MediaMaven

KOMO sent Chris Daniels, Jeremy Harris and Steve McCarron to the Mayor's presser Friday.  Get more questions in?    Chill, Steve! 

Longtime KOIN journalist, anchor and political director to move on at the end of the year....Ken Boddie.  Four decades of service. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18m5hBqJ4a/

Gee Scott of KIRO 97.3 said he actually personally warned Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes that he was going to be told to resign his post or be fired.   He announced it on the station's morning show that he hosts with Ursula Reutin. "Gee didn't just report tihe story — he was part of it. A trusted source tipped him off before the news broke that SPD Chief Shon Barnes was about to be asked to resign or be fired. So Gee picked up the phone and warned the chief himself." https://mynorthwest.com/kiro/watch/behind-the-scenes-of-chief-barnes-resignation/019fb97e-5888-8008-ccd5-758  

The awful week for Seattle marches on.  Vanishing leadership, excuses, revisionist history, you name it. But... Major kudos to Chris Daniels for great reporting Thursday afternoon on the Barnes resignation, the Wilson weak, attempted to come clean, Facebook speech on botched response and possible no confidence vote from Council.  So much to process on the fly

As first reported here - From KING on social: "Big news: Thanks to some amazing viewership, gr eat guests, and incredible teamwork, the @KING5Sports Ultimate Seattle Sports Show will be moving! Starting August 10th our show will air on @KING5Seattle at 3:00pm and also stream on King 5+.  The show will replay on Kong TV at 8:00." Looks like this 6-month trial run is making headway! BTW the 3 pm show will be LIVE.   

Wednesday at 10, with Sabirah Radford anchoring, they break a lead story that Seattle Mayor Wilson has asked the police chief to resign in the wake of the Seattle Center shootings.  Big story, but by 10:15 it was back into a news replay with the usual anchor team of Rose and Kim.  Not even repeated at the half hour mark to get the story back on the air as an exclusive breaker.  The story was up on the station web site, citing multiple sources. UPDATE:  Minutes later, KOMO's Jeremy Harris at KOMO reports this: Multiple sources saying @SeattlePD Chief Shon Barnes is telling people he has been fired. @MayorofSeattle has NOT confirmed this. At a time when her office is under fire for confusing and slow communication, clarity TONIGHT. Now, KIRO Radio is confirming: BREAKING: Shon Barnes was fired from his position as chief of the Seattle Police Department by Mayor Katie Wilson, multiple sources confirmed with KIRO Newsradio King posted: According to a high level source in...

Is the Seattle Media focusing on the right things after the shootings? Lots of discussion about delays about information and dignitaries delays and now calls for firing the Mayor and Top Cop?   Certainly worthy, compelling issues in terms of public safety and timing Sunday night. But should the focus now be in cleaning up gangs in the city instead of worrying about media issues. The questions are totally valid, but long term, but is govt response most important going forward?  Mistakes were made by leadership, but it is time to deeply examine root cause of the shootings here? Is the media more concerned about feeding itself or trying to find solutions? Just asking.  Feedback pls.

The Seattle Storm are now 6-24 at the bottom of the standings and going nowhere, so viewership has got to be down overall.  Should Alyssa Charlston-Smith have stayed with 13 as #2?   Part-time there?    Elise Woodward got out before the crash to go to PDX and now has the UW pbp job.   

1. One station (KOMO) dominated.  KIRO brought in major anchors and finished strong.  KING was streaming but weak on TV, and Fox 13 worse.   David Rose of Fox 13, the lead anchor who has made a living helping the cops, was MIA, claiming he offered to come in to help, but was declined and worked phones from home.  Really?  No, he should have just gone directly to the scene.  KING hung.a newbie anchor out to dry with an old time King County Sheriff as a co-anchor and a weak reporter on site. Expected much more. Castro, Taylor or Copeland should have been called in.  Fumbled badly.  And the bright red breaking news background is horrendous. 2. Seattle PD and Mayor not ready for prime time on any form or fashion.   Barnes was in Dallas for a conference?  So, Zoom in to be part of the presser.  What's his priority?  He was two hours ahead and abjectly failed to recognize the gravity of the situation. 3. Barnes is apparentl...

