Top mikemcguff.com posts for 2012

Every year I slack off like every other blog and run highlights of the past year. So here you go, the top Houston media stories of 2012 by pageviews. So that means the readers decided this list by what they clicked on most throughout the year.

1. KPRC 2's Dominique Sachse gets engaged in Rome
I wrote this post in October 2011 and it's still tops in 2012. Yes, that many people search for news on KPRC 2's Dominique Sachse and her engagement/wedding.

 I hate to tell the haters this, but this post had three times the traffic of the number two post. From my blog's perspective, Sachse is the most popular talent in Houston.

Here is the actual wedding post - KPRC 2's Dominique Sachse weds Nick Florescu.

2. Wayne Dolcefino and KTRK 13 divorce
The news of Wayne Dolcefino leaving KTRK 13 officially came the day before Thanksgiving. That means this number 2 post has only been up for around a month. Wow!

I said this would be the biggest media story of 2012 at the time, and I almost stopped blogging for the rest of the year.

Good thing I didn't...one other story was about to happen that would almost be as big (more on this below).

See photos from Wayne Dolcefino's goodbye party, plus what he's doing next.

3. Gene Norman out at KHOU 11
Another big story in November, just before the Wayne Dolcefino post. Gene Norman's departure from KHOU 11 proved that some of the biggest media stories happened at the end of 2012.

4. KPRC 2's Frank Billingsley weds partner of 17 years
This is the post I talked about before. KPRC 2 chief meteorologist Frank Billingsley's marriage to his longtime partner happened in mid-December, and readers haven't stopped reading it since.

5. Nnete departs 97.9 The Box KBXX Madd Hatta Morning Show
When 97.9 The Box KBXX morning show co-host Nnete Inyangumia left the station, it shocked a lot of people. She left for Foxxhole on Sirius XM channel.

6. KHOU 11's Chita Johnson from KRCR can dance and rap
What can I say about KHOU 11 meteorologist Chita Johnson? Clearly she has fans. This post was written in July of 2011 and people are still accessing it all the time.

7. KPRC 2's Dominique Sachse and Nick Florescu's new wedding plans
Remember when I said KPRC 2's Dominique Sachse was popular? Here is another wedding post, this time from 2012, that made it big.

8. KPRC 2's Jennifer Reyna promoted to anchor
If you have been a longtime reader here, you know KPRC 2's Jennifer Reyna has always been a popular topic. This post was from September 2011 and is still hot.

9. KHOU 11's Christine Haas to KNSD 7 NBC San Diego
KHOU 11 morning anchor Christine Haas surprised viewers when she headed west to KNSD 7 NBC San Diego. Stay classy.

10. Sam Malone says 700 KSEV let him go
The news of Sam Malone getting fired from 700 KSEV happened on the same weekend that KPRC 2's Dominique Sachse got married. It was probably the biggest weekend my blog ever had.
- Sam Malone and Maria Todd together again?

11. KPRC 2 hires fmr. beauty queen, Sharron Melton vs Lily Jang and more
This post covered four topics, but it was the last one that generated all of the traffic. It made number 11 on the list because of KPRC 2 reporter Alexandra Lewis who was a former Miss Louisiana. Ca c'est bon.

12. KTRK 13 hires Crystal Kobza, formerly of KOB
The day reporter Crystal Kobza showed up on KTRK 13, I had tons of emails from excited male viewers. No surprise she makes the number 12 post. Hate to disappoint all of her fans, but I hear Kobza has left the station after her freelance gig ended.

13. Mix 96.5 KHMX dumps Kidd Kraddick; going local
While Kidd Kraddick didn't apparently heat up mornings on Mix 96.5 KHMX, he still has a bunch of fans that wondered what happened to the show after the station decided to go local.

14. KTRK 13's Casey Curry engaged
KTRK 13 meteorologist Casey Curry is probably one of the most popular talents on KTRK 13. When I write a post about her, it always does well with readers. In fact, I now know first hand, when she does a community event, she can fill a room with fans.
- KTRK 13's Casey Curry talks engagement

15. KHOU 11 puts Lily Jang in mornings from KCPQ Q13 Seattle
I just featured the post where KHOU 11 morning anchor Christine Haas took off for San Diego. Here is the post concerning her replacement. Lily Jang has massive popularity on social media, so no surprise she makes the 15th slot.
- KHOU's Lily Jang talks morning drama & chemistry

RELATED
- Top mikemcguff.com posts for 2011
- Top 10 mikemcguff.com blog posts for 2010 by reader traffic
- Top mikemcguff.com posts of 2009
- Top mikemcguff.com posts of 2008
- Top Mike McGuff blog posts of 2007
- Top 10 for 2006

Santa Claus photo by your tree - Houston site makes it happen

Tonight is the night to snap a photo of Santa Claus by the Christmas tree for your kids. But if you don't want to stay up for the real event, you can fake it online.



By clicking here, you can upload a photo of your tree, insert Santa Claus, change his proportions to fit the picture and that's it. Then make sure to share it with your friends and family. Your kids will love it!

It's all possible thanks to a Houston-based company.

Just so you know, I will get a small percentage of the sale, so make sure to share the link:

CLICK HERE TO START

My Christmas sleigh made of PVC pipe

Last February I blogged about my first ever PVC pipe art project - TV color bars called TV Color Deluxe.

Now for my next project. I took PVC pipe and made a Christmas sleigh. Rudolph came with help from Home Depot.

BTW, I'm a network affiliate of ICaughtSanta.com. Click the site link to take a picture of Santa next to your actual Christmas tree. The kids will love it and you won't have to stay up to catch him yourself! It's quick and easy to do.

Merry Christmas.

RELATED
TV journalist gift ideas

Journalist gift ideas

Gift ideas for you or the journalist in your life.

Weighing Anchors: A Veteran TV Newswriter Critiques the Networks' Top Anchors

Mervin Block wrote for Walter Cronkite and other anchors at ABC, CBS and NBC. In his new book, Weighing Anchors: A Veteran TV Newswriter Critiques the Networks' Top Anchors, Block examines scripts from today’s top network anchors, including Brian Williams, Diane Sawyer, Scott Pelley and Anderson Cooper. This critique includes mistakes, blunders and falsified facts.

"I kept hearing network anchors making mistakes," Block told mikemcguff.com. "And I had never heard of any collection of anchors' (and correspondents') mistakes--factual, grammatical and stylistic. Not only did I figure a round-up of foul-ups would make a good story, but it'd also provide a batch of tips and little lessons about broadcast newswriting. I still hear anchors make mistakes, but I can't spend my life trying to corral them."

Also, check out Block's other book, Writing Broadcast News Shorter, Sharper, Stronger: A Professional Handbook.

OTHER BOOKS

Broadcast Journalism Street Smarts: The 2012 Survival Guide for Today's Television Newsroom
It's time for reporters to get street smart. And not just about reporting. There's more to the television news business than gathering facts and getting your face on camera. You need to navigate the minefield present in every newsroom in America. Broadcast Journalism Street Smarts is a survival guide that offers tips to make your stories stand out, job hunting strategies and critical advice to help you navigate the unique office politics of broadcasting.

