Director's Cut Blog with Frank Macek

Channel 3 News has a slightly new, more colorful look starting this evening with Channel 3 News at 6 p.m. The changes include a new HD monitor wall in the back of the newsroom, another monitor wall to the right of that, and new hanging pieces that give a more colorful and interesting background to the main news set. Here are a few pictures of the finished construction:

The Director's Cut blog has learned that NBC is planning a colorful tune-up beginning on Monday, September 14th. The tag "more colorful" will be adding to on-air promos, but the words will never been voiced by any announcer. The idea is to re-claim NBC's golden years with the network's colorful peacock. According to Variety Magazine interview with NBC Entertainment marketing guy Adam Stotsky, "Sometimes the most powerful ideas are the ones staring at you in the face." Stotsky added, "Color is also what we strive to do in our programming." This new campaign will begin the same day as the network's launch of the "Jay Leno Show" at 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. NBC is hoping viewers will remember its past to help its future as it re-defines prime time programming with less expensive shows like Leno's.

By Frank Macek Bad news for local Cleveland stations, as the bad economy has another unintended consequence - the loss of television households. The Cleveland, Akron, Canton market is officially dropping one position to the 18th largest television market in the nation, according to Nielsen in recent news release. Our local television housesholds have fallen from 1,524,930 in 2008/2009 to to 1,520,750 tv homes for 2009/2010. Denver and Seattle gain ground while Tampa-St. Pete (Sarasota) and Miami-Ft. Lauderdale lost ground, along with Cleveland in the top 20 markets. Florida is seeing a population drop as people move back north. Nationwide, television households are actually increasing nearly 400,000 since the last survey period. For the 2009-2010 broadcast season, the U.S. will have 114.9 million tv households, including those in Alaska and Hawaii. Elsewhere across Ohio: Columbus - falls 2 places to 34th Cincinnati - falls 1 place to 33th Da...

WKYC will present live coverage of Senator Edward Kennedy's funeral services on Saturday morning beginning with Channel 3 News at 9 am. Our newscast will air from 9 to 10 a.m., followed by a two  and half hour NBC Special, hosted by NBC's Brian Williams. Channel 3 News at Noon will air at 12:30 p.m. We'll have constant updates on wkyc.com

We are always looking for your questions and comments about WKYC and NBC in the Director's Cut Mailbag. Although, we answer many questions directly through email, we occasionally come across some that might interest all our readers. So, if you have something you've always wanted to ask, but never got around to - or were afraid to, now is your chance. You can reach us many ways.. We have email, Facebook and MySpace contact links are at the top of the blog. All you need to do is click on the desired icon. Of course, you can always send your questions/comments to us at fmacek@wkyc.com

Producer Jon had the digital camera in his pocket tonight and whipped it out in the WKYC News Control Room to capture your blogger (left at the switcher) and my boss, WKYC Production Manager, Al Wohl (center) doing a little pre production for the 6 p.m. broadcast. This is when we tape certain aspects of the show to roll in during the live newscast. Let's just say it took a while to get it just right - but the end result was worth it.

The famed Chicago comedy theater "The Second City" has been a training ground for NBC's "Saturday Night Live" for decades. A long line of comedy greats have headed east from the likes of John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd in the earliest days, to recent stars Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Seth Myers. Now you can add Michael Patrick O'Brien to the list. After a five year run at "Second City" as a writer and actor, O'Brien landed a dream job as the newest writer at "Saturday Night Live". Legendary "Saturday Night Live" executive producer Lorne Michaels recently did a talent search at "Second City" And "Improv Olympic" and flew O'Brien and a couple others to New York for interviews. He got the job, and even some homework. "Two commercial parodies for the first day of work", O'Brien said. "SNL" returns to NBC with live shows beginning Saturday, September 26th. A special half-hour...

Hard to believe summer is almost at an end. The days are getting shorter, but Friday Nights are getting hotter thanks to the return of WKYC's Friday Night Fever. Starting this Friday, August 28th at 11 PM, the best coverage of high school sports officially kicks off on Channel 3. Join WKYC's Jim Donovan and Dave Chudowsky for the Predictors, Big Game of the Week and highlights from around Northeast Ohio stadiums. Again this year, WKYC has teamed up with our parent company, Gannett, to bring you the exciting website called "High School Sports.Net" - with the latest schedules, scores, team pages and a team shop to buy your team's gear. Be sure to check out and bookmark our new site: highschoolsports.net or click on the banner below:

WKYC-TV offers a range of internship opportunities for students interested in broadcasting. The goal of this program is to provide important career orientation, work experience and educational development to acquire skills needed for broadcast employment. We afford a variety of placement areas for students with coursework in Journalism, Public Relations, Web site production, and Production. Requirements for participation include: Student must currently be enrolled in an accredited College or University. The school must recognize the internship as a learning experience and grant course credit to the student. Students must be able to be present at WKYC a minimum of three days per week. Application Procedures: Internship opportunities are offered year-round. Interested students should submit the following: Resume to include courses related to internship requested. A cover letter stating the type of internship that would be of greatest interest. This letter should include t...

