Updated: Cleveland's Nielsen Sweeps Schedule for 2011

Correction: We are reposting our Cleveland DMA Sweeps Dates after an error was made in the original document sent to us from Nielsen. July sweeps actually begin on Thursday, June 30th and not June 29th.

By Frank Macek

Many of our readers have expressed interest in ratings periods and when they occur in 2011.

Most joke with us this is when you see the most sensational news stories on the air - and many times you are right.

However, it is also a time when more time and effort are put into the stories that air, giving our audience an in-depth look at stories that don't get as much airtime regularly.

Since Local People Meters were introduced locally in August 2008, television stations in our market (Cleveland, Akron & Canton) are now rated 12 months a year.

You can print out a full schedule of sweeps dates for 2011 by clicking on the picture above or the button below:

NATAS Ready For 2010 Emmy Submissions

Another year has flown past and our friends at the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences, Lower Great Lakes Chapter, asks us to remind you it is ready to accept your submission for the broadcast year of 2010.

A couple of changes for this year's submission.

First is the cost of entering with the new fee structure:

• $75 per name - member entry fee (up from $70)
• $175 per name - non-member entry fee (up from $145)
• $150 per name for an entry that exceeds five names (the fee is the same, but adjusted from entries that exceeded eight names)

Second is the new contact information:

NATAS, Lower Great Lakes Chapter
30400 Detroit Rd.
Suite 304
Westlake, Ohio 44145-1855

Phone: 440-526-EMMY (3669)
Fax: 877-268-6040

The 42nd Annual Emmy Award gala will be held on Saturday, June 18th, 2011 at athe Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Cleveland.

For more information, visit NATAS at http://www.nataslgl.org/

The Facebook Challenge: Romona Robinson vs. Mark Nolan

Channel 3 is having a Facebook face-off!

From breaking stories and weather updates, to our goofy newsroom antics, we like to stay connected.

And, we want some more friends to share the fun with ...and there's something in it for you!

If we get 25,000 friends, our Mark Nolan must head to the beauty shop with me! He'll have enter the "pink" Diva room...for a mani-pedi!

And if we get 30,000 friends, Romona will strap-on a tool belt and become a mechanic on Mark's Franken-truck!

To friend WKYC, click on our Facebook page @ http://www.facebook.com/WKYC.Channel3

Longtime WKYC Videographer Hangs Up His Camera Friday

Larry Baker. Courtesy of the Beacon Journal

Friday will be a sad day around the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center as longtime photojournalist, Larry Baker, caps his lens for the final time as a Channel 3 employee and heads into retirement.

Like most videographers, you see their work everyday but rarely see them on camera or know anything about them. However, everyone in Akron seemed to know Larry Baker. Larry is the last our full-time crews assigned to Akron who will be greatly missed.

Beacon Journal columnist Bob Dyer did an excellent article on Larry Thursday that truly captures the story of Larry's career better than I ever could.

Please check out the article at: http://www.ohio.com/news/first/108874124.html

Here is the video from his final day at WKYC. Click to watch:

WKYC Launches "Hang Up And Drive" Campaign On-Air And On-Line

At WKYC and Channel 3 News, we are launching a new effort to help keep us all safe. We are challenging all motorists to "Hang up and Drive".

Many cities have laws that ban texting and talking on your phone while driving. But some drivers feel they won't get caught --and feel they won't be the ones involved in an accident.

Before you head on out the road, take the pledge to "Hang Up and Drive"

It's simple, log onto wkyc.com, click on the Hang Up and Drive button and download the pledge.
 
Look for exclusive reports coming up on Channel 3 News over the next several months about one of the growing dangers we all face on the highway and how YOU can be part of the solution.

Gannett Names New Chief Financial Officer

News from WKYC's parent company on this Monday.

Paul Saleh has been named senior vice president and chief financial officer of Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), Gracia C. Martore, president and chief operating officer, announced today.

Saleh reports to Martore who was promoted to president and COO earlier this year and served as Gannett's CFO since 2002.

"We are extremely pleased to have Paul join Gannett. He brings tremendous experience and an excellent track record leading the financial organizations of some outstanding companies," Martore said. "Paul will be a great partner with the senior management team as we continue to transform Gannett as a leading media and marketing solutions company."

"As Gannett's CFO for the last eight years, Gracia has been a great partner to me and has done first rate work leading our financial organization during an extraordinary time," said Craig Dubow, chairman and chief executive officer. "Gracia has built a world-class financial organization and I am delighted to have Paul join our team as our new CFO."

Saleh joins Gannett from Menza Partners LLC where he was managing partner. Saleh launched Menza Partners after he left Sprint Nextel Corporation where he was CFO from 2005 to 2008. Prior to the merger between Sprint and Nextel Communications Inc., he was executive vice president and CFO of Nextel from 2001 to 2005.