Dayna Steele finds “101 Ways to Rock Your World”
In her new book “101 Ways to Rock Your World: Everyday Activities for Success Every Day” (published by iUniverse) Dayna Steele offers readers an inspiring and easy-to-follow guide to personal success.

How to Watch TV News: The best book on the TV news biz
If you are interested in a TV news career...read this book. If you are new to the TV business...read this book. If you are just a media geek...read this book.

TV's Tom Abrahams writes Sedition novel
Weekend anchor/reporter Tom Abrahams has written Sedition: A Political Thriller. Now on the bestseller list for Amazon UK!

Reporter gets biggest story of all time
It's not uncommon for television reporters to act as if every story is the end of the world. But what would happen if journalists really did have to cover Judgment Day?

Women reverse TV news stereotypes in new book
Imagine a television network run by sexist executives who are politically incorrect, force employees to sleep with them, and scoff at harassment lawsuits. But this is what happens when women run a network.

ONLINE

Photo of Santa Claus by YOUR Christmas tree
Snap a photo of Santa Claus by the Christmas tree for your kids. But if you don't want to stay up for the real event, you can fake it online.

DESK ITEMS

Sound Machine - 16 Sound Effects
If you are an approval or attention seeking TV news type, look no further than the sound machine. A little box, that with a push of a button, gives you applause, laughter, wah-wah, thumbs down, bomb fx, glass break and many more.

Tengu USB Powered Character - Robot Led Face Toy Gadget
Get thrown under the bus, yelled at by a manager...etc? This entertaining desk companion, Tengu, is a USB-powered character that magically responds to sounds by lighting up and making different expressions as it lip-syncs to music, your voice, or other sounds.

HURRICANE AND DISASTER HELP

Eton NBOTU2000R BoostTurbine 2000 Rechargeable 2000mAh USB Battery Pack with Hand Turbine Power - Red
Portable backup battery pack with rechargeable 2000mAh lithium ion battery with hand turbine power generator.

Eton FR400 Hand Crank Radio and Power Generator (Red)
Hand crank power generator is ideal for emergencies - Provides you with an emergency siren, water resistant radio, LED lights, and a cell phone charger so you can contact help.

MOVIE

Network (Two-Disc Special Edition)
The future of TV (modern times for us) was practically predicted in this late 1970s movie.

Click on the links to purchase these items and I get a little something, something if you know what I mean.

Hot Houston media singles ready to mingle

Friday is allegedly the end of the world according to the media hyped Maya calendar prophecy. It's also when CultureMap's Most Eligible Bachelors and Bachelorettes party is. Connection?

Singles ready to mingle in time for the apocalypse?

Don't worry, Houston media is representing. Some hot Houston TV, radio, print and PR singles are looking for love and cupid might strike faster than a huge ratings spike during sweeps.

Houston TV, radio and print most eligible singles

Taylor Byrne Dodge - My Table Magazine
Al Farb - 93Q KKBQ
Lauren Finklestein - Mix 96.5 KHMX
Lily Jang - KHOU 11
Katie McCall - KTRK 13
Charles Miller - Great Day Houston/KHOU 11
Rebecca Spera - Mirror Mirror/Live Well/KTRK 13

Houston PR most eligible singles

Deborah Elias - event planner
Betsy Ellison - public relations
Travis Harper - PR Newswire
Meg McGuire - PR, Charming Charlie
Kathryn McNiel - political consultant
Kim Padgett - public relations
Todd Ramos - fashion producer
Laura Sussman - public relations
Ashley Wyatt - public relations

There are way more Eligible Bachelors and Bachelorettes who are not media types. For full details of who's hot and where to party with them, click here.

Another Houston TV baby wave?

Remember when KPRC 2 had baby fever? After my recent post about Fox 26 KRIV's Traffic Authority Michelle Merhar pregnancy, I learned that KPRC 2 reporter Jennifer Bauer ‏is also expecting (see a photo of her pregnant).

I know someone else at KPRC who is also excited about this baby bump. KPRC Vice President/Creative Services Director Mike Guerrieri is Bauer's husband and I'm sure a very happy father to be.

Bauer tweeted the baby girl is due at the very beginning of January. Maybe their daughter will be the big story on New Year's Day as the first baby of 2013!  Congrats!

Speaking of KPRC chief meteorologist Frank Billingsley married longtime partner Kevin Gilliard.

In case you missed it too, late Friday I posted how KPRC 2 reporter Nefertiti Jáquez was leaving for a new gig. Former Fox 26 KRIV reporter Kristin Kane also announced a new job. (click on their name for more info)

Is that Shasta on TV?

Through my time in the Houston media, one thing is for sure, you meet a lot of University of Houston Coogs in the industry. UH hooks up current students with the media alumni each year at the annual Media Homecoming. 2012 was the fifth event. This year's guests included Pattie Shieh (News92, ex-FOX26), Joy Sewing (Houston Chronicle) and Joey Guerra (Houston Chronicle). It was presented by the UH chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. Previous guests have included Cougar communicators Doug Miller (KHOU Ch. 11), Marisa Ramirez (host of KUHF's "UH Moment"), Amy Davis (KPRC Ch. 2), David Dalati (ESPN 97.5 FM) and Anna Megan Raley (Houston Chronicle/CBS Radio).

Santa Claus the DJ?

Not Houston media, but still cool...Santa will give your kid a personalized phone call. It's thanks to Austin-start up Audingo which I wrote about in September. Austin's Mix 94.7 lets listeners text their child’s name to 512-MIX-0054, and Santa rings the phone number within 10 minutes, addressing the recipient by name with a special message. Try it through Christmas Eve. The child can even reply to Santa with a voice message using Audingo’s TalkBack feature. Messages from kids around Austin are posted on Mix 94.7’s website here: http://www.mix947.com/pages/14967108.php
- Photo Santa Claus by YOUR Christmas tree

KPRC 2's Nefertiti Jáquez to WCAU, KRIV's Kane to Central Florida News 13

Three years ago, I wrote how then new KPRC 2 reporter Nefertiti Jáquez had been very popular at Philadelphia's Fox 29. I'd say she made a splash in Houston over the last few years too. In fact she made my Top 5 Houston TV Twitter users list.

Guess it's no surprise that she's heading back to Philly, but this time to NBC10 News WCAU.

"I have recently decided to pursue my career goals closer to home, and my family," Jáquez told mikemcguff.com. "I will be leaving at the end of the year. I am truly leaving here with mixed feelings; happy about the next step in my life, but sad to be leaving such a great city and community."

Jáquez leaves us December 31st.

*updated with Nefertiti Jáquez quote for this blog

ANOTHER HOUSTON TV REPORTER MOVES ON

I told how Fox 26 KRIV reporter Kristin Kane was leaving the station in November. That time has come and gone and she gave her goodbye message. Well, Kane just announced her new gig on Facebook last night:

Guess who's moving back to Florida?!?! I am so excited to announce I'm joining Central Florida News 13 in Orlando as an Anchor/Reporter! I start January 14th and I will be anchoring Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings and reporting Monday mornings. Extra long anchoring hours will allow me to have 3 days off every week. I'm thrilled to be joining a very talented news team and Tom & I are looking forward to calling Orlando home!

