Director's Cut Blog with Frank Macek

TEGNA Inc., parent of WKYC-TV, today announced the host lineup and fall premiere date for “Daily Blast LIVE” (DBL), a new 30-minute daytime news and entertainment show and multi-platform brand. DBL will debut on Monday, September 11 across 36 TEGNA markets and can be seen LIVE nationally on Facebook and YouTube.  DBL features well-known names from television, fitness, sports and comedy including veterans of notable shows like “Dr. Drew,” “The Biggest Loser,” “Big Brother,” and “Growing Pains.” DBL’s host team will share their expertise, unpredictable opinions and distinctive points of view on the day’s news, daily trending topics and viral, shareable content generating buzz at that very moment. The hosts include: Erica Cobb: a seasoned correspondent and football fanatic who has been heard on radio stations spanning the Chicago, Denver and Sacramento areas, Cobb has also appeared as a football pre-game correspondent for several television stations, including Denver’s TE...

It may be summertime but WKYC believes in ‘seeing the possible’ in Cleveland’s students all year long. And when we can get the whole community involved, it can have a huge impact. This summer, WKYC wants you to join us in our ‘Support Our Students’ campaign, also known as S.O.S., and we are giving you three ways to help local students succeed in school. You can choose the project that most suits you: You can 1) Donate an armload of children’s books; 2) Drop off school supplies; or 3) Mentor a student. Every bit of support makes a difference. RELATED | True2U: A mentor's experience See which project you like best to help students in need from the Cleveland area. BOOKS : Through Aug. 4, WKYC will be collecting new or gently used children’s books right here at our WKYC studios at 1333 Lakeside Avenue in downtown Cleveland. We are asking that the books be suitable for students from kindergarten through eighth grade. You can drop them off any day of the week and place them in our coll...

Special to the Director's Cut Blog by Dave DeNatale, wkyc.com (Photo: Cleveland International Hall of Fame) A pioneer in Cleveland broadcasting, and here at WKYC Channel 3, has passed away. Paul Sciria, WKYC's first full-time news reporter, has died at the age of 88, according to his grandson Nick. Paul was a Clevelander through and through. He grew up in the Kinsman area and attended John Adams High School. He graduated from Ohio State University in 1950 with a BA in political science. After working in public relations for a few years, Paul began his broadcasting career at WTAM radio, followed by a stop at WJW radio before joining WKYC in 1957. During his distinguished career at WKYC, Sciria served as street/investigative reporter and was on-call 24 hours a day. As he told ClevelandSeniors.com , that included getting alerted while watching a movie at Shaker Square in 1960. Big letters came across the screen that read, "Paul Sciria, call your office."...

Channel 3 News at 11 pm was honored tonight as "Best Television Newscast in Ohio in a Major Market" from the Press Club of Cleveland at their annual awards ceremony. The station also received a first place finish for best television news website ( wkyc.com ) and a first place finish for on-going coverage of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July 2016. Congratulations to my WKYC colleagues!

McLEAN, VA – TEGNA Inc. (NYSE: TGNA) (parent company of WKYC-TV) today announced that it has completed the previously announced spin-off of Cars.com, creating two publicly traded companies: TEGNA, an innovative media company with the largest broadcast group among major network affiliates in the top 25 markets; and Cars.com, a leading digital automotive marketplace. TEGNA will continue trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TGNA. Effective today, Cars.com will begin “regular way” trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CARS. New TEGNA president & CEO Dave Lougee Upon the completion of the spin-off, Dave Lougee, president of TEGNA Media, was named president and CEO and joined TEGNA’s Board. Gracia Martore, president and CEO of TEGNA, retired and stepped down from the Board of Directors. “I am incredibly honored and excited to become CEO of this great company,” said Lougee. “Gracia has meant so much to everyone at TEGNA. She has been a mentor a...

