Wednesday, July 2, 2008
News Management Shake-up Scorecard
KWCH - 2
KAKE - 1
KSN- 0
As the temperatures get close to the century mark outside for the first time this year, things have been heating up in the management circles of at least 2 of the stations in Wichita. First KAKE's GM resigns Monday apparently to take a job in Florida and now word from the Eagle Today that KWCH's news director and assignment editor have resigned. Does KSN make it 3 days in a row? Probably not, but they could stand to ruffle things up a bit. -Hal
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43 comments:
I can think of 2 overpaid personalities at KSN that could get a pink slip and it wouldn't bother me at all to see 2 on the scorecard for KSN tomorrow. I mean tonight Anita was playing with her pen and acting all bored when Dave tossed it back to her after he did the Wichita weekly at 6.
Freeman's act ran old in 2000 also, and I dont understand how he's kept a job too, Jay Prater and Merril Teller are much better chief meteorologists as different as they are with styles.
I agree with earlier posts by Hal and others on here that Leon and the rest of the weather staff is much easier to watch then Dave also. Dave makes every tornado warning around Wichita look like the next May 3, 1999 while if Merril and Jay aren't impressed with it, they cover it, but dont treat it with such urgency to keep viewers relaxed and calm.
I'd be curious to see this last May book.. Anyone have info on that?
This stuff happens. It's called business. It really isn't that big a deal.
Please... don't try to deflect attention over to KSN at your convenience. KWCH is the one involved in a current shakeup, that's the topic at hand. The "Dave and Anita" thing is a convenient smokescreen.
KWCH had a bad book, and the news director wasn't well liked by staff. Easy combination for a quick hook. It probably doesn't mean much more than that.
The Dave argument is 5 years old. He doesn't oversell things anymore. He changed his tone years ago, but this argument persists because, as a previous poster said, it's convenient.
Any truth to rumors that KWCH is cutting their western news bureaus? Replacing them with sports, is what I've heard.
If you are going to make changes at a TV station, the Summer is the time to do them. Eventhough July is a book month, most don't really treat it the same as the other 3 months. So you have time to hire someone new and have a few months with them on the job before a meaningful book begins. Of course one book doesn't and shouldn't determine the success or lack there of for a person, but a few months to not worry about a book and get a sure footing around a station can help.
Everyone take this as a lesson that ratings are a crummy barometer of a station. KWCH does not send people to better markets. It is a place where careers go to die.
I don't think they had that bad a book but so what. Everyone has off books from time to time. If you have actually been in this biz long enough your realize that.
KWCH had a bad book.
Yet they beat the closest competitor by a whopping 2-1 margin.
Peopled are turning to "other" in droves.
Thats the real issue here.
The Dave argument maybe 5 years old but to Anon 1039's statement that Dave changed his tone years ago and does oversell things anymore, I don't think viewers agree with you. They haven't improved their rating much in that time, and don't blame their bad experiment of cutting sports and bringing it back as being another factor in their ratings' issues over the years. Although making Anita a solo anchor a few years ago, I would agree contributed to it.
Dogfighting, shootings, "breaking news" at 10pm that's not even news by noon the next day. I'm not convinced the internet is solely to blame for the erosion of local TV news ratings. I think it simply gave the younger, thinking demographic a way out of a local TV format it grew tired of from decades of cookie-cutter, over-hyped, transparent slop. Now, people can click on that slop and have it out of their lives a lot faster.
KWCH had a very bad book in ALL shows.
KAKE had a bad book at 10p.
KSN had a very good book in the AM and at 10p.
Oh, and KSN isn't firing people.
In some demos and time periods the numbers are two to one.
However, when you drop huge at 10p in the key selling demo..
That's a big deal.
"KWCH had a bad book. Yet they beat the closest competitor by a whopping 2-1 margin."
Really? Then how do you explain that 10 beat 12 in the metro key demos during the AM, 5p, 6p and weekend newscasts?
I ask again-- any info on KWCH cutting western bureau news?
Anon 420,
Good question I recieved an e-mail from someone who wanted to remain annonymous who said KWCH hadn't been at full staff in Western Kansas for several months (meaning they hadn't replaced a couple one-man bands). One bureau might have had one news person, so instead of replacing those spots with news people sports shooters will replace them. I would assume it has a lot to do with their growing emphasis on their catchitkansas.com site. The e-mail said when breaking news happens, the sports person there would then cover that. -Hal
If this is true about cutting Western Kansas news for sports, was anyone in management, now at KWCH, around several years ago when KSN abondoned news in Western Kansas only to bring it back years later, and they still are feeling the damage. I dont see how KWCH could get a lot of sports content for air out there outside of web only. I think a bunch of small schools out there would be boring to watch for the majority of people. I think news would be more worthwhile, but maybe not as easy to sell.
Any more "staycation" stories and KAKE too will be looking for new mgmt.
This is a great day. The KWCH dominance has ended and now heads are rolling. Ding dong the "WCH" is dead.
