado was going to take baseball from them.

Q: You love doing the morning sports report, would you rather be a sports anchor?

John: I actually was a sports anchor for the first seven years of my career. I love sports, have a real passion for them, but I enjoy the job I'm doing. Plus, the morning show gives me a chance to put together the sports for the show. I love talking sports with the viewers, as Cleveland is so passionate about their teams. I also love putting together my special "Look at This" segment during the 6am half hour. It gives me a chance to show the fun, weird, wacky, you name it, that sports has to offer.

Q: What's your favorite sport or team?

John: Favorite sport has always been hockey, no surprise growing up in Minnesota. As a kid, I followed the Minnesota North Stars every move. I feel I have something in common with Browns fans - I was crushed when my beloved Minnesota North Stars picked up and moved to Dallas. I still remember that day when the announcement was made. So now I cheer for the Minnesota Wild, and the soon to be Lake Erie Monsters!

Q: You and your wife both work, who takes care of the kids?

John: That's easy - we work opposite shifts, so we take care of the kids. Our schedules actually work out, and we can have long weekends together.

Q: What's your favorite type of car?

John: My favorite car would be a NASCAR. I have the need for speed, although I would never drive that fast! I went to see a NASCAR race in Michigan - TV can't capture the speed or the sound of racing.

Q: What do you like to read?

John: Honestly with two almost-three year olds, the only reading I do at home is stories like Brown Bear, Bears on Wheels, and Sesame Street.

Q: Where will you be headed for summer vacation this year?

John: Most of my vacation time will be on the bike. I just got back from Lake Tahoe, where I did a 100 mile bike ride around the lake for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. It was very exciting - our Northern Ohio team raised a personal best $390,000! Later this summer, I will be riding 300 miles from Cleveland to Cincinnati for the American Cancer Society, and then another 100 mile ride for the Leukemia Society in Maryland in the fall. Otherwise I'll be busy training in the wonderful Metroparks in the Cleveland area.

To reach John, you can email him at: joanderson@wkyc.com

DVR Alert: "Lake Erie: Beyond the Surface"

Channel 3 aired a very special program this last Saturday Night at 7 pm called "Lake Erie: Beyond the Surface" hosted by WKYC Chief Meteorologist Mark Nolan.

If case you missed the show, you can watch it right now on-line. Just click on the segment number and enjoy:

Segment #1
Segment #2
Segment #3
Segment #4

What makes this program special is that is will be the first non-news or sports programs we are doing in true HD - from the shooting to the editing and the broadcasting - all done in high definition from start to finish.

This is part of our commitment to make our viewers more aware of High Definition broadcasting - and in particular - that we are getting close to the analog TV stations signing off on February 17, 2009.

Media outlets, like ours, will be helping to further educate the public - and this is certainly one way we can do our part while bringing viewers some interesting and informative, original programming about one of our greatest natural resources, Lake Erie.

Look for more of these programs in the coming months. For more information on the show, Click Here.

Director's Alert: Channel 3 Gets Most Emmy Nominations for 2006

The Emmy nominations were announced last night and WKYC earned 22 nominations for work done in 2006 - more than any other Cleveland station. The Emmy Awards ceremony will be held in September. Congratulations to all my WKYC colleagues. For the complete NATAS list, Click Here.

2006 WKYC Emmy Nomination List

Oustanding Daily Newscast Markets 1-20
Channel 3 News at 11PM - Rita Andolsen, Romona Robinson, Dan Stadler, Frank Macek, Mike McCormick

Outstanding Morning or Daytime Newscast Markets 1-20
Channel 3 News Today - David Grendzynski

Spot News
"Underpass Rescue" - Paul Thomas

Live/Breaking News
"Lake County Floods" - David Grendzynski

Service News Story - Series
"Hey, Carl Monday!" - Carl Monday
"Workplace Danger" - Carl Monday

News Report - Hard News
"Predator Detective" - Jennifer Murphy

News Report - Soft News
"Gator Man" - David Grendzynski

News Series - Hard News
"Library Crime" - Carl Monday, Mike Leonard, Bill Safos, Brandi Paulson

News Series - Soft News
"Deputy Midge" - Michael O'Mara
"Marky" - Vic Gideon

Crafts: Journalistic Enterprise
"Carl Monday - Cleveland's Investigative Reporter" - Carl Monday

Crafts: Anchor - News
"Lake County Flooding" - Kim Wheeler

Crafts: On Camera Talent - News
"Carl Monday - On Camera" - Carl Monday

Crafts: Director - Non - News
"Cleveland Indians Baseball"- Patrick J. Murray
"Race for the Cure" - Matthew Babb

Crafts: Editor - News
"Paulson Composite" - Brandi Paulson

Crafts: Writer - Non- News
"2006 Writing Composite" - Mac Mahafee

Special Programs
"Medical Miracles" - Dean Cummings

Sports Programs - Regularly Scheduled
"Cleveland Indians Baseball" - Patrick J. Murray, Steve Warren

Station Promotion - Single Spot
"Hey, AM" - Monique Jackson, Steve Pullen

On-Air Station Promotion - Station Created News Topicals
"Mommy Inc." - Stacy Yacobozzi, Monique Jackson


*Additional WKYC & Partner Organization Emmy Nominations

Sports Programs - Specials
"Showdown at the Shoe" - Joseph Ranyak, SportsTime Ohio

Public Affairs Programs - Specials
"Making The Grade: Helping Our Kids Achieve" - Dennis Goulden, Gregory T. Hickey, DBG Communications, Inc.

Interview Discussion Programs - Shows Scheduled Weekly or Less Often
"Holiday Memories" - Armond Budish, Stephanie Keough, Maria Trivisonno, Elder Productions, LLC.

From the Mailbag: Sync Issues with Good Company

From: Bruce in Canton

Q: Frank, enjoy your blog. Even though I don't work in tv, I've always found the business interesting... My actual question was this: When the sound is out of sync like it was today (Monday) on Good Company, is this an issue happening at the station, or is it the fault of our cable company (Massillon Cable)? Just always wondered when this happens whose fault it is. Thanks, and keep up the good work!

A: Keeping audio and video in sync with HD is a bit challenging when are you still working in an analog AND digital world right now. I know in the past, we have had some issues with this - but not aware of any recently. Sometimes the cable companies will have their own sync issues in the chain from when they get the signal digitally from us and rebroadcast it on their analog systems. So, it's possible their calibration is off somewhat. But, I'll keep an eye out for this.

From the Mailbag: Rick Jackson

Rick Jackson, a former WKYC staffer, who is seen nightly now on WVIZ and WCPN Radio sent us a nice e-note regarding his appearance in the "Turn to 3 Promos" we have been featuring on the blog.

Rick writes, "Wow - 22 years go by fast...thanks for the 'hairy' memories."

If you haven't seen the promo with him and Tom Beres from circa 1985, CLICK HERE. Other WKYC promos are listed under our video highlights section with many more coming soon!

News: NBC To Premiere New Game Show

Game shows where contestants have to remember lyrics to songs seems to be the latest fad in prime time programming, at least starting in July on Fox and NBC. Seems like everyone wants to be star now...so the networks are giving folks the chance...at least temporarily to see how the audience responds.