RELATED
- KPRC 2 reporters Reyna and Jáquez caught in the act
- Fox 26's Kristin Kane engaged

KPRC 2's Frank Billingsley weds partner of 17 years

This year KPRC 2 has been no stranger to big weddings. Most notably anchor Dominique Sachse married Nick Florescu in May.

Now channel 2 viewers get another big one. It's chief meteorologist Frank Billingsley. Billingsley married Kevin Gilliard who he's been with for 17 years. The station says the two got hitched in New York City. The couple was married on 12/12/12. SEE PHOTOS

Click2Houston.com reports the wedding was held at the Eventi Hotel near the Empire State Building. It took place at 8:11pm. Why? The couple met August 11. There were close to 70 attendees including their son, Morgan.

"I think the nation is changing their attitude on the whole issue," Billingsley told the Houston Chronicle. "You will find them very different and much more accepting and supportive. This was really the best day of our lives. It was an affirmation that we wanted to make legally."

I've been pondering this and I think this makes Billingsley the most high profile TV personality in Houston to officially come out in a public way (and of course then get married since that is more of a recent possibility).

Over the years, Billingsley has been the Houston version of Anderson Cooper. Some people heard the rumors about his sexuality, but most probably didn't even think about it and just wanted him to tell them if a hurricane was coming our way.

The first time I heard about Billingsley being gay had to be from KLOL's Stevens and Pruett show in the 90s and they only indirectly talked about it. Much like Good Morning America's Sam Champion,  Billingsley addressed his sexuality directly with a marriage announcement.

According to his station bio, Billingsley was raised in Alabama, and came to work at KTRK 13 in 1989. He was the weekend meteorologist there. In 1995, Billingsley made the jump to KPRC 2 where he has been ever since. I remember he had a non-compete clause, so KPRC ran promos where they showed video of clouds and said something like "The Houston weather is about to become more Frank."

Congrats.

News 92 KROI hires new leader

I hear from the inside that News 92 KROI is about to get a new program director. I don't currently see that as a position on the station's website so I guess it is a new position.

Sounds like the gig is going to Alan Furst who currently works for Indianapolis FM news station 93.1 WIBC as program director. Furst has also worked as a Sr. VP of Programming for Clear Channel and as a radio consultant according to his LinkedIn profile.

Furst apparently starts in early January.

He'll be entering a competitive market here in Houston. You thought we had a lot of sports talk radio station...it's getting crowded in the news format too.

KROI has been on the air for a year now and just put in a million dollar expansion to its news facility. SEE THE PHOTOS. 88.7 KUHF has been a 24 hour NPR station for more than a year and of course there is heritage station 740 KTRH who has been around longer than you have probably been alive and just hired the legendary Shara Fryer.

I love a good radio war.

UPDATE 12/14/2012:
Here is the official release on Alan Furst's hiring:

Radio One Regional Vice President Doug Abernethy, market manager for the company’s stations in Houston and Dallas, announced today that Alan Furst will assume the duties of Program Director for News 92 FM (KROI-FM/Houston) beginning January 7, 2013. Since the station’s sign on just over a year ago, programming responsibilities have been covered by consultant Ed Shane in cooperation with Radio One’s corporate programming staff. Furst is a former consultant for Shane Media and has spent over twenty years working in Texas markets.

“Alan is exactly the programming pro we’ve been looking for,” says Abernethy, whose nationwide search has been underway for months. “He’s got the talent, the drive, the enthusiasm, and, most importantly, a track record of success. He knows the market, he knows the format, and we are confident Alan can deliver big results. “
Furst, currently the program director of News/Talk 93 WIBC-FM in Indianapolis, says he is ready for the challenge.

"I'm thrilled to return to Houston and join News 92 FM, “says Furst. “Radio One has put together a great team and the energy in the building is electric. We’re going to build something very big and very special that will become a force in the nation’s fourth largest city.”

Furst’s remarkable career has included service to broadcasters in both hemispheres and on three continents, and has earned him national as well as international acclaim.

As a student at Bethany College in West Virginia, Furst worked at WVBC-FM, a 10 watt radio station, alongside a wealth of burgeoning talent. Faith Daniels (formerly of The Today Show), Tory Tolley (CNN), Bob Orr (CBS News), Chris Moore (CBS Sports Network), Dave Sims (Seattle Mariners play- by-play announcer), and Kurt Franck (Pulitzer Prize winner) were all among the notable journalists and broadcasters who got their start at this tiny college radio station and were colleagues of Furst.
From this inauspicious beginning, Furst went on to programming stints for 700 WLW-AM in Cincinnati, KAJA-FM in San Antonio, WSYR-AM in Syracuse, and WEEP-AM in Pittsburgh. He later served as Vice-President of Programming for Capstar, Director of Country Programming for Cumulus, Senior Vice-President of Programming for Clear Channel, and National Program Director for New City Communications.

On the international front, Furst held the position of Group Program Director for the Australian Radio Network in Sydney, programmed 97.3 in Brisbane, and launched the first country radio station in the United Kingdom.
His professional accolades include multiple awards from the Indiana Broadcasters Association for his work at WIBC-FM (including Best Newscast/Large Market), and a Crystal Award for WSYR-AM in Syracuse.

An avid sports fan (baseball and hockey), train travel enthusiast, animal rescue advocate and ardent student of American history, Furst will now make his home in Houston with his wife Ann. His father lives in the neighboring community of Sugar Land and his son Andrew lives in Dallas. A second son, Jason Furst, is the program director of WBT-AM/FM in Charlotte.

RELATED
- News 92 FM KROI is on the air (1st hour local audio included)
- KTRK 13's Ed Brandon on 24 hour news radio in Houston

KHOU 11 updates TV news graphics package

Just in time for Hanukkah or the celebrated date of 12/12/12, KHOU 11 launched a graphics update. I first was alerted during the Noon newscast.  It's not a full face lift, maybe just some Botox or Restylane.  The logo, slogan and set are still the same, just a little update. Here is my post from the last time KHOU updated graphics.




























RELATED
- Fox 26 KRIV launches new graphics
- KPRC 2 gets new graphics package and more

KTRK anchor advice, San Antonio & Austin TV shakeup plus more

- TV anchor tricks girlfriend into on air proposal
- What Sex Act Was Barbara Walters Describing on The View
- Megan Henderson - KTLA fluffer
- New Star Trek Movie’s First Trailer Looks Terrific and Apocalyptically Dark
- Rockets Announcer Rubs It In After Houston Win: “The Lakers Have Just Pooped Their Big-Boy Pants!”

CBS11 tabs Elizabeth Dinh for early morning shift
Elizabeth Dinh has joined D-FW's CBS11 KTVT from KOMO Seattle as a full-time early morning reporter.

