WKBT-TV in La Crosse is welcoming a new meteorologist to Wisconsin.
Derek Sibley tweeted Tuesday about his first week at the station as the weekday morning meteorologist.
He’s a graduate of the University of South Alabama and most recently worked at KMID in Odessa, Texas.
NBC 7 San Diego Reporter and Director of Storytelling Joe Little is known for maximizing his time on camera when he’s live or recorded. Last week during a WBA webinar he shared his tips to make your time on camera matter, move the story forward, and simply look better.
A recording of the session is available now. You can view it here.
If you had to make a list of cons when it comes to using social media as a broadcaster, the frequency of hurtful comments might rise to the top. And sometimes ‘thick skin’ isn’t much of a remedy.
Sara Maslar-Donar is the anchor of WKOW’s Wake Up Wisconsin Weekend morning show and reports for the weekday morning show. She was also recipient of the WBA’s ‘Best Online Personality” award, placing second.
She offers this advice for anyone who has been the recipient of an internet bully:
It’s easy to sit behind a computer screen and judge someone without truly knowing them, and some viewers really have a knack for it. Whether it’s a rude FB comment on your story, or a disparaging direct message about your looks.. those words hurt. Don’t deal with them alone: Find a support system. Talk to your coworkers, join a FB group for journalists. While you have to remember that the people who take the time to write those things are jerks, it doesn’t mean you have to shoulder the burden by yourself. Also – don’t feel like you have to respond! They aren’t entitled to a response. But if you do choose to address it, sometimes it just takes a well-thought out, patient response from you for someone to back off and apologize. Be strong and understand your worth – it’s hard being a public figure, but you are doing great!
Heather Poltrock
WASW-TV, Wausau
Morgan Murphy Media has named Christi Reynard news director at WKBT-TV in the La Crosse-Eau Claire, Wisconsin market.
Reynard is currently assistant news director at WHNT in Huntsville, Alabama. She has held multiple news management positions with increasing responsibility in the past 15 years. This will be her first opportunity in the newsroom’s top job.
“Christi is an experienced and passionate journalist ready to build on the successes at WKBT,” said Chris Palmer, WKBT vice president and general manager. “I have no doubt she will help us strengthen our community connection across all news content platforms.”
Reynard is a graduate of Southern Illinois University. She has a proven track record of success as a producer, executive producer, and assistant news director in eight markets.
“I’m excited to join the WKBT news team,” said Reynard. “I look forward to building on WKBT’s legacy of serving the people of the greater Coulee region.”
Reynard will start in the role July 12.
The Associated Press announced Tuesday a change of policy in naming suspects in minor crimes. It will no longer name the suspects, citing concern that “such stories can have a long, damaging afterlife on the internet that can make it hard for individuals to move on with their lives.”
“The AP, in a directive sent out to its journalists across the country, said it will no longer name suspects or transmit photographs of them in brief stories about minor crimes when there is little chance the organization will cover the case beyond the initial arrest.”
Anyone who has worked in broadcasting for at least 10 years, remembers the age before social media. I’m talking when social accounts strictly belonged to people and not police departments or non-profits.
Finding story ideas would come from poaching items from newspapers, press releases or conversations with friends and family.
Sara Maslar-Donar is the anchor of WKOW’s Wake Up Wisconsin Weekend morning show and reports for the weekday morning show. She was also recipient of the WBA’s ‘Best Online Personality” award, placing second.
She explains how journalists can use social media to their advantage.
Sometimes we take for granted how lucky we are to live in the age of technology! Thanks to social media, sources and story ideas are just a click away most of the time. My job is easier because I can reach out to sources via social media if I don’t have their phone number, I can find story ideas through community Facebook groups, or I can get visual content of, say, a major storm because someone posted a video on Twitter. So much of what we need to do our jobs can be found on a social media platform, and I certainly couldn’t live without that!
Heather Poltrock
WSAW-TV, Wausau
After 10 years at WKBT-TV in La Crosse, Michelle Poedel announced Friday was her last day.
On her Facebook page, Poedel said she fulfilled her childhood dream of being a meteorologist, but will start a new adventure with her photography business.