NBC's new show will be called the "The Singing Bee" which is scheduled to debut on July 10 at 9:30 pm. Update: Former NSYNC member and finalist on "Dancing with the Stars" Joey Fatone has just been named host of the show being produced by Gurin Company and Juma Entertainment.

The show was originally scheduled to debut this Fall...but was moved up on the schedule to beat Fox's "Don't Forget the Lyrics" which debuts on July 11th.

All I can say, is "Name That Tune" baby!

News: Gannett Investing in 4info

USA Today publisher & local TV station group owner, Gannett Co. (parent of WKYC) is leading a $10 million investment in mobile search, publishing and advertising firm 4info.

The company uses SMS/text messaging technology to create interactive applications, news alerts, weather updates and stock quotes.

Check out their website at: 4info

News: HD Channel Target Goals for 2007

Various companies have announced their target goals for HD Channels by the end of 2007.

These include:

DirectTV - 100 HD Channels
Cox Communications - 50 HD Channels
Cablevision - 500 HD Channels (including 15 HD from sister company Voom)
AT&T Homezone - 30 National HD Channels (Plus local channels)

News: Favorite Sporting Events to Watch in High Def

Studies show that sports tv enthusiasts have been far and away the largest group of early adapters of HD television. According to a study called "Inside the Mind of the HD Sports Fan," the following events are the top 10 sports program people want to watch in HDTV.

1. Super Bowl
2. College football bowl games
3. World Series
4. NBA Finals
5. NCAA College Basketball Tournament
6. Daytona 500
7. Olympics
8. The Masters
9. NHL Stanley Cup
10. World Cup

Courtesy: Consumer Electronic Association

Spotlight Article: Covering the Jessie Davis Story

Whether we like it or not, the Jessie Davis story has become THE local story of the year. Since I've been at WKYC, I have never seen a story covered quite like this in the past 13 years - other than on September 11th, 2001.

We've basically moved our main anchor team and a team of reporters to Stark County to cover every angle of this story including Tim White, Romona Robinson, Dave Summers, Maureen Kyle, Paul Thomas, Mike O'Mara & Kristin Anderson - along with a whole crew of engineers, technicians and on site producers.

Back at the station, we have a whole team here handling the planning of our coverage & our regular on-air operations. Today, we have been doing local updates every 30 minutes as crews searched a mound of freshly disturbed ground.

It's the biggest development so far.

Even though, we've been doing coverage since this story broke, we didn't quite expect today's developments. So, we had to do some quick planning & dispatch crews where we needed them.

I've included some pictures of our 6 PM coverage for those of you who read our blog from out of town.

Click on each picture to view them full screen.

Until this story is resolved, be sure to keep checking back with us on the blog for more behind the scenes stories.

Spotlight Article: How Commercials Get On the Air - Part 2

Last time, I discussed how the commercials you see on the air are physically made in the production phase. (If you missed part I, CLICK HERE). The second half of this series examines how the finished product gets put into our system and gets on the air. & into your homes.

In our tape room, we have an engineer whose job is to take the ready made commercials and get them into the playback commercial server. Commercials come to the station through a variety of means...by a physical tape, off a satellite, or downloaded over dedicated advertising networks.

From there, the commercials are "ingested" or downloaded into our playback system - it's a huge video server that not only handles commercials, but also records many of the syndicated programming you see on Channel 3 like "Entertainment Tonight," "Dr. Phil," & "Rachel Ray" since these shows are not done live and are delivered to the station usually off the satellite earlier in the day, or several days before they air.

Upstairs, we have a traffic department who are the schedulers of the commercials breaks. (In a broadcast environment, this traffic deparment is not associated with the traffic departments who handle roadway conditions).

Once the account executive places an order for a commercial to run, it must be computer scheduled. Advertisers will buy specific shows or certain time periods during which their commercials must run. Higher rated time periods command higher advertising rates. This all must be carefully handled to make sure the spots run properly. If not, the TV station could lose money - and possibly an advertiser.

Once the traffic department completes their play lists - a daily log of every commercial to air down to the second. This play list is sent electronically to our Master Control area where it is downloaded into the Playback Controller each day.

It becomes the Master Control Operator's duty to follow the commercial log to the second by electronically inserting the commercials where they belong at the appropriate times. Each show has its own time sheet of segment lengths. So, basically the entire broadcast day is charted out minute by minute.

Several commercials air in each break - as you well know. A show may call for 2 minutes worth of commercials. Each show has different break times and lengths. And commercials according to the available windows in each show. Commercials are generally :30 in length, but can be :04, :05, :10, :15 and in some unusual cases, a full minute (those are rare).

Once the break concludes, the Master Control operator will electronically switch back from the commercial server to the program server as the show resumes. During the newscasts, the Directors will give Master Control a cue to roll the breaks - the term we use at Channel 3 is "execute."

Now back to the old days, specifically when WKYC was located at East 6th in the old East Ohio Building - which is now rumored to become a hotel soon. Commercials were cued up manually - one at a time and played directly off huge 1" or 2" tape machines. Later on, those 1" tapes were dubbed on a format called MII (two). During the MII days, master control was run by an automation system, robotically controlled.

All the tapes were loaded in the machine for that broadcast day the night before. The computer would talk to two robots that would pull the tapes out of their home slots, insert them into the tape machines - the machines would cue up on the spot based on time code (a time system that used in broadcasting that tape machines can read). The commercials would play, the machines would eject the tapes, then the robots would return them to their holding locations. (See Picture)

Today, it's all server based. I think of it as a big old I-Pod, that runs through a play list. This is how the commercials are currently getting on the air - it's all played from a hard drive computer.

In the third part of the series, we'll take a look at how we are playing both SD and HD commercials back to back.

Your comments are welcome: fmacek@wkyc.com

News: WKYC Health Anchor Monica Robins Honored

Congratulations to Channel 3 Health Anchor Monica Robins - the first recipient of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure "Power of a Partner" Community Service Award.

Monica was honored with the award at a ceremony last week. <Click Here for Video>

The award is given to a corporation or individual for their unwavering and committed support to the Komen cause. Monica has been leading our fight against breast cancer at Channel 3 since we started our participation with the organization which is celebrating its 25th year anniversary.

It's an honor well deserved for Monica!

For more information on this year's Komen "Race for the Cure" that will take place on Saturday, September 15, 2007 at Mall B & C Downtown, you can call (216) 791-cure (2873) or visit http://race.komenneohio.org

Where Are They Now? - Marshall McPeek

We get asked on occasion, "Where in the world is Marshall McPeek?" - the easy answer is "not all that far away."

During the days of the Donna Terrell, Don Hammond & Mark Nolan morning show on WKYC, Marshall was the roving reporter who headed out every morning in search of interesting events, people & places to bring viewers as they started their days. And our viewers loved his witty sense of humor and boyish appearance.

But Marshall's real passion is meteorology.

After Marshall left Channel 3, he went to Channel 5 to polish up his weather skills, then landed at NBC 4/WCMH-TV in Columbus in January 2002 where he has been since working as the weekend morning meteorologist, co-anchor & reporter.