Oh, you delusional fools. How sad for you. Go back to your diet tip storys and your one-tank-trip BS.
BTW: How is it "heads are rolling" when people decide on their own to leave? That's what resignation means. Go buy a dictionary.
Or maybe you should take the time to think before you talk about shit you don't know anything about.
WOW!! WOW!! and that isn't a good sort of WOW!! Just watched the "Staycation." Where do I start? I'll hold judgement and just hope is was a one week fluke and see how this thing (maybe its a series??) develops. -Hal
WTF WTF WTF.....that is the only way to describe the "Staycation" story. No suprise though look who the reporter was. My favorite part was when she pointed at the odometer and it said 110607 miles (Or something ridiculous like that) instead of the mileage she spouted off about! GO KAKE.....I would rather watch Lawyer on the Line re-runs.
I can't wait to take me a staycation!
Upon arriving at her staycation destination Abby Barnett asks, “Alright, where is everyone”?
Perhaps they had the gift and could see into the future, and upon viewing this hard-hitting exposé, they bugged out to somewhere better.
I did like the part where she spoke about the, "Funny-looking middle-eastern mammals".
And how courageous that post-2003, a journalist has the courage to use the phrase, "Mission Accomplished". Particularly in reference to a staycation to what looks like a perfectly nice petting zoo.
I just wish that KAKE would have spent some cash for a "Mission Accomplished" banner. That would have put the cherry on top of the piece.
She ended the piece with, “Now that’s what I call a Kansas vacation”. I imagine that the folks at The State of Kansas Travel and Tourism are beaming right now with visions of staycations dancing in their heads.
For those of you in the business.
Why is it that that reporters/photographers so often insist on showing fingers typing, or someone picking up the phone or feet walking when those actions are referenced.
Personally, this footage doesn't draw me deeper into the story. On a personal level this bores me. Nor do I find it to be a particularly effective segue.
On the "Staycation" story we got to see typing and pointing to a gas gauge and pointing to an odometer (not even the trip odometer which would have made more sense for this story), and so on and so forth.
It seems like this sort of thing wastes the very limited amount of time that you are allowed to report on or tell your story.
Are these time fillers, laziness, what.
Thank you for your input.
anon 10:18
Awwww.... what's the matter? Can't handle defeat?
Bad enough KWCH doesn't send anyone to better places. Now this? Worst station in Wichita to work at.
Usually,
Some stories can be visually, "poor" and so, instead of having a reporter monologuing on camera, cover shots like these are often used.
Hear dog, see dog. That's the phrase we're taught when it comes to putting stories together. That's why you see typing or feet moving when it's talked about. Honestly, I think it's something that's never really been thought of. We were just told to do it and we do.
Different topic: anyone notice that all 3 stations are running almost the same promo for weather? Using email testimonials and just showing various ones while inserting shots of the weather team. I believe KSN did it first, then KAKE, and now KWCH. Does any one know why this is the promo de jur?
I don't work at KWCH, I don't have any particular love for them, I think the one KWCH writer/defender on here is obnoxious, but still it's time to stop the lynch mob. The 'WCH' is not dead. It's still the number one station. Let's not be silly.
KWCH doesn't send anyone to better places? Jeremy Hubbard, ABC correspondent; Liz Collin, WCCO reporter/anchor; the dearly departed David Bloom, one of Russert's favorites at NBC; Cheryl Burton, Chicago.
I could go on. Until this last ND most KWCHers were so happy they just stayed. Thoughts?
Interesting promo from KWCH, about its Web site--touting its local resource over sites like weather.com and news providers like yahoo, etc. Local news needs to unite, in a sense, to compete for its spot on the Web. The big competition isn't KWCH.com vs KSN.com vs KAKE.com. It's with the likes of weather.com and CNN and others that have the eyes of the young professional.
Thanks to Mark McCormick for having the guts to expose the holier-than-thou PR machine at City Hall. I was impressed. The Eagle and its website are potent advocates for critical thought in this market.
Not to mention Oklahoma City and St. Louis as ex-KWCHers destinations. Care to try again?
I miss seeing KWCH Kim Wilhelm. Hope all is well.
Kim is still there.
In Deb Farris' story about the signed city manager backing out, was it really necessary for the overused telephone dialing sequence?
Glenn Horn to KWCH?
I thought the Staycation story was good. But I am just an untrained eye. I also find it funny that so many post anonymously. (
1:59...keeping believing it.
4:37...if you think that was good then go watch more TMZ TV.
I publish annonymously simply because it is the most expeditious way to post.
Chris
you newsies like to whine. i love how you dorks put so much passion into arguing details that viewers don't even notice or don't care about.
I dislike TMZ and ET and Inside Edition, I watch the News Hour on PBS after the local news.
It looks like "Staycations" are officially gone. None aired this week. Looks like KAKE really does bow to pressure on a message board of all things.
Next Special Report: Driving too close to someone is dangerous.
http://www.kake.com/home/headlines/24567354.html
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