Jasmine Monroe Joins Channel 3 News As A Multi-Media Journalist

Jasmine Monroe

By Frank Macek

WKYC welcomes Jasmine Monroe who is joining the Channel 3 News team from NBC affiliate, WFMJ-TV, in Youngstown, Ohio, where she was a morning show out and about reporter, announced WKYC News Director Brennan Donnellan.

Monroe's first assignment will be an important one. She will be working out of our brand new Akron-Canton digital mobile newsroom as a multimedia journalist traveling to our southern counties with WKYC videojournalist Carl Bachtel to find great stories and to show how people in Akron and Canton are "seeing the possible."

She was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she attended Penn Hills High School. At the age of 15-years-old Jasmine knew that reporting was in her future. 

Monroe continued her education at Clarion University and reported local news at the campus tv and radio station. 

After earning her B.S. in broadcast journalism, she moved to Washington D.C. where she interned at BET Networks as an assistant in the pre-production, production, and post-production of the 2012 BET Awards! She also created questions for the Red Carpet segment Mad Swagg TV Show and aided in the placement of commercials for the Pink Luster’s promotional advertisement during BET’s #1 show "106 & Park."

Before coming to Youngstown, she interned at KDKA-TV and Radio in Pittsburgh where she helped produce KDKA Radio's "Inside Story" with Marty Griffin. 

While at WFMJ, she reported on everything from Youngstown State University Board of Trustees announcing Jim Tressel as the school’s ninth president, to showcasing the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus and working on "Project Feed Our Valley" that received a 2015 Regional Emmy Award and helped to raise $516,969 and collect 526,388 pounds of food for hungry families in the Mahoning Valley.

"I'm so excited to join WKYC's News Team," she tells the Director's Cut Blog. "For a girl who defines success by enriching the lives of others, seeing the possible in Akron was the perfect fit for me. Plus coming from Youngstown, I've visited many Cleveland restaurants and plenty of Cavs and Indian games! Although I never made it to a Browns game, I do believe I can be Cleveland's new good-luck charm!"

Her first day at WKYC will be Monday, March 7th.

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Follow Frank Macek on Twitter @frankmacekwkyc and on Facebook

WKYC News & Notes: 2/4/16

By Frank Macek

It's time for another "behind the scenes" look at what's happening inside the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center celebrating our 15th year at 13th and Lakeside.

January 2016 was a strong book for Channel 3 News with major gains in the morning and late night. Channel 3 News continued to be the number one choice at 11 pm. Starting today, we enter the February sweeps period that runs through the end of the month.

Check out Channel 3 at the 2016 Great Big Home & Garden Show at the IX Center starting Friday, February 5th through Sunday, February 14th. More than 100,000 people are expected at the event and you'll find your favorite WKYC personalities and staffers at the show during the entire run. This year, we are at booth number 939 where you can register to win a $500 cash prize or 1 of 5 Fitbits. Your blogger will be at the IX Center on Sunday, February 14th from 2 to 4 p.m. Stop on by!

WKYC Digital Akron/Canton Mobile Newsroom

Channel 3 News is upping our commitment to the Akron/Canton market with the WKYC and Cleveland Clinic Akron General Mobile Newsroom hitting the streets of Akron/Canton the surrounding communities to bring you all that area's news. These will be stories you'll only see on WKYC where we always "See the Possible."

Congratulations to the following people who have either joined the Channel 3 team or been promoted since our last update.

• Long-time WKYC engineer Gary Seawall is upped to the Engineering Maintenance Supervisor. During his tenure, Gary has been heavily involved in the design and maintenance of our ENG and satellite live trucks and our in-house satellite distribution.
• Jordan Bigler joins our WKYC Production team as a Production Assistant. He is a 2014 graduate of Sam Houston State University with a BFA in Theater.
• Elizabeth Zabell becomes our new Digital Sales Specialist. Elizabeth moved from Houston, Texas where she worked as a Senior Account Director at Convergent1.
• Janey Carroll is a new Sales Assistant. She is a Lake Erie College graduate where she majored in Advertising, Public Relations and Digital Media.
• David Goler joins us as a new Digital Account Executive and just moved to Pepper Pike from Manhattan where he work as a Director of National Accounts for Zinc by Zedo.

Follow Frank Macek on Twitter @frankmacekwkyc and on Facebook

Thursday Night Football Coming to NBC and WKYC This Fall

Special to the Director's Cut Blog

Nate Davis, USA TODAY Sports 

The NFL announced Monday that NBC will join CBS and NFL Network for TNF telecasts during the 2016 and 2017 regular seasons.

Thursday night games became a fixture in 2006 on NFL Network, which will continue to simulcast all games in the package, before CBS joined it in 2014.

Over the next two seasons, CBS and NBC will broadcast five games apiece while NFL Network will retain exclusive rights to eight other games. CBS had produced eight games in both the 2014 and '15 seasons.

“We are continuing to make Thursday Night Football bigger and better. CBS has played an integral role over the last two seasons in helping build Thursdays as a night for NFL football, and we're excited to have them on board again," said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a statement.

“At the same time, we're thrilled to add NBC to the Thursday Night Football mix, a trusted partner with a proven track record of success broadcasting NFL football in primetime, and look forward to expanding with a digital partner for what will be a unique tri-cast on broadcast, cable, and digital platforms."

The Thursday night schedule has improved in recent years, and Aaron Rodgers' Hail Mary to cap the Green Bay Packers' win over the Detroit Lions last season was one of the regular season's most indelible moments.

However the league mandates that each team must play at least once on Thursday during the regular season, which still causes some less-than-enticing matchups. The NFL tried to spice up some of those games visually by introducing "Color Rush" uniforms last season, though color-blind viewers who could not differentiate green and red did not appreciate watching the monochromatic New York Jets and Buffalo Bills face off. The league plans to expand the "Color Rush" component in 2016 nonetheless.

Players also tend not to be fans of the quick turnaround for TNF games, especially when they have to play on the road.

Both CBS and NBC will produce TNF with their lead broadcasters and production teams. CBS and NFL Network will televise the first half of the Thursday Night Football schedule with NBC and NFL Network televising the second half.

“Our mission when we first put games on Thursday nights in 2006 was to work strategically to make Thursdays a night for NFL football in the mold of what Monday and Sunday nights mean to millions of fans across the country," said New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, chairman of the league's broadcast committee.

“We’ve made great strides since that point, and growing the base of games with CBS, now with NBC, and soon with digital streaming will only help us solidify this night in the consciousness of NFL fans here and globally."

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Follow Frank Macek on Twitter @frankmacekwkyc