Local Nexstar Stations Get New Mobile Service

It looks like folks on the go who want to keep up with news and information coming from WTVW-Fox 7 will soon have a new way of doing so.


Nexstar Broadcasting Group, which owns WTVW, has signed an agreement with LSN Mobile to provide wireless services to the company's stations, and viewers will be the beneficiaries.


The new services will include apps for iPhones, Blackberries, Droids and probably some others I don't know about yet. Users will be able to get news updates and see videos (on compatible devices) according to TVNewsCheck.

As of now, I've not been able to find a timetable for the debut of the new services, but with the fast pace of today's media environment, I think Nexstar will move quickly to roll this out, especially since many other station groups also have mobile apps, alerts and other offerings.


NOTE: In Indiana, in addition to WTVW, Nexstar also owns WFFT-Fox 55 in Fort Wayne and WTWO-Newschannel 2, the NBC affiliate in Terre Haute. The company also operates WFXW-Fox 38 in Terre Haute through a local marketing agreement.

Gray Stations WKYT, WBKO, and WSAZ Help UK Raise Money for Haiti

Gray Television, Inc. ("Gray," "we" or "us") (NYSE: GTN) assists the University of Kentucky men's basketball team make a slam dunk in its effort to help victims of January's devastating earthquake in Haiti. The effort even scored a high-five for the team from President Barack Obama.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/CL48257.htm

Moutain Stage Returning to WOUB

It's been a couple of years since Mountain Stage took the show over to Athens, OH, home of Ohio University. So we're pleased to announce our return to the home of WOUB on October 11 at the Templeton-Blackburn Memorial Auditorium (Mem-Aud as the kids call it).

http://www.wvpubcast.org/blogs.aspx?id=10712&blogid=340

Dayton and West Virginia Stations' Parent Company Receives Loan Extension

Cunningham Broadcasting Corp. has received another extension from its lenders on a $33.5 million loan. Payment was due today, but Cunningham, which is closely aligned with Sinclair Broadcast Group, now has until Oct. 30 to pay.

http://digitalproducer.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=811336

West Virginia Station Gives Automakers - and Revenue a Boost

Now that the recession is official, and advertising revenues are taking an even bigger hit, here's an interesting question: Are broadcasters actually making the economy worse than it really is? Tim DeFazio thinks so.

"We're suffering more from psychological effects of national media than the local effects," says DeFazio, general manager of Withers Broadcasting's WDTV in Bridgeport, W.Va. "The economy is what it is, but TV news headlines are way out of proportion to the actual problem."


http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/12/15/daily.9/

WSAZ to Help Bag Some Bucks for Red Cross

WSAZ VP-General Manager Don Ray announced today that the Gray WSAZ NBC affiliate in Huntington, W.Va. (DMA 65) has partnered with the Red Cross, to "Bag Some Bucks" for the flood ravaged areas of Southern West Virginia and Kentucky on Thursday, May 14, in Charleston and Huntington.

WSAZ on-air personalities and staff will collect cash and checks in "sand bags" with 100 percent of the money collected donated to the American Red Cross Disaster Fund.

Wheeling Radio Station Loses Second Employee in 2 Weeks

Our condolences, again, to employees of RCK 1 Group talk WKKX/1600 in Wheeling WV, as a second member of their radio family has passed away.

West Virginia Media CBS/ABC/Fox affiliate WTRF/7 and sister newspaper The State Journal report that WKKX talk host and newsman Tod Jeffers has died at the age of 67.

Among the stations on Jeffers' resume according to AllAccess - Columbus' WBNS-FM/97.1, which recently changed from hot AC to sports as "97.1 The Fan".

WKKX is mainly a Wheeling-centric station, and doesn't cover nearly as much of the Ohio side of the Ohio Valley region as Clear Channel talk competitor WWVA/1170 (or the two local TV stations, WTRF and Cox NBC affiliate WTOV/9 Steubenville OH).

But we did note the passing of Ohio Valley broadcast legend George Kellas...who was a co-worker of Jeffers at WKKX. That means the Wheeling talk station's employees are now grieving over the second staff member death in under two weeks...

WCHS Anchor/Reporter Firing Causes Controversy

....
Well known TV news personality, Christine Habrle, was a familiar anchor-reporter for WCHS in Charleston, West Virginia, for many years. She was terminated recently, and the reason given by upper management doesn’t come close to what others we talked to believe actually occurred. In fact, the TV station owners praised her work as recently as August, 2008.


http://westvirginianews.blogspot.com/2008/11/tv-anchor-reporters-termination.html

Chris Bailey Returns to WKYT...Sort Of

Chris Bailey's back at WKYT ... kind of.


