News McNabb

What Are They Thinking?

2012-01-06T23:36:00.004-06:00

Shawn Rutherford Gone From KXAN TV

“Shawn Rutherford is a team member of the 2010 Winner for Best Morning Newscast as voted by the Texas Associated Press Broadcasters”—The headline on his KXAN-TV page.

Further, Shawn Rutherford’s team tied for #1 for the 6 a.m. hour during the important November Nielsen sweeps.

Now, Shawn Rutherford is gone from KXAN-TV.

In a newsroom meeting Friday (January 6, 2012), management informed the staff that Rutherford was no longer with the TV station because of “business reasons.”

Business reasons: That could mean a lot of things. Rutherford’s contract was up for renewal at the station in a couple of months. So, “business reasons” could mean that Rutherford and the station could not agree on a new contract, if one was offered.

Business reasons could also be derived from research. KXAN retains Magid Consultants. If Rutherford didn’t score high enough in their research perhaps that is the reason he is gone. In years past Magid research was considered, but since “they ain’t from around here,” decision were not always made on what they said. After all, Rutherford had been on the air in Austin for close to 15 years. Austin is not a cookie-cutter market conforming to research norms.

Business reasons could mean that Rutherford, knowing his contract was ending, was ready to leave.

Shawn joined the KXAN News First Warning Weather Team in November, 1998 as weekend weather, but soon moved up to the morning broadcast.

Rutherford is also an innovator. He created for KXAN the one-of-a-kind, real-time lightning visual called “Live Strike”. Live Strike went away a few years ago because of conflicts with completion technology.

Even so, Rutherford is gone for business reasons.

His departure is the fourth prominent departure from KXAN News/Weather in recent months. Expert investigative reporter Nancy Wilson left of her own volition. Weekend morning anchor Catenya McHenry’s departure was sudden. Management offered to explain why to inquiring staff members one-on-one today. City reporter Reagan Hackleman recently decided to depart after taking time to breathe on vacation.

Now, Rutherford is gone. The morning show is in disarray. Traffic reporter, Debra Wynn, the wife of news director Michael Fabac, is off the air. Co-anchor Chris Willis is now their chief investigative reporter. Willis is an excellent investigative reporter, but is this his choosing? Co-anchor Sally Hernandez is back from maternity leave. She’s the stabilizer for now.

So, the station is down a permanent weekend anchor, weekend meteorologist, city hall reporter, and weekday morning reporter.

Other changes may be in the works. Why? Search me.

The station took back a piece of #1 in the mornings. They are #1 at 5 and 6 p.m. going into the February sweeps. The old saw, “If it ain’t broke, why fix it” comes to mind. Then, I’m reminded that KXAN-TV News has a long tradition of shooting itself in the foot.

I have to wonder if either the bean-counters or the consultants are in control. Whatever is the case, it is a worst-case scenario for KXAN.

Of course, all of these are “personnel matters”, and there could be no comment, but one has to wonder: What are they thinking?

Catenya McHenry Gone

2011-12-14T00:01:00.002-06:00

What are They Thinking?

According to Catenya McHenry’s Facebook page, she’s gone as the weekend morning anchor and everything else at KXAN TV (NBC).

“Well, everyone, I'm no longer at KXAN. My contract was terminated last week. It's so unfortunate, especially at this time of year, but I thank you all my friends and fans for making our show #1 this year. It's been amazing telling your stories and being a part of your lives. Thank you for what you've given me. Pray my family will be blessed in the future. Merry Christmas!!”

Frankly, I’m astounded. Ms. McHenry is a pro. She is smooth and concise in a live shot. She had a fun morning program. I don’t know who will be on the air in her place.

As a 40-plus year veteran of Austin broadcast news, I find it a sad, sad solution for these stations. No, I don’t know what precipitated the decision-making, and it’s impossible to find out at midnight. I do know that I recommended Ms. McHenry for hire.

Yes, I did post, “Damn TV news” in response to her post. TV news is like a predator that chews off its arm when caught in a trap.

After getting good, if not great, weekday ratings, the “suits” do something like this. In my opinion it was capricious and ill conceived.

It smacks of the same mentality KXAN had some years ago when they ran off or laid-off veteran staff members, people who know where to find stories and knew how to report them. It looks like the same kind of mentality found at today’s Austin American-Statesman.

Of course, these actions don’t just take place here in Austin/Central Texas. They are industry-wide.

The viewing, reading, consuming public is not well served by them.

How do I really feel?

Longhorns Online`

2011-11-30T08:26:00.002-06:00

Inferred in my last Longhorn Network Post (LHN) was the possibility that the programming would soon be available on the Internet. In a Wednesday, November 30, 2011 news release, that inference is now reality. I don't have time to edit and research it right now. So, here's the release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 30, 2011

Verizon FiOS and Longhorn Network Launch New Online Service Broadband Service Offers Live Streaming of University of Texas Sports Programming to FiOS TV Customers Nationwide

AUSTIN, Texas and NEW YORK – Verizon has launched a live online simulcast of the Longhorn Network – the 24/7 channel devoted to athletic programming and related activities at the University of Texas – and is making it available to Verizon FiOS TV customers across the country. Verizon FiOS is the first provider to launch the online broadband companion of the Longhorn Network.

FiOS TV customers who receive Longhorn Network as part of their video subscription service will be able to enjoy the network’s exclusive live events and content on their laptops or personal computers – at home or away – using any broadband connection. Using their Verizon Online user names and passwords, FiOS customers can access a live stream of the network online at either www.verizon.com/fiostvonline or LonghornNetwork.com.

“No question, Texas Longhorn fans are some of the most enthusiastic in college sports, and we’re providing another option to catch the latest developments on the field – anywhere, anytime,’’ said Terry Denson, vice president, global strategy for Verizon. “This enhancement builds on Verizon’s commitment to bring the best in sports and entertainment and overall video content to our customers.”

David Preschlack, executive vice president, Disney and ESPN Media Networks added, “With this launch, Verizon FiOS customers will be able to watch UT content from the convenience of their PC. It’s a great new way for students, alumni and UT fans everywhere to access Longhorn Network around-the-clock.”

Upcoming programming highlights include a robust slate of men’s and women’s basketball games, the nationally ranked women’s volleyball program, and content-rich studio and original programming such as “Longhorn Extra,” “Game Plan with Mack Brown,” “Texas All-Access,” as well as “Texas GameDay” and “Texas GameDay Final.” Verizon FiOS and Longhorn Network expect to extend online streaming to tablets and smartphones sometime next year.

This new content joins Verizon’s high-quality, online video entertainment, which the company has been delivering since 2005. FiOS also offers a broad collection of programming on TV, with more than 540 all-digital channels including more than 130 HD channels, and 30,000 monthly video-on-demand titles. FiOS also provides next-generation interactive services based on a long series of innovations, including Flex View and FiOS TV Online, which extend FiOS TV beyond the home to the Internet and a range of mobile devices; an advanced interactive media guide; free interactive applications like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and others; Media Manager, which allows customers to access on their TVs personal photos, music and videos from their computers; and more.

For the latest news, updates and information about FiOS TV, visit www.verizon.com/newscenter and http://www.verizon.com/athomeblog.

Consumers can obtain more information on the FiOS TV plans available in their area by visiting www.verizon.com/fiostv or calling 1-800-VERIZON (1-800-837-4966).

About Longhorn Network

ESPN has a 20-year agreement to own and operate a year-round, 24-hour network dedicated to the University of Texas in partnership with UT and IMG College. Longhorn Network will offer a variety of content, highlighted by more than 200 exclusive events annually from 20 sports, original series and studio shows, historical programming and academic and cultural happenings. Additionally, the LonghornNetwork.com broadband companion to the TV network will offer extensive content, particularly live games not carried on the linear TV network due to scheduling conflicts.

About Verizon

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, with more than 107 million total connections nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers in more than 150 countries, including all of the Fortune 500. A Dow 30 company with $106.6 billion in 2010 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 195,000. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

NewsMcNabb Investigates

2011-11-22T13:26:00.002-06:00

Which News Medium Really Does Investigative Journalism?

KXAN TV (NBC) proclaims in its promotional spots that it has the only investigative team in town. Anchor/reporter Chris Willis Monday (November 21, 2001), became the new leader of the news department investigative efforts.

That distinction did belong to Nanci Wilson, an award-winning investigative reporter who, along with Keith Elkins, formed the core of the investigative team at KEYE TV (CBS) years ago. Elkins now heads a lobby group advocating open government. Wilson came to KXAN in 2009, but left a few months ago after winning two Lone Star Chapter Emmy Awards for her investigative work.

Willis, who has been with KXAN since 1999, has strong investigative credentials. The station is making good use of his talents by taking him out from behind the morning and noon anchor desk.

“His experiences in the field and from behind the anchor desk have allowed Chris the opportunity to develop unmatched relationships with our audience and the newsmakers of Austin,” KXAN news director Michael Fabac said in a statement.

Is KXAN the only “investigative” news medium in the Austin market? Hmmmm.

Have you seen the teamwork of KVUE TV (ABC) and the Austin American-Statesman on a series of recent stories? Under the title, “Statesman Investigates”, Statesman reporter Tony Plohetski worked with KVUE on a series of stories appearing both on the air and in the paper about the City of Austin’s costly use of outside attorneys. Keli Rabon is now KVUE’s Chief Investigative Reporter.*

Rabon, who grew up in Schulenburg and attended Texas Lutheran University, lists multiple investigative awards in her relatively short career including a Murrow Award. She returns to Central Texas after two years in Mississippi and three years in Memphis, Tennessee. “The Defenders” is the moniker for KVUE’s investigative efforts.

Teaming with Plohetski at the newspaper is really a plus. It is sort of a shame taking Plohetski off of the streets for intensive investigative work when it seemed that every daily story he did was investigative.

Some news managers believe that every reporter on the staff is an investigative reporter. It’s redundant to say otherwise. If any reporter came to me with a cool idea, I would give that reporter the extra time and resources to develop it.

So, KXAN’s slogan is “In-Depth. Investigative”. KVUE calls its time the “Defenders”. KEYE’s Chris Coffey was the investigative reporter for KTBC-TV (Fox), but he does more general assignments reporting now. The Austin American-Statesman prints the slug “Statesman Investigates”.

So, does KXAN really have “Austin’s only dedicated investigative team.” You decide.

(*For the most part I’ve stopped trying to keep up with all the comings and goings of reporters in Austin news media. While the anchors at all the stations have been stable for years, it’s another story with the reporting staffs. Yes, over the years many reporters decided that Austin was their destination. Now, however, it seems like I see a new face every day, and Austin is a weigh station. Perhaps that’s a future post.)

I Want My LHN ...

2011-11-09T16:07:00.001-06:00

If You Can’t See It, You Don’t Miss it

It’s obvious. The Longhorn Network’s (LHN) reasoning is that the viewing public doesn’t know what it’s missing because they’ve never seen it. So, if the potential users/consumers/viewers in Austin and elsewhere could see it, they’d clamor for it. They’d raise holy hell with Time-Warner and other carriers to get it.

So, the LHN announced Wednesday, November 09, 2011, Longhorn Network for All-Access Weekend. Beginning Friday, November 11 at 9.a.m. CT and running through midnight Sunday, Nov. 13, a broadband simulcast of Longhorn Network will be available to fans nationwide as part of All-Access Weekend presented by Grande Communications and Verizon FiOS. During this time, fans with a broadband connection, regardless of their provider may access the network in real time.

Just go to www.LonghornNetwork.com.

Buried in the news release is a revealing sentence indicating that the LHN may be hatching a plan to circumvent cable providers while creating a cash flow from a subscription service. “Longhorn Network will be available online at LonghornNetwork.com, on tablets and on smartphones to fans with an affiliated video subscription in the near future.” No other details were offered.

For the coming weekend, however, the gateway opens for free. The news release reads:

“All-Access Weekend coincides with several high profile UT sporting events, including men’s and women’s basketball season tip offs and a Big 12 matchup of the school’s No. 8-ranked women’s volleyball team. Additionally, fans will see the network’s content-rich studio and original programming such as Longhorn Extra, re-airs of Game Plan with Mack Brown and Texas All-Access, as well as Texas GameDay’s pre-game women’s basketball show and exclusive pre- and post-game and halftime football shows.”

The focus of the all-access hype is mainly about the beginning of UT’s basketball season. While LHN only telecast two football games, several round-ball games are on the schedule. “We urge all Texas Basketball fans, and really college basketball fans in general, to call your cable provider and ask that they carry Longhorn Network,” said UT’s basketball coach Rick Barnes. “It should provide great insight into how hard our guys work, both on and off the court, and the pride they have in representing The University of Texas.”

Women’s head basketball coach Gail Goestenkors echoed Barnes plea for fans to call their programming providers saying, “Longhorn Network provides an in-depth view of our program that makes fans of the game feel like they're on our bench, in our practices and truly a part of our program.”

Here’s what to expect online this weekend:

Time (all times CT) - Show/Sport - Teams

Fri, Nov. 11

Noon & 5 p.m. - Game Plan with Mack Brown

6:30 p.m. - Texas GameDay - Stanford vs. Texas

7 p.m. - Women’s Basketball (Rebecca Lobo & Andrew Monaco) - Stanford vs. Texas

9 p.m. - Texas All-Access

10 p.m. - Longhorn Extra

Sat, Nov 12

9 a.m. - Texas GameDay - Texas vs. Missouri Halftime - Halftime Show - Texas vs. Missouri Immediately following game - Texas GameDay - Texas vs. Missouri

4 p.m. - Women’s Volleyball - Kansas State vs. Texas

8 p.m. - The Season: 2005 Texas Longhorns

Sun, Nov 13

5:30 p.m. - Longhorn Legends: Texas Basketball Roundtable

6 p.m. - Men’s Basketball (Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Followill, Samantha Steele) - Boston University vs. Texas

Longhorn Network women’s basketball

A half hour prior to tipoff of Stanford vs. Texas women’s basketball on Friday, Nov. 11, Texas GameDay will be aired live from the Frank Erwin Center to preview the matchup. Fran Harris, a senior on the undefeated 1986 UT national championship team, will host GameDay with analysts Jody Conradt, former UT women’s basketball coach, and Clarissa Davis, also from the undefeated 1986 UT national championship team. At 7 p.m., Andrew Monaco, team broadcaster for the San Antonio Spurs, will provide play-by-play commentary for the game alongside analyst Rebecca Lobo, women’s basketball analyst and reporter for ESPN.

Longhorn Network men’s basketball

A special edition of Longhorn Legends – a basketball roundtable featuring Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge, T.J. Ford, D.J. Augustin, Chris Mihm and coach Rick Barnes – will air Sunday, Nov. 13 at 5:30 p.m., just prior to the Boston University vs. Texas men’s basketball game. Former NBA coach and current ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy will call the game with Mark Followill and Samantha Steele reporting.

How much basketball will be on LHN? By the numbers:

• 12 men’s basketball games in 2011-12, beginning Sunday, Nov. 13 • 14 women’s basketball games in 2011-12, beginning Friday, Nov. 11 • 52 total hours of live UT basketball games on LHN • 9 Big 12 match-ups • 10 incoming freshman players (6 on men’s team, 4 on women’s team).

Meanwhile a University of Texas Exes LinkedIn forum still steams with scorching comments from fans unable to receive LHN from their programming provider. “Creating the LHN will prove to be a poor decision. I will not pay an incremental cost to see UT games on television. Good luck on that concept. Also, it's an embarrassment how it is resulting in the undoing/downgrading of the Big 12,” writes one.

“Frankly, as time goes by, I have come to the realization that while it would be nice to have LHN, I have survived without it for this long, I figure I can survive without it for the foreseeable future. There are plenty of other games on any given Saturday and a lot of them are far batter matchups,” writes another. “UT is making boatloads of cash off its football team without my help, the cost of going to a game is insane, especially if you want to take your family, and I don't see the need for any fan to jump through hoops in an effort to bring them even more revenue.”

The University of Texas teamed with ESPN creating the Longhorn Network. Reportedly, LHN wants to be on a basic tier, while cable providers are balking at both the cost per viewer and the location in the programming line-up.

Jim McNabb

Crying in the Parking Lot

2011-10-11T17:30:00.002-05:00

More Statesman Layoffs

The Austin American-Statesman experienced another round of layoffs today (Tuesday, October 11, 2011). Some 53 newspaper employees got pink slips when they arrived at work.

“We did restructure a few departments today but there were no newsroom changes in order to continue providing the same level of commitment to content for our readers,” said Jane Williams, American-Statesman publisher.

There was reportedly weeping in the newspaper’s parking lot as the former employees left the building.

This is third round of layoffs at Austin’s daily newspaper this year alone. Last June, a dozen top-notch staffers left the newsroom, taking with them years of experience, goodwill, talent, and knowledge of Austin and its history. Another 21 one workers accepted voluntary separation or retirement packages also.

Former editor Fred Zipp was another significant loss for the newspaper. After the second round, Zipp commented in an editorial: “We lost a heartbreaking amount of passion, intelligence and experience.”

Zipp, himself, left September 1st after 32 years of editing newspapers in Texas and Florida. “I felt my passion for the job wane,” Zipp said at the time. Debbie Hiott remains the “interim editor” at the American-Statesman.

The layoffs today may result in the consolidation of some jobs and perhaps make those who remain do more with less, but Williams says it will not affect the quality of reporting. Williams stressed that this is a “restructuring”, and the Statesman will be hiring to accomplish the tasks at hand and ahead in several departments.

“The Statesman is constantly evolving to meet the changing needs of our audience and advertisers. We adjust our staffing levels in various departments and functions to meet those needs on an ongoing basis. While we may be evaluating a restructure of specific positions throughout our organization, we continue to make strategic hires and invest in the community,” Williams said.

A Hate/Love Relationship

2011-09-22T16:21:00.002-05:00

Do You Trust the Media?

When I came home at the end of my first semester in undergraduate school and informed my mother that I had changed my major from business to Oral Communications/Radio and Television, she was mortified.

