Director's Cut Blog with Frank Macek

Special to the Director's Cut Blog By Jennifer Lindgren, WKYC Reporter PEPPER PIKE -- A 2000 graduate of Orange High School is the newest cast member on the long-running live comedy show. Vanessa Bayer, 28, is one of three new featured players to join the cast of the long-running comedy sketch show when it debuts on NBC Sept, 25. Bayer, a Moreland Hills native, graduated in 2000 from Orange High School. In her four years at Orange, Bayer was elected to homecoming court, ran cross country, and was voted by her peers 'Most Likely to Succeed.' Those who knew Bayer say no one would have guessed she'd choose stand-up comedy as a career. "Everyone was really surprised!" said Gail Price, a history teacher at OHS. Yet even a decade later, her teachers and coaches recall Bayer's smart sense of humor. "The one thing she had a talent for, she could imitate people. We would ask her to imitate other teachers and, oh my gosh, was it funny. She could ...

Just a quick note to say we are still here at the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center. The station is in the middle of one of the biggest upgrades since we moved into the building back in January 2001. Most of my attention has been focused on training with the new systems and getting up to speed on our new control room equipment that will make our video look much better in the near future. We'll return to our regular blogging in early October after our transition is complete, at which time, I will be sharing the cool new toys we have. As always, thanks for being a loyal "Director's Cut" reader. Hope you are finding NBC's new fall prime-time schedule a little better this year.

NEW YORK -- Veteran NBC newsman Edwin Newman has died. He was 91. His lawyer says Newman died of pneumonia Aug. 13 in Oxford, England. He'd moved there with his wife in 2007 to live closer to their daughter. The family delayed announcing Newman's death so they could spend some time privately grieving. While at NBC from 1952 until 1984, Newman did political reporting, foreign reporting and anchoring. With his rumpled, squinting delivery, Newman impressed his audience not so much with how he looked as with the likelihood that what he'd say would be worth hearing. He turned to writing books in the 1970s, writing a pair of best-sellers on the use and misuse of the English language. Former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw described Newman as "always a gentleman and a reassuring presence in our midst." Current NBC anchor Brian Williams says: "To those of us watching at home, he made us feel like we had a very smart, classy friend in the broadcast news business....

Congratulations to several of our WKYC colleagues who are being recognized for their outstanding work here at the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center. Channel 3 News Reporter Dave Summers has been named the Society of Professional Journalist (SPJ) "Best Reporter in Ohio" for 2010. The honor is based on a compilation of Dave's work called “A Year of Change." This is the 14th year the SPJ has announced their annual awards which include Ohio's print, broadcast, online, trade and college journalism programs. Also, Cleveland Magazine has tallied the results of their annual "Best of Cleveland" magazine reader's poll and Channel 3 once again sweeps up in several categories. The "Best Morning Show Anchor Team" winners are Channel 3's Mark Nolan and Hollie Strano who are seen weekdays from 5 - 7 a.m. Mark Nolan was also named "Best Male Anchor," while Jim Donovan wins for "Best Sportcaster" and our very own Romona Robinson ...

Channel 3 will once again connect to the community with our annual participation in the Susan G. Komen "Race for the Cure." WKYC-TV will have a special half-hour edition of Channel 3 News at 7 on Friday to bring you all the information you need to know. And don't forget, this Saturday's Cleveland "Race for the Cure" is at a new location. It will begin and end at the Cleveland State campus's Wolstein Center. Step off is at 9:15 a.m., with WKYC-TV coverage starting at 9 a.m. Here's all the information about the new course, inside the center and parking. More Race for the Cure coverage The race begins at the Wolstein Center on Prospect Avenue, goes west on Prospect to Superior Avenue, then to W. Huron Road and along Ontario Street, then onto Carnegie Avenue, then back onto Prospect by the Wolstein Center. Susan G. Komen for the Cure Northeast Ohio For those using GPS locators, the Wolstein Center is at 2000 Prospect Avenue E. in Cleveland. S...