Grant Stinchfield goes radio
Former NBC5 reporter/congressional candidate Grant Stinchfield replacing Janine Turner Saturday nights on KLIF.

Taking the PR plunge
Former CW33 reporter Charles Bassett joins the DFW media crowd going PR.

November PPM Analysis
Dallas-Ft. Worth and Houston November PPM radio market highlights.

KDGE-FM Lays Off Program Director Josh Venable
KDGE-FM lays off Josh Venable again, part of a nationwide culling of staff at Clear Channel.

WGN-TV and Chicago Cubs Announce Jim Deshaies as Television Analyst for Chicago Cubs
WGN-TV and the Chicago Cubs are pleased to announce former Houston Astros broadcaster Jim Deshaies has agreed to a four-year agreement to join Len Kasper in the booth as the television analyst for Chicago Cubs game broadcasts on WGN-TV, Comcast SportsNet and WCIU-TV.

Yahoo Sports Radio Owner Buys Sports Flash Radio
Gow Broadcasting LLC, operator of Yahoo Sports Radio in partnership with Yahoo Sports, has purchased the Sports Flash Radio Network.

Houston Channel 13 anchors talk careers, offer advice
Channel 13’s Katie McCall and Elissa Rivas visited the SHSU campus to speak to students about their careers and to give professional advice to students’ questions.

WOAI-TV gets new owner and general manager
Sinclair Broadcast Group – the same company that owns Fox affiliate KABB – now officially owns NBC affiliate WOAI.
- WOAI, KABB won't join forces
- WOAI-TV gets new owner and general manager

TV reporters off to new ventures
Three high-profile reporters from different stations here are waving goodbye to San Antonio to head to new jobs.

Irreverent John Lisle on WOAI
WOAI listeners were treated to a dose of radio nostalgia this morning . . . John Lisle style.

Shannon Wolfson Leaving KXAN; Maxwell, Sanders Move Up
Shannon Wolfson, who anchors the 9 p.m. newscast on KXAN‘s sister CW station, KNVA, and fills in for prime anchor Leslie Rhode, is leaving the station after the February ratings period.

Jason Wheeler Happy With New Dallas Anchor Job
Jason Wheeler is back on the anchor desk where he belongs and seemingly very happy with his move to Belo Broadcasting’s WFAA Dallas.

Troy Kimmel Talks About Leaving KEYE
KEYE Chief Meteorologist Troy Kimmel, who announced last week that he would be leaving the station at the end of the month, says it became apparent that he and station management had a different philosophy on how to do weather.

RELATED
- Houston TV pregnancies, engagements and job moves
- Houston radio DJ AD gets a TV show 'King of the Burbs'
- Walton and Johnson off 93.7 The Arrow KKRW
- KXAS 5 grabs meteorologist Lindsay Riley
- KTRK 13 tests the future of live shots

KTRK 13 tests the future of live shots

You know the drill. TV stations have been going live for decades using panel trucks with big poles that extend from the roof. Not as much anymore however. Technology now makes it less expensive and way more compact. Plus, you can do a live shot wherever you can get a signal, anywhere in the world.

KTRK 13 in Houston has been testing out new ways to transmit video for years. I remember in the 1990's, the station ran a promo that touted its use of cell phones signals to transmit [crude] video from the field to the studio.

The future is here.

Today, the station uses a box by the company Dejero Labs Inc., that hooks up to a camera and can transmit taped footage, a live shot or a file upload back to the station using cell, WiFi or ethernet (SD/HD). Without getting too technical here, you can adjust the box to send under different signal conditions and strengths.

The company let me know it has lots of ways to transmit video too.

"Together with our iPhone apps, laptop solution in partnership with Panasonic, our 20/20 lightweight and ruggedized transmitter, we now have a complete platform with various tools from satellite to mobile phones," Dejero Labs Inc., Chief Technology Officer Bogdan Frusina told mikemcguff.com. "We can now give you the right tools for the right shot."

In addition to cellular, microwave and satellite, the ABC owned station is also looking to the Internet for live truck transmission. hViaSat Inc., announced KTRK and sister station WLS in Chicago have finished testing "the first high-capacity Ka-band Satellite News Gathering (SNG) vehicle built in the U.S."

The company says the service gives two-way IP connectivity between field crews and the TV station. That means reporters/photographers can use the signal to get graphics and footage from the station to edit into their stories in the field. Then the crew can use the truck to upload it to the station. It's all HD apparently too.

"High-speed Ka-band satellite transmission is very powerful in terms of the performance and cost effectiveness of this new brand of satellite news gathering,” said Jim Casabella, director Advanced Technology, ABC Owned Television Stations Group in a statement.

Back to Dejero, those ABC trials used the companies multi-rate video codec (if you have a blank stare, just remember, there are some technical types that read this blog too.)

"Let's say you are pulling up to a crash scene," Frusina explained hypothetically to me. "Before you pull up, you can have your dash cam or roof cam live over cellular with enchanted external antennas. As soon as you stop, you bring up the [hViaSat Inc.] Ka band dish. The system automatically switches to satellite high capacity up-link, as much as 10 mbps. Then, [when] you are done and want to go to the next event, you can still stream that drive live if its important."

UPDATE
KPRC 2 morning reporter Mark Boyle tweeted me that his station uses the LiveU system to send video back to the station. Here is a photo.

KXAS 5 grabs meteorologist Lindsay Riley

NBC 5 / KXAS-TV announced that Lindsay Riley has joined the NBC 5 weather team as weekend morning meteorologist. In addition to forecasting on weekend mornings, Riley will report on environmental and other weather-related stories and features.

Before joining NBC 5, Riley forecasted weather at WLEX-TV, Lexington, KY and WIVB-TV in Buffalo, NY. She earned her B.S. degree in meteorology from The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), where she graduated with honors.

While in Buffalo, Riley was the meteorologist on a team that won a 2009 Emmy® from the New York chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for a January 2008 report entitled "WIVB Wake Up: Wild Windstorm."

"I'm very excited to join the NBC 5 team of meteorologists because I've been a true weather enthusiast since I was four years old," said Riley, "To work in such a large and dynamic weather region like North Texas is a dream come true!"

Riley joins NBC 5's team of experienced meteorologists, including chief meteorologist David Finfrock and meteorologists Grant Johnson, Rick Mitchell, Samantha Davies and Remeisha Shade.

(This post was taken from an NBC DFW release)

Walton and Johnson off 93.7 The Arrow KKRW

UPDATE 3/4/2013
J.C. Corcoran, 93.7 The Arrow's new morning man

Wouldn't you know the one day I am shooting an interview for my Rock 101 KLOL documentary, with no internet access, that's the day one of the station's former morning shows makes news.

It's the Radio Gawds, not that duo, the other one, Walton and Johnson.

It appears W&J, and the associated cast of characters, are no longer on the air in Houston at 93.7 KKRW The Arrow. I started getting concerned emails from the show's fans early this morning.

