WKYC and Goodwill Team for "Give to Get" This Saturday

Are you looking to do a little spring cleaning?

Why not help the local Goodwill by donating your clothing and household items at any Cleveland or Canton store this Saturday, April 30th.

Donated items help the Goodwill continue to operate critical programs for those most in need.

Your donation can help you win a $4,000 window makeover.

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Behind the Scenes: Romona's Visit To The White House on 4/27/11

As you probably know from our earlier posting, WKYC's Romona Robinson was only one of four reporters in the nation who were invited to the White House on Tuesday to sit down and talk with President Obama.

Our field producer, Amanda Subler, was with Romona and had the flipcam in hand. She set us back some video that we thought we share "behind the scenes."

Romona in Washington, D.C. for her interview with the President



Romona & Producer Amanda leaving the White House



This is where reporters from like NBC News stand outside the White House and give their live reports on NBC Nightly News, MSNBC

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WKYC Anchor Invited To One-on-One Interview At The White House

Romona interviewing President Obama at the White House

Channel 3’s Romona Robinson will sit down with President Barack Obama at the White House tomorrow morning, April 26th.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for me to ask him the questions that are important to all of us here in Northeast Ohio,” said Ms. Robinson. “Channel 3 viewers want to understand the issues and hear what’s being done about jobs creation in Ohio, the price of gas and the impact of Senate Bill 5.

Romona will have a special three camera interview with the President in the morning and anchor live shots from the White House for the early evening shows. The interview will then air during the 6pm, 7pm and 11pm newscasts tomorrow night.

“I’m looking forward to speaking directly with President Obama and discussing the issues that face our region,” added Ms. Robinson. The Emmy Award winning anchor has lead WKYC’s 6pm and 11pm newscasts since 1997.

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New Time Warner Lineup Impacts Channel 3 HD Viewers

Time Warner says changes made to its system Tuesday night have impacted some viewers ability to see the Channel 3 signal.

According to Time Warner the changes impact the HD signal on sets connected directly to cable.

The company recommends that impacted viewers re-scan to make sure they are receiving the 3.1 HD signal.

The analog signal for Channel 3 has not been impacted by the system changes.

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Get To Know Team 3: Jennifer Lindgren

Jennifer Lindgren

By Frank Macek

In this "Get to Know Team 3" feature, we finally had the chance to sit down with WKYC Multimedia Journalist Jennifer Lindgren who joined Channel 3 in August 2010 from WTLV in Jacksonville, Florida, and WLTX in Columbia, South Carolina .

As a multimedia journalist, Jennifer is a one woman band who shoots, edits and fronts her own packages as television continues to move in this new direction of journalism.

Her stories have received recognition along the way. She's been the recipient of a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for writing. In the past couple of years, the South Carolina Associated Press has honored her work for general assignment reporting, as well as the Florida Society of Professional Journalists for feature reporting.

Here is what Jennifer had to say during a recent conversation with the Director's Cut Blog:

Question: Tell us about some of the positions you held at your earlier stations.

Jennifer: I’ve worked as a reporter for four news stations in four states in the last six years. "Multimedia Journalist” is pretty much all I’ve done. Aside from a little fill-in anchoring in my last market, I’ve always been a reporter who also shoots and edits her own stories.

Question: What has been your favorite city to live in before coming to Cleveland?

Jennifer: Austin, Texas. I was just a college student (at the University of Texas), but the city is one giant playground for exploring amazing food, music and shopping. Not to mention beautiful lakes, rivers and parks. Plus it’s the political heart of the state and the home of my favorite football team. What more could you want?

Question: How do you define your role as a multimedia journalist?

Jennifer: A wearer of many hats. The biggest challenge is balancing a hefty work load. I appear in front and behind the camera, and it's the latter that takes the most energy. I travel for interviews, shoot, write, edit and assemble TV news stories on a daily deadline. It's never borning, and there is rarely a minute to relax. But what matters most is the story that ends up on air -- was it effective? Did I do a good job helping, informing and engaging people who tune in to find out what’s important? That's the acheivement I aim for every day.

Question: Do you find your work more challenging (or easier) with having complete control over your assignments from start to finish?

Jennifer: A little of both. People are often surprised when I show up for an interview carrying tons of gear on my own (especially in a snow storm), but I manage! It's an arduous process working solo, but the clock doesn't wait for you either. I value the days I am able to work with our photographers, who are just as involved in the story telling process as reporters. I think being a photographer makes you a better news writer. Your eye picks up on subleties when you're focusing a shot behind the lens that you may not catch when you are asking questions and taking notes.

