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?

Wayne Dolcefino mentioned on KTRK 13

UPDATE 11/21/2012
Wayne Dolcefino and KTRK 13 divorce


We are still on KTRK 13 Undercover's Wayne Dolcefino watch. Dolcefino's last report on channel 13 was September 28, but Mr. 13 Undercover casts a large shadow with his name being mentioned this week (his picture and bio are still on the station's website).

Friday, Precinct 6 Constable Victor Trevino was indicted by a grand jury on four felony charges. As you may know, Dolcefino regularly featured Trevino in his reports this year. Here is how KTRK is mentioning Wayne-O in regards to this story:

The investigation was sparked by a series of 13 Undercover reports last year. Reporter Wayne Dolcefino examined Trevino's questionable charity spending and the pressure some of his employees said they felt to donate to Trevino's charity and re-election effort.

On a different note, KIAH 39's NewsFix used to have Constable Trevino read its crime report. Is that still going on? I will email KIAH and post the answer when I find out. UPDATE: NewsFix puts Constable Victor Trevino on 'hiatus'

Back to Dolcefino, an indirect mention came yesterday in Miya Shay's Bayport Cruise Terminal story. The 13 Undercover brand was mentioned minus the famous reporter behind it:

If that terminal name sounds familiar, it's probably because of 13 Undercover's "Port of Plenty" series of reports. That investigation exposed the millions of dollars spent to build and maintain the Bayport terminal that has sat virtually empty since it opened in 2009.

See Wayne Dolcefino on KTRK 13 or maybe hear a mention of him? Email me.


UPDATE 11/21/2012
Wayne Dolcefino and KTRK 13 divorce



RELATED
Where are Wayne Dolcefino and Tim Melton?

Wayne Dolcefino gets peed on

Wayne Dolcefino still getting attention post TV

Wayne Dolcefino and his investigative reporting career at KTRK 13 Undercover have clearly left a mark on Houston.

Case in point, this is a sticker spotted on an SUV window in a Pearland parking lot.

 It's kinda grainy, but it's one of those "Calvin peeing" (of comic strip Calvin and Hobbes) stickers you usually see on trucks. What Calvin is peeing on in this case is Wayne Dolcefino's name...sort of.

The funny thing, it actually reads "Wayne Dolcenfino," but close enough.

Can you imagine someone going to this kind of trouble to create something based on another reporter? I contacted Wayne for his reaction, but didn't hear back from him.

Wayne Dolcefino

Now Wayne-o always fought to improve education in his television reports. I bet if he were talking with us now, he would want you to click here to help me win $2,500 in charity for Westbury Methodist Day School. All it takes is one click and that's it. You don't have to sign up for or download anything. In fact, you don't even have to log in to Facebook.

And speaking of Wayne D., many of his post-TV Dolcefino Communications, LLC moves are followed online. Here are blog reports about one of his apparent latest clients, the Burzyński Clinic, and here's another one about a Wayne sighting at Houston's City Hall.

Dolcefino still knows how to generate buzz, even without a TV camera.

VOTE!: I'm trying to win money for charity from Reliant Energy's Rodeo Roundup...all you have to do is click a button to vote (and you can even do it once a day!) VOTE HERE.

(Thanks Molly)

Where is KTRK's Wayne Dolcefino and 13 Undercover?

UPDATE 11/21/2012
Wayne Dolcefino and KTRK 13 divorce

I know it's Halloween, but I can assure you this is no trick or treat.

Every TV sweeps period since I can remember, KTRK 13 Undercover's Wayne Dolcefino has been on the air with a big investigation. Not only that, the investigative reporter would have endless promotion the rest of the time when the news wasn't on the air.

This sweeps...crickets. No Wayne, no 13 Undercover. We're now almost a week in from what I understand.

Then I get emails from people in the TV biz asking me about rumors concerning his whereabouts. All I can tell you is that Dolcefino's bio is still on the station's website.

According to that bio, Dolcefino has been a staple at the ABC owned station since 1985. As I've blogged here over the years, Dolcefino has 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.

Maybe Dolcefino will show up before sweeps ends and all the current questions will be forgotten.

