Sports Anchor Watch

Haas to Denver

2014-08-13T15:58:00.000-04:00

It pays to be an intern.

Maybe not right away but certainly in the long run. KGET Bakersfield (Market #127) lead sports anchor Mark Haas is making a tremendous jump to one of the former places where he learned the business.

Haas is the new weekend sports anchor at KCNC Denver (Market #17), a 110-market jump.

The USC-grad had spent four years in Bakersfield. He is a native of nearby Fort Collins, Colorado. Here is his GOODBYE from Kern County.

He will replace former ROOT Sports Rockies anchor Tom Helmer who spent just one year at the station and is leaving the business for the usual desire for more family time.

Haas joins longtime Sports Director Vic Lombardi. It was reported in the Denver Post that former weekend sports anchor Gary Miller, who Helmer replaced, will also have a limited continuing role with the station's coverage of Denver Broncos football.

Miller left the station last summer to become the play-by-play voice for the Colorado State Rams.

Copyright 2014 Sports Anchor Watch. All rights reserved.

About that NBA Team Multi-Media Journalist gig

2014-07-09T04:03:00.000-04:00

Every time a popular sports broadcasting industry website with an active job forum posts a "sexy" stealth job, our inbox lights up with questions about where this gig might just be.

Apparently word has gotten out that we're pretty skilled at figuring out these mysteries.

The last time it was an in-house gig covering the University of Michigan athletics program. This time we can tell you it's covering the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Cavs might not get Lebron James but Northeast Ohio Media Group appears to be bolstering it's coverage of the team. Or are they?

NEOMG is described as a digitally focused company that is responsible for editorial content, advertising sales and marketing for Cleveland.com, The Plain Dealer and the Sun newspapers.

On July 2nd they listed a position for a Sports Reporter with specific duties covering the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Here's our theory on this gig. We do NOT believe this a broadcast position. Although it does have video related elements involved, our sources tell us this is actually the main beat writer position for the city's local newspaper, The Plain Dealer, covering the Cavs.

The papers' longtime beat writer recently left the position after the conclusion of the NBA Draft.

So if you're looking at this gig as a cool new broadcast opportunity, again it's our belief that's not what this position is. This is the "new" newspaper beat writer position that includes the ability to be an content contributor in not just the print realm but across several "multimedia" platforms.

So do with that information what you wish. Still sounds like a fun position but you had better know how to write

Copyright 2014 Sports Anchor Watch.

A Windy City arrival

2014-06-02T18:15:00.001-04:00

Evan Fitzgerald is back in the game full-time.

The Northwestern-grad has joined WFLD FOX-32 Chicago as a Sports Anchor/Reporter as he trades Market #34 for Market #3.

He joins a team that consists of longtime Chicago sportster Lou Canellis and relative market-newcomer Dionne Miller.

Fitzgerald stepped away from his weekend gig at WDJT Milwaukee last May opting at the time to focus on his freelance work as a broadcaster for the Big 10 Network where he has both sideline and play-by-play duties.

The Boston-native is represented by the LornaDave Agency.

Copyright 2014 Sports Anchor Watch. All rights reserved.

Dayton welcomes Elken

2014-05-14T02:52:00.000-04:00

The Dayton (Market #64) duopoly that is WKEF (ABC) and WRGT (FOX) has it's new Sports Director.

Erik Elken arrives from KEZI Eugene where he had been working weekends since August 2011.

The Syracuse '10 grad replaces Nathan Baker who left the business entirely at the end of 2013 for a gig with State Farm Insurance. Baker had been at the stations since 2006.

Elken joins James Rider, the station's Weekend Sports Anchor since January 2013.

Copyright 2014 Sports Anchor Watch. All rights reserved.

New Sports Director in Harrisonburg

2014-05-13T18:29:00.000-04:00

David DeGuzman is dropping in to rural Virginia.

It has been a busy early 2014 for the '12 Syracuse grad. He left his position at WAOW Wausau, Wisconsin in January for an associate producer gig with NBC during the recent Sochi Winter Olympics.

Now he has landed in the Sports Director position at WSHV in Harrisonburg.

DeGuzman replaces Daren Stoltzfus who left the station in January for the Weekend Sports Anchor position at WCIV Charleston, South Carolina.

He joins Andy Rives who has been manning weekends at the station since March '13.

Copyright 2014 Sports Anchor Watch. All rights reserved.

Revolving door in Midland

2014-05-12T06:13:00.000-04:00

The recent musical chairs that is the sports staff at KMID Midland (Market #150) continues.

Sports Director Travis Weeks has left the building. He says goodbye to the on-air side of the business and jets for a Client Service Coordinator gig with FOX Sports Southwest in Dallas.

This is the second loss for the station in recent months and sixth staffing change since the beginning of 2013.

Weekend Sports Anchor Matt Villanueva jumped last month to the same position across town at KOSA. Villanueva had been at the station for just nine months.

Weeks had only been with KMID for a year and in the Sports Director position since October. He was elevated from weekends when Caroline Lockwood also skated the industry last summer.

