The chief meteorologist is flipping the KOIN.  Natasha Stenbock is leaving the Portland station: PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — After starting at KOIN 6 in 2017, Chief Meteorologist Natasha Stenbock is saying goodbye on Thursday. “My decision to leave as Chief Meteorologist comes from a place of deep regard for my coworkers and friends here. KOIN has grown so much since I started seven years ago. This was a dream job, and I feel so lucky to have been offered the chance to lead a weather team in the same city where I was born. It’s not an easy decision to leave but I know it’s the best one for me and my family,” Stenbock said. What’s next for her? Keep an eye on the skies. “I plan to contribute more to my favorite flying organizations and share my weather knowledge with aviation groups,” she said. “Then maybe just maybe the flying bug will rub off on the twins. I want to teach them to fly and explore the world.”

  Aaron Wright's bio is missing from the KIRO TV team page and sources tell the Maven that he was let go around the same time as Jesse Jones last week.   He started in Jan 22 but did not last three years.   Other stops at Knoxville and then San Antonio.  The "Incredible Shrinking Station" shrinks let again in the last week.  Laura Evans, who used to be a a news manager at KING before going to COX in Dayton is part of the reductions at Cox's KIRO, after arriving here.

You'll have to zoom in on the image below that is apparently going around in some email today, at least according to a post by Fox 13 Seattle Sports Director Aaron Levine.   It says only a percentage of fans could survive a Zombie Apocalypse at Lumen Field??   Good to know, right?  

This post on X from KING Programming boss as owner Tegna cuts a sports deal with FUBO with stations in Seattle, Dallas and Denver. "Great news for Seattle Kraken fans. KONG, the official broadcast station of Kraken games, is launching on @fuboTV   in the near future!" Note: The games are already streaming on Amazon.

Yes, while KOMO's Stella Sun was covering a major fire in Tacoma, her dad joined her at her live shot.  R eally?    Her post:     https://x.com/stellasunwx/status/1852033345158304108

Fox 13 Seattle's anchor David Rose is the favorite newsman of local police with his special Spotlight  segment and Washington's Most Wanted.  So he made sure to push former Seattle's top cop lawsuit in the wake of being put on admin leave with Rose's former anchor partner.  What a debacle.   https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/former-spd-chief-10m-tort-claim

No changes at the top of the Nielsens for October with KUOW still #1 and KZOK checking in at #2. Both 97.3 KIRO and KNWN made the top ten.  The full set of numbers here: https://ratings.radio-online.com/content/arb039

Pat McAfee on ESPN takes a straight shot at the 12th Man myth that has long tried to fuel the Seattle Seahawks.  Check it out on youtube below: "The fan base isn't even real anymore." https://t.co/IZnaUgDIGh

Indications are that former KIRO7 and ABC reporter Neal Karlinsky might have advised (or fronted) Jeff Bezos' written defense of his Washington Post newspaper making no endorsement for President.  Karlinsky went to Amazon as a corporate reporter in the mid 2010's and then left a couple of years ago to apparently become Bezos' personal PR boy.  Bezos' position has reportedly cost the paper 200,000 subsribers and prompted resignations. Karlinsky posted this on X: https://x.com/NealKarlinsky/status/1851044926089543869

As predicted here, former Fox13 Seattle main anchor Jamie Tompkins, who got cozy with the police chief after a TV ride-along, is placed on administrative leave a with ex-chief and boss Adrian Diaz. He hired her as his Chief of Staff. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/former-seattle-police-chief-adrian-diaz-spokesperson-put-on-leave/   Publicola has more from current top cop Sue Rahr: https://publicola.com/2024/10/29/rahr-places-former-spd-chief-diaz-and-his-chief-of-staff-on-leave-this-is-a-complex-situation/ Here's the original ride-along "Behind the Badge" that started it all from Aug. 22 2022 (below).  She soon joined the cops in a comm role, then the big promotion.   Later, Diaz came out as gay.    https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/behind-the-badge-get-to-know-seattle-police-interim-chief-adrian-diaz Fox 13 reported it but no video of their anchor: https://www.fox13seattle.com/video/1539242