“Oh no,” she cried! “You don’t want to do that. You’ll work nights, weekends, and holidays. You won’t have any time for family.” She didn’t know or didn’t mention the bad habits one might pick up in “the business”, but she was right about all of her misgivings.

At least at the beginning, I did have to work nights, weekends, and holidays and some of the other stuff too. Over time, if you survive, you get better hours grow out of the bad stuff.

One thing, however, she didn’t know about. She didn’t know that being a journalist might mean people wouldn’t like you, wouldn’t trust you, and might even avoid you.

That’s the continuing findings of Gallup polls. “The majority of Americans still do not have confidence in the mass media to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly. The 44% of Americans who have a great deal or fair amount of trust, and the 55% who have little or no trust remain among the most negative views Gallup has measured,” reads a September 22, 2011 news release. These poll results remain consistently low, varying little over the past decade.

At least journalists are doing better than Congress!

I maintain that there is less bias and more fairness at the local level than there is in the national media, particularly the cable channels. It may be those polarizing cable channels that skew the results of the Gallup poll.

This assertion is also backed by an analysis released Thursday, September 21, 2011 by the respected Pew Research Center.

“The public’s impressions of the national media may be influenced more by their opinions of cable news outlets than their views of other news sources, such as network or local TV news, newspapers or internet news outlets,” the report says. “When asked what first comes to mind when they think of ‘news organizations,’ most name a cable news outlet, with CNN and Fox News receiving the most mentions by far.” Pew has been tracking perceptions of the media since 1985.

Pew and Gallup go hand-in-hand on the issue of whether there is bias in the media. “The majority of Americans (60%) also continue to perceive bias, with 47% saying the media are too liberal and 13% saying they are too conservative, on par with what Gallup found last year. The percentage of Americans who say the media are "just about right" edged up to 36% this year but remains in the range Gallup has found historically,” the Gallup release reads.

“Just about right.” Woooooo-Whooooooooo. We’re getting a little better.

But, beauty is in the eye of the beholder:

“Partisans continue to perceive the media very differently. Seventy-five percent of Republicans and conservatives say the media are too liberal. Democrats and liberals lean more toward saying the media are "just about right," at 57% and 42%, respectively. Moderates and independents diverge, however, with 50% of independents saying the media are too liberal, and 50% of moderates saying they are just about right.”

According to Pew, 66% of Americans still get most of their news from television. Consider, however, more and more Americans, 43%, are getting their news information online or from their mobile devices. To borrow the title of a book on journalism criticism published decades ago, this is “News from Nowhere.”

Google is sifting our stories according to our preferences. We get email news links from the media we choose. Now, Facebook is looking at getting into the news business, tailoring our news feeds to our preferences. (It’s annoying enough that Facebook is now parsing our friends into different categories, but that’s a different subject for another day.)

Dr. Frank Newport, Gallup’s editor in chief told me that his organization is working toward gathering data regarding our use of things like iPads. “The next challenge is conducting surveys using text and smart phones, but we are not quite there yet.”

(Prime sources for this story may be found at http://people-press.org and http://galllup.com under “Politics”. Both organizations released their findings September 22, 2011.)

Still Hacked Off

2011-09-10T11:18:00.003-05:00

Texas Exes

Hammer LHN

in Social Media

The Longhorn Network (LHN) is not a worry now. Football games have gone to “normal” channels, but the Longhorn nation is still fuming. Viewers can’t see the custom pregame shows offered by LHN.

A Texas Exes discussion group on LinkedIn continues to distill the discontent fomenting among the Longhorn faithful not just in Austin, but across the state.

“I can't believe UT kicked of the new network without getting carriers lined up. This is a joke,” writes one alumnus. “I have DirecTV. I've written and called. When calling no one even knows anything about the Longhorn Network.” According to published reports, Direct TV is not negotiating with the LHN until next year when their contract is up.”

“I am extremely disappointed with ESPN/LHN over the whole thing! I live in the Houston market and, due to a complete failure by ESPN/LHN to obtain distribution with Comcast, DirecTV and Dish Network, virtually all of Houston was "blacked out" for the UT/Rice game,” reads another post.

Other Houstonians agreed. “I think that ESPN and/or UT should have at a minimum made sure that they had the Texas market locked in at the time of launch. I am, I think understandably, shocked that Houston, the fourth largest city in the US and chock full of Texas Exes, was not "locked in" when LHN launched.”

The story is the same in North Texas. “We live in an area of Garland where you can only get Time Warner or AT&T Uverse. I've called AT&T (my provider) to ask and signed the online petition for Longhorn Network. It shocked and saddened me that the network wasn't secured ahead of time,” she writes. “It was very frustrating. I hope it’s resolved soon. I will happily change providers because the hassle will be worth it.”

And finally, from the Texas Exes: “It is very disappointing to see the university associated with something so poorly executed as the Longhorn Network. With all the hype leading up to it, and all the negative feelings it has caused with the other schools, there is no excuse for such a poor launch.”

It should be noted that several Texas Exes did have access to LHN through Verizon Fios or Grande Communications, and they love it. Further, those who don’t have it, want it.

Potential viewers who don’t have LHN were not impressed that the network this week announced nearly a score of nonconference basketball games beginning in November. Or maybe they didn’t know. The announcement was not featured by most media. (Details of the games are on the Longhorn Network’s web site, http://espn.go.com/longhornnetwork/.)

In all fairness, the Rice vs. UT game might not have been televised at all. Given Texas record and Rice’s stature, networks might have put their resources elsewhere. There was, however, the promise of seeing the opening game of the season, and that’s what has Texas Exes ticked.

Once again, the blame should not fall to the providers. ESPN and LHN want too much money and assurances that the LHN will be placed on a standard tier.

Moreover, the bigger issue is whether the creation of the Longhorn Network will indeed break up the Big 12.

Longhorn Network Makes a Deal

2011-09-02T17:50:00.002-05:00

One Deal Down

Yes, the Longhorn Network can be seen in Austin, but you might have to go to a bar or a friend's house.

ESPN and Grande Communications announce that the Longhorn Network (LHN) will be available to University of Texas fans across the state of Texas in time for the Rice vs. Texas game on Saturday, September 3, when the Owls take on the Longhorns from Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m. CT (with a re-air at midnight CT). Grande Communications serves the Austin, San Marcos, San Antonio, Midland/Odessa, Waco, Corpus Christi and Dallas markets.

“As a Texas based company, Grande understands the passion our customers have for Texas sports,” said Matt Murphy, President, Grande Communications. “We are pleased and very excited to make Longhorn Network available as part of our cable television offerings.”

Added David Preschlack, executive vice president, Disney and ESPN Media Networks, “Grande customers across the state of Texas will have access to more Longhorn content than ever before.”

Grande doesn’t extend far across Texas. There is still NO agreement with Austin’s biggest programming provider, Time Warner. Neither Direct TV nor Dish has signed up either.

The deal could put pressure on Time Warner, but it’s all about money.

Prior to Saturday’s kick-off, the two-hour Texas GameDay - the only pre-game show exclusively from inside the stadium - at 5 p.m. will give fans all the insights, analysis and excitement they’ve come to know from ESPN’s College GameDay pre-game show. Then, Longhorn fans will see the debut of Texas GameDay Final – a two-hour dedicated post-game show televised immediately after the game exclusively from the field. Monday at 7 p.m., Rewind with Mack Brown will breakdown all the plays and action from the team’s first contest. Finally, Tuesday at 8 p.m., Texas Football Overdrive will present the Rice vs. Texas game in an enhanced format featuring interviews, sound and analysis that bring viewers an inside look at the game.

Longhorn Network Coverage of Sept. 3 Season Opener:

Date Time (CT) Program

Sat, Sept 3 5 p.m. Texas GameDay

Sat, Sept. 3 7 p.m. Rice vs. Texas

Sat, Sept. 3 10 p.m. Texas GameDay Final

Sun, Sept. 4 12 a.m. Re-air Rice vs. Texas

Mon, Sept. 5 7 p.m. Rewind with Mack Brown

Tues, Sept. 6 8 p.m. Texas Football Overdrive

ESPN has a 20-year agreement to own and operate a year-round, 24-hour network dedicated to all things University of Texas.

The Grind of the News Business

2011-09-02T17:25:00.002-05:00

The Statesman without Zipp

“Retirement Day 1: gym, guitar, write something that lasts. Life is good.”—Today’s post by former Austin American-Statesman editor Fred Zipp. Zipp retired at the age of 56.

There is a sense of freedom that comes with early retirement. I remember that feeling of, yes, euphoria increasing with each step toward my truck as I was about to drive away from KXAN TV for the last time having resigned as managing editor at 58.

I hope the same for Zipp.

That Facebook post is the only public comment Zipp has made since his seemingly sudden retirement yesterday (Thursday, September 1, 2011). All three of the things he listed for the day are all healthy and fulfilling. The gym is good for the body. The guitar is good for the soul. “Writing something that lasts” is the only comment that could be construed as a postscript to his days with the Austin American-Statesman.

The news business is transient and unrelenting. You must feed the beast constantly. The beast is always wanting more—more online, more in print, more on the air. The beast is never satisfied. You put out a paper one day. You wrap fish in it the next. That’s why they call it “news”. If it happened yesterday, it’s not news unless people didn’t know about it, and they care to know about it.

There is nothing permanent about it. Not only do the words on the page fade, the people do too.

“We said goodbye to a dozen newsroom colleagues Friday in the second round of voluntary retirements to hit the Austin American-Statesman in a little more than two years. Another 21 employees are leaving from other parts of the paper,” Zipp wrote Sunday, June 26 this year, in a poignant column printed on the Editorial page.

“Some of the names are familiar to our readers, and some less so. Regardless, we lost a heartbreaking amount of passion, intelligence and experience.”

Decades of collective history, goodwill, contacts, at talent walked out of the room. It hurts when you are in a management position. Zipp knew that he could no longer turn to Denise Gamino for another award-winning story or investigative series. He knew that Michael Corcoran was taking with him all of his contacts in this the “Live Music Capital of the World”.

Corcoran, himself, said that is why he came to the American-Statesman. “I came to the Statesman from the Dallas Morning News, a bigger paper, because I wanted to cover music in a town where it was more than just an excuse to meet like-minded souls.”

Corcoran was writing his last pop music column for the American-Statesman. He was listing his favorite stories. “Several of these are stories another paper wouldn't have let its music critic devote the hours and hours it took to research and write. Some of them are sports stories. A couple take first person to the brink. But my editors trusted me, and their editors backed them.” He talked about how he was going to miss the newspaper after 16 years.

Zipp was with Cox newspapers for 26 years. His new publisher, Jane Williams, heaped praise on him in a memo to the American-Statesman staff.

“As Editor of the Statesman for the past three years and previously as Managing Editor, Fred led the newsroom to more rigorous reporting standards, better response to breaking news and in-depth investigative reporting. He was also instrumental in the newspaper's leading edge embrace of digital journalism,” Williams said. Zipp’s leadership also resulted in numerous awards. “Fred had a tremendous drive to make sure the Statesman remained relevant in the years to come.”

Interim Editor will be Debbie Hoitt, the former managing editor. Hoitt is also a top flight journalist.

As Corcoran’s editors backed him, I hope Williams will back Hoitt in her decisions. Newspaper purists will watch, wondering if Zipp’s departure signals any significant changes in content and coverage.

Big 12 Blues

2011-09-01T11:51:00.003-05:00

Still Longing

for

Longhorns

With much ballyhoo and backslapping, The University of Texas at Austin rolled out its Longhorn Network August 26, 2011. DeLoss Dodds, UT athletic director, looked like the cat who had swallowed the canary.

Now, vultures seem to be circling around the Big 12 (with ten members), and the last straw was this devil’s deal between UT and ESPN.

Oh, UT still thinks the Longhorn Network is a good thing. In email Thursday (September 1, 2011), the university is still applauding the move. “The 24-hour Longhorn Network is the first network of its kind, bringing unprecedented exposure to the University community.”

With just two days to go before the planned televised game against Rice, Saturday, September 3, 2011, the email admits there are too few ways to watch it. “Verizon FiOS TV is the largest service provider to add the network. Distribution deals with other TV providers are in negotiation.”

With the Big 12 in flux and possibly fading, investing in the Longhorn Network is becoming more and more of a risky deal for Time Warner and the rest of the cable or satellite providers serving Austin. Perhaps there will be a one-game arrangement while they continue negotiating. Time is running out.

The UT Exes sent out a rather urgent email earlier in the week asking members to contact their cable TV providers and beg them to buy into the Longhorn Network. ESPN, who promised to pay UT $11-million a year for 20 years, also emailed exes telling them to “demand” access to their Longhorn Network.

The Network instantly ignited criticism and action from UT’s rivals in the Big 12. Texas A&M is outa here by July, 2012 if another conference will having them. The Aggies didn’t like the TV cameras constantly trained on the Horns. Longhorn Network is the first sports network devoted to a single school.

Bill Byrne is the A&M Director of Athletics. “Byrne said Nebraska and Colorado's departure altered the landscape of the Big 12, as did the creation of the Longhorn Network, which, along with partner ESPN, tried to televise high school games,” according to the Bryan-College Station Eagle.

"We anticipate that ESPN will continue to push the envelope with the Longhorn Network, regardless of Texas A&M's conference affiliation," Byrne told the newspaper.

The Oklahoma Sooners could be the next to hitch their wagons and head west to the PAC 10 or elsewhere, leaving the Big 12 with too few teams to be viable. Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe claims that all remaining schools are committed to sticking with the conference. We’ll see.

So, while the Longhorn Network may be a good deal for The University of Texas, at least one longtime rival sees greener pastures. “A&M also could reap financial rewards by switching leagues. The Aggies received a $11.2 million payout from the Big 12 last year. SEC schools collected $18.3 million each. Former SEC commissioner Roy Kramer told The Eagle last week that he believed the addition of A&M would allow the conference to renegotiate its television contracts with CBS and ESPN, meaning possibly even more of a payout.”

Immediately after A&M’s announcement that they would leave the Big 12, their box office experienced a surge in season ticket sales. Meantime, many UT season ticket fans are trying to find buyers.

Can't Forget Cactus

2011-08-30T22:29:00.005-05:00

Cactus Pryor—The Voice of Austin

He was the voice of Austin, Texas. Richard “Cactus” Pryor’s voice is now silent.

No, it’s not really silent—too many people remember.

OK. Maybe this is a page from “Old Austin”. A lot of people are Austin residents now who may have never hear his voice, but Cactus Pryor is an integral part of Austin broadcast history and Austin itself.

There will be many memorials over the coming days about him. This is not one. I’ll leave that to others.

I’m talking about the voice that was and is Austin.

In Austin’s broadcast history, there have been several distinctive voices. Paul Bolton, a former KTBC AM, FM & TV news director. Neal Spelce won national awards for coverage of the shootings from the UT Tower in 1966 for KTBC AM. He later anchored at both KTBC and KEYE TV. These are news voices. What about others?

There was Joyce Isaacs at what was KTVT-TV, now KXAN-TV. She was on radio too. There are Bob Cole, Jodie Denberg, John Aielli, and Sammy Allred

Jim Swift continues at KXAN TV.

One could consider Dave Jarrott, Larry Todd, Judy Maggio, and Kevin Conner. All moved from station to station, but stayed in Austin becoming part of the fabric of the city.

So far none has achieved the level of Richard “Cactus” Pryor. He worked for KTBC/KLBJ for some 60 years. Yes, Cactus appeared on TV, but he didn’t do news.

For years, he was a morning staple. The “Cac and Jack” show followed the morning news block on KTBC-AM and later KLBJ-AM. He and “Packer” Jack Wallace exchanged barbs for a couple of hours. They might play a little music. It was sometimes irreverent, and it was “don’t miss” AM radio in Austin. It was nothing, nothing like talk radio nowadays—or maybe it was. Jack left us in the 1980s.

Cactus continued his morning “commentaries” on KLBJ. I became news director of KLBJ AM & FM in the early 1970s. When Cactus would go on vacation, he’d ask me to fill in.

No, I could never fill in for Cactus Pryor, but I had lots of fun being able to write stuff in the first person. News is almost always in the third person. I could actually say something rather than report something. I’m not witty, however. After Cactus was on vacation once, I asked him if he’d heard any of what I’d aired. He said that he had. I asked him if it was OK. He smiled graciously.

Gracious. That’s one of the adjectives one could use to describe Cactus Pryor.

Besides being Austin’s voice, he was Austin’s Bard. There are many, many venues where he held forth and held important people’s feet to the fire, including Lyndon Johnson. (Lady Bird Johnson owned KTBC AM-FM-TV).

Liz Carpenter, Lady Bird Johnson’s press secretary, wrote in her book “Start with a Laugh”, “Well, that’s Cactus. I love him, the whole state loves him, and well they should because he never has forsaken us for the big time and the bright lights. Let use lift our glasses, our flasks, or coffee cups to Cactus.”

Lost Longhorns

2011-08-27T11:32:00.005-05:00

What if the Longhorns Suck?

The Longhorn Network is out there, but the Longhorn network isn’t here where the Longhorns live. It’s debut was yesterday, Friday, August 26, 2001. Its studios are right here in Austin, yet we can’t view it. I can’t even review it.

Why?

We’re talking about big money and uncertainty. ESPN promised to plunk down nearly $11-million a year for all Longhorns all the time over the next 20-years. Now, ESPN is looking for program carriers like Time Warner Cable, Grande Cable, AT&T Uverse, Dish, and Direct to pay them for that programming. In turn subscribers to those services will cover those costs.

That’s why I say that the Longhorn Network will end up on an upper tier at Time Warner and perhaps a premium channel costing extra. Are subscribers willing to pay more for the Rice vs. UT football game and eight men's basketball games? Oh, there will be other sports too—softball, volleyball, and the Mack Brown Show, all repeated several times. Are these worth the extra cost?

The question of the costs and return on the investment are why no carrier has signed a deal to bring the Longhorn Network to the Austin market.

