New KUJH Alumni Features

OK, so Blogger updated their features, so we have some new features here at KUJH Alumni.com.

The first is the really exciting one! It's the ability for you to post a message directly from the front page. As you can see, all you have to do is type in the box to your right, and you can post a message. Well...almost. I still have to go through and approve all messages before they appear on the site, so it's not a perfect system, but it should be easier than clicking the old link.

The rest of the new features are a little more underwhelming. You can search the site from a new bar on the top (although I'm not entirely sure why you'd want to). Also, the archive system on the right is a little different. It now has little drop-downs to find older posts. And the comments have improved a little. If you have a Google account, you can now use your Google log-in to add comments, but for those of you who don't have a Google account, or wish to remain anonymous, that feature is still there too.

Enjoy!

"Not Terrible News"

"Terrible news" may be a little over dramatic. No, it's not fun to be laid off, but those of you who know me, know it's not the first time I've gone through this. I've had a great opportunity to build my resume, to spend a year in market 6.. and now I have the opportunity to reevaluate what I want. I've already started interviewing for jobs, and technically my last day of employment is December 31st.. so I still have an income, and I still have plenty of time to find a job that will make me happy. I'm not negative.. so stop being so pessimistic!!

Andrea

Bieke's Note: OK, so I'm dramatic. I work at a station that does gloom and doom everyday! In any case, I'm glad that Andrea's so upbeat, but NBC 2.0 (as they're calling it) is biting one of our own in the ass, so I'm going to go on record saying it sucks!!!

Terrible News

Newsblues: Dallas insiders say NBC O&O KXAS-5 cut two staffers yesterday....veteran reporter Ramona Logan, who has been with the station nearly 21 years, and Andrea Burnett, a weekday morning reporter who was hired just 10 months ago.

michelle

Emmy Addition

And you forgot to mention Megahn Snyder, for her help in the best newscast for a morning/noon show. It was for her work during a tornado outbreak.

Michelle

Emmy Winners

Julie Kellogg, producer at KCTV in Kansas City, won first place for best newscast in the regional Emmy competition. And Michelle Sherwood also won a regional Emmy, too!
Hooray for them!

Jessica Checks In

This has been a really crappy summer. My grandpa was diagnosed with colon cancer in April and he passed away in August. It was really hard to have to watch him got through everything that he did, but now he is in a better place. Meaghan came to visit Josh and I this summer and she saw our new house. I also got a great new job. I am working for Children's Mercy Hospital as the Manager of Media Relations. I work under the PIO and handle all media requests. I hope everyone has a good holiday season.

Jessica Salazar-Collins

Joy to New Zealand

Good day, mates! ;)

It's official! I'm traveling to New Zealand for ten days next month to conduct interviews for the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Yay!

I've known for the past few weeks that there was the "possibility" that I might go. I found out last Friday that it's for sure!

As you all know, I started free-lancing in Kansas City last fall. In July, I took on a full-time position with two film directors here in downtown KC. Our projects include IMAX films, documentaries, visitor center films and video tributes. The Woodrow Wilson Center contacted us over the summer to do video tributes for Mayor Bill White of Houston, Dan Duncan, Harley Hotchkiss of the Calgary Flames and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. (I traveled to Calgary in August to conduct interviews there.)

And now they're sending us to New Zealand!!! I'll be conducting interviews for Paul Holmes and Dr. Peter Watson. Paul Holmes is the "Larry King" of New Zealand, he's the face of New Zealand's most popular talk show. Dr. Peter Watson is a liason between NZ and the U.S. He specializes in improving international business relations.

I'm (obviously) very excited to go...and very excited at where my journalism background has taken me. A year ago, I never saw myself doing this, but I'm thrilled with the opportunity.

Hope all is well with you,
Joy Maxwell

New Fox 4 Website Beta

It looks like Fox 4 in KC has joined the other Fox O&O's in launching their new MyFox website. MyFoxKC.com has launched in Beta. And if you look in the uper right corner, you'll see what their new logo will look like soon. At least, if they follow the other O&O's like the one here in Boston in changing their logo and graphics soon after they launch their website.

Personally, I like the chyrons, but I don't like the logo. It looks like a cheap version of the Fox News logo. Not that I have a problem with the Fox News logo, just the cheap knockoff the affiliates are using. Ick!

Oh well.
Bieke

Call for Help

OK. Things are changing so fast in this business that those of us who've been out of it more than about 20 minutes don't know how things are done any more. We're having numerous discussions about scripting format and such things.

So, I'm hereby requesting copies of your scripts, so we can see how the big boys are doing it. Computerization has made a big difference in all this. For instance, even little ol' KUJH no longer uses tape (except for shooting, and not always then). That's prompted me to remove "VTR" from the scripts, a vestige of the old days when things were actually on tape.

