Last roundup at KOMO before Denise Whitaker moves to KNWN Radio 97.7 in Seattle. Going from TV to radio is an odd landing spot in this media environment but good luck. Was it contractual or did she just want to escape Sinclair on her terms? Btw, the radio station dropped a bit in the May book but is still in the top 15, though a full share point behind KIRO FM, and it's lowest number since Feb.
Good luck, Denise! I had the chance to work with her from the PR side, and she was always prepared, smart and fair. A real pro on air and as your interviewer.
ReplyDeleteIf anything, KNWN needed a strong female co-anchor to compliment morning anchor and veteran Brian Calvert after Manda Factor left for KIRO (where she is currently co-anchor of KIRO's Morning News with Charlie Harger, another KOMO Newsradio alum). KNWN is pretty much trying (really trying) to build back its news operation (and creditability since their owner, Lotus, screwed up in cleaning house). I don't know if they plan to keep Nguyen or Wright, but its better to actually have PEOPLE rather than borrowing the audio track from their "friends" at KOMO-TV. It may have been contractual, but then again, Denise could be winding up her journalism career and just taking her time. I remember the funny promo from way back when she was starting as KOMO's new morning news anchor that Mike Dardis and Jim Castillo were quizzing her on pronouncing Washington towns on flash cards and she couldn't get "Sequim" (saying "See-quim"). All in all, congratulations to Denise on her move and hopefully this can be the start to making KNWN a competitive radio news station.
ReplyDeleteI remember when Denise arrived. I thought she was going to be an anchor with the two male anchors but that didn't happen. Does anyone else remember it that way? I felt she was thrown under the bus. She has always been very professional and would have been great at the anchor desk. Sorry to see her go.
ReplyDeleteIf my history is correct, Denise came in to co-anchor the morning newscast after Margo Myers left to become the evening anchor at KIRO7 with Steve Raible. I don't know if Denise just didn't gel well on the anchor desk or something that got her "re-assigned" as a general-assignment reporter, but it seemed to work out pretty well once she got out in the field. She did manage to co-anchor the weekend mornings with Theron Zahn and fill in for Mary Nam on "First News@4" as well, but other than that, she was more out in the field rather than anchoring. I do believe that Kelly Koopmans came onboard from KVAL-Eugene after that. Either way, good luck to Denise at best of luck to her in new radio digs!
DeleteI seem to remember Molly Shen being on KOMO's morning anchor desk for several years after Denise was reassigned. After that, Peggy Bunker and Liz Duewicke both made it about a year each before Kelly Koopmans was promoted to the role.
DeleteDenise is the consummate pro that was willing and able to do anything that was asked of her. Not only did she anchor and report, but filled in for weather and traffic if necessary over the years, too. Radio is lucky to have her!
ReplyDeleteI do hope they pair Denise with Brian on the early morning drive. Chris Nguyen is not a strong voice for a morning drive team. They had to bring in Marina Rockinger the other day when Brian was off. Chris is just a weak voice (in my opinion) but may do better as a spot reporter/editing desk voice from time to time. I think Aaron Wright does well on the afternoon drive with Marina. She can get tongue-tied here and there but pairs well with Wright. Again, I'm not a broadcaster or media guru, just a constant listener to 1000am.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I could gather through and also find out online, Denise is going to be paired with Brian Calvert on the morning drive as it was previously announced a few months back and that ex-KIRO7 evening anchor Aaron Wright will be paired with Marina Rockinger on the afternoon drive. In between, Mark Christopher and Eric Heinz here and there on middays and weekends, unless they bring in another drive-time person to assume that or fill in when one or the other is on vacation or sick and such. Perhaps Chris Nguyen could do that and be allowed to grow since his time at KOMO-TV didn't last that long and despite being on the anchor desk going into the Christmas/New Years holiday and departing so suddenly at or during the February sweeps book, he was out the door faster than when he came in. The thing going for KNWN is that it falls as an "all-news" while KIRO is more "talk/opinion" and the only news as far as I understand is their morning newscast that Charlie Harger and Manda Factor are doing. Either way, we shall see how this is going to go as time goes by.
ReplyDeleteI will miss seeing Denise on TV, but will look forward to hearing her on the radio going forward. She has always struck me as being kind, caring, and professional.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any insight as to why Denise didn't work out on the morning anchor desk back in the mid 2000s, but she did go on to become one of KOMO's top reporters, and has spent nearly two decades in that role when she could have easily left for another anchor gig elsewhere, and no one would have blamed her for doing so. The fact that she continued at KOMO for as long as she did speaks volumes about her character and lack of ego.