Notes from the Newsroom: 9/30/09

By Frank Macek

Time for another edition of "Notes from the Newsroom" as your blogger shares some of thoughts on our little corner of local television.

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Congratulations to several WKYC staffers who take top honors in Cleveland Magazine's annual "Best of Cleveland" poll. This year's winners include Romona Robinson for best female anchor, Mark Nolan for best male anchor and Jim Donovan for best sports anchor in Cleveland. Also, SportsTime Ohio's Design Director Greg Goyla and his 80's cover band the "Spazmatics" were recognized for rocking 80's music like no other local group. They have even performed for former President George W. Bush. The "Best of Cleveland" party will be held on Friday, October 16th at 7 p.m. at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

WKYC.COM has launched a new project called "Tributes" that uses the power of wkyc.com to spread the word about the passing of our local residents through on-line obituaries. The service launched on Monday, September 28th, and offers an affordable option for families to share the life story on a loved one. You can leave notes of rememberances, upload photos of a loved one and view regular obituaries from participating funeral homes across northern Ohio. The site also offers a starting point for funeral pre-plannning and more information.  Please take a moment and check out the website at: http://wkyc.tributes.com

With health care reform and the spread of H1N1 in the news almost daily, WKYC is committing even more resources to both on our on-air and on-line medical coverage to keep our viewers informed on these important stories and developments. As a result, WKYC's Senior Health Correspondent Monica Robins will be devoting more time to leading our WKYC health coverage and anchoring our 7 p.m. broadcast with her co-host Eric Mansfield.  As a result, WKYC News Director Rita Andolsen has announced Maureen Kyle as the new anchor for "Channel 3 News at Noon" that started Monday.

Newspapers may have slowed, or perhaps even stopped, their financial descent after three years of plunging revenues, crumbling stock prices and heavy layoffs. The latest glimmer of hope came as the largest U.S. newspaper publisher Gannett, owner of WKYC-TV, announced that its third-quarter earnings will be substantially above analysts' forecasts. Although Gannett's revenue for the period fell slightly below analysts' projections, executives said newspaper advertising sales didn't fall as badly as they did in the first half of the year. Still, newspapers have yet to come up with a solution about what to do regarding the massive shift of readers and advertisers to the Internet. Gannett shares rose 18 percent Tuesday. Other newspaper and media stocks also climbed. On Wednesday, Gannett closed up again $12.51. (Source: The Associated Press)

News: Al Roker Visits The West Side Market Friday

CLEVELAND -- You see him every morning live on the Plaza in New York City. He is the NBC Today Show meteorologist.

Al Roker took the show on the road Friday and returned home to Cleveland.

Roker was live at the West Side Market and even took some time to talk with our own Mark Nolan and Hollie Strano.

You might remember the days when Al was a meteorologist for WKYC.

From the Mailbag: Mark Nolan on the Evening News

From: Sarah in Cleveland Heights

Q: Hey, glad to see Mark Nolan on the evening shift again. I miss seeing him every night...I never get to see him doing the morning news. It's WAY too early.

A: We loved having Mark fill in for Tim White the last couple of days. Romona and Mark looked great together. Watch out Tim!

You can email your questions to me: fmacek@wkyc.com

Director's Alert: New Morning Show Launched

WKYC launched our brand new morning show Thursday morning (11/8/07) at 5 AM.

Join new anchors Mark Nolan, Abby Ham, Meteorologist Hollie Strano, Barbara Gauthier and the whole morning team for a brand new start to your day.

All the news, weather, traffic and fun you can handle in the morning - check it out weekday mornings, starting at 5 AM.

VIDEO FEATURE:
To watch video of Mark & Abby's first day: CLICK HERE

Director's Alert: New Morning Team Named at WKYC

The Director's Cut has just learned that WKYC's Chief Meteorologist Mark Nolan has been named new anchor of Channel 3 News Today, replacing John Anderson who recently left for Philadelphia.

Also Abby Ham is joining WKYC from our Gannett sister station, WBIR in Knoxville, Tennessee to become Mark's new morning co-anchor.

Meteorologist Hollie Strano will continue her role as weekday morning weather anchor.

For the time being, weekend Meteorologist Betsy Kling replaces Mark on the Monday - Friday 6, 7, & 11 PM broadcasts. AJ Colby will handle weekends.

Pictured are Abby Ham (upper left), Mark Nolan (upper right) and Hollie Strano (lower left).


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More on Abby Ham:
Abby is originally from Atlanta, Georgia...graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in journalism and a minor in creative writing. She started her career as producer and anchor of a new newscast at WTAP, the NBC affiliate in Parkersburg, West Virginia. After a year, she was promoted to 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00 anchor and 11:00 producer. Most recently, Abby has been working on the morning news anchor desk at WBIR in Knoxville, Tennessee - with co-host Ben Senger. Abby is engaged to be married with a 2008 wedding planned in Knoxville.
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To read the official WKYC Press Release: CLICK HERE