"Another sweet smile to brighten our day, another small hand to hold along the way. MJ came today! We're excited to welcome Megan Joy into our family. Big sister Jenna can't wait for her to come home and play."
FOX 26 weekend morning anchor Sally MacDonald named morning anchor after Rita Garcia moves to LA
Sally MacDonald has been named weekday morning anchor, announced station Vice President and News Director, Susan Schiller.
Effective January 2nd, she will anchor the “FOX 26 Morning News” at 4 a.m., 5 a.m., and 9 a.m.
In making the announcement, Schiller stated, “Sally’s gifts of warmth, humor, intelligence and her love of people have made her an essential part of our morning news, whether she’s in the field reporting or behind the anchor desk. We’re excited to bring Sally to our versatile weekday morning team and share her with our viewers as they start their days.”
MacDonald has been with KRIV since January 1, 2007.
Most recently, she was a weekend morning anchor and weekday reporter at the station.
Prior to that, she was a reporter and fill-in anchor at KFDM-TV in Beaumont. TX, where she began her on-air career.
MacDonald added, “It’s a great honor and privilege to help get the day started for so many Houstonians! Houston has been home since I was a teenager, and I want viewers to know they can trust us to serve the communities I grew up in and care about deeply. I can’t wait to bring my passion to our already intelligent, warm and funny morning news team.”
KRIV is part of the FOX Television Stations, one of the nation's largest owned-and-operated network broadcast groups, comprising 28 stations in 17 markets and covering over 37% of U.S. television homes.
This includes seven duopolies in the top 10 markets: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Houston; as well as duopolies in Minneapolis, Phoenix, Orlando and Charlotte.
(This post taken from a release sent to me by FOX Television Stations)
I really enjoyed the KPRC 2 baby wave of 2011 because my son had just been born. But that's yesterday's news. Now we have a Houston TV baby wave across multiple stations!
Live Well Network Deals host Katishia Cosley is the first mom up...with a summer delivery.
"After 12 years of marriage, my husband and I are adding to the family," Cosley told mikemcguff.com. "We are expecting our first child in June. We are very excited and a bit nervous about this new adventure!"
Next, Fox 26 KRIV weekend morning anchor Sally MacDonald just completed her first trimester with baby number two.
"I'm going to be a mommy for a second time," MacDonald told me. "We knew it was time for another one when chasing our toddler around the house covered in spaghetti wasn't challenging enough. I am due in the fall, although some might guess summer as I'm learning women get bigger, and bigger faster, the second time around. We love our daughter, Jenna, to pieces and can't wait to spread the love to another little one!"
As I blogged before, KPRC 2 anchor Dominique Sachse announced Freeman's pregnancy in a story about her new venture Due in a Few.
So make sure to send some well wishes towards these Houston TV folks and their families. And are there anymore pregnancy announcements coming up? Stay tuned here...
Every week in the Houston TV world, someone is having a baby.
It was recently brought to my attention that Fox 26 KRIV reporter Sally MacDonald just gave birth weeks ago. Jenna Martin was born on February 23. Sally's husband and Jenna's father is KPRC 2 photographer Brandon Martin.
I went back and found Ken Hoffman reported Jenna weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces. Hoffman also mentioned that MacDonald's father is Jerry MacDonald, CEO of the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. That's a cool factoid.
I got a chance to meet some of the FOX 26 KRIV morning & CBS Houston crew at the Baker-Ripley Neighborhood Center.
Once again I'll be participating in the TXU Energy Houston Media Turkey Calling Contest which takes place this Saturday, 9:30am at the Houston Zoo Reflection Pool near the zoo entrance.
This year I will not be a contestant, but serving as emcee with FOX 26 KRIV weekend morning anchor Sally MacDonald.
Let's talk turkey on how this happened. I came in second last year. The winner for 2014 was the Houston Chronicle's Craig Hlavaty. Now, Hlavaty really likes being the top Houston media turkey and I think he wants to make sure I don't take his crown...err feathers. Previous winner, Grego from NewsFix, is not participating either. We might want to start a search party for him...
On a serious note, the turkey calling contest exists to promote the annual TXU Energy Houston Turkey Trot - the second largest footrace in Houston and a tradition for many families on Thanksgiving morning. More than 20,000 supporters flock the Galleria area to make a difference and support more than 160,000 seniors and children Neighborhood Centers serves each year.
A few weeks ago, I took a tour of the Neighborhood Centers Baker-Ripley facility in the Gulfton area. It was amazing to see what is happening there to help area residents. More than a building, it actually could be called a campus, made up of several buildings, including a school, legal assistance center, a credit union, restaurant and more. Turns out one building used to be a retirement place where my grandmother worked in the 1970s!