Marshall loves the weather so much, he has developed his own weather websites at: marshallmcpeek.com & mcweather.com

Prior to working in Cleveland, Marshall also worked as an anchor/reporter for WTOL-TV in Toledo, Ohio, and WSIL-TV in Harrisburg, Ill.

Marshall earned a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from Ohio University and a broadcast meteorology certificate from Mississippi State University. Marshall has been nominated for two Emmy awards and won several Ohio Associated Press awards.

Marshall grew up in Bucyrus, Ohio, where he landed his first broadcasting gig with WBCO-AM/WBCQ-FM (now WQEL) doing everything from news to disc jockey to live remotes at the Crawford County Fair.

Marshall is a big sushi fan, has a weakness for an enormous burrito and has been known to enjoy beverages served in stemware.

You can email Marshall at: mmcpeek@wcmh.com

Web Link: NBC Studio Pass

Want to get the latest on what's happening at NBC...both behinds the scenes and on the screens?

NBC Studio Pass is a great resource I use for all NBC programming including information about shows, the latest news and sports offerings, previews, highlights & more. You can browse through full episodes, 2 minute replays and web exclusive video.

Plus, it's the place where you can watch free episodes of various, current NBC shows like Friday Night Lights, Studio 60, Passions, Heroes & Medium.

To sign up for free access, go to NBC Studio Pass.

Spotlight Article: How to Buy a Flat Screen TV

Our blog gets a lot of questions about HDTV - and that's certainly one of the big subjects we like to touch upon. So we'll offer some basic suggestions to keep in mind as you look to super size your viewing pleasure, while hopefully taking advantage of sale prices and close out discounts to help you shuck our old analog TV for a shiny new HD one.

1) Always read any ad's fine print. Often times, stores will offer limited time frames for sale items, or a limited number of models you might want.

2) Make sure you ask about price guarantees. If you find your TV selling for less someplace else within 30 days, will the store refund the difference?

3) If you accept a no-payment, no interest offer, always be sure to pay for the set completely before the term expires. If not, you'll get charged interest dating back to the date you bought the TV. This catches consumers all the time. And usually the interest rates are very high.

4) Pay with a credit card. Some card companies will mediate if you have a dispute. Others will automatically double the manufacturer's warranty.

5) Be sure to skip the extended warranties. It's a rip off and quite expensive. In general, two year-old LCD and plasma TV's have been very reliable so far.

6) Go as big as your room and budget allows. Many times HDTV purchasers had wished they bought a bigger set once they got it home and watched their first few big events.

If you have further questions that I can help you with, feel free to drop me a note: fmacek@wkyc.com

News: Internet Protocol TV Grows

Worldwide sales of Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) set top boxes will soar to 7.9 million units in 2007, a growth of 111% since last year, according to a new study by Strategy Analytics. IPTV is television via the internet as opposed to over the air broadcasting, satellite or cable service.

The Asia-Pacific region will account for the bulk of the growth, amounting to 45% of the installed base, followed by Europe with 33% and the U.S. with 13%.

Worldwide DVR installations are expected to almost double from a penetration of 15% in 2006 to 29% by the end of 2007.

Courtesy: Strategy Analytics

Director's Alert: WJW being Sold by Fox

We have learned, thanks to a tip off from our partners at Ohio Media Watch and various friends at Channel 8...that WJW is being sold by Fox's parent company News Corp. This will create an interesting situation...will the station remain a Fox affiliate? will an existing market owner pick up the station as a duopoly? will the new company spend less money on the high tech gadgets? and why is Fox spending money revamping their news set currently under construction?

This will be an interesting story to follow. However, it does seem like Rupert Murdoch is looking to free up some money to buy the Wall Street Journal's Dow Jones assets, leading to his startup of the Fox Business Channel sometime this year to compete with Bloomberg and CNBC.

NEW INFORMATION: It is also interesting to note that after looking through the list of 35 O&O's, the only ones whose on air look were NOT converted to the new "FOX" look are the stations being sold. So it appears that this has been the plan for a while, since WJW has kept the old Fox look since day one of News Corporation ownership. It is also interesting to note that 4 of these markets are where Gannett (WKYC's parent company) & FOX have O&O's in the same market (Cleveland, Denver, St. Louis & Greensboro) - not that this necessarily means anything at the moment - but it's something to keep in the back of your mind as this unfolds.

Here is the partial press release from News Corp:
---------------
News Corporation Announces Plan to Sell Nine Television Stations

NEW YORK, NY, June 13, 2007 - News Corporation announced today that it plans to sell nine of its FOX network affiliated television stations. News Corporation has retained Allen & Company to advise it on potential transactions.

The stations include:
- WJW in Cleveland, OH
- KDVR in Denver, CO
- KTVI in St. Louis, MO
- WDAF in Kansas City, KS
- WITI in Milwaukee, WI
- KSTU in Salt Lake City, UT
- WBRC in Birmingham, AL
- WHBQ in Memphis, TN
- WGHP in Greensboro, NC

News Corporation has 35 owned-and-operated stations in the United States, making the Fox Television Stations (FTS) group among the largest in the nation. Following the planned sale of the nine stations, FTS will remain one of the nation's strongest and most successful station groups, with nine duopolies in major markets as well as single stations in eight mid to large sized markets.

Read more: http://www.newscorp.com

Get to Know Team 3 - Carole (Chandler) Sullivan

This "Get to Know Team 3 Feature" is with WKYC reporter Carole Sullivan who just returned to the station after leaving the morning show and moving to Michigan with her husband. Carole sat down with us to share some thoughts about her return:

Q: What have you been up to since you left Channel 3?

Carole: Packing and Unpacking. Last May, I moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan to be with my husband who was coaching at Western Michigan University. Then, when the "coaching rotation" time came (the off season time when coaches leave and take other jobs), we learned we had a chance to return to Cleveland. So we moved back this past March. But October was our most welcomed change. Baby Patrick Sullivan arrived, looking as Irish as his name. He's a little love and it's fun to experience why parents gush about their own kids. What a trip!

Q: Was it a tough decision to come back to Cleveland after moving to Michigan?

Carole: The only tough part was saying goodbye to new friends in Michigan, but we couldn't wait to return. Cleveland is home.

Q: Would you still prefer getting up early (like you did when anchoring the morning show) or do you prefer working the day shift?

Carole: The Morning Show. I love absolutely everything about it, except the hours. The people. The show format. The audience. But it's a marathon of a job. Dayside, it's a sprint to get items on the air. Then, you go home. You relax with the rest of the living. The morning show is a marathon, in that, everyday your stamina is challenged. You leave work and your entire life revolves around the fact that you work on during those early morning hours. Everything is affected. Family time, personal time. When will you sleep? Every decision is based on how it will effect your ability to be "fresh" for work. Much of that can be positive, because your days are finished when others are working, but it's a balancing act. I like to think I did a decent job finding that balance, but it is something you work at everyday of the week. FYI - Morning Show people arrive at 3am and leave at 11am which means waking up @ 1:30am. Some work 10pm-7am. Some 1am-9am. Not complaining just stating for those who aren't familiar.