Poedel said she’s looking forward to more time with family.
If you want to see all of the emails your mayor received and sent during the week of March 16-20, 2020, to find communications regarding the coronavirus outbreak, all you have to do is ask. Under state law, the mayor is required to retain these and provide them on request.
If you want to see the emails that flowed between a given school district and a former superintendent regarding a school-siting controversy from several years ago, again, these are supposed to be preserved and provided.
But if you ask your state senator or representative for something as simple as a copy of his or her schedule from, say, yesterday, you have no guarantee. If you even get a response, one of the lawmaker’s aides could say, “Sorry, we deleted it at the end of the day. We have no record of it.”
That’s because, several decades ago, lawmakers exempted “any member of the legislature” from the state’s record retention statute.
Recently, the Wisconsin Examiner reported that two Republican state lawmakers, Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Saukville, and Rep. Rob Brooks, R-Saukville, apparently used this loophole to destroy records regarding a proposed elections bill.
“It is my office’s policy that my staff and I frequently delete emails during the normal course of business each day,” wrote Brooks in response to an information request. Said Stroebel, “As I’m sure you are aware, members of the Legislature are exempted from certain document retention requirements,” adding that his office made it a practice to “preserve limited Microsoft Outlook memory space.”
Julia Gunther, a research and communications associate with the group A Better Wisconsin Together, which made the requests, told the Examiner, “No part of their records policy prevents them from simply deleting information that would look unfavorable if it became public.”
A bill in the Legislature co-authored by Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, and Rep. Jimmy Anderson, D-Fitchburg, would eliminate this exemption.
Previous versions of the bill have gone nowhere. This version, co-sponsored by just two senators and nine representatives — all Democrats — will likely meet the same fate.
The public should demand otherwise.
It makes no sense that retention requirements apply to your local parks and recreation department but not to the positions in our state government that are most susceptible to corruption.
Say your state representative has an email conversation with a lobbyist to torpedo a bill in exchange for a campaign contribution. Sorry, it’s been deleted.
Your state senator writes to a colleague that a high-profile task force is meant to be just lip service? Sorry, it’s been deleted.
At the heart of Wisconsin’s government transparency laws is a presumption of openness — that “all persons are entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those officers and employees who represent them.”
At the heart of this exemption from the retention rules for state lawmakers are arrogance and cowardice. Arrogance that legislators don’t think they should be subject to the same scrutiny as other public officials. Cowardice that they’re afraid of the scrutiny.
Each day the exemption stands, our legislators are declaring themselves above the law.
Each day it stands, we’re left to wonder what they’re hiding from us.
Your Right to Know is a monthly column distributed by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council (www.wisfoic.org), a group dedicated to open government. Larry Gallup is a board member and the digital news director for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. He can be reached at lgallup@postcrescent.com
People in the news industry are often posing questions on social media regarding various journalism awards and job seeking. I am going to try to answer some of them today.
As a news director and a person in charge of hiring, I can tell you definitively the answer is… maybe.
It depends on the news director. I have met some in my tenure who believe awards are a waste of time and a waste of money. However, I have met many more colleagues who disagree.
Whether you submit yourself for an award, or your company does, it shows that pride was taken in that body of work. That alone is commendable.
Yes, but not by much. There are many awards where just being nominated is a huge accomplishment. Second or third place is also admirable. Any praise from peers is noteworthy.
Every award winner is chosen from a pool of entrants. However, some pools are bigger than others. Awards can be local, statewide, regional, national, or international. Typically, the larger the pool of entrants, the more prestigious an award is. News directors recognize that.
While I may notice that an applicant won an award of recognition from a local organization, an award like a national Murrow would move that resume to the top of the pile.
Yes! Showing that you took pride in your work speaks volumes to hiring managers.
Plus, it is a low-risk move. If you are applying to a company where awards are not valued, you certainly will not be faulted for including them on your resume. A no-risk move would be to list your accomplishments on a supplemental document that can be provided upon request.
In short, go forth and be judged. Besides a resume-booster, you may end up with some shiny hardware to show-off all your hard work.
Kristen Shill
News Director
WQOW-TV
Eau Claire
WBA Newsroom