By Frank Macek Time for another behind the scenes look at what's happening at the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center. We find it hard to believe fall is just around the corner, Browns preseason is already over and a disappointing Indians season is rapidly coming to a close. But, we have plenty of exciting news to share with you this month regarding some changes, improvements and upgrades being made both on-air and behind the scenes at WKYC. Before we get to that, congratulations to my WKYC colleagues Director Allen Wohl and Sports Producer Jeff Yakawiak for some great preseaon Browns coverage on Chanel 3. The station did local production on all four of the preseason games which took our staff and crew months to plan and coordinate. All that effort paid off with network quality games you have come to expect from Channel 3. Also, it was nice to have Jim Donovan and Bernie Kosar back in the broadcast booth again this year providing unique and colorful insight in...

NBC has picked up a sixth season of its hit summer series "America's Got Talent" from FremantleMedia and Simon Cowell's SYCO Television. Celebrity Judges Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel will return to the hit series along with host Nick Cannon. The announcement was made Tuesday by Paul Telegdy, Executive Vice President, Alternative Programming and Production, NBC and Universal Media Studios. "'AGT' continues to be a ratings sensation and has hit it out of the ballpark creatively this season," said Telegdy. "We have a dream team of celebrity judges -- Sharon Osbourne, Howie Mandel and Piers Morgan -- and coupled with our versatile host Nick Cannon, we're looking forward to an even bigger summer next year." This is the fifth consecutive year that "AGT" has ranked as the #1 summer series in total viewers. Season-to-date, the show has averaged a 3.4 rating, 10 share in adults 18-49 and 11.8 million viewers ove...

By Frank Macek This weekend marks the 15th anniversary of the opening of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in downtown Cleveland. As we mentioned in an earlier posting, WKYC will present a special one hour show this Friday Night, September 3rd, called "Cleveland Rocks" from 7 to 8 p.m. Your blogger remembers that day when I was just beginning at WKYC as a studio technician before becoming a director and was part of the crewing assigned to be on the remote broadcast. We broadcast all of our news broadcasts that day from a platform just across the street from the Rock Hall. The station rented one of those familiar large production trucks to cover the event. Your blogger was assigned to do audio for the noon show. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the behind the scenes pictures I found in the "Director's Cut Blog" archives from the opening of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Hard to believe it has been 15 years already. My colleag...

It's back: The Predictors! The Big Game! The Best local high school sports coverage anywhere on Cleveland TV. It's the " HighSchoolSports.net Friday Night Fever" starting tomorrow night, August 27th at 11 pm. The Channel 3 Sports team lead by Jim Donovan, Dave Chudowsky and Lynn Olszowy are all set to cover the big games that matter. We'll kick off our coverage with "The Predictors" during Channel 3 News at 6 PM with Dave Chudowsky and the Sun Newspapers' Mike Holzheimer, Brian Larrick, John Blake and Cody Peek. Plus, Channel 3 News Anchor Romona Robinson will weigh in on her choices too. Then at 11:15 pm, we'll bring you the fastest wrap up in 8 minutes of more than a dozen games live from Studio B at the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center. And each week, you get to choose the "Big Game of the Week". Just log on to wkyc.com and vote. We'll feature the biggest vote getter in the show each week. Catch the Fever - the HighSch...

For the first time in the history of the Primetime Emmy® Awards, NBC.com and Emmys.com are partnering with Ustream.com to give viewers a live unique perspective of "The 62nd Primetime Emmy® Awards," hosted by Jimmy Fallon, airing live coast-to-coast on NBC this Sunday, August 29th, from 8 to 11 p.m. on WKYC Channel 3. Seven cameras positioned in various areas backstage at the Emmys® will "eavesdrop" and capture exciting moments and candid reactions from television's biggest stars. Viewers will be able to see nominees, presenters and performers prepare to take the stage on the most anticipated night in television. Another unprecedented Emmy® first is the live "thank you" camera, where Emmy ® Award winners will be able to express their emotions and continue their speeches once they walk off the stage. David Neal will produce the "Backstage Live @ the Emmys" show which will stream on Emmys.com , the official website for the Academy of Tel...

Channel 3 News and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame present a one-hour special on why Cleveland is the rock and roll capitol of the world. Hear from local artists like The O'Jays, The Raspberries, The James Gang The Outsiders, Pere Ubu, Devo, Michael Stanley, Kate Voegel and more. Plus legendary DJ's, famed club owners and other influential Ohioans who've helped put all of Northeast Ohio in the rock and roll spotlight.

