Director's Cut Blog with Frank Macek

Celebrate the distinct beauty of northeast Ohio with our new Weather Calendar! The calendar includes useful daily averages, unbelievable extremes and weather history trivia. Also includes monthly weather highlights from the Channel 3 Weather team explaining Greater Cleveland's unique weather phenomena. Thirty spectacular photographs from the regions best amateurs and most accomplished professionals capture the unique beauty and charm of Northeast Ohio. They are $12.99 and a portion of the proceeds goes to Coats for Kids. Available at seasonal Calendar Stores in many area malls, independent book stores like Fireside in Chagrin, online or by phone at 216-386-0026. See more or order online today: * Order the Northeast Ohio Weather Calendar * See a Preview of the Weather Calender

The first Presidential debate on Friday Night was not the biggest event ever seen in the history of television, but it did get fairly decent rating according to Nielsen. While neither candidate got the knockout punch they hoped for, it's good to see the nation following the election very closely. Both candidates are in the process of budgeting a ton of money for important states, like Ohio... which will again play a deciding vote in this election year. NEW YORK (AP) -- The first debate between John McCain and Barack Obama, seen by an estimated 52.4 million viewers on Friday, was one of the first events of the presidential campaign that was not a huge TV hit. The audience was 10 million less than the first debate between President Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry in 2004, according to Nielsen Media Research on Monday. It wasn't even one of the 10 most-watched presidential debates, falling well short of the record 80.6 million people who saw the only debate between Presi...

Congratulations to several of WKYC's main weekday anchors for being singled out by readers in Cleveland Magazine's "Best of Cleveland" poll in the magazine's October edition. They include the following: *Best Female News Anchor: Romona Robinson *Best Male News Anchor: Tim White *Best Sports Anchor: Jim Donovan All winners will be honored on Friday, October 10th at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Logo courtesy: clevelandmagazine.com

It's that time of the year again when the Fall TV Season is about to kick into high gear. And once again, the Director's Cut Blog will give you a sneak peak at what you'll be seeing this fall. The drama "Life," from Rand Ravich ("The Astronaut's Wife") and Far Shariat ("Confessions of a Dangerous Mind"), focuses on a detective who is given a second chance. Golden Globe nominee Damian Lewis ("Band of Brothers") plays complex, offbeat Detective Charlie Crews, who returns to the force after serving time in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Crews' new lease on life has provided him with a Zen-like outlook, peace of mind and no need for vengeance, an attitude which can be challenging to maintain when someone he cares about is threatened -- or when he is investigating the mystery surrounding the murder he was falsely accused of. Lewis is joined by cast members Sarah Shahi ("Rush Hour 3") as Dani Reese...

It's that time of the year again when the Fall TV Season is about to kick into high gear. And once again, the Director's Cut Blog will give you a sneak peak at what you'll be seeing this fall. The world's nerdiest secret agent is back! Executive producer Josh Schwartz ("Gossip Girl," "The O.C.") and executive producer-director McG ("Charlie's Angels," "We Are Marshall") team up again to bring back the one-hour action-comedy series about Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi, "Less Than Perfect") -- a computer geek who is catapulted into a new career as the government's most vital secret agent. When Chuck opens an e-mail subliminally encoded with government secrets, he unwittingly downloads an entire server of sensitive data into his brain. Now, the fate of the world lies in the unlikely hands of a guy who works at a Buy More Electronics store. Instead of fighting computer viruses, he must now confront assassins and inter...

We had a chance to grab the flip cam this afternoon between my regular tapings to grab some video of WKYC anchor Tim White recording a promo in the studio for our Food Drive on Thursday, October 2nd from 5 AM until 7:30 PM at the WKYC studios. Videographer Steve Pullen was behind the camera as "one take" Tim made it look so easy.

Time flies in television in so many ways. Therefore, we feel another in our series "Where Are They Now?" is long overdue. For this month's feature, we located one of the easiest of the Channel 3 alumnists to be found - Virgil Dominic. Virgil is back at Channel 3 working behind the scenes with our talent and news management as a consultant this time around. If there was ever a "TV Dad" I wish I had, it would be Virgil. His career as taken him to many locales, but ultimately found Cleveland as home. Virgil has done it all over the years from anchor to sales, to General Manager of WJW and now a consultant. We recently asked Virgil to tell us, in his own words, what he has been up to over these many years that go by so fast. THE PAST: I served as the main anchor at Channel 3 from 1965 to 1972. In addition to doing the 6, 7 and 11 PM newscasts, I also did a national radio show, NBC News on the Hour, at 5 PM each day and a local radio newscast on WKYC AM at 5:30 PM. I...

