Hearing that KIRO is 'reportedly' adding a new weather wizard after struggling along with lots of freelance, especially on weekends and vacation time. A good source claims it's Robert Van Winkle, who apparently retired from WBBH in Fort Myers 8 years ago? No official annoucenment yet so can't confirm. Seems a bit on the odd side though, and wouldni't seem to make sense to replace Frankie Katafias, and, btw, the job is still advertised as P-T. As an aside, KIRO chief met, Morgan Palmer, worked at that station before coming to Seattle....hmmm. If it's true, maybe a short term deal to get thru the storm season????
And speakng of weather, still waiting to see if Parella Lewis debuts on KING. Not sure of start date but hearing that some of the blowback from her time in S.C. is making the rounds in Seattle.
Van Winkle would certainly be an interesting choice for KIRO. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge and expierence that the station could certainly use, and that viewers would benefit from. If he does indeed join KIRO, then a big welcome to him!
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I would have expected someone early in their career looking for their second or third job in TV news to have been selected for the role long before now. I look forward to seeing which direction KIRO chooses to go in. Things have certainly taken an interesting turn in a positive direction.
As for Parella at KING, I haven't seen her on-air yet either, but it is good to hear that the blowback from her time at WYFF is making its way around. Her co-workers at KING deserve to know who their new colleague is and what she is alleged to have done.
In the world of TV news, my understanding has been of that "its not what you know, but who you know". Being the chief met, I am sure ND Laura Evans has her plate full with all that has been going on and turned to Palmer to see if he knew of anyone that would work. If anything, Palmer could be "paying it forward" as Van Winkle was the chief met at NBC2-Fort Myers when he brought Palmer as a weatherperson at the station. On the surface, you could see it as a class reunion that the master taught the student and now the student is the master since Palmer is going to be Van Winkle's superior. It's not merely a matter if the person is on the second leg of their TV journey or been retired for eight years, KIRO is need of help given as we head into the active fall and winter seasons.
DeleteRegarding the Parella situation, I don't think that the troubles she caused at WYFF is going to greatly impact her employment status here in Seattle. She may have had talks with KING's management about this already while fulfilling the usual "no-compete" clause obligations before going on-air. She already has big shoes to fill as KING never really had a strong chief met since Jeff Renner retired. Unless she does something that intervention is needed, what we see as viewers differs from those who are actually in the studio. Its far different hogging the weather wall compared to say, going on the air and slurring your words and looking like you spent the night partying in Vegas.
Those are my two cents. Cheers!
I agree that this may very well be a case of "who you know". Sometimes, that doesn't lead to the most qualified person landing a particular role, but this just might be an exception to that role. If KIRO hires Van Winkle, they get a former long-tenured chief meteorologist with extensive weather knowledge and expierence, particularly with Florida weather (that will be valuable when the next hurricane hits down there and KIRO goes to report on it). Yes, he'll have to learn the ins and outs of Pacific Northwest weather, and I have no doubt that Morgan would help him with that. But he would be coming in with a strong foundation from which to build upon, which just so happens to be the very position Morgan was in when he arrived at KIRO back in 2011. He had solid knowledge of weather, some of which undoubtedly came from Van Winkle, and expierence with conditions in Texas and Florida that he was able to build upon to advance to the chief meteorologist position that he has now held for almost a decade. All in all, this could be a very good move for KIRO that would possibly help turn the station into a destination for people seeking more expierenced weather coverage, and we all know how important weather is in local TV news.
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