Looking through my blog's archives for Dolcefino mentions, I found a comment that former Houston city council member and current 740 KTRH talk show host Michael Berry left about the 13 investigator in 2010.

"I sat on City Council for 6 years, and I'll tell you that elected officials quaked when [Wayne] walked in," Berry commented on my blog. "There was fear that he had targeted you, because once he did he would lay it all bare.

"I've seen how he goes about investigating, the extent to which he chases down sources, and I admire how he weaves it all together. His multiple day pieces are good for ratings, and they're just good tv."

RELATED
KTRK 13 Undercover's Wayne Dolcefino says stop copying my work

UPDATE 11/21/2012
Wayne Dolcefino and KTRK 13 divorce

Wayne Dolcefino on KPRC 2

Wayne Dolcefino on KPRC 2 Thursday 10pm

Wayne Dolcefino on KPRC 2

***UPDATE 5/16/2013
Wayne Dolcefino shows up on both KHOU and KPRC

Former KTRK 13 Undercover investigative reporter Wayne Dolcefino will be interviewed on KPRC 2 Thursday night at 10pm fresh off his Katy ISD Board of Trustees election.

This follows former KTRK abc13 weekend sportscaster Tim Melton in his first post stroke TV appearance being interviewed by former KTRK abc13 sports director Bob Allen on his new station - KHOU 11 (this interview was a ratings winner from what I understand).

For those outside of Houston reading this I know it sounds confusing. It's become like a soap opera in market 10. People are asking questions about why all of these famous channel 13 employees are showing up all over the television dial. An anchor scorned type of thing...[cue the dramatic music].

I can play this game too. Here is my interview with former KTRK abc13 weatherman Ed Brandon. Since I'm not a TV station, I don't get a massive Nielsen ratings spike though.

According to the KPRC promo, investigative reporter Joel Eisenbaum sits down and grills "bad boy of Houston TV" Dolcefino about why he left KTRK abc13. I'll give you a preview with something I wrote in November.

Hey channel 2, you might be getting this exclusive TV news story (this is getting meta), but I'm the only one who has Wayne Dolcefino getting peed on. You can't take that away from me!

What's next? Shara Fryer will start anchoring the news somewhere too...oh wait that has already happened.

I gotta say this is the most I've watched any TV sweeps period in a very long time. As a 30 something male, it's not like I've been the target demographic for any TV station in years! Thanks for including me for once.

***UPDATE 5/16/2013
Wayne Dolcefino shows up on both KHOU and KPRC

Wayne Dolcefino recalls past hurricane coverage

From doing hurricane live shots while taking IV treatments, to smashing rental cars: Former KTRK abc13 reporter Wayne Dolcefino recalls past hurricane as the first Texas one hits he won't cover in 38 years


As Hurricane Harvey approaches approaches Texas, former KTRK abc13 investigative reporter sits at home watching The Weather Channel.

"It's the most I've missed TV since I left," Dolcefino told mikemcguff.com. "It's a powerful looking storm, I feel bad for those in the path of it."

And Dolcefino isn't the only one feeling a since of loss tonight. I've seen social media comments from Houston television viewers in the last hours wishing they could see Wayne vs Harvey on TV.

Who else has hurricane TV coverage parody videos made about them?


"Clearly I have left my mark," he mused when talking about the video.

Harvey marks the first Texas storm in 38 years Dolcefino has not covered since leaving KTRK in 2012.

"I'm not waiting for my phone to ring for channel 13 to call me for help with their coverage," Dolcefino added. "Even though I'm still in a wheel chair after my accident, I thought about driving out to Rockport and doing a standup for Facebook."

On a phone call tonight before the storm hits, Dolcefino told me he remembers more about covering hurricanes than any other type of story he reported.

"It was a challenge, you want to be gutsy, but not stupid at the same time," Dolcefino recalled.

The reporter who has more EMMY awards on his shelf than the average person has books, said he was always apart of the TV crew that could be considered the suicide squad.

As long as the satellite truck and equipment came back, he said his bosses were happy.

"Covering a hurricane is not just about being on TV," Dolcefino says. "It is the experience with your crew, keeping the equipment safe, doing reports in 100 mph winds."