Eddie Olzyck had announced that he is leaving the Seattle Kraken Hockey Network broadcasts for personal and family reasons.   He's been one of the top hockey analysts for many years and NBC has also used him frequently for his horse race handicapping expertise on the Triple Crown broadcasts.    He has battled cancer in the past.   This is certainly another blow to the KHN after some non-playoff seasons and a change in top management.   I wonder how long PBP man John Forslund will want to be with a losing team with little upside right now.    He could do a lot better. https://www.nhl.com/kraken/news/kraken-color-analyst-olczyk-thank-you

David Rose, Fox 13 lead male anchor and longtime crime reporter and Spotlight hos there, tells me he was home working the phones during the shooting incident Sunday evening at Seattle Center.   Said he was helping to get suspect info.  All well and good, however Fox reported nothing on TV that I saw till 10.  Hmm.  I appreciate him responding to my inquiry, but IMHO, he should have been on site going live by 7 pm as the face of the station's news franchise.  Period.  ND dropped the ball, too.   Can't depend only on web and streaming on a big story like this.  Has to be on good old TV.    Can't imagine being in that newsroom watching the competition crush them.    How about switching to the vaunted LIVE DESK?  Nah, that's hype to counter their news reruns.     From a reader: Q13 embarrassed themselves on Sunday.

Longtime Seattle sportscaster Elise Woodward has been named the new voice of UW football.  The university announced the promotion: "University of Washington Athletics and Learfield's Huskies Sports Properties announce the hiring of Elise Woodward as the new radio play-by-play voice of Husky Football. Woodward moves up to the booth after more than two decades of reporting on Husky Football from the sidelines.' From Elise:  "This is such an honor and a dream come true. I love Husky football to my core. Every game for the last 23 seasons as the sideline reporter, I am filled with gratitude for the chance to cover these great athletes at my alma mater. New role, same passion. LFG DAWGS!! 💜💜💜" Woodward is also the play-by-play announcer for the Portland Fire of the WNBA, but will reportedly not be tapped for the UW roundball job.  We shall see.    She replaces Tony Castricone, who left for an NFL play-by-play job with Tampa Bay.    Congrats to Elise.

Jake Garcia, who was a sports reporter at KING 5 before moving within Tegna to KPNX in Phoenix, has now left that station to become part of the teaching faculty at the Arizona State University Cronkite J-School.

Felicia Michelle is the a new streaming anchor at FOX 13, presumably indicating addition LIVE DESK times beyond Matthew Smith's work.  She last worked in Indy and previously in Shreveport and Monroe, LA, and South Bend.   And Sam Campbell, who has worked as a reporter at KIRO radio, jumps to TV.

Starting: 645 pm Sunday: KOMO reporter Jeremy Harris with a great job on the breaking news Sunday evening.  Heather Bosch helped with an interview on KIRO.  KING stuck in linear network baseball now live on streaming effectively and so much for Fox 13 Live Desk.   DOA. KOMO did a fantastic job on this breaking news.  Jeremy Harris and Tyler Cunnington dominated. They dumped ABC network for wall to wall coverage.  Not easy on a Sunday night.  Harris saying he was in the area downtown and responded quickly. Lynnanne Nguyen of KOMO now live at Harborview, two DOA there. KIRO, a bit late to the action, brought in lead anchor Monique Ming-Laven and freelancer Heather Bosch is live at Seattle Center just before 8 pm.  4pm anchor Sloss moved to Harborview. KING in a Mariners taped baseball show on linear and should have broken in live, IMHO, then news at 8 with two reporters.  Fox in a kitchen show and núow in Simpsons. Shameful. Fox reportedly show...