Yes, “Several operators in the state of Texas – Consolidated Communications, En-Touch Systems, E-Tex Communications, Bay City Cablevision, Mid-Coast Cablevision and Texas Mid-Gulf Cablevision -- will make the Longhorn Network (LHN) available to University of Texas fans,” according to a release issued Friday (August 26, 2011). “This network is dedicated to serving the passionate fans of the University of Texas, and we appreciate the support of these operators in that effort,” said David Preschlack, executive vice president, Disney and ESPN Media Networks.

Whoopie for them.

I’ve berated Time Warner in the past for failure to come to table and negotiate “must carry” contracts with local stations or other proven programming services. TW still won’t carry the NFL Network, and there is an obvious audience for those games. What to do with the Longhorn Network is different however. The Longhorn network is a gamble.

What if the vaunted University of Texas Longhorns football team sucks? Will anybody watch? Will anybody care, even in Austin? The Horns were a woeful 5-7 last year, hardly a record that would attract viewers other than the faithful if they can’t do any better.

In a valid comparison Darrell Rovell reporting for CNBC compares the network possibilities with the University’s inability to sell seats to the Rice game. “With hundreds of tickets under $50 for the Rice game, Texas sent out an e-mail to its season ticket holders this week offering half-price seats on its non-marquee games. Some of those seats are in areas where people have paid a donation on top of the face value, showing just how overpriced some of its tickets are,” Rovell writes.

I’ve seen notices where season-ticket holders are trying to ditch their seats to the Rice game. Who wants to sit in the stands and roast while watching an unranked Longhorn team? It’s bound to be at least in the 90s when the game starts at 7 p.m., and sunset isn’t for about another hour.

There will be a way to watch the Longhorn Network in Austin. If had been launched in a national championship year, people would care. People would pay. This year, it’s hard to say—hard for everyone involved.

Hello? Robot Calling

2011-08-23T12:08:00.003-05:00

Polls, Pundits, Politicians, and Reporters

The conservative-leaning Rasmussen poll reports today (Tuesday, August 23, 2011) that “Most voters (53%) oppose public schooling ... for illegal immigrants. Some politician is going to pick up this statement and the supporting statistics and run with it. It might be somebody from the State of Texas. Then, the media will dutifully report it.

The question was “If a family is not in this country legally, should their children be allowed to attend public schools?” That’s a fair question, a question being asked often these days, but who is on the phone.

Recently, I wrote about polling and its place in the political process. Those running for office live and die by research. It was more than that stupid straw poll in Iowa that made former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty that brought his Presidential campaign to an end.

“Obviously the pathway forward for me doesn't really exist so we are going to end the campaign," Pawlenty said on ABC's "This Week". He read the Tea Party leaves and left. It had to do with polling, and polling leads to money. If you’re running out of money, you can’t campaign.

Back to Rasmussen and schooling for children of illegal immigrants, the poll didn’t ask what should be done with these kids. If they’re not in school, where are they? Are they on the street? Are they in gangs? Are they headed for jail, jails and prisons supported by our tax dollars.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to give them an education? Then, they could become tax-payers contributing to society rather than taking from society.

Again, remember the demographic answering questions for Rasmussen. Rasmussen makes calls to land line telephones. The number of people with land lines is shrinking. People still using land lines are an older demographic.

That older demographic often argues against school taxes since their children have already graduated. So, they ask, why should we be paying for someone else’s children—legal or illegal? The answer, of course, is that we are paying forward. We, our society and cities, need an educated population.

While Rasmussen claims accuracy of +/- 3 percent, plus or minus three percent of what?

As I wrote two weeks ago, one and four households were cellphone only, no land line, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Forty-four percent of those wireless-only users were between 18 and 30 years old.

Now, here’s something new: Rasmussen can’t call those wireless numbers. Why? A live person isn’t making the call.

“Rasmussen is a robo-pollster, which means that he calls people with automated equipment and has a robot voice ask the questions, to which respondents punch in numbers on their touch pad. By law, robo-pollsters cannot call cell phones,” says Dr. Frank Newport, Editor in Chief of the Gallup Poll. “So his methods are fast becoming obsolete,” Newport continues. “They attempt to make up for this by adding in online polls, but they are of dubious randomness.”

Newport, author of the book “Polling Matters”, tells me some 40-percent of the calls Gallup’s people make are to cell phones and the percentage will likely go up. “Gallup and the industry have been focused on dealing with the changes in how people communicate for years and are generally keeping abreast of it. The next challenge is conducting surveys using text and smart phones, but we are not quite there yet,” Newport says.

I could find no recent Gallup polls asking the same question as the Rasmussen poll, but when journalists, viewers, readers, and consumers of media see statistics, they should consider the source and the methodology.

Further, if we poll the parents of these children now attending public school, children who are learning English, history, civics, and other subjects citizens take for granted, there is a Gallup poll saying that illegal immigrants are coming to the United States for precisely this reason, education.

Note: Frank Newport, PhD is a Texan, a graduate of Baylor University, and a former broadcast journalist in Houston, now living in Princeton, New Jersey.

Big Night for Sports

2011-08-20T11:31:00.003-05:00

Saints Vs. Texans and More

Wish you could see West Lake’s Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints take on the surging Houston Texans tonight (Saturday, August 20, 2011)? Can’t find a listing in the Austin American-Statesman’s Sports pages? Worried that it’s not being broadcast/telecast in Austin?

No worries.

The game is being shown at 7 p.m. on KNVA TV (CW), a place where you not expect.

The newspaper does list the game in its TV schedule and KNVA and Time Warner both confirm it.

So, if you have three TVs, you can watch the Saints vs. the Texans on KNVA, the Texas Rangers vs. the Chicago White Sox on WGN or TW 77, and the streaking Houston Astros (Yes, they have a winning streak going. Shocking!) on Fox Southwest—all at 7 p.m.

Find something cold in a 12 ounce can and pull up a chair.

All Longhorns All the Time

2011-08-19T23:46:00.002-05:00

Longing for Longhorns

The email subject line says: “Don't Make Bevo Angry. Call Time-Warner Today.” The sender is sports network ESPN.

The launch of the Longhorn Network powered by ESPN is only a week away. Yet there is no deal and no announcement of where or whether you will be able to see the Longhorn Network right here in the middle of Texas, Longhorn Nation, the Capital City, Austin, Texas.

“Time Warner Cable continues to have ongoing discussions with ESPN about the Longhorn Network, [and] we are hopeful to have an agreement in the near future,” said Eddie Diroff a TW customer service representative when asked about the Longhorn Network during an online “chat” session.

The email mentioned above leads me to think that ESPN negotiations may not be going well with the largest cable company in town and the second largest in the nation. Time Warner has a long history of going down to the wire with local TV stations and networks while arguing over the costs and revenue.

Now, it appears that ESPN is attempting to put pressure on the cable company by emailing subscribers. “Let Time Warner Know You Want the Longhorn Network Added to Your Cable Line-Up,” the email says. The statement is actually a link to Time Warner’s Facebook page where you are expected to post a plea for the cable to carry the Longhorn Network.

It may be also an attempt to ascertain demand for the fledgling channel. Demand could help answer the question of how much the channel is worth and possibly how many people might be willing to pay for its programming, including the Rice vs. UT game, September 3rd, scheduled to be shown exclusively on the Longhorn Network.

Diroff expects his “chats” to increase.

“With the upcoming launch of ESPN’s Longhorn Network on August 26, 2011 we anticipate increased calls from customers about the status of carriage on Time Warner Cable as customers [who] have seen advertising from ESPN creating awareness of the channel,” Diroff says. “As of today, no video provider has announced a deal to carry the Longhorn Network.”

Well, we all know that the Longhorn Network will be available on Time Warner Cable and probably Grande. Throw in Dish and Direct too.

I’d be willing to bet the farm that it will be a premium pay-to-view channel on Time Warner. Certainly, it will be in the digital tier where TW wishes all channels lived, but you will be able to see all Longhorns all the time.

Is Rev. Al Sharpton a Journalist?

2011-08-17T11:57:00.003-05:00

Who Is A Journalist?

New post at http://austin.culturemap.com/newsdetail/08-16-11-22-54-is-that-person-a-journalist/

newsmcnabb is now posting to CultureMap.Austin.

Headlines and Statistics--Bad Methods

2011-08-10T10:35:00.003-05:00

What do you think of Obama? If you have a cell phone, the surveys don't care.

See the post at

http://austin.culturemap.com/newsdetail/08-01-11-09-30-beware-stats-and-headlines/

newsmcnabb is now posting to CultureMap.Austin.

KVUE TV's Olga Campos Leave TV

2011-07-28T20:22:00.002-05:00

Anchor change: Olga Campos leaving KVUE and TV news

URL: http://austin.culturemap.com/newsdetail/07-28-11-16-35-kvues-olga-campos-leaving-tv/

NewsMcNabb is now posting to CultureMapAustin.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.................

2011-07-26T18:04:00.006-05:00

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Pundits Slept Through Civics Class. New Post at URL: http://austin.culturemap.com/newsdetail/07-26-11-11-28-pundits-slept-through-civics-class/

(Bloomberg's Jonathan Alter (above) got it right.

NewsMcNabb posts at Culture Map Austin.

Not Your Father's News

2011-07-22T09:16:00.003-05:00

You're Not Watching the News

Furthermore, the 6 O'clock news is really the 5:59 p.m. news, and it ends at 6:27.

A new content analysis by newsmcnabb:

http://austin.culturemap.com/newsdetail/07-21-11-17-04-youre-not-watching-the-news/

Newsmcnabb is now posting to CultureMap Austin.

Subtle Changes for Sweeps

2011-07-18T16:25:00.005-05:00

Subtle Changes for Summer Sweeps

Sharp-eye, savvy viewers already notice the changes at KXAN TV (NBC).

Just in time for the relatively unimportant July “sweeps”, KXAN trotted out a new look—new graphics for everything—from the weather, to the background on the set, to the front of the set, to the “supers” or identifiers on the screen, to the sports.

[“Supers” are the old-school term for the identifiers that viewers see over someone speaking during a story. The words were literally superimposed. Two pictures, one with the person talking, and another with the letters on a card, were mixed for a moment. A little TV trivia.]

Anyway, back to KXAN’s new graphics: It’s a clean, uncluttered look. It’s an attempt to repackage their news product.

And, oh, there is one other significant change in the KXAN identity. No longer do reporters say, “Live from wherever, Tina Great-Tan, for KXAN Austin News.” Now, they simply say, “…Tina Great-Tan, KXAN News.” Why is that significant? While KEYE TV (CBS) uses the phrase, “We are Austin”, KXAN wanted viewers to hear that KXAN New IS Austin news. It was the battle for the best slogans.

Personally, I always thought that it was silly saying, “In Georgetown, I’m Tina Great-Tan for KXAN AUSTIN News.” Or my all-time favorite: “In the studio, Tina Great-Tan for KXAN Austin News. It’s TV. Viewers can see where you are, especially if you were just talking to the anchors.

The theme music seems to be the same as it was before. It’s important to keep some things constant. Otherwise, viewers wonder what’s going on behind the scenes.

What’s going on behind the scenes is this: KVUE TV (ABC) remains the dominate station for news in the Austin market. KXAN had chipped into KVUE’s weekday morning ratings for a while, but KVUE won them back, even though KXAN got the Texas Associated Press Broadcasters’ award for best morning news team. Now, both stations are starting their day at 4:30 a.m., pushed back from 5 p.m.

Noteworthy too in the morning TV wars, KEYE-TV (CBS) pulled the plug on their radio-on-TV morning experiment. They’re back with a two person morning team promising to be “different from anything else” on the air in the mornings. KEYE hopes to pull itself out of last place. It’s going to be tough.

In the all-important May ratings, KVUE won almost every hour of the broadcast day.

There was one glimmer of glory, tinged with a bit of irony. KXAN News was #1 at 6 and 10 p.m. on Saturday nights. The irony is that those newscasts are anchored by David Scott. Scott was the weekday 6 and 10 anchor in the 1990s when KXAN News was “perennial number three” in the words of former Austin American-Statesman TV writer Diane Holloway.

We’ll see if the repackaging changes anything.

You May Have Noticed ...

URL:http://austin.culturemap.com/newsdetail/07-13-11-17-01-subtle-changes-for-summer-sweeps/

NewsMcNabb is now posting to CultureMap Austin.

"Ongoing"

2011-07-07T16:34:00.002-05:00

One Question Unanswered About the Longhorn Network

The Longhorn Network powered by ESPN will launch August 26, 2011, but where will you see it?

UT announced Thursday, July 07, 2011 that the Longhorn Network’s studios will be in the University Park development, 3300 N. I-35. The network disclosed some 50 employees are hired to run the 24/7 network, but how can you see it in Austin?

Three “nationally known” personalities will be the faces of the Longhorn Network, Lowell Galindo now of ESPNU, Westlake High graduate Kevin Dunn of ESPN Radio, and Samantha Steele of Fox Sports, but where can you find them on the dial, assuming your TV still has a dial, which it probably doesn’t.

Announced yesterday, the UT vs. Rice and one Big 12 game will be telecast exclusively on the Longhorn Network, but what will it take to watch them.

Will they be on a tier with Fox Southwest or will they be pay-per-view? Pay-per-view would be wrong in this writer’s opinion.

The big question goes unanswered. Will you find the Longhorn Network on Time Warner Cable, Grande, or AT&T U-verse or where? What about Dish or Direct TV. Silence.

Posed the above question, “Negotiations are ongoing,” said Kari Potts of ESPN. “Active discussions are ongoing,” said Nick Voinis, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Communications at The University of Texas.

Asked whether there is a timetable for an announcement, ESPN’s Potts was silent. She again referred me to her earlier statement using the word “ongoing”, but promised to add me to the media list, as did Melanie Sorola, Time Warner Cable Texas Region Communications Director.

Sorola’s full statement was a little more enlightening, if one reads between the lines: “Time Warner Cable continues to have ongoing discussions with ESPN about the Longhorn Network. We have been and remain proud of our long term relationship with the University of Texas,” Sorola said. The second sentence could be seen as one expressing assurance that viewers will be satisfied.

“It’s too early [to announce any agreement for telecasting],” Voinis said.

It appears that all concerned made a pact to say the word “ongoing” when referring to negotiations and nothing more.

So, for now, viewers must go to http://espn.go.com/longhornnetwork/ where it tells you to “Request the Longhorn Network today.”

I would expect that Austin, the center of the Longhorn nation, will be able to see the Longhorn Network. I fear that it will be found where viewers will have to pay more for the privilege. Everyone concerned in these “ongoing negotiations” is interested in making more money.

Round Two

2011-06-27T12:27:00.003-05:00

American Statesman Buy-Outs

The deal was on the table. They took it. Decades of collective history, goodwill, contacts, at talent walked out of the room.

That room is the Austin American-Statesman’s newsroom. Now, after the previous buy-outs a couple of years ago that included Ben Sargent and Diane Holloway, the cavernous room is even more empty.

Despite ever expanding new revenue streams and possible news delivery platforms, the Statesman again offered buy-out packages and early retirement to scores of employees. You know many of their names: Michael Corcoran, John Kelso, Kathy Warbelow, Denise Gamino, Larry Kolvoord, Larry Hobbs, and many others.

I could fill volumes with the awards Denise Gamino won for her reporting in her 30-plus year career. Talk about tenacious attention to detail, and you’re talking about Denise Gamino. She’s gone.

The same could be said about Michael Corcoran’s depth of knowledge of the music industry in Austin and elsewhere. I hope cub reporters got Corcoran’s number for contacts before he left.

What about those fabulous photos from Kolvoord and Hobbs. Somebody else will take them—possibly the reporter covering the story.

Like Sargent, Kelso will continue contributing a column for Sunday papers.

Editor Fred Zipp named names on the Sunday, June 26th Opinion Page. He explained why the buy-outs were necessary:

“As a business, the Statesman continues to negotiate the difficult transition from a print-only newspaper with negligible direct competition into a news organization that operates on several platforms, including an increasing crowded digital space.

“Declining advertising revenue has forced use to become smaller; continuing success demands we become smarter.”

…

“Even as we shrink our staff size, we’re determined to measure up to our readers’ expectations. In recent months, we have doubled the number of people assigned to our investigative team, where public interest journalism is the only priority.

“It’s impossible, however, to endure the loss of 12 such accomplished colleagues without ill effect.”

Meanwhile, the Statesman is trying new things such as “print only” stories. They are putting a preview of stories inside the paper on the left side of page one. They are including so-called “proof of performance” promotional pieces inside the paper, usually in the upper left corner, reminding readers of the value of their coverage.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the newspaper started making more use of freelancers and stringers—journalists who will be paid on a per-story basis but they won’t receive costly health benefits, etc. When you see “Special to the American-Statesman”, think “freelancer”. It’s the way the world is now. It’s OK. The readers aren’t cheated. The writers are pros.

The transition is and will continue to be difficult. Yes, the Statesman has a huge printing business, but fewer and fewer readers are relying on the printed word. Will those massive presses running monster rolls of paper be needed much longer, or will they become relics?

Statesman.com continues to be the #1 site for news in the Austin area. Yet, as Zipp pointed out there is “increasingly crowded digital space”. Next month “Culture Map Austin”, a daily digital magazine goes live, joining AustinPost.com, the Austinist, Austin Bulldog, the Austin Chronicle, and several other online news sources with their own special tilt to the news.

The continuing question concerns how does an online medium monetize its product? Will statesman.com go the route of paid content? And will readers pay? We’re so used to getting what we want with the click of a mouse.

I still get the printed paper delivered. The page with Fred Zipp’s column is beside the typewriter behind me now.

That typewriter hasn’t been used in years.

Currently ...

2011-06-21T13:20:00.006-05:00

All Olbermann, All the Time

“If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” Heard that before? I heard it often growing up. I think that maxim might be useful nowadays in an era if incivility.

That being said, I have to weigh-in on the new incarnation of “Countdown” with Keith Olbermann on Current TV.

