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Local News in E. WA is in a sad state

Checking out KEPR's 5pm newscast tonight in comparison to KIMA. Thanks, DIRECTV!
Eliana and Scott have decent chemistry on the set, and the same goes when Mike comes to the set to discuss the next 7 days of weather.
They had at least 1 minute MORE of the A-block than KIMA. Ended with the same story as KIMA, a KOMO-fed story on the TSA workers struggling under the gov't shutdown.
Both running the Kristine Frazao must-run, no surprise.
No 'Lifestyle Matters' on KEPR - what a waste of a segment. Thank goodness.
KEPR often uses their TV monitors to display a news story's title and/or picture - KIMA wastes their monitors on the Action News logo, even during the top story. Lazy, IMO.
KIMA aired three stories on flu shots, loneliness and weight loss; KEPR aired a health story on nearsightedness increasing due to screen use, from April Molina at WOAI.
KEPR WX forecast with the nighttime/daytime animation, for the 'next 24 hours' only shows the immediate Richland/Pasco/Kennewick area and omits northeastern Oregon (Hermiston and Pendleton), and Walla Walla. Although they do show a large amount of cities in the 2-D map later in the WX segment, including W-W and the Northeastern OR corridor. Even includes little places like Echo OR and Dixie WA.
KIMA's Jake Taylor 'asks' Mike a question regarding his weather forecast. We all know it's taped. Corny! If he was live, you'd be hearing Scott and Eliana talking in the background, or the audio of a story being aired.

So, verdict? KEPR 1, KIMA 0. Channel 19 looks more professional, especially with a live meteorologist and two anchors at the desk...what every station with a news team in every market should be airing at 5 or 6PM. KIMA still needs a lot of work. Hire a 2nd anchor. Hire a live weatherman. Somebody change that 'Action News' screensaver on both of the monitors! It looks like they built the set, tested it with test material and called it a day. Or perhaps KIMA is getting closer and closer to packing it up and sending news to KEPR permanently. Could we see local news in Yakima vanish sometime in the early 2020s? KEPR is no KIRO or KOIN, but better than what we see on 29.
 
crainbebo said:
Checking out KEPR's 5pm newscast tonight in comparison to KIMA. Thanks, DIRECTV!
Eliana and Scott have decent chemistry on the set, and the same goes when Mike comes to the set to discuss the next 7 days of weather.
They had at least 1 minute MORE of the A-block than KIMA. Ended with the same story as KIMA, a KOMO-fed story on the TSA workers struggling under the gov't shutdown.
Both running the Kristine Frazao must-run, no surprise.
No 'Lifestyle Matters' on KEPR - what a waste of a segment. Thank goodness.
KEPR often uses their TV monitors to display a news story's title and/or picture - KIMA wastes their monitors on the Action News logo, even during the top story. Lazy, IMO.
KIMA aired three stories on flu shots, loneliness and weight loss; KEPR aired a health story on nearsightedness increasing due to screen use, from April Molina at WOAI.
KEPR WX forecast with the nighttime/daytime animation, for the 'next 24 hours' only shows the immediate Richland/Pasco/Kennewick area and omits northeastern Oregon (Hermiston and Pendleton), and Walla Walla. Although they do show a large amount of cities in the 2-D map later in the WX segment, including W-W and the Northeastern OR corridor. Even includes little places like Echo OR and Dixie WA.
KIMA's Jake Taylor 'asks' Mike a question regarding his weather forecast. We all know it's taped. Corny! If he was live, you'd be hearing Scott and Eliana talking in the background, or the audio of a story being aired.

So, verdict? KEPR 1, KIMA 0. Channel 19 looks more professional, especially with a live meteorologist and two anchors at the desk...what every station with a news team in every market should be airing at 5 or 6PM. KIMA still needs a lot of work. Hire a 2nd anchor. Hire a live weatherman. Somebody change that 'Action News' screensaver on both of the monitors! It looks like they built the set, tested it with test material and called it a day. Or perhaps KIMA is getting closer and closer to packing it up and sending news to KEPR permanently. Could we see local news in Yakima vanish sometime in the early 2020s? KEPR is no KIRO or KOIN, but better than what we see on 29.
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Starting at your conclusion: Yes, I believe there is discussion among Sinclair execs that the two markets could be combined with news. It may even come before 2020, IMO.

I have switched my viewing from KNDU to KEPR. KEPR is definitely "most improved" in the market. I don't get to watch KIMA much, but I would guess you are correct that KEPR is more professional.
 