Dolcefino's first major hurricane coverage was not for TV, but radio when he was a cub reporter at 740 KTRH. Hurricane Allen was the first and strongest hurricane of the 1980 Atlantic hurricane season according to Wikipedia. Dolcefino covered it from South Texas and was forced to file his reports laying down in a knocked over phone booth.

In 1989's Hurricane Jerry, Dolcefino and crew went through multiple cameras - they all kept breaking.

During 2005's Hurricane Katrina, Dolcefino, who was ill at the time, did live shots while connected to an IV treatment. It was also during that storm when the 5'7" reporter waded into five feet of water to test if the crew's flooded truck could be driven.

Speaking of vehicles, a car Dolcefino and crew rented during 1992's Hurricane Andrew was almost smashed to pieces. After chasing the storm from Florida to Louisiana, the windshield was shattered and one door had to be tied down just to keep it closed.

Not all storms were as dramatic though.

Dolcefino fondly recalls times when he was posted in a location waiting for the big one to hit...except it never made it. His favorite locations for storm no-shows were nice hotels with great bars.

As for Harvey, Dolcefino feels like most of the Houston TV reporters aren't covering the areas that will take a direct hit.

And in a bigger picture realization, the longtime hurricane hunter says Houston TV is coming to the end of an era. He says we are past the point where stations retain journalists with decades of experience who have worked for one Houston television station.

"Probably 10 percent of the people on air now were here before 2008's Hurricane Ike," Dolcefino said. "There are very few people who have the expertise, and have been in town long enough, to know how to cover a hurricane."

He believes the erosion of institutional knowledge hurts coverage and wondered aloud if some of the newer reporters know the difference between Port O'Connor and Port Lavaca.

Dolcefino wanted to mention some of his crew that made his coverage so memorable. Specifically he mentioned satellite truck driver Leroy Adams who still works for channel 13 to this day. He also brought up photographers Kent Stallings, Kevin Greer and Noe Cadena.

Before we ended our conversation, Dolcefino remarked on how cool it was to go through the eye of a hurricane. The calm after and before the storm returned. The way the birds seek refuge inside the quiet space surrounded by so much fury.

"It sucks not being there, it really does, I'm not liking it."

Dolcefino now runs Dolcefino Consulting where he still conducts investigations and produces videos that are classic Wayne.

Wayne Dolcefino almost pulls off Katy ISD Board of Trustees defeat

Wayne Dolcefino lost Katy ISD seat by less than 70 votes

Wayne Dolcefino

As I tweeted last night, former KTRK 13 Undercover man Wayne Dolcefino almost unseated incumbent Joe Adams in the Katy ISD Board of Trustees race.

"We lost by 66 votes," Dolcefino posted on his election Facebook page. "On a positive note, we have to pick up all our signs but so many of them were stolen, it won't take too long! LOL. Seriously, thank you all who supported. We all want what's best for our kids."

The Community Impact Newspaper reported the unofficial results gave Adams 2,198 votes to Dolcefino's 2,132. Other challenger Tim Dietz, who works in the oil and gas industry as a lease analyst for BHP Billiton, received 185 votes.

Adams has held the position for 24 years.

Dolcefino campaigned with his usual bravado we've come to know from his television reports. He filed a complaint with the school district claiming it was limiting the placement of campaign signs near early voting sites - a free speech violation. The former TV investigator also posted messages on Facebook using his effective writing skills to question Katy ISD's lack of transparency.

There are many in the Houston-area who probably want Dolcefino to stop running for office and return to investigating political office holders on TV. That is his rightful bully pulpit.

If Wayne returns to Houston television, which station would get the honors?

Wayne Dolcefino still winning

Former KTRK 13 Undercover investigator Wayne Dolcefino is still winning awards for his journalistic work. This time the honor comes from the Houston Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners concerning his Harris County Precinct 6 Constable Victor Trevino stories:

Wayne Dolcefino

Wayne Dolcefino, President of Dolcefino Communications and former chief investigative reporter for Houston’s KTRK TV, has been named the winner of the inaugural Greater Houston Fraud Impact Award by the Houston Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Dolcefino’s investigation of Harris County Precinct 6 Constable Victor Trevino uncovered a failure to report cash campaign contributions, diversion of money from the Constable’s youth charity and improper use of deputies in the serving of eviction notices. All of these matters contributed to the indictment of Constable Trevino on four felony charges including misapplication of fiduciary property, abuse of official capacity and two counts of tampering with government records. Upon learning of the award, Mr. Dolcefino stated “It is a huge honor to be thanked for my life’s passion, fighting the bad guys. It is especially rewarding because it comes from the real investigative heroes, the Certified Fraud Examiners who work to expose waste and fraud every day for their clients all over the Houston area.”


