By Frank Macek
It's time for another "behind the scenes" look at what's happening inside the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center.
Hope you all had a great holiday season with family and friends. Hard to believe we are already into January 2017!
Your blogger is really looking forward to seeing what this year brings both for the city of Cleveland and our country. I think it would be really hard to top 2016 in terms of excitement, but we can hope it's a fun year in local television.
I have just a couple of notes for this month's edition of "News and Notes."
For those of you counting, this month marks our 16th year at the Channel 3 Studios at the corner of E. 13th and Lakeside Avenue, or has it is now called "Tom Beres Way" in honor of WKYC Senior Political Reporter Tom Beres who retired last month after 37 years with the station.
If you remember, WKYC debuted our new set on the Monday following the Superbowl in January 2001. Over the years, we've made a few tweaks and are hopeful to have a new set in the next couple of years as television continues to evolve into a multi-platform arena where on-air and on-line are merging into a digital first approach.
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| Adkins with the Larry O'Brien trophy |
In the news, congratulations to WKYC Assistant News Director Jonathan Adkins (pictured right) who was recently recognized by our parent company, TEGNA Media, with an "Own It" award. Jon was recognized for all his amazing efforts in planning and executing the station's highly successful coverage of the 2016 Republican National Convention that happened here in Cleveland last July. From getting us the best broadcast location at the Q to getting everyone credentialed and fed in the field during the RNC, Jon was at the heart of it all. Then the following week, Jon found himself on a plane to Philadelphia with anchor Russ Mitchell and Multi-Media Journalist Brandon Simmons for our on-site coverage of the Democratic National Convention. Prior to becoming Assistant New Director, Jon was the executive producer for Channel 3 News at 6 p.m.
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| "Action 3 News" team, courtesy Jim Kegelmyer |
Longtime WKYC Art Director Jim Kegelmyer (pictured above, right of center) hung up his virtual paintbrush last month and retired after 42 years with the station. "Keg," as we affectionately call him, began his career at Channel 3 in 1974 when the station was still an NBC owned and operated station and branded as "Action 3 News." Hopefully, you recognize some of the news team pictured including anchor Dough Adair. Best wishes to Keg for the future, though we are pretty sure he won't be bored in retirement as his wife plans to keep him busy around the house.
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| Herman Kirksey |
On a sad note, we said goodbye to Herman Kirksey, who passed away on Saturday, December 17th. "Mickey" was one of our cherished members of the family as a security guard and good friend to many for years around here at WKYC before retiring last summer due to health issues. For many fall seasons, Mickey also served as our Friday Night Fever referee giving the sports team a whistle blow and a "2 minute warning" during the high school football season. We'll miss seeing Mickey roaming the halls at WKYC keeping us safe from harm, but we are sure he is still watching over us from above.
Congratulations to the following people who have joined the Channel 3 team:
- Adam Kenyon: News Operation Manager
- Jillian Buzzi: Multi-Media Marketing Producer
- Danielle Serino: Consumer Investigative Reporter & Multi-Media Journalist
Before we go, we'd also like to recognize these employees who have recently retired or plan on retiring from the station:
- Sean Mulroy: Studio technician/editor
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Hope you all had a great holiday season with family and friends. Hard to believe we are already into January 2017!
