KSNW, the Wichita NBC affiliate, was forced to evacuate yesterday afternoon when one of the tornadoes that hit the Midwest yesterday headed straight for its studios.

Meteorologist J.D. Rudd was on-air updating viewers on the path of a twister approaching downtown Wichita when chief meteorologist Dave Freeman cut in,  “You know J.D. in twenty years I’ve never said this but I think it’s our time to go.” said the off-screen Freeman who repeated they had to get to the shelter several times before forcefully saying, “Everybody down below. Let’s go!”

Rudd exited the screen as Freeman assured viewers they’d leave the radar up for viewers to monitor the tornadoes path.  The two told viewers they were hanging out near the stairs to the basement while continuing to broadcast. Freeman appeared back on screen ten minutes after the initial scramble for the shelter.

[reddit.com]

After 23 years at KSN, meteorologist Mark Bogner has announced his exit from the Wichita NBC affiliate.

“Mark’s dedication that day and his willingness to go the extra mile for the folks who were at home counting on us is something that I will just always remember,” chief meteorologist Dave Freeman said (video above).

According to KSN, Bogner will become a hearing aid specialist in Wichita.

Just four months after joining KWCH, news director John Soares is leaving the Wichita CBS affiliate.

“I met with my newsroom staff on Monday to let them know that I am remaining with the station through Friday to facilitate the transition to an interim news director,” Soares told TVSpy in an email.

Tipsters tell TVSpy the interim news director is Tom Lindner, a former news director at KARE in Minneapolis.

Despite rumors to the contrary, Soares told TVSpy he is not headed to Oklahoma City to replace Mary Ann Eckstein at KFOR.

“There is no truth whatsoever to the rumor of me heading to KFOR in Oklahoma City,” he said.

Michael Sipes has joined Wichita ABC affiliate KAKE as news director.

Sipes comes to KAKE from KRDO in Colorado Springs.  He replaces Dave Grant who stepped aside as news director in December.

A KAKE spokesperson confirmed Grant, who was named news director in 2006, will remain at the station overseeing day-to-day news operations.

Sipes had been the news director at KMBC in Kansas City before joining KRDO as news director in 2007.

[Wichita Business Journal]

KXAN has hired a new news director.

Chad Cross, who has been the news director at KWCH in Wichita since 2008, is joining the Austin NBC-affiliate.  He replaces Michael Fabac, who departed KXAN in May after five years leading the station’s newsroom.

A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Cross joined KWCH in 2002.  Cross worked as a reporter, anchor, producer, and assignment editor there before being named news director.

As Austin media blogger Jim McNabb points out, Cross is much younger than many of the people he will manage at KXAN.

Felicia Rolfe is leaving the anchor desk at KWCH, the CBS-affiliate in Wichita.

Rolfe’s husband, John, is moving to Houston to become the chief operating officer of the Greater Houston Convention and Vistors Bureau. Rolfe will continue at KWCH through May before joining him in Texas.

“Felicia has been a key part of the KWCH newsroom for many years,” news director Chad Cross said in a statement. “We’re going to miss her enthusiasm and friendly personality at the station.”

Rolfe joined KWCH in 1993 and has anchored the morning show since 2006.

Jason Kravarik has been tapped for the assistant news director position at KOIN, the CBS-affiliate in Portland.

Kravarik has been the news director at KSN, the NBC-affiliate in Wichita, since 2009. He joined the station as a reporter in 2002.

“We always hate to lose someone as talented as Jason, but a move like this is a huge opportunity for him,” KSN general manager John Dawson said in a statement. “It’s a testament to his had work and the passion he brought to our newsteam.”

Longtime KWCH anchor Kim Setty died last night after a long battle with breast cancer, the station announced today. She was 47.

Setty joined the Wichita CBS-affiliate in 1988 as the producer and anchor of the noon newscast. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, undergoing surgery and chemotherapy, which caused her to lose her blonde hair.

After her recovery, she returned to work as a redhead. In 2010, Setty announced she was battling cancer once again. She worked, still anchoring and producing the noon newscast, until her doctors insisted she stop, in the summer of 2011.

In a statement on the KWCH website, news director Chad Cross remembers Setty for her “diligence on the job, determination and dignity through cancer, and her down-to-earth and lighthearted character.” Read more

Wichita NBC-affiliate KSN is making some changes for 2012: the station has hired two anchors and will launch two new newscasts next year.

The station has hired anchor Katie Taube (pictured) from KSFY in Sioux Falls. Taube will helm the 9 p.m. newscast KSN will produce for Fox-affiliate KSAS — which was the subject of a recent lawsuit in the market — starting next year.

Also joining the station is Mary-Rachel Redman, who will be the weekend sports anchor. She joins KSN from KOCO in Oklahoma City.

Beginning January 15, KSN will add a 5 p.m. Sunday evening newscast, with anchor Aileen Simborio and meteorologist Mark Bogner, to the programming lineup.  The station will also add an extra half-hour to the morning newscasts beginning January 9. Read more

Two stations in Wichita have reached an agreement over the production of the 9 p.m. newscast, prompting Fox-affiliate KSAS to drop a pending lawsuit against CBS-affiliate KWCH.

KWCH is under contract to produce a live 9 p.m. nightly newscast on KSAS. The lawsuit claims that KWCH has been recently devoting their resources to a live broadcast in that timeslot on KSCW, the market CW-affiliate, and has been producing a taped broadcast on KSAS.

In the terms of the agreement, KWCH will produce a live 9 p.m. newscast on KSAS through December 31, which is the date the contract between the two stations expires. “We take pride in our reputation for fulfilling our agreements and believe we were operating within the letter of the agreement,” Joan Barrett, president and general manager of KWCH parent company Sunflower Broadcasting, told the Wichita Business Journal. “We also respect the fact that our partners may have seen it differently.” Read more