Director's Cut Blog with Frank Macek

Micki Byrnes WKYC has announced that Micki Byrnes has been named VP/Station Manager for WKYC while Brooke Spectorsky will remain as President/GM and SVP Gannett Broadcasting. “I am pleased to announce the promotion of Micki Byrnes to VP/Station Manager for WKYC-Cleveland,” announced Dave Lougee, president of Broadcasting for Gannett Co. Inc. “She will be responsible for WKYC’s daily operation with all departments reporting to her.” Brooke Spectorsky will remain as WKYC’s President and General Manager, and 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-TV3, NBC in Cleveland, Ohio.  She was named Vice President, Advertising and Promotion in 2000, responsible for the bra...

Ambassador Roman Kirn (L) and WKYC GM Brooke Spectorsky (R) As part of WKYC's involvement in the "Our World Today" project, we welcomed another visiting Ambassador. On Friday, October 12th, His Excellency Roman Kirn, Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to the United States, joined a group of local business executives to discuss economic growth and possible partnerships with Northeast Ohio and Slovenia. "Our World Today" also works with local schools including Villa Angela-St. Joseph in a global education initiative. Northeast Ohio is home to more Slovenians than anywhere outside Slovenia itself. Northeast Ohio also has over 180 countries represented, a greater diversity than anywhere other than New York. WKYC has welcomed dozens of Ambassadors over the past years from countries including the Philippines, Ireland, Columbia, Hungary, Slovakia, and Guatemala. We also hosted the President of Romania. Upcoming visitors will include the Ambassadors fr...

CLEVELAND – The Public Relations Society of America, Greater Cleveland Chapter, is awarding WKYC-TV’s Brooke Spectorsky and Micki Byrnes the 2011 John W. Hill Award for outstanding leadership for internal and external communications by chief executives. The honor will be presented on March 16 at PRSA’s Hill Lighthouse Young Awards ceremony. The award is the highest honor an organization’s leader can receive for communication practices. Spectorsky, Senior VP Gannett Broadcasting, and Byrnes, VP Advertising and Promotions, are the first couple to win the honor in the history of the Hill Award for Cleveland PRSA. Brooke and Micki will be recognized for exceptional strategic communications outreach initiatives including: WKYC’s leadership role in emerging content delivery platforms, including broadcast, web, social media and mobile. As a result of their work, WKYC, one of 22 Gannett-owned television stations, is considered a leader in emerging platforms for the corporation’s broadcast...

Today was a big day at WKYC as the station was presented the regional Edward R. Murrow award for "Overall Excellence" - the 2nd year in a row the station has won this coveted honor. The "Overall Excellence" category encompasses all aspects of the news operation including spot news, special projects, community involvement, sports, and weather. WKYC is part of Region 7, an area that covers all of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan - including such major market cities as Chicago and Detroit. This year's winning entry was from a compilation of big news stories of 2007 including the tragic SuccessTech Academy shooting, Jessie Davis murder coverage and "Race for the Cure" coverage. Edward R. Murrow's pursuit of excellence in journalism embodies the spirit of the awards that carry his name. The Radio-Television News Directors Association has been honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971. Mur...