Columbus Broadcasters Looking Forward to Political Battles

Mike Cash is ready to have a good 2010.

The director of revenue for television station WCMH, the Columbus region’s NBC affiliate, can look forward to selling ad time around the Winter Olympics in February, primary elections in May and high-profile political races in November.

http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2010/01/25/story4.html?b=1264395600%5E2769731

Former WCPO Reporter Wins City Council Seat

Mark Mallory defeated Republican challenger Brad Wenstrup – but it wasn’t a landslide.

Mallory garnered 54 percent of the vote to 46 percent for Wenstrup, a podiatrist and Iraq War veteran who has never held elective office. He will serve another four years a mayor.

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2009/11/02/daily29.html

Will WLEX Anchor Make a Run for Congress

We have been sitting on this one for a couple of days, but it's just too huge to not talk about, especially for our friends to the south in Lexington.Rich Emery sent us this Kentucky.com article about WLEX-TV 18/Lexington anchor Lee Cruse, who is mulling over a possible run at the US Congress seat currently held by Ben Chandler. Cruse currently anchors "LEX 18 News Sunrise" and "LEX 18 News at 12:30".

http://ohkyintristatemedia.blogspot.com/2009/07/out-of-market-lexington-personality-for.html

Former WHIO Director and Middletown Mayor Dies

Tributes poured in Monday, July 6 for Bob Wells, the former mayor of Middletown who passed away on Sunday at the age of 76.

“One of the things I’ll truly miss about him was I had a rapport with him,” said William “Kip” Moore, who served with Wells on city council. “He had a great knowledge of the city and was just a wealth of information for me.”

http://www.journal-news.com/news/hamilton-news/wells-friends-colleagues-pay-tribute-to-mayor-broadcaster-191697.html

New FCC Chairman Starts Right Away

Newly confirmed FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski released a statement thanking the president and Congress and praising his future colleagues, including giving a shout-out to the president's picks for the two open seats on the commission.

He was confirmed by unanimous consent Thursday evening and an FCC spokesperson said they expected the new chairman's first day at the commission would be Monday, June 29. The FCC's first public meeting is Thursday, July 2.

"I want to thank the members of the U.S. Senate for this enormous honor, first presented to me by President Obama to whom I am also deeply grateful," Genachowski said.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/306899-Genachowski_Expected_To_Start_Monday.php

FCC Offering Free DTV Converter Installation

The FCC has announced that many Dayton area residents will qualify for free hookup to DTV.

The government has targeted the Dayton television market which is served by WHIO-TV for special emphasis as the June 12th analog shutoff deadline approaches. As part of the initiative, TV viewers who have purchased digital converter boxes and have rabbit ears or an antenna may qualify for a free service call to get help with installation. To find out, call Installs Inc. at 1-800-582-4250. Or visit them on the web at DTV Help Installs.

http://www.whiotv.com/entertainment/19504678/detail.html

Coupons Available for Digital Switch Once Again

The $40 converter-box coupons are back.

More funding for the delayed digital transition means the end of the waiting list and a second chance for those whose coupons expired.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which runs the government's TV converter-box coupon program, is using about $490 million of the $650 million it received from the stimulus bill for the coupons.

Some of that money has been spent clearing out the waiting list for coupons, said Anna Gomez, acting assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information.

Those on the waiting list should receive their coupons in the next two weeks, she said.

"We are processing all new coupons as they come in," Gomez said.

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/03/24/converter.html?sid=101

Laure Quinlivan for City Council

Laure Quinlivan, Emmy and Peabody award winning journalist and former I-Team reporter for WCPO, has announced her candidacy for City Council. So what does this announcement mean for her current lawsuit against her former employer, WCPO, for pregancy and gender discrimination? Who knows. But here's her website showing what she plans to do for Cincinnati if elected.

http://lqreportingtoyou.com/

Former WCPO Reporter Eyes Seat on City Council

Laure Quinlivan is interested in seeking a seat on City Council in this fall’s election, according to a report on Ohio Daily, a progressive political blog. It states that Quinlivan hosted a small planning meeting Feb. 5 and told attendees that she’ll be running this year with the backing of key Democratic leaders.

