'Hello Houston' debuts on 88.7 KUHF

'Hello Houston' debuts on Monday, March 31, 2025, on Houston Public Media's News 88.7 KUHF weekdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with the slogan, "Your connection to the heart of the Bayou City."

The new radio show and podcast is hosted by former KPRC 2 chief meteorologist Frank Billingsley, Ernie Manouse, and Celeste Schurman, with former 97.9 The Box KBXX Madd Hatta Morning Show producer James Kovacik, also known as Jim Beazy, serving as executive producer. The hosts will also take on executive producing.  William Menjivar and Garrett Bohlmann will also serve as producers.

'Hello Houston' promises to take a dive deep into the stories that matter to Houstonians, from breaking local news to cultural happenings, community voices, and the everyday joys and challenges of H-Town life, which includes everything from local politics and city events to Houston’s ever-changing food scene to feel-good stories from your neighborhood. 

"Of course, I'll still get to talk about the weather, but Celeste, Ernie and I will have fun and fascinating discussions about politics, arts, concerts, restaurants, clubs, people: everything that makes this city so great," Billingsley said when the show was announced in November 2024.  "We have a great team behind us, and I'm really looking forward to the challenge!"

'Hello Houston' takes over the mid-day slots held by "1A" and "Here and Now," which will be shifted to after the new local show (1:00 pm: Here and Now and 2:00 pm: 1A).

With the new show starting to air, "Town Square with Ernie Manouse" appears to have been replaced by NPR's "All Things Considered" in the 3 p.m. hour.

Jane McGarry leaves WFAA's "Good Morning Texas"

Jane McGarry has apparently left her co-hosting position on the morning lifestyle show "Good Morning Texas" at WFAA 8 Dallas-Fort Worth.  Her bio has been erased from the TEGNA station's website, and my email to management asking bout McGarry was not returned after several days.

On WFAA.com, a recently published page states that "Good Morning Texas" is hosted by Erin Hunter, with contributor Paige McCoy.

Other recent departures from Channel 8 include weekend morning anchor Cleo Greene and meteorologist Kyle Roberts.

A veteran journalist and television personality with more than 30 years of experience in the DFW broadcast market, McGarry began co-hosting "Good Morning Texas" in April 2013. Over the years, she has co-hosted with the likes of Alanna Sarabia, Hannah Davis, and, recently, Hunter.

Throughout her career, McGarry has conducted in-depth interviews with some of the most prominent figures in politics, business, and entertainment, including former President George W. Bush, former First Lady Laura Bush, Jerry Jones, Roger Staubach, Mark Cuban, Willie Nelson, and Ellen DeGeneres.

Before joining WFAA, McGarry spent 30 years at NBC 5 KXAS, where she was an evening news anchor. During her tenure, she earned several prestigious honors, including:

- The National Gracie Award for "Best Local News Anchor in the Country"

- An Edward R. Murrow Award

- A Lone Star EMMY Award for "Best Newscast in Texas"

McGarry’s broadcasting career began at WRAJ-AM & FM radio in her hometown of Anna, Illinois. She later transitioned to television as the Illinois Bureau Chief for WPSD Local 6 Paducah, Kentucky, before anchoring the evening news at KFVS 12 Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Beyond journalism, the Southern Illinois University graduate is the founder and president of Jane McGarry Media, a media training and on-camera coaching company.

She is also involved in philanthropy, serving on the board of the AiRS Foundation and contributing to the Dallas Museum of Art’s Communications Committee.

Charly Edsitty wins 2025 Gracie Award

Charly Edsitty won a 2025 Gracie Award, which for 50 years, has been "celebrating five decades of amplifying women’s voices, stories, and achievements in media."

Here is a portion of what the ABC13 KTRK Houston weekend morning anchor posted on social:

"I am so grateful to the entire team who worked for months to make this incredibly important podcast come to life. It required the talents of many at ABC Audio (and beyond!) & I’m so humbled/appreciative that I had the opportunity to contribute.

Also, a huge thank you to every single person who shared personal thoughts, stories & interviews with us. We could not have tackled this very complex issue without your important voices! Ahéhee!"