The National Football League and NBC Sports have announced a two-year extension of their broadcast partnership under which NBC will remain the home of "Sunday Night Football" for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. NFL clubs approved the extension at a league meeting Wednesday in Chicago. The original six-year deal between NBC Sports and the NFL, which includes innovative flexible scheduling, started with the 2006 season and runs through the 2011 season. As with the original agreement, NBC will broadcast 16 regular season "Sunday Night Football" games, each season's "NFL Opening Kickoff" Thursday night primetime game, both Wild Card Saturday games and preseason games in primetime. The NFL will continue to provide flexible game scheduling over the final seven weeks of the regular season to ensure quality matchups and games with playoff implications. "Sunday Night Football" is preceded each week at 7 p.m. ET by "Football Night in America," whi...

By Frank Macek Time for another edition of "Notes from the Newsroom" as your blogger shares some of thoughts on our little corner of local television. --- As you have seen by now, WKYC will indeed be broadcasting the Browns vs. Lions game this Saturday. Although several thousand tickets remain, the Browns and the station apparently reached an agreement that will allow us to show the game. The first week's ratings for the game were very good, although the same can't be said about the Browns overall performance. Hopefully this week will be better. Catch the game this Saturday night at Cleveland Browns Stadium at 7:30 p.m. The Pregame Huddle will air at 7 p.m. We are in the process of doing some set tweaks that you will get to see on our newscasts over the next week or so. The biggest improvement will be brand new HD monitors in the newsroom that will be behind Romona in the background. Old Herbie the painter was hard at work Thursday taking down the old monitors and doi...

Hidden cameras captured this image this morning - what possibly could we be up to? We'll have the new look soon... in the meantime, you can check out the construction with a photogallery we've posted on Facebook: CLICK HERE

One of the biggest behind-the-scenes men in television has died. "60 Minutes" creator Don Hewitt died at his home in Bridgehamton, New York Wednesday, succumbing to the pancreatic cancer that had him looking so frail at Walter Cronkite's funeral just three weeks ago. Working with Cronkite was among the first jobs Hewitt had at CBS after joining the network in 1948. His tenure there included a decade of work with the legendary Edward R. Murrow. In 1960 Hewitt directed and produced the very first televised presidential debate between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy. It was in 1968 that "60 minutes" debuted and established a faithful following of millions that still tune-in every Sunday. "The formula is simple: It's four words, every kid in the world knows: Tell me a story' it's that easy," he said of his philosophy for the show. He worked on "60 Minutes" until well into his 80s before retiring five years a...

Editor's Note: We received an email this afternoon from NATAS indicating some changes from the original email they sent out. The following is the correct information for the event. ----- The NATAS Lower Great Lakes chapter is proud to announce that tickets are now available for the 40th Annual Emmy Awards and the 16th Silver Circle Celebration. Saturday, September 12, 2009. For complete information and to reserve tickets: CLICK HERE *TICKETS: $80 per person (updated price). InterContinental Cleveland Hotel 9801 Carnegie Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 5:00 pm Cocktail Hour 6:00 pm Dinner 7:00 pm Awards Ceremony Special room rate of $139 and reduced overnight hotel guest parking (cut-off date for special room rate is August 21st). Special tuxedo rental discounts available from American Commodore Tuxedo. FREE valet parking Emmy® night To reserve your tickets: CLICK HERE Call 440-526-EMMY if you need more information. A portion of your ticket helps support the NATAS-LGL scholarship program.

BEREA, Ohio -- Facing their first blackout since 1995, the Cleveland Browns said their home exhibition opener against Detroit will be shown on local television. Although tickets remain available in their 73,000-seat stadium, the Browns said they reached an agreement with WKYC-TV to broadcast the game. Low expectations for the Browns this season, coupled with Cleveland's poor performance in a 17-0 loss to Green Bay last week, haven't helped ticket sales. The Browns have historically been one of the NFL's top draws, but the tough economy and the team's poor record over the past decade has led to a decline in interest. --- Source: The Associated Press

NBC provides broadcast, NBC Universal cable entities and online audiences with an upgraded backstage pass to view the network's new and returning series for Fall as series star Joel McHale ("The Soup") from NBC's new comedy "Community" hosts "The NBC Primetime Preview." The lively 30-minute cavalcade will feature exclusive, behind-the-scenes views to be delivered across a wide gamut of NBC Universal media platforms beginning August 8 through September 27. The program will run an estimated 306 times over broadcast and cable platforms. The fresh entertainment show also will feature appearances by former late-night king Jay Leno, who launches his new comedy series "The Jay Leno Show" on Monday, September 14 (10-11 p.m. ET). The spotlight of the preview also focuses on new dramas "Trauma" and "Mercy," new comedy "Community," "The Biggest Loser," NBC's Thursday-night comedies, the Emmy Award-winning ...

