She's Be Missed ...

ND Suzanne Black Leaving KEYE TV

There is one constant in broadcast journalism. This constant remains in place during the decades of this relatively young profession. That one constant? Change.

It was less than a month ago that I ran into a typically cheery KEYE-TV (CBS) News Director Suzanne Black while enjoying lunch with a former mutual colleague. We talked several minutes about the station’s success in the May “sweeps” and Sinclair Broadcasting, KEYE’s owners as of the first of this year.

Last week, Black announced she was leaving the station.

“I am leaving KEYE. It's a decision I've been weighing for a while,” Black says. “As much as I love it here, it's time devote some attention to my boys. They're only young once and I want to enjoy it.” Black and her husband have two children.

Black says she’s leaving while she’s on top.

“This has been a busy and successful year. We launched a new two-hour morning program, a 5pm newscast, and ended the May book with our 10 p.m. newscast moving into first place for the first time in KEYE history. It has been fun and very rewarding.”

Black came to KEYE seven years ago as assistant news director. Only a year later, she was promoted to the top job in the newsroom when then news director Tim Gardner moved on.

During her time at the station, KEYE had four management groups or owners: CBS, Cerberus Capital Management which eventually signed a local service agreement with the Nexstar Broadcasting Group. September 11, 2011, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced a deal to buy KEYE and its sister Cerberus stations. The station also converted to HDTV during her watch.

As one would expect, each change in ownership and management would result in uncertainty, but Black clung to her journalist values with a commitment to put a quality product on the air every day, changes notwithstanding. She was rewarded with loyalty by many producers, photographers, reporters, and anchors.

“I will miss the people of KEYE tremendously. They are hard-working, loving, passionate people,” Black says. Her last day in the station is this Thursday.

Sinclair posted Black’s job within days if not hours after her announcement.

© Jim McNabb, 2012

Cross—KXAN TV’s New News Director

A new news director is headed to KXAN TV (NBC) from an award-winning station in Wichita, Kansas, and he has ties to Austin.

He replaces Michael Fabac who was quickly dismissed in late May during sweeps.

Chad Cross, a University of Texas Broadcast Journalism graduate, is said to be the new leader for Austin’s #2 station. Before going to Kansas, Cross was a producer at KEYE-TV (CBS) here in Austin. He was also a reporter/anchor in Topeka, Kansas.

Chad Cross is used to being #1. Reports say that his station, KWCH TV (CBS) has led the ratings in the Wichita market since 1985!

Cross, KWCH TV’s news director, has been with the station for some ten years. In that time he worked as a producer, reporter, anchor, reporter, and assignment editor. So, it appears that he worked his way up through the ranks. Neither Cross nor KXAN management have responded to inquiries so far.

One thing is certain: As news director he will be younger than many if not most of the people he will manage including his anchors, mid-managers, and reporters. Veteran Jim Swift may be close to twice as old as his new boss!

Apparently, Cross was one of two finalists for the plumb KXAN job. Cross rose above the competition.

“On a 4th grade field trip, Chad Cross toured a television station and watched what happens behind the scenes to produce a live newscast,” according to the KWCH web site. “In awe of it all, he decided on his career that day.”

“It was the ‘magic of TV’ that inspired me then. Now, it’s about the responsibility we have as journalists to ask questions, hold the powerful accountable and use our medium to make a difference in the community,” he said. “It’s also about our service to viewers, relaying vital information for their safety, especially when there’s severe weather in Kansas.”

Those same priorities apply to the Austin market. Wichita is the 68^th market. Austin is 44^th on the Nielsen list.

KXAN also produces news for the Austin CW station, and Cross is familiar with that arrangement. Sunflower Broadcasting, Inc. owns KWCH and KSCW. So, his department also produces the 9 p.m. news for the local Fox affiliate. Also, in 2011, Cross launched three new newscasts, including one in Spanish for KDCU, a Univision affiliate. The station also has a 24-hour weather channel, four websites and three apps.

Cross was a part of coverage including major events like the tornado that destroyed the town of Greensburg, the capture of Wichita’s “BTK” serial killer, and the Jayhawks’ 2008 national championship. Under his leadership KWCH won national and regional Edward R. Murrow awards, 2011 Kansas Assoc. of Broadcasters' "Station of the Year" and a 2012 Emmy nomination for news excellence.

Cross oversaw all editorial decisions, according to the station’s web site. “I’m fortunate to lead a newsroom that prides itself on thoughtful, ethical decisions about our coverage. Every day we strive for compelling storytelling that focuses on who is directly affected,” he explained.

Cross hales from northern Colorado. He describes himself as a “farm boy.”

© Jim McNabb, 2012

Will America Be The Death of English?

Heard, Read, Gagged

“Strictly Speaking/Will America be the Death of English” is a former #1 best seller by former NBC correspondent Edwin Newman. What we do to the language now is as abominable as it was in 1974 when Newman finished his book.