Luckily Craig Hlavaty of The Houston Press saw my tweet about it and got on the case. He found out, and I've also heard the same from others, that Walton and Johnson are gone, longtime Houston rocker Steve Fixx takes their slot and the night guy, the legendary Colonel St. James, moves to Fixx's afternoon slot. So you see KLOL still lives on since all of these guys are former Rock 101 jocks.

The W&J guys also gave a rambling left wing blame statement to Craig.

After you reading this blog, you have followed W&J from their time at mornings on 950 KPRC Radio Mojo to 93.7 The Arrow.

Walton and Johnson gave a much longer response about that move and other things to David Barron of the Houston Chronicle:

We were never allowed to air our actual show (that other markets were having record success with) and even then we roundly vanquished the Cox station head to head direct competition for about two years solid even though they spent a couple million dollars in TV ads and promotion while CC spent not one dime in defense. Cox did not start winning some measurement periods until they discovered the wonderful wrinkle in Arbitron’s PPL technology of putting duplicate programming on two stations and having it measured and reported as one. Admittedly a brilliant strategy if you have an extra station to give up. READ THE REST

To put this on a national persepctive, Walton and Johnson are not the only ones out on the street this holiday season. Clear Channel has done nationwide layoffs this time throughout the years. I am hearing other Clear Channel Houston employees have been let go too. All Access is keeping a running tab of cut victims across the US. We learn there that W&J producer Josh Reno is gone too.

RELATED
- 93.7 The Arrow adds to Walton and Johnson Show
- TMZ: Christopher Plummer hangs up on KPRC's Walton and Johnson

Houston radio DJ AD gets a TV show 'King of the Burbs'

king of the burbs 10 minutes of awesome teaser from King Of The Burbs on Vimeo.

A Houston radio DJ is going Ryan Seacrest on us...just not as squeaky clean and with a lot more snark.

AD from 94.5 The Buzz KTBZ and Sirius XM (see he already has two radio jobs) is now going "Mr. TV" on us. His show, King of the Burbs, is already airing on Fox 28 in College Station and Fox 4 Beaumont. This Sunday night it comes to Houston on The KUBE 57 (according to the KUBE's site 2am Monday actually).

Basically The Soup-ish show features AD ripping on viral videos and other things. He writes the whole show by himself and gets production work from a friend.

"King of the Burbs is a shameless rip off of every other green screen show that relies heavily on outside content so that television can be made with a minimum of effort money and talent," AD told mikemcguff.com. "It's for mature audiences with an immature sense of humor."

As AD's TV empire hits three Texas cities, he's looking for sponsors to keep growing. So if you want the late night slackers who are watching TV, this show is for you AD adds.

kingoftheburbs.com

Great Day Houston Downtown! A Holiday Celebration

Great Day Houston Goes Primetime with Downtown Holiday Special - here is more from KHOU 11:

This holiday season, KHOU 11’s morning talk show Great Day Houston is headed to primetime with an hour-long special featuring the fun and excitement of Downtown Houston during the holidays, from shopping to restaurants, events to entertainment.

The special will feature festivities and performances from the “Mayor’s Holiday Celebration and Tree Lighting, presented by Reliant,” including music from seven-time Grammy winner Dennis Edwards and The Temptations Review. Plus, catch a special holiday performance from former American Idol contestant Colton Berry.

Get a peek at hot-ticket holiday shows as host Deborah Duncan takes you behind the scenes of Houston Ballet’s classic “The Nutcracker,” and Captain Hook takes the stage for Theatre Under the Stars’ production of “Peter Pan!” Plus, you’ll see the amazing transformation of Discovery Green into an outdoor ice skating rink.

Catch it December 8 at 7 p.m.

Houston TV pregnancies, engagements and job moves

Think of this post like the last of your Thanksgiving leftovers that are still edible since I've hardly been posting the last few weeks.

EXPECTING

If you've noticed that Fox 26 KRIV's Traffic Authority Michelle Merhar has a baby bump when you see her on TV, you are not alone. Lots of questions about a possible pregnancy on her Facebook page and Merhar has responded, "Nope, not your imagination. A baby girl is on the way...due in March!" Congrats! (Thanks you know who you are)

MOVING

The KTRK 13 assignments weekend desk will be taking weekends off from now on (at least at the ABC owned station). Assignment Editor Ryan Rios is moving to CNN. Rios, a former channel 39 assignments guy, is joining fellow KIAH alum Travis Sattiewhite who has been at Jeff Zucker's new network for a few years now. Christiana Onita Olojo (Sic 'Em Bears) is also moving on. (Thanks Stephanie)

Changes over at KHOU 11's Great Day Houston. Associate Producer Suzanne Badger moves to radio at News 92 FM KROI to be an editor. Alexis Jones takes over Badger's duties at Great Day. (Thanks to PR Fairy @farbulous)

KHOU 11's Doug Miller tweeted a few weeks ago that the "biggest news out of city council meeting: Chris Moran is leaving the Chronicle, following his wife to Gainesville, FL."

Former Houston-based Hit Video USA VJ, Fox 26 KRIV reporter and KHOU 11 assignments guy Todd Duplantis is shifting in the PR world. He started The Duplantis Agency with his wife but now she is riding solo on that one. That's because Duplantis took a Public Relations Director gig with HCC Southwest.

See Texas TV job openings (always located at the top of the page on this blog)

MARRIAGE

I hear a rumor that former KHOU 11 investigative reporter and current ABC News correspondent Mark Greenblatt is getting hitched. (Thanks to PR Fairy @farbulous)

Remember, if you want to be featured on the blog, you have to let me know. I can't read every Houston TV staffer's Facebook and Twitter feeds all day. Even I am not that good.

TX TV reporters moving up, Jim Rome back in Houston plus more

MORE VIDEO
- Best News Bloopers Of 2012 (Part 3)
- News Anchors in ‘Trouble’ With Conan O’Brien, Again
- KVUE Gets Videobombed, Anchor Quita Culpepper Remains Calm
- News Anchors Surprise Staff, Viewers by Tendering Their Resignation During Live Broadcast
- Touch Screen 1; French-Canadian TV Reporter 0
- Houston legend Dan Rather reflects on career
- A Cat Interrupts Univision's Weather Report
- Watch a Talk Show Host Purposely Set a Guest’s Hair on Fire
- TV station reports TV show shoot plane crash as Breaking News
- News blooper - Camera tips over during live shot

Texas November sweeps ratings
- CBS 11 KTVT calls November win
- WFAA8 plays games, declares victory in November "sweeps" via cleverly camouflaged promo
- Univision 45 KXLN is Houston’s #1 TV station
- KENS expands its lead
- KVUE, KXAN Lead November News Ratings; FOX 7 Takes A Tumble, KEYE Not A Factor

Unger strike: WFAA8 fills another newsroom vacancy with Albuquerque reporter
Dallas-based WFAA8 continues to fill newsroom vacancies, this time hiring Todd Unger from Albuquerque's KOAT-TV as a general assignment reporter.

KDAF 33 in Dallas launches‘Gay Agenda’
KDAF-TV reporter Doug Magditch has launched a new weekly segment called “The Gay Agenda” — which seems to fit right in with CW33′s flashy new 9 p.m. news format called “Nightcap.”

