support

CONTACT: Tip | COMMENT: Respond | FOLLOW: | EMAIL: Newsletter

promo

Runaway Radio
Showing posts sorted by date for query sharron melton. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query sharron melton. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Friday, November 06, 2026

Sharron Melton launches AI newscast after CW39 Houston


Sharron Melton announced her new venture after leaving her longtime morning anchor role at CW39 Houston KIAH in September 2026.

The Emmy Award-winning journalist has launched Vocal Wish LLC, a business that includes Vocal Wish News, a weekday, AI-powered newscast designed for viewers who want a convenient way to stay informed across digital platforms.

"People may be upset that I am creating a news platform that uses AI, because they are afraid AI will take jobs, but since I lost my job, I created one for myself," Melton told mikemcguff.com.  "And this is one of many jobs that I will be doing, and I hope people will go on this adventure with me."

As far as I know, Melton is the first TV anchor to launch a newscast like this.

Melton announced the launch on Facebook, revealing that Vocal Wish News would debut Monday, November 9, 2026. The newscast will be available to watch on smartphones, laptops, iPads, and other devices.

Her website says the daily AI newscast will feature a fresh setting in every episode, with stories that are verified, sourced, and attributed so viewers can independently check the information. 

New episodes will be released Monday through Friday at 6 a.m. Central Time. The short-form newscast aims to give audiences a quick look at what is happening while providing access to the reporting and sources behind each story. Melton describes it as a new approach to delivering news, with transparency and accountability at the center of the experience.

"It's a new news program where you get a morning brief straight to your phone at 6 a.m. Central Time," Melton said in the video announcement. "And it's me. It's my voice, it's me, all of it. And there's a little AI component that's attached to it. So you got to check that out."

Melton tells me the newscast will be about two minutes long.  She added it is a quick way to get the news as you head out the door, and if big news breaks, she might do a special newscast during the day.

She says this newscast will be like an appetizer before the main course.

"I want the next generation to still believe in news because a lot of people have said a lot of things about news organizations, and they may not watch," Melton told me. "So if I can still reach the next generation through the phone they use every day with just a little information, I would hope they would be interested enough to dig deeper and watch other forms of news as well."



I've often thought about turning my blog over to AI, but I figure you'd like it more than me because it would have a "better personality," so I can't flip the switch just yet because of my digitally bruised ego!

In addition to Vocal Wish News, Melton is bringing back her YouTube show and podcast, Sharing the Sugar with Sharron. The program features long-form conversations with people from around the world and is available on Spotify and other popular podcast platforms.

"Coming back once again, for those of you who didn't know, I used to have a YouTube and a podcast called Sharing the Sugar with Sharon," Melton added.  "And it is back conversations, long-form with people from all over the world. And you can take part and listen to it on the way to work, on the way to school, because it's going to be a lot of fun."

Vocal Wish LLC will also offer several other services, including voiceover acting and narration for commercials, animation and other projects; speaking and emcee appearances for keynotes, galas and panels; and interview and media training for people preparing for important public-facing moments.


Sharron Melton's career at CW39 Houston and ABC13

Melton said goodbye to CW39 Houston in September 2026, ending nearly eight years with the station.

She joined KIAH in October 2018, anchoring the then-newly relaunched, Houston-only version of Tribune's Morning Dose. She most recently served as morning anchor for Htown Morning News and No Wait Weather and Traffic, which aired weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m.

Her arrival at CW39 was particularly noteworthy for Houston television viewers because she previously spent nearly eight years at ABC13 KTRK, the market's top-rated morning newscast.

At ABC13, Melton co-anchored the morning newscast with Tom Koch from 4:30 to 7 a.m. 

An Emmy Award-winning journalist, Melton has more than two decades of television news experience as an anchor, reporter, and producer.

Before arriving in Houston, her broadcasting career took her to several markets across the country.

From 2000 to 2007, Melton worked at WSVN 7 News in Miami, Florida, where she served as a weekend evening anchor and weekday reporter covering stories throughout South Florida.

She previously anchored the 5 p.m. newscast and worked as an education reporter at NBC 15 WPMI in Mobile, Alabama, from 1998 to 2000.

Melton began her television career at KOBR 8 in Roswell, New Mexico, where she worked as a 5 and 6 p.m. anchor and reporter from 1995 to 1998.

The Texas A&M grad also earned a Master's degree in television communication from Eastern New Mexico University.



Thursday, October 01, 2026

Texas TV news and radio job moves September 2026


Send tips for the monthly Texas media job list here.

- Houston, DFW and San Antonio TV baby news
- Texas media layoffs in Fort Worth and San Antonio
- Texas TV anchors welcome and announce babies
- 2026 Lone Star EMMY Nominations


DALLAS - FORT WORTH

Yonni Rude is the new Urban One Dallas Operations Manager, overseeing 97.9 The Beat KBFB, K104 KKDA, and Smooth 105.7 KRNB.

Sarah Blaskovich named restaurant critic of The Dallas Morning News.

KERA launches a new, redesigned kera.org.

Dallas Native Markie Martin to Anchor NewsNation’s “Morning in America” from the State Fair of Texas.

Victory+ dissolved, will no longer stream Texas high school football games.

TCU banning Star-Telegram poses a loss for sports journalism and fans.

- 105.3 The Fan named Dallas Mavericks flagship radio station
- Chip Waggoner celebrates 30 years at FOX 4 KDFW
- Payton May leaves FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth
- Tynisha Jackson joins Spectrum News 1 Dallas


HOUSTON

Ralph Cooper Becomes First Black Honoree on the Houston Baseball Media Wall of Honor/

Fox 26’s Nate Griffin delivers morning sports like no other.