My fellow emcee, Sally MacDonald, featured one touching story we encountered on her Facebook page.
So the 2015 TXU Energy Houston Media Turkey Calling Contest contestants are (so far):
Craig Hlavaty - Houston Chronicle/NewsFix
Jo Jo - Univision Radio 104.9
Kristina Ramey - 104.1 KRBE
Ron Treviño - KHOU 11 Sarah Pepper - Hot 95.7
Jeff Ehling - KTRK abc13
Joey Guerra - Music Critic/Writer, Houston Chronicle
Joy Sewing - Fashion & Beauty Editor, Houston Chronicle
KRIV Houston - 25 Years of FOX 26 KRIV News (2008) - See the first anchor team and other familiar faces no longer there.
Univision newscasts top Houston market
More Houstonians watched Spanish-language Univision’s two evening news programs on Channel 45 than any other newscast, according to the latest rankings from the Nielsen Station Index.
OK, sweeps are over, so everyone can stop trying
The day after sweeps hits and we see the downward curve. No more special stories, no more two-part series, no more monsters on your dish scrubbie to send you into a dirt nap.
Tony Romo, Candice Crawford Wed in Dallas
Tony Romo scored the ultimate touchdown as the the Dallas Cowboys quarterback married former KDAF 33 sports reporter Candice Crawford on Saturday evening at Arlington Hall in Dallas.
Radio host lightens up on diagnosis
950 KPRC Houston and WOAI 1200 San Antonio radio talk show host Joe Pagliarulo is taking a humorous approach to discussing his treatment for testicular cancer.
Fox 7 anchor attends Dallas ‘X Factor’ auditions The X Factor hit Dallas last week, where more than 10,000 hopefuls lined up to audition. Also there: Keri Bellacosa, one of the anchors for “Good Day Austin” on Fox 7 KTBC.
Dueling 4 p.m. newscasts
KENS 5’s more established “First at 4” with Deborah Knapp fights its first duel with KSAT 12’s “First News at 4” with Ursula Pari and Steve Spriester in San Antonio TV.
CLICK - RADIO 101
Houston Media Watch offers a glimpse of how sports talk stations keep/alienate listeners.
Austin TV's The Carolyn Jackson Collection
Anyone who lived in Austin in the late 1960s and 1970s likely remembers Carolyn Jackson. As the host of a popular local daytime television show for more than a decade, Jackson was a familiar Austin face who played an important role in shaping local television during the era.
Employers and employees can long be linked
Just ask Radio One of Texas. The company, which owns KBXX-FM (97.9) The Box, found itself defending against the allegation that it retaliated against its former sales manager by refusing to sell her advertising time after she launched her own advertising agency.
If you couldn't see the start of FOX 26 KRIV Houston's 4am morning newscast Thursday morning, you were not alone. Technical problems delayed the *really* early morning news.
Today, everything is running off computers for the most part, but in the old days, the FOX 26 chief meteorologist wouldn't be off. Former DJ Donna McKenzie turned off 101 KLOL with her foot!
Proof we did not oversleep. We’re working to get our system back up and running and will bring you the news as soon as we can. https://t.co/66Jd6b6wSZ
We’ve had some serious gremlins this morning with our broadcast on air, so I wanted to bring you the forecast here. So, here you go 🌧👍 pic.twitter.com/MOV1m3ez9p
Last week, FOX 26 KRIV Houston morning anchor Sally MacDonald encountered a raccoon at 2:30am as she showed up for work at the station.
"One of our editors saw it first," MacDonald posted on Facebook. " It’s still not caught. It seems nice. But who should we nominate to trap it? We are thinking John Dawson FOX 26."
Fast forward to this week, MacDonald reported that the raccoon was still at the station and running around the newsroom. Quick, put it to work answering the phones!
On Tuesday, MacDonald reported a professional trapper was at the station, captured the raccoon and will release it in Conroe, Texas.
Damali Keith posted that it ended up being a 6-month-old baby raccoon!
For those out of Houston, FOX 26 is actually located in the Inner Loop 610 on the Southwest Freeway just minutes from downtown.
While that visual wouldn't immediately conjure up an image of a raccoon, they do live in the neighborhoods in the area so it is a possibility for one to show up.
Houston news anchors are staying home, but still delivering the news on TV
Thanks to COVID-19, TV anchors are starting to stay home and do the news. No fancy sets or advanced lighting needed. Technology has made it possible to be deliver the news with a phone thanks to companies like LiveU and Dejero.