I admit to having been a regular viewer when Olbermann was the “face” of MSNBC’s prime time. His concepts of competing with the likes of CNN and Fox were intriguing. Further, he could draw on the vast resources of NBC as well as his own visions then.

I realized last night watching the debut of his new show, those resources and the technical toys and expertise at his new gig may be the difference between then (five months or so ago when he was on MSNBC) and now.

His former colleagues at MSNBC have a long list of credible contributors—Pulizer Prize winners—who can expatiate on the vagaries of politics inside the “Beltway”. Olbermann is just now creating his contributors. His first pundit was film-maker Michael Moore. Now, Moore can certainly hold his own on many subjects, but I don’t think he is credible on all.

Olbermann took pains to point out that Moore and his other guests were “Countdown contributors”. I don’t know if that means these guests are exclusive to Olbermann’s show, but he made a big deal out of saying it time and again. Time and again, his guests also gushed about how great it was to have Olbermann back. The program ran long because the gratuitous comments kept coming. Olbermann should have said, “Thank you” and ended it, but he let it continue, because he can.

Olbermann was Olbermann. “Olbermann picked up right where he left off when he and MSNBC abruptly parted ways five months ago,” writes Hank Steuver for the Washington Post. The problem seemed to be that Current TV and its production crew couldn’t keep up with him. There were production glitches throughout the broadcast.

Wrong video ran—video that didn’t match the words spoken. Graphics looked like there were created in the 1990s. I watched the replay at 10 p.m. (Central). I don’t know if it was Current TV or if it was Time Warner, but the volume levels kept going up and down. It was maddening. Yes, it’s a new show, and production problems happen, but one would think at the “big leagues” level, they would have sorted out these issues before the premier telecast.

The replay is another issue. It seems that the “Countdown” of the day is going to repeat every two hours until the next day, just in case you missed it or want to see it again. Geez. That’s a lot of Keith Olbermann. Between the “Countdown” casts are documentaries. I don’t think Current TV has much else going on. Moreover, I don’t think “Countdown” can carry the day for Current all by himself.

Clearly, Current TV and its owner, Al Gore, believe that Keith Olbermann’s “Countdown” will draw a crowd. It’s going to take more content than just Keith to make that happen.

2011-06-16T17:16:00.002-05:00

The Future of Media

It took 475 pages for the Federal Communications Commission’s Future of the Media Working group to lay out its rather stale findings. The FCC could have/should have been listening to what critics, academicians, and working media have been saying for years. It would have cost less, I feel sure.

The authors where tasked with surveying the media and information landscape in our country with particular emphasis on local news.

“The authors hold true to the premise that “the First Amendment circumscribes the role government can play in improving local news … most of the solutions to today’s media problems will be found by entrepreneurs, reporters, and creative citizens, not legislators or agencies. Government cannot save journalism,” the report says. Hasn’t it always been that way?

Here’s the scary part: “Today’s media landscape is more vibrant than ever,” the report asserts, there are problems. “[A] shortage of local, professional, accountability reporting” is cited as an example, resulting in a decline in local reporting. What’s the result? It has “shifted power away from citizens to government and other powerful institutions, which can more often set the news agenda.”

I think that I sarcastically called it “news release” journalism.

Admittedly cherry-picking, what follows are some of the points made. You may have read them somewhere, perhaps here.

· Newspaper subscribership has been declining consistently for decades.

· Cost-cutting at major newspapers has been largely successful in preserving their commercial viability. (Employee contracts at the Austin American-Statesman happening again right now.)

· Local accountability journalism has been hard hit, and the erosion of the beat reporting system has resulted in declines in expertise. (See the above, plus the turnover of staff at some local TV stations.

· Shrinking newsroom staffs and the multiplication of media platforms have increased the workload of individual reporters. (Think “doing more with less”.)

· The Telecommunications Act of 1996 – which loosened radio ownership restrictions – was followed by rapid industry consolidation. (Some call it hegemony) This consolidation resulted in both higher profits for radio broadcasters and a decline in the quality and quantity of local news. (Duh? That started with the deregulation during the Reagan administration.) Staffing was slashed. Reporters equal content.

· Locally-owned stations may produce more local news. (We no longer have locally-owned major commercial radio stations in the immediate Austin area.)

· Public radio is emerging as a go-to source for local news. (Think KUT-FM)

· While most local TV stations have increased the volume of news production, the authors note, they (TV newsrooms) have at the same time reduced staff and lessened the depth of their coverage. (That may not be a fair criticism of some Austin TV news, but all are doing more with less.)

· Despite the increase in news production, television news staffs and budgets are shrinking. (See the above. Again, that isn’t fully applicable to all Austin TV stations doing news.)

· So-called “if it bleeds it leads” stories about crime continue to dominate newscasts to the detriment of coverage of other important local issues. (That’s true of one local station in particular. Why? Because covering so-called “spot news” is generally easy and generally inexpensive. It’s right there in front of you.)

· Local TV stations are assigning increased responsibilities to their reporters, including conducting interviews, shooting video and editing their own stories. (Think “one-man-bands”.)

· Nearly one-third of local TV stations are airing news produced by another station. (Think of KXAN TV-produced news on KNVA TV a 9 p.m. each night.)

These direct quotes are most salient when talking about local news coverage by newspapers, TV, and radio.

Broadband expansion with access for all is the most promising part of the report prepared by Wiley Rein, LLP. Mobile connections also hold promise.

Certainly, one can’t distill 475 pages in a short post. It is fair to say that the report does express optimism. It mostly focuses on the possibilities of the Internet, but it’s rather Pollyanna about the future of newspapers and broadcast news. Find the synopsis of the report and the response of the FCC at the Radio Television Digital News Association’s site: http://www.rtdna.org.

A New Trap

2011-06-10T16:09:00.003-05:00

Mouse Elbow

Did you know that you can get so-called “Tennis Elbow” from excessive use of a mouse? You can.

“As the name suggests, playing tennis — especially repeated use of the backhand stroke with poor technique — is one possible cause of tennis elbow,” According to the Mayo Clinic. “However, many other common arm motions can cause tennis elbow, including: Using plumbing tools, painting, driving screws, cutting up cooking ingredients, particularly meat, and excessive computer mouse use.

From all I’ve read, the condition usually comes on gradually as a person performs repeated motions. You may have seen the comical commercial showing someone suffering serious injury by constantly clicking the mouse with his index finger.

It’s not funny. It’s really true.

Not only does your digit hurt, but the wrist, forearm, elbow and even bicep burns and aches.

But, you say, I need to write a story; I need to write a post. The doctor says, give it a rest.

Rest, along with a steroid injection, is about the only thing one can do about “mouse elbow”. You can take ibuprofen for inflammation and pain. A cold pack can also help.

I tried using the mouse with my left hand for a couple of days. I thought my brain was going to explode. So, I got a new ergonomic mouse. It seems to have helped some, but I’m not supposed to be using the keyboard or the mouse. I can’t play guitar. I can’t shake hands with friends. I have projects, but they may have to wait. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!

So, I’m supposed to sit around all day with my arm in a sling thinking about all of the things that I love—all of the things that I want to do, but I’m not supposed to do? Of course, I’m a bad patient.

The Mayo Clinic has a stern warning for me however. “Left untreated, tennis elbow can result in chronic pain — especially when lifting or gripping objects. Using your arm too strenuously before your elbow has healed can make the problem worse,” the site says.

I got some new books this week. Looks like I’m going to be doing some reading instead of writing.

Anchor Away

2011-05-12T14:32:00.000-05:00

Lehrer is Leaving

Another national TV news anchor with Texas connections is stepping away from the daily grind. PBS’ Jim Lehrer, 76, announced Thursday, May 12, 2011 that it was time to turn the daily broadcast over to his colleagues, although he will still remain involved behind the scenes.

"I have been laboring in the glories of daily journalism for 52 years ... 36 of them here at the NewsHour and its earlier incarnations ... and there comes a time to step aside from the daily process, and that time has arrived," Lehrer said today. He promises more details during the Thursday night broadcast. His last day on the air will be June 6th.

No, Lehrer is not a Texan by birth, but he grew up here and cut his journalistic teeth here. Born in Kansas, he went to junior high school in Beaumont, high school in San Antonio, and Victoria College before getting a degree from the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri.

His first journalism job was with the Dallas Morning News and then the now defunct Dallas Times Herald (a better newspaper in my estimation). He made the jump to television news when KERA TV (PBS) inaugurated its first newscast in 1970.

It was a game-changer. Called “Newsroom”, the broadcast focused on one story for a whole hour. One story. There was no glitzy set with a skyline or something behind him. The show actually originated from the KERA TV newsroom.

It also introduced a new and ground-breaking way of telling stories on TV. Lehrer would debrief reporters on the anchor desk. It was largely unrehearsed and thorough.

Lehrer will continue appearing on Friday NewsHour broadcasts moderating the political discussion with New York Times columnist David Brooks and syndicated columnist Mark Shields, a feature that goes back to the old “Newsroom” days in Dallas.

KVUE TV (ABC) used to use that debrief technique during its 5 o’clock newscast in the 1980s. Nowadays there and elsewhere, the emphasis is more on story-count more often than not—cramming as many stories in to the news hole as possible.

An hour for one story? Yes. It was compelling stuff too. It caught many journalists’ eyes and imaginations—mine for one. The concepts at KERA also caught the eyes of the creators of PBS (Public Broadcasting Service).

PBS evolved from Educational Television and WNET in 1973, and it was in 1973 that Lehrer teamed up with Robert MacNeil to create the MacNeil/Lehrer Report for the fledgling not-for-profit national network in 1975. The formula was highly successful.

He embraced his Texas roots, speaking at Texas State University several years ago in support of one of his long list of books. Did you know that Lehrer is a prolific published novelist? According to the PBS news release, he has 20 novels, two memoirs, and three plays to his credit.

Lehrer says he’s stepping aside because his confidence in the NewsHour team. The NewsHour has always been a team thing. It will be interesting to see if one of the team members emerges as the main anchor.

"And That's The Way It Is ..."

2011-05-03T17:37:00.003-05:00

Texas Anchors

Scott Pelley becomes yet another in a long line of Texans to sit in the CBS Evening News Anchor chair. In fact, the connection to Texas is rather striking.

Think about it. The venerable Walter Cronkite has his Austin/University of Texas ties. He defined the term “anchorman” with his pioneering work at CBS for 19 years. He was the original. CBS Evening news was only 15 minutes long at the beginning. When he stepped away in 1981, he was regarded as America’s “most trusted” man.

Dan Rather was his immediate successor. Dan Rather, a native Texan, went to Sam Houston State University.

Before he inherited the CBS Evening News Anchorman position (instead of Roger Mudd), many of his major news assignments were on Texas soil, including Hurricane Carla in 1961, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas in 1963, and his March, 1973 Houston news conference confrontation with President Richard Nixon. Rather anchored for CBS 24 years. Rather has a home in the Austin area, and his daughter, Robin Rather, is an Austin environmental activist.

After Rather and before Katie Couric, came interim anchor and native Texan Bob Schieffer who was the face of the CBS Evening news for about a year, starting in 2005. Shieffer was born here in Austin, February 25, 1937, but grew up in Fort Worth where he graduated from TCU. Many lobbied for Shieffer to be the next anchor instead of Couric in 2006. He actually grew the audience for the platinum network that had sunk to #3.

Now, after five years, Katie Couric is stepping down, and Scott Pelley is stepping up June 6th.

Pelley was born in San Antonio July 28, 1957. He attended Texas Tech and started working in TV news in Lubbock.

I remember him most from his time spent as a reporter and anchor for WFAA (ABC) in Dallas from 1982 to 1989, roughly the time this writer was working for the KVUE TV (ABC) here in Austin. He was a good guy and a real pro. You knew that he was bound for bigger things. He had the voice, the looks, the brains, and the talent. He made the jump from Dallas to CBS in 1989.

Will he lead CBS back to its former glory? He has the professional credentials. Further, he’s a Texan. The Texas connection worked in the past. It might work again. “And that’s the way it is,” as Mr. Cronkite would say.

Tune, Er, Click In

2011-04-30T13:20:00.002-05:00

A Newspaper Does Radio

Ray Wiley Hubbard’s “Screw You. We’re from Texas!!!” was the first song on Austin’s newest music source. The source—Austin 360Radio.com, the Austin American-Statesman’s newest medium. DJ L.A. Lloyd promised listeners off the top that artists featured on the new Internet radio station would have Austin connections creating a recognizable Austin sound.

The studio for Austin360Radio.com is imbedded within the newspaper’s headquarters on Lady Bird Lake near South Congress. A radio station in a newspaper? Yup. Of course, the powerful thing about Internet radio is that it can be accessed worldwide.

I use Google’s Chrome for my favorite browser. Apparently, Chrome may not communicate with the site. I switched to Internet Explorer, suggested by their “Help” drop down. Then, I had to download Adobe Flash Player to “tune in.” After downloading the flash player, the music flowed from Chrome as well. There were a couple of technical snafus during the first hour and some of the “buttons” don’t work—something that’s bound to happen.

The second song, was Willie Nelson’s “Maria, Shut Up and Kiss Me” in recognition of Nelson’s 78th birthday today (April 30, 2011). DJ Lloyd promised to play Willie at the top of the hour all day. Ironically, on the other side of downtown Austin at KUT-FM, longtime radio host Kevin Conner was also honoring Nelson during his Saturday morning show.

The third song? BB King’s “The Thrill is Gone?” Great song, but I don’t hear Austin in it. King has played Austin City Limits. I guess that’s close enough. The fourth song was “I Got Drunk” by Uncle Tupelo. “Booty City” by Black Joe Lewis. DJ Lloyd alluded to Waterloo Records noting the high ranking of Lewis’ current album. I think the reference was to create another connection to Austin and to soften the segue to the next song: The Green Cards’ “Time”, a stark contrast to “Booty City”, but it proves that Austin360Radio.com is intent on playing all genres.

“What It Is” by Mark Knopler followed The Green Cards. So much for Austin connections.

“Dixie Chicken” by Little Feat was Lloyd’s next offering, followed by “Pyro” by Kings of Leon, Bob Schneider and “The World Passes You By”, Fiona Apple and the John Lennon song, “Across the Universe”, Pearl Jam’s “Just Breathe”, Norah Jones singing “Feeling the Same Way”, Dwight Yoakam with the old song “Little Sister”, Alexi Murdoch singing “A Song for You”, Jimi Hendrix and “Castles Made of Sand” (Austin?), finishing the first hour with Paula Nelson & the Guilty Pleasures with Willie Nelson doing “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” (I thought it should have been “Whiskey River”.).

In the first hour of the show, there had been a few “promos” (promotional spots) and NO commercials. It was an hour and 20-minutes before I heard the first commercial. I had to believe that Austin360Radio.com wasn’t going to be all music all of the time. It will grow into another revenue stream for Cox Media. Of course, the gateway to the site is covered with ads and promos.

Notably, the announcement of Austin360Radio.com came on Facebook. The post said “tune in” at noon:

“The sound of Austin is hard to describe, but it's instantly recognizable. You love it ... and we love it, too. That's why we've launched austin360radio.com, a site delivering 24/7/365 music by artists from Austin and across Texas. At home, at work, on your mobile device ... you'll hear Bob Schneider, Slaid Cleaves, Iron & Wine, Kelly Willis and so many more. The Live Music Capital of the World deserves an outlet devoted to promoting local musicians. And, very soon, we'll have it.”

One promo said, “The future of radio is here …” Well, not quite. It’s been here.

Of course all terrestrial, traditional radio stations stream their on-air signal online too. KGSR FM when it truly lived up to the now retired slogan “sounds like Austin”, pushed its Internet radio presence and had transplanted Austinites listening around the globe.

KUT-FM and Kevin Conner, I’ve said before, probably “sounds like Austin” more than any other station nowadays. Some would argue that KVET-FM’s country sound is the true Music Capital of the World’s sound, however. Further, many of the offerings of KOOP-FM are Austin-only.

Internet-only “stations” like Pandora and LastFm challenge the ethos of local radio. If, indeed, Austin360Radio.com can achieve that local flavor, it might gain a following.

Coming Soon to Your Browser

2011-04-26T14:06:00.002-05:00

Add Another Slice From the Online News Pie

Austin Radio stations, AM and FM, are lined up one after another, each offering differing content. Some is music, some is news, some is “talk” and commentary. Some is in English. Some is in Spanish. Most are commercial, but some are public. Hyper-local, low-power radio stations are reaching out to niche audiences.

Since the digital conversion, much the same has happened to local TV. No longer are there only the major network affiliates. Each licensed television station has the capability of launching side-band stations, and most have. Each is trying to carve out a niche and create a new revenue stream, with the exception of KLRU-TV (PBS). KLRU also has two side-band stations of its own.

It’s only natural that the same thing would happen online. Of course, each of these local mediums has a complementary web site. In the past two or three years several stand-alone news, information, or opinion sites have sprung up.

Now another Austin-centric web site will launch mid-summer supplying readers with a wide range of information and news focusing on the things making Austin unique. Former News 8 News Director Kevin Benz is Editor-in-Chief of what will be an online news magazine called CultureMapAustin. (Find it at www.culturemap.com.)

“CultureMap aims for a less cynical, more optimistic editorial tone,” Benz says. “Our journalists will cover news we hope will directly touch those who live here. We hope everyone will see themselves reflected in the stories we do about the things that make Austin a special place to live.”

Benz used the phrase, “Our journalists…” That’s significant. CultureMapAustin.com is not an aggregation of blogs. Benz says his site will pay its writers for their columns and content. He’s adamant. “We’re going to be different from others—no pay for play, no payola. We’ll have fair coverage.”