  KIRO's versatile Eric Thomas usually anchors the weekend evening news, but on Saturday, when the Seahawks opened training camp, Thomas was dispatched to the VMAC and Jaon Sloss took over the news desk.  That kept the sports department department-less station in the ballgame, so to speak.  He has a strong TV sports background previously working in Toronto.

  The first for this station, following the fireworks flop program on July 4. 1. No produced open...joined a band to begin live.  Bit of a surprise to get the hype going. Sell the program!!  Short,-sighted. Port of Seattle is main sponsor. 2. Better hosts, Wixey and Mayofsky over Rose and Sabirah on fireworks. 3. #4 Weather Wizard aboard a float, her video froze the second toss in, she did pre-recorded interviews as well.   Where's Claire Anderson again??  Or Brian MacMillan, talent more known to viewers from weekday morning and evenings?    Ilona McCauley did a nice job, but where are your main weather wizards, Fox 13, on this big sampling opportunity?? 4. Multiple, forced additional sponsor interviews before the parade even starts...Boeing guy, Alaska Airlines lady and the Seafair President who, in particular, had zero energy to sell the parade, as well as someone from Kaiser Permanente and the Port, of course.  Wayyyy too much pre-game man...

Mariners announcer Aaron Goldsmith was handling play by play of the Fox game Saturday against Texas.  It was an early shutout for the Rangers, so food was brought into the booth to talk about for five minutes.  Aaron played along given the l grimace/smile on his face with partner A.J. Pierzynski. Oh well, gotta maintain interest at all costs.  

Well, with Lebron signing on to the 76ers stacked roster, and me being a big fan of the team, how about let's create a make-believe mix of current Seattle anchor talent and come up with our own teams of anchor all-stars.  Looking at experience, personality, credibility, etc. but it's all totally subjective.    Trying to picture these teams together on camera.   Please weigh in: WEEKDAY MORNING NEWS FIRST TEAM: Anchors, Jake Wittenberg, KING and Linzi Sheldon, KIRO Weather, Nick Allard, KIRO Traffic, Adam Gehrke, Fox 13 NOTE:  I really think this is very strong mix of personality and market knowledge SECOND TEAM: Anchors, Bill Wixey, Fox 13, Mimi Jung, KING  Weather, Brian MacMillan, Fox 13 Traffic, Shante Sumpter, KING NOTE:  I think having a stronger co-anchor like Jung would better complement Wixey and make the show much better than with the former weather wizard. NOTE:  KING's Rich Marriott is obviously the dean of a.m. weather, but I...

Some of you may remember the screen grabs I posted last month of KOMO's morning team of Holly Menino and newcomer Patrick Hussion, remarking on how they were not even close to being equal in height on two shots, a viewer on set with a small riser and better framing.   Well, at least the graphics department was paying attention, creating this pic which is obviously more correct but manipulated. You're welcome. 

  Fox 13 has the Seafair Torchlight Parade on Saturday at 7. We saw how badly they covered the Fireworks Show on July 4th, mailing it in with a cheap look and the wrong talent.   They have a chance to redeem themselves with the right staff hosting and covering along the parade route.  We shall see.  DVR set.  Insiders tell me the place is going downhill and fast.  Studio 13 a dead show walkin'.  More staff departures is common.  PS - looks like Lauren Helmbrecht has replaced Alyssa Charlston-Smith as #2 in sports to Aaron Levine.  No performance and on camera presence comparison, sorry.  

It's been quite a while since I posted a media interview here, so I thought I would dust off the delay and present a great conversation with Jen Mueller, who in weeks is heading into her 18th season as sideline reporter on Seahawks Radio.  She is a versatile, talented broadcaster, emcee, top-notch motivational speaker with a custom website and a chef extraordinare.    Enjoy and please offer feedback.   Thanks to all. 1. You've been missed on the Mariners games and All Access with the end of Root Sports.   How did you adjust to not being part of the broadcast team this season?     "It was actually my decision to step away.  I'm proud of all the years I spent with the broadcast and grateful for the moments, highlights, post-game interviews and Gatorade baths I was a part of.  It's special to be part of a sports community and television broadcast.  And I knew it was time for a new challenge and a chance to run my business, 'T...