CBS11 adds to investigative unit with hiring of San Antonio's Mireya Villarreal-Gideon
Mireya Villarreal-Gideon, a member of San Antonio-based WOAI-TV's "Trouble Shooters" team since 2008, has been hired as an investigative reporter by D-FW's CBS11.

Antonitis Tapped for KTXD Dallas GM Job
Broadcast veteran Mark Antonitis has been named vice president and general manager at KTXD Dallas, an independent station owned by London Broadcasting.

D Empire Expands to Television
What happens when a best-selling magazine and the market’s newest, independent network team up? Sophisticated, distinctive television programming that focuses on local issues, local people and local culture. That’s what DFW can expect when D Magazine and London Broadcasting’s KTXD-TV join forces to launch D-TV, a station that will create its own identity, one show at a time.

NewsRadio 1080 KRLD gets hit
Shots ring out as someone opens fire on a Dallas office building, and a window belonging to NewsRadio 1080 KRLD is hit.

(Brian) New guy at CBS11
D-FW's CBS11 is hitting San Antonio hard lately. Its second new hire from the Alamo City in as many days is -- Brian New.

November Houston ratings
November 2012 Portable People Meter ratings.

Rome to return to Houston in January on KIKK
Jim Rome's radio show returns to Houston in January as part of the new CBS Sports Radio network on KIKK (650 AM).

The Chron's Top Execs Write Another Memo
It's homestretch time for Houston Chronicle President John O'Loughlin and Publisher Tom Stephenson, who we've written about before for their determination to be one of the Top 50 Places to Work in Houston while at the same time doing away with regular raises for Chron employees.

Fox 26 anchor car watch
Fox 26 KRIV reporter Isiah Carey AKA The Insite shows us Fox 26 morning anchor Chris Stipes' new wheels.

The Houston Chronicle celebrated Thanksgiving
The editorial page of the Houston Chronicle celebrated Thanksgiving for the first time in more than a decade, probably more like twenty years.

Group seeks to revive local radio station KSTB
Air waves: A group going by Galveston Community Radio is seeking to revive local station KSTB at 101.5 FM.

Justin Fox Upped To KRIV-KTXH Local Sales Mgr.
Justin Fox was named local sales manager for Fox’s Houston (DMA 10) duopoly of KRIV (Fox) and KTXH (MNT).

KUGB-CD Houston Sells For $2.3 Million
Uniglobe Central American Network Inc. LLC. has sold KUGB-CD Houston (DMA 10) to OTA Broadcasting LLC. for $2,3 million in cash.

Hearst evaluating pay models in other cities
The launch of The Houston Chronicle’s premium website marks the first Hearst Corp. newspaper to place content behind a paywall and could herald similar digital initiatives at other Hearst sites.

Sinclair Broadcast Group closes on deal to acquire WOAI-TV
Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. says the company has finalized its acquisition of several television stations, including WOAI-TV in San Antonio.

S.A. reporter top 10 Maxim hottie
Votes will determine whether KWEX-TV’s petite and shapely Marycarmen Lopez, 24, wins next month’s cover Maxim.

Seasoned newsman returns to WOAI-TV
The latest to return to the San Antonio television fold after a lengthy absence is engaging reporter Randy Escamilla.

KENS Forging A Distinctive Online Voice
At the Belo CBS affiliate in San Antonio, Jan Boyd, the station’s digital media director, wants KENS5.com to have a separate editorial focus while still supporting and supplementing the station's on-air content.

Seabers Takes Over for Rutledge at WOAI
John Seabers, promoted to a group manager role at Sinclair Broadcast Group in January, is the new general manager at WOAI San Antonio, succeeding Jackie Rutledge.

Troy Kimmel, Mileka Lincoln Leaving KEYE
The dean of Austin’s TV meteorologists is leaving KEYE. December 28 will be the last day on air for Chief Meteorologist Troy Kimmell, who began forecasting the weather at KVUE in 1984.

Texas Native Sophia Beausoleil Joins KXAN As Morning Reporter
KXAN has a new morning reporter and she’s a Texan - Sophia Beausoleil, 24, a native of Katy.

UT takes over Austin’s KXBT
The University of Texas has closed on its $6 million purchase of “True Oldies 98.9” KXBT, Austin.

Sports Illustrated changes color of Baylor jerseys
Dallas Morning News photographer Louis DeLuca knew that Baylor players wore black jerseys for this game — he watched part of it on TV — so he was surprised to see them green in Sports Illustrated.

KRIS ND takes off
KRIS Corpus Christi news director Sandra Richards leaves after 15 years at the station. AR&D consultant Hollis Grizzard (that sounds like a stage name) takes over.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
- NBC 5 KXAS wins top Lone Star Emmy for Station Excellence
- Mix 96.5 KHMX dumps Kidd Kraddick; going local
- NewsFix puts Constable Victor Trevino on 'hiatus'
- Gene Norman out at KHOU 11
- HoustonChronicle.com launches in addition to chron.com
- KPRC 2 latest sports hire Chester Pitts?
- CBS 11 KTVT calls November win
- Wayne Dolcefino and KTRK 13 divorce
- Univision 45 KXLN is Houston’s #1 TV station
- Wayne Dolcefino's next career move & party photos

Wayne Dolcefino's next career move & party photos

After posting about Wayne Dolcefino leaving KTRK last week, I almost thought about not posting for the rest of 2012.  No post this year could be bigger than Dolcefino's departure in terms of reader interest and blog traffic. Then I came to my senses.

Last night, the infamous Houston Media Roundtable had a big goodbye party for Dolcefino at The Reef in Houston's Midtown. (Photos slideshow above - mobile users who can't see it, click here).

Wayne told me he is not interested in going back into TV right now. He also said people have been approaching him asking if he is retiring - that is not the case. In fact Wayne just created Dolcefino Communications LLC a few days ago. He is currently taking lots of phone calls and weighing his options.

Can you imagine Dolcefino as a consultant? He certainly has lots of knowledge and advice stored up for media, legal and political types after more than 30 years in broadcasting/investigative reporting.

Stay tuned.

As for some of the folks in attendance for the big Wayne-O sendoff: Rusty Hardin, Bob Martin, Paul Bettencourt, Margaret O'Brien-Molina, Mary Benton, Phil Archer, Doug Miller, Ned Hibberd, Ed Brandon, Minerva Perez, Elma Barrera, Lori Reingold, Bob Dows, Janice Evans, Jessica Michan, Joel Androphy, George Flynn, Carl Davis, Omar Perez, Scott Braddock, August Skamenca, Mary Flood, David Barron and Dr. Richard Murray among others.

Univision 45 KXLN is Houston’s #1 TV station

Univision 45 claims big win against the other Houston TV stations in November sweeps:

In the first major sweep of the 2012-2013 television broadcast season, KXLN Univision 45 is Houston’s No. 1 broadcast station among Adults 18-34, Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54 in all the major dayparts: daytime, early fringe, early news, primetime, late news and late fringe, regardless of language. KXLN Univision 45 is also the most watched station during early morning among both Adults 18-34 and Adults 18-49.