Weeks had replaced Jamie Kuras who left in January 2013 for WILX in Lansing (Market #115).

The KMID sports staff at the moment is being held down by J Russell (pictured), an Arizona State grad, who had just joined the station in March as a news reporter. Russell is listed as the Weekend Sports Anchor and has a sports background having worked at Maricopa College TV in Phoenix prior to his move to the Permian Basin.

UPDATE: Jeff Eberle will be the new Sports Director at KMID. Eberle is coming from a #3 position at KTMF Missoula. He is a 2011 Syracuse grad.

Sports is back in Salisbury

2014-05-12T04:30:00.000-04:00

For the first time since what appears to be at least the early 2000s, WMDT ABC 47 in Salisbury, Maryland (Market 3142) has a sports department.

Three recent hires were made for the re-launch of the station's sports commitment to the Delmarva Peninsula.

Chico State grad Spencer Tilus is the new Sports Director. He arrives from KGWN Cheyenne where it appears he spent a very short time as the station's weekend news anchor before leaving to lead the new start up in Maryland.

Prior to that he was at KGWN DT-2 operation in Fort Collins, Colorado where he had a sports focus.

The station also adds recent Miami, FL grad Giselle Espinales and Travon Miles. This is the first on-air gig for both.

Miles initially joined the station last summer as a studio tech. He's a '12 grad of local Salisbury University.

Copyright 2014 Sports Anchor Watch. All rights reserved.

Finally stable in Fresno

2014-05-06T06:16:00.000-04:00

The duopoly that is KGPE-KSEE has firmed up their sports staff that had been somewhat influx since the two stations merged early last year.

Andrew Marden is now Sports Director. He received the promotion when Anthony Flores left to be a part of the start-up at WJZY in Charlotte.

Scott Bemis recently joined the station. He arrives after spending almost three years at KLAS in Las Vegas.

The station also added Fresno State grad Devon Thrasher as sports reporter in the Fall.

Copyright 2014 Sports Anchor Watch. All rights reserved.

Was anyone watching Al Jazeera America anyway?

2014-04-23T05:59:00.000-04:00

By now you have heard that the fledgling network Al Jazeera America downsized their sports operation after less than a year in service.

I ask again. Was anyone watching Al Jazeera America? Does anyone get Al Jazeera America?

AJAM had assembled a pretty good cast of characters with reputable track records to start their sports department including former Brooklyn Nets and YES sideline reporter Jessica Taff, ex-FOX Sports West host Michael Eaves.

According to the Maynard Institute blog, Eaves, ex-CSN Bay Area anchor John Henry Smith and former KSWB San Diego sports anchor Russ Shimabuku all survived the purge. Not sure on Taff's situation (although she went dark on Twitter for more than a week) and former WHDH Boston sportster Darren Haynes left late last year for ESPN although we have yet to see him debut on that network.

Did anyone get to see any of the sports offerings from AJAM? Feel free to comment below. I saw one from Haynes on a football player from a small town on the plains with a prosthetic leg. Pretty good stuff.

Copyright 2014 Sports Anchor Watch. All rights reserved.

DUI Dominoes in Charleston

2014-01-14T10:26:00.001-05:00

What he's writing something?

Yes I know it's been six months but after a six-tweet post on the changes at KSN Wichita (Market #67) which probably would have made for a nice Blogger post.

(1) Changes @KSNNews #Wichita. Weekender Mary-Rachel Redman literally vanished. In a FB post KSN indicates she left at end of contract.

— Mike Molewski (@micmoles) January 14, 2014

I figured this next piece of info because it's somewhat expansive might be better for this space.

Last year WCIV Charleston (Market #95) Sports Director John Nugent was arrested for not his 1st DUI. That offense set off a chain of events that started with him being told to exit the building.

The station then promoted weekend sports anchor Scott Eisberg in November. Eisberg, a South Carolina grad, has been with the ABC affiliate since May 2007. You can check out a recent piece he did HERE on Charleston Southern sharp-shooting guard Matt Kennedy.

Now WCIV has completed its staff. WHSV Harrisonburg, VA (Market #178) Sports Director Daren Stoltzfus announced on Twitter Monday that he is the new Weekend Sports Anchor at News 4.

Stoltzfus is a 2010 Tennessee graduate. You can view his work HERE.

Midnight Train to Georgia

2013-07-02T05:46:00.000-04:00

Lotta changes at WALB Albany (#150).

Sports Director Robert Hyrdick moves up to Managing Editor at the station. Hydrick has held just about every position in the building during his nearly 26 years at Channel 10.

Shayne Wright has jetted for greener pastures and a weekend gig at KSLA Shreveport (#82). Wright joins new Sports Director Adria Goins who was promoted from weekends earlier this spring when Colin McElroy left to follow his news anchor wife to a new gig in Columbia, MO.

Shayne is a graduate of LSU Shreveport. You can view some of his past works here.

The new Sports Director at WALB is Jake Wallace. The Georgia Southern product is promoted from the station's #3 sports position. His father has been a sports/news anchor at WALB for 25 years.

