Director's Cut Blog with Frank Macek

If you watch both "Channel 3 News" at 6, 7 & 11 PM and the "Akron Canton News" at 6:30 & 10 PM this week, you'll notice Eric Mansfield anchoring both. Eric is filling in for Tim White. I have gotten a number of emails about how Eric can be in Cleveland, then back in Akron so quickly between shows. No, we don't own a Star Trek transporter (though I suspect our engineers are secretly working on that). Eric added that I should share that he and Mark Nolan carpool. (Mark is always located in Cleveland and does weather for both newscasts.) Truth be known, we are cheating this week...Eric is really here in the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center. You see him anchor on Channel 3 at 6 PM, then walk over the chromakey to anchor the Akron Canton show at 6:30. Remember, the newsroom is in Akron which is where Eric normal anchors from. But the control room operations are always handled here in Cleveland. Then at the end of the 6:30 show, Eric walks back over to the Ch...

Sunday's Indians clinch of the AL Central was a huge ratings winner for WKYC which carried the game in High Definition: According to a press release issued by WKYC Monday: "Yesterday (Sunday) was a great sports story in Cleveland as the Indians captured the American League Central Division title and an outstanding day for Channel 3 Sports and SportsTime Ohio as the high-definition broadcast of the game topped the ratings," announced WKYC President and General Manager Brooke Spectorsky. "Fans stayed glued to their sets and generated an outstanding 14.25 rating/29 share (530,000 persons 2+) and peaked at a 23 rating/42 share (855,000 persons 2+). "After the game, SportsTime Ohio cameras and Cchannel 3 stayed with the Indians post game and finished with a 10.4 rating/18 share for the 45 minutes of celebration", added Spectorsky. "These numbers just reinforce that Cleveland is all about sports, and throughout the year, Channel 3 and STO have given fans ove...

This is a group of classic Channel 3 Promos from around 1995, courtesy of the "Director's Cut" archives. This latest batch includes cameos from Judd Hambrick, Dawn Stensland, Jeff Maynor, Kate Laurie, Paul Orlousky, Joe Mosbrook, Steve Keeley, Donna Terrell, Chuck Galeti and Tom Beres among others. Special thanks to WKYC Editor Sarah Montgomery for helping us get the videos to the web. Feel free to post your own comments and share your memories. Just click on the videos to watch. If you can't see the video on this page, CLICK HERE

My colleague at WUSA-TV in Washington D.C. , Scott Rubens, has started his own "behind the scenes" blog called The Director's Chair which takes a look inside Channel 3's Gannett sister station in the nation's Capital. Because I welcome friendly competition and the exchange of ideas, I'd like to share this blog with you. Scott has been directing WUSA's 6 & 11 PM newscasts for the past 10 years and offers yet another perspective on how it is to work behind the scenes in local television. WUSA-TV is the largest of our Gannett TV group stations...and is often referred to as the "Station of the Gods" - because our Corporate staff is also located there. You may also recall that former WKYC News Director Randal Stanley went to WUSA in the same capacity before moving to NYC with his wife and family. Over the next couple of days, be sure to check out Scott's blog... http://www.wusa9.com/news/columnist/blogs/directorschair.aspx

NBC.com is launching a new service to allow users to download full episodes of NBC shows directly to their desktops. Using NBC Direct, due out for Windows PCs in October, will eventually be like setting your Tivo's Season Pass in that you can "subscribe" to a show once then automatically receive it each week. The software client will store each ad-supported episode for up to one week, after which the license expires. Heroes, The Office, Life, Bionic Woman, 30 Rock, Friday Night Lights, Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno will be available at launch. Future plans include developing DRM-protected versions of shows that can be downloaded to an iPod, installing a P2P system to enable high definition downloads and experimentation with download-to-own, rental and subscription models.

CNBC will launch a hi-def simulcast version of its business cable channel in October, signing an initial carriage agreement with DirecTV. CNBC HD+ will feature a full line up of programming shot in HD including "Power Lunch," "Street Signs" and "Closing Bell."

SportsTime Ohio (the regional sports network done in partnership with WKYC) announced Tuesday that the network has partnered with Time Warner Cable to sign a one year television deal with the Ohio High School Athletic Association. SportsTime Ohio will have exclusive rights to televise eight (8) football playoff games, six (6) football championship games, eight (8) boys' basketball playoff games, four (4) boys' basketball championship games, and four (4) girls' basketball championship games. In addition, STO has exclusive distribution of a minimum of four (4) other OHSAA events to be determined. SportsTime Ohio will carry these events live and tape delayed throughout Ohio. A partnership with Time Warner Cable has been forged to distribute statewide coverage of these events, including the full Cincinnati and Dayton DMAs. Through this partnership, OHSAA programming will air in all 12 DMAs in Ohio reaching 3.1 million homes. Time Warner Cable's "Local on Demand" s...