Saw Majestic Storm tonight on Fox out of Spokane. Yeah, the name is pretty cheesy, but she is very good as a weather anchor. This WSU grad is poised for bigger markets IMO. Watch out, she could be in a top5 market within a couple of years.
 
seatownmedia said:
And here we are at 11:26pm, and still dead air on KNDU. Good grief, I know Thanksgiving holiday is underway, but there is no excuse for this. Just deplorable. I will boycott all KNDU adverstisers due to this. KNDU was once my go-to station in the Tri, but they have lost me as a viewer. The lack of consistency in their news product combined with this fiasco tonight leads me to choose other sources. Bye, bye KNDU.
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So just to follow up on this post of outrage: Have you indeed completely stopped watching KNDU in 2019? Yeah, didn't think so..
 
Kelly A said:
So just to follow up on this post of outrage: Have you indeed completely stopped watching KNDU in 2019? Yeah, didn't think so..
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Well, Kelly, you understand how some have some "outrage". To answer your question, no, I have not stopped watching KNDU. But I have greatly reduced it! But then, I'm not a normal consumer as I have some different standards based on where I have lived in the past, and my experience in the industry. I know, I'm not typical. If bringing local news to a local farm for a special "Hometown Proud" is the wave of the future, count me out. There is no such thing as actual reporting of breaking local news in my market. Perhaps I should just accept it, but I won't go down without some well-deserved critiques of my local media!
 
What seatown said. Imagine you work as a reporter at KIRO or Q13...asking the news director about starting a 'Hometown Proud & Fun Friday' where you and another reporter are on location in one of the dozens of suburbs and towns in the Puget Sound area, sharing what makes that city fun. And Steve Raible gets to pick the 'town' out of a massive hat. Quilcene, Snoqualmie, Yelm, doesn't matter. I think a news director in America's 13th largest TV market would laugh at you. Knowing that there's better and more important things to share in a 1-hour newscast than 'fun things to do in Fife!'
But in market #119, 'sounds great!'.
 
seatownmedia said:
Speaking of KNDU/KNDO, I notice Karly Tinsley is off the website. Wasn't she supposed to be the next star? Have heard nothing of where she went.
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OK, I guess I missed it. She is off to KOLD13 (CBS) Tucson, AZ, market #73, so a nice move up. I guess my lack of viewing of KNDU is to blame...
 
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Noticed Kaitlyn Karmout filling in last night, was surprised to not see Karly. But now I know. Tri-Cities...where you get flushed out of the market after 2 years experience! Rinse and repeat. I haven't been watching 23 as much as KIMA anymore. Just for Tim Adams' weather and then Mike (on tape) to compare forecasts. I notice Mike is a little more conservative on the 7-day forecast, while Tim can predict temperatures 5 below and 5 above Mike's prediction. Thank god I move to Ellensburg in just 8 short months. I'll be watching a lot of KOMO news up there! (Sorry, KING, your mass firing of people, move to SoDo and 'Take 5' has lost me as a fulltime viewer nevertheless. KIRO is no longer on Spectrum and KCPQ no longer runs their translator up on Manastash, so I'll have to watch Steve Raible and David Rose online.)
 
crainbebo said:
Noticed Kaitlyn Karmout filling in last night, was surprised to not see Karly. But now I know. Tri-Cities...where you get flushed out of the market after 2 years experience! Rinse and repeat. I haven't been watching 23 as much as KIMA anymore. Just for Tim Adams' weather and then Mike (on tape) to compare forecasts. I notice Mike is a little more conservative on the 7-day forecast, while Tim can predict temperatures 5 below and 5 above Mike's prediction. Thank god I move to Ellensburg in just 8 short months. I'll be watching a lot of KOMO news up there! (Sorry, KING, your mass firing of people, move to SoDo and 'Take 5' has lost me as a fulltime viewer nevertheless. KIRO is no longer on Spectrum and KCPQ no longer runs their translator up on Manastash, so I'll have to watch Steve Raible and David Rose online.)
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I travel to Ellensburg and Wenatchee often, and I have found that cable in Ellensburg is the same as Yakima/Tri. However, Wenatchee has in the past year gone "All Seattle", where they used to offer a combo of KCPQ and KING, with the Spokane affiliates. These are hotels, so I'm not sure this is representative of what is available. As far as I know, you can't get Seattle outlets in Ellensburg, but I may be misinformed.
 