Chris Silva returns to ABC13 KTRK as Vice President - Technology from the same position at 6ABC WPVI Philadelphia.

Jay Michaels joins Country 97.1 Hank-FM WLHK and B105.7 WYXB Indianapolis after MIX 96.5 KHMX.

Remembering Radar: 10 years since we said goodbye to KPRC 2's beloved weather dog.

ABC13 KTRK Houston director Michael Fernau retired on September 7, 2026.  HE previously worked for NTV, RFD-TV, KPTM, and WOWT.

Graham Adams leaves ABC13 KTRK, where he was a Broadcast & IT Systems Engineer.


- Houston radio gets X106.1 as Tejano Moves to 99.5
- “The Morning Bull with Matt & Lois” on 100.3 The Bull in Houston
- Sharron Melton leaves CW39 Houston
- Mayra Moreno returns to ABC13 Houston after maternity leave
- KPRC 2 expands 3pm newscast to one hour
- Collin Myers returns to Houston at KPRC 2
- Oldies 107.5 HD2 KGLK Houston is gone
- KPRC 2 was No. 1 at 10 p.m. Why did it have 'Enough' with a traditional newscast?
- Enough first episode on KPRC 2 Houston 9-13-26
- Tammy Rose to leave ABC13 Houston's chopper
- Anthony Yanez is sticking around at KPRC 2 Houston
- Sakura Gray joins FOX 26 KRIV Houston
- Lauren Kelly talks Beyoncé with Jimmy Fallon
- Monica "Mo" Lunsford joins SUNNY 99.1
- Karol Suárez joins Noticias Telemundo as Houston correspondent
- Maria Aguilera leaves KHOU 11 Houston
- FOX 26's Jillian Hartmann gets engaged at AT&T Stadium
- 104.1 KRBE gets a new look
- Bill Bishop retires from KHOU 11 Houston after 42 years, colleagues reflect on his impact
- Jeff Ehling signs off ABC13 Houston
- Leigha McNeil joins KPRC 2 Houston as morning traffic anchor
- Justina Latimer joins FOX 5 Atlanta
- Mary Benton leaving Houston Mayor's Office for METRO
- Andrew "Latty" Latimer has 104 dreams come true on KRBE Houston
- Let's talk about those Caroline Collins streaming posts
- Karen Hua joins ABC News
- Cathy Hernandez always a Houston Texans cheerleader
- Runaway Radio featured in Houston Chronicle article "From 'Urban Cowboy' to 'Boyhood,' the 30 Houston films every Houstonian should see"


SAN ANTONIO

Dean Radla, the general manager of News 4 San Antonio, FOX San Antonio and CW35, retired after 30 years with Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Four San Antonio TV stations face a random FCC investigation.

San Antonio Spurs, DAZN Ink Exclusive Streaming Deal.

Producer and the audience engagement specialist Jon Coker leaves KENS 5.

 Tommy Namphong was recently promoted from Editor to Digital Content Marketer at KSAT12.

- Kate Devine joins News 4 San Antonio and FOX San Antonio
- KSAT San Antonio debuts 1pm newscast
- Leigh Waldman promoted to CNN Correspondent
- Ex-San Antonio TV reporter goes viral in "Right to Bare Arms"
- Alex Garcia and Chuck Miketinac no longer with FOX San Antonio KABB


AUSTIN

Rowe, Sarkisian controversy shows growing need for respect toward women in sports.

Josue Cuevas joins KVUE Austin as Morning Executive Producer from KUSA Denver.

Victor Mills and Heavan Doyle join KVUE as producers.  Doyle previously served as a Story Desk Editor at KIII Corpus Christi.


- KXAN Austin launches ‘Cause & Effect’
- Ann Pierret and Nathan Langley join KXAN Austin
- Julieanna Jackson joins FOX 7 Austin
- Mike Warren retires from FOX 7 Austin
- Dominique Leh joins FOX 7 Austin
- Brandon Schaff joins KVUE Austin and love is in the air
- Kristin Walla joined KVUE Austin
- Darby Brown leaves CBS Austin for 12News Phoenix


AROUND TEXAS

The murder of KRBC Abilene reporter Jennifer Servo remains unsolved 24 years after she was found inside her Abilene apartment.

70 Years of Stories: KVIA—Your Community, Your News, Your Legacy.

Lidia Herrera joins KRGV 5 Rio Grande Valley as a reporter.

Rishi Oza joins Eyewitness News KBAK and FOX58 Bakersfield, California as weekend sports anchor from KVIA ABC-7 News El Paso.

Ava Davis joins KTAB/KRBC Abilene as a reporter and an anchor on Saturdays for KTAB.

Marixa Zamora — now Marixa Jones — announced her departure from Entravision Communications in McAllen, in the Rio Grande Valley.

Marcela Delgado joins as host of HOLA! on KGNS+ and Telemundo Laredo, while Luis Enrique Vela and Michelle James Thorpe join KGNS as multimedia journalists.

KRIS 6 News wins statewide open government award for housing authority investigation.

Fernando Montejano, or "Grizz," is half of the popular Iris & Grizz morning DJ duo. He had a rough start in life. 

- Jasmin Caldwell joins KWTX 10 + more Waco changes
- Isabella Martinez joins NBC 6 South Florida
- TAB Board welcomes 8 new directors
- Brett Anthony joins KY3 Springfield from CBS19 Tyler
- Greg Kerr joins KCEN 6 Waco-Temple-Killeen


REMEMBERING

Charles U. “Chuck” Spaugh, 87, Lubbock broadcaster, dies.

