Director's Cut Blog with Frank Macek

Micki Byrnes “I am pleased to announce that Micki Byrnes has been named President and General Manager of WKYC-Cleveland,” announced Dave Lougee, president of Broadcasting for Gannett Co. Inc. “Micki is the perfect leader for our Cleveland operation. She is a natural leader who knows all facets of our business, and she has a passion for everyone at the station, and for that matter, everyone in Northeast Ohio.” Brooke Spectorsky will continue in his role as a Senior Vice President for Gannett Broadcasting managing all syndicated programming efforts for the combined Gannett/Belo television group. Spectorsky also oversees three additional Gannett television station markets. Byrnes joined Gannett Broadcasting in October of 1997 as Director of Marketing and Promotion for WKYC, NBC in Cleveland, Ohio. She was named Vice President, Advertising and Promotion in 2000, responsible for the branding, graphics, media creation and placement, community engagement and sales promotion efforts of C...

Special to the Director's Cut Blog By Jeff Reidel CLEVELAND - Now is the season of giving and family. But some are struggling to enjoy a holidays. One woman is working to meet that need head on, after facing her own hardship. Now, area children will experience a brighter holiday. WKYC employees are helping spread holiday joy. The station is working with the Adopt a Family Association, a non-profit that matches companies that want to reach out to local families facing tough times. "Either they are working a low income job, they are disabled or recently laid off and there fore they can not provide for their family due to the expense" said Madeline Medley, Executive Director of the Adopt a Family Association. Back when she worked at a local bank, Medley took it upon herself to to get fellow employees to adopt needy families during the holidays. But when she lost her job, she made giving back her full-time job. "My focus was to help the children. It wa...

By Frank Macek It's time for another "behind the scenes" look at what's happening inside the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center. WKYC's new Sony ELC Production System Tomorrow night, December 16th, Channel 3 will launch our brand new Sony ELC Live Assist Production System that will be a new way we bring you Channel 3 News. The system is an all computerized one and will run most aspects of our newscasts. For the first time ever, the control room will no longer have a technical director or audio engineer. The Director will be the solo operator who programs the system to control video, graphics and audio mixing. This is one of the biggest changes technically since Channel 3 signed on October 31, 1948. In other news, WKYC has plenty of new faces floating around the building that we'd like to recognize. *Justin Gutschmidt, who is a Cleveland native, comes to us from Living Social as Channel 3's new Digital Sales Director. *Alyssa Raymond joins the C...

By Frank Macek It's time for another "behind the scenes" look at what's happening inside the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center. This November has been quite a busy time for all of us at WKYC. In addition to November sweeps, we are right in the middle of our installation of a new production system that will allow us to bring you Channel 3 more efficiently. The system, called Sony ELC (Enhanced Live Production Control System), will go online before Christmas. Photo Courtesy: David Hrvatin Last Tuesday was an exciting day at WKYC as the station hosted a company wide video presentation looking forward to our goals and aspirations for 2015. Gannett Broadcasting President Dave Lougee hosted the discussion that was fed via satellite to our 46 Gannett stations. In a previous posting , we mentioned WKYC will begin airing a brand new television channel called Justice Network starting in January on subchannel 3.2 replacing our current weather programming. The Justice ...

WKYC announced on Tuesday the station will begin carrying a new digital subchannel on WKYC 3.2 called the "Justice Network" beginning in January. The new network will launch as a partnership between WKYC's parent company, Gannett Broadcasting, and other television executives. The new network will immediately reach a third of the nation's television audience at launch with the power of Gannett's 46 television stations. Justice Network will replace our existing weather radar on 3.2 and some children's programming right after the first of the year. WKYC Station Manager Micki Byrnes, says the station is working hard on other options to bring viewers the weather information they depend on that keep you "Weather Ready" at all times. Here is more information from today's announcement... Veteran television executives are joining forces to launch Justice Network, a free over-the-air multicast network with carriage on MSO’s, featuring gripping st...