KHQ in Spokane will air 11 Gonzaga games this season. The Zags are always a top ranked team and they are beloved at The Kennel.   They join the Seattle Kraken and Portland Trailblazers with new broadcast partners. https://x.com/SWXLocalSports/status/1851043772336841093?t=GbzHlbNkNjrMjaT_-_prDQ&s=19

Take a little time local TV news folks and viewers to read this fascinating, sobering and scary look into the future of how content and production will be done all day long.   It's from a former GM and station consultant who knows his stuff; someone I have worked with, know and trust: Mr. Hank Price from TVewsCheck. https://tvnewscheck.com/ai/article/ai-will-change-everything-about-local-tv-news/

Well, at least for now.  Scott Haveson was seen on KIRO 7 weather on Saturday night.  He was a weather anchor for me at NWCN in the early 2005s-06s, and on KIRO a few years earlier.  He is a REAL ESTATE AGENT apparently for Windemere now, so believe absoutely everything you hear.   I let him go back in the day.  Leaving it there.

Major insider tells the Media Maven that Kim Holcomb, who left Evening Magazine after a long and successful run, is now off to Amazon.  Her former show Executive Producer, Lindsay Sieverkrop is already at  ZON as is Meg Coyle another KING refugee who went to Amazon, so  good connections. And, in addition, sourcce says the station is down to three finalists for the New Day NW host, a job vacated by Amity Addrisi.  Nov. sweeps start Thursday from Nielsen.  Watch out for a Seattle radio host to join Evening, maybe for a better demo outreach?    You heard it here first.

  KREM 2 in Spokane has a new sports director.  He;s Andrew Quinn: I am happy and honored to announce I have been promoted to Sports Director @KREM2 . What a ride it has been, but Spokane we ain’t done yet! A quick shoutout to everyone who has believed in me to this point. Let’s keep it rolling Inland Northwest!

Madison WADE, who anxhors weekend eveings at KING5, posts on X that she is now an official military fiance' and includes a few pics and message.   She also is known for special reports on unsolved murder cases in the area.  Congrats. https://x.com/madisoncwade/status/1850210075224510673

  Have to laugh at what Root Sports is running opposite the Kraken Hockey Network.  World Jai-Alai??? and some golf show.   Wow....the end is near if the Mariners leave.   The hockey pre-gme got off to a better s start tonight, but don't start with the announce team, start in the studio, which is he brand new draw and tease their upcoming comments.   News or sports shows don't start with reporters in the field who toss to studio.  Backward.   Again, bad producing.

Today is Jesse Jones' final day at KIRO7 Seattle, and that's a shame IMHO.   Pictured here with former 7 reporter Essex Porter and Joyce Taylor from KING Here is his post on FB" "Heading into KIRO for the last time. It’s been quite the ride. 30+ years in the game and it’s my first time out. I’m going to take some time to rest and relax. Once I return, you’ll never know where I may pop up. Stay tuned!"

Kelly Koopmans, who is a morning co-anchor for KOMO Seattle, posted a video talking about her husband Michael and coping with the loss.   She's a talented lady, best her and family in this difficult time. https://x.com/komonews/status/1848704349553209543

We now have a second KIRO7 news reporter doing the weather thing at the big wall.  Following in the footsteps of reporter Brandon Thompson who has been assigned shifts, journalist Ranji Sinha is also at the map.   As one anonymous insider there said, "It's crazy, seriously."  Yes, versatility is important but they didn't sign up for this.

From Rick Gevers:    Greg Deffenbach has taken over at KTVZ, replacing Cathy Marshall, a former PNW anchor.   He is coming from an ND job in Rockford, IL.