Former ABC13 KTRK Houston chief editor and producer Gary Parker has died.

- Victor Lopez, NewsWest 9 morning anchor, dies after cancer battle



Friday, September 04, 2026

Sharron Melton leaves CW39 Houston


Sharron Melton said goodbye to CW39 Houston KIAH on Thursday morning, marking the end of nearly eight years with the station.

Usually, in TV anchor goodbye videos, there is an endless montage of past clips and tributes to said anchor. This was not the case for Melton. In her goodbye video (above), the longtime Houston morning anchor did not make the news about herself at all. Instead, she gave a classy tribute to colleague and chief meteorologist Idolina Peralez. No joke, I actually at first thought Peralez was leaving.

Thursday evening, Melton took to social media, saying she will miss her coworkers and the Houston community she had the opportunity to serve each morning:


"After almost 8 years, today I said goodbye to CW39 Houston. I will truly miss my coworkers and the community I was able to reach each morning and I was so honored to serve. 


Thank you all!


And while this change has happened, better things are coming soon!


Keep following me here to learn more about what I have planned for the future!"


Melton joined KIAH in October 2018. She most recently served as the morning anchor for CW39 Houston's Htown Morning News and No Wait Weather and Traffic, airing from 6 to 10 a.m. She previously anchored and hosted Morning Dose, the station's morning news and variety program. Morning Dose was the rebirth of CW39's news department after NewsFix and the syndicated version of Morning Dose were canceled.

An Emmy Award-winning journalist, Melton has more than two decades of experience in television news as an anchor, reporter, and producer.

Before joining CW39, Melton spent nearly eight years with ABC 13 KTRK in Houston. She served as a morning news co-anchor with Tom Koch from 4:30 to 7 a.m.

It was a big deal for KIAH to hire a popular former anchor from the top-rated competitor in Houston morning news. Interesting fact: for many years, my news about Melton's time leaving ABC13 was the top post on my blog. Heck, it was big news for my readers when Melton reunited on a Channel 39 segment with former ABC13 morning meteorologist Casey Curry. 


Melton and McGuff in 2015.


Her television career has also taken her to Miami, Mobile, Alabama, and Roswell, New Mexico. 

From 2000 to 2007, she was a weekend evening anchor and weekday reporter at WSVN 7 News Miami, covering stories throughout South Florida. 

She previously anchored the 5 p.m. newscast and served as an education reporter at NBC 15 WPMI in Mobile, Alabama, from 1998 to 2000.

Melton began her television career at KOBR 8 in Roswell, where she worked as a 5 and 6 p.m. anchor and reporter from 1995 to 1998.

Outside of traditional television news, Melton has hosted and executive produced Sharing the Sugar with Sharron, a YouTube podcast featuring interviews focused on the importance of giving back to the community.


Dayna Steele, Mike McGuff, Sharron Melton, Outlaw Dave


She was previously named one of the 50 Most Influential Women in Houston by Houston Woman's Magazine.

Melton earned a master's degree in television communication from Eastern New Mexico University and a bachelor's degree in speech communication and journalism from Texas A&M University. She has also worked as an undergraduate lecturer and instructor in broadcast news fundamentals at the University of South Alabama.

She is a member of the International Women's Forum Houston Chapter and the National Association of Black Journalists. Melton has also served on the board of directors for the Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council and on the steering committee for Women of Wardrobe with Dress for Success Houston.




Friday, June 27, 2025

Rekha Muddaraj returns to Houston TV

Rekha Muddaraj


Rekha Muddaraj made a quiet return to Houston TV this week on CW39 KIAH Houston, taking on a "guest anchor" role, as the station described it.

Muddaraj announced she was leaving KHOU 11's 4pm newscast last April, signing off just days later.

If I had to guess...I wouldn't be surprised if Muddaraj's former Channel 11 news director, now CW39 ND Liz Roldan, made this guest anchor spot happen.

So, where is the usual CW39 morning anchor, Sharron Melton?

According to her Instagram, Melton has been judging the Miss Volunteer America Pageant in Tennessee.






Friday, May 30, 2025

Former Houston TV anchor in new Tyler Perry movie


Former CW39 Houston KIAH 'Morning Dose' anchor Shannon LaNier is making a splash in Hollywood with a role in the upcoming film Duplicity, directed by Tyler Perry.

He left Channel 39 in 2021 after two years to join the Black News Channel (BNC).

LaNier's former co-anchor, Sharron Melton, caught up with the new movie star to find out how he landed the role after receiving a call from Tyler Perry himself, details about Duplicity, and some of the other exciting projects he's working on.

You can watch LaNier and the entire cast in Duplicity on Amazon Prime.

Before coming to Houston, LaNier served as a weekend morning anchor at Fios1 News in New York.

Earlier in his career, he hosted the daily culture and entertainment series Arise Entertainment 360, which aired on Centric, BET’s sister station.

He also contributed to Black Enterprise Magazine’s Black Enterprise Business Report and Our World With Black Enterprise as both a correspondent and senior producer.

LaNier worked as a multi-media journalist (MMJ) for the News 12 Networks and began his career at WCBS New York as a segment producer shortly after graduating from Kent State University.

Beyond television, LaNier authored the book Jefferson’s Children: The Story of One American Family, chronicling his experience as a ninth-generation direct descendant of Thomas Jefferson and his enslaved mistress, Sally Hemings. In 2020, he was featured in a Smithsonian Magazine project that reimagined historical figures through the stories of their living descendants.

