Director's Cut Blog with Frank Macek

This is a group of classic Channel 3 Promos from around 1985, courtesy of the "Director's Cut" archives. This latest batch includes cameos from Jill Beech, Leon Bibb, Steve Browne, Terry Burhans, Jeff Kinzbach, Jane Scott and Jim Donovan. Feel free to post your own comments and share your memories. Just click on the videos to watch. If you can't view them on this page, CLICK HERE

One of the most important parts of a television station is the commercials. After all, the commercials are what pays for the programming you see on WKYC . Expenses for a TV station are quite high including salaries for staff, costs of buying syndicated programming, basic operating costs and other expenses that it takes to run any business. But exactly what is the path that a commercial takes from conception to getting on the air? Let's explore the different aspects of advertising beginning this week in a multi-part series. We have a highly seasoned sales force at WKYC that goes out into the community and actively solicits businesses to spend their advertising dollars with our TV station. Locally, this is a multi-million dollar industry which is not only sliced among the local TV stations, but also satellite and cable TV, newspapers, radio and other emerging technologies including the Internet. We are constanlty competing for advertising dollars on many different battlefronts all a...

NBC has made it official - Kevin Reilley, President/NBC Entertainment for the last three years has been axed after sagging primetime ratings led the network to re-think its management team. Ben Silverman, founder/CEO of Reveille and veteran NBCU executive Marc Graboff have been named to serve as Co-Chairmen of NBC Entertainment and NBC Universal Television Studio. In their new positions, Silverman and Graboff will jointly head all facets of the network's primetime, late-night and daytime programming as well as the digital offerings related to the entertainment division including NBC.com. In addition, the duo will supervise the network and television studio's creative, marketing, business and financial areas.

WABC -TV in New York City was knocked off the air last night after a fire damaged their main, high definition on-air studio. In addition to being use their local news studio, it also houses the "Live with Regis & Kelly" show. Early reports that a studio light exploded and caught a curtain on fire have been ruled out since all the light bulbs were still intact. Officials now think an electrical outlet in the studio caught fire. The fire quickly spread and also did damage to the facility from both smoke & water damage. This all occurred just prior to the beginning of their 11 pm newscast...which did not air. Most viewers saw either black or color bars for several hours before the station could resume any sort of programming around 2 am. To read and watch video about the fire - ironically reported by former WKYC staffer (now WABC) early morning reporter/fill-in anchor Lisa Colagrassi, visit the WABC-TV website: Click Here.

WKYC has launched another new, local website called "WKYC Outdoors" which features valuable information about fishing, boating, hunting, camping, & exploring as the summer season kicks into full gear. You'll discover a weekly updated Fishing Forecast from Meteorologist Betsy Kling, a calendar of coming events and blogging with Big Daddy, Carl Bachtel. Check it out: www.wkyc.com/outdoors "WKYC Outdoors" joins the lineup of other WKYC websites including WKYC.com , AkronCantonNews and NorthCoastMoms .

Sony has debuted a foldable TV screen with an with an organic plasma display screen. The panel is made of plastic film and can display video images. It has a 2 1/2 inch display and is .3 millimeters deep - paper thin. The panel is thinner than liquid crystal or plasma displays and sony says it has better image quality. Sony also introduced a larger computer screen also with electroluminescent tv panel. Sony hopes to produce an 11" foldable panel by the end of the year. To view video of the new TV screen from WKYC.COM, Click Here

I would like to share this special email I received today from a person I have always admired in the broadcasting business, Virgil Dominic. Mr. Dominic was an important part of the WKYC family as host of the "TV 3 Eleventh Hour Report." He would later leave us and become General Manager of WJW, among other positions he has held during a very long and highly successful career in local television. Without him knowing, I always had a high ambition to work under Mr. Dominic at WJW - though I never got a chance before he retired. Therefore, his comments about the Director's Cut Blog are especially important to me as I continue to grow it: ---- Hi, Frank.... I just discovered your Directors Cut blog and enjoy it very much. You are a fine writer, your material well organized and easy to understand. I find your blog is an enjoyable and informative way for those of us who used to be in Cleveland television to keep up with new developments in the industry and at your station which...