Channel 3 Reporter Mike O'Mara steps into the spotlight in this month's "Get to Know Team 3" feature. Mike is a four time Emmy award recipient and has been honored many times by the Press Club of Cleveland for his reporting excellence. We recently sat down with Mike and threw a couple of questions his way: Q: You started your broadcasting career in radio, much like I did. First you worked in Toledo, then you went on to Detroit, what were some of the positions you held? Mike: I started as disc jockey doing the night shift at WMHE 92-5 FM. Then I added vacation relief shift at the same time in Detroit (WRIF) from 10am - 2pm. The Toledo station then moved me to morning show and made me music director and then program director. When I made the transition to television, I was hired as a reporter, photographer and editor. I had to quickly learn how to shoot film and tape and edit both mediums. A few months later, the news management made me weekend anchor, producer, w...

Update: 9/19/07 Keith is at home and recovering well. He plans to return to his MSNBC show on Friday and Sunday Night Football this weekend. ------------------------------------------ MSNBC's & NBC Sunday Night Football's rising prime-time star Keith Olbermann was still hospitalized Monday after undergoing an emergency appendectomy Friday. Mr. Olbermann's appendix apparently ruptured Wednesday, but he wrote it off as a stomach ailment and soldiered on. Though still feeling ill, he nonetheless reported for work Thursday night, when he anchored MSNBC's analysis of President Bush's prime-time address on the war in Iraq. It wasn't until Friday afternoon that he decided it was time to seek medical attention, according to an MSNBC spokeswoman. Mr. Olbermann's medical emergency benched him from NBC's "Football Night in America" Sunday, but it's hoped he may be able to return to "Countdown With Keith Olbermann" some time this week. In...

President Bush's speech to the nation Thursday Night, September 13th, was the very first ever broadcast in High Definition from the Oval Office at the White House.

According to a just-released Knowledge Networks study, access to high-definition television (HDTV) programming significantly affects viewing behavior, making users more selective about what they watch and more likely to plan viewing in advance. High-definition (HD) reception does not seem to make consumers more likely to watch commercials, though; while they find HDTV ads more "relevant," they are just as likely to click away from them as regular ads. The report indicates that, while 20% of homes now have an HDTV set, less than two-thirds (61%) of those homes have true high-definition reception. But the effects of having HD programming are substantial; among those who get high-definition reception signals: *One-third always check their HD channels first when channel surfing or checking for a program *About half "always" make the effort to watch in HD if a program is simulcast in both standard definition and HD *About 70% plan their viewing ahead of time, compared wi...

WKYC Presents Special "Race for the Cure" Live Coverage: Friday, September 14th On Friday evening at 7 pm, WKYC Health Anchor Monica Robins will guide viewers through a new race route and timeline and provide practical information including where to park Saturday morning. Saturday, September 15th Our live on-air and web coverage begins on Channel 3 and wkyc.com at 9 a.m. *Live video at 9 a.m. *Finish Line camera at 9:40 a.m. *Email us your photos all day! CLICK HERE For more details about "Race For the Cure or to donate to this worthy cause, visit neohiorace.org or call (216) 791-CURE (2873)

Congratulations to WKYC's Monica Robins. She was one of the 2007 recipients of Lakewood, Lutheran and Fairview Hospitals' Community Service Awards. Monica's dedication to providing you with health care information.... and her committment to local health organizations is what made her a standout to receive the honor.

September 11, 2001 As a Director, it was the hardest day of my career so far - trying to hold back your feelings, your emotions, your anger - while being on-the-air with non-stop live coverage of the tragic events in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. Whether you agree or disagree that six years after the fact, we - the media - still do too much coverage of the anniversary, it's worthy of looking back on that day behind the scenes at WKYC. At 9 am, the phone rang. A friend called to ask me if I had seen the jet crash into the World Trade Center. "It had to be an accident," I said to myself still half awake - perhaps it was just a small commuter plane and wasn't that big a deal. I was not comprehending what I was hearing. After all, I was on vacation and news was the furthest thing from my mind. Then I get the second call...about a second plane and realized this is something bad. I jumped out of bed, turned on the TV and couldn't believe what I was watching. It...

Channel 3 News won the most local Emmys out of any station in our area at the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Lower Great Lakes Chapter held Saturday Night at the Hilton Garden Inn. Among the winners were WKYC's Jennifer Murphy, Kim Wheeler, Mike O'Mara, Paul Thomas, Dennis Goulden and Greg Hickey. WKYC's former Chief Engineer, Rex Rickly, was inducted into the Silver Circle that honors 25 years of service and committment to the broadcast industry. Congratulations also goes to SportsTime Ohio, who received their very first Emmy Award. For a complete list of winners: CLICK HERE

