Is Nikki Torres gone from Fox 13? Bio is missing. Hmmm. Hearing some rumblings that she's left the station. Versatile on weather and field reporting.
Meanwhile, I am told KOMO reporter Ryan Simms is on an extended vacation but remains with the station despite no story posts in a month and no pic on the on-air team page. I am told his pic has never been for some reason? He used to be periodic Live Desk talent, too, but that's no longer in play on the evening shows. I guess I stand corrected, but a bit confused.
Fox13 is hard to watch now. Over/Under on how long their format will last?
ReplyDeleteIt depends on the ratings and how much money it is saving the station compared to their previous format. If the ratings are up, the current format is here to stay. If the ratings are down only slightly, the cost savings may be enough to offset the drop in viewership and it will stay. If the ratings are down significantly, then the changes could be reversed to some degree.
DeleteTV news viewership has dropped over the years so it wouldn't surprise anyone if ratings are down. There are not many who will watch a newscast from start to finish (let alone hearing that the majority of FOX13's newscasts are now pre-taped) and their presentation is a Bloomberg-esque PowerPoint mess. Unless this was a measure to prevent burnouts amongst on-air folks and those in production from repeating the same stories from the 5 all the way to the 11, I can only speculate. I can only think that sooner rather than later we're going to be seeing what those in Japan do and have robot anchors who don't have to worry about salary or hours.
DeleteSadly, I think your speculation is going to bare fruit. Robot or AI powered anchors are likely the way of the future.
DeleteCaught a moment of the Washington News Wrap (?) and it was some story about something in the TriCities. Yawn.
ReplyDeleteI watch quite a bit of KCPQ since it always comes in strong on my indoor leaf antenna down here in the Lacey area. KOMO is hit and miss and on miraculous days KING and KIRO come in strong, but not very often. To me, although pleasant, Nikki seemed uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteA missing website bio is often a sign that someone is no longer with a station. Since Nikki had a bio up on the Fox 13 website and now she doesn't, it would seem to appear that she isn't with the station anymore. If that is indeed the case, I wish her well in her future endeavors.
ReplyDeleteAs for Ryan is he officially on the staff at KOMO, or is he just a freelancer? If he is just a freelancer, he wouldn't necessarily have a bio posted on the KOMO website. From what I've seen, most freelancers at local TV stations don't get bios posted.
ReplyDeleteAs I told Wayne in a "now deleted" post, Simms was never featured on the bios page on the KOMO page. His X feed from two weeks ago shows he is on a European holiday. Having a bio or even a photo on the site, or lack of one is hardly anything concerning. I have worked for both media and non-media organizations (under my real name of course) and was never featured in their respective "Meet the Team" section and that goes after two years with the team. FOX 13 goes as far to now include interns, which never happened to me in the year I was at KOMO4 as a newsroom intern/production assistant. Don't care and didn't matter if I was not listed in the full closing credits at te end of a newscast or special report that I worked on. I only matter on the work, NOT the fame. I can tell you some folks I watch who clearly are there for that. In that case, they should be in Hollywood rather than TV News. It maybe nice to get recognized here and there, but having a bio or photo up doesn't mean that "you made it" or your head was shown in the background a lot of times during a live broadcast (which happened to me during my time at KOMO). Either way, this is not Hell's Kitchen or The Apprentice and you get your apron burned or name removed on the wall via CGI effects when you are fired or eliminated. That's my two cents.
ReplyDeleteMark,
DeleteI appreciate your perspective from having worked in the industry, and I wholeheartdly agree with you that it is the work you do that matters in this industry, and not the fame. I only bring up the bios because, when it comes to on-air talent, they do tend to have bios posted online, and when they dissapear, it usually means that they are no longer with the station. Behind-the-scenes people don't typically get bios posted, though I have seen instances where photographers, station management, interns, producers, and salespeople have had bios posted. WHSV in Harrisonburg VA. is a good example of this.
Either having Red Bull and Kit-Kat for breakfast is a bad combination, but it took me for awhile to get situated to hear Nikki's deep voice during the morning news and thought it was not a "him", but a "her". By the way, since we're talking bios, it looks like Matt Smith is now called a "streaming" news anchor and both Assistant ND Kelly Hatmaker and "Good Day Seattle" segment producer Mariah Lane's bios are still on the page even though Kelly is no longer at the station and Lane is now with Everett Public Schools. Well, KIRO is looking for a Managing Editor and KING is looking for a News Director, so if Hatmaker is intent on staying in the Land of Oz, he could wind up at one of those stations.
ReplyDeleteI might be in the minority here, but I actually don’t mind the new FOX 13 format. Most stations tend to repeat the same stories throughout the day anyway, so the fact that it’s recorded doesn’t really bother me. It seems like a more efficient use of time for the anchors and reporters, and it might even give them more opportunity to work on in-depth pieces. Plus, I’ve noticed more unique stories and more time dedicated to sports, which I appreciate. Overall, I’m fine with the change.
ReplyDeleteThat's what they are hoping other viewers think, but the emphasis is streaming, not more time to work on higher level reporting. I wish it was.
DeleteI might be in the minority here, but I actually don’t mind the new FOX 13 format. Most stations tend to repeat the same stories throughout the day anyway, so the fact that it’s recorded doesn’t really bother me. It seems like a more efficient use of time for the anchors and reporters, and it might even give them more opportunity to work on in-depth pieces. Plus, I’ve noticed more unique stories and more time dedicated to sports, which I appreciate. Overall, I’m fine with the change.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if Nikki is still with FOX 13. However, I do know that Louie Tran has left KIRO after only a year and a half, which suggests he likely broke his contract to depart early. While I didn’t find him to be a particularly strong reporter, it was nice to see a local Tacoma native working in this market. Given the circumstances of his departure, it seems unlikely we’ll see him on-air at another station here in the near future.
ReplyDeleteNikki never would have gotten to a market larger than Spokane in days gone by.
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