| December 17 – Update |
| The longest tenured news director in Dallas is calling it quits after 13 years there. ROBIN WHITMEYER is retiring in late February as Vice President/News Director for KDFW-TV, the FOX o-and-o in Dallas-Ft. Worth. Here’s a note she sent me tonight. Robin started there in January, 2012, after nine plus years as news director at Cox’s WSOC-TV (ABC) in Charlotte, where she spent more than 25 years in a wide variety of roles.  WhitmeyerCongrats to Robin on a great run there. Friends can send her a kind note by clicking here. And we’ll see you this weekend…if not before…with our full newsletter. |
| December 15, 2024 |
| For mid-December (and, thus, close to the holidays) there’s a lot of movement to report There are FOUR new news directors to tell you about, with THREE new openings. That means there are now 39 stations with ND openings. TWO more GM retirements at Gray Television, including a former ND. A former newsman who worked in Los Angeles, Cincinnati, and (for me) in Toledo is sentenced to five years in federal prison on child porn charges. TWO stations celebrated outgoing news directors, while another profiled an ND who retired 21 years ago and may be the longest tenured ND in the country. All that and more as you read on. |
| NEWLY NAMED NEWS DIRECTORS: |
KHOU-TV, Houston, TX…our Wednesday UPDATE first told you that KATHRYN BONFIELD is joining this Tegna owned CBS affiliate. New this edition: Here’s the news release. Kathryn left WJXT-TV, Graham Media’s independent station in Jacksonville, earlier this summer after 13 years. In Houston, Kathryn replaces LIZ ROLDAN who left in October after more than three years as ND. BonfieldKWCH-TV, Wichita, KS…KEVIN KING moves within Gray and returns to Wichita to be the next news director for this CBS affiliate. Kevin produced there earlier in his career. He’s been the ND for Gray’s KSFY-TV in Sioux Falls for 14 years (more on that below). He’s also worked in Dallas and St. Louis. Kevin replaces MICHAEL TRUETT who left last month after 18 months as ND,  KingKDRV-TV, Medford, OR…thanks to a reader who tipped that BRAD NEUHOFF’s Linkedin page says he’s been ND for this Allen Media owned ABC affiliate since May. That’s a return to a newsroom for Brad, who left KOIN-TV in Portland, OR, in 2014. He’s also been an ND in Columbia, SC. His history, both recent and earlier, is on his aforementioned Linkedin page. He replaces JERRY HOWARD who became director of community outreach here in October, 2023.  NeuhoffWTRF-TV, Wheeling, WV…KERI BROWN returns to this Nexstar owned CBS/ABC operation as its next news director. She had once interned at WTRF and later became assignment editor there. GM MITZI COLEMAN sent this note to staff detailing Keri’s background. Keri replaces BRENDA DANEHART who is retiring after 20 years as ND and more than 40 at the station.  Brown |
| NEW NEWS DIRECTOR OPENINGS: |
WKTB, Atlanta, GA…MARIA ROZMAN has left this Gray Television low-power Telemundo affiliate after just over one year as ND. She posted on Linkedin that she’s moving to New York and promised more news soon. Earlier, Maria worked in Spain and in the Canary Islands. She’s a former ND for Telemundo stations in Washington, DC and Denver, and worked for CNN and for the Univision station in Denver. RozmanWHAS-TV, Louisville, KY…according to his linkedin page, KEITH HATTEN’s tenure as ND for this Tegna’s owned ABC lasted only five months. Keith joined WHAS in August after seven years at KPAX-TV (Scripps/CBS) in Missoula, MT. He’d also spent four plus years as the Assistant ND for Scripps’ WRTV (ABC) in Indianapolis, was an Assistant ND in West Lafayette, IN, where he began as a photographer.  HattenKSFY-TV, Sioux Falls, SD…you learned above that KEVIN KING is leaving after 14 years to become ND for sister Gray station KWCH-TV in Wichita, KS. GM JIM BERMAN sent this kind note to other Gray GMs and other executives. |