LaNier has also hosted the Daddy Duty 365 podcast.




Thursday, December 07, 2023

Mix 96.5's Sarah Pepper recognized for local community outreach

Sarah Pepper and Jessie Watt
(Sarah Pepper and Jessie Watt)



Sarah Pepper, co-host of ‘Sarah Pepper & Jessie Watt Mornings’ on Audacy’s Mix 96.5 KHMX Houston, was recognized for her community outreach at the 37th annual Celebrity Paws Mission: Pawsible!


 Gala for Citizens for Animal Protection (CAP) on November 18, which raised $850K to assist homeless animals through sheltering, adoption, education, spaying/neutering and low-cost wellness. Acknowledged alongside Sarah Pepper were Dr. John Cangelosi and Natasha “Tosh” Minor, Carson Brown, Angela Hernandez, Daniel Irion and Kirk Kveton, Dr. Roxy Riefkohl, Morgan and Kenny Webster, Rebecca and Anthony Yanez, Brigitte Kalai and Sharron Melton.


The board of directors and gala chairs, Jody Merritt and Christine Johnson, selected honorees based on their brand, fundraising and community involvement.  


Over the past six months, Pepper hosted more than just her morning show. She arranged campaigns and fundraisers, including a pickleball tournament, Pickleball for Paws, to raise awareness for the nonprofit. She also leveraged her platform as a media personality by featuring CAP representatives and pets who found their “furever” homes on her show and segment, Positively Pepper. 


Pepper is a dog mom of two rescues, Douglas and William (Willie). She shared The Post Oak Hotel ballroom runway with Willie and a boy from the Sunshine Kids nonprofit, who bonded over both having one eye. The trio was cheered on by 800 attendees and later by Pepper’s 96.5 family on socials @965houston.


As she reflected on the event, Pepper continued encouraging her community to do whatever they could to support Houston’s homeless animals, nothing too big or small.



(This post was taken from a press release)

Tuesday, November 01, 2022

Texas TV news and radio job moves October 2022



Send tips for the monthly Texas media job list here.

Best TV News Bloopers October 2022
Newsrooms Start Prepping for 2023 Texas Broadcast News Awards


DALLAS - FORT WORTH

New Country 96.3 KSCS named the National Association of Broadcasters Country Radio Station of the Year. 

The Dallas Bar Association awarded the NBC 5 KXAS Investigates team with the Philbin Award at its annual Fellows Luncheon for the accuracy, resourcefulness and initiative pursing the extensive coverage over the past year uncovering widespread issues plaguing the state’s Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) temporary license plate system; identifying how criminals infiltrated the system and obtained hundreds of thousands of temporary tags illegally for profit. 

Jay Cresswell exits program director chair at 98.7 K-LUV.

Lesley James joins 91.7 KKXT as assistant program director.

Former Staffers Of KLIF-A/Dallas - Fort Worth celebrate reunite.

A DFW radio DJ charged with producing child pornography has been sentenced to 24 years in federal prison.


97.1 The Freak DFW debuts in place of The Eagle
Madison Sawyer of CBS DFW is pregnant
NBC DFW anchors on the TODAY Show
Megan Mitchell joins WFAA 8 Dallas


HOUSTON

Astros, Rockets and Comcast reach settlement on CSN Houston dispute.

Former abc13 KTRK reporter/Vice President of Community Affairs, Cynthia Cisneros, is the Houston Association of Hispanic Media Professionals (HAHMP) winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award for the 2022 Sylvan Rodriguez Scholarship Gala.

CW39 Sharron Melton receives award from Greater Houston Women's Chamber of Commerce.

People magazine features the wedding of Fox Weather's Stephen Morgan (former FOX 26 KRIV) and NBC News Correspondent Steven Romo (former abc13 KTRK).

Sarah Smith joins Houston Chronicle as senior enterprise reporter.

Houston Biz Journal hires Nair as tech and innovation reporter.

Ralph Green is the new suburban reporter for the Houston Chronicle.

Charlie Haldeman has left his KHOU 11 Assistant Digital Director role to join the Sinclair Broadcast Group as Regional Content Director.

Paul McKenna, who has worked at abc13 KTRK for 37 years, is retiring from the station as a Digital Graphics Producer.

Felix Cortez, who worked at abc13 KTRK for 24 years as an audio engineer/director, has left the station.

Anthony Reed, who has been the abc13 KTRK lead photographer since February 2022, and a photographer since 2009, is leaving for sister-station ABC11 WTVD Raleigh-Durham, NC to become the operations manager.

Sean Vaughn leaves 90.5 KJIC as program director/morning host to join Cox Media Group Houston as chief engineer. Andy Hudack retired from there in September.


Dave Strickland exits KPRC 2
Houston TV helicopter illegal incident
Houston and San Antonio Radio clips 1980s
Felix Hernandez joins Telemundo Houston
"The Nightcap" debuts on FOX 26 (VIDEO)
Mike O’Neill talks being on both sides of the press release
Rachel McNeill reveals her favorite
Xavier Walton and Eden Checkol are engaged
Justin Stapleton, Caroline Brown go head-to-head in Battle of the Halloween houses
Lena Maria Arango talks Astros sweep with actual broom on TV
Maggie Flecknoe gives birth
Lauren Kelly is married
Mo from 100.3 The Bull is pregnant
Ted Oberg to join NBC Washington WRC
Houston TV reporter gets Astros tattoo!
Raúl Brindis Commemorates 30 Years as a Radio Host in Houston
Where is Chauncy Glover?
Cathy Hernandez gives birth to baby #2
Kimberly Davis is engaged
Houston Halloween fun
DeJonique Garrison joins CW39 Houston
Jonathan Martin gets Houston ready for World Series
Big KPRC 2 2022 anchor changes!