The writers are backed by a staff consisting of “some of the smartest people in this business,” Benz says. “Our CEO, Stephen Newman helped launch the New York Times online presence and spent a decade at CNN. Our Managing Editor, Caitlin Ryan worked at Conde-Nast, Google, and most recently was Editor of Rare magazine here in Austin.” Benz, himself, has deep Austin roots having done news here for 23 years. “ I watched a great town become a world-class city, and yet we’ve worked hard to maintain that quirky, cultural vibe, that allure, that keeps people coming and keeps so many of us here. That allure will be the stuff of CultureMap.”

Of course, the chief competitor is statesman.com’s companion site austin360.com. Austin360.com, of course, has the paid staff of the Austin American-Statesman. By far, austin360.com has the most page-views in town. CultureMapAustin.com will fight it out with them and other sites like AustinPost.com, Austinist.com, AustinChronicle.com, Do512.com and others.

CultureMapAustin will be a commercial web site as are Austin360, AustinChronicle.com, the Austinist.com and others.

AustinPost.org is not for profit, underwritten by Trilogy Employee Foundation. TexasTribune.org is also nonprofit focusing all efforts on politics and beholden to none.

After enjoying some success based on bloggers, Austin Post recently hired a cadre of reporters to cover the news of the day and supplement their citizen writers. Unlike Austin Post, CultureMapAustin will cover news as it relates to Austin’s quality of life. “We’re the big umbrella,” Benz says.

CultureMapAustin will include articles Benz says are under covered: Literature and books, high arts such as ballet and dance, the Austin Symphony, theater, the film industry, visual design including architecture, interior design, and graphic design. Calendars and listings for music and events will be vetted.

“Further, we intend to use all the media available to tell better, more compelling stories,” Benz says. We’ll use the written word of course, and we’ll include still photography and photo essays, video and video essays, as well as social media to give our community an entertaining and informative look at what makes Austin the fun, weird, world-class city it is.” Benz intends to have a “lively” presence on Facebook.

CultureMapAustin’s concept and “look” will be similar to http://houston.culturemap.com/ launched some 15-months ago. Benz says it “…has become a vital part of the cultural conversation in that city,” and he expects the same success here.

Of course, current census figures indicate that the Houston MSA is roughly three times the size of Austin and its demographics are quite different. It’s a much bigger pie being sliced up for recognition and revenue, and different people are consuming it.

It will be interesting to see how CultureMapAustin with its professional approach to online journalism succeeds in this market. Benz recognizes Austin is unique. Austin is not a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all market. So, the new site will have to set itself apart from the others to see success.

Who's Doing the Best?

2011-04-21T16:55:00.003-05:00

KUT-FM MURROW AWARDS

Who is doing award-winning radio news in Austin? It’s the station that could be struggling for funding if Congress has its way. KUT-FM, National Public Radio (NPR) public radio station swept the Region 6, Texas and Oklahoma, large market 2011 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards announced today. (April 21, 2011)

KUT-FM grabbed five awards. No other Austin radio or television station won in any category of the Murrow awards. The KUT-FM awards are for “Continuing Coverage”, “Hard News”, “Documentary”, and “Series”.

Announcement of the awards came via email from the Radio Television Digital News Association:

“The Radio Television Digital News Association has been honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971. Murrow's pursuit of excellence in journalism embodies the spirit of the awards that carry his name. Murrow Award recipients demonstrate the spirit of excellence that Edward R. Murrow made a standard for the broadcast news profession.”

As a regional winner, KUT-FM automatically becomes eligible for the national awards competition, judged in June. The national Edward R. Murrow Awards will be presented in October at the RTDNA Awards Dinner in New York.

Here is a breakdown of the KUT-FM awards:

Audio Continuing Coverage
KUT-FM - Austin, TX
Bernier Doctors on Healthcare

Audio Reporting: Hard News
KUT-FM - Austin, TX
Bernier Doctors on Healthcare

Audio News Documentary
KUT-FM - Austin, TX
Where I'm From

Audio News Series
KUT-FM - Austin, TX
NASA End of the Space Shuttle

Writing
KUT-FM - Austin, TX
Texas Topics Writing Samples 2010

Congratulations to KUT-FM. Now, go make a donation to keep them up and running.

The Retransmission Blues

2011-03-01T16:47:00.002-06:00

Dish VS LIN Media

Got Dish? You may not have KXAN (NBC) and its sister stations this Saturday.

Yes, it’s another one of these squabbles over retransmission. Dish has to pay KXAN’s owner, LIN Media for the right to carry programming from the channels owned by LIN in Austin and 16 other markets. In Austin, those stations include KXAN TV, KNVA TV (CW), and KBVO TV.

According to the Associated Press, LIN wants roughly double the money they’ve been getting and even more after the first year. Dish executives say they’re “frustrated” that LIN took its story to the public Monday, February 28th instead of keeping the negotiations quiet behind closed doors.

KXAN used a chunk of its Monday newscasts to feature General Manager Eric Lassberg’s explanation of the LIN/Dish impasse. Their web site, www.kxan.com goes into more detail.

“The fair compensation we are asking for amounts to pennies a day per subscriber, which is actually much less than what cable and satellite companies pay for cable networks that you may or may not watch. Our stations are important assets to our local community. They are consistently ranked among the most-watched television channels, in part because we provide local news, programming and information that cable networks don’t offer.”

KXAN urges viewers to call Dish.

Dish makes no mention of the negotiations on its site, but issued the following statement:

"LIN Media, a corporate media conglomerate, is threatening to block DISH Network customers from watching its local channels in 17 markets across the country. LIN Media is demanding more than a 140 percent rate hike and other burdensome contract terms that ultimately will result in higher prices for consumers. We are pleased the FCC is meeting this week to seek changes to the outdated retransmission consent process. In the meantime, DISH Network is diligently negotiating with LIN Media, and we're hopeful we can reach a fair agreement.”

LIN Media is hardly a conglomerate. With only 17-markets, LIN is considered a middle-sized media company. As of 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 1st there has been no agreement, and LIN indicated little optimism.

Of course, KXAN and KNVA can be accessed live in HD off the air using an antenna. KBVO, on the other hand, is only available via an antenna in the Hill Country west of Austin.

Are You a Two-Spacer?

2011-02-26T16:44:00.003-06:00

Once More With Feeling

Are you a two-spacer? I admit that I am. That admission, according to James Snider who holds an MBA in Marketing at The University of Texas, dates me. In a recent UT blog post he says it is a clue to how old I am and more.

“If you put two spaces after a period in a sentence, it tells me that you learned to type on a typewriter,” Snider says. “If you are in the habit of putting two spaces after every sentence, you might consider removing that extra space from your resume. It is dating you.”

It’s probably true.

In the seventh grade in Dallas, I was handed a blue book entitled “Manual of Standard Usage in Written Work” produced in 1959. I still have it.

Nowhere in it does it mandate that there must be two spaces after a period, but I’m sure that Lakewood Elementary School teacher Mrs. Brubaker said to do it. If it wasn’t she, it was my typing teacher in my senior year at Woodrow Wilson High School.

The Columbia Guide to Standard American English, published in 1993, is silent about spaces after periods too.

My Associated Press Style Book doesn’t address the question of spaces after a period, but regarding punctuation, it is seen as a courtesy to readers. “Think of it as a courtesy to your readers, designed to help them understand a story. Inevitably, a mandate of this scope involves gray areas. For this reason, the punctuation entries in this book refer to guidelines rather than rules. Guidelines should not be treated casually, however.”

While the columns of the AP Stylebook are justified, it appears that there is only one space after their periods in a normal entry. Is this an inference on their part? My edition of the stylebook was published in 1977, long before social media.

Texas-ex Snider, says Twitter is one of the reasons why one space after a period is now acceptable in all but academic circles. Twitter only gives you 140 characters to make your point. Every space equals a character, you know. So, eliminate them wherever you can. Right? Facebook limits the characters in your “Status” too. So, after the period, it’s one space. Period! Is social media dictating our punctuation nowadays?

Writing for Slate, Farhad Manjoo in January this year makes it clear, he’s a space hater. “I've received press releases and correspondence from the biggest companies in the world that are riddled with extra spaces,” Farhad writes. “Some of my best friends are irredeemable two spacers, too, and even my wife has been known to use an unnecessary extra space every now and then (though she points out that she does so only when writing to other two-spacers, just to make them happy).”

“Samantha Jacobs, a reading and journalism teacher at Norwood High School in Norwood, Col., told me that she requires her students to use two spaces after a period instead of one, even though she acknowledges that style manuals no longer favor that approach. Why? Because that's what she's used to. ‘Primarily, I base the spacing on the way I learned,’ she wrote me in an e-mail glutted with extra spaces,” Farhad says.

Farhad also cites space-hating pros.

"A space signals a pause," says David Jury, the author of About Face: Reviving The Rules of Typography. "If you get a really big pause—a big hole—in the middle of a line, the reader pauses. And you don't want people to pause all the time. You want the text to flow."

Mr. Farhad seems to see punctuation in news stories and even personal email in black and white terms. No. Like my copy of the old AP Style Manual says, usage of punctuation is a gray area, allowing change and perhaps growth.

Yes, I learned that two spaces after a period was the right thing to type when you write. I do believe that the spaces are a courtesy to the reader, making it easier on the eye. Yet, when I tweet, yes, I only use one space.

I’m obstinately “old school”, but I want it both ways.

Austin Post Gets Aggressive

2011-02-10T16:03:00.003-06:00

The Austin Post

Making a Major Move

Looks like The Austin Post is getting off of the porch to run with the big journalism dogs.

The Post, while continuing to court unpaid bloggers like me, is hiring professional staff to cover the important news of the day.

This move will set them apart from the competition. This aggressive approach will move The Austin Post beyond being a repository for those who have an opinion and want to blog about it. Hiring staff has the potential of making the AP a viable news medium in Austin.

The Post philosophy at its inception was to open the doors to Austin writers with the idealistic belief that the news that matters would blow in on the wind. Yes, reports about important events have been posted, most of the time, written by Editor Karie Meltzer.

Look at the page today (www.austinpost.org) and see if there is anything about the angst at the Austin Independent School District budget work sessions and the impending impact on hundreds of educators who may learn that their jobs are gone, not to mention the confused students who will be caught in the middle.

Find a story about the inane actions on so-called emergency items at the State Capitol.

You can’t.

Why? It takes reporters sitting through meetings, interviewing newsmakers, and sifting through stacks of paper. I love Meltzer’s promise to potential reporters: You’ll be “part of an adventurous and growing online newspaper where originality is valued as much as accuracy.” Now, we’re talking Journalism.

This significant move is counter what has become the industry norm. They are hiring, not cutting. They are trying to do more with more while others continue trying to do more with less.

I’ve written and said many times that reporters equal content, and content draws an audience. The unique fact that The Austin Post is willing to “run with the big dogs” and write original, compelling stories should draw readers. If my theory is right, it should result in readers and viewers.

These multiplatform reporters will be shooting still pictures from a different angle than one might see on another site. Further, they will be shooting video. It won’t be just “talking head” video. It will be Austin in motion. It will be interesting to see the bylines.

All of this comes from the mind of Meltzer who sold her bosses at Trilogy on the concept. She wants stories that go deeper than just "He said, she said." She’s asking a lot from a small staff (See her story, “The Austin Post is Hiring…”), and Austin will benefit from it.

While volunteer writers will still contribute the pieces that are the stuff of Austin, real, multi-platform reporters will be on the street with laptops and cameras finding original stories found only in The Austin Post. Will it stifle the current contributors? I don’t think so. It might make them better. I was writing this journalism/media criticism blog before there was an Austin Post. The professionalism should rub off on them. Further, as the audience grows, so will their exposure.

So, I applaud the Austin Post for daring to do what no others do at the local level. So, while the Texas Tribune may be the go-to site for state news, the Austin American-Statesman and The Austin Chronicle web sites have competition.

And here’s the cool: The Austin Post is not for profit. They aren’t beholding to anybody. Bookmark it.

New Newspaper Publisher and New Classifieds

2011-01-31T13:42:00.003-06:00

Non Sequitur

The Austin American-Statesman has a new publisher. Cox Media Group announced that Jane Williams is the new publisher of the local newspaper and the Statesman Company’s various ventures. Her previous position with Cox was Vice President of Sales, notably not news.

Even so, Ms. Williams will responsible for all news content. “As Publisher, Williams will be responsible for all business and editorial operations of the Statesman and its affiliated publications, including statesman.com, austin360.com, and 10 weekly community newspapers,” a Cox news release says.

It isn’t unusual, in fact it is prevalent to see media executives rise from the sales side of the business, but I always like it when the new boss began in production or as a cub reporter. Executives who start at the bottom dealing with the day-to-day grind of journalism, know what the business is all about most of the time.

By no means am I intimating that Ms. Williams does not know the newspaper/communications business. I am confident that she does. Her media career spans 27 years in the business. She wouldn’t be where she is and where she was if she were not.

“Jane is among Cox Media Group’s best and brightest, and we’re thrilled to be able to promote such a true professional from within our company for this senior role,” said CMG Group Vice President Ben Reed. “Combining her years of media industry experience and unique talents with our exceptional Austin team ensures continued success at one of America's premier newspaper brands.”

Interestingly, Ms. Williams does not have newspaper roots. She began her career in broadcast sales.

“Williams launched her media career at WATL-TV and WAGA in Atlanta and joined Cox Television’s WSB-TV in 1988 as an Account Executive and became a Sales Manager in 1997. Seven years later, she assumed the Director of Sales position at that station. In 2007, Williams was promoted to Vice President of Sales for Cox Television and in 2009 assumed the position of Vice President of Sales for Cox Media Group. As VP of Sales, she has been working with all CMG newspapers along with CMG television and radio properties.

“She is a past President of the Atlanta Broadcast Advertising Club, is a member of the Television Bureau of Advertising’s Board of Directors, and is a past member of the University of Georgia’s Marketing Executive Advisory Board. Williams was awarded the ABAC (Atlanta Broadcast Advertising Club) lifetime achievement award in 2009,” the Cox news release says.

Another mold-breaker is found in her education vitae: She holds a BS in Psychology and Behavioral Science from Berry College, not business, marketing, broadcasting, or journalism. She is a native of Atlanta, the Cox Media home base.

She succeeds Michael Vivio who developed and grew numerous new revenue streams keeping the paper profitable during difficult times. Vivio also staved off would-be suitors and kept the Statesman in the Cox family when it was for sale. Also, he’s a good guy.

Interestingly, the announcement of Williams’ appointment comes on the same day that the Statesman unveils a new classified ad section. “Wooooooo-whooooooooooo!!!” you say.

“Tales & Sales combines engaging content with sales information. It’s classifieds but with Austin attitude and fun. Tales & Sales also features The Stuffologist — a savvy raconteur spinning the tales behind the myriad things Austinites do and don’t do (Work) or love and don’t love (Pets). The daily themes include Wheels on Monday, Work on Tuesday, Homes on Wednesday, Pets on Thursday and Stuff on Friday,” a separate news release says.

With Craig’s List and E-Bay sucking the life out of newspaper classified ads, I have to admit that the Statesman has come is an interesting way of changing the classifieds appeal. You might want to check it out. Future, it will be interesting to see if it attracts new business.

It Could Be Better

2011-01-24T14:53:00.002-06:00

Austin Post Nailed

Recently, a reader of my journalism and media criticism blog nailed it. The reader’s comments could have been written by a media critic, but more significantly, they were written by a news consumer. The reader castigated the Austin Post (www.austinpost.org) for its lack of objectivity and playing fast and loose with facts.

What follows started as a reply on my blog, but as I wrote, I became more and more convinced that I should elevate the observations from mere comments to media criticism addressing the content of Austin Post.

It must be noted that Austin Post is basically a blog, an amalgam of blogs. There are only a few writers who are trained journalists. The stories are, using their words, "lightly edited", meaning that bias may be obvious. I'm sure Austin Post wishes for writers of all persuasions, but it just isn't happening. The Post would like to grow, but I don't think that is possible since it has no real identity.

Yes, I post at Austin Post. I write news along with an occasional, clearly identified screed. I've written less in recent months.

Once I thought that Austin Post might be a model for future journalism. I did, however, tell them up front nearly two years ago that they needed paid writers to cover beats in addition to their editor-in-chief.

So, now, I think the Post has reached its potential. Further, if they do not tighten the reins, if they do not hire professional journalists, they may recede.

Idealist writers came to the Austin Post when it went live seeing the possibilities.

The current editor-in-chief, Karie Meltzer, does what she can with what she has, constantly trying to recruit new writers. When she came on board, Meltzer freshened the home page and changed the editorial philosophy.

Over the months some of the first writers have fallen away. I can't read their minds; I don't know why they no longer post or post with frequency.

I know of at least one original writer who now posts at the Austinist. The Austinist, however, is also a blog staffed by unpaid writers, even though they have advertising.

Research in Austin over the years says that content is king. Any medium can look great, but if it lacks solid content that makes people care, it is doomed. This observation is just as true of some local TV stations as it is of the Austin Post. Content doesn’t just happen. Reporters create content. Fewer or no reporters equals less or no viable content.

It the Austin Post wants to grow, if the Austin Post wants to be a force in Austin, if the Austin Post wants to be taken seriously, it must change.

It must pay some staff members to cover the important "news of the day". It needs original pictures and video. It needs to break news rather than repeat news—stories that people have already heard or picked up from news releases. Worse, some stories are written right out of the daily newspaper. Geez.

The Austin Post must do these things. Or, the Austin Post will continue to be only as good as the person who posts the most. It will not grow. It will not prosper. Sorry.

Make It Stop

2011-01-09T18:02:00.002-06:00

Violence in the Media

Violence in the media was the topic I’ve been churning during the past week. With a bowl game every night on ESPN, I’d have all of the other televisions on nightly programming. I don’t normally write about programming, but I was somewhat stunned by some of the images depicted in these crime shows.

I saw a brief but graphic scene of a victim impaled on what looked like playground equipment. That same show—I think it was Miami SVU or something—depicted the drowning of a man buried on the beach up to his neck waiting for the tide to come in. That show, or maybe it was another one (The all seem the same to me.) showed the charred remains of a woman in a beach bonfire.