Q: How has having Patrick changed your life?

Carole: I smile more, which I didn't think was possible. Family life just opens you up to a variety of new emotions and perspectives. Oh! Getting ready to go anywhere is a total crap shoot. Be kind if you see me out and I'm a mess. Hey! I'm just glad I made it out!! :) Which brings me to this... How do you moms of multiples do it? I have gained more respect for the "art" of parenting.

Q: Does your husband Mike think we have a better Browns teams this year?

Carole: This is going to be an exciting season. There has been no "off season" in Berea. The coaches and players are working so hard to make things happen this year. I think the fans will be energized watching this new offense by Coach Chudzinski and the hard work of Coach Crennel and his staff. We all know Cleveland deserves it. It would have been nice if we had an easier schedule... But right out of the gates we are playing hard ball! All good things to come!

Q: Who do you like to watch anchor the national news (on network or cable)?

Carole: Matt Lauer - Today Show; Brian Williams - Nightly News; Sheppard Smith - Fox News; Neil Cavuto - Biz News on Fox; Meredith Vieria - Today Show. I wish there was a stronger female showing in my list, but it is what it is.

Q: What do we find in your CD player in the car?

Carole: Gwen Stefani, Green Day, Dean Martin, "How to learn Spanish" - played a handful of times and no longer than 2 minutes. Just painful. But get in my car and you'll likely hear Sirius Satellite radio.

Q: What's your favorite local watering hole?

Carole: The Barking Spider ( http://www.blogger.com/www.barkingspidertavern.com ) on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Nestled behind the Arabica Coffee house at Case Western, it is always a terrific experience. Local musicians play. The windows to this cabin like place are wide open and you can sit outside on the benches and enjoy tap beer in a plastic cup. Not the tastiest way to have beer, but the atmosphere can be so tremendous. I also think everyone should experience the Slovenian Country House ( http://www.blogger.com/www.sterlescountryhouse.com ) on polka night. The old fashioned bar is nice and the show of older Clevelanders enjoying a nice polka makes you believe long term love and laughter is possible. But my favorite watering hole is at home with Mike.

Q: What's your favorite TV show?

Carole: Network TV: The Office; Cable TV: The Hills & Runs House; Yes, MTV - total guilty pleasure and completely ridiculous for someone my age. But there are more of "us" out there watching than you would believe.

Q: What's your favorite tourist attraction in Northeast Ohio to visit with the family?

Carole: You know, I just got this family within the past 2 years. So family trips around Ohio haven't kicked in, yet. I'm going to guess Cedar Point on a day when hardly anyone is there must be the absolute best! Patrick is too short right now, but not for long.

Feel free to email Carole: csullivan@wkyc.com

News: First Look at Digital Converter Boxes

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has introduced two digital converter boxes that will be used to convert analog to digital signals once we get to the February 2009 cut-off date.

South Korea's manufacturer LG and Thompson (under the RCA brand) are the first two companies to introduce the converter prototypes.

Consumers will be able to apply for two $40 coupons each from the government to help pay for the cost of the boxes, expected to go on sale this January in the United States. Estimated costs currently range from between $50 and $70 per converter.

For more information on the transition to Digital TV, visit one of the following links:
www.dtv.gov
www.dtvanswers.com
www.nab.org

DVR Alert: Tonight Show to Air Live Commercial

In the early days of both radio and TV, commercials were always done live - and integrated into the show itself. TV execs have been toying with various ways to defeat DVR and Tivo zapping (the techie word for fast forwarding through breaks) since advertisers feel they aren't reaching their audiences and started moving ad dollars to other mediums, like the Internet.

During the days of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Ed McMahon did live commercials on a regular basis, with the last airing in 1995.

Well Tuesday Night 6/12, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is bringing back that tradition with a live commercial to be done by booth announcer John Melendez for the satellite navigation system Garmin International.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the spot will be played out right before the second regular commercial break during the show.

NBC is experimenting with the concept and, if successful, will likely be used in the future.

Director's Alert: WKYC Takes Top Honors At Ohio AP Awards

WKYC was named Outstanding News Operation in the Major Market Television category by the Ohio Associated Press Broadcasters for 2006. Winners of the group's annual contest were announced this afternoon at an awards luncheon at the Hilton Columbus.

Channel 3 also received a number of other awards including:

Best Continuing Coverage (First Place) - WKYC-TV, Cleveland, "Summer Flood of '06"

Best Enterprise Reporting (2nd Place) - Bill Safos, WKYC-TV, Cleveland, "Pig Farm Abuse"

Best Reporter (2nd Place) - Carl Monday, WKYC-TV, Cleveland (1st place went to New Channel 3 investigative reporter, Tom Meyer)

Also, our congratulations to some of our radio partners including WTAM in Cleveland and WAKR in Akron for their awards in the various radio categories.

Check out a list of all of this year's winners: Click Here

Looking For Historical Photos: WKYC, KYW & WNBK

I'm working on a little retrospective feature and am looking for pictures of anything WKYC, KYW, or WNBK... pictures of personalities, equipment, station events, etc. - past or present.

If you are willing to share your photos, please email them to me with the understanding that they may be used for our blog site. If you could also include a brief description of what they are, I would much appreciate it.

Those who contribute will get a nice little mention on the blog.

Thank you!

Email them to me at: fmacek@wkyc.com

News: Mobile TV Use Still Stagnant

A new study by Jupiter Research shows that early adoption rates of mobile TV and online video are pretty stagnant.

Most people are still comfortable with regular TV as a source for their video viewing.

Among the findings include:

*92.4% still prefer the boob tube
*6.4% watch video on their PCs
*0.3% watch it on their cellphones
*1.6% get video off their PDA, media players or game devices

These numbers should change as cellular services, mobile device makers and TV networks continue to push the product.

Read the original article that I wrote recently about mobile TV: CLICK HERE

Courtesy: Jupiter Research

News: Building Better Flatpanel TVs

As flatpanel TV prices continue to plummet, TV makers are searching for new strategies to build value into the low-margin category.

After dangling OLED (organic light-emitting diode) in front of journalists during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and its 2007 line show in February, Sony announced plans to bring an 11 inch model out this fall in what could be a transition to a more profitable flatpanel technology.

OLED promises higher contrast and better color saturation over LCD in a thinner form factor that doesn't require a backlight, although it's too early to tell whether the company can achieve the necessary manufacturing efficiencies to compete with other flatpanel technologies.

At the other end of the spectrum, Hitachi and Panasonic parent company Matsushita announced plans in May to supply each other with 85 inch and 103 inch plasma displays. Under the terms of the deal, Panasonic will provide Hitachi 103 inch plasma panels this year, and Hitachi will supply Panasonic with 85 inch plasma panels in 2008.

Other TV makers are putting on the glitz. In a recent article, Forbes noted that the LG Electronics 71 inch plasma, which listed for $70,000 in early 2006, took a freefall to its current $15,000 price. But the company added a little bling to bring in the luxury crowd. A 24-karat gold version of the 71 inch goes for $80,000.

