Bowling Green Broadcast Pioneer Dies

BOWLING GREEN - Duane Tucker, 84, the founding general manager of WBGU-TV at Bowling Green State University who saw potential in public television from its infancy, died Monday in the Hospice of Northwest Ohio, Perrysburg Township, from complications of congestive heart failure.

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080327/NEWS13/803270406

TV Weather Forecasting Picks Up Speed and Accuracy

When Tri-State residents see television meteorologists warning them about imminent weather danger, they're seeing more than just a plea for people in certain areas to seek shelter. They're seeing improvements in technology.

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/mar/30/forecasting-picks-up-speed-accuracy/

NBC's "Fear Itself" Find Off-Net Home on FEARnet.com

FEARnet will be the exclusive home off-network home of NBC's upcoming anthology series, Fear Itself.

Episodes will begin rolling out on the FEARnet Web site (http://www.fearnet.com) and video-on-demand channel Labor Day, Sept. 1, with a new episode available each week. The episodes will come with extras including scene-by-scene analysis from directors and additional scenes.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6545917.html

WLEX Reporter Adds Anchoring Duties

NBC affiliate WLEX-18 has named general assignment reporter Kristen Pflum as its new weekend anchor. Pflum, who has worked at the station for three years, replaces Heather Higdon, who took a job with Lexmark International this month to spend more time with her family. Pflum will continue to report three nights a week. The station plans to hire a replacement for the full-time general assignment reporting job.

http://www.kentucky.com/101/story/360405.html

Is Hollywood Ready for Another Strike?

With new shows just starting to return to TV, the entertainment industry finally seems to be shaking off the devastating impact of the 100-day writers strike that took an estimated $2.5 billion toll on the local economy. But leaders of the Screen Actors Guild have said publicly they will push for an even better deal than the one writers got.

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/03/28/daily.8/

How 6 of the Major Broadcast Groups Will Spend Their Time at NAB

Among the throngs at the National Association of Broadcasters convention April 11-17 in Las Vegas will be the top engineers for major broadcast groups. All come with slightly different agendas and some with radically different timetables. All of them, however, will have their minds on one date for certain: Feb. 17, 2009, the last day broadcasters will be allowed to transmit an analog signal. Here’s a look at how six of the major broadcast groups will spend their time on the NAB floor making final plans for the digital transition.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6546067.html

Fox 19 Posts Strong February Ratings

The Ten O'Clock News team at WXIX-TV Channel 19 can thank "American Idol" for a strong ratings increase in the February, 2008 "sweeps" period, according to Inside Media's latest analysis of Nielsen Media Research numbers.

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/03/24/daily54.html

Former Cincinnati Production Crew Member Promoted to Vice President

Lauren Kelcher, Alexandra Lippin and Paki Newell have been promoted to the position of vice president of the Lippin Group, a Los Angeles-based international public relations consulting firm.

Ms. Kelcher, who was hired out of college by the company in 2003, specializes in implementing strategic campaigns.

Ms. Lippin joined the company in 2006 and heads up the Brand to Hollywood unit, which develops visibility campaigns for luxury brands. Before joining the Lippin Group, she worked in production at MTV and on “The Sharon Osbourne Show.”

Mr. Newell joined the company in 2000 and handles promotion for clients in the music industry. Previously, he spent four years in production and engineering at CBS affiliate WKRC-TV in Cincinnati.

“Lauren, Alexandra and Paki have each demonstrated a high level of professional skills and have unselfishly made contributions of great benefit to our company,” said Dick Lippin, chairman and CEO of the Lippin Group.

Interesting Blog Article on New "Facebook" Type Site

An interesting blog on a new "facebook" type social networking site. It may not sound TV related, but remember, these are the types of sites that kids are getting a lot of their news and other information from.


It's being called the Facebook for athletes.
And its already creating quite a buzz on the Internet, introducing...weplay.com

http://www.wbko.com/news/headlines/17039376.html

SportsTime Ohio Builds HD Affiliate Roster

SportsTime Ohio has added four affiliates to its HD distribution network.