A tip from a loyal reader says former KOMO reporter Mo Haider has left KTRK, the ABC in Houston.  Looks like the two year deal ended, one way or the other.  Here's a post from a Houston blogger: "As I wrap up my time at KTRK, I just wanted to give a heartfelt thank you to all of you," Haider wrote in the memo to the Eyewitness News staff.  "This is the strongest and most talented team I've ever worked with, and I feel lucky to have been a part of it. For as long as I can remember, this station has set the bar and the standard for local news. When I first arrived, it was easy to see why. I learned so much during my time here, and I credit all of you for that." Grass not greener?   Not sure on this one.

Joe Freeman, the Blazers beat writer at The Oregonian says Kevin Calabro has decided to leave the Portland team as its lead play-by-play man.  Here's the social media post: "Kevin Calabro tells me has decided to step away from Blazers broadcasting and will no longer call games for Portland.   Th e team and its veteran play-by-play man had been in discussions on a new contract, but he called the offers "subprime" and he has decided to move on."  Calabro is the beloved former Sonics announcer and says he will be looking for a new NBA role behind the mike.  He also did a stint on KIRO radio drive time afternoon sports talk way back in the day.  Calabro's comment:  “Easy decision. Not worth my time,” Calabro said. “Which is sad because it’s a great roster and the people there are great.” His decision comes after much maligned new owner Tom Dundon ousted four announcers Tuesday, including Neil Everett, who came over from ESPN L.A. and Michael Holton. A loya...

Hank Price of Tvnewscheck.com has written a great piece about the Nexstar-Tegna saga with particular insights about Tegna employees, like those of KING, KGW and KREM, who will be caught in the crossfire. I urge you to read it.   I PS.  Hank helped me when I got my first ND job in Richmond in 87 and I cannot praise enough his knowledge of the business.   I was personally caught in the Gannett/Tegna malaise when I was at NWCN, so he speaks nothing but truth here. https://tvnewscheck.com/journalism/article/price-tegna-employees-deserve-better/?fbclid=IwdGRjcATN6oJjbGNrBM3pxGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHlRu3BbhXQzZmv7GFqi_JJa3Z8I-L-DiMXghnMAa94Y6IOJ0a8uoUmii5BB5_aem_jF2h7JyB2ksEywEbCWV8AA

If you set the 'wayback machine' some of you out east may remember Tove Tupper from her reporting days at KREM in the early 2010s. She left TV and eventually moved into school public relations. Now, her longevity and service has earned her National School Communicator of the Year for 2026.  She's the Chief Communications Officer for Highline Public Schools in King County and has worked there for 13 years.  Tove is a Pacific Lutheran U grad as well.   The award comes from the NSPRA.   Congratulations!

According to early reports, Neil Everett, who left ESPN co-anchor slot to join the Portland Trailblazers broadcast team is apparently our, despite back-to-back Emmy wins as best sportscaster in the PNW.  Local Seattle guys like Chris Egan of KING and Niko Tamurian of KOMO have not welcome him as a competitor in the awards entries.  He never showed up at the awards dinners either.  Carpetbagger. In addition to Everett, Michael Holton,Tom Haberstroh and Jamie Hudson out as the new owner puts the hammer down. Everett had a great run on the late SportsCenter from L.A. teaming with Stan Verrett before leaving for PDX.

  Ok, here goes, after some deliberation, it emphasizes daily field coverage and consistent performance.    1. Drew Mikkelsen KING.  Great covering the statehouse and the South Sound.  Consistent, solid, versatile, strong presentation every time.  I feel like he really loves his job and he's been at it a long time.  I give him a nod for being with KING the entire time after a stellar stint at KGW in Portland. 2. Chris Daniels KOMO.  This was a close call for #1.   I think Daniels has the best handle on Seattle politics and government that I have seen for a long, long time.   He's trusted by officials.   Determined and has a strong work ethic.  His posts about Seattle sports (not the business of sports) are a little much for me, but he has a following for his work on that side of the line. 3 . Jeremy Harris, KOMO.   I have criticized Jeremy for being overly hyped on a lot of his crime reporting, which is...