Question: What advice do you give others looking to become a new reporter or just out of college?

Jennifer: Throw your preconceived notions of what it means to work in broadcast news out the window. This business is completely different today than it was two years ago, let alone a decade in the past. College curriculms aren't always caught up to the changes. Be prepared to be flexible and be willing to take on other jobs within the newsroom on the path to becoming a reporter. If you're still in school, get an internship. It will prepare you more for your first job than your classes will. If you've just graduated, be persistent.

Question: Who would you consider to be your mentor or idol in the broadcasting business?

Jennifer: When I was in college, my mentor was Wes Sarginson, the long time anchor at WXIA TV in Atlanta who has since retired from local news. He encouraged me to pursue this career. The veterans of the business have so much to teach. I have also learned a lot from Boyd Huppert, who works at KARE TV in Minneapolis, just by paying attention to his writing. I often watch his reports online. I appreciate great story tellers.

Question: What are you future goals in television?

Jennifer: To see where it takes me. My experiences to date are the results of opportunity and chance. So I'm eager to see what will happen next. I love being a field reporter, and plan to stick with it. It is such an educational profession and I am very thankful for it.

Question: We know you love to travel. Share with us some of the coolest places you have been.

Jennifer: There are so many, and they are all so different! I love to travel. Anywhere that requires a passport. Anagoda, in the British Virgin Islands is this tiny coral island that is barely above sea level. It's very remote and beautiful. I love Central America, for the various types of culture and food. Most recently, I traveled to Mexico City, where we ate from street carts and took a wooden boat trip down an ancient canal system. I'm a planner by nature, so I always research where I'm headed so I can visit as many hidden gems as possible while I'm there. This may sound outrageous, but I am hoping to make it to Antarctica one day before it becomes restricted from tourism.

Question: What else do you like to do in your free time?

Jennifer: Cook, yoga, and spend time with friends and family.

Question: Where is your favorite place to shop in northeast Ohio?

Jennifer: The West Side Market for interesting ingredients. Lehman's in Kidron is packed with cool kitchen gear and gadgets.

Question: Share with us at least one thing most people don’t know about you.

Jennifer: When I was a kid, I always dreamed of being a scientist: doctor, biologist, astronaut, archeologist, meteorolgist -- you name it. I even went to science camp. I didn't decide to pursue journalism until half-way through college. Now I couldn't imagine doing anything else.

To email Jennifer, you can reach her at jenniferlindgren@wkyc.com

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WKYC And RTA Needs Your Help to "Pack The Bus" This Week

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) and Channel 3 are teaming up to help "Pack the Bus" with several ways you can help the Harvest for Hunger campaign now through Friday, April 15th.

RTA will be collecting non-perishable food items along with cash donations for Harvest for Hunger through Thursday at Tower City. Rapid customers who pass through Tower City on their daily commute can drop of items in the morning on their way to work on all three days. RTA representatives will be on hand to collect food items and cash from 6 – 9 am. This customer drive is in addition to what RTA’s employees are already doing throughout the organization, at all garages and offices, to help those in need through the Harvest for Hunger campaign.

Organizers say the most needed food items are: peanut butter, tuna fish, canned vegetables, beef stew, canned soup and cereal.

In addition, cash goes even farther; with each dollar providing food for four nutritious meals.

On Friday, Channel 3 will host a last round push for the "PACK THE BUS" event in the WKYC parking lot at 1333 Lakeside Avenue . People are invited to come down and donate either non-perishable food items or cash donations.

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Browns Announce 2011 Preseason Games To Be Aired On WKYC

The Cleveland Browns' 2011 preseason opponents were announced, and the list features matchups against three teams that qualified for the 2010 playoffs, including the defending Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers.

For the third consecutive year, the Browns will open their preseason campaign against Green Bay as they host the Packers on the weekend of August 11-15.

For the 10th consecutive season, the Browns will face Detroit in preseason action, when they welcome the Lions to Cleveland Browns Stadium during the weekend of August 18-22.