The folks in the promotion department were having a little fun with our promotion along with the Browns for discount tickets to the Browns vs. Lions game next Saturday, so the game isn't blacked out locally. Have a look at what they've come up with:

Jay Leno welcomes friend and fellow comedian Jerry Seinfeld to kick off his primetime comedy series "The Jay Leno Show" (Monday-Friday, 10-11 p.m. ET). Seinfeld will join previous announced musical guests Jay Z, Kanye West and Rhianna. Leno moves from late night to primetime in his new comedy show premiering Monday, September 14 (10-11 p.m. ET). "The Jay Leno Show" will be the first entertainment program to be stripped across primetime on broadcast network television and will showcase many of the features that have made Leno America's late-night leader for more than a dozen years.

Update: Added actual interview that first aired on 8/12/09 at 11 PM. --- The interview you'll only see on Channel 3 News---President Obama's aunt, Zeituni Onyango, speaks exclusively to Romona Robinson about her immigration status and why she was in Cleveland. The Actual Interview: The Promo

CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Browns are offering up new ticket deals for the first home pre-season game against the Detroit Lions. If the team doesn't sell out the stadium, then the August 22 broadcast on WKYC-TV will be blacked out in the Cleveland market and three affiliate markets in Youngstown, Columbus and Dayton. There hasn't been a blacked out broadcast since the team returned to Cleveland in 1999. To help spur ticket sales, the Browns are cutting the costs for fans. For the Lions game only, the Browns are offering 50% off on all remaining game tickets. That means fans can get a seat that normally would sell for $32 for just $16. The Browns are also offering a "family four-pack" which includes tickets, hot dogs, and soft drinks for $99. CLICK HERE for more details on the discount offer and to get your promo code.

By Frank Macek Time for another edition of "Notes from the Newsroom" as your blogger shares some of thoughts on our little corner of local television. --- An update to our earlier story about our General Sale Manager, Tom Humpage: he is headed to Portland, Maine as General Manager of the Sinclair station. One of Tom's long time ambitions has been to become a General Manager, and we know he will do very well. We'll miss Tom very much, but wish him nothing but success in his new role. The WKYC Production Department is gearing up for another season of Browns football - one we hope will be more exciting than last year, or the year before, or the year before. Once again, this year's preseason games will be directed by my colleague and WKYC Production Manager, Allen Wohl. Al is responsible for coordinating all aspects of our coverage from reserving facilities to getting graphics designed, to doing interviews with players to broadcasting the actual production on Channel ...

Well, Betsy Kling was at it again tonight as the crew was about to shoot our nightly Facebook Promo. Did I hear someone yell "mouse"?

Your blogger was having a little fun this evening playing weatherman in the chromakey...but little did I know Betsy was spying on me with the flipcam. Hopefully Brooke Spectorsky (GM) and Rita Andolsen (News Director) won't see this, since they'll make me switch, direct and do weather all at the same time, one day! I think Betsy is safe!

Special to the Director's Cut By Lynn Elber, AP Television Writer PASADENA, California -- Jay Leno says comedy will rule on his new daily prime-time series and he'll put stars in cars instead of on a couch. Leno, looking relaxed and trim, told the Television Critics Association on Wednesday that fall's "The Jay Leno Show" will feature some elements from his old home, "Tonight," but in a far different mix. For starters, there likely won't be the standard-issue talk show desk. Musical acts will be featured only about twice a week. Leno says NBC anchor Brian Williams will be filing stories that didn't make the cut on "Nightly News." A race track is being built near NBC's Burbank studio for a regular "green car challenge" that will allow celebrities to race electric vehicles, says Leno -- and Tom Cruise has already expressed interest. Source: The Associated Press

Special to the Director's Cut By Kim Wendel CLEVELAND -- The Press Club of Cleveland announced that WKYC-TV's Managing Editor Dick Russ and WKYC-TV Sports Director Jim Donovan, along with former WKYC-TV investigative reporter Paul Sciria, will be the 2009 inductees into the Cleveland Journalism Hall of Fame. The inductions will take place Oct. 28 at LaCenter in Westlake. "It's a remarkable accomplishment and speaks to the tremendous talent pool here at Channel 3 to have three of five inductees in this year's Hall of Fame class," said WKYC News Director Rita Andolsen. "The induction of Dick Russ, Jimmy Donovan and Paul Sciria into the Press Club of Cleveland's Journalism Hall of Fame is a testament to Channel 3's long history of a commitment to excellence in broadcast journalism," said Ed Byers, president of the Press Club. Two-time Pulitzer finalist for commentary Regina Brett of The Plain Dealer and former Plain Dealer photographer William W...

By Frank Macek Time for another edition of "Notes from the Newsroom" as your blogger shares some of thoughts on our little corner of local television. The Director's Cut Blog is finally back from our scheduled furlough which we actually enjoyed as an extra week of time off this summer. So much to do, so little time. But, your blogger always uses his time wisely to get projects done at work and at home. Time to get you caught up on some things happening around the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center while we were gone. July sweeps ended on Wednesday, July 29th and it was another very solid book for WKYC. In fact, WKYC retained its number one position at 6, 7 & 11 PM in Households, Adults 18+, Adults 25-54, Women 25-54 and Adults 18 to 49. Those are pretty much the important ratings to win during a sweeps periods as advertisers look to these demographics for making buys. This was the first book for us to be able to compare numbers year to year since the official introduction ...