Matt Wintz and his family excited to return to Ohio WKYC is adding a new face to its team of "Weather Ready" meteorologists with Matt Wintz being named as new weekend evening meteorologist announced WKYC News Director Brennan Donnellan on Tuesday. Wintz is no stranger to northeast Ohio being born and raised in Jefferson just east of Cleveland in Ashtabula County and developed an interest in weather as early as age 3. "We got cable TV and my parents said I would stare at the radar and watch weather coverage for hours," he tells the Director's Cut Blog. Frequent summer thunderstorms and heavy lake effect snow events helped develop his growing curiosity for NE Ohio weather. During his elementary school years, Matt took his passion to the next level and began writing the weekly forecast on the chalkboard for his teacher and classmates. The weekly forecast then turned into weekly publications by the 7th grade. "I called it 'Today and Tomorrow...

By Frank Macek It's time for another "behind the scenes" look at what's happening inside the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center. It's been far too long since I have written an updated column, as time has been in short supply with several projects happening here at WKYC. You may have noticed a change in "Channel News at 7" as we launched the show as "Donovan Live" on Monday, April 24th. The show will be much lighter than our traditional newscasts and be more personality based focused on the news and social media of the day and hosted by Cleveland TV legend Jim Donovan. Follow the new show on Twitter @3donovanlive and send us your feedback or ideas for the broadcast! Behind the scenes, we have been busy in the studio replacing our main studio cameras with new Ross pedestals and Sony cameras. This was done in preparation to allow our Director's to control all of our cameras through our Sony ELC News Production Automation system. Since the ...

Cleveland's WKYC-TV has received a total of 23 regional Emmy nominations as part of the 48th annual Lower Great Lakes Chapter of the National Academy of Arts & Sciences. Our local NATAS chapter, which also includes the Toledo and Indianapolis TV markets, announced their nominations for the broadcast year of 2016 on Thursday. Among the major award nominations for WKYC this year include for Best Evening Newscast (Market 1-20), Best Morning Newscast (Market 1-20), Best Weekend Newscast (Market 1-20), Team Coverage for the Republican National Convention, News Excellence and the 2016 Cavs Victory Parade. Plus, a number of the station's news talent were nominated for individual awards along with several marketing and promotional awards. The finalists for the regional Emmy Awards will be announced out on Saturday, June 17, during an evening gala at the new Hilton Cleveland Downtown on Lakeside Avenue. See all the 2017 Emmy nominations

CLEVELAND - WKYC is proud to have been named Cleveland Scene's Best Local Newscast. According to Scene, WKYC's lineup of talent, clean graphics and sharp reporting has snagged us the top honors this year. We're also proud to call our Jim Donovan Cleveland Scene's Best Sports Reporter. Scene likes Jimmy's infamous radio calls on Sundays, as well as his energetic personality during the 7 p.m. nightly newscast.  The nominations are part of Scene's annual "Best of Cleveland" awards, which honor Cleveland's greats, from newscasts to pizza and artists. Click  here  to see all the nominations.

Dorsena Drakeford By Frank Macek Multimedia journalist Dorsena Drakeford is joining Channel 3 News beginning in April from KGAN/KFXA-TV in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She is a "skilled and aggressive reporter who currently works the crime and courts beat and is excited to expand her storytelling and to break some big stories around Cleveland," WKYC News Director Brennan Donnellan tells the Director's Cut Blog about the passion put into her work. While working at KGAN/KFXA, she reported on everything from trials that gained national attention to the well-known caucuses in the area. Besides her work as a reporter, she also filled in as news anchor for the morning and the afternoon broadcasts. Drakeford got her start in broadcast as a production assistant in central Texas, but after six months, stepped in front of the camera as the crime and courts reporter for KTXS-TV/Abilene. This gave her the opportunity to learn to shoot and edit stories that not only impacted peopl...