Hotels are likely on satellite which is only Yakima-Tri Cities. Even in Easton, anyone who gets satellite is stuck with the affiliates from Yakima due to the DMA market, even though Seattle is nearly the same distance from Yakima. I'm talking about Charter Spectrum, which carries part time feeds of KING on 5 and KOMO on 11. However, a lot of programming is blacked out due to exclusivity rights on the Yakima stations. In fact they got some negative comments because Spectrum failed to lift a 'blackout' on the New Year's at the Needle celebration on KING. That was blacked out because it's normally Jimmy Fallon's timeslot and no one at Spectrum noticed. KCPQ used to be on a translator in Kittitas County, first in analog on UHF 54, and then digital on VHF 7. It has gone silent. KIRO is still carried in the Daily Record TV listings but apparently the Spectrum services skips 7 and goes from 6 KIMA, to 8 KYVE. Years ago this wasn't the case. Seattle networks have been on cable in Ellensburg since the late 1960s if not earlier, but this was long before blackouts.
But knowing I'll get to turn on a television and watch Eric Johnson and Mary Nam is definitely a step above Jake Taylor and Tracci Dial...
 
crainbebo said:
Hotels are likely on satellite which is only Yakima-Tri Cities. Even in Easton, anyone who gets satellite is stuck with the affiliates from Yakima due to the DMA market, even though Seattle is nearly the same distance from Yakima. I'm talking about Charter Spectrum, which carries part time feeds of KING on 5 and KOMO on 11. However, a lot of programming is blacked out due to exclusivity rights on the Yakima stations. In fact they got some negative comments because Spectrum failed to lift a 'blackout' on the New Year's at the Needle celebration on KING. That was blacked out because it's normally Jimmy Fallon's timeslot and no one at Spectrum noticed. KCPQ used to be on a translator in Kittitas County, first in analog on UHF 54, and then digital on VHF 7. It has gone silent. KIRO is still carried in the Daily Record TV listings but apparently the Spectrum services skips 7 and goes from 6 KIMA, to 8 KYVE. Years ago this wasn't the case. Seattle networks have been on cable in Ellensburg since the late 1960s if not earlier, but this was long before blackouts.
But knowing I'll get to turn on a television and watch Eric Johnson and Mary Nam is definitely a step above Jake Taylor and Tracci Dial...
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Yeah, but Eric may be retiring quite soon! Seriously, my last two visits to the Super 8 Wenatchee offered the full boat of Seattle stations. Not sure why, as previously Wenatchee only offered KING and KCPQ, plus full boat from Spokane. Not sure what service this hotel was receiving.
 
Little thing that annoys me about KNDU nowadays - they almost never do a news teaser anymore during Ellen or other daytime shows. Now they just air a generic promo/trailer for their news operation to 'make it look like' a teaser, but it's from months ago. Are they too lazy to briefly tell us what to expect on Local News at 5? I don't watch KNDU's news as much as I used to anyways, mainly just for Tim Adams' weather forecast.
Megan Magensky is also doing KEPR weekend news instead of Cody Proctor. I'm guessing they moved her to a different position. I also haven't seen Julia Espinoza lately, last night (Sunday) there was Mike McCabe's pretaped WX bulletin. Usually it's her and Cody on weekend shifts.
 
crainbebo said:
Little thing that annoys me about KNDU nowadays - they almost never do a news teaser anymore during Ellen or other daytime shows. Now they just air a generic promo/trailer for their news operation to 'make it look like' a teaser, but it's from months ago. Are they too lazy to briefly tell us what to expect on Local News at 5? I don't watch KNDU's news as much as I used to anyways, mainly just for Tim Adams' weather forecast.
Megan Magensky is also doing KEPR weekend news instead of Cody Proctor. I'm guessing they moved her to a different position. I also haven't seen Julia Espinoza lately, last night (Sunday) there was Mike McCabe's pretaped WX bulletin. Usually it's her and Cody on weekend shifts.
Click to expand...

KNDU is presenting a small box on Charter/Sprectrum, and has been for several days. I put in a complaint, but of course no response. This is entirely "their" problem, as they are the only station on the cable system with this problem.

And Tim Adams has been out of duty for several days, again. I realize he had knee surgery, but good grief.

At KEPR, Cody Proctor seems to be doing weather exclusively. Why she sticks around KEPR is a mystery.
 
Cody's probably moving up to another market in the next couple months! She's already had experience in Great Falls and improving on her skills here. Like I said, Tri-Cities TV, "we give you work for 2 years and then move you on". Well, unless your name is Tim Adams, or Scott Stovall.
 