People die before our eyes in the worst possible ways. I’ve had more guns pointed at me, the viewer, during the past week that I could ever imagine in real life.

Almost all of these “dramas” have something to do with forensic science. So, they always have macabre shots of corpses on cold, metal tables in the morgue.

None of the images would have been shown on broadcast TV not that many years ago. Something has changed, hasn’t it?

Vietnam has been called the first televised war. War coverage in other eras came from sanitized news reels in theaters, newspaper coverage in long gray columns, or perhaps pictures in Life Magazine. Those photos then came the closest to revealing the grisly elements of warfare. One could also sense the fear and horror of the bombing of London during World War II listening to Edward R. Murrow’s live witnessing from the rooftop. Vietnam, however, was a game-changer.

Repulsed by what they saw on TV, viewers became voters and protesters. I’ll never forget the film of the evacuating helicopter lifting off from the American embassy in Saigon. It was powerful and poignant. It changed our perceptions.

Now, we have endured a decade of continuous, retching, and disturbing video from Iraq and Afghanistan. The suicide bombers, the IEDs, the drones literally drone on and on, wearing away at our senses. The Fort Hood shootings shook and shocked the nation. The extremist Army captain’s horrific mass murder of unarmed fellow soldiers could be seen as an isolated case. Investigators, however, always fear copy-cat killers. The intensive news coverage of the savage event could result in undesired effects on those predisposed to violence or extremism. (Video Games, Television Violence, and Aggression in Teenagers, Joseph R. Dominick, Journal of Communication, June, 1984)

Remember Pacman? Not the football player, but the video game. Now, compare that with what’s available today. I admit that I haven’t played the games, but I’ve seen the ads, usually shown during football games.

I believe that we’ve become a nation inoculated by the powerful images and violent actions. There is research to back this up. “Exposure to violent video games is significantly linked to increases in aggressive behaviour, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, and cardiovascular arousal, and to decreases in helping behaviour. Experimental studies reveal this linkage to be causal. Correlational studies reveal a linkage to serious, real-world types of aggression.” (“An update on the effects of playing violent video games”, Craig Anderson, Iowa State University, October, 2003)

Generally, young people who are predisposed to violence are more likely to exhibit violence after significant exposure to violence from most any media—Television, film, and/or games.

Further, this desensitization is revealed in the language we use. Civility left the room long ago.

Congress member Gabrielle Giffords, whose district was targeted using a crosshairs graphic by a Sarah Palin political action, was disturbed by the depiction months ago.

“We’re on Sarah Palin’s targeted list,” Giffords said in March. “But the thing is the way that she has it depicted has the cross hairs of a gun sight over our district. When people do that, they’ve got to realize there’s consequences to that.”

An apparently disturbed, 22-year-old gunman shot her in the head during a Tucson community meeting January 8, 2011. While she fights for her life, six others including an innocent nine-year-old girl and a federal judge died, and up to 14 others were wounded.

Investigators are still asking, “Why? What would trigger such unthinkable aggression?” I don’t know if he watched violent TV programs or news. I don’t know the effect of watching war for nearly half of his life. I don’t know if he played violent video games. I do know that he posted problematic screeds online.

Words do matter. "We're getting ready to celebrate this weekend the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., who admonished us that we are going to regret in this generation not just for the vitriolic words and deeds of bad people but for the appalling silence of good people," House Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn (S.C.) told Fox News Sunday, January 09, 2011.

What are the answers? What actions are available to individuals? We can start by being polite. We can teach our children to say, “Yes, Sir”. And where the media is concerned, we can turn off the TV and unplug the video games. We can talk to our children about what they are seeing in the news.

It starts with each of us. It starts at home.

"Uncle Fred" Leaving the Airways...For Now

2010-12-18T13:13:00.002-06:00

Fred Cantu On “Pause”

Fred Cantu is gone from KEYE TV (CBS) after December 30, 2010, but he’s not retiring.

“I’m leaving KEYE because they couldn't offer me the right position to do what I do best which is anchor,” Cantu told me. “I want to stay in the game. I have no plans to retire... EVER.”

Cantu joined the KEYE staff in August, 2002, after a pretty successful six-year run on KVUE-TV (ABC)’s morning show. Most recently, Cantu was co-anchor of the KEYE/Telemundo local news broadcast, working in the evenings. Before that he anchored the morning news on KEYE. He was moved to the evening news for a while before Ron Oliveira rejoined Judy Maggio behind the desk, and Cantu moved back to mornings.

In that position, Cantu endeared himself to many who began to refer to him as “Uncle Fred”. “Fred is just the perfect morning show anchor...friendly, upbeat, funny and professional,” says Judy Maggio in her KEYE blog. “With Fred, what you see is what you get. He never puts on an air, he never loses his temper, he works hard and quietly, and then [he] produces an amazing story or anchors a great newscast.”

The Austin Chronicle’s readers’ poll named Cantu “Best Anchor” four times during his run at KEYE. In October, 2009 KEYE eliminated it’s locally produced morning newscast choosing to use “The JB and Sandy Show” from Mix 94 radio with KEYE local weather cut-ins.

After bouncing from newscast to newscast over his eight year tenure, Cantu believes it’s time for a change.

“I know this pause is scaring my wife of 34 years. But she and I know this is the ‘for better or for worse’ that we talked about in our marriage vows. We went through this eight years ago and came out ahead. I'm sure the same will happen again,” Cantu said.

Change is a constant in broadcast journalism, and Cantu knows it. His broadcasting career began in Brownsville. “I started in radio while still in high school in the early 1970s, a time my daughter refers to as ‘when dinosaurs ruled the earth.’"

He reinvented himself in the 1980s here in Austin. While continuing to do radio news at KNOW AM, KVET AM, and KLBJ AM, he completed his BA in Broadcast Journalism at The University of Texas in 1990.

I first worked with him when he was an older-than-average and very savvy “intern” at KVUE TV in the late 1980s. After finishing his degree, he made the jump to TV news as weekend anchor at KTBC TV when it was still affiliated with CBS.

At the current CBS station, KEYE, he developed a continuing segment called “Gadget Guy”. Cantu totally gets technology. He also gets how technology is changing TV news.

“People used to gather at the end of the day to catch up on the news. Thanks to the Internet, that doesn't happen anymore. But local TV news can be the go-to source at the end of the day for insight into what's happening locally,” Cantu told me.

What will he miss about TV news? It’s too soon to tell. “I'm not really gone. My career is just on pause.”

Does the Media Take a Holiday?

2010-12-09T23:41:00.005-06:00

No, Not Really

In the “golden days” of traditional media the holidays were special. One KXAN TV (NBC) holiday party was very special for me. It was the first date for me and the lady who exactly one year later became my wife.

That holiday party was at the elite Green Pastures restaurant in South Austin. It was icy cold that winter night. It was the sort of “norther” that would burn your face with the chill, but it was warm and special inside the fine old mansion. There was food, beverages, music, and dancing. There was a special room for those who wished to indulge in what were said to be excellent cigars. They all smell the same to me. And, there was murmuring.

That night, there was a certain buzz. I wasn’t aware that everyone was talking about my date for the evening. I was managing editor at KXAN then. For several years past, I had attended the holiday parties alone, but that year was different. I had a date.

Media holiday parties in past years were formal in many ways. We dressed up, and there were speeches and awards. In what might have been the glory days of the golden days of TV in Austin when I was at KVUE TV (ABC), KVET/KASE radio, and KTBC TV, AM and FM going back to the 1970s, holiday celebrations were grand. At KTBC when Lyndon Johnson was still among us we were invited out to the LBJ Ranch for the party.

Some eschewed the parties, but I always considered them a fringe benefit for working at that particular Austin medium.

That was then. This is now. Gone are the formal, glittering events with ice sculptures and dancing. Although media stocks advanced somewhat recently, the formal parties disappeared several years ago.

The Austin Post (www.austinpost.org) media party this past week at a South Austin bar was somewhat of a throwback. No, it wasn’t formal. There was laughter, food, snacks, drink, a photographer, and, well, joy, at this party. Editor Karie Meltzer explained that Austin Post could do this for its unpaid writers because of the site’s low budget. Austin Post is a not-for-profit, citizen contribution “news” site.

There may have been fun and even joy at other media in town too, but it wasn’t the same as it was in the past.

“We have not had Christmas parties for several years,” says Fred Zipp of the Austin American Statesman. “We continue to offer year-end bonuses, though.” Bonuses could be an entirely viable source of joy. Money or party? You choose.

“Instead of having a Christmas party this year, we instead had a summer party,” Says Frank Volpicella, KVUE TV (ABC) news director. “We asked the staff if they would rather have a picnic with their children, or a Christmas party. They choose a picnic, so we had one in mid-September.”

In the 1980s and 1990s we used to have BOTH summer and holiday parties at KVUE and KXAN.

KVUE did have a “diversity lunch” in the newsroom this week. The TV station provided the main course, and the staff brought side dishes. Staff members were recognized for their years of service. Many received “swag”, stuff that builds up during the year—caps, T-shirts, and other things held back for distribution to the staff. This kind of thing is typical of all media.

KEYE-TV used to have formal parties too, says Suzanne Black, news director, but that changed with the times. “Even with the change, we have some pretty phenomenal employee gifts and door prizes for this year, as well as years past,” Black says. “We do still have our [station-wide, catered] holiday lunch – and I’m looking forward to it! The news managers are also holding a holiday lunch for the news staff. We’re cooking for them!”

Nowadays, however, most members of the media celebrate the holidays in their work places with no formal attire, no ice sculptures, and no bands. Then, they go back to work, banging out the news of the day. Some of the staff is stuck at the court house or elsewhere unable to make it, but that’s the way it is. If they have seniority or if they’re lucky, they may have the holiday off to celebrate with family and friends.

Me? I’m glad for the “glory days”. Our anniversary is coming up!

Job Opening: Newspaper Publisher

2010-12-06T14:31:00.002-06:00

Vivio Promoted

The Austin-American Statesman has a opening for a new publisher.

Michael Vivio, publisher of the local newspaper and CEO of Statesman Co. for more than two years, is being promoted by parent company, Cox Media Group. Vivio will be president of Cox Target Media/Valpak effective in early January located in Largo, Florida in the Tampa/Saint Petersburg area.

The next publisher for the paper has not been named.

During his two-plus years in Austin, Vivio greatly expanded the revenue streams flowing from Statesman Co. Maximizing revenue streams is essential to keep a traditional newspaper afloat when the future of newspapers nationwide is in flux.

Notably, Vivio guided the newspaper to through an uncertain time when several Cox newspapers were for sale and sold. Eventually, the American-Statesman was taken off the market, probably because of its profitability and potential.

During his time at the Statesman, the organization launched two successful community newspapers, a website called hookem.com [more on that in a moment], and recently purchased InFactDaily, an online newsletter offering in-depth coverage of City Hall. This spring the newspaper was named Best Metro Newspaper by the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors, and Statesman.com was named Best Metro Online Newspaper by the same organization. It is also the largest printing facility in Central Texas.

“The challenges in this new job will be similar to those facing everyone in the traditional media business,” Vivio told me. “We will need to transition an established and profitable print operation into a digital future. Valpak has considerable brand awareness and momentum in digital coupons and I hope to build upon that to make the business strong long into the future.”

“Michael is an innovative leader with an excellent track record in media sales, marketing and digital business,” said Doug Franklin, Executive Vice President of Cox Media Group. “His people-centric management style will benefit our Valpak franchisees and Cox Target Media (CTM) employees. He also will be a great champion of the mailbox, our business clients and developing a complimentary digital portfolio to grow the Valpak brand and CTM businesses,” said a Cox news release.

“While the thought of leaving The Statesman Co. and Austin saddens me, I am energized by the new challenge ahead,” Vivio said. “Cox Target media/Valpak delivers savings and value to more than 40 million homes per month and is a national leader in the growing online coupon business. I see enormous potential to help build on the momentum established by the current team at Valpak,” Vivio said in a story in the December 6, 2010 Statesman.

“I will start commuting [to and from Florida] after the first of the year. My family will move over the summer,” Vivio told me. “Vivio is married to Beth Vivio, a full-time community volunteer, and has two sons, ages 8 and 12. He serves on the boards of the Salvation Army, Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, United Way Capital Area, and the Texas Daily Newspaper Association,” the American-Statesman story said.

As a footnote, also announced in the Monday, December 06, 2010 American-Statesman, www.hookem.com is making big changes, hooking up with the 247sports.com network. Hookem.com becomes a “subscription-based website with premium content that is linked to, and part of, the national 247Sports.com,” the newspaper says.

The key words here, of course are “subscription-based”. “The new Hookem.com/247 Sports site stands with InFact Daily as a statement to our belief that readers will pay for highly specialized valuable content,” Vivio told me.

Yes, it’s another revenue stream, and it will, indeed, take “premium content” to attract readers. There is lots of more well-known competition for sports news.

InFactDaily.com is a subscription only electronic newswire covering city hall and Austin politics for insiders and others who are willing to pay for full access to its content.

Benz There. Done That.

2010-11-29T22:32:00.003-06:00

News Ate

Another “Big J” broadcast journalist is exiting an Austin news channel. Kevin Benz was at Time Warner Cable’s (TWC) News 8 from the beginning. In less than a year, he ascended from assistant news director to news director.

“Twelve years is a long time,” Benz says. “I am leaving a great company, a great TV station, and an even greater bunch of people. I am so proud to say I worked with them. Launching a TV station is not for the faint of heart but that's what we did in 1999 and the result is something I am most proud of.”

“I can’t say that it was my idea [leaving News 8], but the timing was right,” Benz told me. Benz’s departure was a mutual decision, sources say.

There was a meeting of “corporate brass” this morning [Monday, November 29, 2010] with Steve Paulus, TWC’s senior vice president of news of News 1 in New York City which now oversees News 8. Benz was not invited. Shortly after the meeting, Benz left. The staff was notified in an afternoon meeting.

Newsroom sources say Benz departure can be viewed as news philosophical differences going in opposite directions.

Benz showed class as the News 8 door closed.

“Early next year News 8 will change its name to YNN, [“Your News Now”]. It seems like the right time for me to turn over the leadership reins to someone else and as good a time as any to take on something new. I will rooting for the station from the stands now as it makes its transition,” Benz said. “I’m very comfortable with the outcome.”

Benz, of course, had made News 8 a go-to news medium in many Austin viewers’ minds as a local 24/7 news/weather/sports operation. It was the first of its kind in Austin, and Benz put his hard-core, “Big J” Journalism brand on it. Recognition followed.

“In a very short time News 8 won a National Murrow Award, two Sigma Delta Chi Awards for Journalistic Excellence, three National Walter Cronkite Awards for Excellence in Political Reporting, and was a Finalist for a DuPont - Columbia Award. Our democracy needs more stations like News 8, and journalism needs more dedicated people like those working there,” Benz says.

While the other broadcast news departments in Austin chose to cover so-called routine news events with a pool camera, Benz stood his ground, refusing to join. Thereby, News 8 photojournalists had a different take on local news events if for no other reason they shot their own video. Yes, it could have resulted in cost savings, but Benz wouldn’t have it.

News 8 also relies on the one-man-band approach to TV news—a reporter who shoots, writes, and edits content. Call it “Doing more with less” as I have, but at least one Austin broadcast station is moving in that direction. If you hear the phrase “multi-platform”, think one-man-band. Those “platforms” nowadays are many, including posting stories to the Internet and social media.

During the past year, News 8 has been without a general manager, and Benz had been acting GM as well as news director. Also, however, during the past year since the beginning of the oversight of News 1, Austin’s News 8 has been under scrutiny.

In the meantime, the news channel recently completed major upgrades to its facilities just north of the State Capitol, something Benz oversaw with pride. Benz insists that the upgrades are evidence that journalistic excellence will continue.

“News 8 matters,” Benz declares. “It matters to Central Texas and it matters to journalism and Time Warner Cable gets it. They understand the importance of doing relevant, responsible journalism that improves our community, and I honor them for that.”

Michael Pearson is the interim News Director.

For his part Benz says journalism is still a huge part of his life.

“As Chair-elect of RTDNA (The Radio, Television, Digital News Association) I am charged with leading the planning for the National Excellence in Journalism Convention next year. I also serve on the Board and do training for the Carole Kneeland Project for Responsible Journalism which is based here in Austin. Those projects will begin taking up significant amounts of time for me and I'm excited about them.” Benz says.

Benz says this is the third time that he has re-invented himself, and each re-invention has been better than the last.

The TV news business is like that. Change. Constant change or eventual change. That’s probably applicable to life in general.

Some Want to Bust Me!

2010-11-22T18:13:00.002-06:00

Scarborough Busted Now

Now, MSNBC’s Joe “Morning Joe” Scarborough is on a two-day suspension for making political contributions to Republican candidates in past years. Just like Keith Olbermann before him, the former newspaper man and congressman-turned-TV-morning show host will be back on the air Wednesday, November 24, 2010.

There was much comment at the time about whether Olbermann is a journalist, a commentator, a host or what? I even mused that maybe Mr. Olbermann should return to sports at ESPN.

Then, I remembered the words of the long-time and long-ago sports director at KTBC TV in the CBS days. Phil Miller weighed in on a newsroom debate one night say, “Sports IS news”. He was and is right. How many times has Mack Brown appeared on the front page of the Austin American-Statesman this fall? How many times, has the sports anchor appeared in the first news segment as will as during sports?

Sports reporters and anchors have been involved in the reporting of major news events, such as Charles Whitman’s fuselage from the UT Tower in 1966 or the Munich massacre at the 1972 Olympics reported by Jim McKay.

Most sports reporters and anchors receive the same Journalism training as those who focus on “hard” news. Both Olberman and Scarborough should have known better. As one writer to the newsmcnabb blog put it, “Rules are rules.”

Interestingly, several others, however, took Olbermann’s side. I assume that they would take Scarborough’s side too.

“WRONG, JIM.” Anonymous posted.

