Danielle Frack is the new News Director at KATU, the Sinclair-owned station in Portland.  She has also been a producer and excutive producer for the station, which she joined nine years ago.   She replaces Yvonne Simons.

  NPR's Tonya Mosely, former reporter at KING 5 Seattle and former board member of the Seattle Association of Black Journalists, will be part of a NABJ panel interview of VP and Dem presidential candidate Kamala Harris in Philly on Tuesday.  More here from Essex Porter, ex of  KIRO7: https://x.com/EssexJP_TV/status/1835349906955096523

Every TV sideline shot I saw of the Husky coach Jedd Fisch at the Apple Cup showed a bored, disinterested man with no fire, anger, desire or anything.   I suggest a new first name.  Losing to WSU didn't help and the last play he called was a terrible.  Oh, and by the way, Belichick's son, DC at UW could scare a hungry dog off a meat truck.

Apple Cup fans who watched the game on pay for play Peacock had to endure the work of  NBC  analyst Colt McCoy.  Terrible voice and no insight.  Yes, he's new, but how did he get this job?  He was a below average backup NFL QB and the tradition continues in the booth.  Not to mention there are a lot of empty seats at Lumen.

  Watching Chris Daniels of KOMO reporting on the lack of buzz around this weekend's Apple Cup was like watching a funeral story.   It's football, son, so lighten up.  First year of a major change, so let it play out without your Doomsday face and voice.

Brock Huard, KIRO rado host, Fox CFB analyst and former star QB for the UW Huskys is not happy with Saturday's early season clash between UW and WSU at Lumen Field.  The game is usually played at the close of the regular season for the big trophy, but no more.  Here's what he said: "I know that I will not call this the Apple Cup – for me. I know this is not played in Pullman. I know this is not played at Husky Stadium. I know because of that, this is a very different feel and a very different environment. I know  ticket sales have been tough ."   More here: https://t.co/jHCgYxaqAV

Former CBS Evening News Anchor has a new book out, appropriately called CONNIE, and she will be in Seattle for a book tour Q&A with former KING5 news anchor Lori Matsukawa (pictured below).  It's set for Town Hall Seattle at 1119 8th Ave.on Tuesday 9/24 at 7:30. https://www.facebook.com/share/uq9ojqmVUPmnN6X6/?mibextid=WaXdOe

Chris Daniels of KOMO Seattle has made it his personal mission to bring the NBA Sonics back to the city as he bridges the gap between his senior news reporter status and sports podcast career.  Here's his latest from the Commish. https://x.com/ChrisDaniels_TV/status/1833623347701182769

Here's what Major League Baseball Boss Rob Manfred said today about Regional Sports Networks (RSNs) and the future of the game on television:  A national media rights strategy is needed to expand the game, acknowledging that there will be a local component but that an adjustment must be made. In Seattle, the Mariners own Root, which may or may not be an advantage.   It has already lost the Kraken to local broadcast TV as well as the NBA Trailblazers in Portland.

On Monday's (9-9) The Herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports One, Colin interviewed former Seahawks star QB Matt Hasselbeck and annouced that he would be joining the program every Monday and Friday as the foobtall season progresses.  Hasselbeck, who led the Seahawks to the Super Bowl in 2005, previously lost his on-air gig with ESPN Sunday Countdown, so this will get him back on the air on a semi-regular basis.

Sure it's one typo, but the post on X has had multiple comments, including one of my own, and it remains uncorrected and laughable.   KOMO's content is sub-standard already.  They don't need flubs like this.  FEELING police???? KOMO News @komonews · 34m 1 person is dead, and 2 others were injured in Thurston County by a reckless driver who was feeling law enforcement on Saturday:

From KHQ in Spokane: SPOKANE, Wash. - Spokane radio show stars Dave, Ken, and M olly had their show end abruptly in June, but that didn’t mark the end for t he trio. They have announced they will continue their careers at NonStop Local! The Dave, Ken, and Molly Show,  featured on KXLY 920 and 92.9 ZZU, ended after over 30 years without giving the three a chance to say goodbye.  The sudden ending of the show sparked a large online response from their loyal morning listeners in Spokane. Morning listeners now have a new way to hear from their favorite radio hosts, as Dave and Molly announce a new partnership at NonStop Local! This wasn’t the only announcement the group wanted to share with their fans, as Ken Hopkins announced that he will be retiring. After 32 years in radio, Ken shared that he plans to focus on his passions and finally sleep in. "Despite its surprise ending,” Ken noted, “I feel unbelievably fortunate to have spent my entire radio career in this beautiful city."

