Media Watch

It’s no April Fool’s joke: KUAT Channel 6 made the digital
transition early, shutting off its analog transmitter due to weather
damage.

“It was a Mother Nature intervention,” said Steve Delgado,
Arizona Public Media‘s publicity and marketing specialist, about
the decision to turn off the analog signal at 11:59 p.m. on March 31.
“That tower was subjected to some heavy freezing early in the year and
effectively took out one of the devices. The rest of the devices up
there have to shoulder the burden. … To replace this particular
transmitter requires a lot of logistics—a huge crane, a lot of
people involved, a lot of energy—for something that was about to
be sunsetted in the summer. So the decision was made to just turn it
off.”

Like every other station, the PBS affiliate had prepared to make the
much-publicized digital switch on Feb. 17, but went along with the
government’s adjusted deadline of June 12, put into place as concerns
rose over the number of households unprepared for the transfer.

KUAT’s transition could act as an interesting barometer for how
severe the local problem might be. Tucson’s mountainous terrain has the
potential to create digital dark zones in a number of areas, and new
maps have suggested the issue might be more widespread than advertised.
Delgado says estimates show that 17,785 households, or just less than
10 percent of the area, could be impacted. Or, perhaps the problem will
not be as bad as feared.

“There will be calls, because there always is with everything
surrounding this issue. It does have a certain confusing nature to it,
especially with some of our more seasoned viewers,” Delgado said. “…
There’s a certain portion of the population that on April 1 is going to
have the kids run out, saying, ‘Mom, Mom, there’s no Arthur.’ That’s
when the phones are going to start ringing.”

Most Tucson stations still plan to make the
really-seriously-we-truly-mean-it-this-time-absolute-final-switch on
June 12, although Belo-owned KTTU Channel 18 went digital
some months ago due to similar technical issues with its analog
transmitter.

JOHN C. SCOTT RETURNS TO THE JOLT

Local radio-talk mainstay John C. Scott was slated to return
to KJLL AM 1330, the station he parted ways with in favor of
KVOI AM 690. Scott’s return was scheduled for Wednesday, April
1, although start-time glitches and technical issues still had to be
resolved as of our deadline.

“It’s a great opportunity for John. It’s a better deal for John
financially, and also gives him some real responsibility over at KJLL.
I look at it as a positive thing for him,” said KVOI general manager
Doug Martin.

In place of Scott, who was on for two staggered hours every weekday,
KVOI has opted for a third hour of the Dennis Prager
Show, which will air midday, and a new local morning talk show,
Wake Up Tucson With Joe Higgins and Chris DeSimone.

“Joe’s a businessman in town. He ran for county supervisor. He has a
number of small businesses, and he’s very good at it. He’s also very
community-active and knows what’s going on politically,” Martin said.
“Chris hosts Business and Banter on the weekends. It’s
very good and gets a lot of calls and a lot of interest. The two of
them have partnered up and are going to focus on the local economy and
local political issues. We feel that’s going to be very positive for
us, and we’re also excited for John’s opportunity. He’s been given a
real great chance over there.”

Scott has been a stalwart of local talk radio, peddling his product
on seemingly half of the local stations on the AM dial during a career
that has traversed the better part of three decades.

RUFFLING FEATHERS IN TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY

Tucson Citizen columnist Anne T.
Denogean apparently saw things differently over a column she wrote
relating to the final days of the Citizen—and as a result,
the column, slated to run on Friday, March 27, was pulled.

The piece in question praised some of her colleagues and speculated
on the future of the paper and what differences could result in light
of a Citizen closure or purchase. A draft of the article is
available for viewing online, as is
a Denogean e-mail to the blogger; she was upset that the draft version
of the column was leaked.

According to eyewitness reports, the newsroom exchange hinged on the
perception that the article was critical of Gannett at a sensitive time
when potential investors were in negotiations to perhaps purchase the
troubled afternoon daily.

Said potential investors were scheduled to be touring the
Citizen this week.

FURLOUGH, LAYOFF AND CUTBACK WATCH

KVOA Channel 4 employees are facing a five-day
furlough during the second quarter, which runs through June 30. The
policy is company-wide and affects everyone employed by KVOA’s parent,
Evening Post Publishing Company.

“If you look around the country, our company is not alone in taking
measures such as furloughs to help offset the impact of the economy on
media companies,” said KVOA president and general manager Gary
Nielsen in a press release. “KVOA has terrific employees who work
hard every day, and we are sorry this will have a financial effect on
them in the second quarter. We know this will be difficult for everyone
in the short term but will help to navigate our company to more
prosperous times.”

Up the road, Belo, which operates KMSB Channel 11 and
KTTU Channel 18, laid off three employees locally, which was
significantly less damaging than the blood-letting that occurred at the
company’s Phoenix television property, which saw a staff reduction of
about 30.

Cuts are occurring at the Tucson Weekly as well. Most
of the cuts to the editorial side involve peripheral expenses, such as
trimming the freelance photo budget and eliminating payment for guest
commentaries, although the most noticeable visual loss to readers could
be the temporary cut of syndicated comic strip “Troubletown” after the
publication of this edition.

This article appears in Apr 2-8, 2009.