“As a US Citizen, Olbermann has every right to give what he wants to give to a political campaign, and without having to ask permission from his corporate overlords.

“Get off your journalistic high horse!”

And another anonymous using the same terminology agreed.

“Once again, Mr. McNabb, your double standard is perplexing,” wrote Anonymous #2. “ You - the self-proclaimed, self-appointed local "watchdog" of all things pure in journalism - apparently still consider yourself a journalist...and yet you have held events/fundraisers at your home for candidates (RE: "Blame Partisan Media," June 10, 2010). There's little difference between you and Olbermann, so get off the high horse. The real question is: Who watches the "watchdog"?”

Yes, I do still consider myself a journalist. I’ve often said, “Once a journalist, always a journalist,” but I am a retired journalist. I no longer work in day-to-day mainstream Journalism. I do teach at the university level on the adjunct faculty at St. Edward’s University, but I am teaching “Presentational Speech”, not journalism. There is a difference.

Further, Anonymous #2 knows that I have indeed worked in politics and participated in political fundraisers since my retirement because I said so in the interest of transparency. It is no secret.

I sometimes wonder if Anonymous must feel some heat from this journalism/media criticism column. Perhaps a good investigative piece might be to search local lists of political contributions for names of working journalists. Some don't use their legal names on the air or in bylines.

Finally, “Who watches the watchdog?” The answer is, you. You and Anonymous.

Olberman, Leno, O’Reilly—Sadly, All The Same

2010-11-08T22:26:00.002-06:00

Olbermann Responds

Keith Olbermann is no better than the people he has ridiculed on Fox, I say with disappointment. Yes, he should, indeed, qualify for his “Worst Persons” acknowledgement.

The BoldProgressives.org released a message tonight, Monday, November 08, 2010 from Olbermann. It answers all questions. He doesn’t get it, and perhaps he should return to sportscasting:

Statement To The Viewers Of Countdown

“I want to sincerely thank you for the honor of your extraordinary and ground-rattling support.

“Your efforts have been integral to the remedying of these recent events, and the results should remind us of the power of individuals spontaneously acting together to correct injustices great or small.

“I also wish to apologize to you viewers for having precipitated such anxiety and unnecessary drama. You should know that I mistakenly violated an inconsistently applied rule – which I previously knew nothing about -- that pertains to the process by which such political contributions are approved by NBC.

“Certainly this mistake merited a form of public acknowledgment and/or internal warning, and an on-air discussion about the merits of limitations on such campaign contributions by all employees of news organizations.

“Instead, after my representative was assured that no suspension was contemplated, I was suspended without a hearing, and learned of that suspension through the media.

“You should also know that I did not attempt to keep any of these political contributions secret; I knew they would be known to you and the rest of the public. [Astounding] I did not make them through a relative, friend, corporation, PAC, or any other intermediary, and I did not blame them on some kind of convenient 'mistake' by their recipients.

“When a website contacted NBC about one of the donations, I immediately volunteered that there were in fact three of them; and contrary to much of the subsequent reporting, I immediately volunteered to explain all this, on-air and off, in the fashion MSNBC desired.

“I genuinely look forward to rejoining you on Countdown on Tuesday, to begin the repayment of your latest display of support and loyalty - support and loyalty that is truly mutual.”

Mr. Olbermann doesn’t apologize for making the contributions. No. He says he “mistakenly violated an ‘inconsistently applied rule…’”

Know that I have been a fan of Countdown. Now, however, its host is admitting more or less that he’s the same as Jay Leno or David Letterman doing a monologue, not NEWS [Editor’s emphasis added] and commentary. Olbermann’s debate about authenticity, transparency, and veracity relies on the vagaries of MSNBC rules.

Sorry, Keith. It’s not about rules. It’s about ethics. It doesn’t matter if Olbermann made the contributions openly. He shouldn’t have made them in the first place.

Ouch! That Smarts!

2010-11-08T11:30:00.002-06:00

Olbermann Will Return

[Editor's Note: The follow is updated information included with details from the previous post.]

MSNBC’s highly rated host Keith Olbermann will return to his program Tuesday, November 9, 2010 with little more than a wrist slap for professional transgressions.

“After several days of deliberation and discussion, I have determined that suspending Keith through and including Monday night's program is an appropriate punishment for his violation of our policy,” said Phil Griffin, MSNBC president. “We look forward to having him back on the air Tuesday night.”

As you may have heard or read, Mr. Olbermann is suspended without pay from his job as host/anchor of “Countdown” on MSNBC indefinitely for making three $2,500 contributions to Democratic Party Congressional candidates during the last election cycle. What was he thinking and when did he stop thinking?

Well, that’s great, but did not Keith Olbermann at some time while earning his Communications Arts degree from Cornell ever take an ethics course? Did not some hoary professor rail against the mere appearance of partiality, political or otherwise? Did not some mentor along the way pull Olbermann aside telling him the dos and don’ts of journalism? Did not Mr. Olbermann have a policy manual placed in his hands at some broadcast outlet detailing unacceptable behavior unbecoming a journalist? Did he forget or did he think that none of this applied to him anymore?

At the local level I’m on record as a watchdog of sorts for journalists that approach the line of impartiality, even if they don’t cross the line. It’s unacceptable.

Regrettably, his colleague and friend Rachel Maddow defended him on the air Friday, November 05, 2010, comparing what happened to him to a long list of Fox News Channel “journalists” who have made contributions and even raised money for their favorite politicians. Ms. Maddow has a PhD, but it isn’t in journalism. I enjoy her show most of the time, and it has journalistic value. She’s wrong on this one. Her analysis does not approach Journalism with a big “J”.

My dad early on cautioned me to never compare myself to anyone else. Ms. Maddow and Mr. Olbermann would do well to not offer a defense of saying, Fox does it. Doesn’t that prove a double standard?

No.

I don’t care what Fox News Channel does. That’s Rupert Murdoch’s business. His rags (with the possible exception of the Wall Street Journal) that some call newspapers and Fox do not set a high standard. I doubt that Mr. Murdoch’s form of media was taught at Cornell either.

Did not Mr. Olbermann know that campaign contributions are a public record? Did he not think that his rather distinctive name might be noticed?

A former Austin news director and friend of mine and I used to have heady discussions about his decision not to vote in primary elections. His contention was that “someone” would see that he’d voted in a particular party primary. Therefore, he must be a member of that party.

My feeling was that being a journalist should not deprive me of the right to vote. I could and should vote in a primary. Just because I voted in a certain party’s primary shouldn’t label me as a member of that party.

We went round and round about it, and I don’t think that it was ever decided one way or another.

Making a political contributions to a candidate or candidates, on the other hand, is different. It’s commitment. It’s taking cold, hard cash out of your pocket and giving it to a campaign. That tarnishes your credibility. Well, it puts you on the same plain as Fox. Does Olbermann really want to be there?

Recently, Olbermann made a good decision. He decided to abandon one of the features in Countdown—“The Worst Persons in the World”. His intentions were noble. He felt that that portion of the program was less than civil, and he wanted to reset the standard.

Well, Mr. Olbermann has reset the standard alright. He, himself, might now qualify as one of his “Worst Persons in the World”.

Showing a lack of understanding of the profession of journalism, BoldProgressives.Org immediately kicked off a campaign to return Olbermann to the air as soon as possible, seeking signatures to a petition to be sent to MSNBC. By mid-day Sunday, November 7, 2010, BoldProgressives touted that more than 250,000 had signed up. Maybe MSNBC president Phil Griffin was impressed, or maybe he made the decision to return Olbermann to the anchor chair because of the important November Sweeps now in progress.

All of us deserve a little grace, even for egregious transgressions. So, I’m glad Olbermann is coming back. I really like his intellect (when he uses it) and wit, but I’ll be very interested to hear what he has to say when he returns.

In the mean time, this should be a lesson to all young people who want to call themselves professional journalists.

Nowadays, the line seems to be blurred between commentator/entertainer/host and journalist. There IS a difference, and I am happy that NBC/MSNBC was quick to recognize that Olbermann had crossed that line and took definitive action even at the outset of a sweeps month. Ms. Maddow might take note too.

What Was He Thinking and When Did He Stop Thinking

2010-11-05T22:32:00.002-05:00

Olbermann Busted

Did not Keith Olbermann at some time while earning his Communications Arts degree from Cornell ever take an ethics course? Did not some hoary professor rail against the mere appearance of partiality, political or otherwise? Did not some mentor along the way pull Olbermann aside telling him the dos and don’ts of journalism? Did not Mr. Olbermann have a policy manual placed in his hands at some broadcast outlet detailing unacceptable behavior unbecoming a journalist? Did he forget or did he think that none of this applied to him anymore?

At the local level I’m on record as a watchdog of sorts for journalists that approach the line of impartiality, even if they don’t cross the line. It’s unacceptable.

My dad early on cautioned me to never compare myself to anyone else. Ms. Maddow and Mr. Olbermann would do well to not offer a defense of saying, Fox does it. Doesn’t that prove a double standard?

No.

Did not Mr. Olbermann know that campaign contributions are a public record? Did he not think that his rather distinctive name might be noticed?

We went round and round about it, and I don’t think that it was ever decided one way or another.

Well, Mr. Olbermann has reset the standard alright. He, himself, might now qualify as one of his “Worst Persons in the World”.

I really like his intellect (when he uses it) and wit, but I’ll be very interested to hear what he has to say when he returns.

In the mean time, this should be a lesson to all young people who want to call themselves professional journalists.

And the Winner Is ...

2010-11-03T15:35:00.003-05:00

So, Who Won on TV?

Now that the votes are in, it’s time to consider who did the best job of reporting the election. It must be said that since I only have four TVs, and I can’t watch all stations and some networks all at the same time. So, since KTBC TV (Fox) coverage is at 9 p.m. when things are just heating up in other parts of the nation, KTBC was left out. I’m sure they did a fine job.

Locally, I’m going to give my nod to KXAN TV (NBC) despite some hiccups and one ill-advised decision. (Yeah, I know that some will sneer saying he’s just picking them because he worked there. Remember, I worked, er, everywhere, and I have friends at all stations.) Part of the reason that I picked KXAN is NBC. NBC provided the local station with ample windows for reporting results. KXAN promised to be everywhere in their promos, and they seemed to be everywhere, using several forms of technology throughout the evening reporting local and state election results. KEYE TV (CBS) stuck to programming until its 10 O’clock.

The 6 O’clock dry run with Robert Hadlock and Leslie Cook had a highlight and a low light. The high light was taking advantage of a live report via broadband from Elise Hu of the non-for-profit web portal Texas Tribune. Hu was formerly the capitol reporter for KVUE TV (ABC). She’s a polished pro providing depth to the coverage. The Texas Tribune makes its content available to all at no charge, but this is the first time I’ve seen their content used in broadcast media. Hu identified herself with the Trib, but then did a custom KXAN tag or “sig out” at the end. I generally don’t like broadband coverage except during spot news coverage, but the report from the Trib worked well.

The 6 O’clock low light was an awkward loss of a live shot. Anchor Robert Hadlock read the intro to pitch to Shannon Wolfson at the Bill White election night party in Houston, and poor Mr. Hadlock was left with his face hanging out. Hadlock, also a pro, handled it well and moved on. They were successful in going to the Houston later in the broadcast. Here’s a producer’s rule: Have the talent talking on camera doing a microphone check well before you go to the shot. That way, if there is a problem, the producer can tell the anchor to skip that page, and no one is the wiser.

True, live shots go down unexpectedly, but KXAN has a long, long history of shooting itself in the technical foot. These technical problems are sometimes due to today’s TV production automation, but we’re talking about technical problems over the decades long before today’s automation.

Throughout the evening, KXAN seemed to have more cut-ins and more election reports that the competitors. I didn’t count them or time them. KXAN sometimes would scroll through the races so fast, it was close to impossible to read them. Maybe it was just me trying to watch four TVs at once.

One other thing KXAN did was a live report from their web producer telling what viewers were saying about the election. She handled it well.

It was really hard to decide whether KXAN was better than KVUE because of KXAN’s “issues”. It’s all rather subjective anyway. Yes, KXAN had flaws, but they took some chances. Some worked, some didn’t. I thought about calling it a tie, but I decided that was the “chicken” way out.

The 10 O’clock show—always hectic on election nights—was smooth on KXAN compared to the 6 O’clock, but the producers made one bad decision. They took the live victory speech from Rick Perry off the top instead of giving election results. KEYE-TV (CBS) did the same.

This is where KVUE and KEYE made the right choice. KVUE quickly ran through the “numbers”, giving the audience what it really wants first before going to the governor. "KEYE did the governor’s numbers first, followed by a liveshot from Jason Wheeler," says Suzanne Black, KEYE news director. "We then went back to Ron and Judy who pitched to the Governor’s speech." There is no reason to let the governor run the TV station. Stations can always record the speech from the beginning or join it in progress. The users/viewers/consumers/audience wants to know all of the election results. So, stations should show them off the top of the show with very rare exceptions.

As usual, KVUE’s production anchored by Terri Gruca and Tyler Seiswerda was clean and professional. There were no obvious distractions, although I’m sure that there was chaos behind the scenes. There always is chaos on election night.

KEYE’s Judy Maggio and Ron Oliviera, Austin’s most experienced anchors, did an admirable job with their available resources.

Nationally, as I said, NBC seemed to have the best coverage going “wall-to-wall” before anyone else. ABC started up its coverage a little later. NBC had superior sets and graphics. Those same graphics and reporter resources were utilized by MSNBC—a huge advantage to the cable channel. MSNBC was wall-to-wall all evening long, as was CNN and Fox. MSNBC was the most nimble, interrupting interviews at times to “call” another contest. They had constant results. CNN’s picture was so cluttered, one really needed a 60-inch HD flat screen to read it all. I don’t.

It was MSNBC that took the entire Rand Paul victory speech live. They do that kind of thing often.

Yeah, some people may not like the MSNBC anchors and analysts. Yeah, they can be considered “liberal”, but they also can be considered good journalists and reporters when they’re not giving commentary. So, MSNBC is my choice for best coverage at the national level.

The Washington Post is the hands-down winner for timely alerts calling winners in races nationwide. I thought my phone was going to melt down. It did need a re-charge.

We all do.

Michell Valles Departs

2010-10-25T11:47:00.005-05:00

Michelle Valles is leaving KEYE TV (CBS).

She announced on Facebook Monday morning, October 25,"I have just announced to my beloved colleagues at KEYE-TV that I have decided to pursue other interests after my contract ends this year. It was a wonderful experience helping launch Austin Live, but I am ready to begin a new journey! Thank you KEYE-TV and Central Texas viewers, this has been a GREAT chapter in my life."

Her last day will be December 15th.

Valles says her plans are still up in the air.

"It's all in the works and too preliminary to give you a long-range plan. I have a lot of prospects and am considering which one I fit in best. Short term--time off and rejuvenating. This has been the most laborious role I've ever had in TV. It's extremely demanding and with that I need time to re-focus.

Would she return to local TV? She doesn't rule it out. "If it's the right company and philosophy. I have so many options! I'm thrilled, a little acting, writing (i have plans for a book) but most importantly time for me and my close ones. I am so excited!"

Valles came to Austin as the main 5, 6, and 10 anchor on KXAN TV (NBC) in 2003. While there, she won "Best Anchor" honors from the Texas Associated Press Broadcasters.

After a much-publicized DWI arrest, which was later reduced. She left KXAN when she and the station couldn't agree on a new contract.

KEYE TV hired Valles as a morning anchor with Fred Cantu in 2008.

When the station decided to abandon its traditional morning broadcast, Valles helped lauch a "live style" show at 4 p.m. with co-anchor Jason Wheeler. Much of the show was built around her personality.

"We are launching a nationwide search for her replacement," says Suzanne Black, KEYE TV news director. I wish her much luck and good fortune. I will miss her."

Gone

2010-10-12T18:06:00.005-05:00

KEYE TV’s Gregg Watson Gone

“I looked up and you were there. I looked up and thought you were there, but I was wrong. You were gone,” I told Gregg Watson formerly of KEYE-TV (CBS).

"After five years here at KEYE TV, I am leaving to start a new adventure,” Watson says on his blog, http://www.greggwatsontv.com. “I just wish I knew what that adventure is. The folks here at KEYE have been awesome, and I feel blessed to have worked here. The TV news business is brutal, and you can’t take management decisions personally.”

The UT-Austin graduate says that his contract was up, and “I’m too old to get tied into a situation that would make me unhappy in six months. No one wants to work with a negative Nellie,” he says on his blog entitled “Life After KEYE TV.”

Watson will turn 45 next month. He was the station’s most experienced and seasoned reporter. Watson moved on about a week ago.

Watson says he’s not through with TV news, if TV isn’t through with him. “I’m hoping to stay in TV news, although I have no offers. I turned down two jobs in the past month because they didn’t feel right.” He is exploring freelance offices in the Dallas area where his mother lives. Many stations are choosing to hire freelance reporters and avoid having to pay benefits. “I miss the folks in Austin, especially at my church, but I've moved on. Don't know if it's for the better yet because I still love TV News, he says.

Watson grew up in Denison, north of Dallas. Now, his mother requires 24-hour care for dementia costing some $6,000 a month. For now, he is taking on that responsibility, saving that money. “If I didn’t love this woman who gave me life, I would have walked out on her days ago. One doctor told Watson, “She doesn’t know how to do much, and [she] is depending on you for her care.”

Gregg Watson is a good guy, a talented guy. He’ll be missed.

Trying to Out Groupon Groupon

2010-10-12T13:14:00.003-05:00

When is a newspaper more than a newspaper?

Answer: Now.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010, the Austin American-Statesman announced another interesting possible revenue stream having absolutely nothing to do with journalism but everything to do with money.

“Dealswarm” is the newest product of the Statesman and Cox Media Group (CMG), the Statesman’s parent company. What’s Dealswarm? It’s “a new group-buying discount program,” according to their news release. It “will soon offer bargain hunters in Austin outrageous online discounts of 50 percent or more on local dining, entertainment and other services from some of the most popular local businesses. Customers can now simply and quickly register on dealswarm.com to receive daily e-mail alerts about discount offers in their area. In the next few weeks, daily DealSwarm deals will be ready and available for purchase.”