If you can send the scripts electonically, that would be best. If not, you can mail hard copies to me at 2051 Dole Center, 1000 Sunnyside Ave., Lawrence, KS, 66045.

Thanks in advance.

Dick

Switcher Meltdown

So the #1 station in Boston learned an important lesson the other day...it sucks when your switcher locks up and no one knows how to reboot it. Watch the pain...and hope it never happens to you.

Sherwood Blogs!

Hey,

I se up my own blog. Come visit. The world wide web is fun! And sketchy! But I hope that no one thinks I'm sketchy because I started my own blog. Whatever.

http://michellesherwood.blogspot.com

Michelle

Help a friend!

Hey guys! How is everyone doing? I'm in need of Molly Dallen's e-mail address. Does anyone have it? Thanks!

Julie Kellogg

Matisoff Moves On

After many cutbacks over the last couple years, it looks like Texas Cable News (headquarted in Dallas and owned by Belo) will be all but gone by the end of the year. So when an offer was made to buy out my contract, I gladly accepted. Not to worry though, I have landed on my feet at Gray Communications owned KWTX-TV in Waco, TX as Weekend Director/Weekday TD. I only wish I saw your message about being in Dallas now earlier, Andrea. Sorry :(

Jason Matisoff

Another KUJH Annoucement

Have you seen Dale's baby?

As some of you know, Dale Ziegler and his wife Janet had a new baby boy a few days ago. It was premature, but is doing great. Mark Robert was born at 18 1/4 inches, 5 lbs 13 oz.

Isn't he cute???

Look at this!

If your station might be getting ready to go to automation, look forward to events like this happening.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cfNuk6eL49M&search=KHON

Doug

Fox 4 Update

KU Grads fared pretty good at the station. Unfortunately AP Karen Abramowitz, and sports guy Jason Lamb were both let go last Thursday. The rest (of those that I know for sure are KU grads) are still there including Sandra Barry, Jake Yadrich, Liz Pepperdine, Julie Green, Rob Zerwekh, Jana Calkins, Kim Byrnes (who is the weekend morning reporter, not meterologist), Heather Claybrook, John Holt, and myself, are all still there.

Derek

A Rhyme in Verse

My name is Zach and I'm here to say,
That one day local news is gonna go away.
They've tried live shots,
they've tried contests,
they've tried everything including big breasts.

But just when you thought it couldn't get worse,
one reporter went and made a verse.
I can only imagine what Chronkite would say,
rolling in his grave like he is today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyHvFcfd0z0

Zach Lee

Fox 4 KC Lays Off Newsies

Ax falls at WDAF newsroom
By AARON BARNHART
The Kansas City Star

Fox may have been the hottest network in prime time this season, but it wasn’t enough to save 13 jobs at the WDAF-TV newsroom.

Fox 4 on Friday laid off reporters Tom Gauer, Peter Marshall and Jason Friedman and sportscaster Jason Lamb. Other names could not be confirmed, but it was thought that half or more of the 13 cuts had come from the news department, which has about 100 employees.

The move was a surprise, because Fox 4’s ratings were up in May, thanks to the juggernaut of “American Idol” and Fox hits like “House” and “24.”

The station’s share of the audience for its 10 p.m. newscast jumped 13 percent compared with May 2005. Even its early news at 5 p.m. was up. Ratings for the three other news stations in town were generally down.

A spokesman for News Corp., which owns WDAF, 34 other stations and the Fox network, would not confirm the layoffs. But by Friday afternoon, rival newsrooms had received inquiries and resumes from recently released WDAF employees.

Gauer, who had spent 11½ years at Fox 4, said his first order of business would be “to sleep in on Monday.” Gauer said that while he wanted to return to news if it was “at the right place,” he is working on other ventures, such as a quiz show he’s developing with his business partner, “Young & the Restless” star Kristoff St. John.
There was no sign Friday that similar firings were taking place at other Fox-owned stations.

So why WDAF?

One possibility is that the station is being primed for a sale. A trade magazine reported in 2005 that Fox was considering the sale of stations in markets that were 25th in size or smaller. Kansas City is the 31st-largest media market.

Another possibility is that it was a staff-size adjustment dictated by Dennis Swanson, the new head of Fox’s owned-and-operated stations, in an effort to bolster WDAF in the Kansas City market

Swanson, a former Marine, told the publication Broadcasting & Cable last year that “TV stations are like big battleships in the harbor … they turn around very slowly.”
WDAF is an especially large ship. It has by far the largest newsroom in the Kansas City TV market and puts on a hefty 49 hours of news programming per week. As the very first station to sign on, in 1949, WDAF has had a history of being a leader in the market. It still broadcasts a popular morning news program, but its late newscasts lag considerably behind KMBC-9 and KCTV-5 in the ratings groups most prized by advertisers.

