News Directors

Michael Carr has been promoted to news director at KFSN, the ABC O&O in Fresno.

Carr, an executive producer at the station, has served as acting news director since Tracey Watkowski left KFSN for KGO last month. He joined KFSN in 1999 as a weekend assignment editor.

In a statement announcing the promotion, KFSN noted Carr has overseen both the launch of a new newscast and a strong February ratings period.

“Michael Carr’s excellent credentials as a newsroom manager, his integrity and proven track record as a journalist at ABC30 make him the best choice for taking over the helm at ABC30 Action News,” KFSN president and general manager Dan Adams said in a statement.

Rita Andolsen is leaving her news director post at WKYC to become the station’s director of advocacy and community initiatives, a newly created position.

The Plain Dealer reports that Andolsen got married earlier this year and, returning from a delayed honeymoon on Monday, she informed WKYC president and general manager Brooke Spectorasky that she wanted the new job.

“This was completely Rita’s decision,” Spectorasky told The Plain Dealer.  “This is a job that that fits her like a glove. She is so wired into the community and highly respected. She sees a real opportunity here for the station and herself. I created this position about five weeks ago, and Rita hinted then that she thought it was really cool job.” Read more

Kathy Reynolds, who last June was named news director at WEYI in Flint, has been tapped to oversee the news department at Barrington Broadcasting sister station WNWO in Toledo.

In her new role as regional news director, Reynolds will split time between Michigan and Ohio.

“Kathy has proven that she has a strong sense of how a newscast should look, and feel,” Barrington president and CEO Becky Butcher said today in an email announcing the move.

WEYI is now searching for an assistant news director to help Reynolds when she is in Toledo. Read more

Although the traditional path to general manager was once to rise from the ranks of the sales department, TVNewsCheck reports on a growing trend of news directors taking over the top spot at local stations:

News directors are being hired for stations’ highest managerial positions at a greater rate than ever, industry watchers say. And those who made the move earlier are moving up in market size.

And although the bulk of GM jobs still belong to people from sales, we can expect to see more and more news people assuming those coveted gigs in the very near future, according to media experts.  Read more

David Jones has been named acting news director at WHTM, the ABC-affiliate in Harrisburg, PA.

Jones has been the assistant news director at WHTM since June. Prior to that, he was an assignment editor at WSOC in Charlotte.

“David has shown tremendous ability to drive our news product consistently forward,” WHTM president and general manager Joe Lewin said in a statement. “His strengths are perfect to lead our daily news efforts and serve our viewers at the highest level.”

The previous WHTM news director is Dennis Fisher. WHTM has not responded to TVSpy’s request for comment on Fisher’s employment status.

>Update: Fisher’s last day at WHTM was April 6, Lewin tells TVSpy in an email.

The station also announced the hire of Keith Blaisdell, a former news director for the station, as director of broadcast operations.

Chuck Parker has been promoted to news director at KITV in Honolulu.

A managing editor with the station since 2010, Parker has been overseeing KITV’s newsroom since the departure of news director Genie Garner in February.

“Chuck’s deep experience in Hawaii, passion for local news and expertise in multi-platform news generation make him the right choice to lead KITV4 News forward,” KITV president and general manager Andrew Jackson said, announcing the promotion.

Before joining KITV, Parker spent nine years working as an editor at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

KXII has promoted Matt Griffin to news director.  Griffin previously served as the news assignments manager and web content supervisor for the Sherman-Ada CBS-affiliate.

“I’m extremely grateful and excited for the opportunity to lead a top-notch newsroom in my hometown market,” said Griffin, a native of Denison, TX.  “KXII has a history of excellence in news, weather, and sports coverage. I intend to continue to deliver the quality content our viewers expect on the air and online.”

Griffin replaces Anthony Maisel, a veteran news director who left the station earlier this month to become the general manager of crosstown rival KTEN. Read more

Three newsroom managers have left Little Rock’s KARK this month. News director Rob Heverling, assistant news director Jeff Whatley and executive producer Stephanie Jackson all ended their employment with the NBC-affiliate on March 2, according to ArkansasBusiness.com.

KARK general manager Mike Vaughn confirmed the three are no longer employed at the station, but did not address the circumstances behind their departures.

“It’s our company policy that we can’t comment on personnel issues,” he said, noting that the positions were not eliminated and that the station is searching for replacements. Read more

James DePury has been named news director at WBRE, the NBC-affiliate in Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Nexstar Broadcasting announced today.

DePury was most recently the 11 p.m. producer at WGAL, the NBC-affiliate in Lancaster, PA. Prior to that, he was news director at WPMT, the Fox-affiliate in the same market.

“He brings a creative and fresh approach to our operations, intimate knowledge of the region, the state of Pennsylvania and paramount focus to the concerns and issues our viewers face every day,” WBRE VP-GM Robert Bee said in a statement. Read more

Although Bill Shory has declined to go on the record about his departure from WBIR, current and former staffers of the Knoxville NBC-affiliate are speaking out on his behalf.

In a recent blog post, Katie Granju, a former online producer at WBIR, compiled statements from a handful of people who worked closely with Shory during his tenure as the station’s news director.

“In his eight years as news director, Bill led the newsroom through great ratings successes, sweeping industry changes, heartfelt community tributes and tough investigative projects,” Granju wrote.  “Through it all, he was a wonderful boss.” Read more