What follows was written, seen, or said in local and national media within the past few weeks.

The name of the place in England where they play tennis is Wimbledon, not WimbleTon. How many times have you heard the “T”? It is close kin to the mispronunciation of that cathedral in London called Westminster, not Westminister. Sigh.

Brian Williams last month said the retired shuttle “suffered wing damage.” No. Things do not suffer. People suffer. The living suffer. Things are damaged, yes. If you must, things can incur or sustain damage, but they don’t suffer.

Appearing on MSNBC, former GOP chief Michael Steele uttered the phrase, “centered around.” No. It is impossible for something to be centered around. It can be centered on, however.

A local Austin new reporter got a statement from a source. He read it saying, “Quote: Blah, blah, blah …” Any broadcast journalism course will tell you to lose the word “Quote”. After all, the statement is on the screen in quotation marks.

A City of Austin staffer appearing before the City Council stated that something was further away. No. It is farther away, meaning distance. Further has a different definition. Weathercasters say this one wrong often also.

In an NBC Nightly News story on education the reporter said the phrase, “whether or not.” What’s wrong with that, you say? It is redundant. Just say “whether”. For example, I don’t know whether it will rain.

NBC’s medical expert Dr. Nancy Snyderman in a June 11^th report confused “fewer” with “less”. Many do. Even the New York Times slipped up and ran an explanation: “The basic rule for precise use of ‘less’ and ‘fewer’ is simple (though we slip often). Use ‘fewer’ with countable, individual things, and ‘less’ with uncountable amounts, volumes, etc. So: ‘I should drink less coffee,’ but ‘I should eat fewer doughnuts.’” (NYT, Philip B. Corbett, March 1, 2011)

“Amount” and “number” are similar. A local Austin reporter got them confused recently. “Use the word amount with quantities that cannot be counted and number with quantities that could be counted one-by-one.” (EnglishPlus.com)

A friend and former newspaper copy editor wonders why people put an apostrophe after the plural of things like CDs, DVDs, or RVs. People wrongly make it look like a possessive by writing “CD’s”, etc. Lose the apostrophe.

Shouldn’t a crime reporter know the difference between a robbery and a burglary? They are not interchangeable.

On MSNBC’s web site, someone wrote that a victim was “electrocuted and died.” Hmmm. Electrocuted indicates death, otherwise they would have been simply shocked. It’s just like saying someone drowned and died. They drowned.

Finally, style books recommend writing news in the active voice rather than passive. For example, copy should say, “Many witnesses saw the accident,” rather than “The accident was seen by many witnesses.” Dadgummit! Write in the active voice.

Further, lose the past perfect and present perfect tenses. The Associated Press wrote July 3, 2012, “Andy Griffith, whose homespun mix of humor and wisdom made ‘The Andy Griffith Show’ an enduring TV favorite, has died.” So, an Austin anchor read, “… Andy Griffith has died.” No. Write and say something like, “Tonight reports out of North Carolina say Andy Griffith is dead. Or it could be, “Beloved actor Andy Griffith died today. All producers and copy editors should pause and think before using the past or present perfect tense of a verb.

It all actually starts on a personal level. You ask someone, “How are you doing?” “Good,” They answer. Hmmm. You know they are a good person, but how are they doing? The answer should be, “I’m well.”

We’re talking mainly about usage here. Grammar? Well, that is another post for another time.

Picky? Perhaps. But, there are there are, oh, so many, many more. Maybe we can clean up this mess one sentence at a time.

© Jim McNabb, 2012

Kate and KUT-FM

Two Quick Tidbits …

Two quick newsworthy items:

Austin’s public radio station KUT-FM (NPR) raked in another news award today, June 12, 2012. This time is the national Edward R. Murrow award for continuing coverage of the 2011 drought. This is a big deal! Listen to the winning entry here: http://vimeo.com/36567853. Kudos to KUT-FM again!

Secondly, but not unexpectedly, KXAN-TV (NBC) morning reporter Kate Weidaw, PhD resigned to follow her new dream, teaching full time. She earned her doctorate this spring. (See http://newsmcnab.blogspot.com and scroll down three stories.).

Dr. Weidaw gave notice Monday, June 11, 2012 saying, “I accepted a job at the University of Georgia in Athens to be an assistant professor in their Telecommunications Department. I'll leave KXAN at the end of July beginning of August.” So, she will see the station through the July sweeps month.

Weidaw had been teaching broadcast journalism at St. Edward’s University in Austin.

This is a big deal too!

Congratulations to Kate and KUT-FM.

© Jim McNabb, 2012

Gotta Blame Somebody ...

That Darned Media!

Blame it on the media. When in doubt, blame it on the media. When there is a political campaign crisis, of course, blame it on the media.