Edsitty won in the national category "Audio Podcast Host – News" for her work on "Reclaimed: The Lifeblood of Navajo Nation," via her work with ABC Audio. 

A Navajo Nation citizen, Edsitty chronicles the Navajo Nation’s generations-long water rights fight. This battle reaches all the way to Washington, DC, where a proposed bill, if passed, would create infrastructure that diverts water to Navajo communities.

In 2018, Edsitty joined ABC13 Houston as a multi-media journalist (MMJ) from 12News KPNX Phoenix, Arizona.  In 2021, she hosted the streaming show Our America: Indigenous and Urban.  Edsitty was promoted to KTRK weekend morning anchor in 2023.

“For 50 years, the Gracie Awards have honored the storytellers who push boundaries and redefine what’s possible,” said Becky Brooks, President of AWMF. “This is more than an awards show—it is a movement that has championed inclusion, representation, and truth in the media. The women we celebrate today are shaping the next 50 years, ensuring that our narratives are not just seen or heard, but felt and remembered. And we are excited to have Fortune Feimster join us as the host for our Golden Anniversary Gala in Los Angeles, bringing her incredible wit and energy to this unforgettable celebration.”

Previous Houston media Gracie winners include Ilona Carson, Christine Dobbyn, Keli Rabon and Roula Christie.

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Ernie Zuniga joins "Good Morning San Antonio" KSAT crew

Wow, did I call that one or what!  KSAT 12 San Antonio announced today that recent hire Ernie Zuniga is now "a permanent fixture on Good Morning San Antonio."

Hired initially as a community-based journalist in February, you could not convince me that KSAT would use a popular former morning anchor at a competing SA station as just a "community-based journalist." Zuniga left the FOX 29 San Antonio KABB "FOX News First" morning anchor chair back in May 2023.

It just goes to show that if I keep making enough guesses, I will eventually be right...just like a TV consultant! ;)

The station says Zuniga will join anchors Japhanie Gray, RJ Marquez and meteorologist Justin Horne every morning from 5-7 a.m. on KSAT12. He will also appear on the digital GMSA+ on KSAT+ from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. Back on Channel 12, Zuniga will join anchor Stephanie Serna for news updates throughout the morning from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.

“GMSA has been a leader in our market for decades, waking viewers up with the most up to the minute traffic and weather updates, and information they need to get the day started,” said KSAT12 News Director Mario Orellana. “Adding Ernie to this trusted team of local journalists gives KSAT12 more resources to bring the viewers what they need each and every morning, wherever they watch.”

“In the short time I’ve been at KSAT12, it’s evident how much this team cares and invests in the community,” Zuniga added. “I am thrilled to become a regular part of this morning team and its goal every morning to wake the viewer up with what they need to prepare for the day ahead.”

No word if Zuniga continues with the "Pickup Lines" video podcast, but it sounds like he will be busy enough already. Maybe the answer lies in the fact that the video has been deleted from his KSAT debut of the podcast.

Bruce Smith promoted to FOX 4 KDFW news director

 

Bruce Smith has been promoted to news director at FOX 4 KDFW Dallas-Fort Worth, following an 18-year tenure as assistant news director.

Smith, who has three decades of experience in television, will help oversee the future KDFW studios' move from downtown to a new facility in Las Colinas currently under construction.

Smith has over three decades of experience in television.

His journey at FOX 4 began in 1996 as a producer. He later became the Executive Producer of Good Day, leading the morning show for over seven years before stepping into his assistant ND role in 2006.

Before joining KDFW, the Texas A&M University graduate worked as a producer at KING 5 Seattle and KTBC 7 Austin.

Allison Gargaro is pregnant

Allison Gargaro surprised the FOX 26 Houston KRIV morning crew with her pink-themed pregnancy announcement, which the anchors thought was a typical story.

Melissa Wilson and DaLaun Dillard read the introduction to a story about a dog eating cake, warming hearts.  The video appears on the screen of Gargaro, her husband, Gilbert Gilmore, and their dog, featuring a gender reveal.  The KRIV production crew even threw a box on screen over the video of the AM anchors so we could see their surprised reaction [WATCH BELOW].

