Tom Burke starts his first day today as news director for Tucson, AZ, ABC affiliate KGUN, TVSpy has confirmed.

Burke replaces Forrest Carr who resigned in March.

Before coming to KGUN, Burke was the news director at WTVM in Columbus, GA, until December 2012. He’s also worked in Sacramento, Fresno, Pittsburgh, Columbus, OH, Detroit, and Greenville, NC.

[Rick Gevers Blog]

Seattle Fox affiliate KCPQ has named Jon Brady director of content and news programming and promoted Erica Hill to news director.

Brady has been the station’s news director since 2010. In his new role, he will oversee daily editorial content, as well as long-form news and sports programming. Hill, who has been the assistant news director at KCPQ for six years, will be responsible for the direction of the news department, long-term initiatives and specific digital goals, according to the station.

“We are fortunate to have two talented people in Jon and Erica to lead this newsroom into the future … This reorganization will allow us to maximize our current initiatives and cultivate new ways to deliver news and information to Western Washington,” KCPQ SVP-GM Pam Pearson said in a statement.

Read KCPQ’s press release after the jump. Read more

Keith Lowhorne, news director for Hunstville, AL, ABC affiliate WAAY, has confirmed with TVSpy he is leaving the TV news business to take a job as director of development for the Huntsville Botanical Garden.

WAAY reporter Shea Allen was recently fired from the station after posting ten controversial confessions to her blog “Shea Allen Says….” including “I’ve stolen mail and then put it back. (maybe)” and “I’ve taken naps in the news car.” News of her firing eventually went viral. She was interviewed on NBC’s “Today” show last week.

Telling al.com, the timing of his move “is what it is,” Lowhorne said, “You can rest assured it has absolutely nothing to do with that and (WAAY General Manager) Art Lanham would probably tell you the same thing. It’s absolutely nothing to do with that. It has absolutely zero to do with Shea Allen.”

Lowhorne has worked in the Huntsville market for 40 years. Before coming to WAAY, he worked at Huntsville’s CBS affiliate WHNT for more than 33 years.

image – Huntsville Times

Kelly Zuber has been named news director at WDBJ, the CBS affiliate in Roanoke-Lynchburg, Va.

Zuber has worked at WDBJ for 31 years and held a variety of roles, including reporter, photojournalist, assignment editor, director of public affairs and director of promotion and marketing. For the past six years, she has been director of digital services.

“Kelly is a hard-nosed journalist and a futurist, a really good combination for someone who has to manage all of the content across all of the platforms that people use now to receive information and entertainment,” WDBJ general manager Jeffrey Marks said in a statement.

Zaber replaces Dan Dennison, who will remain with the station as a feature reporter. He will “be creating the model for the ultimate multimedia journalist, with all of the tools to cover stories, assemble them and transmit them from anywhere to WDBJ7′s broadcast and mobile platforms,” according to a WDBJ release.

It took WSET staffers 1,000 balloons to say goodbye to outgoing news director Bill Foy.

On Foy’s last day at the Lynchburg-Roanoke, VA, ABC affiliate, the newsroom filled his office with balloons. “We as a team worked harder on that than any about other project over the past three years,” said 6:00 p.m. anchor Len Stevens on the 5:00 p.m. news. “That’s not true!” objected anchor Danner Evans.

Foy left the station for a job with Virginia Tech while Stevens was named interim news director.

As well as doing a story about the deed again at 11:00 p.m., the station also posted a time-lapse of the seven hours of work they put in to its facebook page.

Raycom Media has promoted Nancy Kent-Smith and Frank Jones in Richmond, Va.

Kent-Smith, who has been news director of WWBT-WUPW, Raycom’s NBC and CW affiliates in Richmond, will become the company’s regional news director. In her new role, she will have oversight of WWBT-WUPW as well as WOIO-WUAB in Cleveland, WTOL-WUPW in Toledo, WXIX in Cincinnatti, KOLD in Tucscon, WTNZ in Knoxville and WFLX in West Palm Beach.

As Kent-Smith transitions into her new role, she will be replaced at WWBT-WUPW by Jones, who joined the stations in 1992 as a producer. He has served as executive news producer and, most recently, assistant news director.

“We have an amazing group of people here at NBC12 and this is a great opportunity. It is a competitive market and I couldn’t ask for a better staff,” Jones said in a statement. “They are dedicated and determined and I look forward to my new role leading Richmond’s number one news team.”

Ray Moore, former news director and main anchor for Atlanta’s WSB has died.

WSB reports Moore died one week shy of his 91st birthday after a fall in his home last week.

Moore started with WSB radio in 1951. One year later he went to work for WSB-TV when it was an NBC affiliate. In 1969 he resigned as WSB news director and joined cross-town rival WAGA (FOX) when it was a CBS affiliate. While working for Georgia Tech, he was credited with creating a video presentation that helped Atlanta land the 1996 Olympics.

WSB said services are scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Saturday at Oak Grove United Methodist Church in Decatur, GA.

TVSpy has confirmed David Baer is no longer working at Harrisburg, PA, CBS affiliate WHP. The Sentinel reports the news director was apparently fired after his arrest for allegedly soliciting prostitution in June.

The Sentinel said Baer has been charged with patronizing prostitutes and is awaiting a preliminary hearing in August. He was one of three people arrested in a prostitution sting at a local hotel in in June.

Baer was hired as news director in April. Before coming to WHP, he worked at WXXA in Albany, NY. He has also worked in Springfield, MA, Indianapolis, IN, Raleigh, NC, Providence, RI, Portland, ME, and Buffalo, NY.

We have reached out to WHP general manager Arthur Hasson for comment. We will update when we hear back.

Blaise Labbe has been named news director at KABB and WOAI, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s Fox and NBC affiliates in San Antonio, Broadcasting & Cable reports.

News of Labbe’s hire was first reported on Rick Gevers’ weekly newsletter. He moves to San Antonio from Kansas City, where he has been news director at CBS affiliate KCTV since 2010. Labbe replaces Tom Bell, who left San Antonio to join KOVR in Sacramento.

Before KCTV, Labbe worked at KWTV in Oklahoma City, KENS in San Antonio and KHOU in Houston.

Rebecca Gaylord has been named news director at KOCO, Hearst’s ABC affiliate in Oklahoma City.

“The opportunity to lead a group as talented as the KOCO newsroom is a dream come true,” Gaylord said in a statement. “I’m excited to be part of such a top-notch team, in such a dynamic city.”

Gaylord comes from KOAT, the ABC affiliate in Albuquerque, where she has been assistant news director for the past four years.

“Rebecca’s track record of success speaks for itself,” KOCO president and general manager Brent Hensley said in a statement. “I’m thrilled that she is joining our team and will bring all of those positive experiences to our newsroom as we work to serve the viewers in Oklahoma.”