Monthly Archives: September 2020

Michele McCormack is joining Tom Zakaski as co-anchor at WFRV Local 5 News.

She’ll be anchoring 5, 6, and 10 p.m. news in Green Bay and hosting the station’s upcoming Hispanic Heritage Month special.

McCormack returns to television after nearly three years as the Individual Giving Manager of Hunger Task Force food bank and farm in Milwaukee. Before that she was an anchor/reporter in Milwaukee for 12 years.

Prior stints on TV include KMBC in Kansas City, WPVI in Philadelphia, KWCH in Wichita and WGEM in Quincy, Illinois.

McCormack has received WBA awards for news reporting and writing and as anchor of the best 10 p.m. newscast in 2013.

The Milwaukee Press Club has announced that Corri Hess, reporter for Wisconsin Public Radio has been appointed president and will serve in that role for the next year. Hess was appointed effective with the membership’s ratification of annual elections to the club’s board of governors at its Annual Meeting on September 10.
 
Hess joined Wisconsin Public Radio in November 2018. She spent many years in print journalism writing for newspapers in North Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin. For more than 10 years, she has reported in southeastern Wisconsin, writing for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee Magazine, the Kenosha News, and most recently BizTimes Milwaukee. Hess has won a number of awards from the Milwaukee Press Club, the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, and most recently, the Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association for her work with the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.
 
Also elected to the board were:
Officers:

• James B. Nelson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, President-Elect
• H. Carl Mueller, Mueller Communications LLC, Treasurer
• Fraser Engerman, Johnson Controls, Secretary

Directors:

• Charles Benson, News/Political Reporter, WTMJ-TV
• LaToya Dennis, News Reporter/Producer, WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio
• Elizabeth Hummitzsch, Vice President, Mueller Communications LLC
• Mark Kass, Editor-in-Chief, Milwaukee Business Journal
• Marilyn Krause, Principal, Krause Communications
• Maryann Lazarski, Executive Producer, Milwaukee PBS 

They join continuing directors:

• Katrina Cravy, Professional Speaker & Publicity Coach, Katrina Cravy, Inc.
• Katharine Foley, Advisor, Public Relations, Kane Communications Group
• Steve Jagler, Director of Corporate Communications, Kane Communications Group
• Kathy Mykleby, Former News Anchor/Reporter, WISN-TV

Gene Mueller, Host of Wisconsin’s Morning News, Newsradio 620 WTMJ, will remain on the board as past-president.

RTDNA is using the recent release of its annual newsroom survey results to help newsrooms address the issues that newsrooms have identified as the biggest threats they face.

“It’s time for newsrooms to fully commit to their changing audiences – by changing themselves,” the RTDNA wrote.

Check out this article in which RTDNA discusses newsroom hiring, recruiting, culture, and retention.

WISN-TV News Director Ben Hart has been promoted to president and general manager of fellow Hearst station WJCL-TV in Savannah, Georgia.

“Ben is an accomplished executive, succeeding at every assignment over his long career with Hearst,” said Hearst Television President Jordan Wertlieb. “He has made every newsroom he has led better by bringing an enthusiasm and spirit grounded in his passion for the First Amendment and local television’s vital community role. We know he and the WJCL team will continue the momentum the station has experienced under Tim’s leadership and take the station to the next level.”

Hart joined Hearst Television in 2002 as a news producer at WAPT-TV, the company’s ABC Affiliate in Jackson, Mississippi. He advanced to producer positions at Hearst stations in successively larger markets, WDSU-TV in New Orleans and KCRA-TV/KQCA-TV in Sacramento. He returned to WAPT as assistant news director and, later, news director, before moving to Milwaukee to lead WISN’s news effort. Prior to joining Hearst, Hart began his broadcast career in radio as a program director, among other roles, for Cumulus Media and Urban Radio, moving to television as a director for WCBI-TV, the CBS affiliate in Columbus, Mississippi.

During his time in Milwaukee, Hart—the son of an accountant and a Detroit police commander—and the WISN news team engaged with state lawmakers to help guarantee public access to government records such as police body-camera video. In 2020 WISN was honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association, and 27 awards from the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association, including Station of the Year—its fifth in six years—and News Operation of the Year. At WAPT, Hart led the news team to the station’s highest ratings success and several Mississippi Associated Press awards and he was named the 2015 AP Newsperson of the Year in Mississippi. Collectively, news teams led by Hart have earned seven regional Emmy awards and three regional Edward R. Murrow Awards.

