Director's Cut Blog with Frank Macek

Learn more @http://bit.ly/Vote107 It's been 16 years in the making, a Cleveland school levy that might actually pass and Cleveland Municipal School District CEO Eric Gordon knows why. Channel 3 is joining many other individuals, businesses and organizations throughout Northeast Ohio in educating voters about the impact that a strong school system will have on the economic future of our region. While the decision on the school levy lies with Cleveland voters, Channel 3 recognizes the importance of making certain that every eligible voter has all the facts before they visit the polls. Every day we will bring you stories that ask the hard questions, provide in-depth information, and show you what's working in the school district and what is not. It's not our goal to tell voters how to vote, but we want them to have all the facts. We are dedicating space on wkyc.com to all the reports on Issue 107 . In addition to in-depth information, we also have an extende...

By Frank Macek Here is a look at some of the news from our parent network, NBC, with regards to what you see on WKYC, Channel 3... Executive Producer Jim Bell disputes reports that have been circulating about "Today" show host Matt Lauer being difficult to work with as the show experiences as decrease in ratings. In a report by the Associated Press, Bell calls Lauer "the heart and soul of NBC's morning news show and that negative stories about him have been hard to deal with." Ratings for the popular morning show have been challenged against ABC's "Good Morning America" since Ann Curry was replaced by Savannah Guthrie. The September 17 premiere of NBC's new Monday drama "Revolution" has set time-shifting records for the network and for a debuting series on any network. In "live plus three day" ratings from Nielsen Media Research that count time-shifted viewing through the first three days after a show's live tele...

Karina Mitchell Karina Mitchell has joined the WKYC team as the Arts, Culture & Entertainment Contributor to "Live on Lakeside" and will be also providing content to Channel 3 News on a regular basis. Karina brings 8 years of national broadcast experience as an entertainment, lifestyle and feature contributor to CBS News in New York, as well as a fill-in headline news anchor for CBS Mobile News and reporter for CBS News.com. She has covered a variety of news making events, including the stock market crash in 2008 and the 2008 presidential race. More recently, she hosted "Showbuzz" a weekly movie review show and blog. Karina has interviewed some of the biggest names in entertainment, music and fashion - Sir Anthony Hopkins, Madonna, Vera Wang, Angelina Jolie, Justin Timberlake, Tom Cruise and Phil Collins to name a few. Prior to that position, she was a General Assignment Reporter for News 12 in New York, shooting, editing and reporting her own pieces. ...

By Frank Macek It's time for another "behind the scenes" look at what's happening inside the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center. This week, WKYC morning anchor Erin Kennedy traveled to New York City to represent Channel 3 News in "Education Nation." The third annual event is sponsored by NBC News and is being held at The New York Public Library. "Education Nation" is a summit where parents, educators, and students met with leaders in politics, business & technology to explore the challenges and opportunities in education today. Watch for Erin's reports all this week on Channel 3 News Today from 4:30 a.m. until 7 a.m. and during Channel 3 News at 6 p.m. For more information, visit www.educationnation.com Channel 3 will air the Browns vs. Ravens game on Thursday night at 8 p.m. on your "Official Home of the Cleveland Browns." Thursday's special programming schedule will include: Channel 3 News at 6, the Pregame Huddle at 6:3...

By Frank Macek NBC Weatherman Al Roker was back in town Tuesday evening as part of the Dave Thomas Celebrity Cookoff at Benihana's in Beachwood and will bring the entire nation the weather from the West Side Market in Cleveland on Wednesday morning as part of the market's centennial anniversary celebrations. As many of you know, Al is a Channel 3 alumnus. He started working for NBC when WKYC was an owned and operated station in 1978. He remained with us for 5 years before being promoted to the network's flagship station, WNBC-TV, and moving back home to New York City where he was born. Today, Al is the main weather anchor for the "Today Show" and hosts "Wake Up With Al" on "The Weather Channel" from 6 a.m. until 7 a.m. Our own WKYC Chief Meterologist Betsy Kling had the chance to interview Al before the cookoff this evening and shares his funny senses of humor. Click the video to watch:

Make your child a star! Your child, or children, can be a famous "Bus Stop Forecast" kid and appear in our  morning and evening newscasts on Channel 3 News! We're giving 10 lucky families the opportunity to attend one of our recording sessions here at Channel 3 and tour our studios. For complete rules and to enter, just go to our Channel 3 Facebook page .