It's that time of the year again when the Fall TV Season is about to kick into high gear. And once again, the Director's Cut Blog will give you a sneak peak at what you'll be seeing this fall. Based on the best-selling book by Candace Bushnell ("Sex and the City"), this sexy drama follows three high-powered friends as they weather the ups and downs of lives lived at the top of their game. Movie exec Wendy (Brooke Shields, "Suddenly Susan") does everything she can to balance career and family. Nico (Kim Raver, "24"), editor-in-chief of a hot fashion magazine, has her eye on becoming CEO. And free-spirited designer Victory (Lindsay Price, "Beverly Hills, 90210") longs to make her dreams come true -- and maybe find "Mr. Right" along the way. Armed with humor and strength, these three modern New York women support one another through the triumphs and tears that are all part of making it big in the Big Apple. Also starring are An...

By Frank Macek This year is the 10th anniversary of the an idea that revolutionized the broadcast industry for better or worse - the MOS (Media Object Server) Protocol. MOS is a language that was born on August 28, 1998, by a group of broadcast vendors and their customers who agreed to a standardized protocol that would allow a variety of electronic and computer related, broadcast devices to talk to one another. On that day, automation became reality and the moment was seized as the broadcast station owners' dream to improve efficiency, save time and money on large staffs began. I would even argue, this moment was as destructive for television employees as was the 1996 Telecommunications Act was to radio in bringing about a revolution that would forever change the landscape inside a television station. But it did happen and we must now deal with it as newsroom systems, graphics, teleprompters, switchers, cameras, videotape machines & servers, audio and others pieces of equipmen...

On Thursday, October 2nd WKYC and the Cleveland Food Bank will be teaming up for "Let's Feed Northeast Ohio." This is just one way we can join forces with those in the our local community to make a difference. And, we need your help. We ask you to think about dropping off your non-perishable food items between 5:30 AM and 7:30 pm on October 2nd at the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center, 1333 Lakeside Avenue at the corner of E.13th and St. Clair Avenue. WKYC staffers will be on hand to collect your donations and prepare them for shipment to help feed the needy right here in our local area. This is your chance to help - and we hope you will. Please spread the word and let your friends know. Our food drive will be Thursday, October 2nd from 5:30 AM to 7:30 PM. Thank you.

It's that time of the year again when the Fall TV Season is about to kick into high gear. And once again, the Director's Cut Blog will give you a sneak peak at what you'll be seeing this fall. On the heels of NBC's hit movie, the iconic 1980s television classic comes roaring back to life as a reinvented, updated and super-charged action series showcasing the new KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand). Absolutely the coolest car ever created, KITT is equipped with an "AI" (artificial intelligence) that is capable of hacking almost any system. Its weapons systems match that of a jet fighter, and its body is capable of actually transforming into other vehicles and using sophisticated holographic imagery to elude villains. "Knight Rider" stars Justin Bruening ("Cold Case"), Deanna Russo ("NCIS"), Sydney Tamiia Poitier ("Veronica Mars") and Bruce Davison ("Breach"). David Bartis ("Heist," ...

Can't remember what Betsy looked like before she had little Josephine? Join us Monday beginning at 6 PM when meteorologist Betsy Kling makes her return to the 6, 7 & 11 PM newscast. Betsy's back this Monday.. just in time for Fall Premiere Week on WKYC. Coincidental? We don't think so. VIDEO FEATURE: Watch Betsy's first newscast from tonight at 6 pm, 9/22/08

It's that time of the year again when the Fall TV Season is about to kick into high gear. And once again, the Director's Cut Blog will give you a sneak peak at what you'll be seeing this fall. From creator/writer Tim Kring (NBC's "Crossing Jordan") comes the award-winning "Heroes," an epic drama that chronicles the lives of ordinary people who discover they possess extraordinary abilities. In its first two seasons, "Heroes" was honored with a People's Choice Award, an AFI Award, a Multicultural Prism Award, a TV Land Future Classic Award, the TV Critics Association Awards' Outstanding Program of the Year, and the International prize at this year's BAFTA Television Awards and Choice TV Show Action Adventure at the Teen Choice Awards, as well as nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, NAACP Image Awards, WGA Awards and Satellite Awards. On Monday, September 22, "Heroes" returns for its third...

