Director's Cut Blog with Frank Macek

By Frank Macek @maceknewsnation As we kick off 2022 and the re-launch of the Director's Cut Blog, I wanted to share with you a few of the new faces you have seen lately on WKYC. Even though the pandemic has disrupted all of our lives, we have been working hard behind the scenes to put together the best team of people to bring you the news, weather and sports you've come to expect from WKYC. With our team in place, all of us at WKYC Studios are now getting ready for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, The Super Bowl and NBA All-Star Weekend in the CLE. It's going to be a February to remember. Let's take a look at some of the new people who have joined WKYC Studios in 2021. Payton Domschke Payton Domschke Payton Domschke joined the 3News weather team in December 2021 as our 5th meteorologist. After spending the last two years on the East Coast with our sister station WVEC - 13News Now, Payton was thrilled to return to her beloved Midwest. She was born and raised in the s...

As you know, several WKYC staffers have left during the past year due to economic reasons and have moved on in their careers. We get emails almost weekly about where these folks have landed and we thought we'd share some of those with you. So, here's our latest list: Abby Ham - WBIR/Knoxville Carole Sullivan - KGTV/San Diego Lydia Esparra - WOIO/Cleveland Obie Shelton - City of Cleveland Clerk of Courts Spokeman Eileen McShea - WEWS/Cleveland Joy Benedict - WEWS/Cleveland John Kosich - WEWS/Cleveland

We'd like to take a moment and say "Thank You" and "Best Wishes" to Channel 3 Weekend Anchor/Reporter Lydia Esparra who leaves us this week. I've had the priviledge of working with Lydia since she joined us from Channel 8 and will miss her great enthusiasm, warm personality and popcorn. Yep, she always had a stash of "ready to pop" popcorn to make in the classic popcorn machine she was given after doing a story about it several years ago and kept in the Channel 3 backroom. We wish you nothing but the best Lydia - and thanks for all the great weekend memories when I was fortunate enough to direct your weekend shows in the past. You can reach out to Lydia on Facebook. Photo courtesy: Carrie Young

Channel 3 reporter/weekend anchor Lydia Esparra stars in our "Get To Know Team 3" feature for this go around. Here's a couple of interesting things you may not have known about Lydia. Q: Where did your career start? Lydia: My career began at a cable company that had news and other types of programming. It was in Davie Florida. I really loved it! One show was called "Swing On a Star." I got to go around South Florida doing all these odd jobs like wrestling alligators and swimming with Dolphins. Q: What other cities have you worked in besides Cleveland? Lydia: Davie, Florida; Fort Lauderdale , Florida; Miami, Florida; Albany, Georgia; Columbus, Georgia; Cleveland, Ohio. Q: What is your favorite part of your job? Lydia: Reporting stories that affect people's lives. I like it when you do a story and it really gets people thinking. It's informing the viewer. And you can never have enough information! I like bringing the viewer to the scene. I wish I had a mi...

How many of these familiar faces can you remember from the Channel 3 News team back in 2006? Here are the correct answers! #1. Bill Safos (reporter)   #2. Lydia Esparra (reporter, anchor)     #3. Brian Colleran (sports reporter, anchor)       #4. Kristin Anderson (reporter, anchor)        #5. Jennifer Murphy (reporter, anchor)        #6. Andy Baskin (sports reporter, anchor)