Media Watch

SMITH LEAVES TUCSON FOR BELO POSITION IN VIRGINIA

Tod Smith, the general manager of Belo-operated
KMSB Channel 11 and KTTU Channel 18, accepted a promotion
to the company’s Norfolk, Va., outlet, WVEC, bringing an end to his
three-year stint in Tucson.

“Tod has done an outstanding job as president and general manager in
Tucson. His general management and sales and marketing experience make
him a great choice to lead our Hampton/Norfolk television operations,”
said Kathy Clements, Belo’s senior vice president for television
operations, in a press release.

Smith took over as GM of the Tucson outlet in 2006 after advertising
and TV stints in New Orleans.

Smith inherited a station cluster on solid footing and built upon
the foundation. He oversaw an increase in ratings at both stations,
with a special emphasis on Fox affiliate KMSB, which completely
localized its news operation.

“(I’m happy) obviously the growth of our news product, from
operating out of Phoenix to taking care of it on our own. It’s headed
in a certain direction, and there are obviously a lot of growth
opportunities still there,” Smith said. “Just to see that develop from
where it was to where it is today is extremely rewarding. There have
been some positives in terms of ratings, but no. 1, is the staff is
happy. People like working here. They want to work here.”

On the flip side, Smith wishes he’d had an opportunity to build upon
the Belo cluster’s local presence.

“Our opportunities to produce local programs—I would have
liked seeing that expand, be it local news or something else,” Smith
said. “We did launch Tucson Treasures, and we’re doing
our own news, but I would have liked to have seen us do a little bit
more on the local side, and I think that’s the direction you’ll
probably see the stations moving in.

“Whoever gets in here will have an extremely happy and motivated
staff. People love the station, and they’re dedicated to it. We find
creative ways to get things done. From the perspective of the general
manager, you can’t ask for anything better than that. These folks are
dedicated to making things happen. It’s never easy to get that done.
It’s even more difficult with the business conditions the way they are,
but they’re motivated and want to continuously improve.”

From a terrain standpoint, Norfolk probably more closely resembles
the New Orleans of Smith’s roots, but he looks back fondly on his
experience here, he said.

“If people are living there, there’s a reason they’re living there,
and you have to find out what that reason is. You can’t try to go in
and make an area suit your particular vision of what you think it
should be. You have to find out what makes it special and embrace that
and become a part of it. In the three years being here, we’ve done
that,” said Smith. “I’m going to miss it. I love being 15 minutes away
from walking up a mountain or trail and feeling like you’re miles and
miles away from the city. It’s amazing.”

LEE TAKES OVER TRAFFIC DUTIES AT KOLD

Joan Lee has been pegged to handle morning traffic
responsibilities on KOLD Channel 13.

“I’m really excited about going back there,” said Lee, who worked
with KOLD as part of a partnership the station had with then-WB
affiliate KWBA Channel 58/Cable Channel 8, where Lee acted the
station’s on-air personality before being laid off. “Probably the most
exciting part of me doing television was doing the whole thing at KOLD.
… It will be great working with them again.”

While technically employed by Metro Traffic, Lee joins
Jenny Anchondo, Scott Kilbury and Erin Jordan as part of
the CBS affiliate’s local morning news block.

“I’ve worked with all three of them in some capacity over the
years,” Lee said. “It was really nice to walk in and have my audition
with them and already have a rapport with them.”

In addition to the morning traffic gig, Lee also works at Jon
Wolf Photography, so her plate is full: “I’m going to be a very,
very tired girl. It will be a long day, but I’ve done this before in my
life.”

KVOI: I WAS HOPING FOR SPACE ALIENS …

The transition from AM 690 to 1030 has been anything but
smooth for talk station KVOI. Since the July 1 frequency switch
between KVOI and “pop classics” station KCEE, KVOI has endured a series
of lengthy signal interruptions, which in turn has led to a series of
inventive conspiracy theories from some listeners.

“The phones have been ringing off the hook as we have experienced
these long outages,” said Doug Martin, president of Good News
Radio Broadcasting, via a press release. “Some of the theories the
listeners have expressed have us concerned. One listener called and
thought that the station had been taken off the air by the competition;
another listener had a conspiracy theory that involved a government
takeover. The truth is much more benign. No, Dick Cheney was not taking
target practice at our tower site, and this is not something the
Illuminati did. The reason we have had these outages is because of the
fine tuning of a complex directional tower system.”

That’s a boring explanation.

“(Former KCEE AM 1030 owner) Jim Slone has the best ear in
broadcasting,” said Martin in the press release, “and he was not happy
with the sound of 1030 AM. This prompted Slone to secure the talents of
Elliott Klein (one of the top engineers in broadcasting) to
design and build the massive system that controls the power variables
and enhances the sound of the complex four-tower directional system.
This will also allow KVOI to broadcast at 10,000 watts and be the most
powerful talk station in Tucson. We are excited to hear the final
outcome of this very expensive and sophisticated engineering feat, but
we needed to quell the rumors.”

No. Don’t quell the rumors. They’re imaginative, as well as
outlandish and absurd. Since when has mundane and logical been a
working model for talk radio?

This article appears in Jul 30 – Aug 5, 2009.