As some of you know, I attended an important ethics seminar with many of my Channel 3 colleagues today at Kent State University. The all day event was a lively discussion of ethics and how to maintain them as we move to include citizen journlists and those who wish to express their voices in the new world of digital media using our platforms like on blogs, forums and Youtube, for example. Before I share my views on today's forum, I like to first ask you to comment on how YOU feel we should move forward with maintaining quality while we [the media] are economically forced to look at different ways to remain relevant. Can a standard of ethics be maintained while still allowing the public to be part of the process? Or is the only way to continue a "closed system" - where we [the media] are the only gatekeepers and filters to the public that they can trust. Please post your comments below. I will moderate the comments, but not edit them. This is only to keep the comments on t...

NBC's hit series "The Biggest Loser" returns in tonight at 8 p.m. with "The Biggest Loser: Families," featuring eight teams of two family members -- four husband-and-wife teams and four parent-adult child teams, one of which is from Cleveland. Jerry Skeaback, a 51-year-old police sergeant could possibly be the most unfit person to walk on the Biggest Loser campus. It has always been convenient for him to stop at any fast food place during his shifts, on his breaks or at the end of a shift before heading home. The poor food choices, along with working extra hours just to pay the bills, have really taken their toll on Jerry and caused him to packed on many extra pounds. As a former athlete, he is constantly wishing he had the extra push to fill those voids. Trying to keep up with his kids over the years has become difficult, and Jerry has had to miss out on many things in their lives due to his weight. Coleen, 23, is the second of four children in her...

I'd like to take a a very brief moment as your blog master returns from a relaxing vacation to thank everyone for their support of the Director's Cut Blog since we launched in January 2007. While I was away, we hit the very cool mark of 200,000 page views from readers all across the country - including many national and on-line tv trade publications who look to our blog for information happening on the local TV media scene. This may not seem a lot, but it is for a local blog that started from nothing and has grown into its own identity. As you have heard me say before, we have been quoted, misquoted, loved and hated all over the course of the last 21 months. And, I have to say - I have loved every minute of it. When someone talks about you, you know you are doing something right. I'd also like to thank the management of WKYC who gives me the leeway and flexibility to bring you interesting and timely articles about the station you won't find anywhere else. They unders...

In our spotlight feature this week, we are going to give you a double treat of life behind the scenes at one of Channel 3's preseason football games and NBC's Sunday Night coverage of the Browns vs. Steelers game. In both cases, it's a complex process that's fascinating to watch. Channel 3 Reporter Lynn Olszowy takes us first inside our production truck as Director Allen Wohl leads our local team of engineers and technicians in perfect harmony. In the next video, Lynn goes behind the scenes of Sunday Night Football from the weekend's Browns vs. Steelers game right here in Cleveland.

CLEVELAND -- Saturday night was Emmy night for local television stations. Channel 3 had a great night at the awards, winning an Emmy for Best Evening Newscast, Best Weekend Newscast and for our breaking news coverage of the Success Tech Academy Shooting. WKYC was also honored with a President's Award for 60 years of service to the community. Congratulations to Romona Robinson, Tim White, Rita Andolsen, Dave Grendzynski, Lydia Esparra, Scott Newell, Carrie Young, Julie Ocepek, Kim Wheeler, Danielle Fink, Monica Robins, Lisa Lowry, Allen Wohl, Dave Summers, Brandi Paulson, Amanda Subler, Maureen Kyle, Mike O'Mara, Tom Genovese, Paul Thomas, George Payamgis, and Chris Mizell. For a complete list of winners: CLICK HERE

"The Doctors" debuts on WKYC this Monday, September 8th at 3 PM. It's the hot new fall show coming to daytime tv that everyone will be talking about. Meet "The Doctors," four renowned physicians with different medical specialties - ER physician (and former ABC "Bachelor") Dr. Travis Stork; OB/GYN Lisa Masterson; cosmetic surgeon Dr. Andrew Ordon and pediatrician Dr. Jim Sears. This groundbreaking new talk show does for health care what Dr. Phil has done for psychology - provides frank discussions in a fascinating, off-the-cuff manner. Expect these medical experts to weigh in on compelling guest issues and dispense valuable information about health topics du jour. Debating everything from the benefits of plastic surgery to the controversy surrounding autism and vaccines, this medical dream team is the go-to source for information on the latest scientific breakthroughs. Never visited an OB/GYN before? Or is the idea of a face lift frightening to you? Con...