Per The Seattle Times:   Partrick Sand, West Seattle Blogger along with his talented wife Tracy Record, has passed away.  Tracy was a past Asst. ND at KCPQ.    They spoke to one of my classes at UW Tacoma years ago abou running their blog and hyperlocal news coverage.  RIP  On Thursday morning, around 8 a.m., Record heard her husband call for help in their Fauntleroy home. He was working early, as he usually did. Record, who works until 2 or 3 a.m., was sleeping. Record went to her husband and found him on a bathroom floor. She called 911. Medics were unable to revive him. He had not been sick, Record said. The King County Medical Examiner attributed Sand’s death to probable cardiovascular disease.

  https://youtu.be/Kwt5Dqr1REY?si=CtxbVN-L40HeXVfv (from Chris Egan at K5) Tony Ventrella has passed away at 80.   Here is an X post from KING5's Chris Egan on and thoughts from Ian Furness on X.  RIP https://x.com/ChrisEgan5/status/1848030616698384439 From Ian Furness: Seattle has lost a legend. I will share some thoughts and memories tomorrow on radio show. At one time we had Tony, Bruce and Wayne bringing us our local sports on tv each night. The true glory days of Seattle Sports media on television.

So now  KIRO7 Seattle  is doing a promo with five people as investigative team.  I laugh at the desperation. Gary Horcher  main anchor, Linzi Sheldon, main a.m. anchor, DeeDee Sun a.m. co-anchor and two relatively new general assignment reporters, Louie Tran and Madeline Ottilie.  The anchors have no time and the reporters are needed for general assignment.  They must have a good producer behind the scenes.  This is p romotional bait and switch, re-arranging the deck chairs after cutting Jesse Jones, its true consumer investigator.    Station is bare bones, cutting with no chops left on the reporting side.  They have 2 news reporters doing weather.  Don't be fooled.   They cannot compete with Susannah Frame, Chris Ingalls and the rest of the KING 5 Investigators.    Accept no substitutes.

When Brandon Thompson joined KIRO7 Seattle just last July from KOIN6 in PDX, we warned he was joining the 'Incredible Shrinking Staff" at the Cox station.   To wit:   He anchored.weather Friday 10-18 on the late news (didn't see early), and I wonder if he volutnteered or was trained into service.   When you look at his experience, I might choose the latter.   Don't think weather was on his bingo card when he came on board.  He is what he wrote then, touting his news expertise.  (see below).  KIRO has the smallest weather team in Seattle at the moment and the a.m. weather guy also does traffic. "I 'm Brandon Thompson, I've been reporting for more than eight years, covering political scandals, elections big and small, and some of the nation's largest natural disasters. I have a passion for political and investigative reporting which you can catch on KIRO 7 News at 4 p.m., 5 p.m., 6 p.m. during the week."

Jake Garcia, former sports reporter/anchor at Seattle's KING5, left months ago to return to Arizona. He posts on X that he has now signed a contract at KPNX in Phoexix (also a Tegna-owned station, like KING). We first told you he was leaving last May on X. "I’ve signed a contract with 12 News as a sports reporter and anchor. My first day is Monday. Excited join a powerhouse team and be back on the beat where the journey started."

It's ESPN's Linda Cohn making her debut on the KHN pre-game show on KING/KPNG and stations around the PNW.   Amazingly enough, with the nationally known sports anchor on set, they open on with the broadcast announcers first.  They throw to Cohn, Lukan and Furness at a Climate Pledge Arena set, and Cohn askes Lukan the first question, not Furness.  Definitely passed over him, when she could have have given him her imprimatur.  She could have been in the center of the trio, anchoring, not on screen left.  No showcasing of her, no video montage of her hockey acumen from previous years.  Just a wasted opportunity.  Furness has been left behind and had become nothing more than a side player instead of the key anchor.   My kingdom for a producer with skill and creativity.