WKYC Station Manager Micki Byrnes painting More than 1200 volunteers participated in 'Make A Difference Day' in Northeast Ohio on Saturday, October 25, 2014. This day of service began more than twenty years ago by WKYC's parent company, Gannett. Channel 3 News employees rolled up their sleeves to paint rooms at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Cleveland's Broadway and Heights Youth Club locations. "When you think about the kids that we work with 90 percent of our kids are at or near poverty, 74 percent come from single parent families they're probably not living in the best of locations," says Boys and Girls Clubs of Cleveland President, Ron Soeder. "We want to make sure they have a fresh place, a place that's vibrant and colorful and brings them to life so that when they come in they have a different experience than they may have day to day or it's added to the experience that they have." In Akron, nearly 150 people joined in the...

(Photo: LJFF) WKYC is proud to partner with the LeBron James Family Foundation to help positively affect the lives of children and young adults through education. Over the next few years, we'll bring you special stories, news coverage, events and projects that showcase the impactful work the Foundation is doing in Akron. And we'll explore how everyone in Northeast Ohio can be involved. Our special coverage kicks off next Monday, October 27th at 6 p.m., and continues to opening night of the Cleveland Cavaliers season. Please join us for a very special Akron Watch Party in support of the LeBron James Family Foundation on Thursday, October 30th at Ray's Place of Fairlawn, 25 Ghent Road. Great prizes, great food and what's sure to be a GREAT GAME!! All are welcome and there is a unique auction featuring one of a kind items for bid. And join WKYC for extended news coverage Thursday 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. live from Cleveland and Akron. For more information on the LeBron James F...

WKYC has released an update to our mobile news app. The new app is much different than our old version. You'll get the same great news and weather coverage from all over northeast Ohio… but much more of it! The app is available now for iPhone or Android users. We have also updated our mobile website as well. Our digital team has compiled a list of 8 reasons why you need to get the new app right now. It's free. So why not?  Enhanced scrolling navigation. It's easier than ever to stay informed… and you'll have the ability to see more of the important headlines from across the region. More local news than ever before! Find news headlines from your community. We've introduced more local news section for the city our county you live in. Real time traffic map featuring crash reports, delays, and construction alerts. And Tweets from Danielle Wiggins! Live streaming. Watch live streaming coverage when breaking news happens. You can ALSO watch WKYC news dur...

It's an event where WKYC and Gannett-owned media properties across the country team up to make our communities better. Hundreds of employees and volunteers work together to make a difference. Learn more in the highlights below. You can also find out how you can join in to MAKE A DIFFERENCE! This year, Make A Difference Day takes place on Oct. 25th. Always held on the fourth Saturday of October, it is the nation's largest day of volunteering. USA WEEKEND Magazine conceived the idea more than 20 years ago and has mobilized millions of people across the U.S. for this National Day of Doing Good. Pitching in to spread the word are the 46 TV stations and hundreds of newspapers owned by Gannett, plus longstanding partners Points of Light and Newman's Own. As the Gannett-owned media property in the Cleveland market, WKYC takes the lead here in organizing local activities. We partner with BVU, The Center for Nonprofit Excellence to offer a variety of activities on Make a Diff...

Check out a time lapse from behind the scenes of our 6 pm newscast that I directed tonight. A lot happens in just 30 minutes! Thanks to David Hrvatin for putting this ditty together and Floor Director Jessica Dickard for recording it. Post by WKYC Channel 3 - Cleveland .

Ricky Manning (Courtesy: NBC) A contestant with Northeast Ohio ties has survived the blind auditions on "The Voice" and will be competing on team Pharrell. Ricky Manning, 19, said he took a year after high school to concentrate on music and has been performing on the streets of New York City. He told judges he is currently living with his father in New Jersey and before that had lived in Cape Coral, Fla., with his mother. Manning told WKYC he was born at an Akron hospital and was raised in Medina. Even thought his family moved to Florida when he was in the third grade, Manning said he still has strong family ties to Northeast Ohio. Both of his grandmothers still live in Medina. Click to see our 11 p.m. live interview:

The WKYC Health and Wellness Expo is back at the Cleveland Convention Center on Saturday, September 6th – bigger and better than ever. Thousands of Northeast Ohio residents will get the opportunity to get free health screenings and learn important information about living a healthier lifestyle from over 120 exhibitors at the 40,000 square foot exhibit. Visitors will enjoy presentations on three stages that will include health and wellness information, the latest trends in healthy cooking and exercise, tips for keeping your family safe and ways to help keep your family, your finances and your body all in working order. WKYC personalities, including Russ Mitchell, Kris Pickel, Betsy Kling and many others will be on hand to greet Expo guests who will also be given the chance to try their hand at being a weather anchor or a sportscaster. This was a highlight at last year’s Expo as folks uploaded their “TV debut” to the WKYC Facebook page for all to see A number of area non-profi...

