"These Troubled Economic Times"

My new favorite drinking game...taking a swig every time someone says, "in these troubled economic times."

Well, the economy has gotten to my station too. We, like so many others, had layoffs right before Christmas, and the future is now for one-man-bands. We offered buyouts to our four senior photogs. We already have a VJ who shoots her own stories, and we're about to hire another. Plus, I hear automation for the control room is on its way and more of my production brethren will be on their way out.

Get used to it folks...these times, they are a changin'

Bieke

Hemenway steps down

KU chancellor Bob Hemenway announces today that he's stepping down effective June 30.



More later.

Where are they now

Laine Baker moves from KSNT, Topeka, to weekend anchor, KNWA (NBC/FOX) in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Her husband is a sports reporter there.

I thought I'd pass along this article to everyone. Way to go Laubhan!

LUBBOCK, Texas, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- A television anchor in Lubbock, Texas, says she had no clue her boyfriend from a rival TV station planned to propose to her on-air during her show.

KAMC-TV anchor Emily Leonard appeared stunned when she saw boyfriend, Matt Laubhan, a meteorologist for KLBK-TV, Lubbock, sitting at the sports desk. Laubhan then asked viewers to "sit back and watch me make a young woman cry, hopefully in a good way." more

The story even made it to the UK.

Jason Matisoff

Editor's Note: My newscast ran this story as a kicker on Sunday! Video from GMA below.

BREAKING NEWS!

In my last post I said live remotes were coming this fall. In fact, they are here. Tonight at 5:30 we did a live shot on the story of the EPA fining KU $80,000 for environmental violations. The live shot was exactly the type that I rail against -- a totally gratuitous standup in an empty chemistry lab which hadn't seen any activity for hours! But we did it in the name of valuable experience for our students. After all, they'll be doing lots of those gratuitous live shots once they're out there in "the real world."
See for yourself.

Live at Five (thirty)

At long last KUJH-TV newscasts are now live at 5:30. Actually, we generally tape the second and third segments and do just the first one live, though we have done the whole newscast live. We've been doing this for a week now and it's all gone well.

Next step is to do remote live shots, which should be coming this semester.

Job opening

From Kathy Vitale at KUSA in Denver: I wanted to pass along a job opening at KUSA/9News- Denver. We are currently looking for a morning news producer. The position is M-F hours could be 11:30am-8:00am/12:30am-9:00am. It's for our four hour morning show. Producer will be responsible for two hours of content, will write news, edit video, make own graphics.

Contact: Jack Maher/EP KUSA Morning News (I'll give out more details if someone is interested)

This was my position; however, I've been promoted to the 4pm news-- so I can sleep like a normal person- finally!

If you have further questions, info-- let me know.

Kathy
kfvitale@yahoo.com

Where Are They Now Fixed

OK, the Where Are They Now? section is back up and running and updated. I think I went back and got all the updates people have sent me, but if I didn't, just drop me a line.

Bieke

Site Problem

OK,

There have been quite a few requests over the past few weeks to update the "Where Are They Now?" section, but I am currently having technical difficulties with getting an update posted (it's a long story).

Please bear with me.

Bieke

Good stories, or even not-so-good

If you have good stories posted on your station's Web site, let me know. I'd like to link to them from our staff Web site so that our students can be inspired by the quality of work being done by their predecessors. I've already posted one from Gina Ford at WEEK-TV in Peoria.

Cream of the Crap Part II

It's an adventure. For those of you who don't know, the ABC station in Providence, which is the #3 station but seemed to be on the way up when our old friend Regent Ducas was their interim news director, has now taken a not-good-at-all turn for the worse. Regent is gone, and the new permanent ND has adopted this style even more egregious than Regents where they call arrested but NOT CONVICTED suspects "thugs" and in a prostitution story the other day, the reporter stopped mid-intro and said, "Bow-chick-a-bow-wow!" Ugh!

(Video was here, but ABC 6 has removed it from their website)

They also mis-reported a police shooting the other day. They were reporting a Providence policeman had been shot. Then, about 10 minutes later when were were reporting that no officer had been shot, they updated their report to say that TWO police officers had been shot and were being transported to RI Hospital. Um....no. They had to come back after their noon newscast at about 12:45 and say..."Oops, no officers shot. Sorry!"

So every day's an adventure.
Bieke

Cream of the crap

Hey, Bieke, what's it like competing with lowlife thugs?

