 |
| Photo courtesy: Drew Fowler |
Over the last eight years, when I needed to know something about KENS 5 San Antonio, I contacted its Director of Marketing, Don Smith.
Unfortunately, Smith was caught up in the recent TEGNA layoffs. Now, he's using his marketing magic and his love of television to create humorous and industry-specific gifts for TV news professionals.
"I wanted to design fun, tongue-in-cheek gift items that speak directly to the local TV news community," said Smith. "With so many people leaving the industry these days, I also created some lighthearted farewell gifts for journalists moving on to new adventures."
In his new online shop, "Spending More Time with Family," you know the line many TV pros use when they unexpectedly exit the industry, television newsers can buy a range of T-shirts, mugs, and candles with witty messages that resonate with those in the industry.
Popular designs include:
• "I’m Not Bossy. I’m a Producer."
• "Former Reporter... Storyteller Forever."
• "I’ll Eat Anything Sent to the Newsroom."
• "Super Producer."
• "Ratings Don’t Rule Me Anymore!"
Smith brings decades of experience to this creative endeavor, having done marketing for stations across the country, including KHOU in Houston, WESH in Orlando, KOVR/KMAX in Sacramento, and KENS in San Antonio.
His work has earned three Emmy Awards, multiple Promax Awards, Addy Awards, and other industry honors.
As a TV news geek myself, I wanted to glean insights from Smith's 34 years in the TV biz.
 |
| Don Smith |
Mike McGuff: So, where did you get the idea for your new venture, "Spending More Time with Family?"
Don Smith: With time on my hands, I decided to start learning Canva and eventually, Printify and Etsy. This gave me the opportunity to use my creative side while learning new skills and starting a business.
MM: Tell us about some of the designs geared to TV newsers...
DS: In my career, I've worked alongside so many great journalists, editors, directors, marketing teams and more. I decided to make them my target audience. I'm designing products for this large yet niche market. I didn't see many products out there that felt like they were made for me, so I just started designing! I also recognize many people are leaving the business and wanted to have great going away gifts for them as well.
So far, my top sellers have been a tongue-in-cheek shirt that says "I worked in local TV (before it started to suck)" and my personal favorite, a t-shirt featuring every news promo cliche imaginable in one, long run-on sentence topical promo script. I have t-shirts, mugs, candles and a TV color bar blanket - hopefully something for everyone.
MM: Talk about some of the work you are most proud of from your time at KENS 5 San Antonio?
DS: At KENS, I was proud of the brand we created for the station in 2023, "San Antonio's Own." It resonated with the audience in ways I didn't expect, and our station saw tremendous growth over the last two years. Our creative team was fantastic and worked hard to make the brand messaging as authentic as possible. That was the real difference - it came from the heart and viewers could feel it. In 2024, we were awarded a Lone Star Emmy Award for one of our campaigns.
MM: You worked at KHOU 11 Houston at a time in the early 2000s when the station was really challenging ABC13 KTRK in the ratings. What was the mood inside the Channel 11 studios at that point and what were some of the things you and the station were doing at the time that drove these results?
DS: I was working at KHOU as a promotions producer when we went from third to first place in the early 2000s. I remember the newspaper always wrote an article about how KTRK had won sweeps, again. Once, they wrote "There are three things you can count on. Death, taxes and that KTRK will be number one." I hung the articles up in my cubicle with the mission to make them change that article. They eventually did. The headline was "There's a New News Leader in Town." I played a small role, but it was exciting to be part of something once thought impossible. Our investigative team was fantastic, our morning show was anchored by Deborah [Duncan] and Ron [Treviño] and we had Greg [Hurst] and Lisa [Foronda] at night. A great setup for success.
MM: What is something you worked on that you are the most proud of during your TV career?
DS: One of my favorite memories was promoting the Super Bowl in Houston, which was being aired on KHOU. We did high-end image spots with a fun jingle and a countdown campaign featuring celebrities from all across Houston. My favorite was former President HW Bush, who was kind enough to take part. He and Barbara were both very friendly and it was a great honor having an ex-President read my words!
MM: Anything else you want to add?
DS: I've been lucky enough to have worked with some of the best creatives in the country. Together, we won awards, drove ratings and had a ton of fun doing it. That's the part of the job I miss most - the people.