Channel 3's Hollie Giangreco was live at the "Today" show set in New York City Wednesday morning to help the show wish a happy 60th birthday to weatherman Al Roker. Roker, who worked for WKYC for five years in the late '70s and early '80s, sent his well wishes back to Cleveland, remarking that he misses the West Side Market. Giangreco gave Roker a birthday present -- a Cleveland five-day forecast T-shirt mocking the city's vastly different weather from day to day. Roker joked that he wasn't looking forward to the birthday but conceded "any anniversary you can spend about ground is a good thing.""And to have all these people come down … that's very, very nice," he said, joking with fans gathered on the plaza that he was old enough to be their grandfather. Upon learning that anchors Russ Mitchell and Kris Pickel are in town as well, he couldn't help but crack a joke. "You've got to relish a name like that,...

Margaret Bernstein Margaret Bernstein Joins WKYC As Director of Advocacy and Community Initiatives “She’s an award-winning journalist, a high school mentor, a national Big Sister of the Year, and a passionate crusader for the people and communities of Northeast Ohio,” said VP and Station Manager Micki Byrnes. “Starting in September, she will also be the new Director of Advocacy and Community Initiatives for Channel 3 and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome her.” “This is simply the perfect opportunity for me. I deeply respect WKYC’s trailblazing work in community advocacy and want to help the station continue moving our community forward,” Margaret said. ”I firmly believe that people want more than just the news headlines – they want to know what they can do to make a positive difference. It’s up to us in the news media to shed light on the best ways for the public to get involved.” For over 20 years, Margaret wrote for Ohio’s largest daily newspaper and as a Metro columnist sh...

By Frank Macek It's time for another "behind the scenes" look at what's happening inside the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center. Channel 3 with air the 2nd Browns preseason game against the Washington Redskins this Monday night, August 18th. Our Pregame Huddle will air from 7-8p (directed by Frank Macek and produced by Jeff Yakawiak) followed by ESPN's national production on WKYC beginning at 8p. Channel 3 News will also be live next Thursday, August 21st, at 6p and 7p from FirstEnergy Stadium to show you all the new improvements the stadium this year. Our entire WKYC evening anchor team will broadcast live from the stadium on both editions of Channel 3 News. We are seeing plenty of new faces at Channel 3 this month. Let's get you caught up. Jiselle Macalaguin is joining the WKYC digital team as a Digital Content Producer starting August 18th. Mack comes to use as Internet Managing Editor at WNWO/NBC 24 in Toledo. Lexxi Gilles recently joined our team ...

Special to the Director's Cut Blog Carl Icahn By Gary Strauss, USA Today Activist investor Carl Icahn has taken a stake in Gannett, saying the TV and newspaper company that publishes USA TODAY (and part company of WKYC-TV), is undervalued. Icahn has amassed a stake in Gannett, according to a Securities & Exchange Commission filing Thursday. The filing says Gannett shares are undervalued and that value could be created by splitting the companies print and broadcasting divisions -- a move Gannett CEO Gracia Martore already announced  Aug. 5. The 13D filing says Icahn plans to "have discussions" with Gannett's management and board of directors "relating to the planned separation, corporate governance, capitalization and capital allocation." Gannett shares were up 6.3% to $36.20 in after-hours trading, when the filing was disclosed. Icahn was not available for comment. A spokeswoman said Icahn says the 13D-filing "speaks for itself."

Gannett Headquarters in McLean, Virginia Here's part of today's exciting announcement from Gannett, owner of WKYC-TV... McLean, VA, August 5, 2014 – Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) today announced its plan to create two publicly traded companies with scale: one exclusively focused on its Broadcasting and Digital businesses, and the other on its Publishing business.  The planned separation of the Publishing business will be implemented through a tax-free distribution of Gannett’s Publishing assets to shareholders. The transaction will create two focused companies with increased opportunities to grow organically across all businesses as well as pursue strategic acquisitions. Gannett has also signed a definitive agreement to acquire full ownership of Cars.com, one of the leading digital companies in the automotive space. Under the agreement, Gannett will acquire the 73% interest it does not already own in Classified Ventures LLC, which owns Cars.com, for $1.8 billion in ca...