| NEWS MANAGEMENT OPENINGS: |
| ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR: KUSA-TV, Denver, CO (relisted 9/29/24) WJZY-TV, Charlotte, NC (listed 12/8/24) WNCN-TV, Raleigh, NC (listed 12/1/24) WDAF-TV, Kansas City, MO (relisted 11/17/24) WHAS-TV, Louisville, KY (relisted 9/29/24) WJAR-TV, Providence, RI (listed 11/3/24) WBRE/WYOU-TV, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA (relisted 11/10/24) WDTN-TV, Dayton, OH (listed 11/10/24) WFRV-TV, Green Bay, WI (relisted 11/10/24) WROC-TV, Rochester, NY (listed 11/10/24) WSYR-TV, Syracuse, NY (listed 11/3/24) WCIA-TV, Champaign, IL (relisted 12/1/24) KIVI-TV, Boise, ID (listed 9/29/24) EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Spectrum Noticias, New York, NY (Senior EP, listed 10/27/24) KPRC-TV, Houston, TX (AM Broadcast EP, relisted 10/6/24) WUSA-TV, Washington, DC (listed 11/3/24) Spectrum News, Tampa, FL (National EP, listed 9/29/24) WFLA-TV, Tampa, FL (relisted 10/13/24) WXYZ-TV, Detroit, MI (listed 10/13/24) Spectrum News, Orlando, FL (relisted 10/27/24) WESH-TV, Orlando, FL (relisted 10/20/24) WCNC-TV, Charlotte, NC (listed 9/29/24) Spectrum News 1, Raleigh NC (relisted 11/17/24) KSDK-TV, St. Louis, MO (listed 9/29/29) WTVF-TV, Nashville, TN (Senior Content Producer, listed 11/10/24) WCMH-TV, Columbus, OH (Digital EP, listing modified 10/6/24) WYFF-TV, Greenville-Spartanburg-Ashville, (listed 10/20/24) WTLV/WJXX-TV, Jacksonville, FL (relisted 9/29/24) WXMI-TV, Grand Rapids, MI (EP Lifestyle Show, listed 11/10/24) WGAL-TV, Lancaster, PA (relisted 10/20/24) WXII-TV, Winston-Salem NC, (Weekend EP, relisted 10/20/24) KOAT-TV, Albuquerque, NM (listed 10/20/24) WDSU-TV, New Orleans, LA (listed 10/20/24) WWL-TV, New Orleans, LA (listed 9/29/24) WVLA/WGMB-TV, Baton Rouge, LA (relisted 11/17/24) WQAD-TV, Moline, IL (listed 9/29/29) Other News Management Openings: Listed 12/15/24: KRON-TV, San Francisco, CA (Streaming/Weekend Executive Producer) Listed 12/8/24: Tegna, Jacksonville, or Tampa, FL (Florida Digital Director) Relisted 12/1/24: KSWB/KUSI-TV, San Diego, CA (Digital Content Manager) Listed 11/24/24: KETK-TV, Tyler TX (Digital Content Manager) Relisted 11/17/24: Spectrum News, Austin, TX (Managing Director) Listed 11/3/24: KGW-TV, Portland, OR (Digital Director) Listed 10/27/24: WGNO/WNOL-TV, New Orleans, LA (Digital Content Manager) KARK/KLRT-TV, Little Rock, AR (Digital Webmaster & Content Dir.) Listed 10/20/24: WFTS-TV, Tampa, FL (Manager of Real Time Depth) WVLA/WGMB-TV, Baton Rouge, LA (Digital Content Manager) |
| NAMES IN THE NEWS (and other stuff): |