Another job placement

Elyse Calderon (May '07) moves from 6 and 10 p.m. producer at KSNT in Topeka to producer/writer at KWGN-TV in Denver.

Emmy winner

Adam Sechrist has won a regional Emmy for the 4 p.m. newscast he produces on KAKE-TV in Wichita. More details as they become available.

Another job placement

Lexy Kohake, May 2008, lands a job as morning producer, with some reporting, at KXRM Fox 21 in Colorado Springs.

Moving on - Pt. 2

The station they're moving to is WMBF. And Shannon leaves WREX in Rockford.

Moving on

Two KUJH-TV alums will be principals in a new start-up TV news operation in Myrtle Beach, SC. Danner Evans, who moves from WSET in Lynchburg, Virginia, will be one of the main anchors, and Shannon Mortimer, who moves from Rockford, Illinois, will be a producer.

Questions For Those Who Got Out

Since those good old days of KUJH, many of us have left the TV world and moved on. I'm thinking it may be time for me to do the same.

Below are some questions, and if any of you would be kind enough to answer them and e-mail me back (or just post them-- I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking of leaving,) I would greatly appreciate it!

What are you doing now?

How did you tailor your resume to your new job, since your new place of employment is different from broadcast journalism?

TVjobs.com is not an option anymore, so where did you look for a new job?

Is the pay better? (Not looking for an exact figure of course, but any ballpark numbers on improvement would be great!)

Do you miss TV? Would you go back? Is leaving worth it?

Thanks again!

Derek Kenyon
derekkenyon@hotmail.com

Moving On Up

Two KU grads are moving to a new NBC affiliate in Myrtle Beach, SC. Danner Evans (2000), from WSET in Lynchburg, Virginia, and Shannon Mortimer (2007), from WREX in Rockford, Illinois. Danner will be a main anchor; Shannon a producer.

Dick

Oh those long-range forecasts!

No offense taken...I dislike long range forecasts. Luckily my current shop loves a 24 hour forecast with little emphasis on the 5day. I think the long range ranks up there as #2 weatherperson pet peeve...right behind #1 having a meteorologist double as a reporter. Weatherpeople should stick to weather. We struggle enough with just that...ha!

Matt Makens

Pooch's Paradise on FOX 4 (A Must Watch)

KU Professor on The Daily Show

Job Opening

Job Opening: KAIT, Jonesboro, AR, is looking for a news director. Send resume and cover letter to Tim Ingram, GM, PO Box 790, Jonesboro, AR, 72403-0790.

Dick

Further thoughts on "long-range forecasts"

Re: the item below on long-range forecasts. Most meteorologists I've worked with hated doing long-range forecasts because they know how unreliable they are. But the public loves them, accurate or not. Same reason they read horoscopes, I presume.

Dick

Sad KUJH News

From tonight's newscast:

Sad news tonight for those of us associated with the KU school of journalism. Christine Bradford, a lecturer in the school and director of the Multicultural Scholars Program, died this morning of a heart attack. Before joining the J-school faculty in 1999, Bradford had a 35-year career in the newspaper business. She had been managing editor of the Detroit News, where she won a Pulitzer Prize. Funeral arrangements are not yet complete.

Dick

More Live Shots

More live shots on KUJH. Yesterday we broadcast live coverage of Mario Chalmers news conference from Allen Fieldhouse. Our eBay VBricks are working. The quality isn't great, but it's acceptable, and it's LIVE!

Dick

Career Nosedive

Ever wanted to know what the trifecta was for ruining your career as a TV news executive??? Well, the GM at a station here in Boston just gave us all a little instruction.

Bieke


Ch. 7 GM on medical leave, ‘regretful’ after Logan arrest
By Jessica Fargen
Thursday, April 24, 2008

The Channel 7 general manager who was arrested after what police described as a booze-fueled tirade at Logan International Airport Sunday is undergoing “medical treatment” after creating a public relations nightmare for the flashy TV station.

Sunbeam Television Corp., the parent company of WHDH-Ch. 7, disclosed the treatment in a statement today about embattled GM Randi Goldklank.

The statement issued by Sunbeam Television Corp. President Ed Ansin reads: “The unfortunate events of last Sunday night were unanticipated and Ms. Goldklank is deeply regretful. She is currently undergoing medical treatment and is on administrative leave from the company. We wish her a speedy recovery, as do her many friends in Boston and throughout the broadcasting industry.”

The statement goes on to call Goldklank an “outstanding broadcast executive with a record of great success.”