Plasma panel shipments were down for the first time in first-quarter 2006, due largely to an increase in market share for LCD, according to market research firm DisplaySearch. Larger screen sizes should provide an uptick in plasma sales later in the year.

Larger screen sizes hold opportunity but risks remain for chasing the larger-screen LCD market. According to the report, the LCD TV market has grown by migrating users to larger screen sizes. Moving to larger screen sizes has been successful so far for LCD suppliers, but that "this strategy could generate challenges going forward."

Meanwhile, Toshiba and Canon each scrapped plans for a fourth-quarter launch of SED (Surface-Conduction Electron-Emitter Display) TVs, which the companies hoped would bring CRT quality to the flatpanel space-along with more attractive margins.

Canon cited precipitous price declines in the flatpanel market as the culprit and said more efficient production techniques would have to be designed and implemented in order to make SED competitive in the market.

Courtesy: Sound & Video Contractor

News: A Farewell to WKYC Cameraman Mike D'Amato

After 45 years of nearly continuous service, WKYC says farewell today to longtime photographer and studio cameraman Mike D'Amato.

Mike started in the business in 1960 and has a lifetime of memories from his time as cameraman on the Mike Douglas Show. Mike has put together THE largest collection of props & memorabilia from Douglas' days here at Ch 3 before the show moved to Philly. In fact, one whole room of Mike's house is dedicated to those days.

Lately, Mike has been working with Del Donahoo on his travels, running robotic cameras for our newscasts, shooting news video in the field and running studio cameras for Good Company.

Mike is probably better known in the community than many Cleveland on-air personalities. He has been a tireless advocate for the station since day one.

Mike has decided it's time to re-rack focus onto a diferent part of life - his retirement. Enjoy it Mike. We'll miss you!

From the Mailbag: How's Tom Haley?

From: Dick in Dover-New Philadelphia

Q: Frank, I'm a periodic visitor to your blog and enjoy it very much. I'm glad Carol Sullivan is back. She's got spunk. Anyways, I grew up in Lakewood and hung around with a couple of the Haley girls and other pals on Woodford Ave. We always had to be quiet so as not to wake up "Mr. Haley," who had to get up very early, drive downtown and unlock Channel 3. I've lost touch with the family, so perhaps you could answer my question: How is Tom Haley?

A: I asked an old friend of ours, Del Donahoo, to help us on this one...and here's what I found out from him:

As far as I know Tom is doing OK...he lives in the Lakewood apartment that has been his home "forever". I don't see him often but we do visit by phone. He does some church work, hikes in Metro Park and spends time with his daughters. And, of course, he is still a golfer. That's about all I know. I'm sure he would be pleased to know that people still miss him.

Editor's Note: For those of you too young to remember Tom Haley, he was a fixture on the Cleveland airwaves from his radio years at the original WTAM to co-host of "Today in Cleveland." He retired from WKYC in 1997.

Tom was most recently in the WKYC studios visiting during Del's retirement party earlier this year.

Send me your emails to: fmacek@wkyc.com

News: DVDs for Troops

This is an item that I came across this afternoon. It's something you can do if you are looking for a way to help entertain our troops in Iraq.

Operation DVD is collecting new and used DVDs to distribute overseas to U.S. Military troops.

The year old program has already collected more than 250,000 DVDs. However, their goal is to reach 1 million so that 200 titles can be in rotation at each base.

If you are interested in contributing either DVDs or in other ways, you can find more information on the Operation DVD website: www.operationdvd.us

Spotlight Article: How Commercials Get On the Air - Part I

One of the most important parts of a television station is the commercials. After all, the commercials are what pays for the programming you see on WKYC. Expenses for a TV station are quite high including salaries for staff, costs of buying syndicated programming, basic operating costs and other expenses that it takes to run any business.

But exactly what is the path that a commercial takes from conception to getting on the air? Let's explore the different aspects of advertising beginning this week in a multi-part series.

We have a highly seasoned sales force at WKYC that goes out into the community and actively solicits businesses to spend their advertising dollars with our TV station. Locally, this is a multi-million dollar industry which is not only sliced among the local TV stations, but also satellite and cable TV, newspapers, radio and other emerging technologies including the Internet. We are constanlty competing for advertising dollars on many different battlefronts all at once. And that pie is getting sliced into more pieces every year, especially with a fragile local economy where businesses have either been closing, moving out of town or reducing the amount of money they spend on advertising.

Advertising is as old as the broadcasting business itself. Sometimes, the businesses will seek us out because of specific programs we offer that match the viewers they are specifically targeting (called demographics). But, it is usually the other way around when you deal with businesses on a local level.

Once the client makes a "buy" with us, we must either receive their pre-recorded commercial or we must work with them to shoot & edit a new "spot" (the jargon for a commercial) using our in-house production facilities. While we don't do a lot of commercial shoots at WKYC, we have enough to keep us busy.

For those we must shoot, a script is first prepared & approved by an advertiser or an agency they hire specifically to handle their commercials. We then assign a photographer and producer to either head to a client's business location or to bring that client to the TV station where we can use our own facilities.

The footage is shot and must be edited. This includes adding graphics like phone numbers, sound effects that get your attention and other effects to make the commercial stand out among all the others.

This whole process can be done fairly quickly, as we have an editor who does nothing but edit commercials all day long. In the old days, this involved literally cutting pieces of film together to make the final product. Today, the video is all ingested onto a hard drive and edited using expensive digital editing software that can do really remarkable things.

Finally the spot is finished and the advertiser decides on a schedule with our traffic department. This will be a pre-determined agreement between WKYC and the advertiser of when their commercials will air. Commercial rates vary based on the time of day and by program. We can charge more for higher rated shows which is why the sweeps periods are so important in May and November. For example, our 2006 ratings helped WKYC bring in revenues in the mid- $40 million range last year.

Once the business end of the process is complete, the finished commerical must be put into our video playback server called "Louth" to get it on the air. This part of the process will be discussed next time here on the Director's Cut Blog.

News: NBC Replaces Entertainment Chief

NBC has made it official - Kevin Reilley, President/NBC Entertainment for the last three years has been axed after sagging primetime ratings led the network to re-think its management team.

Ben Silverman, founder/CEO of Reveille and veteran NBCU executive Marc Graboff have been named to serve as Co-Chairmen of NBC Entertainment and NBC Universal Television Studio.

In their new positions, Silverman and Graboff will jointly head all facets of the network's primetime, late-night and daytime programming as well as the digital offerings related to the entertainment division including NBC.com.

In addition, the duo will supervise the network and television studio's creative, marketing, business and financial areas.

News: WABC-TV Has Studio Fire

WABC-TV in New York City was knocked off the air last night after a fire damaged their main, high definition on-air studio. In addition to being use their local news studio, it also houses the "Live with Regis & Kelly" show.

Early reports that a studio light exploded and caught a curtain on fire have been ruled out since all the light bulbs were still intact. Officials now think an electrical outlet in the studio caught fire. The fire quickly spread and also did damage to the facility from both smoke & water damage.