The new Weekend Sports Anchor is Harrison Sanford. The Cornell grad arrives from a Production Assistant position at CSN Houston.

Copyright 2013 Sports Anchor Watch. All rights reserved.

Blue Grass Musical Chairs

2013-04-23T05:55:00.000-04:00

It has been an interesting spring in the Bluegrass State. Louisville's Men's Basketball team won the NCAA National Championship, their women lost in the finals to Connecticut, and the TV sports scene is seeing a seismic shift of what I'd have to imagine is of unprecedented proportion.

Let's start with Move #1. FOX affiliate WDRB weekend sports anchor Pat Doney departed in March to take the open gig at KXAS in Dallas. That weekend spot was available due to Matt Barrie’s departure from NBC Dallas to ESPN and perhaps you’ve seen him anchoring on ESPNNews’s Highlight Express.

WDRB is the station that took a unique approach last summer to hire two newspaper sports columnists to add an analytical element to its sports coverage as well as bolster content on the station website. It’s one that I have viewed and that I like.

The station has made an eye opening decision on how to fill the gig. News Content Director Barry Fulmer has decided to rehire John Lewis. Lewis is the former weekend sports anchor at WDRB who resigned in June 2011 after being arrested on suspicion of DUI. Lewis was driving a company car at the time of his arrest. The charges were later dismissed.

Lewis appears to be moving into the #3 position as Jake’s DTV Blog reported that current #3 Steve Andress is being promoted to weekends. Lewis spent the last two years freelancing as a sports writer as well a working as an Internet Marketing Specialist.

Across town at WLKY, weekend sports anchor Keith Farmer is headed back to Lexington. He will replace Mary Jo Perino at WLEX's True Blue Coverage. Farmer came to Louisville from LEX 13 years ago and will now return in a larger role working with Sports Director Alan Cutler.

Perino departs the station and the business for a life that will allow her to spend more time with her son.

LKY has quickly found Farmer’s replacement and he’s Derek Forrest, the current Sports Director at WYMT in Hazard, Kentucky. This is the most recent move as congratulations began coming into to Forrest Monday on Twitter after he made the announcement on Facebook.

Forrest indicates he will be a sports reporter in Lexington as oppose to weekend sports anchor. The station has to this point been a two-man shop so we'll see how that plays out as he joins longtime Sports Director Fred Cowgill. Derek is a grad of Stonehill College (MA).

Speaking of leaving the business due to family reasons, YMT has two openings as #2 Paxton Boyd has also left the station due to family concerns.

Family also appears to be what prompted Dan Rieffer to step away from the lead sports chair at WTVQ in Lexington. Rieffer got the top job when Kent Spencer bolted for WHAS Louisville in October 2011.

Now it’s Alex Risen’s turn as he is promoted from weekends. And in another interesting hire, the station has brought in Keenan Singleton from a research position at NFL Network. He's a former newspaper reporter and graduate of the University of Houston.

Risen is also a product of YMT in Hazard where he started just under two years ago. He jumped to TVQ in October 2011 and has now ascended to the lead position.

Copyright 2013 Sports Anchor Watch. All rights reserved.

Doney departs for Dallas

2013-03-05T04:00:00.000-05:00

It appears KXAS Dallas (#5) AKA NBCDFW has found its replacement for Matt Barrie who is hopping a jet for the Worldwide Leader in Bristol, CT (ESPN).

The new hire is Pat Doney who will arrive from WDRB Louisville, KY (#48). He confirmed the move via Twitter on Monday. WDRB listed a position mid last month.

I like the operation at FOX 41. Last summer they brought on two writers from the local newspaper, The Courier-Journal. They have a five-person team with three broadcasters and the two columnist providing extensive coverage of the local sports scene including the #1 story, Louisville Cardinals Athletics.

Here's a sample of Doney's work and how they cover the Cardinals at WDRB.

Doney, a graduate of Liberty University, started at FOX 41 in July 2010 after three years at KNWA/KARK-TV in Fayetteville, AR.

He says he'll be the Weekend Sports Anchor joining longtime Sports Director Newy Scruggs and Sports Reporter David Watkins who has been with the station since last February.

Copyright 2013 Sports Anchor Watch. All rights reserved.

Recent Happenings

2013-01-22T06:13:00.001-05:00

For Blog sake here is a rehash of some of the Sports Anchor moves in the last month in a half. If you follow us on Twitter than you've likely already seen most of this info.

* Bob Allen retires from the sports desk at KTRK Houston after 38 years.

* Beth Beechie a reporter at KRTV in Great Falls, Montana appears to be taking on Weekend Sports Anchor duties.

* Josh Samuels is leaving WPEC over philosophical differences.

* Minnesota native Jamie Hersch is leaving WKOW Madison for FS North where she will work as a studio host of Minnesota Golden Gophers and Minnesota Wild Hockey, and as a Reporter for the Minnesota Twins.

* ESPN Midwest-based Reporter George Smith is jumping to the local market where he will be an afternoon News Anchor at WOIO Cleveland. Meanwhile ESPN adds Matt Barrie from KXAS Dallas and Chris Hassell WHO Des Moines.