SAN ANTONIO

KENS 5 anchor Henry M. Ramos celebrates five years with the TEGNA station.

San Antonio Express-News health care reporter Laura Garcia named Texas Tribune's afternoon/evening editor.

San Antonio Biz Journal hires McCandless to cover real estate.

KSAT Meteorologist Sarah Spivey receives certification from American Meteorological Society.

Tim Spence named Director of Sports Operations for San Antonio Sports Star, 94.1 FM, 1250 AM KTFM/KZDC.

Kevin Hyson, who has been with KSAT 12 production team for 21 years, has left the station.

San Antonio Report biz/tech reporter Cunningham named Evans fellow.

KTSA raises $163,893 in Radiothon For Raul Jimenez Thanksgiving Dinner.

Hannah Tiede joins KENS San Antonio
KSAT 12 meteorologists terrorized
Andrew Moore joins KENS San Antonio


AUSTIN

Sonal Shah to take over Texas Tribune CEO role from Evan Smith.

Audrey Allen joins The Mix 94.7 KAMX Morning Show.

KXAN and Corpus Christi Caller-Times win 2022 Spirit of FOI Awards.

KXAN morning producer Katie Bosnjak promoted to EP.

KUTX Austin adds Deep House Music Show, 'The Groove Temple' Friday Nights.

Tanvi Varma leaves KVUE Austin
Hunter Williams named KVUE chief meteorologist
Fred Cantú celebrates 50 years on-air
Ford Sanders joins KVUE Austin
Eric Pointer joins KVUE Austin
Lindsey Ragas joins FOX 10 Phoenix KSAZ
Shane Hinton moves to KVUE Austin mornings
Gianella Ghiglino joins Spectrum News 1 Texas


AROUND TEXAS

Raul Castelán retires after dedicating 38 years to KRGV 5 Rio Grande Valley as a photojournalist/assignments editor. 

Anchor Terri Furman celebrates 17 years with KLBK Lubbock.

KBTX News 3 Chief Meteorologist Shel Winkley celebrates 13 years with the Bryan - College Station station.

Former KCEN 6 Waco/Temple/Killeen "Texas Today" producer Mark Lewis needs is a kidney transplant as he battles end stage kidney disease.

Peace 107 KPWJ Bryan-College Station celebrates 10 years.

91.7 KBNJ was voted as "Best Radio Station" by Corpus Christi Caller-Times readers.

Concetta Callahan becomes morning anchor for KXTV Sacramento from KDBC in El Paso.


Alex Cammarata promoted to NewsWest 9 KWES 10pm anchor
Breanna Molloy gives birth
Emmanuel Esparza joins Telemundo 48 El Paso
Shaley Sanders rejoins KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock
Former KFDA NewsChannel 10 Amarillo anchor Madison Alewel
Rusty Garrett of KWTX 10 Waco battling cancer
Kayleigh Thomas joins KBTX 3
Nick Canizales leaves 12News KBMT Beaumont
Brennon Gurley joins KYTX CBS19 East Texas
Brenda Medina gives birth to baby #4
Leslie Adami dances for charity
Brady Brewster joins KKTV 11 News Colorado Springs, CO


REMEMBERING

Jerry Vazquez, Telemundo Houston ND, loses cancer battle
Lewanda Sullivan, abc13 KTRK editor, passes away

93Q KKBQ and Country Legends 97.1 KTHT DJ Pat Middleton has passed away after a fight with cancer. 

Former KENS 5 General Manager (1987 to 1997) Mike Conly has passed away. 

San Antonio radio host Russell Rush, 44, dies after cancer battle.





Thursday, August 18, 2022

Idolina Peralez joins CW39


Idolina Peralez has joined CW39 KIAH Houston's NO WAIT WEATHER + TRAFFIC news team as a co-anchor starting August 15, 2022.

UPDATE OCTOBER 2025
Idolina Peralez returns to CW39 Houston KIAH as chief meteorologist

UPDATE AUGUTS 2024
Idolina Peralez leaves CW39 Houston

RELATED
Seth Kovar joins CW39 Houston


Peralez might be a familiar name and face to Houston television viewers because she was formerly a KPRC 2 meteorologist.  She was in between Mary Lee and Britta Merwin on weekend mornings back in the 2013 to 2014 range.

Does this mean that Peralez could also fill-in for weather on CW39? I would guess so.  The station announced she will be a co-anchor with Sharron Melton, but her station bio reads "meteorologist" on the "meet the team" page.

"I am grateful for the opportunity to be back in Texas and closer to my family," Peralez told mikemcguff.com back then. "While it was a very, very long drive to get here, my husband and I are looking forward to exploring this amazing city, from the good eats to all the wonderful arts and entertainment Houston offers."

KIAH has not said anything about what Peralez has been up to after KPRC, but it did mention she is the mother of twins.   

Hailing from the Rio Grande Valley, Peralez came to KPRC 2 from KIFI Local News 8/KIDK Idaho Falls, Idaho. At that time, she went by Idolina Walker on-air. Upon re-reading my original blog post about Peralez's channel 2 hiring, I could not find any info on her at first because of the name change when arriving in Houston. 

The Brigham Young University-Idaho grad also completed meteorology courses at Mississippi State University.



Monday, February 01, 2021

Tom Koch retiring from abc13 KTRK

Tom Koch

Tom Koch is retiring from abc13 KTRK Houston anchor after 39 years with the station he announced this morning at the end of newscast. He will leave in May.

