Director's Cut Blog with Frank Macek

By Frank Macek Saturday night was one of those nights that reminds you why we do what we do. The station came home with multiple Emmy Awards, and it's hard not to feel proud of the talented individuals and teams who earned that recognition. These aren't just trophies — they represent countless hours of storytelling, dedication, and a commitment to journalism that truly matters to our community. Here's a moment to celebrate each of the winners. •Peter Fleischer took home the Emmy in Promotion/News for his Kirtland Cult Killing Documentary. Peter's work on this project was nothing short of extraordinary — tackling one of the most haunting chapters in Northeast Ohio's history with the care and rigor it deserved. Well done, Peter. •Lindsay Buckingham earned the Emmy in Reporter Features/Human Interest for "Heartstrings." If you've seen the piece, you already know why it won. Lindsay has a rare gift for finding the humanity in every story, and "Heartst...

By Frank Macek Danita Harris There are broadcasters, and then there are broadcasters who change the communities they serve. Danita Harris is very much the latter — and it's why she has been named this year's Distinguished Service Award honoree by the Cleveland Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.  Harris joined us here at WKYC Channel 3 in April 2024 as co-anchor of our morning news broadcasts, bringing with her a résumé that most journalists could only dream about. Before landing in our studios, she spent 24 years at WEWS TV-5, building a reputation that one writer summed up perfectly: "one of Cleveland's most beloved anchors, as well as a prominent inspirational voice in Northeast Ohio." That kind of description isn't handed out lightly — and in Danita's case, it's backed up by a career full of hardware to prove it. Among her many honors are multiple Emmy Awards, an Edward R. Murrow Award, induction into the Ohio Broadcasters Hall o...

 By Frank Macek There's something genuinely exciting about welcoming new talent to a newsroom. After nearly four decades in this business, I can tell you that the energy a new hire brings — the hunger, the fresh perspective, the different set of life experiences — has a way of lifting everyone around them. So it's my pleasure to introduce two journalists who are about to make their mark here at Channel 3. Tyler Madden Let's start with Tyler Madden, who joins us first. Tyler's first day is Monday, June 29, and he's bringing with him a résumé that speaks for itself. Most recently, he spent several years as a reporter at WKRC in Cincinnati, and before that, he was a reporter and weekend anchor at WTOV in Steubenville. It was there that Tyler found himself on the front lines of one of the region's most significant stories in recent memory — the toxic train derailment in East Palestine. Covering a story like that isn't just a professional test. It demands accur...

By Frank Macek I remember the moment streaming felt like a genuine revolution. It was sometime around 2013, and I had just finished watching an entire season of a show in a single weekend. No commercials. No waiting. No cable bill with 300 channels I'd never watch. Just me, a laptop, and unlimited content for the price of a couple of fast food meals a month. It felt like the future had finally arrived. That feeling is gone. And the more I think about it, the more I believe we — the viewers — were never really in control of any of it. Streaming was sold to us as liberation. Liberation from the tyranny of network schedules, from cable bundles crammed full of garbage, from the indignity of watching commercials for the same truck four times during a two-hour movie. And for a while, it delivered on that promise. But somewhere between the rise of a dozen competing platforms, the death of the DVD, and the quiet disappearance of shows we loved, streaming stopped working for viewers. It sta...

By Frank Macek Aidyn Bruns The WKYC weather department is getting some fresh energy this summer, and we couldn't be more excited about it. Please join us in welcoming Aidyn Bruns to the 3News family! Aidyn has joined WKYC Studios as part of Tegna's Summer Internship Program, and her focus is right where her passion lies — weather. A native of Minnesota, Aidyn knows a thing or two about tracking the elements. Growing up in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, where winters are fierce and weather is always a conversation, it's no surprise she developed a deep fascination with meteorology. That passion has driven her all the way to Norman, Oklahoma, where she is currently studying meteorology at the University of Oklahoma — one of the most respected meteorology programs in the country. Heading into her senior year, Aidyn is already building an impressive résumé. At OU, she serves as both a weather anchor and senior producer for "OU Nightly," the university's student-run...

By Frank Macek It was a proud night for the 3News family. WKYC Studios walked away with multiple top honors Friday evening at the Press Club of Cleveland's annual All Ohio Excellence in Journalism awards ceremony, held at the iconic House of Blues in Cleveland. The event brings together journalists and media organizations from across Northeast Ohio to celebrate the region's best work — and 3News had plenty to celebrate. The biggest recognition of the night came for "3News at 11," which earned first place for Best Video Newscast in Ohio in the major market category and awarded to Reporter Sia Nyorkor, Producers Kelly Salandro & Joshua Bailey and Photojournalist Bailey Lustic.  Judges honored the May 2, 2025 broadcast for its storytelling, production quality, and overall excellence — a edition that included powerful in-depth reporting on the arrest connected to the 2013 murder of Cleveland Clinic nurse Aliza Sherman.  It was the kind of journalism that reminds vi...