* Ahmed Fareed lands at CSN Bay Area after two seasons at MLB Network. Heidi Watney will arrive at MLB Network in time for the 2013 season.

* Jamie Edmonds is joining WDIV Detroit after a stint at WEYE Flint. She replaces Katrina Hancock who is taking a break from the business to return home to Kansas.

* Tim Kelchner jumps to news as Morning Anchor at WBRE/WYOU Scranton-Wilkes Barre from KLRT Little Rock, Arkansas.

* Sam Gannon heads to Oklahoma City KOKH for reporting duties from KPLC Lake Charles, Louisiana. LSU grad Seth Lewis replaces Sam for his first gig in the business.

* Jared Fialko lands at WRAL Raleigh for Sports MMJ duties. He leaves WLOS Asheville where he will be replaced by Luke Notestine.

* Katie Smith jets WBOY Clarksburg, WV.

* Ex-KOMO Seattle Weekend Sports Anchor Chris Miller lands in a news gig at KUTV Salt Lake City.

* Jordan Furbee takes over the Sports Director seat at KMEG Sioux City, Iowa as Mike Foss departs.

Back in Biz

2013-01-22T05:19:00.001-05:00

New Year's resolution to try and write a little bit more. We'll see how long that lasts.

Bruce Snyder's ten-year run at WCCB FOX Charlotte came to an end last month.

The station has now made a selection on a new sports anchor/reporter as Brandon Davidow announced on Twitter that he will be arriving on the scene in February just in time for the first Sweeps of the new year.

Davidow has actually been sitting on the sidelines the last year (according to his Linkedin account) after a stint at WPSD in Paducah, KY. Prior to that he had a run in Waco which is where he returned to after Paducah to work in the Personal Fitness industry.

From working out to Market #25?!? Not bad. Davidow will join holdover Kelli Bartik who has been at the station for nine years.

Brandon is a graduate of La Salle University in Philadelphia.

Interesting that the station posted his audition. I don't know that I have ever heard of this but hey cool.

We are WTAJ

2012-08-28T05:58:00.000-04:00

We finally have a replacement for one of the two departures at WTAJ Altoona, PA (Market #102).

Amy Gill has landed from KMVT Twin Falls, ID (Market #192). She will join K.C. Kantz after the recent exodus of Sports Director Nick Foley and Sports Reporter Sara Eckert.

Eckert has been working as a field producer at NBA Entertainment and has apparently also added those same duties at MLB Network.

And we can now tell you that Foley has headed south but not to Florida, He is now in Baton Rouge, LA where he has joined WAFB as a News Reporter.

He gets a potential disaster in Tropical Storm Issac to start his new gig in the south and Gill gets well, the aftermath of the disaster that is Penn State.

@AmyGillSports made her debut last night. This is the San Francisco State grad's 2nd full-time on-air position.

What's up in Waco

2012-08-28T04:29:00.001-04:00

And yet another has left the mainstream for the budding new landscape of the U.

KCEN Sports Director Tyler Hedrick has checked out of the NBC affiliate in Waco, TX (Market #88) and checked in on campus at Baylor University where he will be the Director of Sic'em Sports Productions, the athletic department's content wing.

Several mainstream sportscasters have left stations this summer to take positions as departmental broadcasters at Division I universities. Among those John Walters (WOI) at Iowa State, Brandon Rawe (KLBK) at Texas Tech. Seth Leavitt left his job at South Florida to jump back into the mainstream at Your News Now Capital Region in Albany, NY.

In the meantime, Pierre Noujaim has arrived at KCEN Sports after three years at KJCT Grand Junction Colorado (Market #184) to fill the void. Pierre makes a 96-market jump.

Also a check of their website shows that Jon Tritsch may be on board at the Waco, TX station as well. Although Tritsch's bio is still up at KCAU Sioux City, IA (Market #147), his Facebook and Twitter pages indicate he know lives in the famed city where David Koresh and the Branch Davidians went crazy back in 1993.

Notes on the Teleprompter...Some big market news. How bout this jump (Market #87-to#7), Brendan Fitzgerald heads from KGBT Harlingen, TX to WXFT Boston. Fitz is a New England native. He will replace Kristine Leahy who is leaving the station after a year to go somewhere but we do not yet know where that is...Aiyana Cristal is jetting KTHV Little Rock, Ar (Market #56) for South Beach and a sports reporting spot at WPLG Miami, FL (Market #16)...WIVB Buffalo completed its remodeling with the addition of Lauren Brill from MSG Varsity. Brill joins Steve Vesey who joined the station in the late spring. Although Vesey was not initially hired as the lead, it appears that's how it will now shake out. Channel 4 recently lost longtime stalwarts John Murphy and Paul Peck. Murphy is the Voice of the Bills...Rob DeMello shifts from weekends to Sports Director at KHON Honolulu, HI (Market #71) replacing Kanoa Leahey who will take a part-time role in order to concentrate on his island play-by-play duties. DeMello has been with the station since May 2010. Former UH baseball player Sam Spangler joins as well as a Sports Reporter/Producer...Dave Schroeder needed just a year down south to land his first pro market gig. He is leaving WLOX Biloxi, MS (Market #162) for a weekend sports anchor job at WBAY Green Bay, WI. (Market #69) Schroeder joined the station in Biloxi last summer after spending time at WSJV South Bend, IN. Now he heads back north....KGAN Cedar Rapids, IA Sports Reporter Mitch Fick is switching sides to news and heading to WXMI Grand Rapids, MI...Ben Ross confirms to @micmoles that his departure from KULR Billings, MT. (Market #168) is for the weekend gig at KOLO Reno, NV (Market #108). He replaces Parker Stremmel who is leaving the business to help run his family's art gallery in Reno.