So far, I have seen instances of KHOU 11's evening anchor Len Cannon broadcasting from home. KHOU's Brittany Aucion also produced Cannon's show from home.
KENS 5 San Antonio morning anchor Sarah Forgany is also broadcasting from her home. Since originally writing this post, I have heard and observed that TEGNA stations have a policy to keep one anchor broadcasting from home. Add KHOU's Brandi Smith into the mix.
Meanwhile, with a more high tech setup, FOX 26 KRIV morning anchor Sally MacDonald was using a higher end camera.
Before Houston meteorologists started broadcasting remotely, the first I saw do it was NBC 6 WTVJ Miami morning meteorologist Angie Lassman has been doing just that. She posted an Instagram story on how she did it. Her laptop remotely accessed the station's weather computer so she could forecast/design the graphics while one phone put her on camera and another dialed into IFB so she could hear the producers and on air feed.
Sally MacDonald appeared back in her home studio today to anchor the FOX 26 KRIV Houston morning newscast.
"Coming to you from my home studio today," MacDonald told viewers of the 'FOX 26 After Show.' "I have not been in here for more than a year, so it's been an interesting morning, just kind of getting used to it again. But we're just going through some COVID protocols at the station, everybody is OK."
Fellow morning anchor Melissa Wilson was back at the FOX 26 studios.
Tomorrow is the debut of the new Fox 26 weekend newscasts. Here is an interview conducted by Fox 26 KRIV's Isiah Carey AKA The Insite with anchor Sally MacDonald and meteorologist John Dawson about the new show.
The duo says this will not be your typical newscast. In fact Dawson says they are throwing out the scripts!
Catch the show Saturday and Sundays from 5 to 8am. Also, Rita Garcia will anchor the new 5pm show debuting this weekend too.
Lena Maria Arango gave FOX 26 KRIV Houston viewers the weather forecast with no makeup or "filter free" IRL (In Real Life).
This after Instagram disabled certain filters in Texas concerning a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Ken Paxton alleging facial-recognition technology violating state law and privacy rights.
Arango said it if more than just the filter related Texas news, but the issue of what these filters represent.
Here is what the meteorologist said on the FOX 26 morning news last Friday.
"And I think it's not just the fact that the facial recognition, but I think it points out kind of a deeper underlying issue that we feel so much pressure to live up to these unrealistic expectations that we're constantly seeing on social media.
So I made the split second decision this morning to go on live TV without a single drop of makeup on my face.
And I do think it's important to kind of spread that message, to just be comfortable in your own skin. Not a single one of us guys are perfect, and that includes the forecast."
MacDonald added that Arango asked if the anchor team wanted to participate.
"And we didn't want to frighten people awake," joked De Florias on air. "I wouldn't do that to our viewers. For me personally, it would not...it would be noticeable."
Now I get to say TOLDJA! just like Deadline Hollywood's Nikki Finke!
In early May I broke the "rumors" that Fox 26 KRIV was expanding its weekend newscast offerings. Fox Broadcasting has no official update on this yet, but I can say with certainty, that Fox 26 reporter Sally MacDonald will anchor a new weekend newscast from 5 to 8am.
How do I know this? The station is now running on air promos with MacDonald featured as the anchor. Fox 26 meteorologist John Dawson will handle weather.
But that's not all, the new weekend 5pm show I told you about also has its own promo with current 9pm anchor Rita Garcia sitting behind the news desk. Dawson will handle weather there too I'm sure.
The new Fox 26 weekend newscasts start July 7th. I'll be on my couch with a bag of popcorn.
Then you have KTRK abc13 weekend morning anchor Elissa Rivas expecting, so Bomke's former co-anchor Chris Stipes, will head off for a little paternity leave.
And don't forget Fox 26 KRIV weekend morning anchor Sally MacDonald who is waiting for baby number two to be born.
That's a lot going on over at FOX Houston.
That's why this week you might have seen Michelle Merhar, the FOX 26 KRIV Traffic Authority, anchoring the noon news. Here is video of her first, or at least one of her first times, filling in.
FOX 26 weekend anchor Rita Garcia has also been filling in for the Bomke hole on the morning show. This has spawned the #wakeupwithrita Twitter hashtag. UPDATE: I also found out Ned Hibberd is filling in on weekend nights while Garcia is doing morning duty.
And FOX Television Stations tells me that Damali Keith will fill-in for MacDonald on weekend mornings when she takes leave.
Damali Keith is first ever Fox 26 KRIV weekend morning reporter plus other news
Damali Keith
Big changes have already hit Houston TV in 2014. Most notably new hour long weekend newscasts for KTRK abc13 and KHOU.