Decided to wait for awhile and check out the latest edition of Washington Sports Wrap at 730 weeknights on Fox 13 Seattle.   My take: The show is terribly under-produced in general.  Alyssa Charlston hosted this edition, I guess Aaron Levine was off.  She's OK but lacks tangible energy or enthusiasm and is rather standard as a sports host. Just a slowwww pace top to bottom on Wednesday night's show.   Host hould to start each block  on a closeup after a nice studio wide shot & needs to push it hard.  Inflection, tone, salesmanship.   The set remains more than mediocre with cheap lookiing director's chairs and overly long two shots combined with that really bad cutout logo as the backdrop.   Everett Fitzhugh, the Kraken radio guy was a very good guest, I like this guy's energy a lot, and I am amazed he hasn't been on the KHN pre-game show far with a taped piece on location, especially when the games are on KJR and Ian Furnes...

  With the Seattle Channel's future on the line because of budget cuts that will effectively gut it, lead host/anchor Brian Callanan makes an impassioned plea at City Council to fully fund the channel and make sure that the shows must go on.   https://x.com/typewriteralley/status/1846731771741982763

The Radio-TV Digital News Association just honored its Edward R. Murrow national award winners and there were eight winners for Overall Excellence, including KNKX, NPR nonprofit radio in Seattle.  Posting the station's winning award entry here.  No video, of course, but it shows how strong radio journalism can be. Give it a listen if you have some time. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s148/audio/2024/02/knkx-overall-excellence-entry-reel.mp3

Well, in the third pre-game Kraken hockey show on KONG, they must have read my critical posts and decided to get rid of the lava lamp moving ocean background.  Now replaced solely by the KHN logo.  Smart move.  Motion behind anchors can be very distracting and not something hockey viewers care about.   You're welcome. Oh and besides the compelling magnetic schedule giveaway at the upcoming home opener, if you buy a special promo ticket, you get a Kraken tote bag.  Big enough for a sea monster!!! And not one shout out to the viewers along the network in Portland, Spokane, Tri-Cities, even Juneau.  Who produces this show, seriously,  TV 101 errors.

This site has railed at the near dozen former KING5 Seattle employees who ended up at Boeing doing PR for the various divisions.  Layoffs may include them since internal comms are not needed right now with no planes being built and the strike continuing.    Megan Porter (ex producer) Josh Green (reporter) Bernard Choi (reporter) Michael King (Evening Mag and sports) Shaniqua Manning (KING and NWCN anchor) Ed Muir (NWCN reporter, weather) Adam Tischler (photog) Doug Alder (EP) Ted Land (reporter) Kierra Elfalan  (reporter) Wilson Chow (NWCN PDX reporter) https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/boeing-layoff-plan-suggests-deep-white-collar-job-cuts/?utm_medium=notification&utm_source=pushly&utm_campaign=5583337

  Strong source confirms to the Media Maven that 97.3 KIRO News Director Charlie Harger will eventually leave his managment post to replace current morning co-host news anchor Dave Ross on the station's morning show, if Ross retires after the election as has been reported (supposedly Dec. 19).  That explains the puzzling double job post on the 97.3 Bonneville web site.  Jobs are posted for a new morning co-host and a new ND all at the same time.   So Harger will end up working for a new boss.  Two jobs, one hire.  Probably a money saver!   You heard it here first.  

Interesting read here from a former TV news director who has gone corporate.  He suggests a sea change in television news and the demise of traditional news anchors and show producers.  He tried this idea while with Scripps corporate and was recently let go when it miserably failed (See the planned Nov. end of Scripps News and the paltry stock price).   Amazingly, he got picked up by another TV company at the corporate level and TVNewsCheck.com has given him free rein to spread his ideas.   Maybe he needs one of his stations to provide a some significant examples?  Maybe he should comment on the Scripps failure which will cost 200 jobs, including reporrers who had 'feet on the street,' including in the PNW? I know this guy, a little so I will have to take it all with a grain of salt, as they say. Here is the link: https://tvnewscheck.com/journalism/article/its-all-about-feet-on-the-street-how-tv-stations-must-rethink-local-newscasts/