Starting Monday, September 10th, it's a brand new weekday lineup on WKYC... 5:00 to 7:00 AM - Channel 3 News Today (in HD) 7:00 to 10:00 AM - Today Show (in HD) 10:00 to 11:00 AM - Good Company (in HD) 11:00 to Noon - Today Show (Hour 4) (in HD) Noon to 12:30 PM - Channel 3 News Midday (in HD) 12:30 to 1:00 PM - The Insider 1:00 to 2:00 PM - Days of Our Lives 2:00 to 3:00 PM - Montel Williams (Passions moves to Direct TV) 3:00 to 4:00 PM - Rachael Ray 4:00 to 5:00 PM - Ellen DeGeneres 5:00 to 6:00 PM - Dr. Phil 6:00 to 6:30 PM - Channel 3 News at 6 (in HD) 6:30 to 7:00 PM - NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams (in HD) 7:00 to 7:30 PM - Channel 3 News at 7 (Mondays @ 7: The Point After) (in HD) 7:30 to 8:00 PM - Entertainment Tonight 8:00 to 11:00 PM - NBC Prime Time (in HD) 11:00 to 11:35 PM - Channel 3 News at 11 (in HD) 11:35 to 12:35 AM - The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (in HD) 12:35 to 1:35 AM - Late Night with Conan O'Brien (in HD) 1:35 to 2:05 AM - Last Call with Carson Da...

Four new NBC series this fall including "Bionic Woman," "Chuck," "Journeyman" and "Life" will get a second airing on the NBC cable networks: USA, Bravo and Sci-Fi. "Bionic Woman" will replay on Sci Fi two days after the NBC airing. "Life" will rebroadcast on USA later the same night of its NBC airing. Both "Chuck" and "Journeyman" will have additional airings on all three NBC cable nets at various times. For a schedule of this year's regular NBC Primetime lineup on WKYC, including season premiere dates, CLICK HERE

According to a new study from The Media Audit , 27% of adults have visited a local TV web site in the past 30 days. The study, conducted between January 2006 and April 2007, is based on a telephone survey of 118,211 randomly selected adults across 88 markets. Only two of the top 15 markets make it into the top 15 for adults who visit a local TV Web site - Houston (10th) and Philadelphia (13th). Across the nation 73% of adults are going online. With 27% going to local TV Web sites, this means that nearly 40% of Internet users are visiting their local TV websites. This is a strong testament to the appeal of the local TV Web sites. There are 6 markets: Raleigh, Tulsa, Denver, Columbia, Little Rock and Madison, where over half the adult online population is going to a local TV Web site. Of the top 15 markets, two Texas markets - Houston and Dallas - make it into the top 5 for converting online visitors to local TV website visitors. Philadelphia, Detroit and Seattle make up the rest of the ...

NBC Universal said Tuesday it will sell episodes of its new fall television shows using Amazon's Unbox digital download service, after the network failed to reach an agreement with Apple Inc. last week to offer the shows on iTunes. Amazon.com Inc. and NBC Universal said that episodes of programs such as "The Office" and "Heroes" are currently available for $1.99 on Unbox, and that new episodes will be added to the site they day after they air. Customers will be able to buy an entire season of a show at once. Free pilot episodes of NBC's new fall shows, such as "Bionic Woman" and "Chuck," will appear starting Sept. 10. The NBC content can be played, without commercials, on the computer screen, or on a TV through a Web-enabled TiVo set-top box. On Friday, Apple said it will not sell any of NBC's programs for this fall season on iTunes. NBC and Apple have a contract that expires at the end of the year; Apple said NBC wanted to raise the ...

When you think back to Cleveland TV in the mid 1980s, the name Doreen Gentzler quickly comes to mind. Although, Doreen was only here at WKYC for 4 years, she had a big impact on local viewers and certainly deserves a place in our monthly Hall of Fame feature we call "Where Are They Now?" Doreen became the 6 & 11 PM co-anchor on "Channel 3 News" and had four male co-anchors in four years who she fondly remembers: Judd Hambrick, Leon Bibb, Dale Solly and Bob McBride. Through it all, she developed nice memories with each and got to cover some great stories about missing children and the John Demjanjuk trial in Israel. But soon, she moved on. After leaving WKYC-TV in late 1987, Doreen went to work at WCAU-TV in Philadelphia, which was a CBS owned and operated station at that time (today, it's an NBC station). In 1989, she moved back to her hometown of Washington D.C. and WRC-TV Today, Doreen anchors the 6 & 11 PM news on NBC 4 (see anchor desk picture) and h...

This Saturday, September 8th, the stars come out at the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Lower Great Lakes Chapter annual Emmy Awards Ceremony. This year's events will take place at the Hilton Garden Inn downtown. Yours truly was nominated for "Channel 3 News at 11 PM" for Outstanding Daily Newscast in Markets 1-20, along with former ND Mike McCormick, Ass't ND (at the time) Rita Andolsen, anchor Romona Robinson and Producer Dan Stadler. Our local region is made up of the following markets: Bloomington, Ft. Wayne, Indianapolis, Muncie, Indiana; Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Lima, Mansfield, Toledo, Youngstown, Ohio; Erie, Pennsylvania. For a complete list of this year's nominees: CLICK HERE We'll have results posted as soon as they become available.