McLEAN, Virginia – Gannett Co., Inc. (parent of WKYC-Tv) announced Wednesday HighSchoolSports.net is launching hyper-local, co-branded high school sports microsites across its network of more than 100 local media web sites, plus national high school sports pages on USATODAY.com. HighSchoolSports.net is a subsidiary of Gannett and part of the Gannett Digital Network. Leveraging the depth and breadth of Gannett’s sports content for consumers and advertisers, the HighSchoolSports.net microsites are expected to collectively reach approximately 9.4 million unique monthly visitors. Consumers continue to access Gannett’s trusted local high school sports coverage through local Gannett-owned media web sites, with each site’s microsite enhanced with HighSchoolSports.net content. " HighSchoolSports.net is a strong brand in the high-school athlete community. We are combining the news gathering assets of our newspapers and television stations with the technology and school relatio...

Hey Moms! It's back to school time and Channel 3 presents another "Moms Like Me" special on August 23rd at 5 p.m. hosted by evening news anchor Romona Robinson. We've got everything covered as your kids get ready for a new school year. From learning the core curriculum to resources for special needs kids starting kindergarten. Plus, we've got hot deals on hip clothes and information on how to pack a healthier lunch with Veggie U. Check our website Momslikeme.com anytime for printable checklists, coupons, and bargains. Then, watch our back to school special on August 23rd at 5 pm on Channel 3.

By Frank Macek We all hope the economy has turned the proverbial corner and local advertising dollars will continue to flow through the doors into the 2nd half of 2010 and into next year. Watching mobile television on your portable device Recent 2nd quarter results have been very encouraging for many of the major broadcast groups including Gannett, Disney and Fisher who have recently reported significant gains over 2009. The trend will continue upward as we head into midterm elections with plenty of political advertising flowing to local media sources including WKYC which finds itself in the heart of battleground states during any election. But the concern for local stations is always: "What happens after November 3rd?" Local television has become too reliant on these cycles of big events to ride the highs and lows of advertising income. For NBC stations, like WKYC, the worries are especially deep when there are no Olympics, no elections ...

Mary Hart on 2/8/2001 NEW YORK -- Longtime "Entertainment Tonight" host Mary Hart is leaving the show after her upcoming 30th season. Hart said Thursday that it's time for a change, but she'll be leaving with mixed sentiments. It's not clear when her last day will be, but a television season traditionally ends in May. The former English teacher from Sioux Falls, S.D., joined "Entertainment Tonight" in 1982, working most prominently with John Tesh. She's kept the job as the entertainment news industry grew around her. "ET" is the original entertainment newsmagazine and still leads in the ratings. No replacement has been named. One potential candidate is Lara Spencer, who anchors "ET's" sister broadcast, "The Insider." "Entertainment Tonight" airs weeknights at 7:30 p.m. on WKYC-DT. --- Source: The Associated Press

WKYC's Current Station Logo The Director's Cut Blog often gets emails from readers wanting to know more about the history of WKYC from its sign on as WNBK/Channel 4 in 1948 to our current location on Digital Channel 17. We have put together a cool little download as an Adobe .pdf file called the "History of WKYC-TV from 1948 to 2010" It's a timeline of some of the important dates in the station's history that we hope to add upon in the upcoming months and years as we do some more research to fill in the gaps between dates. It was interesting to see how much has happened since your blogger started at WKYC in June 1994 and how the station is very different (and safer) than it was over at E. 6th Street in our old home. We'd like to thank Tim Lone's  Cleveland Classic Media Blog  and Cleveland Seniors for a couple of the photos included. To download a copy to save and print, just click on the photo below:

You don't see many of the people who work behind the scenes here at the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center, but there are certainly some who deserve to be recognized for their hard work and never ending contributions. One of those is our WKYC Sports Producer Jeff "Yak" Yakawiak who keeps abreast of everything the Cavs, Indians, Browns and all the other sports teams do in town. Come along as we surprise him in the newsroom Thursday afternoon with some ice cream cake as well celebrate "Yak's" birthday.