Just a random thought about how fast time passes - July 20, 2015 "To all of my FB friends.....I announced my retirement from NWCN and TV news today (all MY idea, no one pushing me out). WHY? Because 'it is time.' 44 years in the business, 24 in regional cable news, a variety of different jobs -- on-air and management, and the opportunity to retire here in beautiful Seattle (love the place) make it all possible. My last day is Sept. 4, so still time to do damage...LOL. I will be doing a great deal of adjunct teaching at the university level over the 2015-16 school year and will commit even more hours to my passion of creating heightened media and workplace awareness of mental health issues, particularly related to suicide. In the meantime, have a great rest of the summer....I will still be on FB, so feel free to chime in anytime." As it turned out, UW stopped hiring adjuncts in 2020 after my four happy years there, COVID obviously intervened big time, affetin...

Fox13 Seattle, a veritable employee sieve, loses producer Austin Lane, who like his wife, a former Fox13 producer, left a few months ago for a job in a nearby school district.  "Today is my last day at FOX 13 Seattle! I’ve worn many hats over the last 3.5 years here, producing newscasts, sportscasts, podcasts, live streams, and much more. Excited for the next step as part of the communications team at Lake Stevens School District!"  The station has multiple jobs posted, so add another. But, hey, Erin and Brian and Abby, keep smiling and laughing every day to fool the folks about your station. 

Bucky Jacobson, who has been missing recently from KJR-FM's airwaves, offered an update to his listeners and fans on social media.  "My time away for medical reasons gave me an opportunity to reflect on my priorities and how I want to spend this next chapter of my life. After a great deal of consideration, I've decided not to return to the daily commitment of the morning show. This wasn't an easy decision because I care deeply about KJR, the morning show, and the listeners who've been part of this journey. I'm grateful to the station for their support and willingness to work through this process with me. We're continuing to explore ways I can remain involved with KJR in a capacity that better fits my life and priorities today, and I'm looking forward to seeing where those conversations lead."

You know, it never ceases to amaze me what TV folk will do to get clicks on a third -party platform.    We had some random T-Storms today  nd KING 5 morning anchor Jake W. posts this gem!  "Thunder and lightning in Seattle! Anyone hearing this?" DUH!

Looks like former KCPQ reporter James Lynch (no relation) is showcasing a new video franchise on KIRO Radio called 'Cold Cases with James Lynch.'  Madison Wade, recently departed from KING, just had her own 'Unsolved' feature segment.  It's not a new idea but it keeps re-circulating, not exactly sure why except that crime always sells on TV news.  There are far too many other immediate critical issues in this city for reporters to spend time on that have real audience/ community impact, like downtown office vacancies, home prices, consumer fraud, et al.  It's mostly easy repeating of what it already known, and police can hook reporters up with pics, family interviews and known details.  I understand the fascination, the desire for family closure and the process.  But it's been going around anew like a 'flavor of the month.'    Just my opinion.   'You took my sister away': Family pleads for answers in 1999 Holly Park homicide as investiga...

I thought KOMO morning anchors badly needed their height better equalized on camera. But Fox 13's team of David Rose and Hana Kim is even worse with another poorly composed two-shot.  Is anybody in the control room?  Guess not.   Hana made to look small and subordinate.  It's called "Go tighter.  Get the irrelevant wings out."  Here's KOMO's shot previously posted here, a similarly poor set up, for comparison.   Small individual risers are available.  Operators are standing by. 

