Omaha TV News

Shock

2011-06-30T22:16:00.000-05:00

SuxNews has found someone to sit next to loud lithper Jimmy Siedlecki. The amazing thing is that she appears to be neither the cloying cheerleader/spokesmodel that her predecessor, Malorie "Maltard" Maddox, was/is, nor the limp dishrag that Ann McIntire and her lifeless clones (e.g., LeAnne Mormann and Brianna Long, and Chase Moffitt) have proven to be. As long as she's okay with Jimmy stepping

Stormy

2011-06-21T09:12:00.000-05:00

• Would someone please tell KETV's chief weatherguesser, Bill Randby, that "gustnado" is not a word and that even if it were a word, it would not be appropriate to say 36 times is a two-minute span? • Rather than burden its reporters by making them go out and collect footage of Monday evening's storm, WOWT filled its 10 p.m. broadcast with a bungled live remote from the CWS (people ran to the

Final?

2011-06-02T16:54:00.000-05:00

Will Thursday evening's broadcasts be Tracy Madden's last on SuxNews? When news of her departure seeped out last month, her final day on-air was said to be June 3rd. But since the station's main anchors no longer appear on Fridays, it seems that Thursday could mark her final newscast. Whether it's Thursday or Friday, Madden's departure hasn't drawn anything close to the hyper-hyped orgy of

Explosion

2011-05-28T09:24:00.000-05:00

For a station that can't seem to stop talking about its social networking prowess, SuxNews has brought an avalanche of Facebook hate-posts upon itself by canceling its "Fairytale Wedding" contest, just minutes before it was due to announce the results. An alert reader reports: So they cancelled the Fairytale wedding contest! Thanks to those who voted for my friends in the Omaha, Neb, fairytale

Bland

2011-05-27T17:50:00.000-05:00

A key cog in Channel Sux's collection of charisma-challenged reporters and anchors, weekend newsreader Ann McIntire appears to be vying to replace Maltard Maddox on the station's "Daybreak" program when the latter succeeds Tracy Madden as lead female anchor on June 6th. Anchoring Friday's 5 p.m. blabbercast, McIntire informed viewers that, due to flooding along the Missouri River, "additional [

Compass?

2011-05-09T09:16:00.000-05:00

Leave it to Maltard. This morning, she warned viewers about a traffic accident in "North O." The location? 48th and Giles. (See "A" on map below.) Just one more example of the two dimwits anchoring that "show" (as they call it) simultaneously pretending to know it all and showcasing their profound ignorance.

Jumping

2011-05-05T18:00:00.001-05:00

An alert reader offers an uncorroborated report that Tracy Madden is leaving SuxNews, with her last broadcast scheduled for June 2nd. According to this tip, weatherguesser/self-appointed lifestyle advisor Andrea Rich and an unidentified photojournalist are packing their bags, as well. The cause in these and other recent cases is said to be extreme disdain for management, particularly news

Dead

2011-05-02T13:05:00.002-05:00

Sure that that they could do a much better job of informing Omahans about a breaking international news story, Channels 3rd and Sux cut off network coverage of Osama Bin Laden's death at 11:00 p.m. on Sunday. Channel 3rd zipped quickly to local news. SuxNews opened with anchor Tracy Madden repeating what we already knew about the Bin Laden story, as if she were speaking to first graders, while

Dimmer?

2011-03-08T12:05:00.000-06:00

Are we imagining it, or is Omaha's best-known airhead, John Knicely, burning through a lot of vacation days lately? Since last summer, it seems that, if it's not a sweeps period, J-Pa is nowhere to be found on Channel Sux. Does he know something we don't? (It's not as if he could be exhausted from all the mental energy he puts into his work.) On the surface, his frequent absences are strikingly

Daily Double

2011-03-03T08:33:00.002-06:00

Every time we think we'll sit down and write about some of the blunders at other stations, SuxNews manages to push its competitors aside to display just how comprehensive its incompetence is. This morning, morning monkey Jethro Siedlecki and his co-workers were able to screw up the same word two different ways! This episode occurred during a story about recent cases of whooping cough, also known

Baby

2011-03-02T12:46:00.003-06:00

• Well, it was only a matter of time until SuxNews morning anchor Malorie "Ellie May" Maddox followed in the footsteps of former anchorcrone Pat Persaud and started using her baby to further her career. Tuesday's 10 p.m. SuxCast featured a report from "backpack journalist" LeAnn Moorman, who visited Maltard and her family at home. Maltard sounded like any other brain-dead former cheerleader as

Caught

2011-02-24T06:59:00.001-06:00

A couple of years ago, we experienced a rare moment of joy while watching Channel Sux's "Live at Daybreak" program when whoever was directing cut too quickly from a b-roll back to a yammering Jimmy "Jethro" Siedlecki, who, it turned out, was picking his nose. To our disappointment, no alert readers recorded that insightful moment and sent it to us to post. Luckily for us, Jethro's apparently a