Summer Movin

2012-08-21T06:00:00.000-04:00

Here are some of the industry moves that have taken place this summer. These will not be news to you if you follow us on Twitter @micmoles:

KLBK Lubbock, TX (Market #143): Brandon Rawe leaves his Sports Director position for an Assistant Director/Mutimedia gig with the home team Texas Tech. That leaves the newly arrived Matt Roberts all by his lonesome for the moment. Roberts is a former intern at KLBK who arrives after a year at the duopoly KTAB and KBRC in Abilene, TX.

KMTV Omaha, NE (Market #76): Chase Williams is the station's new Sports Director. He replaces Travis Morgan who decided earlier this summer to return to his home of Sioux City, IA and the lead sports position at KCAU. Williams comes from a Sports MMJ role at the completely dysfunctional news situation that is KDAF Dallas; where people seem to be leaving weekly. Williams was at the station for one-year after joining from KJTV Lubbock, TX. Despite stepping back from a Top 10 DMA still an almost 70-market jump in one year. Not bad.

WBJF Augusta, GA (Market #111): Thomas Wylie arrives to fill the weekend spot from KTMF Missoula, MT (Market #165). He replaces Merissa Ryan who jetted in June for WOLO Columbia, SC. Wylie joins Matt Zahn who is also new to the station. Zahn landed in Augusta this past spring after not being renewed at WMSN Madison. He replaces Chris Kane who shifted from lead sports to AM News.

Pac 12 Network: Mike Yam and Ashley Adamson are leading the maiden voyage of the new collegiate sports network. Yam arrives from ESPN where he'd anchored since 2009. Adamson comes to the home office in San Francisco from WISH Indianapolis.

KULR Billings, MT (Market #168): Welcome to the Terrordome Mike Steffanson. The 2012 University of Nevada at Reno starts his career on the weekend shift. He replaces Cal grad Ben Ross who has departed for Reno, but I'm not sure yet if it's for television.

KSWO Lawton, OK (Market #142): Alex Kopilow leaves KSFY Sioux Falls, SD where he was a Photojournalist to take his first on-air position as the Weekend Sports Anchor. This gig was originally offered to OU grad Nate Feken.

KFOR Oklahoma City (Market #44): Nate Feken though apparently got a better offer from the station where he intered back in the Fall of 2009 and instead is headed back to Oklahoma City where he will be a Sports Reporter for the NBC affiliate.

KFVS Cape Girardeau, MO (Market #81): The CBS affiliate gets the talented Josh Frydman from down the street at WMC Memphis. Frydman was the #3 for the Raycom station working as a producer, reporter and fill-in anchor.

WFLA Tampa, FL (Market #14): Hires Jason Jennings away from WRAL Raleigh, NC (Market #24). Jennings will be the station's Weekend Sports Anchor and join lead Dan Lucas.

KTUR/KTBY Anchorage, AK (Market #148): Jake Ryle heads to the northern most state for an MMJ gig at the duopoly. He's a graduate of Western Kentucky University.

KFSM Fort Smith, AR (Market #101): Chris Breece joins to begin the new era of storytelling at 5News. The station cut Sports Director John Engleman and Director Emeritus Mike Irwin in the early summer. Irwin has since landed as an Arkansas Razorbacks contributor at KNWA.

WVTM Birmingham, AL (Market #39): Tom Annino leaves WPSD Paducah, KY (Market #81) to join Don Hawes at the NBC affiliate. It appears that Hawes has been without a regular partner for quite some time which is mind-boggling in the SEC heavy state of Alabama.

WHP Harrisburg, PA (Market #41): James Tully joins from KOKI Tulsa (Market #59). He replaces Chris Fischer who left the station in July for a Sports Reporter position at WTSP in Tampa. Tully has dabbled on both the news and sports sides during his career. He is a graduate of York College of Pennsylvania.

KREM Spokane, WA (Market #73): Bryan Fenley jumps from behind the scenes as a producer at WXII Greensboro, NC to in front of the camera as the new weekend sidekick to also new Sports Director Darnay Tripp. Fenley is a graduate of UNC-Greensboro.

KTVE Monroe, LA (Market #137): Brady Renard starts his career after graduating from Northwestern State.

KIMT Mason City, IA: (Market #153): A legacy is born as Ryan Shaver joins for weekends. Shaver is the son of Randy Shaver the former Sports Director at KARE Minneapolis who was recently promoted to lead News Anchor. The elder Shaver then promptly went and crashed his bike slightly messing up his face.