First, there was black & white TV. Then we had color. Today it's HDTV. But tomorrow is already here with the advent of "Mobile TV" where you can watch TV wherever you go. The sky is the limit, literally. It's the natural next step for a generation who has grown up on instantly connecting to the world at any time. One of the hot topics this year at the National Association of Broadcasters Convention (NAB) in Las Vegas was how to get the ball rolling on Mobile TV on a massive scale. Broadcasting companies like WKYC's parent company, Gannett , are already planning strategies for the inevitable. If broadcasters can agree on a distribution standard, the content is ready. Mobile TV is more than just TV you will watch in our car...it's watching real time newscasts and entertainment programming on your cell phones, ipods , and other gadgets currently in the development & production stages. Part of the plan being discussed is to use some of the TV spectrum b...

It's Over! Wednesday was the last day of May sweeps. It's always a stressful month (along with November) because so much is riding on the numbers. Both periods are critical to determining how much a station can charge advertisers for their commercials. For WKYC, things are looking good. Here are some of the highlights for Channel 3. These are based on the total amount of viewers who watched. The specific demographic breakdowns won't be out until June. *WKYC is #2 at 5 AM & 6 AM (nice 25% increase over last book at 6 AM) *Good Company beats out that other show on WJW at 10 AM... *Midday News is up year to year *WKYC is a strong #2 at 6 PM *WKYC is #1 at 7 for News & #2 in timeslot *WKYC is #1 at 11 PM (Despite a 21% decrease in NBC's Prime Time audience since Last May) *Weekend AM is #1 and continues strong We'll take a short breather and get ready for the less important July book.

This month's "Get to Know Team 3" spotlight is on Weekend Meteorologist, Betsy Kling. You may not know this, but Betsy and Paul Thomas are married and both came to WKYC from WTLV/WJXX-TV (First Coast News) in Jacksonville, FL in March 2003. Let's find out a little more about Betsy, shall we? Q: When did you first discover that Meteorology was your calling? Betsy: I had heard that meteorology was an easy lab science (HA, HA, HA...joke was on me). It may not have been easy but it was certainly fascinating and I was hooked. Pretty funny turn of events for a girl who was terrified of storms and tornadoes (and I am still a little leery). Q: What was your first job doing weather? Betsy: I did the weather for our campus news at BGSU (BG24 News). From BG I went to Fort Wayne, Indiana for my first "real" job. Q: What's your favorite season & why? Betsy: I love autumn. It really isn't so much for the colors in the leaves or anything, but I like that dry, c...

While we are discussing sports happenings today on the blog locally, let's take a look how the NFL has decided to handle the use of video shot by local stations - including ours, even as the "official home of the Cleveland Browns." Again, this is mandated by the NFL and not by the Browns themselves. The NFL has issued a new set of rules that severely restricts media sites usage of video shot from NFL press conferences, interviews or practices. The rules stipulate a maximum of 45 seconds of video per day, no use of live footage, a 24-hour window for all content and that content must contain links back to NFL.com and official team sites. Additionally, the video footage cannot be sponsored, and no more than 45 seconds per day of team practice footage. The good news, perhaps? The NFL has set no limitations on the amount of talking head video a station uses, as long as that video does not also contain an interview or any press conference footage. As for online usage, the rules...

Former WKYC News Director Dick Moore has made a stop this afternoon in Cleveland as part of his cross country trip that we have been telling you about. Dick landed at 4 PM at Burke Lakefront Airport and hussled to the Channel 3 studios before heading out for an evening of leisure and a little fun with former co-workers. Here is a picture of me (left) and Dick (right) in the Channel 3 Newsroom this afternoon. Click on the picture for a full view. You can continue to view his journey across the country on his blog: http://cmooreair.blogspot.com/ To read our original article - Click Here

Tom Meyer is joining the WKYC team as "Chief Investigative Reporter." From this afternoon's press release: ----------------------- CHANNEL 3 NEWS SIGNS INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER TOM MEYER TO LONG TERM CONTRACT "Tom Meyer, one of Cleveland's most respected investigative reporters, will be joining the WKYC news family as Chief Investigative Reporter," announced WKYC President and General Manager Brooke Spectorsky. "Tom will join channel 3 starting in mid-October and on the air by mid-January" added Spectorsky. "For now, Tom is still under contract with WOIO, so Northeast Ohio viewers will need to be a bit patient before they can see him on Channel 3." Read the full press release on WKYC.com, Click Here