Fox 26 KRIV is also making an addition to weekend newscasts too. It's been confirmed to me that Damali Keith, who has recently been filling in for weekend morning anchor Sally MacDonald while she was on maternity leave, is staying with weekend mornings as a reporter.
I'm told this is the first time that Fox 26 has ever had a weekend morning reporter on duty. Other stations like KTRK and KPRC 2 have scheduled a person on these shifts over the years, but not KRIV.
I mentioned MacDonald is back in the anchor chair from newborn duty and so is KTRK abc13 weekend morning anchor Elissa Rivas by the way.
Staying with a morning theme, I've also got word that since Rivas' husband, anchor Chris Stipes, moved to Fox 26 weekend nights, a substitute has appeared in his old morning chair along side Rita Garcia. It appears that FOX 26 KRIV Traffic Authority Michelle Merhar has been doing both traffic and morning anchoring in the 4am hour during the week.
As I reported a few weeks ago, Fox 26 has already made some other changes with reporter staff schedules.
Notice anymore changes? What does the fox say? That's right, contact McGuff.
Did you watch this weeks Belo Debate that had enough fireworks to make you think it was the 4th of July? If not, you get another chance.
Fox 26 KRIV in Houston will host a US Senate debate between candidates Ted Cruz and current Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst Monday July 23rd from 6 to 7pm.
KTBC FOX 7 in Austin and KDFW FOX 4 in Dallas will broadcast the showdown at the same time.
Fox 26 will carry the debate live from the headquarters of King Street Patriots in Northwest Houston. It will be moderated by Melinda Spaulding and reporter Sally MacDonald will question the candidates.
You will be able to submit questions via the station's Twitter account, Facebook account and its website at myfoxhouston.com.
Emily Akin, who has solved many Houston TV viewers' consumer problems since 1995 starting at KPRC, announced her retirement from FOX 26 KRIV
Longtime Houston consumer reporter Emily Akin has announced her retirement from FOX 26 KRIV, and in her final days on the air, is using her 40 plus years of journalistic experience to share her best tips with viewers.
"But before I go, I want to leave FOX 26 Houston viewers with some final consumer advice," Akin posted on Facebook. "All this week I'll focus on issues you have asked me about the most."
Houston television news viewers first got to know Akin on KPRC 2 in 1995 through segments like Akin's Army, Not On The Menu and Good Housekeeping. Akin's Army really was an army...an army of volunteers that helped consumers across the Bayou City.
The consumer advocate left KPRC in 2005. After teaching at Houston Community College (and also taught at the University of Houston), she returned to Houston TV at FOX 26 KRIV continuing the tradition of helping viewers with Take it to Akin.
According to her bio, Akin started her journalism career in the 1970s reporting for radio stations and NPR. She jumped to TV in the early 1980s and started covering politics for KOB 4 Albuquerque, New Mexico eventually moving to a main anchor role.
That led to a job at WPLG Miami as a business reporter, morning anchor and feature reporter.
Although Akin was born and raised in Albuquerque, her Texas roots called her to the Lone Star State. Her mother's side of the family has lived in Texas for six generations. She once wrote that her great-grandfather was the first doctor in Dallas County, while another was a judge who helped tame the Texas Panhandle.
Out of her numerous awards she has earned through her career, she has stated one of her proudest professional accomplishments was being named Houston Press Club Reporter of the Year in 1999.
In the last few years, Akin completed her Master's Degree from Rice University in Liberal Studies with a focus on Journalism Ethics.
"Happy retirement, Emily Akin! She’s been helping Houstonians for decades, and it’s hard to imagine Houston TV without her," FOX 26 morning anchor Sally MacDonald posted on Facebook. "She has a one of a kind style and truly cares about each person she has helped, whether on screen or off. I will miss her so much!"
Big time, public relations professional Shirley Barr has noticed lots of changes in Houston TV anchor hairstyles over the last year. My answer is...all of the women on Houston TV always look beautiful, no matter the hairstyle (you can tell I'm married with that answer).
Back to Barr's observations, she sent me a list of the changes. With more posts like this, you can call me a future Jonathan Antin or better yet Steven Cojocaru.