Nice reader tip, even belatedly, that former KING weekend anchor/reporter Vanessa Misciagna joined Boeing as a media specialist about a year ago... Sorry for the delay.    She was another victim of the Scripps News effort, along with Tatevik Aprikan, who left Fox 13 for Scripps, later marrying K5 anchor Greg Copeland. She joins a long list of ex-KING5-ers who have gone to the aviation giant in PR roles.    Reporters Elisa Hahn, Bernard Choi, Shaniqua Manning, Michael King, Kierra Elfalan, Ted Land...photogs and producers as well.  A lucrative landing spot, indeed, for so many.   Can't even name them all.

KUOW-FM still wins the month, but the number fell sharply from a 10.1 share in May to 7.4 in June, with KIRO-AM jumping .5 share points to 7.3.  Gotta assume it's World Cup/Seattle games fever!.  In other news, KNKX topped KNWN by a .1 for the second straight month.   KEXP has dropped from a 6.3 in March to a 2.6 in June.   The full chart is here: https://ratings.radio-online.com/content/arb039 Totals are Persons 6+, Mon-Sun, 6am-midnight This profile contains an quarter hour rating (AQH) share of persons, ages 6+, Monday through Sunday in the Metro Survey Area. A share is the percentage of those listening to radio in the MSA who are listening to a particular radio station.

Here's the post on social from David Kroman, who's making the jump from the Seattle Times to a public radio host! "Heads up on a personal update: The next two weeks will be my last at The Seattle Times. Next month, I'll join Libby Denkmann as co-host of KUOW's Soundside. It's a big change that I'm very excited to make, though of course I'm sad to leave the Times."  KUOW has dominated Seattle radio ratings for many, many months.  Kroman is well source-connected in the market.

Who says competitors shouldn't be cordial, even friendly at a charity event?  Niko and Arielle make it happen in Tacoma Sunday! 

With the new and harnful parasite circulating around the country, Liz Dueweke, formerly gf KOMO, Fox 13 and the Allen Brain Institute (I know, counter intuitive for her), posts this helpful information, something dietary from her new life in Chicago.  Huh? "You know what's never given me parasitic diarrhea?"  Then she proceeds showing her fave fun foods.  Like we care. https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1BYAF2oGRn/

  I decided to peek in at the 5pm newscasts after the Seahawks sale was announced Saturday around 4. KING was tops with Paul Silvi joining virtually from his home and discussing his belief about the ownership group leaving the team alone to defend their title and primarily working on the improvement of Lumen Field in hopes of a Super Bowl someday.  Good authoritative insights from the best vet in town, responding as the station should, getting the Sports Director immediately involved. On the other hand, there was no sports anchor for the entire show, with news anchor Madeline Carter doing all the stories.   That's with four people on the staff!! Dusty Baker, Maddie's significant other, still MIA on air. Oh well, it's summer. Maenwhile, Niko Tamurian was apparently off today at KOMO.  Michelle Esteban had to cover.  Niko was not on set at all and his sports segment was clearly pre-taped with no mention of the sale. What surprised me is that KOMO did not at l...

Hearing that KONG's 'The Ultimate Sports Show' with Paul Silvi and Chris Egan is doing so well, it's being moved to KING at 10.  Heard it here first!!   Keep an eye out! 

Mariners lead announcer, Aaron Goldsmith, says he's starting his All-Star Break early as of now, with Rich Waltz taking his chair until the Friday after the mid-summer hiatus.    Goldy wins by a 'hair!'

55 years in the books today for my wife and I.  Met at the college radio station at Kent State.   Spun the platters for her midday FM show.    That's our personal long-playing record!    At least I did one thing right!! 

Madeline Carter gets the weekend evening gig at KING, replacing  Madison Wade.   She announced it on social media.  It's a mad, mad world.  "✨ BIG NEWS ✨ I’m so excited to share that I’m the new Weekend Evening Anchor at KING 5! 🥹💗 I’m incredibly grateful for the trust, encouragement, and opportunities that have brought me to this moment. I can’t wait to continue telling stories that matter and spend my weekends with you! Seattle, I’ll see you on the anchor desk."