The morning weatherman who recently moved to a West Virginia station began a four-day stint Sunday night as a temporary fill-in because two of WKYT's three meteorologists are off.


Bailey swapped jobs at the end of June with Todd Borek of WSAZ, which broadcasts in Huntington and Charleston, W.Va.

http://www.kentucky.com/702/story/554064.html

Nexstar Signs 2 More Retransmission Deals

Nexstar Broadcasting Group announced today that it has entered into multi-year retransmission consent agreements with DirecTV and AT&T.

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/09/04/daily.4/

Gray Television CEO Steps Down

Atlanta-based Gray Television announced Wednesday that J. Mack Robinson is stepping down as chairman and CEO of the station group with which he has been associated since 1993.

Mr. Robinson’s son-in-law, Gray board Vice Chairman Hilton H. Howell Jr., will add the duties of CEO.

Mr. Robinson will remain a voting board member and hold the title of chairman emeritus.

“My decision to step down should not come as a surprise to anyone, given that I’m now 85 years old,” Mr. Robinson in the announcement Wednesday.


http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/08/robinson_steps_down_as_gray_tv.php

NBC's Reverse comp Efforts Start With West Virginia's Top Affiliate

Gray Television plans to resist NBC's push to have affiliates pay to run its programming, Gray President-COO Robert Prather says. Prather acknowledged during the company's second-quarter earnings call that Gray faces the likelihood of tough talks with the network over what's called reverse compensation, beginning with Gray's Charleston, W.Va., NBC affiliate, WSAZ.

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/08/07/daily.10/

ABC for the Ohio Valley

The Wheeling/Steubenville market is about to get what it has never, ever had - a full-time, in-market ABC affiliate station.

The folks at TVNewsday report that West Virginia Media CBS affiliate WTRF/7 Wheeling will launch a new ABC affiliate for the Ohio Valley on August 1, with a digital subchannel on WTRF-DT. That'd have to be, as the story indicates, WTRF-DT 7.3, as 7.2 is already taken by "FOX Ohio Valley".

http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com/2008/07/on-fringes.html

WKYT Chief Meteorologist's Final Weather Blog

Chris' Final Weather Blog from WKYT

http://wkyt.mis.net/weatherblog/?p=2680

WKYT's Chris Bailey Changes Mind-Back on TV

Good afternoon everyone. As many of you know I announced more than a month ago that I would be leaving WKYT. I was intent on getting out of the tv business and go a different route with life. Upon letting my intentions be known… I started getting interest from other tv stations from across the region. Much of that interest was for positions with hours more suitable for family life.

http://wkyt.mis.net/weatherblog/?p=2674

WCMH Sportscaster named "Best Of" In Hometown Paper

For two straight years, Jerod Smalley, sports director at WCMH-TV 4 in Columbus, Ohio, has proven the best -- he and Channel 4 have swept the statewide awards by Ohio Associated Press. He was named "Best Sports Broadcaster," his daily sports segments won "Best Regularly Scheduled Sports Program," and his supervised sports department was named "Best Sports Operation." A former sportscaster with Huntington's WSAZ-TV 3 and son of Jerry and Rhonda Smalley of Huntington, Jerod graduated from Cabell Midland High and Marshall University with a broadcast journalism degree. He and wife, Sarah Eplin, have two sons, Brady and Tyler.

WV Meteorologist Takes Over for WKYT's Chris Bailey

A West Virginia meteorologist will replace WKYT-27 morning and noon weatherman Chris Bailey.
WKYT, Lexington's CBS affiliate, announced on Tuesday that Todd Borek of WSAZ in the Huntington and Charleston markets will debut July 3.

http://www.kentucky.com/211/story/430250.html

Former WV TV Anchor Wins Secretary of State Nomination

Democrat Natalie Tennant will go on to face Republican Charles Minimah in the race for the Secretary of State post in November after easily taking the nomination over two challengers with roots in the statehouse.
"I thought that I could win it," Tennant said. "I didn't know what the numbers would be."

http://www.dailymail.com/News/election08/200805140007

Historic Duopoly for Clarksburg WV

The acquisition of WVFX gives him a Fox affiliate to go along with the CBS affiliate he already owned, WDTV. Withers received a "failing station" waiver from the FCC to create the small-market duop.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/05/13/daily.9/

****IMPORTANT DATES FOR MEMBERS****

Hey Everyone!!!

Just wanted to let you know that Emmy Award nominations will be announced on June 2nd at 11am. Please check on www.ovemmy.org for all the nominees.

The Ohio Valley Emmy Awards ceremony will be on August 9th at the Westin Cincinnati.

Keep checking back for more information or email me at nwilliams@ohiovalleyemmy.org

Thanks!

Nicole