WTAJ Altoona, PA (Market #102): Multiple departures as both Sports Director Nick Foley and Reporter Sara Eckert bounce leaving K.C. Kantz all by himself to cover the daily soap opera that is Penn State.

KaylaKGUNArizona

2012-07-02T16:36:00.002-04:00

When we started this blog last year we wrote about a young reporter on the move named Zach Borg. While researching Zach we discovered one of his colleagues at NBC Montana, a talented young sportster named Kayla Anderson.

We have enjoyed following Kayla over the last year and are happy to report that now she is on the move.

Several weeks ago we read between the lines of some Kayla tweets regarding a trip to Tucson, Arizona (Market #70).

We messaged her to find out if it had anything to do with the opening at KGUN. Well it did. Kayla has informed us that she is the new Weekend Sports Anchor at the Journal Broadcasting ABC affiliate.

She will be the only full-time female in the market and team with newly added Sports Director Jason Barr.

The Murrow School Wazzu product replaces Jake Knapp who left the station in May for a broadcast position in the Phoenix market.

Kayla spent one GOOD contract cycle (three-years) at KECI, the hub of NBC Montana. She has also worked in Bend, OR, Spokane, WA and Montgomery, AL.

In that Twitter exchange we suggested that maybe she should change her Twitter handle to KaylaKGUNArizona, playing off her current handle KaylaNBCMontana. We thinks she likes it.

Anderson begins in Tucson around July 20th, just in time to ask new Wildcat football coach Rich Rodriguez, the TOUGH questions.

Texas 2 step

2012-06-19T05:02:00.000-04:00

A couple of additions at KXAN Austin, TX (Market #47).

Brent Carney and Chris Tavarez arrive to take spots on the sports team. Carney comes to Longhorn Football Football crazy Austin from WLEX in Wildcat Basketball crazy Lexington, KY where he worked as a Reporter. The St. Louis University grad is originally from Nashville, TN.

Carney will be the weekend sports anchor at the station replacing Brian Sanders who has made the shift from sports to morning news anchor.

Carney wrote a blog while in Lexington and spoke of his departure.

Tavarez is a former KXAN intern who graduated from Texas in 2011. He has worked his entire short career in Texas and makes the jump from KLBL Lubbock (Market #143). His first gig was in San Angelo.

Tavarez will fill a multiude of roles from producer to reporter and will have fill-in anchor duties. He replaces Leila Rahimi who departed this spring for a gig with the FOX Sports San Diego and the Padres.

The two join long-time Sports Director Roger Wallace.

Toledo Turmoil

2012-06-07T14:11:00.000-04:00

The housecleaning continues at WNWO Toldeo. Weekend Sports Anchor Tim McMahon reports on his Facebook page that he was fired on Tuesday.

"It stinks and I'm really disappointed," McMahon wrote. "I truly enjoyed every minute of working with my co-workers and bringing our audiences local stories and covering the GREAT local sports that Toledo has to offer."

The station subsequently announced that it has hired former Colorado volleyball player Therese Vinal who had been working for Cal Hi Sports Bay Area.

This move finishes a complete turnover at the station that also saw a recent switch at the Sports Director position.

As we tweeted several weeks ago, Will Kunkel has been brought in from KVRR Fargo, ND to replace Eric Haubert who was not renewed after a nine-year stay at the station.

Kunkel despite the fact he comes from a small market, worked behind the scenes for several years as a production assistant for ESPN's Mike and Mike in the Morning show and has a considerable Twitter following.

WNWO has a new News Director in Amulyan Raghuveer and she is clearly taking her sports staff in a different direction. We have reached out to her for comment.

The station has consistently finished last in the ratings in the market (#74).

The New TV Sports Anchor

2012-05-08T05:30:00.000-04:00

Mike Irwin dismissed from KFSM

We tweeted last week about the changes at KFSM Fayetteville/Fort Smith, Arkansas. Sports Director John Engleman and longtime Sports Reporter and former lead sports anchor Mike Irwin were let go.

The article indicates the station wants to "tell better stories about all local sports". I wanted to post the job description as it was listed by the station indicating the kind of person they are looking for.

I have highlighted some things that I find interesting and that I think need to be discussed.

In the home of the Arkansas Razorbacks, there is much more to sports coverage than college athletics. The Local Sports Director must be a storyteller who can do it all: generate daily local sports story ideas, shoot, edit, produce and report. The Sports Director is a journalist who must be willing to cover all sports regardless of sex or age and tell personalized stories about local athletes year-round and motivate other members of the sports team to do the same.

The goal is to tell stories about local athletes, teams, coaches and events. Find exceptional local people and tell great stories about them and their sport. We’re going to focus on storytelling, not scores and highlights. The Sports Director must be willing to pitch sports stories in daily news meetings for placement in newscasts.

The Sports Director will have the additional responsibility of organizing and planning special sporting events such as Friday night high school football and Razorbacks pregame and postgame shows. It will also be the responsibility of the Sports Director to make sure important sports stories are shot and edited for use on-air and online on a daily basis.