Born in Detroit, Hart and his family moved to Mississippi when he was a teenager. He is a graduate of Mississippi State University, where he started his career as a radio program director, producer and on-air talent.

Hart is a member of the Radio Television Digital News Association, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and the National Association of Black Journalists.

WSAW-TV investigative reporter, Naomi Kowles, is making the move to Madison. Kowles will continue investigative work when she joins WISC-TV in October.

While at WSAW, Kowles focused on politics, policy and public safety and the effects they have on people’s lives in rural Wisconsin. Her long-form reporting on child sexual assault, the impact of drugs on the foster care system, and a range of other investigations won multiple awards, while her reporting on was featured in some of the largest TV markets in the country as well as on CNN and CBS networks. A months-long investigation at the beginning of 2020 was allowing the elderly and medically-at-risk to live for weeks without a way to call 911 or use their medical alert systems in the wake of service outages, resulting in action from Wisconsin’s senators and company policy changes.

Kowles’ work earned 11 awards in 2019 from the Midwest Broadcasters Journalism Association and the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association.

WisEye is interviewing more than 160 state and federal candidates as part of its 2020 campaign coverage that it’s making available to Wisconsin newsrooms.

The content also includes candidate forums, debates, and news conferences.

A media kit, available here, includes more details about the coverage and how newsrooms can access it.

Investigative Reporters and Editors is offering an investigative reporting fellowship for journalists of color. Are you interested or know someone who is? Here are the details:

We’re looking for IRE’s next Journalist of Color Investigative Reporting Fellows! This yearlong program is designed to support diversity in investigative journalism.

The 2021 fellowship is open to U.S journalists of color with at least three years of post-college work experience. Applicants currently working in a newsroom must receive the support of their employer; freelancers are also encouraged to apply. Fellows will continue to work in their newsroom or in their freelance position for the duration of the fellowship.  

Sameea Kamal of the Los Angeles Times; Josh McGhee of The Chicago Reporter; and Monica Velez of The Fresno Bee were IRE’s 2020 fellows. Their projects will be published in spring 2021.  

Bracey Harris of The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi, was IRE’s first fellow. As part of her fellowship, Harris explored the effects of school integration on black families in Mississippi, which led to an investigation published The Hechinger Report and The Clarion-Ledger in February 2020. The fellowship included training, mentorship and additional project support.

“From walking me through how to map out a long-term investigation and balance my education beat duties to recommending hands-on training to take advantage of during IRE events, my mentors have been a lifeline as I report on the most challenging project in my journalism career to date,” Harris said.

As part of the program, the fellow must propose and work on a well-developed project that benefits their community. A mentor network of IRE members will advise the fellow throughout the year or until the project is complete, whichever comes first.

The fellowship includes a suite of resources and training opportunities:

• One-year IRE membership/renewal
• Complimentary Boot Camp registration and support. 
• Complimentary 2021 NICAR Conference registration and support
• Complimentary 2021 IRE Conference registration and support
• Access to complimentary IRE Data Service.
• Network of mentors who are IRE members

Fellowship applications are due Oct. 12. The recipient of the fellowship will be notified in November for a January 1 start date.

Americans’ trust in the news media is on the decline, but journalists can make an effort to earn it, according to this article from RTDNA.

The article says that while trust is at a low, it can be regained. There is hope.

A few of the ideas include increasing transparency, showing humility, and producing caring and connection.

RTDNA is out with the first installment of data from it’s annual local TV and radio news survey.

A few insights:
–In 2019, more stations aired more hours of local TV news than ever recorded in the annual newsroom survey.
–For the sixth year in a row, fewer than 50% of TV stations reported budget increases
–Fewer stations ran local radio news in 2019, and close to a record high percentage of stations report running local news from other sources rather than originating it. 
–Of nearly 350 radio managers who reported the biggest long-term threat to their organizations, the most common answer, reported by 39.7% of respondents, involved revenue.

The article about the first installment is here.

The only thing anyone can say for sure about the coming election night is that they don’t know what will happen. There are a lot variables creating uncertainty about the process of counting and announcing the winner.

Poynter today released an article about how to prepare for the “weirdest election ‘night’ ever.”

You can also find more information there about panel discussions coming up Sept. 9 and 10 that will discuss these issues. For those, you can register here.