Cleveland then travels to Lincoln Financial Field to face the Philadelphia Eagles on the weekend of August 25-29. It will be the first preseason meeting between the two clubs since 2006. The Browns will conclude the preseason September 1-2, when they travel to Chicago to meet the Bears. The contest marks the eighth straight year that Cleveland and Chicago have met in the preseason finale

Here are the games you will see exclusively on WKYC and the times for each game:

• Aug. 13th vs. Packers in Cleveland @ 7:30 p.m.  
• Aug. 19th vs. Lions in Cleveland @ 7:30 p.m. 
• Aug. 25th at Eagles in Philadelphia @ 7:30 p.m.
• Sept. 1st at Bears in Chicago @ 8 p.m.

Click to download the complete 2011 Browns Schedule (pdf)

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Notes From The Newsroom: 4/11/11

By Frank Macek

It's time for another behind the scenes look at what's happening at the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center.

Your blogger has plenty of news to report in this exciting edition...although some of it is not good.

As you have been reading in the Plain Dealer and elsewhere on-line, WKYC has announced some on-air changes including the departure of long-time Channel 3 News weekend anchor Jeff Maynor and WKYC Meteorologist AJ Colby.

Jeff joined WKYC in 1993 after spending seven years at WEWS/TV and eight years at WJW/TV in Cleveland. Most recently, Jeff anchored the weekend 6 & 11 PM editions of Channel 3 News, although much of his time was spent on the weekend morning show with co-anchor Kim Wheeler before the great recession forced WKYC to move to one anchor show formats in most dayparts. Jeff's last day at WKYC was Sunday, April 6th.

Meteorologist AJ Colby will also be leaving Channel 3 at the end of May. AJ first worked at Channel 3 as a freelancer beginning in January 2005 and was hired in 2007 after WKYC Chief Meteorologist Mark Nolan moved to the anchor desk of "Channel 3 News Today." Betsy Kling replaced Mark weeknights, while AJ moved into her old weekend evening 6 & 11 PM slot. Prior to working for WKYC, AJ worked at WEWS/TV and WJW/TV. No plans to replace AJ or Jeff have been announced.

Channel 3 has a slightly redesigned graphics look that launched, in part, last Wednesday, April 9th. This look is a little cleaner than the previous design from the Gannett Graphics Group (G3) in Denver who provides all of the Gannett stations with our graphics after local departments were eliminated a few years ago. Part two of the redesign will air this week with new lower third graphics that will provide our viewers more topical information on stories as part of an initiative created by Dave Lougee, President of Gannett Broadcasting.

Our mobile signal has finally been fired up and is testing mode. Looks like Channel 3 will be announcing plans soon for what type of programming will be available sometime this year. Stay tuned on this one!

Do you want to know if there's been a crime in your neighborhood? WKYC now has an easy way for you to find out. WKYC has launched SpotCrime, an interactive feature where you can see where crimes have been committed. You can also have crime alerts emailed to your inbox by entering your email address.

The page also has an interactive map that shows the locations and the types of crimes -- arrests, arsons, assaults, burglaries, robberies, thefts, vandalism and more. Just go to the News tab on the top of the WKYC.com main page and select "crime" from the drop-down menu. For now, SpotCrime is only mostly active in the Greater Cleveland/Cuyahoga County area and parts of Lake County but will be expanding soon.

As always, please don't forget to become a friend of Channel 3 News and Channel 3 Weather. We have special on-line content just for our Facebook friends including your chance to be our "Facebook Friend of the Day," daily behind the scenes promos, previews of NBC shows, a daily programming guide of what's on Channel 3 and so much more.

• Click to become a Facebook Friend of Channel 3 News
• Click to become a Facebook Friend of Channel 3 Weather
• Click to become a Twitter Follower of Channel 3 News
• Click to become a Twitter Follower of Channel 3 Weather

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Behind the Scenes: Opening Day at Progressive Field at WKYC

The game didn't end up as we wished, but it was a fun day at Progressive Field for everyone. Here are some videos we shot during today's Opening Day Special on Channel 3:

In the control booth as the end of Tribe Talk draws to a close. Al Wohl calls it like a conductor.



Take a look at what went on behind Amanda Barren's live shot:



At look at what Caitlin is doing as the field producer at the party deck:




Romona is joined by Matt Underwood and Rick Manning:



Producer Caitlin shows you some of the prep work before the home opener special, out on the party deck:



Romona goes one on one with Indians Chairman and CEO Paul Dolan:



Jimmy and Romona getting ready for the Channel 3 pre-game show from Progressive Field:

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