Terry Burhans, courtesy WCHS-TV This month on the Director's Cut Blog, we have been busy tracking down former WKYC Meteorologist Terry Burhans for our monthly "Where Are They Now?" feature. For those of you watching WKYC in the late 80s/early 90s, Terry was a colorful part of the Channel 3 Weather Team with Meteorologist Steve Brown branded as "Brown and Burhans." His humor and unique style made him one of Cleveland's most talked about personalities on the air at the time. Steve & Terry starred in the station's very first High Definition Video promotional spot. Today, Terry calls San Diego home. He's currently forecasting at the Fox Affiliate, XETV Channel 6 handling the weekend duties for both the morning and evening broadcasts. His 10 PM weekend weather reports have been a part of Fox 6 since 2000. Every Saturday & Sunday morning from 7 to 9 am, Terry also does the weather updates for their local show "Fox in The Morning." He repo...

Our Gannett partner, USA Today, continues its 25th Anniversary celebration with Weekly Top 25 Lists. This week's list looks at the Top 25 Television Moments: 1. 9/11 coverage (2001) 2. Fox Network is launched (1986) 3. "The Oprah Winfrey Show" (1986) 4. "The Sopranos" (1999) 5. "NYPD Blue" (1993) 6. The OJ Trial (1994) 7. "The Simpsons" (1989) 8. "The Cosby Show" (1984) 9. "The Real World" (1992) 10. Johnny Carson's last show (1992) Courtesy: USAToday.com

Roger Ogden, the man who helped change the face of television news, is retiring from the Gannett Co., owner of WKYC-TV. Most recently, Ogden, 62, was the president and CEO of Gannett's broadcast division - a title he assumed in July 2005 after leaving his 9 year post as President and General Manager at KUSA in Denver. Ogden, who drove two Denver news operations to the top of the TV ratings during a 22-year career, announced in McLean, Va., that he'll retire on July 2. Locally, Ogden has been key in Channel 3's sucess...working tirelessly with WKYC Vice President and General Manager Brooke Spectorsky to get the station to where it is today. He was actively involved with representing the affiliates to NBC and helping jump start the first, all digital TV channel called "NBC Weather Plus." Ogden joined KUSA-Channel 9 (then called KBTV) in 1967, and had a brief stay in Louisville, Ky., before returning in 1981 to become general manager at KCNC-Channel 4. Once again, he...

To View NBC's Fall Preview: Click Here --------- UPDATED: 7/17/07 MONDAY 8-9 p.m. "Chuck" 9-10 p.m. "Heroes" 10-11 p.m. "Journeymen" TUESDAY 8-9:30 p.m. "The Biggest Loser" 9:30 pm-10 p.m. "The Singing Bee" 10-11 p.m. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" WEDNESDAY 8-9 p.m. "Deal or No Deal" 9-10 p.m. "Bionic Woman" 10-11 p.m. "Life" THURSDAY 8-8:30 p.m. "My Name Is Earl" 8:30-9 p.m. "30 Rock" 9-9:30 p.m. "The Office" 9:30-10 p.m. "Scrubs" 10-11 p.m. "ER" FRIDAY 8-9 p.m. "1 vs 100" 9-10 p.m. "Las Vegas" 10-11 p.m. "Friday Night Lights" SATURDAY 8-9 p.m. "Dateline NBC" 9-11 p.m. Drama Series Encores SUNDAY (Fall 2007) 7-8 p.m. "Football Night in America" 8-11 p.m. "NBC Sunday Night Football" SUNDAY (January 2008) 7-8 p.m. "Dateline NBC" 8-9 p.m. "Law & Order" ...

Lester Holt will add anchor duties for "NBC Nightly News" on Saturday and Sunday evenings to his roster, effective immediately. In addition, he will continue as co-anchor for the weekend editions of "Today" as well as a news correspondent and anchor sub for the weeknight "Nightly News," plus file stories for MSNBC . Lester replaces John Seigenthaler whose contract was not renewed recently due to cost cutting moves by the network. Also as we mentioned first on our blog, NBC recently launched the nation's first evening newscast in High Definition. Plus, they are in the process of building a brand new, state of the art studio to replace the one that Tom Brokaw and now Brian Williams have been using since 1999. Brian mentioned last Friday Night before signing off for good from the studio that the set's background has been a looping one minute tape of the MSNBC Assignment Desk in New Jersey. You may have noticed the "hardest working guy" wa...