RELATED
Tom Koch officially signs off VIDEO

“For nearly 40 years, I’ve been honored and humbled that so many people welcomed me into their homes every day,” Koch said in a statement emailed to mikemcguff.com. “It’s been a dream come true for a small-town Wisconsin kid to be part of this incredible station and truly great city of Houston. But I’ve decided it’s time to step aside, turn off that early morning alarm and wake up to a new adventure.” 

The station tells me the week of May 24th, an on-air celebration featuring Koch and his many achievements will begin, with a final goodbye set for May 28, 2021.

And if you have watched the long-running popular anchor with his signature mustache, then you know he would probably appreciate the following:

"What do you get when you wake up on a workday and realize you ran out of coffee?

A depresso."

No longer will Koch have a 2:30am wake up, but I'm sure he will still bring his famous puns to the party.

 "Tom Koch is one of the finest morning anchormen and reporters in the country," former KTRK assistant news director and reporter Don Kobos told mikemcguff.com.  "Tom and I arrived at KTRK at the same time and worked together for my 32 years.   He’s a consummate professional.  Houston news viewers will miss waking up to him in the morning.  Congratulations on a great career Tom."

Tom Koch joins abc13 KTRK

Koch and Live at 5 anchor Melanie Lawson both started at channel 13 on September 13, 1982.

"This is the longest I've ever held a job," Koch told Ken Hoffman back in 2019.  "If you had told me in 1982 that I would spend my career here in Houston, or anywhere in Texas, I would have bet the farm against you. Luckily, I didn't own a farm. But it's been a great ride with great people."

In 1987, Koch moved from reporting to anchoring Eyewitness News at 7am.  The ratings and number of morning newscast hours produced certainly have risen over the years.  Now Koch anchors from 4:30am to 7am.

And speaking of ratings, Koch has really succeeded in that area.  The old legend was at times in his career, you could take the Houston television news morning ratings of the other stations, add them together and not quite reach, what KTRK was pulling in!

In his morning anchor role, Koch has had co-anchors over the years such as Samica Knight (current co-anchor), Sharron Melton, Minerva Perez, Cheryle Keck and Gina Gaston.

But in earnest, Koch probably spent more time over the years with traffic anchor Don Nelson and weathercaster Doug Brown.  

Koch and Nelson were, in my opinion, one of the greatest duos in Houston TV news.  Their chemistry was great on-air and off.

"Don liked to joke that if you can't be great, sit next to it," Koch wrote in 2015 when Nelson retired. "For nearly 30 years, I have sat next to greatness and I will miss him dearly."

 With these two, you not only got news and traffic, but viewers were also invited into the AM party.  Basically, with the puns, jokes and ad-libs, Houstonians never knew what was going to happen next. 

"Once, when we were interviewing Mike Ditka about Viagra or drugs for ED, Ditka said there was a warning on them, that if something lasted longer than four hours, you should call your doctor," Koch told Hoffman in 2019. "Don, without missing a beat said, ‘I'd call everybody.’ We all laughed so hard, we had to throw it to a break. And it’s the only time in my career that I almost couldn't go on with the newscast because we kept laughing."

"Such a fabulous person, and one of the funniest people I’ve ever met," former abc13 KTRK anchor Katie McCall commented on my LinkedIn post about Koch.  "Working with Tom was an ab workout, because I laughed so much!"

Of course as fun of an on-air presence as Koch is, that should never over shadow his reporting chops. According to his bio, he has covered everything from a dozen national political conventions, the Pope's new election at the Vatican and the 90s oil boom in the former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan to NASA astronauts launching from Kazakhstan.

- NASA astronaut Scott Kelly watches Koch from space

On a personal note, I started working with Koch in 2001 when he started split-shifting the AM news and the new Eyewitness News at 4pm newscast alongside the recently returned Gina Gaston (later Ilona Carson).  

This meant for seven years or so until 2008, Koch was anchoring a two-and-a-half hour morning newscast, then returning for another round with the hour long 4pm show. Sometimes he would fill-in at 6pm for Dave Ward.

Even with the split shift, Koch has also anchored the station's live remotes from the annual Fourth of July Celebration Concert and Fireworks, Galveston Mardi Gras Parade, the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Parade (HLSR) and the Houston Marathon.

The latter landed him in Houston Marathon Hall of Fame Class of 2018. Koch has even finished the marathon.

Koch's Wisconsin early years in life and TV news

Koch has come a long way from his first gig hosting a cable show during college at the University of Wisconsin.  The bearded Koch's first guest was Country Music Hall of Famer Charlie Daniels. While Daniels was a great first guest for sure, Koch eventually met and interviewed Presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

After college, Koch was an anchor for WAEO Rhinelander, Wisconsin and WBAY Green Bay, Wisconsin.

It was at WBAY, where Koch met his wife Brenda, who was also a reporter. They are both from around that area.  Brenda took a job at KSAT San Antonio as an anchor/reporter for a few years before joining Tom in Houston.  

The Koch's now have two grown daughters - Emily and Chelsea. 

"Tom Spotting" and the family's love of travel

One of the family's passions is world-wide travel.  

“We’ve met a lot of wonderful people this way, and it's very cool,” Tom told The Buzz Magazines in 2020. “And you know, we've learned this ourselves coming from small towns: Travel really broadens your vistas and kind of eliminates biases, your prejudices. It shows you that everybody's really after the same things in life. They say that travel leaves you speechless, but you come back, and you're a storyteller.”

Considering Koch is such a familiar face to Houstonians, the family jokes there will usually be "Tom Spotting" moments no matter the country.  