Special to the Director's Cut Blog By Bill Keveney, USA TODAY The star constellation is shifting at The Voice. Usher and Shakira will join the NBC singing competition as coaches for spring's fourth season, taking the place of Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green, who will take that cycle off. Aguilera is releasing a new album and going on tour, while Green is developing new music and a scripted series for NBC based on his life. Current coaches Adam Levine and Blake Shelton will be back for Season 4. "We are thrilled to welcome Usher and Shakira," NBC Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt said in a statement. "Doing two back-to-back cycles of this show requires a tremendous amount of time, and we are happy to accommodate the commitments made by Christina and Cee Lo. The participants on our show benefit from our coaches' expertise and their continued success in the music business allows for significant contributions to the contestants."...

Gannett, parent company of WKYC-TV, announced today that it has acquired Mobestream Media, maker of the Key Ring consumer rewards mobile platform (“Key Ring”) available on all major smartphones. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. More than five million users have downloaded the free Key Ring app to scan and store existing loyalty cards, join new rewards programs and get mobile coupons and other promotional offers delivered to their smartphones. With Key Ring, consumers have a simple solution to access their digital coupons, digitize their loyalty cards, join new loyalty programs, manage their accounts online and share their cards and offers through their social networks and email. Consumers also receive location-based mobile coupons and other promotional offers. “Mobile coupons are a fast-growing segment of the national and local marketing sector. Key Ring has led the way with consumer adoption of its smartphone app and developed key relationships with small and mid-s...

Russ Mitchell (L) and Dan Rather (R) By Frank Macek WKYC Anchor Russ Mitchell sat down with his longtime CBS News colleague Dan Rather at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte on Wednesday to get Dan's take on this year's presidential election. As many WKYC viewers know, Mitchell is the former anchor of the CBS Evening News weekend editions and The Early Show on Saturday, and national correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning , the CBS Evening News , and The Early Show. Mitchell joined the staff of WKYC as Managing Editor of Evening News and lead anchor of the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts on January 16, 2012 Rather is now managing editor and anchor of the television news magazine Dan Rather Reports on the cable channel AXS TV. Before that, he became embroiled in controversy about a disputed news report involving President Bush's Vietnam-era service in the National Guard and subsequently left CBS Evening News in 2005, and he left the network altogeth...

NBC’S “The Biggest Loser” kicks off in early January 2013 with the return of Jillian Michaels and a big, bold mission: to tackle the childhood obesity epidemic head on by featuring kid participants (ages 13-17) for the first time ever in addition to adult contestants. Michaels will join popular returning trainers and top fitness experts Bob Harper and Dolvett Quince. Season 14 will also feature special celebrity guest stars and additional surprises that will be revealed closer to the premiere. In addition to being one of the top health and fitness experts in the country, Michaels is a best-selling author who co-owns and runs her health and fitness empire Empowered Media with business partner Giancarlo Chersich. She whipped contestants into shape for 10 seasons on “The Biggest Loser,” and returns in season 14 as a new mother of two, a life change that has made her more committed than ever in helping kids who are struggling with weight issues. “As a former overweight teen, I know first...

TV viewership for last week's Republican National Convention dropped sharply from 2008. But the convention was a hit online and on social networks, the latest evidence of the political conversation's gradual migration from traditional media to the Web. There are many reasons this year's conventions may be less compelling than in 2008. Four years ago was a historic election that saw Democrat Barack Obama become the first black presidential nominee and then-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin emerge as Republican Party star. Hurricane Isaac drew at least some attention away from the largely surprise-free GOP gathering in Tampa, Fla., last week. Little news also is expected at this week's Democratic convention in Charlotte, N.C., where Obama will be nominated for a second term. Source: The Associated Press PHOTOGALLERY: Click the picture to see a photogallery of Channel 3 News at the Republican National Convention last week.