Each year the Houston Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners will issue the Greater Houston Fraud Impact Award to the individual who made outstanding, significant contributions to the worldwide effort to prevent, deter or detect fraud. In the spirit of the Houston Chapter’s slogan United Locally to Fight Fraud Globally, the winner must reside in the Greater Houston area. Mr. Dolcefino will be presented his award at the June 11 meeting of the Houston Chapter of the ACFE at The Hess Club at 5430 Westheimer Road.

The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) bill itself as the world’s largest anti-fraud organization and premier provider of anti-fraud training and education. It claims more than 65,000 members.

houstonacfe.org

Wayne Dolcefino to speak at SPJ Houston Pro Chapter

Former KTRK 13 Undercover man Wayne Dolcefino and owner of Dolcefino Communications LLC will be available to speak to you (and others) Wednesday evening at the SPJ Houston Pro Chapter's meeting.

Here is more:

Wednesday, January 9
6:30 p.m., preceded by a 6 p.m. SPJ chapter open business meeting

Houston Central Library (fourth floor) - 500 McKinney, Houston, Texas 77002

Wayne Dolcefino spent nearly 28 years with KTRK-TV ABC 13 where he worked to shed light on government corruption and wrongdoings in the community. His signature sign off "Wayne Dolcefino,13 Undercover" became a household term as viewers tuned in to see his latest exposé.

His reporting led to millions of taxpayer dollars being saved, as well as numerous government officials criminally investigated for possible wrongdoing. Dolcefino and his employer were the target of various lawsuits. A $5.5 million verdict for libel (Sylvester Turner v. KTRK Television; 1996) was subsequently overturned by a court of appeals, a decision that was upheld by the Texas Supreme Court.

While at Channel 13, Dolcefino won 25 Emmy awards, three medals from the Investigative Reporters and Editors association, a 2012 Edward R. Murrow Award and five awards from the Texas Headliners Foundation.

The SPJ Houston Pro Chapter will host a brief meeting prior to Dolcefino's presentation. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. and will include discussions on the Houston area Media Guide and final preparations for the Law and the Media session scheduled for February.

Light refreshments will be served.

Please RSVP to houstonspj [@] hotmail.com.

I'm also hearing there will be another party for Dolcefino this Friday too. He may be gone from TV, but clearly not forgotten.

KTRK 13 Undercover's Wayne Dolcefino says stop copying my work

KTRK 13 Undercover investigative reporter Wayne Dolcefino, is as my grandmother might have said, fit to be tied. Why? He says a few other Houston reporters are doing investigations on his investigations you might say.

"I appreciate the compliment, but have we reached the stage in journalism where people can't figure out for themselves what they want to inspect," asked Dolcefino.

There is an area of journalism where I consider the reporters to be like Jedi Knights to make a weak comparison to Star Wars. These are usually the investigative reporters. They are the ones enterprising stories, looking where others are not.

To do this, they must put in Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests into government agencies. These are official sounding, legalese looking requests asking for particular information. Many times the government agency will put up a little static in handing over the documents. You have to know how to word the request carefully and accurately to get the goods. [LEARN MORE - U.S. Department of State Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Texas Public Information Act]

So in this case, Dolcefino puts in these types of requests. But that means his requests are now open records too...meaning anyone else can put in a request to see what information Dolcefino is requesting. This is what he says other reporters are doing to him.

For example a reporter sends in something like this to a government agency:

I respectfully request an opportunity to VIEW any and all documents provided within the last 3 months to Wayne Dolcefino or any journalist from KTRK.

"I suspect it is something [the other reporters] would not want the public to know," Al Tompkins with The Poynter Institute told the mikemcguff.com blog. "Which is why you should write about it."

