Director's Cut Blog with Frank Macek

By Frank Macek Some names in Cleveland television never really fade. Dick Russ is one of them. If you’ve watched local news in Northeast Ohio over the past several decades, there’s a good chance he has been part of your life at some point, whether you caught him anchoring at midday on Channel 8 or leading the newsroom at Channel 3. So where is he now? Busier than most people half his career length, and still working on behalf of the community he spent decades covering. Let’s start at the beginning, because Dick’s path was a classic climb from radio to television. In July 1974, he started as a news reporter at WHLO radio in Akron. By December 1976, he had moved to WAKR-TV, WAKR-AM and WAEZ-FM, also in Akron, working as a news anchor and producer. That’s the kind of training ground that teaches you everything: how to write fast, how to produce your own work, and how to be ready to go live no matter what the day hands you. Courtesy: NE Ohio TV Memories In November 1979, Dick joined WJW-T...

Another sad day here today at WKYC as we had a wish our good friend Dick Russ a fond farewell this afternoon in the Channel 3 Newsroom... Best wishes Dick and lots of love from all of us at WKYC! Click the video to watch:

By Frank Macek It's time for another "behind the scenes" look at what's happening inside the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center. Channel 3 News New Look By now you probably noticed that WKYC launched a brand new graphics look last Tuesday, January 22th that is being rolled out by our parent company, Gannett, on all broadcast stations. The new look is a much simpler, cleaner look that uses a main information bar, the rundown of upcoming stories and the time and temperature. Also, stories are color coded by category based on the USA Today theme including news (blue), weather (yellow), sports (red), life (purple), tech (orange), money (green), travel (aqua) and opinion (gray). We also have begun using the entire 16x9 screen for our broadcasts. As a result, 4x3 viewers on cable and satellite will notice we are letterboxed. The technology called AFD or (Active Format Description) allows us to trigger your television set to see the correct sizing of standard...

Michael Greene (left) & Dick Russ (right) CLEVELAND - Veteran reporter Dick Russ (pictured right) and photojournalist Michael Greene (pictured left) won top honors at the 2010 Cleveland Press Club 2010 Excellence in Journalism Awards. Russ, already a Press Club Hall of Fame Inductee, and Greene won first place in the television general news category for their coverage of accused Nazi John Demjanjuk's forcible removal from his home and subsequent deportation. Former WKYC reporter Mike O'Mara and Assignment Manager Danielle Fink took second place honors in the television spot news category for their coverage of the West 89th St. multiple murders. The 32nd annual event was held at the Marriott Downtown at Key Center in Cleveland. Entries were received from a variety of daily and non-daily newspapers, radio and television stations, internet sites, and trade and business publications from across Ohio. Competition categories included: daily newspaper, non-daily newspa...

CLEVELAND -- WKYC's sports anchor, Jim Donovan, as well as managing editor, Dick Russ, will be among those formally inducted into the Cleveland Journalism Hall of Fame at a dinner reception this evening in Westlake. Former WKYC investigative reporter, Paul Sciria as well as columnist, Regina Brett, and photographer William Wynne from The Plain Dealer are the other inductees. Jim Donovan came to Northeast Ohio as a weekend sports anchor in 1985 and has gone on to be arguable Cleveland's most prominent voice in sports. Donovan has been the radio play-by-play announcer for the Browns since their return to the NFL in 1999. He has covered the Summer Olympics in 1992 and 1996 and World Cup soccer in 1994. Dick Russ has proven to be one of Northeast Ohio's most versatile broadcasters. He has worked as a reporter, anchor and now managing editor at WKYC-TV 3. Colleagues say Russ' talent with words has always set him apart from his peers. Russ is also a member of the Oh...

Special to the Director's Cut By Kim Wendel CLEVELAND -- The Press Club of Cleveland announced that WKYC-TV's Managing Editor Dick Russ and WKYC-TV Sports Director Jim Donovan, along with former WKYC-TV investigative reporter Paul Sciria, will be the 2009 inductees into the Cleveland Journalism Hall of Fame. The inductions will take place Oct. 28 at LaCenter in Westlake. "It's a remarkable accomplishment and speaks to the tremendous talent pool here at Channel 3 to have three of five inductees in this year's Hall of Fame class," said WKYC News Director Rita Andolsen. "The induction of Dick Russ, Jimmy Donovan and Paul Sciria into the Press Club of Cleveland's Journalism Hall of Fame is a testament to Channel 3's long history of a commitment to excellence in broadcast journalism," said Ed Byers, president of the Press Club. Two-time Pulitzer finalist for commentary Regina Brett of The Plain Dealer and former Plain Dealer photographer William W...

CHARLOTTE, NC -- A WKYC video obituary in memory of Herb Score was awarded top honors by the Society of Professional Obituary Writers at their annual convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. The tribute was produced by Dick Russ and video editor Matt Hein and aired following Score's death on November 11, 2008. It is still being viewed on wkyc.com. (See the player below) Alana Baranick, director of the Society of Professional Obituary Writers said the judges "absolutely loved" the production, which recounted highlights of Herb Scores life and career, and his contributions to the Northeast Ohio community. She said the video was selected from among entries which included the network obituaries of Charlton Heston, Paul Newman, and Sir Edmund Hillary. Finalists in the broadcast category included submisssions from CBS News and the BBC. "Matt and I are honored to have been selected," said Dick Russ, who attended the awards ceremony in Charlotte. "I...