Snowstorm verdict - KNDU wins on the coverage of this one. They have routinely had reporters out in Tri-Cities and Yakima driving on major roads to check on conditions during the newscasts. They also have a school closure ticker up during the newscasts. Tonight, however, it's outdated several hours as several districts listed as 2 hours late have now closed, and many more in Yakima and Kittitas County that are closed or delayed have yet to be added to the ticker. I'm sure that will be fixed by 5AM when Wake Up NW comes on the air.
Haven't checked KAPP-KVEW too much but at least they have an OK school delay ticker and Jason Valentine updates periodically. They also had a special Saturday newscast with blizzard coverage, good for them.
KIMA just sucks. OK? It sucks. End of story. Tonight's 5pm newscast had one live report by Gustavo Olguin on 1st Street, a prerecorded Mike McCabe blurb, no school delay info, and a brief report on Yakima's winter weather news conference. That's AFAIK. The rest of the news seemed to consist of the must-runs, and other non-snow/weather info. Facebook pages are more updated. And NOTHING but KEPR-fed weekend news. Surely, Jake Taylor or SOMEONE should have been at KIMA doing some type of weather coverage during the blizzard warning on Saturday. Treacherous road conditions, closures all over affecting freeways and major highways, accidents all over, you name it. If this Blizzard Warning were to happen in western Washington, the local stations would be all over it even on a Saturday morning. I've enjoyed catching up on KOMO and KCPQ periodically for their snowstorm coverage. Eons better than the eastern Washington stations, and many areas in western Washington have as much as we have. Look at Sequim and Port Angeles for examples.
 
crainbebo said:
Snowstorm verdict - KNDU wins on the coverage of this one. They have routinely had reporters out in Tri-Cities and Yakima driving on major roads to check on conditions during the newscasts. They also have a school closure ticker up during the newscasts. Tonight, however, it's outdated several hours as several districts listed as 2 hours late have now closed, and many more in Yakima and Kittitas County that are closed or delayed have yet to be added to the ticker. I'm sure that will be fixed by 5AM when Wake Up NW comes on the air.
Haven't checked KAPP-KVEW too much but at least they have an OK school delay ticker and Jason Valentine updates periodically. They also had a special Saturday newscast with blizzard coverage, good for them.
KIMA just sucks. OK? It sucks. End of story. Tonight's 5pm newscast had one live report by Gustavo Olguin on 1st Street, a prerecorded Mike McCabe blurb, no school delay info, and a brief report on Yakima's winter weather news conference. That's AFAIK. The rest of the news seemed to consist of the must-runs, and other non-snow/weather info. Facebook pages are more updated. And NOTHING but KEPR-fed weekend news. Surely, Jake Taylor or SOMEONE should have been at KIMA doing some type of weather coverage during the blizzard warning on Saturday. Treacherous road conditions, closures all over affecting freeways and major highways, accidents all over, you name it. If this Blizzard Warning were to happen in western Washington, the local stations would be all over it even on a Saturday morning. I've enjoyed catching up on KOMO and KCPQ periodically for their snowstorm coverage. Eons better than the eastern Washington stations, and many areas in western Washington have as much as we have. Look at Sequim and Port Angeles for examples.
Click to expand...

I know I complain a lot about local tv news in our region, but actually I think both KEPR and KNDU have handled coverage quite well, atleast meeting or exceeding my expectations. A good attempt at getting what is left of their remaining reporters out in the elements and reporting some hard live reports. I like that.

I still think KEPR is doing better, even with this coverage. I think they are tired of being #2, and I give them credit for "trying harder". I like that, too.

The weathercasters in the market are tied. Tim Adams, is a a better personality on KNDU/KNDO. But Mike McCabe seems more factual and scientific on KEPR. I would include the weather guy on KVEW/KAPP but can't recall his name right now and with only 5 minutes at 11 doesn't leave a lasting impression. EDIT: Valentine? Happy Feb. 14th.
 
Tonight, coverage on all three stations of the Kittitas County deputy shot and killed last night in Kittitas. KNDO/KNDU bringing Tracci Dial and Briseida Holguin for a special newscast live from the memorial site at the Kittitas County Sheriff's office in Ellensburg. Very good coverage overall, and it shows that they care about not only the Tri but the Yakima area.
KVEW drove a reporter to Ellensburg. KIMA had one or two reports.
Yes...the station supposedly based in Yakima only did a report or two. Maybe they should have had Jake Taylor live in Ellensburg tonight, with the reporters. They are so mediocre and subpar it's not even funny anymore. If anything absolutely tragic were to happen in Yakima (i.e. a mass shooting at a school in Yakima), they would wait for 5PM or even CBS to break in. :(
 
Hey, is that crickets I hear?
Oh, that's right...that's the sound of no signal on KAPP-TV this afternoon. No General Hospital for anyone in Yakima! Of course, since ABC is all in Tri-Cities nowadays, I'd be lucky to see it back on the air by 5:00PM. Just pathetic.
 


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