Telling Thursday's Story

Pro Photographers Needed

Images of the horrifying and disturbing scene of last Thursday’s apparent suicide by airplane into a building in North Austin reaffirms why we need a full staff of professionals and especially professional photographers in newsrooms. For hours on end, television news photographers documented the scene. The pictures were page one above the fold in the Austin American-Statesman three days in a row.

Yes, reporters could have shot some pictures. They probably did, but reporters have another job. Yes, the first pictures on television or the Internet may have been from folks with flip-cameras or cell phones—passersby. Those pictures are of marginal quality, but for first pictures, they’re OK. After a while, they began to all look the same, however.

One local TV station tried to show what was happening using broadband early on, but about all you could see was the dashboard of the news unit. Another local TV station stayed on sorry-looking broadband images far too long late Thursday morning. Perhaps they were just showing off. Perhaps they didn’t have a live shot set up. Whatever. Broadband live shots are great if they are the first live images from a scene before the professional photographers and live truck operators show up, but they cheat the audience after the fact.

Another scary detail reported in a newspaper story regarding the use of so-called social media in news quoted a KTBC-TV (Fox) assignment editor saying that he heard emergency radio scanner traffic regarding the incident and passed it along on Twitter. That is doubly dangerous. Emergency communications picked on a scanner are nothing more that the first indication, not verification, that something happened. Scanner traffic should never be reported as fact, even on Twitter. It’s totally unprofessional.

During a fluid “spot news” story, there is no substitute for a professional.

At the scene, there is no substitute for pro photogs. Ralph Barrera, Jay Janner, Rodolfo Gonzalez, and colleagues at the Austin American-Statesman shot hundreds of frames. They are in a “slide show” on the American-Statesman’s web site, www.statesman.com. Their wide angle photos of the scene were on the front page day after day.

Thursday was Thomas Costley’s birthday. Costley is a photographer and live truck/satellite truck operator for KXAN-TV (NBC). Costley was on the job, working his tail off all day. I’m betting that Thomas would have been fishing otherwise. Costley, however, is a pro.

Another multifaceted pro, mentioned here before, is KEYE-TV’s (CBS) chief photographer John Salazar. Once again, Salazar, gathering in all of the information and images in his mind, several times delivered the most complete, concise, and cogent descriptions of the events ON CAMERA. No telling what he was doing with his camera when he wasn’t live. Salazar’s live reports were better than any reporter. Once, the station pitched to him just as a news conference was beginning. KEYE did not have a live camera at that location, but, Salazar pushed his cell phone into the news conference as the TV station used other images. His day was long as well.

Sometimes, you are in the right place at the right time. Sometimes, you are not. KXAN was out of position for at least two news conferences. Probably, it was through no fault of their own. TV stations set up their live shots where they can get the best shot, but the news conferences may not be happening there.

All broadcast stations and News 8 did fairly well covering the story. KVUE and KEYE had something of an advantage because of their locations in north Austin, but it’s all about execution.

My philosophy was to be the first on the scene and the last to leave the scene. All stations resumed programming shortly after the noon hour, no one really wanting to be last.

The bottom line in TV spot news is pictures. It’s not reporters. It’s not anchors (There was entirely too much speculation from the anchor desks.) It’s not graphics. The bottom line is video—pictures. The best pictures come from professional news photographers.

When and if Austin has chiefly reporters shooting pictures and video—one-man-bands—we will have taken a giant step backwards.

© Jim McNabb, 2010

Does KGSR-FM Still Sound Like Austin?

It's Changed

KGSR-FM (93.3) sounds different. Can they still say it “Sounds Like Austin” “Where the Music Comes First?” Some 765 longtime listeners have formed a Facebook page entitled “I love KGSR, but Please Bring Back the Old Format”. It wasn’t that long ago that Rolling Stone Magazine proclaimed KGSR as one of the ten radio stations in American that don’t suck.

Now, these listeners beg to differ, saying things like:

“First KGSR and now the Cactus? We're Austinites - we can change this! Don't mess with our music!”

“I thought it was just me. I noticed lots of older music that KGSR never played. Sounds more like a frustrated college radio programmer got control of the station and is now running wild. IT SUCKS!!!”

“I don't think the old format is going to return. They are saying they couldn't keep the doors open playing the music we love. I wish they had made a plea to loyal fans before changing things. I surely would have gone out of my way to support their sponsors if it meant saving a unique station.”