The family told Houston travel writer Tracy L. Barnett the first "Tom Spotting" happened in Machu Picchu after running into some Sugar Land viewers. Tom's famous face even got them a great tour of Beijing from some Katy oil and gas expats.

Travel will no doubt be in the Koch family's future. Tom has already been to 34 countries

Tom Koch after abc13 and television news

And if any anchor is prepared for retirement, my guess it would be Tom Koch.  Not only did he anchor, but he also has extensively reported on financial matters. As a young channel 13 producer in 2001 or so, I remember going to the front station desk to grab a guest that Koch was going to interview for the 4pm news - it was Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos! 

In the last few years Koch has also been officiating weddings.  Besides that, you'll find Koch around Bellaire, hosting all kind of community events where he is the town emcee!

Tom and Brenda are also both active in many Houston charitable efforts from the ESCAPE Family Resource Center and Joyful Toyful Fiesta to Casa de Esperanza.

While born in a small Wisconsin town, Koch got to Houston as fast as he could and never left - even though he could have.

"In 1984, a fledgling outfit called CNN called me about being the Dallas bureau chief," Koch told Hoffman.  "But the pay was about the same as I was making, our assistant news director didn't think CNN would last, and I just loved Houston, so I stayed. I also had offers later on to be an anchor in Cleveland, Austin, and one other market, but nothing seemed right or as good as Houston."



Monday, October 05, 2020

Houston social media stars September 2020


Share Rocket gives us data on how each Houston TV station and the corresponding air staff members performed on Facebook and Twitter.

Share Rocket is, "a social media ratings and audience solution providing media companies an easy way to quantify their social media equity, benchmark against peers and turn social market intelligence into insights that drive social success."

The numbers are pulled from station usage on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using Share Rocket's "Share" measurement.

First we are looking at every Houston media company in the Share Rocket database and top personalities. Then I am looking at the top 5 on air staff members at each station in order of channel number.

Houston Media
  1. abc13 KTRK
  2. KHOU 11
  3. FOX 26 KRIV
  4. KPRC 2
  5. Univision 45
  6. Houston Chronicle
  7. Telemundo 47
  8. Houston Press
  9. CW39 Houston
  10. CultureMap Houston

Top 5 individuals
  1. Steve Campion - abc13 KTRK
  2. Erica Simon - abc13 KTRK
  3. Samica Knight - abc13 KTRK
  4. Dominique Sachse - KPRC 2
  5. Isiah Carey - FOX 26 KRIV

KPRC 2
  1. Dominique Sachse
  2. Amy Davis
  3. Britta Merwin
  4. Syan Rhodes
  5. Eric Braate

KHOU 11
  1. Brandi Smith
  2. Chita Craft
  3. Blake Mathews
  4. Tiffany Craig
  5. Bill Bishop (Managing Editor)

abc 13 KTRK
  1. Steve Campion
  2. Erica Simon
  3. Samica Knight
  4. Mayra Moreno
  5. Melanie Lawson

FOX 26 KRIV
  1. Isiah Carey
  2. Melissa Wilson
  3. Mike Iscovitz
  4. Kaitlin Monte
  5. Mark Berman

CW39 KIAH
  1. Shannon LaNier
  2. Maggie Flecknoe
  3. Maria Sotolongo
  4. Courtney Carpenter
  5. Sharron Melton

Univision 45 KXLN
  1. Deysy Rios
  2. Suheily Lopez-Belen
  3. Albert Martínez
  4. Karina Yapor
  5. Anthony Ortiz

Telemundo 47 KTMD
  1. Ruby Guzmán
  2. Carlos A. Robles
  3. Antonio Hernández
  4. Ubaldo Martínez
  5. Augusto Bernal

Houston Chronicle
  1. John McClain
  2. Jonathan Feigen
  3. Brian T. Smith
  4. Joseph Duarte
  5. Charles Apple

DISCLAIMER: No Houston radio stations are listed in the Share Rocket database.




Monday, September 14, 2020

Houston social media stars August 2020


Share Rocket gives us data on how each Houston TV station and the corresponding air staff members performed on Facebook and Twitter.

Share Rocket is, "a social media ratings and audience solution providing media companies an easy way to quantify their social media equity, benchmark against peers and turn social market intelligence into insights that drive social success."

The numbers are pulled from station usage on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using Share Rocket's "Share" measurement.

First we are looking at every Houston media company in the Share Rocket database and top personalities. Then I am looking at the top 5 on air staff members at each station in order of channel number.

Houston Media
  1. abc13 KTRK
  2. KHOU 11
  3. FOX 26 KRIV
  4. KPRC 2
  5. Univision 45
  6. Houston Chronicle
  7. Telemundo 47
  8. CW39 Houston
  9. Houston Press
  10. CultureMap Houston

Top 5 individuals
  1. Steve Campion - abc13 KTRK
  2. Samica Knight - abc13 KTRK
  3. Dominique Sachse - KPRC 2
  4. Suheily Lopez-Belen - Univision 45 KXLN
  5. Isiah Carey - FOX 26 KRIV

KPRC 2
  1. Dominique Sachse
  2. Frank Billingsley
  3. Britta Merwin
  4. Justin Stapleton
  5. Amy Davis

KHOU 11
  1. Chita Craft
  2. Brandi Smith
  3. Blake Mathews
  4. Bill Bishop (Managing Editor)
  5. Tiffany Craig

abc 13 KTRK
  1. Steve Campion
  2. Samica Knight
  3. Erica Simon
  4. Charly Edsitty
  5. Melanie Lawson