A federal judge followed a prosecutor’s recommendation and sentenced former KNBC-TV (Los Angeles) investigative producer PHIL DRECHSLER to five years in prison on child pornography charges. He was also fined $20,000 and, upon release, will be placed on supervised release for 15 years and must register as a sex offender. Full disclosure: I hired him as a photographer in Toledo almost 35 years ago. DreschlerWRAL-TV in Raleigh celebrated the career of retiring news director RICK GALL. WHNS-TV in Greenville, SC, said farewell to ND MARYBETH JACOBY who is moving to sister Gray station WIS-TV in Columbia, SC, as ND. And WISH-TV in Indianapolis profiled former ND LEE GILES as part of the station’s 70th anniversary. Lee retired in 2003 but was among the longest tenured ND in the country at 35 years. (Personal note: We had lunch a month ago and he’s still doing well.) BETH JOHNSON, a former EP who now trains producers, suggests managers look to non-traditional candidates to fill openings. Researchers at Kansas University found readers trusted news less when they thought AI was involved in its production, even if they didn’t know to what extent. |
| GENERAL MANAGER NEWS and NOTES: |
Two more retirements of general managers at Gray TV stations, including former ND turned GM HOLLY STEUART. Holly’s been GM at WTVM-TV in Columbus, GA, since 2013 and has held several other GM and ND positions as her Linkedin page will tell you. Also retiring is SCOTT SANDERS who’s been GM for WMBF-TV in Myrtle Beach, SC, since 2020. Steuart |
| OUR LIST OF OPEN NEWS DIRECTOR JOBS: |
| It’s unofficial, there may be others that are open, and some of these may have been filled. If you know of any in either category, please let me know: [email protected] WPHL-TV 5001 Wynnefield Ave. Ste 3. Philadelphia, PA 19131 WKTB 4675 River Green Pkwy, Duluth, Georgia 30096 ** KIAH-TV 7700 Westpark Drive Houston, TX 77063 WTVT-TV 3213 W Kennedy Blvd, Tampa, FL 33609 KSTP-TV 3415 University Ave. St. Paul, MN 55114 KSL-TV 55 North 300 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84180 WOAI-TV 4335 NW Loop 410, San Antonio, TX, 78229 WHNS-TV 21 Interstate Court. Greenville, SC 29615 WHTM-TV 3235 Hoffman Street. Harrisburg, PA 17110 WHAS- 520 W Chestnut St, Louisville, KY 40202 WOLF-TV 1181 Highway 315 Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702 (News Manager) KFSN-TV 1777 G St, Fresno, CA 93706 KATV 10 Turtle Creek Lane Little Rock, AR 72202 KLEW-TV 2626 17th St, Lewiston, ID 83501 WOWK-TV 350 Quarrier St, Charleston, WV 25301 WZDX-TV 1309 N. Memorial Parkway Huntsville, AL 35801 WCIV-TV 88 Allbritton Blvd, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 KNVO-TV, 801 North Jackson Rd., McAllen TX 78501 ** WSAV-TV 1430 East Victory Drive Savannah, GA 31404 KTBS-TV 312 E. Kings Highway. Shreveport, LA 71104 WSIL-TV 1416 Country Aire Drive Carterville, IL 62918 WNCT-TV 3221 South Evans Street. Greenville, NC 27834 KSFY-TV 325 S 1st Ave, Ste 100, Sioux Falls, SD 57104 WGXA-TV 599 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Macon, GA 31201 KHSL-TV 3460 Silverbell Rd. Chico, CA 95973 WREX-TV 10322 Auburn Rd. Auburn, IL 62615 KQDS-TV 2001 London Road Duluth, MN 55812 KOSA-TV 4101 E. 42nd. Suite J-7. Odessa, TX. 79761 KMID/KPEJ-TV 1550 West I-20 Odessa, TX 79763 KWES-TV 11320 West County Rd. 127. Odessa, TX, 79765 WTWO-TV 10849 N US Highway 41, Farmersburg, IN 47850 WDTV 5 Television Dr. Bridgeport, WV 26330 KECI/KCFW/KTVM-TV, 340 W. Main St. Missoula, MT 59802 KTVQ-TV 3203 3rd Ave N., Billings, MT 59101 WWNY-TV 120 Arcade St. Watertown, NY 13601 KREX-TV 345 Hillcrest Drive Grand Junction, CO 81501 KIEM/KVIQ-TV 5650 S, Broadway St. Eureka CA 95503 KIDY-TV5 S. Chadbourne San Angelo, TX 76902 KYOU-TV 820 West 2nd Street; Ottumwa, IA 52501 **: Spanish language station |