"Best surprise in a long time," Wilson told mikemcguff.com.  "I was so busy concentrating on what the dog was going to do so that I could respond to the 'dog story' (watching our small monitor), I wasn't paying attention to the humans to realize it was our Allison!" 

"We are forecasting a little ray of sunshine," the weekend morning meteorologist posted. "A baby girl will be joining our family in September! We are so excited to share this news. Ryder is going to be the BEST big brother!"

"We had no idea, we just happened to be wearing pink today! lol," co-anchor DaLaun Dillard added. "Congrats Allison!"

Gargaro joined FOX 26 in December 2023 from  FOX 35 Orlando WOFL, where former KHOU 11 meteorologist Brooks Garner now works.

She has since filled in for FOX Weather twice.

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Fred Cantú goodbye special airing on CBS Austin

Mark your calendar for Monday, March 31, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. on CBS Austin KEYE for the Fred Cantú goodbye special.

I told you last month how Central Texas media icon Uncle Fred is signing off from the Austin airwaves after 50 years.

Danielle Grossman, from KPRC 2 to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

Danielle Grossman, whom you may remember from KPRC 2 Houston, is interviewed by Brandi Smith for Houston Moms about her post-TV job as Director of Strategic Communications at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

"I loved chatting with Danielle and learning all about what she does to balance work and family, plus some of the things she does to keep herself happy and healthy," Smith told mikemcguff.com.

Grossman discusses her transition from TV news to her current role and the challenges of balancing motherhood with her demanding job. 

You learn something new every day.  Grossman says during the rodeo season, she moves into a hotel near NRG Stadium!

She also reflects on how motherhood has shifted her priorities, making her value family time more and the importance of self-care and maintaining her identity outside of being a mom.

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25 News KXXV Waco turns 40

740 KTRH turns 95 on March 25, 2025

740 KTRH Houston turns 95 years old today on March 25, 2025.

Believe it or not, KTRH originally began as KUT Austin, affiliated with the University of Texas at Austin. However, unlike the 90.5 KUT-FM Austin of today, this version was sold to Houston Chronicle owner Jesse H. Jones, who sought to compete with the Houston Post's KPRC-AM, which signed on in 1925. UT Austin wanted to exit the radio business at the time due to the Great Depression.

In a 1994 KTRH anniversary special on "Houston Hotline" with Lana Hughes and J.P. Pritchard, former owner John T. Jones says all of the station's equipment was sent to Houston via two trips in the back of a red Model A Ford pickup truck. 

KTRH was initially housed in a single room at the Rice Hotel in downtown Houston, which was also owned by Jesse Jones. The luxury hotel charged the Chronicle no rent for the room but requested hourly announcements about it on air.  To illustrate the connection between the two entities, the call letters stand for 'Kome to the Rice Hotel.'

I feature KTRH's early days through an interview with Jay Jones in my 101 KLOL documentary, "Runaway Radio," now streaming on Tubi, VOD, and available on DVD.  

John T. Jones said KTRH was one of only three or four stations on the air in Houston at the time of its sign-on.  KPRC is the only other station that has operated alongside KTRH from that time to the present day, with both now owned by iHeartMedia.

Programming was largely local until the emergence of broadcast networks.

That 1994 anniversary special features an interview with Dan Rather, a young man who grew up in The Heights with limited broadcasting experience.  Obviously, Rather went on to KHOU 11 and become the main evening anchor for CBS Evening News. 

"This news makes me feel incredibly old," former KTRH host Wayne Dolcefino told mikemcguff.com.   "When you worked there in the late 70s, it was a great investigative news team.  I learned from the late Garvin Berry.  One of the best. Great memories.  I did the morning talk show, too.  I owe that radio station a lot."

After his years at KTRH, Dolcefino became a legendary investigative reporter for ABC13 KTRK Houston, which, upon its 1954 sign-on date, was a sister property to KTRH and the Houston Chronicle. Dolcefino now runs the investigative firm Dolcefino Media.

Charlie Peña 1 · KTRH's 64th Birthday Celebration 3.24.94