This weekend is expected to be a big one as the nation's first local market shuts off its analog signals in a test situation that will determine how bad the February 17, 2009, shutoff will be for consumers across the country. It looks like even a storm won't delay the test. WASHINGTON (AP) -- The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission says he's unlikely to delay plans for an important test in North Carolina that could disrupt television service for some viewers in the path of Tropical Storm Hanna. The Wilmington, North Carolina, television market is taking part in a test for the national conversion to digital broadcasting. The city's four commercial network affiliates will stop broadcasting an analog signal at noon Monday. The move will leave viewers who aren't ready for the digital change unable to watch those channels. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin says since it appears the rough weather will have moved on by the time of the test, it will go ahead as planne...

From: Pat in Florida Q: I know I E'd you once before to ask what happened to Scott Newell. I was a huge fan of the New Christie Minstrels music and got a kick out of knowing he was part of the band. I moved to Florida over 20 years ago and always liked Judd Hambrick, do you know what he's doing now? Thanks for taking the time to answer my burning questions. A: JUDD...and we all called him JUDD.. Hambrick is now semi-retired and lives with his wife in Florence, Alabama, after pursuing some business ventures for a time in Belden, Mississippi. You can watch some of the fun promos that I previously posted on YouTube of Judd from 1985: CLICK HERE . You can email your questions to me: fmacek@wkyc.com

Here is a story off the wires that caught my attention this afternoon. Think this should be the least of our worries. COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- No big screens in the big house could lead to big trouble. The upcoming switch to digital TV is presenting a challenge to prison officials who want to make sure prison televisions are up and running. When broadcasters make the switch in February, televisions that aren't hooked up to cable, satellite or a converter box will be reduced to static. Prison officials are growing concerned about TVs possibly not working. That's because prisoners don't qualify for $40 coupons that can be redeemed for the converter boxes needed to display the digital signal. While TV might seem like an undeserved luxury for inmates, both prison officials and prisoners say the tube provides a sense of normalcy. It's also used as a bargaining chip that encourages good behavior. Courtesy: The Associated Press

Gannett (parent company of WKYC) and Tribune Company announced Wednesday that Gannett has acquired an additional 10 percent stake in CareerBuilder from Tribune for $135 million. The acquisition gives Gannett a 50.8 percent controlling interest in CareerBuilder, the U.S.'s largest online job site. "CareerBuilder is a terrific company, with great growth potential that just keeps delivering more for Gannett and our partners," said Craig Dubow, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI). "We were delighted when the opportunity arose to acquire more of the company while maintaining a good, solid relationship with our partners." "We are committed to CareerBuilder and want the team there to continue to do what they do best: grow the company, bring in revenues and deliver the best customer service in the jobs space. We don’t expect any major changes," Dubow said. "This transaction offers us an excellent opportunity to...

From: Sarah in Cleveland Heights Q: Hey, glad to see Mark Nolan on the evening shift again. I miss seeing him every night...I never get to see him doing the morning news. It's WAY too early. A: We loved having Mark fill in for Tim White the last couple of days. Romona and Mark looked great together. Watch out Tim! You can email your questions to me: fmacek@wkyc.com

NBC will kick off another football season with a special Thursday Night edition of "Football Night in America" tonight. Then our regular schedule of "Sunday Night Football" starts this weekend at 7 PM. WKYC will have live coverage of the Giants and Redskins game beginning at 7:00 PM. Channel 3 News at 7 will not be seen. Go behind the scenes with NBC's NFL team of Al Michaels and John Madden as they share with Mark Barger what they're looking for in the coming NFL season. (See what they have to say about the Browns!)

LOS ANGELES -- Don LaFontaine, the voice behind thousands of Hollywood movie trailers, has died. He was 68. Many of you may remember hearing Don's voice on NBC and Channel 3 when he was an announcer for a number of our promos and station IDs. LaFontaine has been a fixture in Hollywood for decades, working on about 5,000 movie trailers. Much of his fame stems from his trademark movie-trailer catch phrase, "In a world where..." LaFontaine's agent Vanessa Gilbert says the voiceover artist died Monday as a result of complications from the treatment of an ongoing illness at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Don LaFontaine was a native of Duluth, Minnesota. After graduating from High School, he joined the army and eventually was stationed at Fort Meyer, Virginia, outside of Washington DC. He was assigned to the United States Army Band and Chorus as a recording engineer. After his discharge from the service, he moved to New York City where he found work at National...

As Hurricane Gustav blows through the Gulf Coast this weekend, we have a behind the scenes look at how our colleagues at NBC News are covering the storm this Labor Day. Take a look -