Special to the Director's Cut Blog From wkyc.com Each year TEGNA, WKYC's parent company, hosts an awards ceremony to recognize top employees, campaigns, and unsung heroes. Two of WKYC's own were honored at this year's ceremony in Virginia. We extend a big congratulations to our President and General Manager, Micki Byrnes, who was named Manager of the Year. A live shot from the team at @WKYC as @mickibyrnes was awarded with Manager of the Year! #TEGNAawards pic.twitter.com/Oaz3XqTjEz — TEGNA (@TEGNA) March 8, 2017 She beat out general managers from 46 other stations across the country. We think we're very lucky to have her, too! Congratulations are also in order for our Director of Advocacy and Community Initiatives, Margaret Bernstein, who was honored along with Micki Byrnes with the company's Diversity and Inclusion award. Congratulations to both @Margbern and @MickiByrnes of @WKYC for winning 2017 Individual Diversity Awards #TEGNAawards pic...

Bob Costas, the primetime host of every NBC Olympics since 1992, has passed the torch to Mike Tirico – who will make his debut as NBC’s primetime Olympic host beginning with PyeongChang 2018. The announcement was made today – exactly one year before the PyeongChang Opening Ceremony on Feb. 9, 2018 – by Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBC Broadcasting and Sports, and Jim Bell, President, NBC Olympics Production and Programming. “For a quarter-century, Bob expertly piloted NBC’s primetime coverage of the Olympics,” Lazarus said. “It is with a tremendous amount of pride that I can simultaneously express our appreciation for Bob’s stellar, record-setting run, while also feeling very lucky that we have someone as talented as Mike to take over as our new primetime host.” “It has been both a privilege and an incredible personal and professional experience to have been part of NBC’s Olympic coverage all these years,” said Costas, who has the longest tenure of NBC’s sports announcers (37 years). “I’m...

NBC News will celebrate the 50th anniversary of veteran anchor and special correspondent Tom Brokaw with “Tom Brokaw at NBC News: The First 50 Years,” a prime time special on Sunday, January 29 at 9 p.m. The two-hour special features his most memorable highlights and famous interviews from the start of his career reporting on Ronald Reagan’s first run for office to his most recent coverage of the 2016 presidential election, as well as never-before-seen moments from Brokaw’s tenure at NBC News and new conversations with special guests.  Brokaw and his guests will share insights and discuss topics from the last half century including race relations, politics, the women’s movement, technology, and global affairs. Brokaw’s in-depth conversations with A-list leaders of business, politics and culture include guests Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Tom Hanks, Jon Stewart, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Colin Powell, David Letterman, Sheryl Sandberg, Lester Holt, Maria Shriver, Lorne Michaels, Nikki...

TEGNA Inc. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) announced today they will premiere BOLD, a live, interactive, multi-platform topical entertainment program, in the fall of 2017. BOLD will be the industry’s first live multi-daypart syndicated show, spotlighting the day’s essential stories, information and trending social media content in real-time across multiple screens. BOLD (Broadcast Online Live Daily) will be produced unique to each time zone. Each live 30-minute episode will be distinct and able to capture the stories people are talking about at that exact moment. BOLD will connect with viewers in a dynamic and immersive 360 degree viewing experience, enabling viewers to interact live with the show’s hosts, share their reaction and opinions on stories, vote on BOLD content and polls and submit videos and stories that could appear on the show. “Daytime TV has become predictable and similar. BOLD will be different. The show will reflect how viewers are consuming content across multiple pl...

By Frank Macek It's time for another "behind the scenes" look at what's happening inside the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center. Hope you all had a great holiday season with family and friends. Hard to believe we are already into January 2017! Your blogger is really looking forward to seeing what this year brings both for the city of Cleveland and our country. I think it would be really hard to top 2016 in terms of excitement, but we can hope it's a fun year in local television. I have just a couple of notes for this month's edition of "News and Notes." For those of you counting, this month marks our 16th year at the Channel 3 Studios at the corner of E. 13th and Lakeside Avenue, or has it is now called "Tom Beres Way" in honor of WKYC Senior Political Reporter Tom Beres who retired last month after 37 years with the station. If you remember, WKYC debuted our new set on the Monday following the Superbowl in January 2001. Over the yea...