The Sports Director must be (or become) a social media guru. The battle for breaking news is now on Twitter and online. Not only does the Sports Director have to be aggressive on-line, but he/she must also motivate other sports staff to be aggressive as well.

The Sports Director will meet with the news management at the beginning of each week to discuss coverage and story ideas. Sports stories and coverage will be pitched in news meetings.

The Sports Director will be based in Fayetteville.

Core Job Functions:

The ability to turn a wide range of sports stories quickly, and on a daily basis.
Must be able to work alone and shoot, write, produce, and prepare assigned sports stories for use on-air, online, and on social media.
Must be able to manage special projects and other sports staff to execute the overall sports strategy.
Develop and maintain meaningful contacts.
Must be able to come up with new local sports story idea every day.
Real-time web-intensive posting of stories online, with pictures and video, as well as regular blogging and tweeting.

I think this is a time that for the sake of all in the industry that we share how we are accomplishing these tasks.

I'd like to hear from sportsters who have a firm grasp on all that is required now. So many of you have to shoot, report, edit, produce, anchor, tweet, blog, and post your stories online. It seems like ALOT of responsibilities.

Who has gravitated to this new stroytelling mentality? Are you using your entire 3-4 minutes to tell one story at the expense of any scores and highlights?

Turnover in the Territory

2012-04-25T05:43:00.000-04:00

Alot happening in the Southwest so here's a recap.

We'll start in El Paso, TX Market (#91). Asher "Wild Man" Wildman has arrived at KVIA to take the Weekend Sports Anchor position. Wildman is a Central Florida grad and arrives from a role as a Host at Golf Week.

Paul Cicala is the station's new Sports Director. He is promoted after the departure of Raul Martinez to hopefully complete the chess game that has been the on-going exodus of talent out from the KDVR/KWGN Denver duopoly to ESPN.

You can watch Asher's work HERE.

Up the street in Tucson, AZ (Market #70) a lot of interesting developments at ABC affiliate KGUN. We tweeted late last year about the departure of long-time Sports Director Dave Silver for a fund raising position at the University of Arizona. Silver had been at the station for 28 years.

Well now it appears that holdover Weekend Sports Anchor Jake Knapp is also leaving the building. Knapp reportedly was offered the lead position but did not take it. He is now on his way to a bigger market. We believe the ASU grad could be headed to one of several open positions in Phoenix.

Phoenix has seen departures at KNXV (ABC), with Jeff Heisner's leaving the business and KPHO (CBS) where Eric Sperling jumped to an online venture. As far as we can tell KNXV has not added a permanent replacement, while KPHO appears by some of their recent video postings to have stolen away Joe Pequeno from crosstown rival KPNX (NBC) Channel 12.

So look for Knapp to land at either KNXV or KPNX where he was once affiliated as an anchor for their sister-station KNAZ in Flagstaff.

Jason Barr is the new Sports Director at KGUN. He's back in the business after a three-year hiatus in which he pursued a graduate degree at North Carolina and worked in sales for Ralph Lauren.

Barr is a Penn Quaker grad who has worked in both news and sports in the Norfolk, VA and Myrtle Beach, SC markets. His new bio though omits the news anchor position at WMBF in Myrtle Beach so that must not have gone too well.

HERE are both Barr and Knapp in action.

In a side note, Belo got out of the news business in Tucson in February handing over their KMSB news operation to Raycom which now puts out the daily product for both KOLD (CBS) and KMSB (FOX). The station's have been rebranded as Tucson News Now.

KMSB sportster David Kelly was absorbed in the transition while Kevin Lewis landed at another FOX affiliate, WMNS in Madison, WI (Market #85).

KREM Spokane, WA has seen multiple movement in recent months. Darnay Tripp arrived from WMAZ Macon, GA (Market #118) to fill the Weekend slot and now he might just be on his way to #1 as Sports Director Tim Lewis recently announced that he's headed to the coast to join KOMO where he will team with Mike Ferreri.

Lewis will also work with his dad, KOMO News Anchor Dan Lewis. Still not sure though what is going on with Chris Miller who had just joined the station in the weekend role last year. Perhaps he's shifting to news? Any tips here would be greatly appreciated.

Lewis is a Murrow School grad and had been at KREM for over five years.

The most notable recent big market moves:

Hakem Dermish heads to ESPN from WRC Washington, DC.

Dionne Miller arrives at WFLD Chicago from FS Ohio to take the weekend sports position.

Bryan Salmond leaves Eugene, OR for weekends at WWL in New Orleans.

The business has lost some greats lately from the retirements of Don Shane (WXYZ Detroit) and Bruce Glasier (WCHS Portland, ME) to the departures of Rich Becker (WXXA Albany, NY), Larry McCarren (WFRV Green Bay) and Paul Peck (WIVB Buffalo, NY) and the deaths of Rich Brenner (WGHP Greensboro, NC) and Lee Douglas (KOAA).

Don't forget for the all the latest updates. Follow us on Twitter at @micmoles.

Happy Birthday to Us!