Fox 26 KRIV weekend morning anchor Sally MacDonald was a striking brunette, now a honey blonde. (Credit Fox and Shirley Barr)
Fox 26 KRIV morning anchor Natalie Bomke was a blonde, now a brunette with highlights. (Credit Fox)
KHOU 11 traffic anchor Katherine Whaley was a classic blonde - now a strawberry blonde. (Credit KHOU)
Fox 26 KRIV food contributor Cleverley Stone wore more up-dos in 2012 - a classy look. By the way, even though 650 KIKK dumped talk for CBS Sports Radio, Stone is still on the station, but now Saturday mornings from 9am to 12pm. Stone is celebrating 10 years of doing food talk on Houston radio, her 7th with CBS Houston. (Credit Fox)
Deborah Duncan went from short hair to Shirley Temple curls in 2012 - granted the first is an old photo. (Credit KHOU)
One person on Houston TV who probably won't be changing hairstyles is KIAH 39 NewsFix's Grego. No need, he is beautiful the way he is. (Credit KIAH)
We could probably also include KPRC 2's Dominique Sachse who seems to have evolving hairstyles. This weekend, we saw a channel 2 news promo with Sachse on an old episode of 30 Rock we recorded and my wife said she liked Sachse's hair so much, she might copy it! Dom, call me, who's your stylist? (Credit KPRC)
Find out more about Barr and ShirleyBarr Public Relations at shirleybarrpr.com.
Mark Berman announced on Twitter, where he releases many of his Houston sports scoops, that he is retiring from FOX 26 Houston KRIV after 37 years with the station on the same day as he started.
"Some personal news to share: June 12 will be my last night on FOX 26 News at Nine.
I’m retiring after 37 years on the job (43 in Houston).
Growing up in my hometown of Hempstead I dreamed of being a sportscaster on television in Houston. FOX 26 helped make that dream become a reality.
Working for FOX 26 General Manager D'Artagnan Bebel has made it that much more special. He's a leader, mentor and father figure all rolled into one.
What a privilege it's been to cover sports in the great city of Houston and to work at FOX 26, a great Houston television station."
Watch the above mini-doc to get an idea of what goes into a day in the life of Berman. Most media folks know that he's one of the hardest, if not the hardest, working news/sports journalists in the Houston media.
I mean, how many times do you hear on ESPN or another sports network, "FOX 26 in Houston has learned" or "Houston sports anchor Mark Berman found out..."
"I wake up in the morning, and my first thought is ‘What can I do to separate myself from the pack?’" Berman told retired Houston Chronicle columnist David Barronin 2011. "And when I go to bed at night, my last thought is ‘What can I do tomorrow to separate myself from the pack?’"
When social media became a thing, Berman dominated it. When I was tracking Houston TV social media metrics, Berman was always at the top of engagement for members of the H-Town media.
"Mark Berman has been one of my closest friends for more than 40 years," tweeted former Houston Chronicle sports columnist John McClain. "It’s the end of a Houston journalism era. Mark is the best reporter and hardest worker I’ve ever seen. His competitors will celebrate!"
"Several years ago, I was playing a neighborhood pickup basketball game with Steve Patterson, then the Houston Rockets general manager. I asked him, “How come you give all your scoops to Mark Berman at Channel 26? Don’t the other TV stations get mad at you?”
Patterson answered, “I don’t play favorites. I don’t call Berman and give him Rockets stories. He’s the only TV guy who stops by my office every day and asks what’s up? If someone in the media asks what’s going on, I’ll tell them. Berman just happens to be the only one who does that.”
To be fair, none of the current batch of local sports anchors was around when Patterson told me that. The others have upped their game, and by that I mean they actually show up for games and work the beat. What a concept!"
Berman has worked with channel 26 for 37 years. He started as the stations' weekend sports anchor on June 12, 1986 and moved to sports director in 1988.
Born in Hempstead, the University of Houston grad started as a weekend anchor/reporter for CBS7 KOSA Odessa, then returned to Houston as 95.7 KIKK's sports director.
His daughter Jessica, is a television news producer who now works for FOX 26.
"A legendary run," posted morning anchor Sally MacDonald. "We call him 'scoop' because he is always in the know before anyone else. A passion and work ethic that are unmatched. When I got to be on the sidelines at a game with Mark I found myself watching him work sometimes more than I watched the field. Always hustling. Enjoy the rest and family. You’ve earned it."
Some personal news to share: June 12 will be my last night on FOX 26 News at Nine. I’m retiring after 37 years on the job (43 in Houston). Growing up in my hometown of Hempstead I dreamed of being a sportscaster on television in Houston. FOX 26 helped make that dream…” pic.twitter.com/cGCKun6mxo
Mark Berman @MarkBermanFox26 has been one of my closest friends for more than 40 years. He announced his retirement today effective June 12. It’s the end of a Houston journalism era. Mark is the best reporter and hardest worker I’ve ever seen. His competitors will celebrate!