Goldklank, 40, was arrested Sunday night and charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and assault and battery on a police officer after an incident aboard a plane bound for Boston. She allegedly broke an officer’s glasses, told EMTs she had had three dozen drinks and unleashed an obscenity-laced tirade.

According to a police report, Goldklank threatened to put an officer “on TV and ruin your life,” and screamed, “do you know who the (expletive) I am? Ill have a news crew down here in minutes and you will lose your (expletive) jobs you (expletives).”

Goldklank has worked for Sunbeam Corp. in Miami and Boston since 2001 as a sales executive. She has been general manager of WHDH/WLVI [website] since July 2007.

Mike Carson, who was the previous general manager of WHDH/WLVI, has continued to work as a consultant to the stations, according to the statement. Effective next week, he will temporarily reassume his responsibilities as general manager.

TV Weather Forecasts

7-day forecasts are a joke...sorry Matt Makens.

This article written in the Freakonomics Blog of the NY Times proves that for Kansas City in no uncertain terms. I know there's a lot of math involved, but don't be scared...the writer explains it pretty well.

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/21/how-valid-are-tv-weather-forecasts/

Bieke

KU Grad 1, UNC Grad 0

Hey,

I bet my meteorologist who is a Tar Heel that we would beat them in the Final Four game, and today she had to pay off the bet...she had to wear the NCAA Championship t-shirt at work. Hee Hee!!!! Love it!!!!!

Bieke

KU Wins!!!!!!

Live Shots at KUJH!

Live remotes come to KUJH. On Tuesday, March 25, we broadcast a debate among student senate candidates live from Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union. We used VBricks belonging to NTS for transmitting the broadcast-quality signal over the internet (we've used this before on a few occasions such as graduation and the Dole Institute dedication). We used a rented NewTek Tricaster for switching. In addition to the debate we also did a live shot during the 5:30 newscast from the same location.
More good news (we think). We found two VBricks on eBay for $60 apiece (they are normally several thousand) and have purchased them. They're older models and we haven't tried them yet but if they work I'll assume the usual news-director position and decree that we have to do a live shot on every show!

Dick

KAB Winners

The Kansas Association of Broadcasters has announced the winners of its 2008 student awards. Winners from KU:

Undergraduate television

Complete Newscast: First Place, KUJH-TV News, 10 May 2007. Producer: Tracy Perlman
Station Website: First Place, tv.ku.edu, KUJH-TV Staff
Enterprise News Package, First Place (tie), "Biodiesel," Sam Knowlton, Stephen Peteritas, Jyl Unruh, Alex Wiebel
Complete News Feature: Honorable Mention, "Lady Bugs," Lisa Allen

Graduate Television
Enterprise News Package , First Place, "Library Porn," Uyangaa Bazaa
Complete News Feature, "Animal Therapy," Heather Brummitt
Second Place, "German Contest," Christopher Brott.

Site Error

Hey,

It has come to my attention (a.k.a. Dick totally called me out) that the posting box on the right was not working. I have no idea how long that's been true, so if you tried to post something and it didn't go up, I apologize. I wasn't ignoring you. I just didn't get it. Anyway, try again! It should be working now.

Bieke

Video Board

Hey,

Some of you know I've been doing some freelance work at the TD BankNorth Garden is Boston (where the Celtics and Bruins play), and the local ABC station came and did a package on us the other day during a Celtics game.

Live News Cameras

I'm a little obsessed with this new website that has streaming video from news websites all over the country. It's being run by the FOX O&O in Chicago. It's really fun to watch when there are a bunch of newscasts going on. Check it out!

http://www.livenewscameras.com/

Oh...This is Not Good

UPDATE: The file is now embedded from YouTube

This is what ABC sent out to affiliates this morning for their package about Iran. It took them 2 hours to figure out there was a problem!!!

It's great. Enjoy!

Well...that was fun!

What I learned from going to the KU-BC game today:

• Allen Fieldhouse may be old, but it has character unlike the antiseptic new arena here in Boston.
• 35 people in the student section is LAME!
• BC fans sold 1/5 of their supposedly sold out tickets to KU fans
• BC fans aren't even loud when the game is competitive like it was in the first half
• BC fans are even quieter when half of them leave halfway through the second half
• Darnell Jackson is a beast when he's on his game

Picture courtesy LJ World

Happy New Year

I have one simple resolution for 2008. Find a new job. My current job hunt has been dragging out for six months now. I'm optimistic. I've interviewed at two jobs I would take, but I'm still waiting to hear. Cross your fingers, people!

Bieke