I love studies....since I'm more of a numbers crunching geek when it comes to ratings, statistics and such....So here is another one to ponder and this is rather startling: According to another recent study by the University of Washington, nearly 90% of all U.S. kids who are under the age of 2 - and as many as 40% of babies under 3 months are regular watchers of TV including DVD's and videos. The American Academy of Pediatrics estimates our kids watch 4 hours of TV every day. They go on to say that they recommend children under 2 not watch any at all. Older kids should watch no more than 2 hours a day of "quality" TV. The study also finds 29% of parents believe baby-oriented TV and DVD programs offer educational benefits. Courtesy: University of Washington

A number of our readers are local TV folks, so this story is specifically for them...as it relates to former WKYC News Director Dick Moore. Dick was here before Mike McCormick and led Channel 3 to some of its highest news ratings ever. Dick is currently flying across the country in a 2002 C172SP (N5296Z). It's a fuel-injected, single-engine, four-seat airplane that cruises at 115 knots (125 mph) . Dick is taking a break from his teaching duties in South Carolina to visit locations across the country, including a overnight stop in Cleveland coming soon. While travelling, he is blogging about his experiences which I invite you to follow along with. It's a look at what life can be after TV. There is hope, folks! His blog is: http://cmooreair.blogspot.com/

Carole Sullivan has rejoined the Channel 3 team it was announced by acting News Director Rita Andolsen. For now, she will be working as a part-time reporter on the 6 p.m. newscasts on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Her first day back was Tuesday, May 15th. Carole and her family recently returned to Cleveland and we are thrilled to have her back as part of our news team. Prior to moving to Michigan to join her husband Mike Sullivan, Carole was co-anchor of "Channel 3 News Today" with John Anderson and Hollie Strano. Her husband recently joined the Cleveland Browns organization which faciliated her return to the Channel 3 News family.

The three broadcast network news anchors - Charles Gibson of ABC News, Katie Couric of CBS News, and Brian Williams of NBC News - are known by over three-quarters of Americans, according to a new Gallup poll. Collectively, they are rating less positively by Republicans than Democrats. Of the three anchors, Couric has the most negative rating. Poll highlights include: * 35% of Americans say they watch the nightly network news programs "every day" while another 16% say they watch several times each week. Only 19% say they never watch the evening news. * 62% percent of Americans have positive opinion of Charles Gibson while 16% have a negative opinion. * Brian Williams' ratings are similar to Gibson's, with 59% of Americans rating him positively and 18% negatively. * For Katie Couric, 51% rate her positively while 33% rated her negatively. Read the entire analysis at: Click Here Courtesy: Gallup Poll

Almost half of European viewers are now watching TV online according to a news study conducted by StrategyOne for Motorola. The French are the most avid online viewers, with 59% turning to the web to watch shows, followed by Italians, Brits and Germans. Some 57% of viewers said they want the ability to go online with their set-top box during a live TV broadcast to check sports statistics or shop for fashion show items while 35% said they want the ability to pause, fast forward or rewind live TV. The reason this study is relevant to US Viewers is that we tend to follow behind the Europeans in how we adapt new technology, like both digital broadcasting and now on-line viewing.

From: Joanne in Cleveland Q: Who does those opens for your local news? They did a really nice job of transitioning into and out of the sponsor's logo. I've noticed it on the Time Warner Cable opening, but I also noticed the ones for Key Bank and University Hospitals. Very nicely executed. A: We do most of our graphics in house. We have a super graphics department who use the latest in animation, and more recently - 3D animation - for our show opens and the transitions you see between tapes. Send your mailbag questions to: fmacek@wkyc.com

This month, I'm adding yet another new feature about working behind the scenes at WKYC...called "Get to Know Team 3." We'll kick it off with WKYC General Assignment Reporter/Fill-In Anchor, Chris Tye - Q: How long have your been working in the business? Chris: My interest in broadcasting began at a very early age. It included doing mock weather forecasts on the living room wall and turning curtain rods into microphones around the house. Not a pretty childhood picture, but intriguing nonetheless. I broke into the business, like many do, by way of internships. Growing up in Chicago, I interned at a handful of radio stations (WGN-AM, WBBM-AM, WLUP-FM, WCKG-FM) throughout high school and college. I also interned at WLS-TV in Chicago, as well as WEWS-TV here in Cleveland while I attended John Carroll University. So, I've been involved (unpaid) in broadcasting for thirteen years. I've been paid to be part of it for nine years. Q: What is your favorite part of your j...