During a sweep that included extensive news coverage on a history making presidential election, KXLN’s early 5 p.m. “Noticias Univision 45 a las 5” (News 45 at 5) and late 10 p.m. local news “Noticias 45 Edición Nocturna” (News 45 Evening Edition), were the most watched local newscasts among Adults 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54.

Primetime Ratings Highlights:

· During the November sweep, KXLN achieved a higher primetime rating than all other broadcast stations including the major English-language network affiliates: KTRK-ABC, KRIV-FOX, KHOU-CBS and KPRC-NBC.

Sources: NSI Ranking based on Houston.’s 10 major television stations Live +SD. KXLN, KFTH, KPRC, KRTK, KHOU, Monday to Saturday: 7 p.m. to 10 p.m./Sunday: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.; KRIV, KIAH, Monday to Saturday: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m./Sunday: : 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.; KTMD, KZJL Monday to Sunday: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

· KXLN’s primetime novela, “Abismo de Pasión” (Abyss of Passion) was Houston’s most-watched primetime, non-sport program among Adults 18-34, Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54.

· KXLN’s broadcast of the 13th Annual Latin GRAMMY® Awards was Houston’s most watched awards show among Adults 18-34, Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54 beating ABC’s “Country Music Awards” and “American Music Awards.”

LOCAL NEWS Ratings Highlights:

· During the November sweep, KXLN achieved higher local news ratings than all other broadcast stations including the major English-language network affiliates: KTRK-ABC, KRIV-FOX, KHOU-CBS, KPRC-NBC and KIAH-CW.

Sources: NSI Ranking based on Houston’s local news television stations Live+SD. KXLN, KPRC, KRTK, KHOU and KTMD Monday to Friday: 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.; KRIV, KIAH, Monday to Friday: 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.; KXLN, KPRC, KRTK, KHOU and KTMD Monday to Friday: 10:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.; KRIV, KIAH, Monday to Friday: 9:00 p.m. to 10:10:00 p.m.

Note: Early Morning is M-F/6-10A (KXLN), M-F/6-9A for all other stations; daytime is M-F/9A-3P for all stations except KXLN (M-F/10A-3P) & KFTH (M-F/8A-3P; early fringe is M-F/3-5P for all stations except KFTH (M-F/3-6P); and late fringe is M-F/11P-1A for all stations except KFT, KRIV & KIAH (M-F/10P-1A).

(This post was taken from a release sent to me by Univision Houston)

RELATED
CBS 11 KTVT calls November win

Wayne Dolcefino and KTRK 13 divorce

Rumors have been floating around Houston and beyond concerning KTRK 13 Undercover's Wayne Dolcefino. Did they leave him or did he leave them? I heard it all. Naturally anything involving Wayne-O will be larger than life, so these rumors have travelled around at the speed of light.

UPDATE: Wayne Dolcefino tells me his next career move

That's why I'm so glad I tuned into Live at 5 tonight to get my daily Melanie Lawson and Art Rascon fix. Turns out an announcement about the missing Dolcefino was made. The station reported that Wayne "elected to leave."

While we will probably never know the full reason for the Dolcefino/channel 13 breakup, the general consensus is that he and the higher ups butted heads over his stories. Let's face it, Dolcefino has an aggressive, provocative, hard hitting and sometimes comical style that just doesn't exist much on TV anymore. More often than not in television news these days, the story's promo is more interesting than the actual content.

PICTURES: SEE PHOTOS FROM WAYNE DOLCEFINO'S GOODBYE PARTY

Love him or hate him, Houston TV sweeps months will seem smaller from now on. Dolcefino wasn't afraid to take on political figures, the police, the schools...pretty much anyone with any authority. Who else besides Dolcefino is willing to actually get put in handcuffs in the course of reporting a story?

This has all come to an end right when Wayne and crew cleaned up at the 2012 10th Annual Lone Star EMMY Awards.

So what happens from here? Obviously we don't know the terms of the split, but there could be a non-compete clause for Mr. Dolcefino so he might not be able to appear on Houston TV for a period of time. My guess is that another Houston TV station will hire him. In fact, one of his old bosses is in charge at a station practically down the street from abc13 so you never know what can happen. If anyone should hire him at this point in my opinion, my vote is for KHOU 11.

I can't imagine a colorful character like Dolcefino would just retire at this point, but then you never know.

As I've blogged before, Wayne Dolcefino has been a staple at the ABC owned station since 1985. He's won a ton of awards such as 25 Emmys, three IRE medals, the 2012 Edward R. Murrow Best Investigation and a lot more. Before KTRK, Dolcefino was in radio at 740 KTRH and 590 KLBJ Austin.

On a personal note, when working at the same station, Dolcefino did make my life rough once or twice. But on the other side of that, Dolcefino sent me a nice email concerning my work while I was freelance reporting at KIAH 39. I appreciated that coming from him of all people.

Personally, I'd like to see Dolcefino back on air in Houston. He certainly knows how to keep things interesting. And as Dolcefino has brought up on this very blog, where will inspiration come from for some other journalists in town if he's gone?

I reached out to Wayne for this post but did not hear back from him.

UPDATE
This will be the biggest Houston media story of the year, if not the decade. My blog traffic is exploding.

RELATED
Where are Wayne Dolcefino and Tim Melton?

CBS 11 KTVT calls November win

KTVT is calling a sweeps victory early, here is more from a release it sent me:

With just one day remaining in the November “sweep” rating period, the weekday editions of the CBS 11 News at 6 p.m. and the CBS 11 News at 10 p.m. are North Texas’ most-watched newscasts in their respective time periods.

At 10 p.m., CBS 11 is averaging 210,040 viewers, leading its next nearest competitor, WFAA, by 36,280. For CBS 11, this represents a year-to-year increase of 8,740 viewers, making CBS 11 News at 10 also the fastest-growing late news in North Texas. At 6 p.m., CBS 11 is averaging 153,400 viewers, leading WFAA by an average of 6,580.

With this win, CBS 11 has now been Dallas-Fort Worth’s number one late news in each of the three major sweep periods (February, May and November) this year. This also marks the first time in the station’s history that CBS 11’s late news was number one in viewers in three consecutive major sweeps.

In addition, this is the third time in a major sweep that CBS 11 has ranked first in viewers at both 6 and 10 p.m. (The previous sweeps were February 2012 and February 2011.)

“No matter how often they happen, we never take these victories for granted,” said CBS 11 and TXA 21 President and General Manager Gary Schneider. “We remain grateful to our viewers for trusting CBS 11 as their source for local news and for making the CBS 11 News at 6 and 10 p.m. number one.”

Other highlights from the November sweep include:

Network prime – CBS 11 is number one among viewers, with 16 of the top 25 shows, including NCIS, Big Bang Theory, Person of Interest and NCIS: Los Angeles.

Wheel of Fortune (6:30 p.m.) remains the dominant number one program in the time period in viewers, with more than double the number of average viewers for Entertainment Tonight on WFAA.

