MediaMaven

This is a curious move brought to my attention by some colleagues:  The Tegna news director in St. Louis (KSDK), who was just hired about 6 months ago, has been transferred to the Tegna station in Houston (KHOU).  Interestingly,, Nexstar own KTVI in St. Louis, but owns nothing in Houston.   So does that mean only the Nexstar ND would be running two newsrooms there, post-FCC approval and consolidation, with TEGNA now rescuing the St. Louis guy?   Same could happen in Portland with KOIN and KGW.  This move may portend the future is very near. By the way, RIch Kurz is the current ND at KOIN in PDX but used to be a manager at KGW, producing its Straight Talk program for years.  Who says you can never go home again?

Stephanie Domurat is leaving her anchor post at KGW in Portland, another escape from Tegna.  She previously worked at KPTV there.  No word on exactly what's next. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/stephaniedomurat_its-time-to-announce-some-bittersweet-news-share-7433555133298425856-1akV?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android&rcm=ACoAAFWTKaUBTwc4NGLVz4TARZHYT8qQaNhaM2E

Tegna has a producer-in-residence program where it recruits talented college students to be mentored inside its stations.   One such person is Kimberly Blum, who is a graduate of the program at KING and will be returning there after leaving the U of Florida/WUFT. That's a huge jump for sure, but I know the program, invented and run by former KREM News Director Noah Cooper, is a success and keeps the difficult producer developmental and hiring pipeline open.     Post and pic: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kimberly-blum_plot-twist-im-sticking-around-im-incredibly-share-7436772008698310656-mw3L?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android&rcm=ACoAAFWTKaUBTwc4NGLVz4TARZHYT8qQaNhaM2E

  It was just a week ago we posted that KOMO weather anchor Stella Sun got tangled up in a car collision.  It's happened again, this time to Gee Scott Sr. of KIRO radio 97.3.   Be careful out there.    Here's a post with pics on X.    https://x.com/i/status/2031096667047670074

The web writer put the death of a dog above the deaths of two humans?  It's been fixed, apparently since the original post, but WHAT?  Even stupidity defies the 'Sinclair Effect.' Check the link. https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2026/3/8/dog-gone-it

KOMO losses since main anchor Eric Johnson retired in June 2024: Denise Whitaker left, Chris Nguyen left, Lee Stoll left, Hannah Knowles left, Rebecca Stevenson left and now Mary Nam says goodbye at the end of March.  Reporters like Mo Haider, Ryan Simms and Paul Rivera also departed.   I may be missing a few. I don't know the specific reasons behind the individual decisions (good or bad, personal or professional), but I don't see 10 comparable talent departures anywhere else in the Seattle market.   Add in the KOMO News Director and News Operations Manager, who both retired in December 2024, and you have an even dozen.   The photog union isn't happy either these days.   BTW,  previous and current ND worked previously for Sinclair,in Tulsa and Vegas, respectively. True believers.  So, is it the political leanings? Makes you wonder.  Now, in fairness, I must make mention of budget-cutting Cox in Seattle.  Jesse Jones axed, ...

Anchor Mary Nam announced Wednesday that she is leaving KOMO at the end of the month after two decades to pursue a new chapter.   M ary, a WSU grad and Emmy winner, anchors the 4&6 and has also been teaming with  KOMO's Kelly Koopmans on a 'Hard Turn' podcast.    Sources are telling me that KOMO leads the market in ratings in afternoon-evening, so this will be a bit of a blow to the status quo.  It will rattle the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach.  But she was not pushed out, says my source, her call. “2026 is the right time for me to take the leap,” she shared in an email to colleagues. “Beyond that, I'm not sure what is next but given how long it's taken me to tiptoe to this ledge, falling into the next chapter will be the easy part. (Metaphor over. Don't ask me about the landing)” she added.   “I look forward to squeezing in as much conversation, laughter, and the good stuff during this month,”   https://komonews.com/new...