2012-02-28T05:20:00.003-05:00

1 years old

For several years we were frequent visitors to a website called Sportscasters Talent Agency of America.

The board has two job forums, one for radio and one for TV. During our time as a lurker there we always found it interesting that jobs were listed on the TV board but there was never any resolution to those jobs as there was to positions on the radio board.

So we started perusing TV station websites to see who had gotten hired for those listed positions and then posting the information in the STAA forum.

Then just over a year ago a friend of ours was looking for a gig in TV so we began taking a closer look at the TV job scene and began following openings a little more closely.

What we found was that unlike radio when there is generally an announcement when a talent is hired, there wasn't a service or website that was doing the same thing for TV on-air sports jobs. We had some extra time on our hands and thus on February 28, 2011, Sports Anchor Watch was born.

Scott Bemis' hiring at KLAS Las Vegas was our first official post.

For awhile we were doing about eight-to-10 posts a month but as time went on and we took on some additional projects we have since shifted primarily to Twitter as our primary forum of dispersing job news.

We'd like to get back to at least doing bi-monthly posts at this blog spot, but don't miss out in the meantime. Follow us on Twitter @micmoles.

Time for some Hot Stove League!

Mike Pomeranz was a fringe pitcher in the Minnesota Twins minor league system in the late 80s who went on to become the main News Anchor at KARE Minneapolis. Well now he's headed back to baseball.

Mike Pomeranz

Pomeranz, who also served as a Host for Minnesota Twins broadcasts on FSN North is leaving the northern tundra for the beautiful beaches of San Diego where he will take a position with the San Diego Padres.

The Padres games will air this season on Fox Sports San Diego after airing for several years on Channel 4. FS San Diego is a joint project between FSN and the Padres.

Pomeranz is a graduate of the Cronkite School at Arizona State University.

No word yet on what Pomeranz's role will be. With all the change, Jenny Cavnar has moved on to replace Alanna Rizzo as In-Game Reporter on the Colorado Rockies broadcasts produced by ROOT Sports.

Jenny Cavnar

Cavnar was a Postgame Reporter/Producer for 4San Diego on their Padres coverage. She is a graduate of Colorado State and a native of the Denver suburb of Aurora so this move makes complete sense for her.

ROOT Sports also has a new Rockies Anchor as former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Joel Klatt replaces Tom Helmer who was unceremoniously dumped after six years. A move that is not sitting well with the Rockies fan base.

Ironically Klatt, before playing QB in college, was a professional baseball player in the Padres farm system. He had a less stellar career than Pomeranz and is also a talk show host on 104.3 FM The Fan in Denver.

Meanwhile Rizzo was one of three new talents you'll be seeing this year on the MLB Network. The channel has also added Scott Braun and Lauren Shehadi.

Shehadi is a Florida grad who most recently was seen doing various work for CBSSports.com. Braun hails from the U (Miami) and has also worked for CBSSports.com as well as ESPN.

Interestingly enough another blonde has exited MLB Network after just a one-year stay. Lisa Kerney joined MLB prior to last season and unfortunately much like her predecessor Trenni Kusnierek was rarely seen on the network.

Unlike Kusinerek the reason we might not have seen much of Kerney is because she became pregnant. The wife of former NFL defensive end Patrick Kerrney has since joined WCBS-TV in New York as that station's Morning Sports Anchor.

Notes on the Teleprompter...Another is leaving for the private sector. Chuck Wade signs off from the weekend shift at WHAM Rochester, NY (Market #79) to take a Financial Advisor position with Brighton Securities. Wade is studying for his MBA so that means he's smart enough to figure out there's no money in TV...Condolences go out to the family of longtime Greensboro Sports Anchor Rich Brenner who died suddenly of a heart attack last night. Brenner was a key figure in forumulating coverage for the sport of NASCAR. Ironically he died on the night of the sports biggest race, The Daytona 500.

Dallas Dealings

2012-02-08T03:44:00.001-05:00

Changes at KXAS Dallas (Market #5). It appears that Rontina McCann is out and David Watkins is in.

So far McCann has not commented on either her Facebook or Twitter pages. Her move from WXIX Cincinnati to the Big D last year was one of the first we wrote about when we started this space on Feb. 28, 2011.

Almost our birthday, yeah!

Watkins arrives after almost five years in Minneapolis (Market #15) where he was a Sports Reporter/Anchor and Producer at KARE. He indicated in his tweet announcing the move on January 20th that this is a return home for him.

Watkins is a graduate of Missouri and will join long-time Sports Director Newy Scruggs and Weekend Sports Anchor Matt Barrie.

McCann is talented so we assume she will land on her feet if she has not already. We'll keep you posted.

*

Speaking of Missouri grads and we seem to be speaking of them a lot lately, Peter Fleischer, is the new Weekend Sports Anchor at the duopoly WTVO/WQRF Rockford, IL. He replaces Ben Hutchison who after less than a year in the chair has made the switch to Morning News Anchor.

Fleischer joins Sports Director Scott Leber.

Could there be more changes on the horizon across town at WREX?

Follow all the latest information on Twitter @micmoles.