Death Spiral Continues

2011-02-10T07:56:00.002-06:00

An alert reader reports that, in news even more revolting than the usual excrement flowing out of Channel Sux, weekend anchor Jaime McCutcheon was escorted from the building on Wednesday after being notified that her contract was not being renewed. If the station has truly dumped McCutcheon, one of the few talented on-air personalities left at the station, that brings to approximately a

Lifted

2011-02-06T23:03:00.003-06:00

Dear KPTM/KXVO: We really like that you're airing a spot noting that giggling Channel Sux Ejacucaster Jim Flowers looks like Simpsons character Ned Flanders. The "Separated at Birth?" tag at the end is an especially nice touch. However, a trip down Amnesia Lane to March 11, 2005 might make someone think you'd gotten the idea somewhere else. By the way, did you catch Channel Sux's discussion of

Five

2011-01-26T11:01:00.003-06:00

With so many problems to document, WOWT seldom gives us cause (or pause) to praise its quality-challenged efforts. However, from time to time, we try to remind ourselves that there remain a few salvageable parts that could form the core of a reconstituted on-air team, were the station's management/ownership so inclined. 1. Caitlin Roth. We've sung her praises twice recently, so there's not a

Cool

2011-01-25T09:13:00.001-06:00

We can't remember the last time the management of SuxNews got a decison so right. But we couldn't have been more surprised this morning when we awoke to the sight of meteorologist Caitlin Roth substituting for Maltard Maddox on the Daybreak program. (Maddox is on maternity leave, having delivered a baby last Friday.) As mentioned in this space before, Roth has been stellar as anchor of the

Observations

2011-01-21T16:07:00.000-06:00

A few odds and ends at the end of a snowy week . . . • We happened to catch Action 3rd's 10 p.m. Thursday 'cast and must admit that it was surprisingly not awful. Bland anchor Carol Wang was working without her bland co-anchor, What's-His-Name. While no stories were outstanding, it was a solid, fairly well-executed effort. If all (or even most) of the station's evening newscasts are of similar

Techmaginary

2011-01-11T20:56:00.000-06:00

It may be cold outside, but in Omaha's TV newsrooms, idiotic gimmicks are in full bloom. Exhibit A: KETV swung into action on Monday evening with Brandi Petersen breathlessly introducing a "7 Mobile Live" report from Lincoln, which ended up being no more than a reporter on a cell phone in a car. Exhibit B: SuxNews's 5 p.m. Tuesday "I On the Metro" found charisma-challenged reporter Gary Smollen

Missed

2011-01-08T16:55:00.001-06:00

Not sure what we were thinking when we wrote our predictions post and suggested that Channel 7 would try out Melissa Fry on the evening anchor desk during Brandi Petersen's maternity leave. While that is certainly one option, a better one might to move current morning anchor Nichole Berlie to evenings. Berlie, who holds a master's degree from broadcasting factory Syracuse has been at the

Numbers

2011-01-01T18:54:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year. Since today is 1/1/11, we can only wonder how long it will take local newspaper columnist Mike Kelly to cobble together some bizarre anecdote about someone celebrating a first birthday (turning one) today, weighing 1,111 pounds, or living at 111 South 11th Street.

1000 Words

2010-12-31T23:43:00.002-06:00

Our new favorite alert reader calls himself Joey and his screen captures of some of SuxNews's most representative moments make us laugh every time we see them. Check 'em out here on photobucket, and do yourself a favor by subscribing to the RSS feed. Don't forget to read Joey's captions, which make the pics even better. Happy New Year!

Counting

2010-12-31T11:44:00.001-06:00

Congratulations to SuxNews's lithpy morning yeller Jimmy Siedlecki for ending the year with another factual error delivered in his trademark know-it-all voice. While sharing his astute observations about Thursday night's Husker loss in the Holiday Bowl, Thiedlecki noted that the outcome left the Big 12 with an 0-4 bowl record so far this year. But if Jimmy were even half the expert he imagines

Turnovers

2010-12-28T12:35:00.001-06:00

Our predictions for 2011 : At Channel Sux . . . • The station's morning team will (mercifully) fall apart, starting with simple-minded anchorette Maltard Maddox's decision to become a simple-minded stay-at-home mom. Doing what it does best, Channel Sux will make a bad situation worse by naming bland reporter Ann McIntire to replace Maltard. • J-Pa Knicely will announce his "retirement" in the

John Knicely's Ron Burgundy Pronunciation of the Day

2010-12-27T17:40:00.001-06:00

Introducing Maltard Maddox's canned "consumer" story on frozen pizza brands, J-Pa called DiGiorno "DEE-ghee-ORN-yoh." Geez. Even Maltard got the pronumciation right on this one (although she did manage to twist Kashi into "KAW-shee"). Maybe J-Pa should sign up next time former anchor-hag Pat Persaud advertises a trip to Italy.

Freefall

2010-12-23T10:15:00.001-06:00

The economy may be turning around, but the plunge in effort and quality continues unabated at Channel Sux. Wednesday night found the dumbest of dumb blonds, Maltard Maddox, enlightening viewers about gift cards and whether folks enjoy getting them for Christmas. Dumb story, you say, but how is that different from any other content-free story Maltard and SuxNews seem to specialize in? Here's