As predicted here, Eric Thomas, new to KIRO 7 from north of the border, where he did sports for Rogers Media, handles the Seahawks game winning highlights in the first newscast after the game.  Of course, this comes after Sports Director Chris Francis was fired, and who has now turned up freelance on Fox 13 here.

Gotta hand it to Fox 13 Seattle for another money saving move.  Just like it turned weekday morning weather guesser Erin Mayovsky into a news anchor, it's now done the same with Abby Acone on weekend mornings with Taylor Winkel. This after the talented and experiened Jade Elliott left the station during the summer. It's certainly n ot a strong or credible combination and just another example of doing more with less. But it's weekend mornings only seen on the Fox duopoly. Weather performers are not news anchors. They are just teleprompter readers and badly miscast. But at this station, it doesn't really matter.

  The Apple Cup, pitting the Huskys against the Cougs for Washington football supremacy, is scheduled for Saturday, 9-14 at 12:30 p.m. from Lumen Field.  If you are suprised by that earlier than ever date, you may also be surprised to find out it is ONLY on PEACOCK, so you have to subscribe to NBC's streaming service.   I wonder what the buzz will be.  The game usually causes a frenzy among fans on its previous annual date, the Friday after Thanksgiving.

After the big presidential debate on Tuesday, KING 5 has an exclusive clash between WA gubernatiorial candidates Bob Ferguson (D) and Dave Reichert (R).  Starts at 8.   

I DVR'd Washington Sports Wrap and for the first time, Chris Francis, fired from KIRO 7, turns up reporting from Seahawks HQ, on that FOX 13 Seattle weeknight program, so he was able to stay in the market after being fired.   Good to see him back in action.   The show started with co-host Bryan Walters, a very obscure former Hawks player.  He's vanilla, not a draw.  The set is stll a bastardized version of the Seattle Live morning show, and the hosts are ridiculously far apart in their white sneakers.  The show is nothing special and my guess is it might go away after football season.

The sports web site AwfulAnnouncing.com has given its ratings for the best broadcast team in the WNBA.  They rate the Seattle Storm's Dick Fain and Elise Woodward as #9 with a C grade.   Here are some of the verbatim comments of those who answered the fan survey and the full link below: 9. Seattle Storm Play-by-play:  Dick Fain Analysts:  Elise Woodward Sideline Reporter:  Piper Shaw, Alyssa Charlston Most Common Grade:  C (27.4% of votes) % of A, B, C Grades:  77.1% of votes Fain  and  Woodward  have been  calling Storm games together for 16 seasons , and that kind of chemistry pays off. “Lots of energy,” “passionate,” and “know the game” were among their descriptors. Woodward received a notable amount of praise for her work. While plenty of people enjoy Fain, detractors also pointed out how much he “screams.” “Why does Dick Fain yell so much?” asked one. Others feel the broadcasters are partisan “cheerleaders,” though we’d imagine most Storm fans wouldn’t see that as a problem. W

Watching nine-month old ARC Seattle morning show again after a critic's hiatus of a few months: More newsy (less filler), allowing Steve McCarron to use his journalistic strengths. Lounge set furing the 1st hour is nice, but the camera and prompter is up too high for talent. Tyrah Majors strains to read, stared and recites copy as a result. Old set also upgraded, pace better. That said, the show is loaded with komo promos, so it's likely struggling revenue-wise against tough established news on KONG, Q and network shows. Still a lot of gimmicky franchises, like The Download and MInute Moments, but the gfx are generally better. Remain unsure about what the show's mission is, but it has improved. It's on mornings on the Seattle CW 8-10. FYI

Once a major player in morning sports talk radio at KJR Seattle, Mitch Levy is back on the air in a weekly broadcast.  He had to abdicate the airwaves after being caught up in a Bellevue undercover police sex sting in 2017.   https://x.com/Mitch_Seattle/status/1831538295899353560  

After almost a quarter century at NBC Montana, Heidi Meili is leaving for KAYU, Fox 28 in Spokane to anchor the Good Day morning show.   She is a former Seahawks cheerleader and also previously worked in TV in the Seattle market.