By Frank Macek Get ready to begin your weekend mornings a little earlier with more news and more weather updates on Channel 3 this fall as WKYC has announced it will greatly expand its Saturday and Sunday newscasts starting in September. Photo by: David Hrvatin On Saturday morning, Channel 3 will add one hour of all local news from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. leading into the Saturday edition of the "Today Show" that will continue to air from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., followed by "Channel 3 News Today" from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The midday edition of "Channel 3 News at Noon" will continue to air as well. On Sunday morning, Channel 3 will add two hours of local news from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m., then the Sunday edition of the "Today Show" from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and "Channel 3 News Today" from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Meanwhile, NBC's "Meet the Press" will start a half hour earlier beginning at 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., with the midday edition of "Ch...

By Frank Macek The announcement last week about the return of basketball superstar LeBron James to the Cleveland Cavaliers has generated plenty of buzz worldwide, to say the least. Friday's announcement is the biggest sports story for 2014. Channel 3 News devoted non-stop, team coverage of the announcement from the time the story broke during our noon broadcast until the end of Channel 3 News at 6 p.m. After NBC Nightly News, WKYC also presented our viewers with another hour long special from 7 to 8 p.m. and expanded coverage on Channel 3 News at 11 p.m. that night. Jim Donovan on NBC Nightly News National media from coast to coast contacted Channel 3 wanting interviews and insight from our news team of how important the impact will be on the city that just days earlier won the Republican National Convention in 2016. Channel 3 News wall to wall coverage was carried by the NBC Newschannel for any affiliate who wished to air parts of our coverage live. WKYC Sports Ancho...

Lynna Lai WKYC weekend evening anchor and weekday reporter Lynna Lai has been named morning co-anchor of "Channel 3 News Today." Lai will join John Anderson on our morning show weekdays from 4:30 a.m. to 7 a.m., along with morning meteorologist Hollie Giangreco and team of reporters who start your day off right with the information you need to know. WKYC News Director Brennan Donnellan tells the Director's Cut Blog that "we have searched far and wide for the right morning co-anchor to join that team. We believe the right person was here all along." "Lai is competitive and passionate about winning. She’s a great reporter who is not afraid to ask tough questions. She also celebrates all the positive momentum building in Northeast Ohio. I always appreciate Lynna’s leadership and the morning show will definitely be better for it," Donnellan added. Lai brings 18 years of broadcasting experience in major markets across the country to the job. He...

By Frank Macek It's time for another "behind the scenes" look at what's happening inside the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center. It's been far too long since we had our last update, so let's get you caught up on something currently happening. July is already upon us and we are getting ready for another season of Cleveland Browns football that kicks off on your official television home of Cleveland Browns. We'll kick off our fall coverage on Thursday, July 24, with our "Browns Training Camp" special at 7 p.m. with WKYC's Jim Donovan and radio voice of the Cleveland Browns who will be live in Berea for this year's training camp. Then we turn the page to August and preseason football action. Once again this year, Channel 3 will air all four of the Cleveland Browns preseason games. Our first game is Saturday, August 9th, at 7:30 p.m. at the Detroit Lions live from Ford Field. August 18th's game against Washington is an ESPN produced ga...

Wale' Aliyu Look for a new face on Channel 3 News this August. Wale' Aliyu is joining WKYC as a multimedia journalist announced WKYC News Director Brennan Donnellan. Aliyu joins the Channel 3 team after spending the last four years in Ohio. Aliyu comes to Cleveland after reporting, anchoring and producing for ABC 22/FOX 45 in Dayton since 2010. Before Dayton, Aliyu started his career in Columbia, Missouri where he anchored for Newsy.com, reported for ABC 17/FOX 38 as well as KOMU-TV8. Aliyu grew up in Columbia, Missouri and graduated Cum Laude with a Convergence/Broadcast Journalism degree from the University of Missouri. Aliyu has worked several different jobs in the various newsrooms since the age of 15. In addition to broadcast, he also has experience reporting for newspaper, radio and online. Aliyu says he's comfortable telling stories on any topic but his favorite stories are ones that make an impact on people's lives. "One of the first televi...