As part of transition to multiple platforms, WKYC has several staff members who are doing a little bloggin' of their own. Here is another new blog to check out as you surf around the media universe. Tom Beres on Politics - WKYC Senior Political Correspondent Tom Beres provides unique insight into the important issues and decisions to be made during the 2010 midterm elections around northeast Ohio. For a complete list of blogs from the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center: CLICK HERE Join us on WKYC on Facebook as well: www.facebook.com/WKYC.Channel3

The Director's Cut Blog has gotten a "behind the scenes" peek of a new show we are working on that will air soon.. It's called "Flash Mob." Click on the video to find out who's putting it together and why it may soon be sweeping the country.

By Frank Macek Time for another behind the scenes look at what's happening at the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center. Three years ago today (August 2, 2007), a freak summer storm left Channel 3 an island in downtown Cleveland as heavy rains flooded not only the parking garage, but several roadways around the station. 4.45 inches of rain fell in one hour. It was quite a day to see former General Sales Manager Tom Humpage with his suit pant legs rolled up and mopping water out of the garage along with many others. To see pictures and read the original story: CLICK HERE Congratulations to our WKYC blogging colleauge Eric Mansfield for his strong showing in the Akron Life And Leisure Magazine's "Best Blog" contest. Eric's blog  "Have I Got News For You." earned him runner up status. Eric jokingly says he got beat out by one called "Rubber City Bullsheet." With a blog name like that, the blog just had to win. Browns Preseason Football is just ar...

NEW YORK -- Mitch Miller, the goateed orchestra leader who asked Americans to "Sing Along With Mitch" on television and records, has died at age 99. His daughter, Margaret Miller Reuther, said Monday that Miller died Saturday in Lenox Hill Hospital after a short illness. Miller was a key record executive at Columbia Records in the pre-rock 'n' roll era, making hits with singers Rosemary Clooney, Patti Page, Johnny Mathis and Tony Bennett. "Sing Along With Mitch" started as a series of records, then became a popular NBC show starting in early 1961. Miller's stiff-armed conducting style and signature goatee became famous. As a producer and arranger, Miller had misses along with his hits, famously striking out on projects with Frank Sinatra and a young Aretha Franklin. The TV show ranked in the top 20 for the 1961-62 season, and soon children everywhere were parodying Miller's stiff-armed conducting. An all-male chorus sang old standards, join...

Terrence Howard BEVERLY HILLS, California -- Terrence Howard is joining the cast of NBC's newest "Law & Order" spinoff.  Howard was born in Cleveland. Howard will play a deputy district attorney in "Law & Order: Los Angeles," rotating with Alfred Molina, who was previously announced as a prosecutor on the drama. Series creator Dick Wolf said Friday the combination of Howard and Molina makes him feel like the manager of the 1961 Yankees. Wolf said he now had his "Mantle and Maris," referring to sluggers Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. Also joining the cast of "LOLA," as the "Law & Order" spinoff is nicknamed, is Corey Stoll. He's in the movie "Salt" and guest-starred in the original "Law & Order." "Law & Order: Los Angeles" debuts September 29th on WKYC, Channel 3. --- Source: The Associated Press

BEVERLY HILLS, California -- NBC says "30 Rock" is going live this fall. The network said Friday a live episode of the comedy will air Oct. 14 and will be performed twice so that both East and West Coast viewers get to see it that way. NBC executives told the Television Critics Association that "30 Rock" executive producers Tina Fey and Loren Michaels were approached about a live episode and were up for the challenge. Fey, the show's star and creator, is familiar with live TV from her "Saturday Night Live" days. Michaels created and produces the show. NBC has aired other live episodes, but this will be the first for the Emmy-winning "30 Rock," which is produced in New York. --- Source: The Associated Press

Jennifer Lindgren Jennifer Lindgren is joining the Channel 3 News team announced WKYC News Director Rita Andolsen on Tuesdsay. Rita tells us Jennifer will be working as a Multimedia Journalist with Channel 3 and has plenty of experience already. Multimedia Journalists are the growing trend in television broadcasting where a reporter shoots, writes and edits their own work across a growing number of on-line and on-air platforms "I’m one of a growing group of reporters who actually loves to shoot and edit my own stories," she tells the Director's Cut Blog exclusively. "It’s been a regular part of my job for five years now. I enjoy the challenge of photography!" Jennifer joins Amanda Barren who was recently hired by Channel 3 News as a Multimedia Journalist in June. She comes to WKYC from our Gannett sister station duopoly in Jacksonville, WLTV/Channel 12 & WJXX/Channel 25 - better known as First Coast News, where she has been a report...

