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RTDNA Announces Edward R. Murrow Award Winners for 2013

Kevin Eck — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:39:54 +0000

RTDNA has announced the winners of the 2013 regional Edward R. Murrow Awards.

The big winners were Boston ABC affiliate WCVB with 7 awards, Denver NBC affiliate KUSA with nine awards, Seattle NBC affiliate KING with eight awards and Minneapolis NBC affiliate KARE with ten awards in the large market category for their regions.

The most dominant small market stations in their respective regions were Tulsa, OK, ABC affiliate KTUL with six awards and New Orleans FOX affiliate WVUE with nine awards.

You can view the complete list of winners by clicking here.

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Frankie Jupiter Joins WDBJ From WCAV

Merrill Knox — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:31:40 +0000

Frankie Jupiter has joined WDBJ, the CBS affiliate in Roanoke-Lynchburg, Va.

Jupiter joined the station this month after two years at WCAV, the CBS affiliate in Charlottesville. He has previously worked as a production assistant at WVUE, the Fox affiliate in New Orleans.

Jupiter is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago. He won an Emmy in the student category for the 2008 presidential campaign.

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Commentator Chris Rose Out at WVUE

Merrill Knox — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 16:31:24 +0000

WVUE commentator Chris Rose has been dismissed from the New Orleans Fox affiliate, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

WVUE’s news director and general manager told the Times-Picayune Rose was dismissed due to budgetary concerns. “I love his stuff. It’s a luxury that takes a lot of resources for us to do,” WVUE GM Joe Cook said. “He doesn’t shoot his own stuff. His stuff is not necessarily sponsor-able. I’m going to miss him. For the same investment, I can have a couple of reporters out there.”

But Rose suspects his exit from the station was because of his January commentary, which was about the 2013 Super Bowl in New Orleans. WVUE is owned by Louisiana Media Company, which was founded by Tom Benson, the owner of the New Orleans Saints. Rose tells the Times-Picayune his side of the story:

The commentary was, “by my standards, lightweight – it was anything but a rant,” he said. “It was a cautionary tale about city spending prior to the Super Bowl, looking at the expensive palm trees downtown while people in Gentilly are still waiting to get their sidewalks rebuilt from Katrina.”

Rose said viewer reaction was positive – the commentary expressed views that many here held in the airbrush-heavy run-up to the game — but he was told to not do any more Super Bowl-related essays. “They gave no reason,” he said. “Just flat-out, ‘Don’t.’ continued…

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Former New Orleans News Director Alec Gifford Dies at 85

Merrill Knox — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 15:32:31 +0000

Alec Gifford, a former news director at both WVUE and WDSU in New Orleans, died last week. He was 85.

Gifford joined WDSU, the New Orleans NBC affiliate, in 1955 after serving in the U.S. Navy. In 1966, he joined NBC News in New York, where he worked for one year before returning to New Orleans as news director, anchor and reporter at Fox affiliate WVUE. He returned to WDSU in 1980 and continued there until he retired in 2006.

“If today we enjoy a measure of respect and have earned the trust of our viewers, it is in large part due to the extraordinary work Alec Gifford did to establish WDSU as a news organization,” WDSU president and general manager Joel Vilmenay said in a statement. “We continue to honor Alec’s work every day in our effort to report stories with the same sense of dedication, integrity, talent and passion as Alec did.”

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WGNO Meteorologist Bruce Katz to Join Rival WVUE

Merrill Knox — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:08:52 +0000

After 17 years at New Orleans ABC affiliate WGNO, chief meteorologist Bruce Katz will join crosstown rival WVUE, the Fox affiliate.

Katz told the New Orleans Times Picayune that the station’s unconventional evening newscast format, which debuted in 2011, was the reason for his departure.

“It’s been a great 17-year run, but over the last two years, the ‘News With a Twist’ format did not fit the role that I had established,” Katz said. “Traditional weather has been bumped down to one (10 p.m.) show. My love, my passion, is extended weathercasts.” continued…

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WVUE Teams Up With New Orleans Times-Picayune for Sports Coverage

Merrill Knox — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 10:47:09 +0000

New Orleans Fox-affiliate WVUE has announced a sports partnership with the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Beginning in September, Times-Picayune reporters will appear on WVUE as analysts for the station’s football coverage of the New Orleans Saints. WVUE sports reporters will also contribute to the newspaper’s coverage of the team.

WVUE said in a statement that the partnership is “just the beginning of a growing relationship between Fox 8 and the Times-Picayune.” continued…

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Longtime WWL Sports Director Signs On with Crosstown Rival WVUE

Andrew Gauthier — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:21:33 +0000

Jim Henderson, the longtime radio voice of the New Orleans Saints who retired from his sports director post at WWL earler this year after 34 years with the CBS-affiliate, has signed on with Fox-affiliate WVUE as a football analyst.

Henderson signed off from WWL in January, planning to continue as the Saints play-by-play announcer on WWL-AM. Now, his semi-retirement will include regular appearances on WVUE during the NFL season.

“I’m excited about the new challenge,” Henderson said. “I leave a lot of good friends behind but I get reunited with a lot of good friends as well. There are an awful lot of people at Channel 8 that I know and have respected and known for a number of years.” continued…

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Here’s the List of 2012 Murrow Award Winners

Andrew Gauthier — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 11:45:02 +0000

The 2012 National Edward R. Murrow Award winners have been announced.