WKYC is kicking off the new year with a brand new show called "We The People" that debuts this Friday, January 6th at Noon. "We The People" is different than other community affairs type shows explains Executive Producer Margaret Bernstein. "We’ll be interviewing the 'do-ers,' people doing interesting things in our community, and we’ll explain to viewers how to get involved and take part in the projects we spotlight." Channel 3 News Today personality Tiffany Tarplay will host the show that will include a community calendar to let viewers know about events going on in Northeast Ohio and we’ll also have a “Volunteer Opportunity of the Week” to encourage people to get out and get involved. This week, the show will feature the new literacy initiative, Slavic Village Reads, that WKYC is kicking off this week with Third Federal. You can stay connected with the "We The People" page on Facebook to share your thoughts on the program and ...

Danielle Serino Journalist Danielle Serino is joining the Channel 3 News team as a consumer investigative reporter and multi-skilled journalist. WKYC News Director Brennan Donnellan tells the Director's Cut Blog that Danielle will lead the station's Verify segments where "we look for transparency in how we follow a story and fact-checking, especially important in this era of fake news and social media." Serino is an Emmy Award Winning Anchor and Investigative Reporter who has worked in major news markets including Miami, Chicago and New York, where she was filling-in as an Anchor for Early Today on NBC. Most recently she worked at WOIO in Cleveland as the afternoon Anchor and Investigative Consumer Reporter. Danielle began her Television career as a Field Producer for a show called "Real Stories of the Highway Patrol" where she followed the Vice Squad in Newark, New Jersey answering 911 calls. After that, she went a more traditional route ...

By Kristin M. Hall Associated Press Country music icon Dolly Parton's home and businesses in East Tennessee were spared from deadly wildfires last month, but she's pitching in to help her neighbors recover from the devastation. She was to headline a telethon Tuesday from Nashville, featuring performances from Reba McEntire, Kenny Rogers, Hank Williams Jr., Chris Stapleton, Cyndi Lauper and more. It was scheduled for broadcast on Great American Country at 8 p.m. Eastern. Parton is giving $1,000 to every family that has lost their primary residence through the Dollywood Foundation My People Fund. Parton said Tuesday the wildfire victims may not be kin, but they "feel like my people." This Christmas, she'll return home to Sevier County to see the damage from the fires that spread to more than 2,500 structures and killed 14 people. Watch tonight's telethon on Channel 3 subchannel 3.3 beginnng at 8 p.m. EST. __ For more information, visit dol...

Special to the Director's Cut Blog wkyc.com He didn't see it coming. Tom Beres thought he was covering Monday evening's Cleveland City Council meeting as he's done countless other times. On this night, the council turned the tables on Tom, who is set to retire at the end of the month. Beres received a standing ovation by the council for 44 years of reporting, 37 of them at WKYC Channel 3. But the best was yet to come. Mayor Frank Jackson and council members announced that the section of Lakeside Avenue outside of the WKYC Channel 3 studios will be known as, "Tom Beres Way." "This is pretty awkward all the way around," a still-shocked Beres told Dawn Kendrick. "But thank you to all of our viewers for putting up with me all of these years." Tom's wife Susan had the line of the night: Because Tom loses keys, cellphones, etc regularly, the street should be named "Tom Beres Lost His Way." Beres' final day ...

Saturday Night Live is getting ready to ring in the holiday season. Emma Stone returns for her third time as host on Saturday, Dec. 3 with Shawn Mendes as musical guest. Stone can next be seen in the film, “La La Land.” Mendes’ latest album, “Illuminate,” debuted atop the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. WWE superstar John Cena will make his “SNL” debut as host on Dec. 10 with musical guest Maren Morris. Cena has appeared in numerous films and TV shows, including the comedies “Trainwreck” and “Sisters.” Morris’ major label debut album, “Hero,” debuted on two Billboard charts and her debut single, "My Church,” went platinum. On Dec. 17, Casey Affleck will make his “SNL” debut. Affleck currently stars in the drama “Manchester By the Sea” recently winning Best Actor Awards from the Gotham Awards, New York Film Critics Circle and National Board Of Review. Chance The Rapper will return for his second time as musical guest. His latest album, “Coloring Book,” was released to critic...