Special to the Director's Cut Blog By Lynn Elber, AP Television Writer LOS ANGELES -- NBC might wish Steve Carell was just joking, but a network executive says "The Office" star has consistently told NBC he's leaving after this season. In the network's first acknowledgment of Carell's plans, NBC prime-time entertainment president Angela Bromstad said the actor's seven-year run as boss Michael Scott will end when his contract expires in 2011. Bromstad says it's not unusual for a "major movie star" to leave a series, and added that "The Office" is strong enough to weather the change. Carell first mentioned the possibility of leaving the sitcom in an April radio interview. Bromstad said the door was open for Carell's occasional return appearances as Michael. His new film is this week's "Dinner for Schmucks." --- Source: The Associated Press

Special to the Director's Cut Blog By Olivia Barker, USA Today NEW YORK - Amid the whir of hair dryers huddle a half-dozen women chatting about Lindsay Lohan and Jersey Shore. Cases of makeup litter a counter, behind which sits Kathie Lee Gifford, wearing a Flashdance-friendly gray tunic and a crown of rollers, and Hoda Kotb, clad in black and fuchsia workout gear and expertly applied mascara. No matter that it's 8:35 a.m. on a Wednesday. "It's Winesday," Gifford reminds the ladies. One, a Today show producer, produces a tiny foam flip-flop that hugs the foot of a wine glass and lets an imbiber know whose stem is theirs amid a glut of goblets. Gifford studies the spongy pink-and-purple Chardonnay cozy, considering whether she and Kotb should discuss it during their on-air chat. "How truly elegant," she deadpans. "I never put mine down - that's the thing." Kotb's assessment is slightly more generous: "Oh, that is cute." ...

"The Investigator" Tom Meyer reports on allegations that the board responsible for disciplining mistake-prone veterinarians looks the other way when animal owners complain about the care their pets receive.

By Frank Macek As we mentioned several weeks ago here on the blog, WKYC had just lowered the old Channel 3 analog antenna and was in the process of rigging up the old Channel 3 tower to bring it to the ground. The old tower was no longer needed after we put up a new stick last year to faciliate our switch from digital Channel 2 to digital channel 17. This change was necessary because of the difficult time viewers had in receiving our over the air signal at the lower channel assignment. Many of you also know that WVIZ's digital antenna is now on our new tower, just above WKYC's antenna at the top. WKYC Transmitter Engineer Dave Kushman tells us the old tower is finally down and passersby will notice only a single stick up in the air at our Parma site. This officially ends a long era in our television station's history and the history of the old WKYC/KYW radio at 1100 AM which was also part of the same tower when the stations were under the ...

NBC has announced the premiere dates of its new Fall 2010-11 primetime schedule. Beginning the week of September 20, the premiere week schedule features the debuts of the network's highly anticipated new series - including "The Event," "Chase," "Undercovers," "Law & Order: Los Angeles," "Outsourced," "Outlaw" and "School Pride." This schedule will be adjusted to accommodate specials and holiday programming. In addition, NBC again launches the NFL season with NFL Kickoff on Thursday, September 9 at 8 p.m. ET when the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints host the Minnesota Vikings in a rematch of last year's NFC Championship Game. "Sunday Night Football" and "Football Night in America" officially debut on Sunday, September 12 when the Washington Redskins host the Dallas Cowboys in one of sports' most storied rivalries. Following are the premiere dates for NBC's ...

Gannett (parent of WKYC) and Yahoo! today announced a local advertising partnership that brings together Gannett’s strong local media organization brands, sales capabilities, and leading website audiences with Yahoo!’s high quality audience and display advertising leadership. All of Gannett’s 81 local publishing organizations and seven of its Broadcasting Division sites will sell Yahoo! advertising inventory as part of Gannett’s local advertising solutions. As a result, local advertisers will benefit from expanded digital reach and audience targeting capabilities based on geography, user demographics, interests, and more against that expanded audience. In addition, Gannett will be leveraging the targeting and ad ordering capabilities of the APT from Yahoo! platform for local sales. This partnership will extend Gannett’s local media organization reach to cover as much as 80% of the total digital audience in each market. “This partnership builds on the strength of Gannett’s growin...