Update and Apology

Omaha Update

When I didn’t hear from Frank Volpicella, KVUE TV (ABC) news director, I wondered why. I thought that I had emailed him June 18th asking about his station’s plans for covering The University of Texas at Austin at the College World Series. Mr. Volpicella always answers my email. I was on deadline, and I proceeded with my recent post “Who’s In Omaha”.

At that time, only the Austin American-Statesman, News 8, and KEYE TV (CBS) were there. KVUE , KXAN, and KTBC were noticeably absent. In that post I said, “NewsMcNabb got no response from #1 KVUE (ABC).” Well, that’s true, because Volpicella never got the email. It went to another “Frank” with a dead email address, and I never got an “Undeliverable” notice. When Volpicella read the post yesterday, he brought it to my attention.




So, I apologize to him and KVUE. The good-natured guy that he is, Volpicella did tell me what I surmised. “No, we haven’t traveled with the Horns this spring/summer,” he said. That does not mean that there is no coverage. TV stations always have access to regional feeds and video from other ABC or Belo stations. They do not have a physical presence. A live physical presence is almost always better.




As I expected KXAN TV (NBC) did send Roger Wallace, sports director when the Horns made it into the championship bracket against LSU.




KXAN had to act fast during a thunderstorm in Omaha Tuesday night (last night). A satellite shot was impossible because of the dangerous weather, so they attempted a broadband live shot inside the media room at Rosenblatt Stadium. It froze. Within seconds, sports reporter/anchor Leila Rahimi was on the set telling the audience what Roger had wanted to say.




It will all be over tonight. Now, I shall show my bias—Hook ‘Em!




© Jim McNabb, 2009