Daytime programming (9 a.m. – 3 p.m.) -- CBS 11 is number one in daytime, both in viewers and adults 25-54. Among viewers, CBS 11 is up an average of 20,650 versus the time period last November, and in adults 25-54, up 43% in rating/20% in share.

CBS This Morning (7- 9 a.m.) is up an average of 18,340 viewers and up 64% in rating and 50% in share of adults 25-54 over last November.

CBS 11 News This Morning with Brendan Higgins and Adrienne Bankert (4:30 - 7 a.m.) is up an average of 15,660 viewers year-to-year and up 17% in rating/25% in share of adults 25-54.

CBS 11 is online at CBSDFW.com

Source: Nielsen Media Research; DFW DMA Live+SD data; Nov’12 based on 27 of 28 days (10/25/12-11/20/12); Percent increase based on decimals to the thousandth (x.xxx); M-Su Prime Rank EXCLUDES OTO’s; English language broadcast stations

(This post taken from release sent to be by CBS DFW)

KPRC 2 latest sports hire Chester Pitts?

If you tuned into KPRC 2 Monday evening, you saw former Houston Texan and football analyst for Sports Sunday Chester Pitts was sitting in Randy McIlvoy's chair! Did the broadcasting student overtake the teacher?



Turns out Pitts was just keeping the seat warm for McIlvoy while he was live from Reliant Stadium. Ahhh, sweeps month. Remember when KPRC brought back Ron Stone and Doug Johnson for sweeps?

HoustonChronicle.com launches in addition to chron.com

Lots of newspapers are experimenting with pay walls and now The Houston Chronicle is joining in on the fun. The Hearst owned paper announced it will run a premium site at HoustonChronicle.com along with the chron.com you have always known and loved.

John T. O'Loughlin, Houston Chronicle Media Group President, wrote a letter to the Chronicle's readers this weekend letting them know about the new offer:

This morning we are launching one of our most ambitious digital efforts to date: HoustonChronicle.com, a premium website available as part of your subscription package or for nonsubscribers as a separate purchase.

The new site is a complement to Chron.com, not a replacement. On Chron.com, you'll find information on breaking news, weather, traffic, pop culture and news-to-use, such as events listings and city guides. HoustonChronicle.com will offer deep analysis, enterprise reporting, exclusive photos, and the work of your favorite columnists in business, sports, education, city and state government, and arts and culture, plus everything found in your daily newspaper.

HoustonChronicle.com also will anchor our new membership program, Star Access. In addition to the premium website, Star Access offers members entry into unique experiences, exclusive events and special sweepstakes. You'll hear more about this in the weeks to come.

This expansion of our digital product suite is just the latest step in our quest to be the number one host of Houston's great conversations. Our goal is to bring you the information you seek each day in the format of your choice, be it print, on the Web, or via a tablet or mobile device.

I encourage you to visit HoustonChronicle.com today. To access the website, you'll need to activate your account. Log on to HoustonChronicle.com/activate to find out how. Not a subscriber? Sign up at HoustonChronicle.com/start. Then let us know your thoughts by emailing feedback@chron.com.

If you have any questions about the new HoustonChronicle.com, please visit www.houstonchronicle.com/faq.

Gene Norman out at KHOU 11

UPDATE APRIL 19, 2013
Gene Norman to WIAT CBS42 Birmingham

Lots of rumors are floating around about Houston TV people and this one apparently is true - just earlier than what I originally heard.

The Houston Chronicle is reporting that KHOU 11 chief meteorologist Gene Norman is gone. In fact the man is nowhere to be found on KHOU's website either. Crazy because we are still in November sweeps.

UPDATE 1/11/2013
What Gene Norman is doing now

I really should have seen it coming since someone just posted a YouTube link of Gene Norman's resume reel on my post about the big KHOU 11 weather department schedule change from last August (WATCH IT BELOW).


Here is where things get really interesting. The Houston Chronicle makes it appear that weather change could be a reason for Norman leaving. Here is more from the Chron:

On the day the change was announced, a message was posted to Norman’s Twitter account reading that “blondie moves to morning, morning moves to 4, 5. I am reduced” to 6 and 10. Later in the day, another message on the account read, “It appears my twitter account was hacked today be careful on social media,” and the tweets regarding the assignment changes were removed. Norman did not return a telephone call seeking details about the reported Twitter hacking.

So yeah, "blondie" would be Chita Johnson.

Now for the untold story (turn on Inside Edition music). That Norman tweet was how the Houston Chronicle and I found out about the KHOU 11 weather department schedule change.

Here is how things went on a different path at that point. Call me weak, too nice or sympathetic, but I called KHOU, said I had the news of the weather changes, they confirmed and I posted without the inclusion of Norman's wild tweet. Why did I do this? I thought it might cause Norman a lot of grief with Belo. The TV business is already bad enough for everyone in it - I figured he didn't need a guy with a stupid free account on blogger posting this. And KHOU certainly did not need to have anyone else leave them at this point (they might want to bolt the doors from the outside over at the Allen Parkway studios).

The newspaper business is pretty rough too, but the Houston Chronicle also saw Norman's tweet and ran with it on August 13th. The whole message was reprinted in the paper. Surprisingly the news did not go viral like I expected. Now it just might.

The lesson for young journalists here is don't be nice or sympathetic like me. I was nice and did not get the scoop of Norman's departure. The Chronicle posted the tweet, got the scoop and now I am linking to them for the news.

By the way, the Houston Chronicle says David Paul will be filling in on the 6pm and 10pm. Other folks are available to fill-in too. There is always Dr. Neil Frank and former Fox 26 KRIV's Matt Lavine.

Norman came to Houston in January 2008 from WGCL in Atlanta. Before that he was the weekend meteorologist at KTRK 13. Where Norman's resume really starts to differ is the fact he worked at NASA developing weather monitoring software for the space shuttle and did not get a degree from Mississippi State University (got his bachelor's from MIT and a master's in meteorology from the University of Maryland). He got into TV while at NASA by driving to Beaumont on the weekends and doing weather there.

As for the man with his own weather number, he has some powerful family connections and knows how to network.

When I interned at KTRK in the 90s, I found Norman to be a nice guy, and remember, I was an intern so that's saying something.

Good luck Gene.

UPDATE 1/11/2013
KHOU names David Paul the chief meteorologist

NewsFix puts Constable Victor Trevino on 'hiatus'

Earlier today on my Wayne Dolcefino KTRK 13 sighting post, I mentioned how Precinct 6 Constable Victor Trevino was indicted on four felony charges.

Constable Trevino has been one of the few on air faces for KIAH 39's NewsFix. Since day one, he's read the crime reports.

I reached out to KIAH 39 to ask about Trevino's status after the hoopla surrounding him. Here is the official statement the Tribune station gave me tonight:

"Victor Trevino has been a valuable friend to Newsfix since the show started. His on-air segments have provided a valuable public service, informing our viewers about the crime in their neighborhoods. 'Crime Bureau' will remain on hiatus while he deals with these charges."