Quinlivan left WCPO in November 2007 as part of budget cuts.

http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/blog-467-ex-newscaster-may-run-for-city-council.html

Shield Law Won't Get Vote in Lame Duck Session

A federal shield law will not get a vote in the lame duck session of Congress, says Kathy Kirby, partner at Wiley Rein and counsel to the Radio-Television News Directors Association, which had pushed for the bill. But she says she has assurances it will be reintroduced early in the next session.


The bill, which would protect journalists and their sources from overreaching prosecutors while carving out exceptions for national security, medical and proprietary business information, has the backing of both President-Elect Barack Obama and John McCain.


http://www.tvspy.com/shoptalk.cfm?page=1#sentencing

WOSU to Air Congressional Debates

WOSU 820 AM and WOSU TV will air live coverage of Ohio's 12th and 15th Congressional District debates at WOSU@COSI, to be moderated by WOSU's Mike Thompson. The 15th Congressional District debate between Don Elijah Eckhart, Mary Jo Kilroy, and Steve Stivers will air at 8 p.m. Thursday (10/16). The 12th Congressional District debate between David Robinson and Pat Tiberi will air at 8 p.m. Thursday (10/23). Both events are sponsored by WOSU Public Media and the Columbus Metropolitan Club.

http://www.progressohio.org/page/community/post/nationofgandhis/CHvb

The Ville Voice Comments on Alleged Media Bias

Softballs for Palin: A Cincinnati station got an interview with Sarah Palin, and gave her plenty of insightful questions, like — What do you tell people who are “freaking out” and “Will you run for President in 2012?”

http://thevillevoice.com/2008/10/15/a-few-items-that-just-arent-right/

Channel Blackouts May Not be Over

More station blackouts may be looming for cable subscribers here and across the country, industry experts warn.

The recent loss of LIN TV stations, including Dayton's WDTN-TV Channel 2, from Time Warner Cable's lineup is only the latest skirmish between cable operators and television stations that want money for allowing cable operators to retransmit their programming.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/b/content/oh/story/business/2008/10/14/ddn101408channel2.html

7th Congressional District Debate Hosted by WBNS-TV

It's the No. 1 concern state Sen. Steve Austria, R-Beavercreek, has heard while traveling through Fairfield and other counties in the 7th Congressional District the past few months - the sagging economy.

http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081014/NEWS01/810140308/1002

Cable Operators and TV Networks Standoff

The growing standoff between cable operators and TV networks over retransmission fees has its roots in government regulation and the changing telecommunications industry.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/b/content/oh/story/business/2008/10/14/ddn101408channel2inside.html

ABC's Charles Gibson Coming to BGSU

Charles Gibson has made the news lately almost as much as he reports it, thanks to his heavily-criticized moderation of the April Obama-Clinton debate and much-discussed interview with Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin last month.

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081005/ART18/810050297/-1/ART

ThinkTV Hosting an Ohio Election Forum

The public is invited to an Ohio Election Forum to discuss race, gender and age in relation to the upcoming election.

The forum is from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 7, and hosted by the Dayton Daily News, WMUB-FM, and ThinkTV.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/10/04/ddn100408forum.html

"Comment on Kentucky" Will Feature 3 Political Reporters

Joining host Ferrell Wellman on this weekend's "Comment on Kentucky," a public-affairs show of the Kentucky Educational Television network, will be three political reporters.

http://polwatchers.typepad.com/pol_watchers/2008/10/comment-will-feature-3-political-reporters.html

See The Kentucky Senate Debate Live on WCPO.com

You can see Republican incumbent Sen. Mitch McConnell and Democratic challenger Bruce Lunsford square off in Saturday morning's debate right here online.

http://www.kypost.com/content/wcposhared/story.aspx?content_id=d9d58954-b656-40a4-8f4e-b90e289a261d

WBNS and ONN to Host Attorney General Debate

WBNS-10TV, ONN and The Columbus Dispatch will host a debate on Oct. 14 at 8 p.m. in an effort to provide Ohioans with an opportunity to learn more about the candidates for Attorney General.

http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2008/08/29/ag_debate.html?sid=102