It has tried rebranding its Problem Solvers unit, tacking on the word “investigators” in what appeared to be a reaction to the success of KCTV’s investigative unit.

Big Bieke News

So, I'm engaged.

I asked my girlfriend Lauren to marry me on Sunday, and she said yes (God knows why!).

No date for a wedding yet, but we're very excited about planning one.

And we'll keep you informed.

(Doesn't she look happy? I must be doing something right... who knew?)

Bieke

New Look Fox

So, we're all too busy with sweeps to post, huh?

In any case, I just thought I'd point out that I think it's pretty clear what the Fox O&O's are doing with their new websites. You know, the one's Sandra told us they were building. myfoxNY has launched in beta, and there rumor mill is the rest of the O&O markets will have myfox(insert city here) soon. myfoxkc.com comes up with a temporarily unavailble message, but I have a feeling that will change soon.

It looks very...foxy. Big fonts, lots of color. Lots of video. It also shows off the new on-air look that is supposed to match FOX News and their new brand name "The most powerful name is local news." Sound familiar? Look for those at a FOX station near you too.

Bieke

Hi there!

Just to let you all know I have left ABC News's "Good Morning America" and am the new Sales and Marketing Coordinator at a company called Lime Media. Check us out at www.lime.com!! I am still out in NYC though. Gotta love the Big Apple!

Liz Springer

Chanda Brown Update

Hey there just wanted to give you a quick update... I am still with KSN... Just signed another three year deal... In other big news my husband and I are expecting a baby in late August.

Chanda

Classic Story

So, I don't know how many of you have seen this already...but watch this story. It's classic. I mean that in the silliest way possible.

Click here to watch.

Bieke

KJHK

Okay, this really has nothing to do with KUJH, but enough of us pulled double duty to make it meaningful enough to post. Turns out the old KJHK Tower is coming down after the storms.

Lawrence -- Because of damage caused by Sunday’s wind storm, the University of Kansas next week will dismantle an 82-year-old radio tower that broadcast the University’s first radio station and presently serves the student radio station KJHK, officials said today. University Fire Marshal and Special Projects Manager for Design and Construction Management Bob Rombach said high winds slammed a 10-by-30 foot section of roof from the adjacent Art and Design Building into the lower midsection of the self-supporting steel tower located behind Marvin Hall, bending some of the supports. KJHK’s communication cable on the tower also was hit squarely by the roof section. Because of the kink in the cable, KJHK has only been able to operate at half its full 2900-watt power since the storm.

The radio station was off the air for two days after the storm because of a power outage. KJHK’s antenna will be relocated to the Kansas Public Radio tower on west campus. During the transition, KJHK will be off the air Sunday evening and will temporarily broadcast only though it’s Web site starting midnight March 27.

Doug

New Web Jobs at Fox 4, KC

Sandra Barry sent a note to me about her station's website and some positions that should becoming available. I will now excerpt her e-mail:

"The station has (finally) demonstrated a dedication to de-sucking our web site by creating new positions for a web manager and three web producers. Going for a soft launch August-ish, I believe. I've seen the mock-ups and it looks like pretty good stuff. The new MM newsroom at KUJH has turned out some great web producers over the past couple of years, and I'm hoping to get some of them in, but it would be lovely if you could give everyone a heads up on the web site, too. Working at WDAF is fun; you heard it from me. The job descriptions are posted on the only-temporarily-awful WDAFTV4.COM.

Cheers,
Sandra"

So, if you're looking for such a job, there's a lead.

Bieke

News Set Wanted

After 10 years of using various incarnations of the old KCTV set, we are in desperate need of a new one. It will come as no surprise, of course, that we have no money for this purpose. Therefore, we are looking for donations. If your station, or one that you know of, is getting a new set, we would be interested in possibly taking the old ones off their hands. We would, of course, pay for the cost of getting it here (so the closer you are to Lawrence, the better). I'm not sure, but it's possible this donation may be tax deductible.

Dick Nelson

Jason...e-mail Andrea!!

If Jason Matisoff really is in Dallas.. then he needs to send me an e-mail so we can be friends!!!! andrea.burnett@nbc.com

Andrea Burnett

Where Are They Now & Comments

Two things today. The "Where Are They Now" section of the site is up and running, but I believe it to be sorely outdated. It needs some updating. Help me out by passing on the whereabouts of the people you know about. You can see the people who I think I have incorrect info about on the page. (The link is on the left.) People that I'm nearly positive have wrong info appear in red. Those that I think may be wrong are in purple, and those I am fairly confident in are in black. Please e-mail me at michael@bieke.us if you have updates on those people who I need updates for or if you're one of the people who needs to be added or updated.