Previously, Saleh was senior vice president and CFO of Walt Disney International where he held other senior financial positions since 1997. Before joining Walt Disney, Saleh was with Honeywell Inc. for 12 years where he was vice president and treasurer from 1994 to 1997 and held other various leadership positions in finance, treasury, investor relations, strategic planning and operations.

He holds a Masters of Business Administration with distinction in Finance and a Master's degree in Computer, Information and Control Engineering both from the University of Michigan. He received his bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering also from the University of Michigan.

NBC Looks For More Laughs, Ratings on Thursday In Revamp

NBC will reshape Thursday into all-comedy night and move its two "Law & Order" dramas as part of a midseason shake-up.

The network is shifting "30 Rock" and the freshman series "Outsourced" to the final hour of prime time starting Jan. 20.

The rest of the night's lineup, starting at 8 p.m. ET, will include "Community," newcomer "Perfect Couples," "The Office" and returning series "Parks and Recreation."

"We were looking to add more comedy to our schedule and we believe the best way to do so is to expand our already successful Thursday night," NBC scheduling chief Mitch Metcalf said in a statement Monday.

Tina Fey's "30 Rock" has been renewed through the 2011-12 season, NBC also announced.

The novel approach of comedy in a spot traditionally held by dramas could help fight a 10 p.m. ratings weakness that has beset the major broadcast networks this season. Some of the blame goes to viewers' increasing use of the time slot to catch up with DVR-captured programs from earlier in the evening.

But another bold NBC experiment, putting Jay Leno in the 10 p.m. spot last season, proved a resounding flop. Hourlong dramas aren't extinct at 10 p.m. In January, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" is moving up an hour, to 10 p.m. ET Wednesday, from its current 9 p.m. ET Wednesday home.

In February, "Law & Order: Los Angeles," which now airs on Wednesday, will shift to 10 p.m. ET Tuesday. "Parenthood," after returning at 10 p.m. ET Tuesday, Jan. 4, will move to 10 p.m. ET Monday starting March 7, after NBC tries out newcomer drama "Harry's Law," starring Kathy Bates, in the slot beginning Jan. 17.

Besides beefing up NBC's comedy quotient, the revamped schedule provides original programming through the rest of the season with new and returning series, Metcalf said.

Broadcast networks used to rely on series reruns to pad out the season, but that gave cable and other media alternatives the chance to steal away viewers.

So the networks have turned to bringing in more new shows or giving returning series a midseason start. For NBC, that means the midseason returns of "The Biggest Loser: Couples," "Minute to Win It," "The Marriage Ref," "Who Do You Think You Are?" and "The Celebrity Apprentice," as well as "Parks and Recreation."

Besides the relationship sitcom "Perfect Couples" and "Harry's Law," NBC's new midseason entries are the drama series "The Cape" and the reality show "America's Next Great Restaurant."

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Source: The Associated Press

Iconic Movie Critic Gene Shalit Leaving "Today"

Gene Shalit

NEW YORK - Gene Shalit has panned or praised his last movie for the "Today" show.

The critic who's known for his bushy hair and mustache said Tuesday that he's leaving the show where he's reviewed movies for 40 years. The last time his "Critic's Corner" appeared on themorning show was in May, when he reviewed "Shrek Forever After."

The "Today" show said it would air a salute to the 84-year-old Shalit on Thursday. Executive Producer Jim Bell says 40 years on the same show is "a feat unlikely to ever be matched."

In a news release, Shalit says he wasn't retiring, and that he'll do work on the Internet and in commercials.

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Source: The Associated Press

WKYC Adds Matt Granite To The Channel 3 News Team

Matt Granite

Channel 3 News Director Rita Andolsen announced Tuesday that reporter Matt Granite is officially joining the WKYC family as a multimedia journalist.

Matt comes to WKYC from Gannett sister station WGRZ in Buffalo where he has beeen a morning show co-producer and multimedia journalist who loves to help viewers find ways to save money.

The Director's Cut Blog has learned he knows everything there is know about Black Friday deals!

Matt will continue in the same capacity at WKYC as he did in Buffalo for Channel 3 News Today, weekdays between 5 am and 7 am, where his reports can already been seen in the morning.

He is originally from Toronto, Canada, but has been working the United States for a number of years including in Buffalo and the chilly tundra of Fargo, North Dakota. He has also worked as a Washington D.C. correspondent for a CBS affilate station in Vermont and an NPR affiliate station on Long Island.

Matt also has a Master's Degree in Broadcast Journalism from Medill at Northwestern University and an Honors B.A. from the University of Toronto.

Welcome Matt to our WKYC family.