Director's Cut Blog with Frank Macek

Your friends at WKYC/TV 3 and Newsradio WTAM/1100 are again teaming up this year for our annual "Coats For Kids" campaign with a 2010 goal of collecting 35,000 coats and raising $125,000. All coats collected and funds raised benefit children living in Northeast Ohio. Here's how you can participate: Donate on-line @ http://www.coatsforkidscleveland.org/ Make a donation by check (payable to "Coats for Kids -Cleveland"                               Coats for Kids - Cleveland                               P.O. Box 74767                               ...

Fans attending “Sunday Night Football” will attempt to set the Guinness World Record for largest Halloween gathering when the last two Super Bowl champions – the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints – meet at the Louisiana Superdome this Sunday on Halloween night on NBC. An official Guinness World Records® Adjudicator will be on site at the Superdome to validate the game as the world’s largest Halloween gathering, defined as a group of people in costume in one place. Fans need to wear a costume in order to be counted toward the world record. In addition to participating in the quest for a Guinness World Record, fans wearing costumes can participate in the Saints Costume Contest and may appear on “Costume Cam” on NBCSports.com. The Saints are hosting a Halloween costume contest in Champions Square outside the Superdome prior to the game. Winners will win Saints prizes, including merchandise and pregame field passes. For more information, click here: http://tinyurl.com/2fle2u...

By Frank Macek Time for another behind the scenes look at what's happening at the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center. Happy Halloween this weekend! We are now entrenched in November sweeps which should prove very interesting this year. NBC's fall programming continues to be weak for the most part which will likely impact our news ratings to some degree. However, we indeed to fight a hard battle. November sweeps started yesterday (October 28th) and will run through Wednesday, November 24th. Our sincere sympathies to the family of former WKYC Programming/Production Assistant Donna Kropf who passed away suddenly last Friday morning. Donna was a wonderful and kind lady who was friends with everyone she met and worked with. We certainly will miss her, but have very fond memories of some funny times here at WKYC. Construction has finally begun here in the newsroom as we begin an expansion of sorts. Since we moved to our new editing and newsroom system in late Sep...

Check out this video from a Dallas TV station that pretty much sums up the evolution of social media into today's mainstream television (or soon will):

The holidays are right around the corner. This year, WKYC and NBC will air several special movies and specials through the end of 2010. Here is a sample of what's coming up this year: Thursday, November 25th *8:00 - 9:00 pm: Special - Taylor Swift: Speak Now *9:00 - 10:00 pm: NBC Special - NBC's People of the Year Friday, November 26th *9:00 - 11:00 pm: Movie - "Enchanted" Saturday, November 27th *8:00 - 10:00 pm: Movie - "Bee Movie" Tuesday, November 30th *8:00 - 9:00 pm: Christmas in Rockefeller Center *9:00 - 11:00 pm: The Biggest Loser (Special Episode) Friday, December 3rd *8:00 - 10:00 pm: Movie - "A Walk In My Shoes" *10:00 - 11:00 pm: Dateline (Special Episode) Thursday, December 9th *9:00 - 10:00 pm: The Office (Special Episode) Saturday, December 11th *8:00 - 11:00 pm: Movie - "It's A Wonderful Life" Friday, December 24th *8:00 - 11:00 pm: Movie - "It's A Wonderful Life"

LOS ANGELES - NBC is giving three freshmen series, including "The Event," a full-season pickup. Besides the much-hyped thriller "The Event," the network gave a vote of confidence Monday to "Law & Order: Los Angeles" and the sitcom "Outsourced." None of the series has posted stellar ratings in a season in which new shows have struggled to attract viewers. But NBC noted that "The Event" and the Los Angeles-set "Law & Order" have improved ratings in their time slots, while "Outsourced" is doing well with advertiser-favored young adult viewers. The network finished fourth last season. NBC's "The Event" airs 9 p.m. EDT Monday, "Law & Order: Los Angeles" is on 10 p.m. EDT Wednesday, and "Outsourced" airs Thursday at 9:30 p.m. EDT on Channel 3, WKYC. --- Source: The Associated Press