Is this type of "requesting what a fellow journalist is requesting" concept creative reporting or akin to copying off your neighbor's paper in elementary school? I don't know the answer. So I went to Al Tompkins at The Poynter Institute, someone way smarter than I am, for his opinion.

"Based solely on what you describe, it sounds low-brow, borderline juvenile but not unethical unless it involves deception or law breaking," Tompkins told me. "On the other hand I don't want to discourage investigative reporting, however they come to it. It would be nice if they could find their own stories and sources. Goodness knows there is enough to be reporting to keep everyone busy."

So there you have it straight from a respected journalism expert. In Dolcefino's case turnabout is fair play as he can figure out who is requesting his requests...

RELATED
- Former KTRK 13 Undercover photographer joins KIAH 39 News
- KTRK 13 investigative producer Steve Bivens leaves the Wayne Dolcefino world

Wayne Dolcefino arrest leads to judge arrest

The Houston Chronicle is reporting that Harris County misdemeanor court judge Darrell William Jordan was arrested and charged with of official oppression Monday.

This after the judge had media consultant Wayne Dolcefino (former abc13 Undercover KTRK investigative reporter) detained and arrested back in June 2020.

Chronicle reporter John Wayne Ferguson writes that official oppression is a Class A misdemeanor and carries a possible punishment of one year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000.

Dolcefino started Dolcefino Consulting after leaving abc13 KTRK in 2012.

UPDATE
- Harris County judge suspended from bench days after arrest
- Former TV reporter Wayne Dolcefino says now-arrested judge held him in contempt of court as revenge
- Charges dismissed against Harris Co. judge who allegedly unlawfully arrested former TV journalist Wayne Dolcefino
- Judge Jordan Let Off The Hook After Criminal Charges

Wayne Dolcefino shows up on both KHOU and KPRC

Wayne Dolcefino shows up on KHOU, KPRC and the Houston Chronicle in a single day - one station with a 1 and a 3 was noticeably missing

Like Nielsen LPM measurements through the flat screen TV, so are the former KTRK anchors of our lives.

We should know the ultimate showman like Wayne Dolcefino wouldn't be content to just show up on one TV station, so he went to the city's main newspaper and on two Houston stations that were not KTRK abc13 during May 2013 sweeps.

The former 13 Undercover man started his day off in the Houston Chronicle where he said, “I miss what I used to do. I don’t miss working for Channel 13.”

We were all eagerly awaiting his KPRC story at 10pm, but first Wayne-O showed up on KHOU 11's 6pm newscast in his Dolcefino Communications role. This time, the former investigative reporter is involved in a smelly fight brewing in Hempstead that also involves attorney Rusty Hardin.

Then came the main event on KPRC 2's 10pm newscast after The Office series finale (yeah Michael Scott showed up of course) and some other show.

Joel Eisenbaum's report didn't really give us anymore insight than we can get from reading the pages of this very blog, but we did get a chance to see Dolcefino's house and the fact he slimmed down and looks healthier after leaving KTRK.

For whatever reason, Click2Houston.com is behind the times on letting users embed its video on other sites (at the time of this publishing the video wasn't up anyway), but I will link you to what looks like an online only version of the Dolcefino tale that seems to have different info from what was on TV.

"Channel 13 and I got divorced it was as simple as that. One thing I don't like people suggesting is that I'm retired. I didn't retire, I can't afford to be retired," Dolcefino told KPRC in the online story.

Man, Dolcefino seems pissed at KTRK. Glad there is no one else out there that seems angry at the ABC owned station. What? You mean there is someone else? Oh, a couple of more people?

Oh yeah, I almost forgot about former KTRK abc13 sports director Bob Allen quitting the station and then showing up on competitor KHOU 11 a few months later. That was followed by former KTRK abc13 weekend sportscaster Tim Melton giving his first post stroke interview on KHOU to Allen.

As I said last night on Twitter, it's been 5 minutes, any KTRK folks scheduled to appear on other TV station newscasts yet?

