MediaMaven

With weather wizard Abby Acone gone, some noticeable changes on Good Day Seattle on Sunday morning.   Taylor Winkel was back anchoring all the news solo , instead of sharing it with Acone, which is the way it should be IMHO.    Illona McCauley handled weather and weather only and never appeared on the desk together with Winkel nor did she read any news.   Ilona is very credible and brings her own energy.    It seemed like more of a newscast than a 'friend fest' with the usual banter that Winkel and Acone did.   We will see if this combo continues into the fall, but so far so good.

In a very short time, KING 5 has hired Dusty Baker in sports, Rachel Just and Heidi Kirk as reporters, former KOMO photo Drake Presto as dedicated investigative unit photojournalist and ex-Fox 13 weathercaster Abby Acone as an account exec.   Meanwhile, Tegna fired the regional news VP Julie Wolfe, ex K5 ND.     It's a carousel, but it looks like since the Nexstar takeover is mired in litigation and there is a new corporate boss, things are back to cooking at Tegna.

Well, that didn't take long. Recently departed Fox 13 weather wizard Abby Acone has gone to the dark side, joining KING5 as an account executive.   It certainly gives her a M-F schedule, no holiday work, more time with her new spouse, etc., but it's a whole new world to sell linear and streaming, so we'll see, although her personality and  popularity will likely attract some clients to make buys. Here's here post on social: "So excited to share I’m joining the KING 5 team here in Seattle! ☀️ After 14 years on air in TV news, I’m stepping into a new role as an Account Executive on the sales team.  I grew up watching KING 5 around the dinner table, so supporting this station feels like a full-circle moment.  In the last several months, I’ve reflected a lot on what’s next for me. This role is the perfect blend of everything I love the most: relationship building, storytelling, and strategic communication. This was at the core of my work as a journalist and meteorol...

Kelly Hatmaker, who was the Asst. News Director at Fox 13 from 2022 until June 2025, has landed at WVIT, the NBC O&O in Hartford-New Haven, CT.   He will be the new Asst. ND.    Hatmaker also spent nearly six years at KHQ in Spokane in management roles.   Hatmaker made the announce ment on social media.

KOMO videojournalist Drake Presto is moving to KING 5 as its new dedicated investigative unit videojournalist.   He notes on social media that he looks forward to working with the station's award-winning reporters.   Good sign to see the commitment continues and as reported here, KING has just added two field reporters.  

Julie Wolfe, who was promoted to a Regional News Content VP following her stint as News Director at KING 5, has been ousted by the company after less than a year in the job.   Another Tegna VP, Michael Valentine, who was one of my bosses at Tegna, is also gone from his regional position back east. Wolfe came to Seattle in 2021 from the ND job at the Tegna station in Louisville.   Wolfe  All per rickgevers.com

Fox 13's Washington Sports Wrap replays at 11 a.m. the following day will be dead after Labor Day when The Jennifer Hudson Show moves from 1 pm to 11 am.   Both the Sherri sydicated program and Studio 13 Live are gone.  Also, the station is running a show called 'Battleground' (Midterms) at 11 pm against news on the other three locals.  The sports show was nothing more than a morning placeholder as we already reported.  The original still runs at 6:30 weeknights.   I am also seeing another edition of West Coast News Wrap from KTVU in Oakland running back to back at 7:30, but I don't recall what  p reviously ran in that time slot.  I watch Jeopardy anyway!      Update: A loyal reader says Sports Wrap was airing on a 730 replay weeknights, so looks like it's gone too.