McLEAN, Virginia - Gannett Co. reported Friday a rise in third-quarter earnings, helped by a jump in broadcasting revenue. Advertising at the company's 23 television stations helped the biggest U.S. newspaper publisher halt declining revenue for the first time since 2006. It offset another decline at Gannett's newspapers, which include USA Today and other dailies. That's not a good sign for other publishers. The New York Times Co. and McClatchy Co. report results next week. But Gannett's net income climbed to $101.4 million, or 42 cents per share, in the three months ended Sept. 36. That's up from $73.8 million, or 31 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, its earnings totaled 52 cents per share. Analysts expected 50 cents a share. Revenue was flat at $1.31 billion. Analysts expected $1.33 billion. ---- Source: The Associated Press

Friends and neighbors need our help. With the extended unemployment benefits ending in November and our economy still facing many challenges, this winter could be very difficult for many families. That's why the Cleveland and Akron food banks, the Salvation Army of Greater Cleveland, Coats for Kids, WTAM, and WKYC have come together for a huge food, coats and toy drive at four area Walmart stores. Donations of new or gently worn winter coats, non-perishable food items, new unwrapped toys and cash will be accepted. Volunteer representatives from those organizations, local schools and businesses, along with WKYC TV3 personalities, local celebrities, high school marching bands, cheerleaders and more will be on hand in the parking lots of these Walmart locations from 9 am – 3 pm to accept donations: Walmart Supercenter Store #5285 3200 Atlantic Blvd NE Canton, Oh 44705 (330) 489-9035 Walmart Supercenter Store #3250 7235 Market Place Dr Aurora, Oh 44202 (330) 562-0000 Wa...

Special to the Director's Cut Blog By Jennifer Lindgren, WKYC Reporter CLEVELAND -- As fast as technology changes, that's not necessarily a bad thing if you're in the market for a new television. Prices on one particular type of flat screen are expected to hit a record low, just in time for the holiday season. When it comes to buying a new TV, Jim McKay says it helps to know what you're looking for. "The bigger, the better! But not too big," McKay said.  Price matters to McKay as well, and he says he has noticed a change this fall. "I know they're a lot cheaper than they were," he said. By the end of October, technology researchers say LCD TV prices will be twelve percent lower than in 2009, which was a slow year for sales. Walmart, HHGregg and Best Buy are already selling 32" LCDs just under $300, and big screens are expected to drop in price as well. "That probably was $2,000 last year," said Larry Haines, pointing out ...

Check out our new Fall 2010 weather promo from Channel 3 Weather. It's a catchy little tune.

By Frank Macek It's no secret WKYC has been undergoing some major infrastructure changes over the last several weeks. The headline from this expereince is most of our Avid systems are out and ENPS and Bitcentral are in. And, we couldn't be happier. After nearly 3 weeks of staff training and show rehearsals, we launched our new system last Wednesday, September 29th, with Channel 3 News at Noon. Except for some very minor glitches, the switchover was extremely smooth. The credit goes to those who were involved in months of planning and preparation and to the on-site project managers from each company who shared their expertise with us. Let me take a few minutes to explain the basis components of our news systems for those of you who may have worked here or are interested in the technical side of local television. AP ENPS AP ENPS The ENPS system from The Associated Press is the heart of our new operation. ENPS stands for "...

Special to the Director's Cut Blog By Andrew Taylor, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - Legislation to turn down the volume on those loud TV commercials that send couch potatoes diving for their remote controls looks like it'll soon become law. The Senate unanimously passed a bill late Wednesday to require television stations and cable companies to keep commercials at the same volume as the programs they interrupt. The House has passed similar legislation. Before it can become law, minor differences between the two versions have to be worked out when Congress returns to Washington after the Nov. 2 election. Ever since television caught on in the 1950s, the Federal Communication Commission has been getting complaints about blaring commercials. But the FCC concluded in 1984 there was no fair way to write regulations controlling the "apparent loudness" of commercials. So it hasn't been regulating them. Correcting sound levels is more complicated than usi...

By Frank Macek Time for another behind the scenes look at what's happening inside the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center. The entire staff of Channel 3 just wrapped up a truly "September to Remember" as our whole world of daily news gathering and production changed dramatically with our switch from Avid I-News to the AP's ENPS and Bit Central's Precis and Oasis systems. We spent nearly 3 weeks in training and rehearsals to launch the new system which will allow us to share content across multi platforms from all our 23 Gannett stations. We'll cover this transition in a separate article later this week. But, all the training and planning paid off as we launched with just a couple of minor glitches. This is why your blogger has been so lax on posting lately. September was another strong month of ratings for WKYC which continues to dominate local stations in the all important adult demographics. Channel 3 News at 6 & 11 PM and Channel 3 Weekend Today continu...