In the large market local TV categories, Minneapolis-St. Paul NBC-affiliate KARE took home a couple of awards. The Gannett-owned station won for “Video Reporting: Hard News” and reporter Boyd Huppert was honored in the “Writing” category.

TVNewser: NBC News wins Overall Excellence; ABC News takes Breaking News, Continuing Coverage

In the small market categories, KCCI in Des Moines was awarded for “Overall Excellence” while its crosstown rival, WHO, won for “Video Feature Reporting.” New Orleans Fox-affiliate WVUE won two small market awards, including “Video Continuing Coverage” and “Video News Series.”

Full list of local winners inside… continued…

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10 Local Stations Win SPJ Awards

Merrill Knox — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:55:35 +0000

Several local stations have won Sigma Delta Chi awards from the Society of Professional Journalists.

Awards were given to a small-market and large-market station in five categories — breaking news coverage, documentaries, feature reporting, investigative reporting and public service in television journalism.

Large market winners were WISH in Indianapolis, KLAS in Las Vegas, News 12 Westchester, KPHO in Phoenix and WIVB in Buffalo. Small market station winners were WGXA in Macon, GA, KOMU in Columbia, KCRG in Cedar Rapids, WVUE in New Orleans and WTWO in Terre Haute, IN.

A full list of local news winners is after the jump. continued…

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Police Use WVUE Reporter’s Photo for Target Practice

Andrew Gauthier — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 10:14:12 +0000

Local police officers decided to fire back at WVUE reporter Lee Zurik following his investigation into voter fraud that involved some sheriff’s deputies.

After Zurik’s investigation, WVUE discovered police officers were using his photo as a target during firearm training.

The sheriff responsible for the officers involved told WVUE that Zurik was one of “four or five” people to be targeted during recent firearm training. The sheriff apologized but did not take any disciplinary action against the officers who took aim at Zurik’s photo. continued…

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New Orleans’ WVUE Goes Dark for Dish Subscribers

Merrill Knox — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:01:51 +0000

Dish Network subscribers in New Orleans lost access to WVUE, the Fox-affiliate in New Orleans, earlier this week, after the two parties could not reach a retransmission consent agreement by the January 31 deadline.

Dish Network said that WVUE, which is owned by Louisiana Media, is asking for affiliate fee increases as much as 300%. David Schull, senior vice president of programming at Dish, said in a statement that WVUE is being “unreasonable in its demands.”

WVUE addressed the disagreement in a statement on the station website, saying negotiations continue “in order to reach a fair agreement and to restore Dish’s carriage of WVUE.”

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New Campaign Rips TV Meteorologists for Denying Climate Change

Andrew Gauthier — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:12:44 +0000

As the AMS holds its annual meeting this week, a group of conservationists has launched a campaign pressuring TV meteorologists “to report the facts about climate change.”

Forecast the Facts is backed by three non-profit organizations and its goal is to hold meteorologists accountable on climate change.

“Scientists have been predicting for years that human-induced climate change would lead to a future of increasingly dangerous extreme weather events,” the campaign states. “But when most Americans tune into their local weather report, they won’t hear a peep about climate change. Why? Because the majority of TV meteorologists don’t believe in it.” continued…

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Former WGNO Anchor Jessica Holly Back on the Air in New Orleans

Merrill Knox — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:09:47 +0000

Jessica Holly, a former WGNO anchor who was cut loose from the New Orleans ABC-affiliate last year, has resurfaced at rival WVUE.

“She is working as a freelancer,” WVUE news director Mikel Schaefer told TVSpy via email.

Holly was one of seven people let go from WGNO during a round of layoffs in December.

Holly debuted on Fox-affiliate WVUE on Monday. She has been reporting on the evening newscasts this week.

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Steve Alexander’s WKRG Contract Not Renewed

Merrill Knox — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:13:17 +0000

Steve Alexander, a reporter at CBS-affiliate WKRG in Mobile, is leaving the station next month when his contract is up.

“I want to take a moment to thank all of you,” Alexander wrote on Facebook. “My contract at Channel 5 is not being renewed, and my last day at work is November 20.”

Alexander joined WKRG in 2000 from KAVU, the ABC-affiliate in in Victoria, TX. He has also worked at WVUE in New Orleans, KDEB in Springfield, MO and WTVW in Evansville.

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WTHR, WGRZ Win Edward R. Murrow Awards for Overall Excellence

Merrill Knox — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 11:21:26 +0000

WTHR staffers at the 2011 Murrow Awards

Twenty local television stations were presented with Edward R. Murrow Awards at an RTDNA dinner honoring the winners in New York City last night. TVSpy was there as WTHR in Indianapolis was presented the award for Overall Excellence in a large market. WGRZ in Buffalo was honored for Overall Excellence in a small market.

Although the winners represented every platform of the news industry — national news, radio, online — enthusiasm for the local stations was palpable, with staffers from winning stations cheering on their colleagues audibly as they took the stage to accept their awards.

In his opening speech, RTDNA chairman Kevin Benz implored the 95 Murrow award winners — more than the RTDNA has ever presented before — to “celebrate truth through journalism.”

“The practice of producing great journalism is as important today as it has ever been,” he told the packed ballroom at the Grand Hyatt in New York City. continued…

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