  We've got the first post I have seen on social media from the Allen Institute's new media person, having defected from KING5.   It's all about a new discovery about Alzheimer's.   Starts out with a WHOA!  Here's the link: https://x.com/AmityAddrisi/status/1845880314343895271

Following in the footsteps of KING 5's Amity Addrisi, former Fox 13 news anchor Liz Dueweke is joining the Allen Institute to do STEM work, per her post on linkedin.com.   Seems to me Liz loves the limelight, so it will be interesting to see if she will be comfortable with a major new direction.   My prediction that she was going to Evening Mag or New Day at KING was way off, so props to qzvx.com for breaking the news. https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizdueweke/

Strong source confirms that KIRO-FM longtime morning anchor Dave Ross is expected to retire after the Nov. election.   It's a decision that has been out there internally.    Stay tuned.

Checked out the first pre-game Kraken studio show with Ian Furness holding down the anchor chores.  My thoughts: The trio of announcers (Forslund, Brown, Eddie) are up live in St. Paul, MN, and had KHN mics flagsoff the top, of course.  After a few minutes on a three-shot, they tossed to the studio crew, debuting new hire Ian Furness and previous cable contributor Alison Lukan.  On the toss, analyst Eddie Olzyck said Ian would have to sing a song to officially join the KHN, something like "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" or "Oooga Chucka, Oooga."  Okay then. Uh huh. The studio set's main, huge backdrop was apparently the OCEAN which, of course, houses the Kraken, but it looked more like a lava lamp from the 70s.  Certainly did not denote hockey.  Nice try, I get it, but not sure it works.    The rest of the set on the wide shot was a little better.   They did some players/lineup talk with some highlights rolled in.   One thing I have ...

At long last, UW football fans get good news from Comcast/Xfinity as the Big Ten Network makes a carriage deal with the cable provider.  KIRO radio breaks the story: https://x.com/Mynorthwest/status/1844464204604112996?t=MsaBb9MkIbWQJhY2ycw1VA&s=19

A professional wrestler whose hometown is Tacoma will return for a major televised PPV event called WrestleDream, promoted by All Elite Wrestling, main competitor of WWE.  The show starts at the Tacoma Dome at 5 p.m. Saturday and his name is Swerve Strickland.    'Swerve' is a wrestling term meaning what a wrestler does the complete opposite of what is expected to happen...in other words, an abrupt to character 'swerve' during an actual match.  Real name Stephon Strickland.  So watch out, he is promising 'the next evolution of me.'  And yes, I know it is all pre-determined.    

The Seahawks-49ers game on Amazon Prime must be available to both teams' hometown markets on a local channel for those who don't have a subscription.   Go to FOX13 Seattle and get the same broadcast with Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit at 5 p.m.   The station will have its own pre-game show beginning an hour earlier.

Kraken fans can find the first game sporting KJR Radio's Ian Furness on the pre-same show Saturday at 4:30 on KONG.   It'a the new Kraken Hockey Network.  I think they are saving Linda Cohn of ESPN for 15 games on KING as the season progresses.

Vanessa Misciagna left KING 5 Seattle to join Scripps News as a National Correspondent based in the Pacific Northwest back in June 2021, but now her days appear to be numbered as Scripps will fold that unit in mid-November, laying off some 200 staffers.  Not even sure she is still with the company, finding no posts on X or FB.  She may already have exited.

  Shannon O'Donnell Welcome to the KOMO Mews Room! When our assignment editor @KOMODeskFolk Cathy brought in her friend’s litter of fluff balls recently, they all quickly found homes and cuddles with these fabulous gentlemen, @komonews web & news producers Kevin, Taylor, Najee & Gabe. More pics: https://x.com/ShannonODKOMO/status/1843453038822076477