This all occurred just prior to the beginning of their 11 pm newscast...which did not air. Most viewers saw either black or color bars for several hours before the station could resume any sort of programming around 2 am.

To read and watch video about the fire - ironically reported by former WKYC staffer (now WABC) early morning reporter/fill-in anchor Lisa Colagrassi, visit the WABC-TV website: Click Here.

News: Channel 3 Launches "WKYC Outdoors"

WKYC has launched another new, local website called "WKYC Outdoors" which features valuable information about fishing, boating, hunting, camping, & exploring as the summer season kicks into full gear.

You'll discover a weekly updated Fishing Forecast from Meteorologist Betsy Kling, a calendar of coming events and blogging with Big Daddy, Carl Bachtel.

Check it out: www.wkyc.com/outdoors

"WKYC Outdoors" joins the lineup of other WKYC websites including WKYC.com, AkronCantonNews and NorthCoastMoms.

News: New Sony Foldable TV Screen Debuts

Sony has debuted a foldable TV screen with an with an organic plasma display screen.

The panel is made of plastic film and can display video images. It has a 2 1/2 inch display and is .3 millimeters deep - paper thin.

The panel is thinner than liquid crystal or plasma displays and sony says it has better image quality. Sony also introduced a larger computer screen also with electroluminescent tv panel.

Sony hopes to produce an 11" foldable panel by the end of the year.

To view video of the new TV screen from WKYC.COM, Click Here

From the Mailbag: A Note from Virgil Dominic

I would like to share this special email I received today from a person I have always admired in the broadcasting business, Virgil Dominic. Mr. Dominic was an important part of the WKYC family as host of the "TV 3 Eleventh Hour Report."

He would later leave us and become General Manager of WJW, among other positions he has held during a very long and highly successful career in local television.

Without him knowing, I always had a high ambition to work under Mr. Dominic at WJW - though I never got a chance before he retired. Therefore, his comments about the Director's Cut Blog are especially important to me as I continue to grow it:
----
Hi, Frank....

I just discovered your Directors Cut blog and enjoy it very much. You are a fine writer, your material well organized and easy to understand. I find your blog is an enjoyable and informative way for those of us who used to be in Cleveland television to keep up with new developments in the industry and at your station which I have always respected since I used to anchor there when I first came to Cleveland many years ago. My congratulations to you and best wishes for continued success.

Thank you,
Virgil Dominic

Spotlight Article: Mobile TV - The Next Chapter in Broadcasting

First, there was black & white TV. Then we had color. Today it's HDTV. But tomorrow is already here with the advent of "Mobile TV" where you can watch TV wherever you go. The sky is the limit, literally. It's the natural next step for a generation who has grown up on instantly connecting to the world at any time.

One of the hot topics this year at the National Association of Broadcasters Convention (NAB) in Las Vegas was how to get the ball rolling on Mobile TV on a massive scale. Broadcasting companies like WKYC's parent company, Gannett, are already planning strategies for the inevitable. If broadcasters can agree on a distribution standard, the content is ready.

Mobile TV is more than just TV you will watch in our car...it's watching real time newscasts and entertainment programming on your cell phones, ipods, and other gadgets currently in the development & production stages.

Part of the plan being discussed is to use some of the TV spectrum being abandoned by broadcasters in 2009 as part of the transition to digital television. Telecommunication companies like Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile & AT&T are already forming partnerships with broadcasters to offer local content.

Most broadcasters want protection though - and for good reason. They want to be able to keep their local content for their local audiences. For example, WKYC - an NBC affiliate would not want someone in the Cleveland area receiving an NBC affiliates programming in Erie, PA. WKYC would want to be able to sell advertising to its own protected coverage area or DMA.

One idea being proposed is to have a device be configured to receive 2 or 3 local radio signals that will "unlock" it to receive only that area's local station's programming on mobile devices. Once you leave the area, your mobile device would the lock onto a new service area. The down side to this thinking would be in you went to Phoenix, you could no longer get Cleveland programming. So this is an area that broadcasters are still working out.

It's very likely that stations, like WKYC, will begin offering plenty of programming for your mobile devices within the next year or two...this could well include an outlet that allows you to receive our news broadcasts 24/7 on your mobile device.

It's a whole new day for local broadcasters with digital broadcasting. As we have said before, the days of the television "station" is over. Every local broadcaster will be offering content on multiple platforms that is out to attract your eyes.

I welcome your feedback on my article. Please email me at: fmacek@wkyc.com

News: End of May Sweeps

It's Over!

Wednesday was the last day of May sweeps. It's always a stressful month (along with November) because so much is riding on the numbers. Both periods are critical to determining how much a station can charge advertisers for their commercials.

For WKYC, things are looking good. Here are some of the highlights for Channel 3. These are based on the total amount of viewers who watched. The specific demographic breakdowns won't be out until June.

*WKYC is #2 at 5 AM & 6 AM (nice 25% increase over last book at 6 AM)
*Good Company beats out that other show on WJW at 10 AM...
*Midday News is up year to year
*WKYC is a strong #2 at 6 PM
*WKYC is #1 at 7 for News & #2 in timeslot
*WKYC is #1 at 11 PM (Despite a 21% decrease in NBC's Prime Time audience since Last May)
*Weekend AM is #1 and continues strong

We'll take a short breather and get ready for the less important July book.

Get To Know Team 3 - Betsy Kling

This month's "Get to Know Team 3" spotlight is on Weekend Meteorologist, Betsy Kling. You may not know this, but Betsy and Paul Thomas are married and both came to WKYC from WTLV/WJXX-TV (First Coast News) in Jacksonville, FL in March 2003. Let's find out a little more about Betsy, shall we?

Q: When did you first discover that Meteorology was your calling?

Betsy: I had heard that meteorology was an easy lab science (HA, HA, HA...joke was on me). It may not have been easy but it was certainly fascinating and I was hooked. Pretty funny turn of events for a girl who was terrified of storms and tornadoes (and I am still a little leery).

Q: What was your first job doing weather?

Betsy: I did the weather for our campus news at BGSU (BG24 News). From BG I went to Fort Wayne, Indiana for my first "real" job.

Q: What's your favorite season & why?

Betsy: I love autumn. It really isn't so much for the colors in the leaves or anything, but I like that dry, cool air.

Q: What is your favorite weather "Gadget" to play with Ch 3. Weather Plus Center?

Betsy: I love visible satellite imagery. I still can't believe that we get the detailed pictures that we do from 22,000 miles up. Visible satellite pictures come from cameras on those satellites and can only see the clouds during the day, as it uses the sunlight for illumination. The detailing is amazing. Infrared satellites are heat sensing, so there are times when you can miss some of the warmer (lower layer) clouds, but it can "see" cloud cover at night. Other than that I have a blast with our X-band doppler radar when storms are rumbling through.

Q: What other cities have you worked in?

Betsy: I started in quaint Fort Wayne, Indiana and moved to beautiful Jacksonville, Florida from there. I knew Cleveland was where I wanted to be, and when the opportunity to come home came up I jumped at the chance (my parents are thrilled!).

Q: What was the most memorable weather event you've covered?