Officials at the regional sports network, the TV home to Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Indians, said that WideOpenWest, Massillon Cable TV, Clear Picture and Oberlin Cable Co-op will carry its full-time STO HD channel, which throws out its first pitch April 1. The parties did not disclose deal terms.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6545217.html

Student Video Work To Appear on KET

On March 29, images of the Redbud Trail and Quilt Festival and the video production work of Union College students will reach viewers across Kentucky.

Kentucky Educational Television (KET) will air video coverage of the Redbud Festival in an episode of Kentucky Life scheduled to air Saturday, March 29 at 8 p.m. on KET 1and Sunday, March 30 at 4:30 p.m. on KET 1 and 7 p.m. on KET2.

http://www.unionky.edu/News/08/032508_KET.asp

WKU Games to be Seen Locally

In a cooperative effort between WLKY-TV, WMYO-TV, and CBS Sports, local college basketball fans will have the option of viewing both the Louisville and Western Kentucky NCAA Tournament games this Thursday night on local television.

http://www.wlky.com/news/15701156/detail.html

Nexstar Inks Deal with WOW! Cable

Nexstar Broadcasting Group Inc. has signed a six-year retransmission consent agreement with Wide Open West, or WOW!, a regional provider of high-speed Internet, cable and telephone services.

http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2008/03/24/daily6.html

Time Warner to Air Reds Games in HD

Time Warner will add Reds games in beautiful HDTV clarity this season from Fox Sports Net Ohio on Cincinnati Channel 968 and Dayton Channel 768, after not carrying any the Reds' FSN Ohio HDTV games last year.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080323/ENT/803230325/1035/LIFE

Ohio Reporter Dies in Car Crash

COLUMBUS - A Lima, Ohio, television sports reporter who also was a telemarketing supervisor in Westerville, Ohio, was killed Thursday in a two-car accident in north Columbus, authorities said.

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080322/NEWS01/803220411

Amy Bingham Leaves WBKO

Friday, March 21st, we shared some bittersweet news with you. The beginning of a new job for one WBKO employee means her final goodbye here. WBKO's Tamara Evans tells you more about Amy Bingham's last day!

http://www.wbko.com/news/headlines/16913611.html

Local Puppeteer Honored by WXIX

Hattie the Witch, one of the iconic puppets created by Cincinnati puppeteer Larry Smith, was one of a number of cloth characters present at a Saturday, March 15, ceremony conducted in Smith's honor at the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting. Smith received commendations from the Cincinnati Area Puppeteers Guild, WXIX Channel 19 and Media Heritage Inc. for his five decades of contributions to local broadcasting and the art of puppetry.

http://www.journal-news.com/hp/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/03/19/pjw032008puppet.html

WHIZ Top News Stories in 2007

http://youtube.com/watch?v=vxC0nX8cvzs&feature=related

Former Local News Director Says TV Losing the War on War Coverage

Five years ago today, the second war in Iraq got under way, and TV screens were full of nearly nonstop coverage on newscasts and specials.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080319/COLUMNISTS15/803190876/1011/SCENE

WLEX Capitalizes on Web Weather Coverage

Lexington’s WLEX drove 455,000 pageviews in a single day — in a market with around 1 million people — due to it’s aggressive coverage of a big snowstorm. “We’re coming to the point where the online is as important as on air,” said Bruce Carter, director of news and marketing.

http://www.lostremote.com/2008/03/18/wlex-capitalizes-on-web-weather-coverage/

Horstmeyer Jumps from WKRC to WXIX

Steve Horstmeyer, WKRC-TV's longtime weatherman, will move to WXIX-TV (Fox19) as chief meteorologist, the station announced Monday.

Horstmeyer had spent 19 years at WKRC, a CBS affiliate. Prior to that, he was a meteorologist with WLWT-TV, and a mathematics teacher with Cincinnati Public Schools.

A Cincinnati native, Horstmeyer graduated from Moeller High School and Miami University. His first on-air day at Fox19 will be Aug. 7, the station said.

