MediaMaven

Seattle Storm TV broadcaster Elise Woodward is joining the expansion WNBA Portland Fire's broadcast team as its lead play-by-play announcer  After working as an analyst with partner Dick Fain here, her new partner will be Aja Ellison. Ellison has worked WNBA games for several outlets.  Geat move for Elise.

Strong source tells me that these changes are ahead but it may be a distance off, so stay tuned: GOOD DAY LIVE (new) will eventually stream 1130-1 weekdays. SEATTLE NEWS TODAY (new) eventually streaming 1-4  Matt Smith would stay as host weekdays Live Desk, while new host will apparently do weekends (that job advertised in a previous post here). Looks like Bill WIxey and Erin Mayovsky may be involved in the 1130-1 gig and Rose and Hana 1-4, so Matt Smith can catch a breath. Meanwhile, csn confirm that Tyler Slauson has reportedly taken the streaming EP job that was posted.  

KIRO7 News Director Laura Evans is out, reportedly escorted from the building Monday after a three year run.  Staff was told the department is 'going in a different direction.'  Came here from the Cox station in Dayton and previously ran the KING newsroom as an interim ND for a time   One insider put it this way,  "She burned the place down."  If memory serves, she left KING when Pete Saires got the vacant ND job, moved to Dayton in  late '21 and then came to KIRO in spring '23.  KIRO just moved its long-running noon news to 11 a.m and just a week later she is gone.    I wonder if she lost a battle between her and the GM over switching time slots with a soap opera.  Hmmmm.    Final straw? As I reported in a previous post, Fox 13 has two positions open, morning EP and Digital Editor Lead, so maybe she could immediately l and on her feet, complete the Seattle TV superfecta (she worked at KOMO according to a Cox bio) and give...

Here's a story about a consignment store that has been open on the troubled Aurora Ave corridor.  The IG video has reportedly gotten 2 million Instagram views, but the story is hopelessly weak, talks with no customers, no neighboring business owners, no neighborhood council oversight types and no word if it is at all profitable.   Though not mentioned, the store is in the 10001 block of Aurora, three blocks from a dilaptatated seedy strip joint and five from a troubled Arco gas station that has seen violence, a few doors down from a massage parlor on Northgate Way.     I find it journalistically insipid and worse, it was repeated on Sunday news with the contextual reporter open and close removed with a fake sig out.  In other words gutted.  2:20 originally, 1:28 edited down.  Not to mention it used IG video provided by the store.   Owner should have bought an ad, but didn't have to with this PR puffery.    I applaud the ef...

Chris Swanson, who was sports producer at Seattle's KIRO 7 until the sports department was axed, is now an associate news producer at Fox 13, I am told.   He did on-air freelance work during the Mariners playoff run last season for the station and was a sports host on the old NWCN.  So his presence offers versatility as World Cup approaches.  On a another late note, hearing that reporter/weather lady Nikki Torres is no longer at the station.

Fox 13 Seattle lost its morning news excutive producer back on March 20. and there is no replaement yet.  Another posted job is streaming host and producer, perhaps related to additions to the live desk team, which is characterized as 'a growing stream team' in the posting.   Digital Editorial Lead is also open.  Will keep and eye out for new folks.

Despite my disdain for the NW Emmys (and Emmy, in general), I wanted to post an excerpt from one of my readers here.  It think it speaks dimunition of quality to the acquisition of more gold just because of the glut of categories and nominations.  In other words 'Just win, baby.'  The comment is available in full in the comments section for this post.   But I think it is well worth additionally posting here.   I don't know the identity of the poster, so it could be a competitor, but here goes:    "The Northwest chapter of NATAS is edging into borderline corruption territory. By my count, there are 86 categories—an already bloated number—but what’s worse is how many of those categories are overloaded with nominees. Nineteen of the 86 categories have six or more nominees, and one category—Branded Content, Short Form—has a staggering ten. Then there’s the dominance of certain stations, which raises even more questions. KING is running rampant, w...