WKYC Chief Meteorologist Betsy Kling CLEVELAND - Channel 3 Weather is testing a new weeknight weather webcast that you can watch on-line or through your mobile devices like smartphones or tablets. Every weeknight at 9 p.m., the Channel 3 Weather team, led by Chief Meteorologist Betsy Kling, brings you an early look at the weather so you don't have to always wait to get your forecast. You can find the webcast right at the top of our main page on wkyc.com or through our WKYC News app which you can download for free in the iTunes Store or Google Marketplace. Or, just text WKYC to 25543 and we'll send a direct link right now to the app store. It's that easy! Our webcast is an "off the cuff" and unique broadcast that interacts with you via social media. You can send us your weather photos by tagging us @wkycweather on Twitter or you can hop on our Weather Warriors Facebook page at Facebook.com/WKYC.Channel3.Weather We'll give you that night's c...

The 45th annual Lower Great Lakes Emmy®  Award Nominations were presented Saturday night at the Cleveland Convention Center's Grand Ballroom for work done in 2013. WKYC took home a sweep of the major news catergories including Best Evening Newscast, Best Morning Newscast and Best Breaking News Coverage. Congratulations to everyone. Here is a list of WKYC Awards with category and station entrants... Newscast - Evening - Market 1-20: Channel 3 News at 11 PM - Russ Mitchell, Sara Shookman, Lynna Lai, AJ Ross, Frank Macek, Kris Pickel, Tom Meyer, Jennifer Jordan and Kim Wendel Newscast - Morning/Daytime - Market 1-20: Channel 3 News Today - Jennifer Nickels, Matthew Granite, Erin Kennedy, Mark Bogden and Brooke Whitney Breaking News: Miracle in Cleveland - Russ Mitchell, Lisa Lowry, Lynna Lai, Kris Pickel, Grant Debruin, Tom Meyer, Jennifer Jordan, Jennifer Lindgren, Danielle Sills and Kim Wendel Continuing Coverage: Castro Exclusives - Tom Meyer Poli...

 Investigator, Tom Meyer Congratulations to WKYC's Tom Meyer, The Investigator, for his two awards in the 2013 Ohio Associated Press Media Editors broadcast competition. Tom received a First Place award in "Best Continuing Coverage" for his "Castro Exclusives" and Second Place award in "Best Enterprise Reporting" for "Bad Medicine." The awards were announced this weekend and include stations from all across Ohio for both radio and television broadcasting. --- Follow Frank Macek on Twitter @ frankmacekwkyc

WKYC's parent company, Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire six of London Broadcasting Company’s television stations in Texas for $215 million in an all-cash transaction. The acquisition includes KCEN (NBC) in Waco-Temple-Bryan, KYTX (CBS) in Tyler-Longview, KIII (ABC) in Corpus Christi, KBMT (ABC) and its digital sub-channel KJAC (NBC) in Beaumont-Port Arthur, KXVA (FOX) in Abilene-Sweetwater and KIDY (FOX) in San Angelo. The purchase of these stations further deepens Gannett’s broadcasting presence in the high-growth state of Texas without any overlap of Gannett’s current local broadcast and publishing portfolio. Gracia Martore, president and chief executive officer of Gannett, said, “The addition of these stations will expand Gannett’s reach into some of the fastest growing markets in the nation and furthers our successful transformation into a diversified multi-media company. With more than 70% of London Broadcasting’s...

The 45th annual Lower Great Lakes Emmy®  Award Nominations were announced on Thursday and WKYC is nominated in 16 different categories this year for work done in 2013. The final awards will be handed out on Saturday, June 7th, at the Cleveland Convention Center's Grand Ballroom. Cleveland comic Mike Polk will be hosting the Emmy® Awards gala once again this year. Congratulations to everyone. Here is a list of WKYC nominations with category and nominees... Newscast - Evening - Market 1-20: Channel 3 News at 11 PM - Russ Mitchell, Sara Shookman, Lynna Lai, AJ Ross, Frank Macek, Kris Pickel, Tom Meyer, Jennifer Jordan and Kim Wendel Newscast - Morning/Daytime - Market 1-20: Channel 3 News Today - Jennifer Nickels, Matthew Granite, Erin Kennedy, Mark Bogden and Brooke Whitney Breaking News: Miracle in Cleveland - Russ Mitchell, Lisa Lowry, Lynna Lai, Kris Pickel, Grant Debruin, Tom Meyer, Jennifer Jordan, Jennifer Lindgren, Danielle Sills and Kim Wende...