Our congratulations to WKYC Vice President and General Manager Micki Byrnes who was named "General Manager of the Year Markets 1-25" for 2016. The honor was announced recently by Broadcasting and Cable Magazine who will feature her and other honorees in the December 19th edition of the television trade magazine. Byrnes joined Gannett Broadcasting (now TEGNA Media) in October of 1997 as Director of Marketing and Promotion for WKYC. She was named Vice President, Advertising and Promotion in 2000, responsible for the branding, graphics, media creation and placement, community engagement and sales promotion efforts of Channel 3. In March of 2014, she was named VP and Station Manager, overseeing the daily operations of the station before becoming VP and General Manager in December 2014. Prior to joining the company, Byrnes worked as Corporate Marketing Director for First Media based in Orlando, FL and has had promotion management positions in San Francisco, Atlanta and ...

Due to weather related issues that caused the WKYC-TV transmitter to go off the air Wednesday night, WKYC has announced the re-airing times for two popular Christmas shows that weren't available to many viewers. Christmas in Rockefeller Center will air from 1:30 am until 2:30 am this Sunday morning, December 4th. Dolly Parton's "Christmas of Many Colors" will air from 2:30 am until 4:30 am this Sunday morning, December 4th. If you don't have a DVR, you can watch Dolly Parton's movie online by clicking here or opening the NBC app. Unfortunately it doesn't look like NBC is going to make Christmas in Rockefeller Center available online. NBC is going to re-air Dolly's movie again on Friday, December 23rd from 9 p.m. until 11 p.m. WKYC will need to take its transmitter off-line for additional repairs Thursday morning, December 1st, at 2 a.m. for a short period of time. However, WKYC will be back up and ready to go in time for Channel 3 News ...

Al Roker, the weather anchor for NBC’s “Today,” and Hoda Kotb, co-host of “Today’s” fourth hour, will welcome 2017 co-hosting NBC’s live, high-definition coverage of the “128th Rose Parade” from Pasadena, California, on Monday, January 2 (11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. ET) This year marks the milestone 90-year anniversary of NBC broadcasting the parade, beginning on radio in 1927 and then televising the popular annual event beginning in 1954. This will be Roker’s twentieth year as host and the fourth year for Kotb. The event will be held on January 2 this year due to the parade’s ‘Never on a Sunday’ rule. “Echoes of Success” is the theme of the 2017 Rose Parade, the most popular New Year’s celebration in the world. Three Olympic legends are honored as this year’s Grand Marshals – six-time Olympic gold medalist and track and field star Allyson Felix, five-time Olympic medalist and long distance swimmer Janet Evans and five-time Olympic medalist and diver Greg Louganis. The fun kicks of...

By Frank Macek It's time for another "behind the scenes" look at what's happening inside the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center celebrating our 15th year at 13th and Lakeside. The holidays are almost upon us and so is our first snowfall of the season. What a year it has been for local television! We have seen the Cavs win the NBA Finals, the Republican National Convention come to Cleveland, the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, the Indians get to the World Series and a bizarre presidential election whose outcome not everyone expected. It's doubtful 2017 will be as eventful for Cleveland, but we can hope for a prosperous and joyful new year - and maybe another world championship. WKYC had two very successful events in October including our 4th annual WKYC Health and Wellness Expo at the Huntington Bank Convention Center. Thousands turned out to get free information and health screenings, got a turn in "The Voice" chair and met many of our on-air and off-ai...