Can Wayne Dolcefino really cause sexual dysfunction?, WFAA gets a 4 and more

MORE VIDEOS
- Two legendary Houston radio morning teams reunite (AUDIO)
- Weather camera spider scares TV met
- TV Reporter: ‘F-ck Me, I Can’t Even F-ing Talk’
- Confused Anchorman News Blooper
- Who owned KTRH, KPRC, the Houston Chronicle & Post?
- Josh Innes vs Michael Berry (AUDIO)
- Here's The First Full Trailer for Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
- Katy Mother and Son Wounded in Boston Bombing share story
- Cleveland Meteorologist Attempts to Do Forecast Without Using The Word ‘Heat’
- The Internship's Josh Brener is a Bellaire High School graduate (Thanks to PR Fairy @farbulous)

WFAA8 readying first-ever 4 p.m. newscast opposite established hours on NBC5 & CBS11
After two years of resistance, WFAA8 is hiring staffers for its first-ever 4 p.m. local newscast.

The Studios of Las Colinas sold to Glenn Beck’s company
Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of TheBlaze, Glenn Beck’s news, opinion and entertainment network, announced today that it has purchased the The Studios at Las Colinas building.

Former TV news star Wayne Dolcefino lets loose on KTRK, sex lawsuits and psychopaths at his door
Funny Wayne Dolcefino story from this Culturemap article: At a deposition a lawyer asked Dolcefino if he felt bad that his client could no longer have sexual relations as a result of an evidently stress-inducing interview with the investigative reporter. A self-described "smarty pants," Dolcefino said he responded, "It's funny, I was in the same interview, and I have sex just fine."
- Wayne Dolcefino hanging with the fraud guys

Houstonia Magazine's editor-in-chief is gone after just 3 issues: Shakeups continue at new magazine
John Wilburn has joined publisher Lou DeLone in making a quick departure from Houstonia Magazine.

Houston Press Fills Food Critic Position
Kaitlin Steinberg, most recently a food blogger at the Riverfront Times in St. Louis, announced her new food critic role at the Houston Press.

Texas Watchdog says goodbye
Regular readers to Texas Watchdog may have noticed there hasn't been much posted to the site over the past several months.
- Texas Watchdog might shutdown

Catching Up With Brad Davies
Still involved in big time radio, in the big time sports city of Houston, Texas, today Brad Davies has shifted more of his energies into the booming real estate industry.

KENS names woman to news director post
There's a whirl of excitement at KENS-TV as anchors, reporters, managers and others at San Antonio's CBS affiliate await major changes in the coming year.

Austin NBC Station Runs News Promo During Overtime, Misses Winning Goal
It's not exactly Heidi, but a major blunder by Austin, Tex. NBC affiliate KXAN deprived Lone Star State hockey fans the sudden-death goal that clinched Game 4 for the Blackhawks.

KLBJ-AM producer moving on
Thomas McDonald, producer of “The Jeff Ward Show” on 590 KLBJ-AM, has left the station he’s worked at for more than a decade.

MOVING

KHOU 11 producer Lauren Yglecias is leaving the TV world and heading to an engineering company. "And before you ask...No I'm not smart enough to be an engineer! It's a communications job," she said on Facebook.

REMEMBERING

Lone Star EMMY Chapter Executive Director Misti Torres McCarty lost her battle with cancer last week.

Emil Meyer Mesinger, husband of celebrity gossip columnist of the Houston Chronicle Maxine Mesinger, has passed away.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
- TV news expert advice for working, job hunting and getting out
- Jesse H. Jones and his BIG Houston media empire
- Dave Froehlich named Fox 7 KTBC morning anchor from KRIS-TV

Video shows what led to Wayne Dolcefino's arrest in court

Former abc13 Undercover KTRK investigative reporter Wayne Dolcefino was held in contempt of court in Judge Darrell Jordan's Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 16 at the end of June and now the above KPRC 2 report shows what led to the arrest:

Dolcefino recorded the video with a pen camera while pressing Harris County Criminal Court Judge Darrell Jordan for answers regarding legal documents Dolcefino requested from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. He said he hadn’t received the documents.

Dolcefino now runs Dolcefino Consulting, a “wartime” media consulting firm.

UPDATE JUNE 28, 2022
Wayne Dolcefino arrest leads to judge arrest

UPDATE JULY 17, 2020
Dolcefino Consulting has released a video saying the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals announced it would review the conviction and ordered the judge’s bond conditions removed.