Secondly, I have added comments to the site. From now on, whenever a new posting is added, you will be able to add a comment to it that everyone can read. Also, all old posts have comment areas available. Have fun.

Bieke

I Broke It!

Allright...I broke the website. The last time I did a backend overhaul of the site, I broke it, and I didn't realize it until Michelle and Derek told me. Sorry. I'll fix it soon.

Bieke

Derek's Big News

Last Friday I was offered two jobs in Kansas City within 15 minutes. It
was a hard choice and I agonized over the decision all weekend long. I
finally decided to go with WDAF-TV, the Fox affiliate in Kansas City. I
will produce the weekend 5 p.m. newscasts and associate produce the
other three days of the week. I start in mid-March.

Thanks to all of you who kept me in your thoughts and prayers!!

Derek :-)

Winter Storm Coverage

Well, living in New England is supposed to be cold, but we've had a really mild winter...at least until yesterday. That's when the February Nor'easter came, and it just happened to fall on my day to work. That means four hours of basically unscripted coverage that went surprisingly well. It's really the first time I've done that, and it was a lot of fun. Tiring, but fun.

Actually, what was really shocking was how UN-stressed out everyone was. We were all pretty cool and just went about getting things on the air. I just told the meteorologist that next time, I'd really rather it happen on my Friday, so that I could take two days off to recover. Oh well...

Back to work!
Bieke

KSN Layoffs: Part 2

There have been some rumors flying around that have gotten back to me that our own Chanda Brown may have been layed off as part of the selling of KSN. If that's true, I'm truely sorry.

It also goes against what the Wichita Eagle article said about not laying off on-air talent.

Please let me know if anyone has any further info.

Bieke

KSN Layoffs

I got this anonymous e-mail today...

Is anyone we know being laid off at KSN?????

which made me go out and research the KSN situation. I only could find this Wichita Eagle article.

Channel 3 layoffs to come

It's a difficult time for employees of KSN, Channel 3, as they wait for the final paperwork on the station's sale from Emmis Communications Corp. to SJL Broadcasting and affiliates of Blackstone Group.

The station's vice president and general manager, Shawn Oswald, already was told he won't be kept.

"There are going to be layoffs," says Sandra Benton, SJL's chief operating officer. "I'm not going to announce the size of cuts until the staff knows the size of the cuts."

The company will install automated systems wherever it can to do behind-the-scenes jobs like studio camera operation. Benton says the cuts won't be drastic, and she doesn't expect on-air cuts.

Employees will face significant increases in the cost of their benefits. "Our benefits are not as good as Emmis'," Benton says. "We don't have the bargaining power they have."

SJL already owns three television stations and is picking up four Emmis stations. Benton says that cuts were made at every station but that ratings increases followed. "We did the exact same thing we're intending to do in Wichita," she says. KSN is the No. 3 station in Wichita.

Benton won't say whether ratings were the reason Oswald wasn't kept.

"I have to be sensitive to the fact that a very nice man and a very good man was laid off," she says, "and I think the reason that we chose to do that should remain private."

So does anyone know the 411 on what's exactly happening down there? I've also heard through my friends that the people of KSNT in Topeka are also less than thrilled with the new owners. Anyway, post if you've heard anything.

Bieke

Zach Lee in the House!

Happy New Year KUJHers,

Just wanted to drop a line and congratulate a few people on their recent promotions. Andrea, huge move to Dallas. Is that a top ten market? Anyway, it's a fantastic opportunity. Continued success to you. And I've got a boatload of friends in the Austin area. If you're ever down that way, I can help you with a cheap hotel, or a cool place to go. Also, congratulations to Mike Alzamora for his move to Abilene. I'm glad to see you're still in the biz, and moving your way up.

As for me, there's been a lot happening lately. My company, Creative Domain, has been bought. Our new owners are merging us with another trailer house in Hollywood. Basically, our company was an industry leader in home video advertising, dvd content and dvd advertising, among other things. The other company was one of the top theatrical firms in Hollywood. As a merged company, we became one of the biggest and most successful movie advertising companies overnight. No one lost their job, and the only change for now is our name. I now work for Trailer Park Inc. as a staff editor. Work has been absolutely great these days as well. With the merger, all kinds of new business has rolled in. I just finished two ABC promos that will air on the jumbotron at the superbowl. When you think about it, it's a smaller audience than regular t.v., but who doesn't want to see their work on a 70 foot plasma screen? Anyway, it has been just over a year since my move to Los Angeles. It has been hectic, even chaotic at times. But I've managed to keep my head above water and have some fun at the same time. All my best to the current and former KUJHers.

Yours, Zach Lee