If one is a conservative, then it is the fault of the “liberal” media. Conversely, if one is a liberal, blame the “conservative” media.

Instead of blaming it on the media, defeated incumbent Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley took the extraordinary step of barring the media from his election-watch headquarters. He had no comment to the media after his 55-45% defeat by County Attorney Jana Duty. Duty was available to the media all day and all night the day of the primary.

Bradley may be blaming his defeat on the media. There is no way of knowing because he has no comment. “No Comment” is never every acceptable in any circumstance.

The handling of the Michael Morton case was always being thrown in Bradley’s face by his opponent Duty, and by extension, the media. Of course Duty’s ads in the media accenting Morton’s innocence in his wife’s murder due to DNA were also in the media.

That darned media!

And Bradley took media heat in 2010 for when Governor Rick Perry appointed him to head up the Texas Forensic Science Commission. The commission was asked to review evidence that led to the conviction and execution of a Corsicana man in the arson killing of his family. Some have said the conviction was based on “flawed science.”

State Senator Rodney Ellis was critical of Bradley’s response: "It is disconcerting to hear that the Chairman of the Forensic Science Commission would characterize legislators' concern over the use of flawed science to convict Texans as a 'circus sideshow.'” (TexasTribune.com, September 12, 2010)

That darned media! How dare they report emails such as this.

To be fair, County Attorney Duty’s ongoing problems with the Williamson County Commissioners Court also received media attention as did her reprimand by the State Bar of Texas.

That darned media!

Duty isn’t done yet. She still must defeat Democratic Party challenger Ken Crain in the November election. Crain, a Georgetown attorney, was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Little has been heard Mr. Crain so far.

But DA Bradley must want to control the media by not communicating through the media to his constituents. He’ll still be DA for six more months. The news media, after all, are the eyes and ears of the public. Election night, reporters were kept at the curb and left at the curb waiting.

Attacking, avoiding or blaming the media is a common political ploy. Check out former Speaker of the House and presidential candidate Newt Gingrich during the debates in early 2012. Find highlights on You Tube.

This past week, it was Donald Trump’s turn to take on the media again. His recurrent topic: The so-called “birther” movement. On the eve of his Vegas fundraiser with apparent Presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Trump again questioned the authenticity of President Obama’s Hawaii certificate of live birth.

"A lot of people do not think it was an authentic certificate," Trump told CNN of Obama's birth certificate. When CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer told Trump he was "beginning to sound a little ridiculous," Trump responded, "I think you sound ridiculous." (The dailycaller.com, May 29, 2012)

That darned media!

“It’s something that bothers Obama very much,” Trump said. “I tell you, it’s not an issue that he likes talking about, so what he does is uses reverse psychology on people like you so that you report, ‘Oh gee, he’s thrilled with it.’ He does not like that issue because it’s hitting close to home, you know it and he knows it.

“You won’t report it, Wolf, but many people do not think it was authentic,” Trump said. “His mother was not in the hospital. There are many other things that came out and, frankly, if you would report it accurately, I think you’d probably get better ratings than you’re getting, which are pretty small.”

The odd thing about it all is that Donald Trump was using the very medium he insults. And, Trump of course ignores newspaper announcements of the president’s birth repeated often in other media, as well as Mr. Trump’s own investigation which produced no reportable results.

Working in news, one must have thick skin, never taking things personally. Wolf Blitzer’s skin is bound to be quite thick.

And regarding Mr. Trump, he certainly doesn’t avoid that darned media.

© Jim McNabb, 2012

Photo Credit: Erich Schlegel for The Texas Tribune

A Screed ...

I Want My “Harry’s Law”

Sunday night, May 27^th at 7 p.m. will be final episode of NBC’s “Harry's Law.”

“Harry’s Law” starring Kathy Bates was/is a well-conceived, well-written, well-acted, and well-produced show. It was/is stunning that the plots uncannily seemed/seem to coincide with a current news story. To me, it is a crime that it’s going away.

I understand ratings and consultants. I understand demographics and target audiences. I worked in the broadcast industry for 40+ years. . I teach at a local university requiring critical thinking of its students. So, I get it.

I decided to give NBC some feedback, not that they care. I had to fill in multiple blanks creating for them my “profile” in order to get to NBC’s comments page. So, at a glance they can know that I apparently fit their unwanted demographic. I'm too old.

Admittedly, I mentioned an episode of “Harry's Law” to one of my classes during the spring semester, and no one had seen it. They are the NBC target demographic, apparently, and I am not.

I watch little drama and no comedy with the exception of an occasional “Saturday Night Live.” I watch news and sports most of the time, but “Harry's Law” sucked me over the past two years in because of its consistent quality.

I'm just bummed because brainy “Harry's Law” quite likely will be replaced by some insipid, vacuous, reality show or something parsimonious, saving the network money while searching for the "right" demographic.