Wayne Dolcefino joins Quanell X on FOX 26's 'FOX Faceoff'

After 740 KTRH morning host Matt Patrick's untimely death from cancer last summer, FOX 26 KRIV was put in the unfortunate position of finding someone new to step in his role on FOX Faceoff with Houston activist Quanell X.

The decision has been made and the new person on the debate couch is former investigative reporter Wayne Dolcefino.

“Wayne Dolcefino and Quanell X represent a perfect point/counter-point of opinion presenting our viewers with unique perspectives on the social, governmental and cultural topics of our times from Houston to Washington and beyond," KRIV Vice President and News Director, Susan Schiller told mikemcguff.com.

You can see the lively debate between X and Dolcefino Monday, Wednesday and Fridays at 5:50pm and 9:50pm.

Dolcefino previously contributed to the station's weekly political show What's You Point? with Greg Groogan.

In his time away from television news, Dolcefino is at the helm of Dolcefino Consulting.

But even with his own company, his current investigations lead the TV cameras from all of the stations his way anyway.

Wayne Dolcefino joins KSEV 700 with Craig Collins

HOUSTON, TEXAS — KSEV 700 AM, The Voice of Texas, announces the launch of “KSEV Mornings with Craig Collins and Wayne Dolcefino,” airing weekdays from 7–9 AM.

The new morning show will focus on the stories happening across Texas, along with the national political news KSEV listeners expect.

Radio host Craig Collins will bring his youth and experience from major talk stations including WGN Radio in Chicago and 93 WIBC in Indianapolis, as well as national guest-hosting work for The Dana Show and The Chad Benson Show.

Award-winning Houston investigative journalist Wayne Dolcefino will join Collins as a regular contributor.

The goal is simple: make KSEV truly live up to its name as “The Voice of Texas” by bringing listeners a Texas perspective on the biggest stories happening locally, statewide and nationally.

Dolcefino, best known for nearly 27 years leading ABC13/KTRK’s 13 Undercover investigative unit, brings decades of experience covering Houston government, politics, public spending and corruption to the morning conversation.

The new program follows the departure of Chris Salcedo, who is leaving KSEV after 14 years hosting morning drive. KSEV thanks Salcedo for his many years with the station and wishes him success in his next chapter.

“KSEV Mornings with Craig Collins and Wayne Dolcefino” will combine Houston and Texas news, politics, investigations, listener calls and the biggest national stories of the day — all from a Texas point of view.

(This post was taken from a press release)

Brian Collister of WOAI replaces KTRK's Wayne Dolcefino

Brian Collister of San Antonio's WOAI replaces Wayne Dolcefino at KTRK abc13


UPDATE APRIL 02, 2014
Brian Collister exits KTRK abc13 for KXAN

Brian Collister

Brian Collister, the leader of the News 4 WOAI San Antonio Trouble Shooters team, will replace KTRK 13's Wayne Dolcefino in the 13 Undercover unit David Barron is reporting.

According to his Bio, Collister has specialized in investigative reporting for most of his career since graduating from Sam Houston State University with a degree in broadcast journalism.

His bio does not mention any previous stations he's worked for.

“I am thrilled and honored to join 13-Eyewitness News and to be a part of one of the most prestigious investigative teams in the country,” Collister said in a statement issued by Channel 13 to the Houston Chronicle. “I look forward to adding to its legacy.”

Collister is also a licensed private investigator which I don't think I've ever seen before in an investigative reporter. He is also a multiple Emmy award winner.

Wayne Dolcefino's exit from the station last November was one of the biggest stories of the year for my blog. He has since started Dolcefino Communications LLC and is running as a Katy Independent School Board candidate.

His investigations had such impact on Houston that he will be hard for some people to forget.

This reminds me, we still have not seen KTRK sports anchor Tim Melton on the air since my last blog post wondering about his status.


UPDATE APRIL 02, 2014
Brian Collister exits KTRK abc13 for KXAN

Where are Wayne Dolcefino and Tim Melton?