FOX 26 KRIV
  1. Isiah Carey
  2. Mike Iscovitz
  3. Melissa Wilson
  4. Mark Berman
  5. Kaitlin Monte

CW39 KIAH
  1. Shannon LaNier
  2. Maggie Flecknoe
  3. Sharron Melton
  4. Maria Sotolongo
  5. Courtney Carpenter

Univision 45 KXLN
  1. Suheily Lopez-Belen
  2. Deysy Rios
  3. Albert Martínez
  4. Anthony Ortiz
  5. Karina Yapor

Telemundo 47 KTMD
  1. Carlos A. Robles
  2. Ubaldo Martínez
  3. Ruby Guzmán
  4. Antonio Hernández
  5. Augusto Bernal

Houston Chronicle
  1. Jonathan Feigen
  2. Jose de Jesus Ortiz
  3. John McClain
  4. Charles Apple
  5. Joseph Duarte

DISCLAIMER: No Houston radio stations are listed in the Share Rocket database.




Thursday, September 10, 2020

CW39 Houston launches "NO WAIT WEATHER + TRAFFIC"

First ever show in the nation to solely focus on weather and traffic coverage debuts on CW39 Houston KIAH


Since arriving in late June, newly hired CW39 Houston KIAH News Operations Manager Scott Fitzgerald (formerly the KJRH Tulsa, Oklahoma news director) has already helped oversee lots of changes at one of Nexstar Media Group's newest stations.

UPDATE MAY 2021

"It feels a lot longer than six weeks, it's been a busy six weeks," Fitzgerald laughed when he told mikemcguff.com recounting his busy first summer in Houston. "But I'm very proud of what [the staff has] done. We were sitting here thinking if we were ready to launch the new show and we launched it, and literally an hour later, we went, 'we need a hurricane plan because there's a hurricane in four days.'"

That hurricane was Laura, which had the Gulf Coast states in a quandary for around a week in late August as the storm ultimately chose its path of unfortunate destruction near Cameron, Louisiana.



The other winds of media change transformed the nearly two-year-old channel 39 AM news show "Morning Dose" (and only newscast KIAH currently produces, the nightly newscast is produced by abc13 KTRK) and transformed it into "CW39 Houston NO WAIT WEATHER + TRAFFIC."

A few days before the storm hit, the staff debuted the new newscast. The weeks leading to that, they produced "Morning Dose" like usual on a temporary set, took a quick break at 10am and then started rehearsing for the new show.

While the anchor team remains the same (such as anchor Sharron Melton and traffic anchor Hannah Trippett) the focus of the show will be as the title implies, a nearly total focus on Houston weather and traffic coverage.

One personnel change will be meteorologist Maria Sotolongo who is leaving the TV biz for ranch life near College Station, TX. Spectrum News Austin and Spectrum News San Antonio meteorologist Adam Krueger will join CW39 in a few weeks to take her place.


Citing a desire to create a unique newscast in Nielsen's Designated Market Area (DMA) TV market #8, Fitzgerald and crew determined that Houston's legendary traffic and weather woes affects every local TV news viewer.

And from 6 to 10am, the "NO WAIT WEATHER + TRAFFIC" newscast has plenty of time to devote to the topics since that's the entire format of the show.

"The stories we do are related to people's commute," Fitzgerald added. "If you really think about it, getting to work is is a lot of people's lives."



The change in news format, also led to changes in the newscast studio. That includes a substantial investment in a larger set makeover, graphics package and upgraded weather system with new storm/lightning tracking software.

"A lot of folks around the country right now are talking about cutting and saving money," Fitzgerald told me. "And [the news set upgrade is] definitely an investment, not just visually, but the ability to tell stories. You know, we have a touch screen in play. We've got five or six different positions on the set now where we could tell a different story. The set also provides a way if we wanted to go in other avenues, we could pull parts of the set out and create a new place to, you know, to tell a story and do something with that."

Fitzgerald says you can't cover traffic from behind a desk, so the station also sends anchor Shannon LaNier to broadcast live from Houston freeways. At this point, two other live vehicles can be put into the mix if necessary.

And even though weather and traffic are actually in the name of the newscast, there are a few news items still in the mix here and there.

For example, Tuesday morning on the first day of school for many area districts, reporter Courtney Carpenter interviewed a principal in our pandemic world. Feature Maggie Flecknoe will continue reporting live and from inside the studio.



The KIAH management team thinks the revamped newscast is the first of its kind in the nation. That follows the history of the Houston CW affiliate. From producing a younger demo focused newscast under the 39News brand more than a decade ago, to totally dumping tradition for the anchor-less NewsFix format, the former Tribune owned station has always experimented to compete with the bigger television companies that run Houston stations.

Now that Nexstar has taken over, suddenly more resources are available as we saw during the before mentioned Hurricane Laura. If you were reading this blog before the storm made landfall, then you saw how "the largest local television broadcast and digital media company in the nation" sent in help from stations across Texas to allow channel 39, for the first time, to offer wall to wall expanded on-air coverage. By the way, in Texas alone, Nexstar owns stations in 13 markets.

That sudden boost from KIAH's new parent company, also gives the station more options to compete in the Houston market for the foreseeable future. Now it's just about time to implement those resources.

"I've got a list," Fitzgerald told me with a laugh. "Whenever I get that list, you know, shortened up. Yeah. We've got a long list."

RELATED
- Nexstar Media Group Completes Tribune Media Acquisition Creating The Nation’s Largest Local Television Broadcaster
- Chris Pruitt named VP and GM of CW39 KIAH