  Coudn't resist posting this one.  Got an extra $25K lying around?   Coach Bill is coming to Seattle to help UW athletics and here's your chance to get up close and personal. Don’t miss an exclusive evening with Bill Belichick in support of Montlake Futures! Limited seats available. For more info, contact info@montlakefutures.com

  In case you were wondering, here are lasst year's official state base salaries for UW's former head fooball coach, now at Alabama (DeBOER), Asst. Football Coach (Grubb, now OC for the Seahawks), Mike Hopkins (fired head basketball coach) and WSU head football coach Jake Dickert),      Index Name Agency Position 2023 199534 DEBOER, KALEN University of Washington HEAD COACH- FOOTBALL $3,945,600    Index Name Agency Position 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 172441 GRUBB, RYAN University of Washington ASSISTANT COACH-FOOTBALL $2,030,000 Index Name Agency Position 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 192683 HOPKINS, MICHAEL University of Washington HEAD COACH-MENS BASKETBALL 0 $3,110,000 Index Name Agency Position 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 213790 DICKERT, JACOB  Washington State University HEAD FOOTBALL COACH       $2,730,400

  The PPM numbers are in for Seattle Radio in August and KUOW takes the top rung yet again, growing its ratings.   The national and local election buzz has been a boost to news ratings.   The Mariners woes may have caused a drop for KIRO-AM.   Here's the skinny: https://ratings.radio-online.com/content/arb039

No locally produced pre-game or post game show on KIRO 7 before or after the Seahawks opener Sunday based on what I can find on the cable programming grid.  The station has no sports department, but it's missing a major revenue opportunity by not connecting to the game broadcast in some form.  Not to mention a deep highlight dive on the later newscasts Sunday.    We shall see.

Austin GETZ get the main sports job at KHQ.  Posted on X.com: "I have been named the new Sports Director for @KHQLocalNews / @SWXLocalSports . I am so thrilled to be able to continue working with such awesome people and covering so many great teams."

  Seattle Kraken bids farewell to a member of it s broadcast team, namely Nick Olczyk.  It's apparently on to the Utah team, new home of the moribund Phoenix Coyotes.    His parting words: Dear Seattle, Thank you for 2 phenomenal years. The lifelong friends I’ve made, tremendous memories, and being part of an incredible broadcast team are the moments and people I’ll never forget and will always hold close to my heart. To the @SeattleKraken organization, I’m forever grateful for the opportunity you afforded me to help bring to life the greatest sport in the world to hockey fans all over the globe. To the #SeaKraken fans, your passion and love for your team is something I’ve always admired and I thank you all for your support during my time on your televisions and radios. I’m absolutely thrilled for what’s to come next, thanks for everything Seattle

I remember when I was at NWCN in the mid 2010s, I knew the ND at KOMO for Sinclair. Couldn't wait to get away from 'these a__holes."  The guy who took over effectively had to bury all the 'must runs' ordered by the company and happily left after his contract ended.  Enter another guy who left a couple of years later to be a GM in the midwest, failed, and ended up in a small market.  The latest guy laeft the Sinclair in Tulsa a few years ago, which is now basically operated by the Sinclair station in Oklahoma City.  I wonder if he paved the way for that consolidation.  The station was gutted. The moral of this story is the Sinclair is an awful company and KOMO is a mess, whether viewers see it or know it or not.  The agenda is to hype crime every single day and alarm people.   That's my opinion, my story, and I am sticking to it.

  Phil Bruce, the News Director at Seattle's KOMO, will retire at the end of the year after a teuous run with the worst company in television.  Beyond that, he lost his main weather anchor Steve Pool to cancer during his tenure, and lost his main news anchor Eric Johnson in June in a surprise retirement and  took his sports department down to just one on-air person.   Here's his message borrowed from a post on linkedin.com.   A few more months, then enjoy. " I have been fortunate to spend most of my life in some of the great newsrooms and TV studios across America, telling stories. That was my dream long ago as a youngster in Arkansas. And I am so grateful I got to live it. Today, I announced to my team that I’ll be retiring at the end of this year. What a gift to wrap up my broadcasting career at KOMO NEWS, surrounded by the best in the business. Lorel and I are heading back to Texas and are finishing our new home in the Hill Country north of Austin. To the many friends

Hey TV sports and WSU football fans.   A big Saturday is ahead for an all-time fave Coug coach and a game against a pretty tough team.   Saturday when the Texas Tech Red Raiders go to Pullman to play Washington State, the late great Mike Leach, former Head Coach of both teams will be honored with induction into the Washington State University Hall of Fame. Texas Tech at Washington State 9pm Central Time on Fox Cougars are favored by 1 1/2!