NBC and the other networks should remember that perhaps I am actually the right demographic. Think about the aging "Baby Boomers". We are retiring in front of our televisions daily. We have money, and we'll spend it. So, perhaps the networks should do a better job of selling ads to targeted advertisers who want to reach people like me.

Sometimes, there is a ground-swell in support of TV shows. I don't know if the ground is swelling in support of “Harry's Law”, but I'd like to start it. Instead of eschewing quality and going for the short-term gain, NBC should let a show grow its audience, and the advertisers will come.

© Jim McNabb, 2012

Something for Everyone and Something New

MAY TV SWEEPS RESULTS –Updated*

Something for Everyone and Something New

KEYE TV (CBS) came close in February. In the May TV sweeps, the 10 p.m. news went to the top. KEYE is the new #1, followed by KVUE TV (ABC), and KXAN TV coming in third.

It appears that KEYE benefitted from CBS prime time programming, providing a strong lead-in audience. That’s not always the case. A television station’s worse enemy is always the remote, but appears that all three stations pretty much kept their viewers and there wasn’t much station-switching.

KEYE climbing to the top at 10 p.m. may be the biggest news, the biggest change in the ratings.

“I am very proud of our staff, who works so hard. We've put together a great team and Austin viewers have noticed,” said Suzanne Black, KEYE news director.

“Having the most-watched 10 pm news is Austin is a big responsibility, and we take our jobs seriously,” Black continued. “The goal at KEYE TV News is to bring Central Texas viewers the best news possible, every day, even outside the key ratings periods. If you have not watched our news lately, you are missing some great coverage.”

Black attributes some of their audience growth to a new effort on the part of KEYE news. “The dedication to our Waste Watch Investigations has made an impact. Since we started Waste Watch in April we have seen a tremendous response from viewers, both to our investigations and with tips on our hotline,” Black said.

KXAN again dominated the ratings at 5 and 6 p.m. followed by KVUE. KEYE has been running a game show at 5 p.m., but that’s about to change. More on that later.

“KXAN News is extremely excited with having the two highest rated newscasts in the market,” said Eric Lassberg, KXAN president and general manager. “We are encouraged that our viewers are responding positively from our in-depth and investigative efforts with Chris Willis as our lead investigator.”

KXAN says that its 5 O’clock newscast has seen a 55% increase in growth when measured year to year. Part of that growth might be attributable to preceding programming as mentioned above.

“Jeopardy” at 4 and 4:30 p.m. on KXAN has killed the competition for years, providing a nice lead-in for the station’s 5 O’clock news. NBC’s “Nightly News with Brian Williams” continued to build on that lead, handing off to the local news at 6 p.m. The audience kept on building with a slight drop-off at six, but not enough to drop KXAN down to #2.

KVUE was #2 at 6 p.m., and KEYE was #3.

KVUE rocks during the mid-day hours with big numbers for “The View” at 10 a.m. followed by KVUE Midday at 11 a.m. There is direct competition between KTBC TV (FOX) and KXAN at noon. KXAN won handily.

“KVUE Daybreak” battled it out with Fox 7 for the biggest chunks of the morning audience. Fox 7 won at 4:30 and 5 a.m. Then KVUE took #1 at 6 a.m. Fox 7 was #2. KXAN’S “News Today” was third. “KTBC was the only station to show growth year-to-year,” according Fox. This was the last rating period for KVUE’s Melissa Gale, and after 14 years, she’s going out a winner in a key time period.

Fox7 News “Good Day Austin” was also #1 in the 9-10 a.m. time slot, beating out “Live with Kelly” on KVUE and the “Today” show on NBC.

So, there is a little something for each newsroom to smile about for a little while, but the biggest smiles may be at KEYE.

Speaking of KEYE, Facebook posts recently left a clear impression that the station’s “We Are Austin Live” at 4 p.m. was reaching the end of the line. “We did some great stuff...with our hands tied behind our backs many times...and we are the better for it,” said co-host Jason Wheeler in a May 18^th post.

“We Are Austin Live” failed to gain traction since its debut in September, 2009. It was all up-hill against “Jeopardy” and “Ellen” in that time slot, and the ratings were dismal. It’s going away.

What’s next for KEYE?

KEYE announced this afternoon it will re-launch a 5 p.m. newscast anchored by Judy Maggio and Ron Oliveira and Wheeler beginning June 18, 2012. KEYE says Wheeler’s role as senior reporter will be to staff the Breaking News Desk and field-anchor stories and special reports, bringing viewers more in-depth coverage. News Director Suzanne Black said, “The new 5pm newscast will be a hard news product, bringing Central Texas viewers what they have asked for.”

Let the head-to-head games begin again.

*My apologies to Fox 7. I overlooked their powerhouse morning ratings.

© Jim McNabb, 2012