Local Radio Hosts Win Media Service Award from OHSAA

Craig Dunn of Logan and Dan Ramey of Chillicothe are the latest recipients of media service awards from the Ohio High School Athletic Association and the OHSAA's Southeast District board.


http://athensmessenger.com/main.asp?SectionID=7&SubSectionID=388&ArticleID=9112&TM=49308.86

WBNS Announces Expanded Coverage of the NCAA Tournament

WBNS TV, Channel 10 out of Columbus, has announced it will "multi-cast" its coverage of the upcoming NCAA men's basketball tournament which will allow local Time Warner Cable customers to choose from multiple games at the same time.

http://www.chillicothegazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080313/NEWS01/803130312/1002

DISH and LIN TV Networks Reach Retransmission Agreement

DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH), the leader in digital television and the nation’s third largest pay-TV provider, and LIN TV Corp. (NYSE: TVL), a local television and digital media company, today announced they have entered into an agreement for the retransmission of LIN TV’s broadcast stations in both standard and high-definition. The deal covers television stations owned and/or operated by LIN TV spanning 17 markets.


http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080313005536&newsLang=en

Bill Proposing to Outlaw Anonymous Web Postings

2 important stories on a bill proposing a ban of anonymous posting on websites. A legislator in Kentucky has proposed the resolution. Is this an effort to curb on-line bullying, or a violation of the 1st Amendement. Read the posts below and comment.




http://snooper.wordpress.com/2008/03/12/censorship-federal-ban-on-anonymous-posting/
http://indiana.typepad.com/fwob/2008/03/kentucky-legisl.html

Cincinnati Investigative Team Wins National Award

WCPO's I-Team Anthony Mirones and Hagit Limor have won first place in the National Headliner's Award for their story "Resurrection", about the comeback of streams off airport property that had been killed by deicing fluid. Their continued pressure on the state of Kentucky to enforce its environmental permit played a role.

WLKY Gets a New GM

Glenn Haygood has been named president and general manager of WLKY-TV, the CBS affiliate for Louisville, effective March 17.

http://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2008/03/10/daily10.html

WKYT Weather Ad Pokes Fun at Scary Commercials

The Herald-Leader's occasional series Ad Analysis has been on vacation for a year. So we'll kick life back into it with two entries this week. This installment focuses on a WKYT-27 weather promotion that viewers suggest might poke fun at a rival station, as well as an ad by Kentucky Utilities' parent company that touts its connection to a clean coal plant project as the plans for it imploded.



http://www.kentucky.com/101/story/342198.html

The Family Gardener Passes Away

Joe Huber, who is best known for his family business in Starlight, Ind., passed away at 74 from complications from an infection after battling cancer.

For several years, Huber contributed local reports on WLKY as the Family Gardener, sharing his experiences and expert advice.

http://www.wlky.com/news/15553899/detail.html

Another Local Paper forms Content Sharing Agreement with WBNS-10TV

LANCASTER - The Lancaster Eagle-Gazetteand WBNS-10TV have formed a content-sharing alliance to expand news-gathering resources and content for both companies.

Indiana PBS Affiliate to Broadcast on Low Power for a Year

South Bend's public television station expects to broadcast at reduced power for nearly a year because station officials say a replacement part for its analog transmitter is too expensive.

ThinkTV Airing Documentary on Local Frank Lloyd Wright Home

Dayton's PBS station - ThinkTV - just completed a marvelous documentary about the restoration of Frank Lloyd Wright's Westcott House in Springfield. It's the only Prairie-style structure by Wright in the state and was built in 1908 for auto magnate Burton J. Westcott. He owned the Westcott Motor Car Company, which produced hand-assembled cars. He died in 1923 a few years after his wife, Orpha, died after a routine operation.

Media General Sells WTVQ

Lexington ABC affiliate WTVQ-36 has been sold to a Georgia-based media chain, its parent company announced Friday.

Media General, which has owned WTVQ since 1997, declined to announce the sale price to Morris Multimedia.

FOX Only Network Not to Suffer from Writers' Strike Syndrome

That writers' strike annoyed viewers with reruns, and trade journals are saying it was a disaster -- except for Fox.

The February ratings sweeps' numbers show all of the big broadcast networks except Fox suffered declines running from 17 percent to 41 percent, according to Media Life, an industry trade journal.

Crime Still a Big Deal on Local Newscasts

A&E cable rolls out a reality series called "Crime 360" tonight at 10. Each episode of the series follows one investigation from start to finish.