UPDATE 11/21/2012
Wayne Dolcefino and KTRK 13 divorce

Here is a follow up to some of my previous posts. First, we are still apparently on Wayne Dolcefino sweeps watch. November is nearing its end and still no sign of Mr. 13 Undercover.

Forget about all the rumors concerning his status with the station.  It's coming at me from all sides every single day, but the simple fact is that Dolcefino's bio is still on KTRK 13's web site at the time of this post's writing.

Then there is the case of KTRK 13 weekend sports anchor Tim Melton. Forgive us for caring about Melton's whereabouts, he's only been coming into Houston living rooms every week since 1981.

It was last October when Melton suffered a stroke and since then we've only caught a few glimpses of him on TV and on the KTRK 13 Facebook account.

I certainly hope Melton is having a speedy and good recovery. He's a great sports anchor and nice guy too.

Since October, KTRK has brought in freelancers like Hugh Lewis and 1560 KGOW/Yahoo! Sports Radio's David Nuno to do some sports fill-in work

The update in the missing Melton case is that the Houston Chronicle's Ken Hoffman is reporting that David Nuno has quit the radio station and has been hired full-time at KTRK.

"The big adjustment for me is going back to being a reporter," Nuno told Hoffman. "On radio, I would watch all the games, but I was rarely with the players. Joining Channel 13 puts me back on the beat. It's pretty amazing to work at the station I grew up watching with many of the same on-air staff."

So does that mean if/when Melton returns that the KTRK 13 sports department will be larger? Right now the station's sports staff includes Melton, the soon departing Bob Allen, Allen's replacement Greg Bailey, Bob Slovak and now David Nuno. Even with Allen out the door, the on air staff  will still be larger than ever.

That's a lot of good sports coverage!

Stay tuned.

UPDATE 11/21/2012
Wayne Dolcefino and KTRK 13 divorce

KTRK 13's Wayne Dolcefino wins 2011 IRE Medal award

Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc., better known as IRE, is a group that hands out prestigious awards to journalists. And one of Houston's own has won another one.

KTRK 13 Undercover's Wayne Dolcefino (along with Kevin Hirten and Colin McIntyre) was awarded IRE’s highest honor, an IRE Medal with his "Constable Corruption" series in the Broadcast/Video – Medium category.

Here are the comments from the IRE Medal judges:

"Constable Corruption" In this textbook IRE investigation done in a nontraditional style, KTRK-TV went after Houston-area law enforcement officials. Plowing through mountains of paperwork, data and sources, reporter Wayne Dolcefino and his team exposed a culture of corruption among the county’s entrenched constables that included appropriating charity and campaign funds for their own use and allowing employees to commit time sheet fraud. Dolcefino engages the viewer with his irreverent style and high production values, but beneath the entertainment is a rock-solid, water-tight, well-documented investigation. The station made extensive use of FOIA and fought back hard when denied. Its online presentation engaged the reader to follow the investigators as they pursued their targets. Several outside agencies are now investigating several constables offices. For the dogged and difficult pursuit of corruption in its own hometown, KTRK’S “Constable Corruption” is awarded IRE’s highest honor, an IRE Medal.

RELATED
KTRK 13 Undercover's Wayne Dolcefino says stop copying my work

Wayne Dolcefino's first TV interview after car accident

WAYNE DOLCEFINO: "My view is that God has saved me because he wants me to mess with some more people who are ripping people off and that's good enough for me, because otherwise he wouldn't have saved me."


FOX 26 KRIV's Greg Groogan was the first to interview Wayne Dolcefino after his terrible car accident:

Dolcefino's body was shattered, the relentless reporter all but gone.

"I've covered hurricanes. I've been in my share of fights. I've seen a lot of stuff, but there ain't nothing like getting hit at 75 miles an hour," said the 60-year-old husband and father.

The wheel chair bears witness -- a hip so badly fractured it had to be completely replaced, both heels pulverized, complications including a near lethal blood clot, and then there is that 10-inch laceration to the skull, the scar of which he will wear forever. READ MORE

Groogan announced on the end of his story that Dolcefino will be back on the panel of What's Your Point on its new Sunday morning 7am time.

In other Dolcefino related news, the legendary investigator has turned his sites on the city of Austin and it's going to cost him according to his report.