Betsy: My first tornado warning. I was so unprepared. You want the story? Okay,...It was a warm and sunny 1997 weekend day in Fort Wayne, Indiana(fast forwarding...) So the first storm comes through and knocks out the power while I am in the shower. No problem...I'll just head to the station to get ready since there is a generator there. What I didn't realize is that a larger and more powerful storm was just starting to move in. I heard the tornado warning on the radio in my car. I ran into the station with wet hair, no make-up, wearing a t-shirt and shorts when an engineer came in with a microphone and told me I was going to be on the air in 1 minute. Ummmmmmm...WHAT! So, needless to say I ended up scaring the viewers more than the storms themselves. I got my feet under me after about 5 minutes, but it was a very bad way to start. Thankfully I am a little better at that stuff now.

Q: What is your favorite food?

Betsy: It isn't so much my favorite food as my favorite food places. Having grown up in Copley most of my favorites are down that way. I love Bob's Hamburgers in Akron (the BEST), Luigi's Pizza in Akron, Durbin's Magic Freeze chocolate-almond ice cream in Barberton, Strickland's strawberry ice cream (all over the place these days), Orange dreamcicle ice cream at Welch's in Norton, Skyline Chili (variety of places) ((4-way with beans and a skyliner - no onions)), my mom's spinach quiche, veggies of all sorts, hot dogs at Jacobs Field, strawberry shortcake, Szalay's corn (I liked it so much I actually worked there as a kid...corn on the cob every day for lunch), Lydia Esparra's beef tenderloin on the grill, and I have to say I make a pretty mean pasta salad in the summer.

Q: What do you do to relax when you are away from work?

Betsy: I picked up tennis last year and I am now become addicted to it. I play twice a week and am in a league right now. I also like to dig around in our garden, hang out with my family, play with the dog and do a little shopping every now and then.

Q: What's your favorite radio station?

Betsy: I typically listen to 102.1fm, but I'll tune in good old WKDD for a little faster pace and WTAM for news/weather/traffic/sports.

Q: If money were no object, what would be your ultimate 2 week vacation?

Betsy: Camping...although since money is no object I would do it in a sweet RV. I would probably head to Alaska and the Northern Rockies (Alaska I've done, the Rockies I haven't). And since money is no object I would make it longer than 2 weeks. ;)

Email Betsy at: bkling@wkyc.com

News: New NFL Video Rules

While we are discussing sports happenings today on the blog locally, let's take a look how the NFL has decided to handle the use of video shot by local stations - including ours, even as the "official home of the Cleveland Browns." Again, this is mandated by the NFL and not by the Browns themselves.

The NFL has issued a new set of rules that severely restricts media sites usage of video shot from NFL press conferences, interviews or practices. The rules stipulate a maximum of 45 seconds of video per day, no use of live footage, a 24-hour window for all content and that content must contain links back to NFL.com and official team sites. Additionally, the video footage cannot be sponsored, and no more than 45 seconds per day of team practice footage.

The good news, perhaps?

The NFL has set no limitations on the amount of talking head video a station uses, as long as that video does not also contain an interview or any press conference footage. As for online usage, the rules allow for up to 45 seconds per day of interviews or press conference footage of a single team, or no more than 90 seconds of multiple team footage. Again, no live footage is permitted, the video window is limited to 24 hours, and everything has to point back to NFL.com.

It seems like the NFL wants to continue restricting the media in order to take away a local stations right to freely cover events so that it may protect its own interests like the NFL Network and other NFL controlled entities. The NFL also recently attempted to ban local stations from shooting video from the sidelines as well.

Let us know your feelings about the rules: Email me at fmacek@wkyc.com

News: Former News Director "Lands" in Cleveland

Former WKYC News Director Dick Moore has made a stop this afternoon in Cleveland as part of his cross country trip that we have been telling you about. Dick landed at 4 PM at Burke Lakefront Airport and hussled to the Channel 3 studios before heading out for an evening of leisure and a little fun with former co-workers.

Here is a picture of me (left) and Dick (right) in the Channel 3 Newsroom this afternoon. Click on the picture for a full view.

You can continue to view his journey across the country on his blog: http://cmooreair.blogspot.com/

To read our original article - Click Here

Director's Alert: Tom Meyer Joins WKYC

Tom Meyer is joining the WKYC team as "Chief Investigative Reporter."

From this afternoon's press release:
-----------------------

CHANNEL 3 NEWS SIGNS INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER TOM MEYER TO LONG TERM CONTRACT

"Tom Meyer, one of Cleveland's most respected investigative reporters, will be joining the WKYC news family as Chief Investigative Reporter," announced WKYC President and General Manager Brooke Spectorsky. "Tom will join channel 3 starting in mid-October and on the air by mid-January" added Spectorsky. "For now, Tom is still under contract with WOIO, so Northeast Ohio viewers will need to be a bit patient before they can see him on Channel 3."

Read the full press release on WKYC.com, Click Here

Where Are They Now?: Terry Burhans

This month on the Director's Cut Blog, we have been busy tracking down former WKYC Meteorologist Terry Burhans for our monthly "Where Are They Now?" feature.

For those of you watching WKYC in the late 80s/early 90s, Terry was a colorful part of the Channel 3 Weather Team with Meteorologist Steve Brown branded as "Brown and Burhans." His humor and unique style made him one of Cleveland's most talked about personalities on the air at the time. Steve & Terry starred in the station's very first High Definition Video promotional spot.

Today, Terry calls San Diego home. He's currently forecasting at the Fox Affiliate, XETV Channel 6 handling the weekend duties for both the morning and evening broadcasts.

His 10 PM weekend weather reports have been a part of Fox 6 since 2000. Every Saturday & Sunday morning from 7 to 9 am, Terry also does the weather updates for their local show "Fox in The Morning." He reports live from locations around San Diego at interesting and memorable events.

Terry started his broadcast career in Baton Rouge while a Journalism student at Louisiana State University. While in the Army, he trained as a meteorologist. After graduating from LSU with a B.S. in Journalism in 1978, he was off to Chicago to broadcast for the NBC Owned and Operated station, WMAQ.

From there, Terry blew into Cleveland at WKYC. In 1992, San Diego called and he's been there ever since. His wife of 25 years and their 20 year old son live in Tierrasanta,CA. Also since 2000, Terry has taught in the Media Communications Department at Grossmont College.

If you would like to contact Terry, you can reach him at XETV, 8253 Ronson Road, San Diego, CA 92111.

To watch video clips of Terry, click on the video to watch. If you can't see the video below, CLICK HERE

News: Top 25 Television Moments

Our Gannett partner, USA Today, continues its 25th Anniversary celebration with Weekly Top 25 Lists. This week's list looks at the Top 25 Television Moments:

1. 9/11 coverage (2001)
2. Fox Network is launched (1986)
3. "The Oprah Winfrey Show" (1986)
4. "The Sopranos" (1999)
5. "NYPD Blue" (1993)
6. The OJ Trial (1994)
7. "The Simpsons" (1989)
8. "The Cosby Show" (1984)
9. "The Real World" (1992)
10. Johnny Carson's last show (1992)

Courtesy: USAToday.com

Director's Alert: Gannett Broadcast CEO to Retire

Roger Ogden, the man who helped change the face of television news, is retiring from the Gannett Co., owner of WKYC-TV.