It joins dozens of other real and fictional law-and-order shows on broadcast and cable channels.

Former Columbus CW Star on the Set of 'Supernatural'

Video of Crystal, the Columbus CW affiliate's first 'star', interviewing actors Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki from the hit show 'Supernatural'.

Channel 44 Back on the Air!

Help is on the way for viewers who have been unable to tune into WEVV-CBS44, due to the analog signal being off on Channel 44 since an ice storm effected a transmitter Feb. 12.

WTVW in Evansville Wins Top Award at Local ADDY's

Congratulations to the staff at WTVW in Evansville for winning a local ADDY. Click the headline for the story.

Classi WCMH Video

Husband and wife duo of Doug Adair and Mona Scott showing the big snow that hit Columbus in 1984. Great classic TV!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl2mmk6kzps&feature=related

WEVV to Fix Its' Broadcast Signal Soon

Question: Since the snow and ice storm in Feb. 11, I am unable to get WEVV Channel 44 reception on my TV. I do not have cable or satellite.

ThinkTV and WPTD Produce 'Ohio War Stories'

It’s been 63 years since Ernestina Thoennes of Fresno wore the uniform of a Steno Yeoman 1st Class, and the stenography work she did for the U.S. Navy never earned her any medals.

Turnover at WLEX

Saying he "did not part on friendly terms," longtime WKYT reporter Jerry Sander is leaving the station, one of several changes at Lexington television stations.

Meanwhile, executives at NBC affiliate WLEX-18 told staffers on Friday that weekend anchor Heather Higdon would be leaving for a job at Lexmark International, and that it was fill-in reporter Meredith Lane's last day at the station.

WSAZ Cuts 8 Staffers

WSAZ-TV is cutting eight employees from its Charleston staff as it prepares to transition its local news to high-definition broadcasts, said Don Ray, vice president and general manager.

Former WKYT-TV Exec Dies

Walter M. Windsor, former VP of WKYT-TV in the 1960's, has died in Georgia.

WBNS and Major Ohio Newspaper Network Announce Content Sharing

The Newspaper Network of Central Ohio (NNCO) and WBNS-10TV announced Friday a content sharing alliance that will greatly expand the resources and content for both companies.

WBNS Once Again Dominates Columbus Ratings

The writers strike changed the TV landscape during the Nielsen "sweeps" in February but had little effect on local ratings.

Stations relied on sports, reality and other nonfiction programming to fill prime-time hours.

WBNS Gets National Attention from Story on Lead in Dental Work

Lead-tainted toys, jewelry and household goods have triggered massive recalls, public-health alerts and demands for more-stringent safety standards.

Kentucky Family to be Featured on "Wife Swap"

Tom Sutton persuaded his wife, Karen, to go on national television because he loves her.

"Karen's never been anywhere or traveled. She's always taking care of her family. I thought it'd be an adventure for her," says the 37-year-old underground coal miner

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/feb/27/ky-family-trades-comfort-for-wife-swap/

Decomcratic Debate in Ohio Posts Record Ratings for MSNBC

If the race between Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) was over prior to Tuesday night's debate, someone forgot to tell MSNBC viewers.
The cable network's coverage of the often-testy Democratic debate was the most-watched broadcast in its 11-year history, drawing 7.8 million viewers. MSNBC's previous best was 3.7 million on the evening of March 19, 2003, which marked the beginning of the Iraq war.
The debate also drew 3.24 million adults 25-54, another network best.

http://harris.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=318733

Dayton Public Television becomes Think TV

Public television in Dayton wants its viewers to broaden their scope.
So Greater Dayton Public Television has adopted a new slogan, Think TV, to better represent the organization's multiple enterprises and to prepare for the digital future.

http://dayton.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/1998/08/24/story2.html

The Other Side of Gene Birk

You see him every weekday here on WBKO.
He's been a news anchor for South Central Kentucky since 1994.
http://www.wbko.com/news/headlines/15969947.html

Former WSYX Anchor to Retire From TV After 32 Years

Dwight Lauderdale is retiring from WPLG-TV, Local 10, after 32 years. He announced his retirement during the 11 p.m. newscast Monday describing his journey as "a great ride in the front seat."

http://www.local10.com/news/15413489/detail.html