WKYC Senior Political Reporter Tom Beres WKYC Political Reporter Tom Beres is taking off his microphone. After 37 plus years of covering Northeast Ohio, the last 18 years as the station’s Senior Political Correspondent, Beres is retiring after an historic year covering a challenging and non-traditional election season.  Tom says “It’s been a privilege to have had such a long career at Channel 3, telling the stories of people, political players, issues and events here in my home town. After reporting on this phenomenal year for the city of Cleveland as well as this incredible election, it seemed a logical time for my walkoff. I’m grateful to all the viewers who’ve watched our broadcasts and online coverage, and hope they found it worthwhile”. During his tenure at WKYC, Tom covered political issues big and small. For the past eleven years he also hosted a weekly political show – Between the Lines – that aired Sunday mornings prior to Meet the Press. Throughout his car...

Amani Abraham WKYC-TV has announced the addition of Amani Abraham as the station's newest Multi-Skilled Journalist (MSJ), according to Channel 3 News Director Brennan Donnellan. She will be working from our new Akron/Canton Mobile Newsroom along with WKYC Videojournalist Carl Bachtel to bring viewers stories that matter to them from our southern counties of Medina, Portage, Summit, Stark and beyond. Donnellan tells the Director's Cut Blog, "Some of you may know Amani from her work at WAKR radio. For the past five years she has been covering the Akron market. In that time Amani has become known as a very strong reporter who also shoots and edits video." After joining Rubber City Radio in 2011, she was named a "Woman To Watch" by the Women's History Project in Akron. Her first assignment was with WAKR-AM/1590 and has spent the last three years as the morning news anchor and content contributor at sister station, American Country Music Awar...

WKYC, a TEGNA Media station, will partner with several Northeast Ohio charitable organizations on Make A Difference Day, one of the largest annual single-days of service nationwide. This year, Make A Difference Day will take place on Saturday, October 22. Make A Difference Day unites volunteers from across the country with a common mission: to improve the lives of others through a wide range of community-driven service projects. Employees from WKYC and their families will make a difference by volunteering at five local nonprofits, all of which were hand-picked by station employees themselves. At Ronald McDonald House, WKYC staffers including anchor Sara Shookman will prepare boxed lunches and bake treats for residents, and assemble “boredom bags” for children. Other projects include sorting and shelving merchandise at Kids in Need Resource Center, gardening and raking at Fieldstone Farm therapeutic riding center, and doing outdoor clean-up at American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge....

By Frank Macek It's time for another "behind the scenes" look at what's happening inside the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center celebrating our 15th year at 13th and Lakeside. The first day of Fall is this week here in northeast Ohio and with the change of seasons brings a new weekday program to the Channel 3 airwaves. Our parent company TEGNA Media, has successfully launched the T.D. Jakes Show  with a positive, uplifting voice, at a time when we believe so many Americans are starved for meaningful stories that celebrate unity, tolerance and hope over cynicism. The show is the first program TEGNA has launched as a syndicated program without traditional syndication partners and is a wholly owned production of the company. Catch the  T.D. Jakes Show  weekdays at 3 pm on Channel 3 and let us know what you think using the #tdjakesshow. The 4th annual WKYC Health and Wellness Expo is set for Saturday, October 8th, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the Huntington ...

Special to the Director's Cut Blog By Mac Mahaffee Calling all Northeast Ohio singers, dancers, magicians, comedians and talents of all ages! The search is underway for new acts to compete on America's Got Talent, NBC's summer smash reality show. And for the first time ever, auditions for the hit NBC reality show will be held in Cleveland! That's right. On December 10, producers for the summer smash will be at the Huntington Convention Center in downtown Cleveland! It’s a great fantastic opportunity to meet the producers of the show and let them see your talent in action. Even if you have never auditioned for anything in your life, it will be a fun way to spend the day and have some stories to tell your friends. You can sign up in advance to audition by clicking here  and then selecting Cleveland. Can't make it to the auditions? You can always audition online at agtauditions.com .