Most recently, Ogden, 62, was the president and CEO of Gannett's broadcast division - a title he assumed in July 2005 after leaving his 9 year post as President and General Manager at KUSA in Denver.

Ogden, who drove two Denver news operations to the top of the TV ratings during a 22-year career, announced in McLean, Va., that he'll retire on July 2.

Locally, Ogden has been key in Channel 3's sucess...working tirelessly with WKYC Vice President and General Manager Brooke Spectorsky to get the station to where it is today. He was actively involved with representing the affiliates to NBC and helping jump start the first, all digital TV channel called "NBC Weather Plus."

Ogden joined KUSA-Channel 9 (then called KBTV) in 1967, and had a brief stay in Louisville, Ky., before returning in 1981 to become general manager at KCNC-Channel 4. Once again, he rejoined KUSA until his promotion in 2005.

In March 2006, he added the title of senior vice president of design, innovation and strategy at Gannett. Last year, he engineered Gannett's purchase of KTVD-Channel 20 in Denver.

In a Gannett press release, he said, "I've always said I'll know when it's time and that time has come."

News: NBC Announces Its Fall Lineup

To View NBC's Fall Preview: Click Here

---------

UPDATED: 7/17/07

MONDAY
8-9 p.m. "Chuck"
9-10 p.m. "Heroes"
10-11 p.m. "Journeymen"

TUESDAY
8-9:30 p.m. "The Biggest Loser"
9:30 pm-10 p.m. "The Singing Bee"
10-11 p.m. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"

WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. "Deal or No Deal"
9-10 p.m. "Bionic Woman"
10-11 p.m. "Life"

THURSDAY
8-8:30 p.m. "My Name Is Earl"
8:30-9 p.m. "30 Rock"
9-9:30 p.m. "The Office"
9:30-10 p.m. "Scrubs"
10-11 p.m. "ER"

FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. "1 vs 100"
9-10 p.m. "Las Vegas"
10-11 p.m. "Friday Night Lights"

SATURDAY
8-9 p.m. "Dateline NBC"
9-11 p.m. Drama Series Encores

SUNDAY (Fall 2007)
7-8 p.m. "Football Night in America"
8-11 p.m. "NBC Sunday Night Football"

SUNDAY (January 2008)
7-8 p.m. "Dateline NBC"
8-9 p.m. "Law & Order"
9-10 p.m. "Medium"
10-11 p.m. "Lipstick Jungle"

News: Lester Holt to Anchor "NBC Nightly News" Weekend Edition

Lester Holt will add anchor duties for "NBC Nightly News" on Saturday and Sunday evenings to his roster, effective immediately.

In addition, he will continue as co-anchor for the weekend editions of "Today" as well as a news correspondent and anchor sub for the weeknight "Nightly News," plus file stories for MSNBC.

Lester replaces John Seigenthaler whose contract was not renewed recently due to cost cutting moves by the network.

Also as we mentioned first on our blog, NBC recently launched the nation's first evening newscast in High Definition. Plus, they are in the process of building a brand new, state of the art studio to replace the one that Tom Brokaw and now Brian Williams have been using since 1999.

Brian mentioned last Friday Night before signing off for good from the studio that the set's background has been a looping one minute tape of the MSNBC Assignment Desk in New Jersey. You may have noticed the "hardest working guy" walking into the shot and leaning over once every minute in the background.

In the interim, "Nightly News" is being anchored from a temporary set that was used for its Election Coverage last year. The new studio should be ready to air later this year.

WKYC airs Nightly News every night at 6:30 PM.

News: 90% Of Kids Under 2 Watch Too Much TV

I love studies....since I'm more of a numbers crunching geek when it comes to ratings, statistics and such....So here is another one to ponder and this is rather startling:

According to another recent study by the University of Washington, nearly 90% of all U.S. kids who are under the age of 2 - and as many as 40% of babies under 3 months are regular watchers of TV including DVD's and videos.

The American Academy of Pediatrics estimates our kids watch 4 hours of TV every day. They go on to say that they recommend children under 2 not watch any at all. Older kids should watch no more than 2 hours a day of "quality" TV.

The study also finds 29% of parents believe baby-oriented TV and DVD programs offer educational benefits.

Courtesy: University of Washington

News: Former Ch 3 News Director Travelling The Country

A number of our readers are local TV folks, so this story is specifically for them...as it relates to former WKYC News Director Dick Moore. Dick was here before Mike McCormick and led Channel 3 to some of its highest news ratings ever.

Dick is currently flying across the country in a 2002 C172SP (N5296Z). It's a fuel-injected, single-engine, four-seat airplane that cruises at 115 knots (125 mph) . Dick is taking a break from his teaching duties in South Carolina to visit locations across the country, including a overnight stop in Cleveland coming soon.

While travelling, he is blogging about his experiences which I invite you to follow along with. It's a look at what life can be after TV. There is hope, folks! His blog is: http://cmooreair.blogspot.com/

Director's Alert: Carole (Chandler) Sullivan Returns to WKYC

Carole Sullivan has rejoined the Channel 3 team it was announced by acting News Director Rita Andolsen. For now, she will be working as a part-time reporter on the 6 p.m. newscasts on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Her first day back was Tuesday, May 15th.

Carole and her family recently returned to Cleveland and we are thrilled to have her back as part of our news team.

Prior to moving to Michigan to join her husband Mike Sullivan, Carole was co-anchor of "Channel 3 News Today" with John Anderson and Hollie Strano.

Her husband recently joined the Cleveland Browns organization which faciliated her return to the Channel 3 News family.

News: Top News Anchors

The three broadcast network news anchors - Charles Gibson of ABC News, Katie Couric of CBS News, and Brian Williams of NBC News - are known by over three-quarters of Americans, according to a new Gallup poll. Collectively, they are rating less positively by Republicans than Democrats.

Of the three anchors, Couric has the most negative rating.

Poll highlights include:

* 35% of Americans say they watch the nightly network news programs "every day" while another 16% say they watch several times each week. Only 19% say they never watch the evening news.
* 62% percent of Americans have positive opinion of Charles Gibson while 16% have a negative
opinion.
* Brian Williams' ratings are similar to Gibson's, with 59% of Americans rating him positively and
18% negatively.
* For Katie Couric, 51% rate her positively while 33% rated her negatively.

Read the entire analysis at: Click Here

Courtesy: Gallup Poll

News: On-line TV Viewing Increasing

Almost half of European viewers are now watching TV online according to a news study conducted by StrategyOne for Motorola.

The French are the most avid online viewers, with 59% turning to the web to watch shows, followed by Italians, Brits and Germans.

Some 57% of viewers said they want the ability to go online with their set-top box during a live TV broadcast to check sports statistics or shop for fashion show items while 35% said they want the ability to pause, fast forward or rewind live TV.

The reason this study is relevant to US Viewers is that we tend to follow behind the Europeans in how we adapt new technology, like both digital broadcasting and now on-line viewing.