My five top Seattle Field Reporters

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 almost a Sinclair requirement, but he is strong on live shots and like to pursue answers. He's aggressive and I like that a lot. Lost art.

4. Eric Thomas, KIRO. His versatility on news and sports is very impressive. Good at the anchor desk, but has solid presence on live shots and reporting in the field.

5. Shawn Chitnis, Fox 13, good, consistent morning field guy at a station which has too many anchors and not enough strong go-to reporters, especially after the late Steve Kiggins departed. He would have been in the top five. He has excellent WA experience from Spokand and Yakima TV. That counts.

Honorble Mention:

Christian Balderas at KING, a really good newcomer. Like his style.

Jackie Kent, KOMO. Solid, dependabl, consistent, good live presence.

Tyler Cunnington at KOMO, also an up-and-comer. Solid performer so far.

Comments

Rebecca Stevenson has left KOMO

"I am no longer at Komo 4." Thanks. Longtime Weather Anchor Rebecca Stevenson confirms that she left the station just before Christmas. Her last Facebook posts are 12/17. She has the Seattle station Quintafecta, having worked at the old NWCN, KING, KIRO, KCPQ and KOMO. Looks like her decision. Wants a new chapter. She was doing mainly weekend evenings for KOMO. Perhaps Stella Sun will move there. She has been sharing weekend mornings with Theron Zahn.

Where is Frankie?

Many have missed KIRO 7's weekend PM weather anchor, Frankie Katafias, so I reached out to some of my sources to find an answer. She is apparently taking a few months of leave, but not known specifically what the reason may be. Although there is uncertainty, it could be a personal or family matter. I am told she is expected back at some point in the new year. She is a great asset to what has become a troubled station. Meanwhile former KOIN Portland chief met holds down the fort.

Seeing some alerts on Parella Lewis' behavior in SC

She's on her way to KING in August, but Patreons on ftvlive.com show several colleagues complaining about bullying tactcs and not wanting to work with her. It may explain why she moved from station to station in Seattle back in the day and wound up in a podunk market for years. Here's the post, you be the judge: FTVLive has heard from a number of staffers who described Lewis as a straight up "Bully." Now, normally, when someone reaches out to FTVLive and describes a co-worker is "mean" or a "bully", we don't pay it much attention. Not everyone likes each other and in a business full of big egos, there will be friction. But, the word "bully" kept popping up, when talking to people inside the WYFF newsroom. One insider shared a story in which WYFF Anchor Destiny Chance was to read a story while standing in front of the chroma key. One WYFF staffer described it this way, "Destiny had a shot at the chroma key after weather. The pr...

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