KTN Corp said:
adguy said:
Here are the facts:
1) Sherry Williams is a lightning bolt (and a very good broadcaster). She speaks her mind probably when she shouldn't. GM Roger Bare is a calm and very reasonable station boss. The Sherry Williams decision most likely came from Tribune Corp above Bare's head. There's no way Williams would have any reason to go at it with him.
2) Sherry will NEVER land back at KRIV. Upon her departure there in 2000 she landed some huge insults at their GM in a all-staff meeting. She flat called him a narscisist and an ego-maniacle jerk that would most certainly cause their newscast ratings to plummet. Funny thing is she was absolutely correct. All those things did happen to KRIV under D'Artagnen Bebel's tenure. As long as he is there Sherry will never get within 100 yards of the building.
3) Alan's demotion is another obvious Corp decision. He and Sherry did have terrific chemistry and Bare (KHCW GM) knew it. Their news ratings have never really materialized as they (Tribune Corp) hoped. Their not embarrassing numbers, but they are as probably as high as they can get given the makeup of the audience lead-in from an anemic CW network and other factors not related to newscast quality. My guess is Tribune Corp wants anchors that better match the lead-in audience provided by the CW. In reality that is a 12-34 audience at best. That audience will NEVER tune into their newscast no matter who is anchoring.
4) Their News Director Joe Nolan has also resigned. He says at his age "he thought he should do something else". Translation: Tribune Corp has forced him out, but they're paying him off to keep quiet. Joe was perhaps the best ND in the city and it is amazing that KPRC never hired him back when they had a ND opening. They went inside with an ND from another market. Joe, like Sherry Williams, is a pistol and wears his heart on his sleeve and that is probably why KPRC won't have him back, but his enemies there have all long departed.
5) 39's hour-long expansion is no doubt a last-gasp effort to see if they can generate demo ratings that can produce higher revenue to offset production costs. From what I have heard the news there has really never made it over the hump in revenue. Again, the average age of the CW viewer leading into the 9P newscast is well under 30. Those are not, never have been nor ever will be local news viewers. If these moves don't work over the next 6 months (and they won't IMO), you will see the news operation over there close down just as other Tribune station's newscasts in smaller markets have done. That is probably why Joe Nolan is ok with the way he left. Joe will land somewhere, but he fortay is Houston. He's been in the newS business here for 2 to 3 decades and NO other ND in the market has his knowledge and local market experience.
6) Sadly, Hemberger's time in Houston is done. When he finally leaves 39, KTRK won't hire him back. They let him go for some obvious reason to them and going back is probably not an option. If you haven't noticed, all the other stations are going to youth. That is not where Hemberger is. They are preparing younger reporters to step in for Dave Ward when he steps down someday. I wouldn't be surprised to see Sherry land in the market at either 2, 11 or 13 as a front line reporter. She is an experienced journalist with strong interviewing skills and a known market presence. As for Chief Keith, he is one of the best on-air meterologist in the market right up there with Heller from KTRK and Norman from KHOU. One of the other market stations is certainly smart enough to grab him when he becomes available. I don't know where his contract stands, but a new ND is a wildcard for any main anchor. There's a good chance he won't be happy. Per the post above, KRIV would be best served to get Keith if he became available. I agree, Dr. Jim is NOT a chief meterologist. He's a weekend guy at best. KRIV's other weather anchors are no where near being stars and one (John Dawson) is down right horrible. As for Robert Smith, God rest his soul. He wasn't the best weather anchor, but he was one of the best people KRIV ever employed.
Sam Zell has been downsizing his operations. His quote that was part of the Tribune story on NPR is now realized. KTLA and probably WGN and definitely the Chicago Tribune and L.A. Times are being downsized too. This is definitely company wide! The CW and MyNetworkTV are having problems. It's just a matter of time which one goes away first.
I miss Robert Smith too. He presented the weather very well. I was wondering why he departed so suddenly. After I heard of his death on the board, it seems Fox 26 won't be having a professional meteorologist soon.
Sherry Williams might end up on the radio again if a REAL newsradio station starts up in Houston. Was she an anchor/reporter on KTRH? But with television being the dominant news medium in the city, her chance would be replacing Dominique on 2. If someone should be back at radio, it definitely should be Dominique at KHMX or somewhere else DJing. Hopefully it she didn't end up as sour as Marlene McClinton. (Both have nice personalities on-air BTW!)
Hemberger might have one last chance replacing José Grinian in the mornings. He might be lucky to go back to San Antonio or some other place. Even luckier if he ends up in the big leagues in NYC, LA, Chicago, or Philadelphia.
Agreed with Sherry not returning to KRIV. Many people, including Williams have called Bebel an idiot and said choice words to him, on their way out the door (AND THEY'RE RIGHT!
) She's a pro on-air. The problem is that a lot of companies are laying off people right now, including talent. It's just bad all the way around. And, no companies will probably hire anyone before the end of the fiscal year. I also agree that Hemberger's Houston future is up in the air, but you just never know. It seems like both KHOU and KPRC likes to hire a lot of recycled Houston talent, so he could eventually wind up there.
As far as "REAL Newsradio" coming back to Houston, it will never happen. It's too costly these days, and no one really listens (or so they say).
Supposedly, Jose Grinan just re-upped with KRIV, so his place in the mornings is secure (insert curse word here
). They are either in first place, or tied for first in all demos in the morning, so unless someone decides to bolt for greener pastures, I don't anticipate any changes there.
But, I take issue with the Dr. Jim comments. I actually like the guy a lot and I think he does a great job on the weather. He's entertaining as well. Now would I want a whole staff or a whole city of Dr. Jim type meteorologists... no, but I think he does a good job for them. And, yes I miss Robert Smith as well. It just goes to show, you can be anything you want to be, if you work hard enough. He went from being a janitor at the ABC station in Lufkin, to being Chief Meteorologist in the 4th Largest City in America, and one of the largest hurricane corridors. And, he was good and trusted. He's another example of Bebel's incompetence. He did not like Robert, so he ousted him. I actually think with Dr. Jim's personality, that he would be better on mornings and Mike Iscovitz would do better at 9pm, but obviously I'm not the one making that call. And, John Dawson was actually an editor at the station, and he pursued a Meteorology certification. He was just going to fill in for Mike Pass on the weekends, however when Pass bolted, they just decided to slide Dawson into the weekend gig full-time, to eliminate more costs on the books. And yes, he's probably not market 10 material, but he's much better than Casanova Nurse over at 39, or some of the other people I have seen on-air in this market.