Sounds familiar? Sounds like Groupon?

“Groupon started in November 2008 … to make it easier for people to enjoy the great things in their community. We do it by offering daily deals at unbeatable prices through the power of group buying,” according to the Groupon website.

Michael Vivio, Austin American-Statesman and austin360.com publisher, thinks Dealswarm can out Groupon Groupon. “We believe we can be successful in the space because of our large database of readers (who have already signed up to receive deals) and existing local business relationships,” Vivio says. “Those two factors combined with the promotional power of the Statesman and our websites will give us a quick entry into the market.”

So, like Groupon, users will sign up for daily email notification of the specials for the day. “This new product will give customers unprecedented access to some of the hottest local retail discounts not found anywhere else, and will help local advertisers and businesses promote themselves effectively to existing and new customers,” according to the Statesman release. “The Statesman Co. is excited to be a player in the growing deal-of-the-day market,” Vivio says.

Cox media is also rolling out Dealswarm in Atlanta, Dayton, and Seattle, and more markets are coming in 2011.

“Different from others in the group-buying space, our local media properties in each DealSwarm market bring unprecedented marketing power with established readers, viewers and listeners,” said David Shipps, DealSwarm’s Vice President in the Cox news release. “For our business partners, there are no upfront costs. They simply benefit from new customers and a fantastic promotional opportunity for their business.”

Shipps added that the program will be promoted by CMG’s radio, TV and newspaper websites, Facebook applications and Twitter accounts in each market, and through their respective e-newsletters on the day deals are available. The program will also be advertised on air in certain markets with TV for additional exposure.

So, Dealswarm is the Statesman’s latest partnership following boocoo.com, a competitor to eBay.

“Our BooCoo partners said they are well above their growth projections. But, since it is a start-up effort, it is not producing much revenue,” Vivio says. “They are building traffic much faster than other auction start-ups thanks to the newspaper promotion, they say.” A quick check of the www.boocoo.com site does show that they have products for sale.

The Statesman also partners with Monster’s Hot Jobs and AutoTrader.com.

She Will Be Missed

2010-09-30T21:32:00.003-05:00

KVUE TV’s Thea Williams 1965-2010

KVUE TV’s home page has a small post and video today saying a somber farewell to a longtime friend who will be remembered by many in Central Texans:

“KVUE is saying goodbye to a dear friend and colleague.

“Our Daybreak and Midday executive producer Thea Williams passed away Wednesday night after a lengthy illness.

“Thea was a talented journalist and was widely respected for her high standards and great compassion. She was a leader in the newsroom, a mentor to young journalists, and most of all, a dear friend.

It is never easy to say goodbye. Thea lived every day with true grace and kindness.

“Our prayers are with her family and her two children.

“Her impact on all of us will not be forgotten.”

Patti Smith, KVUE president and general manager, informed the staff this morning.

“For those of you who were lucky enough to have worked with Thea, you know that she lit up the room with her presence. She was the guiding force behind KVUE’s Daybreak and Midday for many years and her contributions to this station will never be forgotten,” Smith said. “Above and beyond that, Thea was a wonderful friend to many, both inside and outside this building.

There were many times I’d be in the public representing the station at an event and I’d be approached by someone that had contact with Thea and our newsroom. They were always complimentary about Thea and would usually say, ‘Oh, I love Thea!’ We all did. Her laughter and friendship will not be forgotten; her impact on us all will not be forgotten.”

Williams joined KVUE 15 years ago as a producer. She was a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin. She also had her master’s degree in journalism, and she taught classes at Austin Community College. Prior to KVUE, she worked at WJXT TV in Jacksonville, Florida.

“She was the only person to call me “Franco,” and get away with it,” says Frank Volpicella, KVUE news director. “She always had a smile. She always was positive. Always a bundle of energy. I don’t believe she ever uttered anything negative about anyone.”

Here’s a little-known fact: “She hated squirrels. She was very afraid of them. Sometimes she would walk through our courtyard, and have to run back inside out of breath, because she saw a squirrel,” Volpicella says.

She was also a pack rat like many journalists. Her desk was always jammed with stuff. Journalists claim they never know when they might need something in there.

Williams had been battling breast cancer. “She courageously battled against her illness. She was very spiritual and religious. I know her faith helped her considerably during her illness. It is a difficult day at KVUE news. Everyone is deeply saddened,” Volpicella said.

Thea Williams was 45.

(c) Jim McNabb, 2010

Time Warner Cable Austin’s “Customer Service”

2010-09-17T21:40:00.005-05:00

Whose Pixel Problem Is It?

Does Time Warner Cable-Austin (TWC) not have a competent engineer on the clock during prime time? If viewers wanted to watch MSNBC Friday, September 17, 2010 they could not help but be annoyed. I was annoyed.

I started trying to watch during “Hardball with Chris Matthews” around 6:20 p.m. Central. I finally gave up and switched to baseball shortly before 9 p.m. during “Rachel Maddow”. OK, so I revealed my viewing choices. This isn’t about MSNBC. It’s about what TWC calls customer service.

Tuning in MSNBC, “Standard Service” on Channel 49, it was periodically pixelling (Is that a word?). The pixels are little boxes and garbled sound when a channel isn’t tuned in. If you use your digital TV converter to pick up live television, you’ve seen this phenomenon before. When you’re tuning with “rabbit ears”, it’s one thing. When you’re watching cable TV, a service you’re paying for, it’s another issue.

Pixels can happen when a satellite transponder isn’t tuned. Rarely the problem is at the source. Most of the time, the problem is where the signal is received, in this case, Time Warner Cable.

Having worked in TV, I assumed (Never assume.) that some engineer was working on the problem. After an hour, I began to wonder. So, I called.

A nice guy—we’ll call him Bryan—said he’d check. Early on, Bryan said that he’d gotten other calls about Standard Cable Channel #49. Hmmmm. Then, Bryan came back on to say that he would reset my cable box. NO! This is the Standard Cable tier. There is no box. Others have complained. The problem clearly is not on the consumer’s end. The problem is either with TWC or MSNBC. Bryan seemed to understand. He put me on hold again.

He came back with this suggestion: He’d give me a telephone number, and I could call the network. NO! No, Bryan. “It’s TWC’s job to call the network, not mine. I’m buying the service, and you’re the provider of the service,” I said. He put me on hold again.

When he came back, I asked if TWC had an engineer on duty. An engineer should check the satellite transponder and tweak it until it is tuned, or the engineer should call their provider. He put me on hold again.

When he returned he claimed that they were working on it, and if it wasn’t resolved by tomorrow, I should call back. “No,” I said, feeling like a member of Congress having said “No” so much. I asked again whether they had an engineer on duty who could check on the problem because it could be a quick fix.

I didn’t want to hammer the poor guy whose job it is to answer the phone, but apparently is provided with little information and little understanding of how cable TV works.

He put me on hold again. I said that it was OK.

When “Bryan” came back, he claimed that their technicians were working the problem locally, and if TWC determined that it wasn’t their issue, they’d call the network. I thanked him for his efforts and time. When I gave up, the problem had not been resolved at the Standard Service level.

So, I ask again: Does TWC have a competent engineer on duty during prime time? Now, I’ll add the question, is this TWC’s definition of customer service?

TWC needs competition.

Mickey Mouse and TWC are Friends Again

2010-09-03T11:17:00.001-05:00

Who won? Who lost?

Time Warner Cable says it is its customers who won.

Customers/users/viewers of TWC found this email this morning:

"To Our Valued Customers...

"Time Warner Cable is always negotiating new deals with TV networks. Recently, we reached a new long-term agreement with Disney/ABC and ESPN, so you can continue to watch your favorite channels and the shows you love for years to come.

"There will be no interruption of ESPN or Disney channels, as well as WABC in New York, KABC in Los Angeles, WTVD in Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville and WTVG in Toledo. They'll stay right here on Time Warner Cable. In fact, our agreement means more networks and services for you, including the following*:

"Disney Junior - a new 24-hour basic channel for preschool-age children, parents and caregivers launching in 2012.

"ESPN3.com - ESPN's live sports broadband network will be available to all Time Warner Cable subscribers who get ESPN.

"A New ESPN Service - customers will be able to view ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU through broadband and mobile Internet devices.

"ESPN Goal Line - a college football super-highlight channel will be available only to Time Warner Cable’s Sports Pass customers starting as early as September 4, 2010.

"ESPN Buzzer Beater - a college basketball service similar to ESPN Goal Line, will be available to Time Warner Cable’s Sports Pass customers for college basketball season.

"Expanded Video On Demand Services - including ABC On Demand, Disney-branded On Demand offerings for kids, local sports content in select markets, plus the subscription Video On Demand service "Disney Family Movies."

"Start Over and Look Back - featured on a variety of Disney Media Networks content.

"ESPN Deportes - will be available to a larger Time Warner Cable footprint.

"ESPN 3D"

And so ends the latest TWC drama. There will be more, to be sure.

It will be interesting to see the roll-out of these newly announced features and what they will cost. I'm thinking that they will not be free.

Here We Go Again

2010-08-28T22:04:00.005-05:00

TWC Vs. Mickey

Poor Time-Warner Cable. Mickey Mouse is trying to rip them off.

Time-Warner Cable customers are getting email and spots are running on the cable that Disney, owner and operator of ABC TV, ESPN, and Disney Channels, is threatening to pull programming from Time-Warner. It’s another one of those revenue things that seem to happen with TWC every six months or so.

Of course, if Disney plays hardball, “Baseball Tonight” and “Desperate Housewives” could disappear from the cable line-up. (It seems that channels are disappearing from the standard line up all of the time. More about that later.)

“To connect you with all the shows you love to watch, we must pay the companies that own the broadcast TV stations and cable networks. We fight to keep those fees as low as possible, because they directly impact the cable bill you have to pay each month,” says TWC on its web site RolloverorGet Tough.com. “When all is said and done, Time Warner Cable earned a profit for its shareholders of about $0.06 for every dollar that we brought in during 2009. (That’s slightly below the average of 7% for the past 10 years among US companies in the S&P 500, according to the Wall Street Journal.)”

Let’s not forget that TWC is the second-largest cable company in the nation. The figures above notwithstanding, they make lots of money.

August 5, 2010, TWC reported its second-quarter profit rose 8.2%, as demand increased for its broadband and phone services and capital expenditures decreased, according to MarketWatch.com. “It earned $342 million, or 95 cents a share, compared with a profit of $316 million, or 90 cents a share in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue rose 6% to $4.73 billion.”

They’re doing OK. Better than most of us. Viewers should keep these things in mind as they read their email and see the spots from TWC. Also keep in mind that ABC programming will be available off-the-air via your digital converter and antenna. Watching ESPN and other cable channels are more problematic. TWC makes a point of saying that it won’t do any good to switch since Disney already pulled its HD programming from Dish Satellite in June.

Meanwhile, a spat between the City of Austin and Time-Warner Cable is brewing. When Time-Warner wrote a new franchise contract, it included public access channels for the City of Austin, the Austin School District, Travis County, the state legislature and even ordinary citizens. As of October 1, 2010, those channels are slated to be boosted to the digital tier.

It will take a cable box to receive them. Those boxes cost $7 per month each. TWC says it will supply one box for varying periods of time to customers who have standard service. What about customers who have multiple televisions?

Stacy Schmidt, TWC spokesperson, says the cable company is moving the channels to increase services and speed. “It’s what customers are demanding”

To this writer and perhaps the City of Austin, the move of local access and government channels to the more expensive, digital tier violates the spirit of the original agreement that created them. The City of Austin is threatening to take TWC to court over the changes. Austin City Council and commission meetings are telecast on Channel 6.

Austin Reads

2010-08-12T16:34:00.002-05:00

Austin reads. In fact, Austin ranks as the most literate city over 250,000 in the State of Texas. That probably doesn’t surprise you. Dallas comes in second. Ft. Worth is third. What may surprise you is that Austin isn’t in the top ten “Most Literate Cities in the Nation”, according to a 2008 study by Central Connecticut State University (their most recent). Austin is #17. Dallas is #38.5 (a tie), and Ft. Worth is #45. Austin is in the top ten when only the Internet is concerned, and that isn’t surprising.

Austin reads more than most boasts of the biggest book store in the land, Book People.

These are not the reasons for a brand new section in the Austin American-Statesman, “Insight and Books” beginning in this Sunday’s paper. “The thinking behind it doesn't rely so much on any particular set of stats as on Central Texans generally being not just literate but interested in their community and public affairs, prone to debate and discuss and embrace civic engagement,” says Tony Shuga, weekend editor.

Formerly in Life & Arts, “the new section will join Insight to form Insight & Books. Available every Sunday in print, the new section will offer thoughtful discussion, in-depth analysis and focus on community engagement. And every day, interactive online features that complement the print product will be available online at statesman.com/insight,” said a Statesman news release.

“Austin is a thoughtful place, and we love a lively discussion,” said Statesman Editor Fred Zipp in the news release. “With the new Insight & Books section, we hope to feed that discussion and make the Sunday newspaper experience richer.”

“The Sunday print edition will offer articles about Texas and Central Texas written by non-staff writers (experts from the business community, nonprofits, academics and more) as well as those written by Statesman staff, according to a Statesman news release. Former Statesman Texana writer Mike Cox’s columns and reviews will continue in the new section. “There will also be summaries of PolitiFact Texas articles, a new science feature, excerpts from blogs and reader comments, letters to the editor and op-ed columns,” the release said.

“Overall we're adding material, not trimming,” Shuga said.

Who knows? Maybe newsmcnabb might make the Statesman.

Comm 1317

2010-08-05T16:04:00.003-05:00

Broadcast Journalism

for Non-Journalists

Every one of the 3,500-plus students graduating from Austin’s St. Edward’s University is required to take Comm 1317, Presentational Speaking—every student. Why? The University believes that a person with a college education should be able to apply that knowledge verbally.

Some will speak as a part of their profession—teachers, priests, and marketers, but also a biochemist will most likely make a presentation to his peers at some point too. The audience might be two or three on a conference room or it might be two thousand in an auditorium.

Preparing to teach Comm 1317 these past few weeks, I’ve come to see that the course could be considered “Broadcast Journalism for Non-Journalism Majors”. To be effective, the same principles apply.

It starts with the audience? Who will hear your message? Know your audience. TV stations do audience research all of the time. Who’s watching? What do they want?

Rising from that research comes the story idea or topic. Every reporter and every student must come to the table with an idea. The idea becomes the thesis of the report.

Once approved, the idea is researched. All possible points of view are in play, making sure the message is factual. It requires critical thinking.

The facts are analyzed and organized. Some may actually create an outline to stay on topic and maintain the flow of the story or presentation.

Then, the words should fall on the page almost naturally. If the student or the reporter, however, uses bad grammar or poor pronunciation, all of the work done before is wasted time. The presenter will have lost all credibility with the audience.

The style should be conversational, not stilted. Fragments are fine. Eye contact with the audience, whether it is a camera lens or actual eyes, is essential.

For beginners and seasoned journalists alike, practice or rehearsal is important. I’ve paced back and forth before a live shot looking at notes and reaching for the right words, saying sentences over and over.

Finally, after all of this preparation comes the presentation, or in broadcast journalism it is the “package” or live shot. The presenter must have presence, using all talents and tools available including audio and video. It’s about selling the story, selling the speech. It can’t be a dull recitation, or you will have lost your audience. They will have gone to sleep in the conference room or turned to another channel in TV.

Certainly, there are other subjects covered in Comm 1317, but that is the gist of it. I’m even going to include a session on talking to the media in my syllabus. There will also be poetry. Poetry is to be read aloud, but you don’t hear much poetry on TV. I love poetry. Good poetry.

The fall semester starts in less than three weeks. Some of my students graduating in December may have put off taking Comm 1317 until now. The thought of standing and delivering makes their knees weak. They’ll get over that. In all cases the audience really wants you to succeed. Nobody wants to see a TV reporter melt down during a live shot either.

When I was in undergraduate school, I was required to take two courses in religion, chapel, and swimming. Yes, swimming. I guess Baylor didn’t want its graduates to die by drowning and go to hell!

I’m confident that St. Edward’s feels the same, but by requiring “Presentational Speech”, the University wants to ensure that their graduates can share what they’ve learned. Perhaps that’s one reason why they’re on the U.S. News and Forbes lists of top Universities in the nation.

I Want My MSNBC

2010-07-27T20:04:00.001-05:00

Time Warner Cable Channels Freeze

News 8, MSNBC, and ESPN 2 and possibly others disappeared for at least a day from Time Warner Cable. Where did they go and why?

If you tuned in to MSNBC yesterday (Monday, 7-26-10) to channel 49 on the Time Warner Cable Standard tier, you found a frozen picture some awful wreck or explosion. ESPN 2 was frozen on a NASCAR whizzing by the camera. News 8 was also static.

By this today, (Tuesday, 7-27-10), the frozen images had turned to “color bars”, an industry term for tuning cameras and equipment and a clear indication that TWC knew that there was something wrong.

Only the TWC “Standard” package channels were affected. Digital and HD channels were fine.

The channels returned to the Standard tier of channels shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday for those who keep News 8 on all day long and other fans of Rachel Maddow or alt sports on MSNBC.

I was toward the end of an online “chat” with a TWC representative, when the channels were restored.

No, it didn’t just happen to you or your neighbors. This outage was across all of the Austin area, according to Stacy Schmidt, TWC communications. I thought it have impacted a lot of people because of the half-hour wait for customer service Monday evening.

Where did these channels go?

“It was a part of a technology upgrade in the standard tiers [gone bad],” Schmidt said. Engineers were still testing all portions of the market “area by area” to ensure that the channels were up Tuesday evening.

Schmidt promised more information. So, there will be more information, and there will be another customer service aspect of this story later.