Chris Edge, KGSR program director is open about the changes. After looking at slipping ratings, changes to the format were initiated last fall. Then, folks slowly started coming to the realization that the KGSR-FM that used to play everything was shifting its playlist. Edge argues, however, that KGSR still sounds like Austin, although “Sounds like Austin” is not a phrase they are currently using on the air.

“We are the most Austin Centric station there is,” Edge says. “Nobody else plays the music that we do.” Edge challenges listeners to name another station that plays the following artist in regular rotation: Spoon, Lyle Lovett, Iron + Wine, Willie Nelson, Ryan Bingham, and Bob Schneider to name a few. [We are] continuing to play the best Adult Alternative records available to us. We also continue to play the music that made 107.1 what it was (just in smaller doses) It’s all still there.” Edge says KGSR is still playing around 1,000 songs.

“I would add what makes us Austin is not just our music it’s what we do. We raised close to 150k for HAAM this year through our Broadcast CD. We are one of the most community focused radio stations in Austin.” Edge says.

There are still many familiar voices on KGSR, even though the man who started it all, Jody Denberg, is gone along with Susan Castle, former music director, and some others. DJs are talking less and playing more music, Edge says. “It’s the number 1 reason why people listen and we are trying to deliver on that.”

Here’s the problem: For several years even loyal listeners have referred to KGSR as K-Geezer. The demographics were aging. Well, that would be OK if they were still listening in droves, but it’s not OK when you’re operating a local radio station and not attracting new listeners. “We are trying to perform in the 25-54 demo [demographic category], we have performed poorly here for many years and we finally had to make a change,” Edge says. Bottom line: It’s a business.

The shift from 107.1 megahertz from a transmitter located in Bastrop to 93.3 from a tower in Cedar Park was to increase audience with a bigger footprint. Edge says they are hearing from new listeners as well as the old.

The original local radio station of which it could be said that it sounds like Austin took the air in early 1970s. Billboard Magazine reported that KRMH-FM (Known to fans as Karma) was going on the air with a footprint that covered Austin and San Marcos with studios located in Austin. It broke the mold.

According to the program director Richard Gembler, KRMH-FM would feature better rock music. The traditional “easy-listening” and country music selections from the Billboard “Hot 100” would be thrown out. “The playlist will consist of 250 records, 150 of which are albums. An average of four cuts per album will be cleared for play,” Gembler told the magazine. With great specificity in the November 1, 1971 issue, Gembler broke down how many “oldies”, how many “Hot 100” singles, how much blues, folk, and jazz would be included. “Progressive” was the term used to describe the sound. At least two KRMH-FM veterans are still here, including recording guru Joel Block whose father was called the first DJ in the 1930s, but that’s another story.

Would that I could hear a station like that again. They were pioneers.

The other pioneer radio station that would sound like Austin was KOKE-FM, where they coined the phrase “Progressive Country”. In 1974 KOKE-FM received the "Trendsetter of the Year" award from Billboard Magazine for its Progressive Country format. Joe Gracey is said to have first approached the country station with a Willie Nelson :45 rpm record. It was redneck and hippie “Outlaw Country” music all at the same time with a little bit of rock, and it sounded like Austin at least until 1977.

Both of these radio stations and their formats went away. KGSR’s original mix outlived both KRMH and KOKE, but tweaks were made along the way. “When we first started, we were WAY OUT THERE, and we didn’t succeed enough in revenue and ratings to make our station profitable,” Denberg told The Austin Daze magazine in 2005. “It’s a commercial radio station, so it’s a balancing act, and it’s a tightrope act.”

It was a different age when KRMH and KOKE went away. It was a time before the Internet. The Internet lends a different meaning to local when one is talking about local radio. Since 1989, KGSR has become a part of the fabric of Austin—an ethos that extends beyond the city limits through Internet radio. It is a new “local”. Unfortunately for listeners, they do not figure in the cold, hard, empirical facts—the Arbitron ratings. At least they aren’t counted yet.

© Jim McNabb, 2010

The Second or Third Return of Troy Kimmel

Weather

Changes



I saw it coming. Six weeks ago when I wrote about veteran meteorologist Troy Kimmel returning to KEYE TV (CBS) to cover weekends and vacations, I sensed that he wasn’t leaving. I’ve known Troy for 35 years or so. With all of his notoriety in Austin working for KVUE TV (ABC), KTBC TV (CBS and then Fox), KEYE TV, and Clear Channel Radio, plus his teaching load at The University of Texas at Austin as an Aggie, I knew two years ago that he was drawn to return to TV. He was last on the air full time at KEYE TV six years ago.

As I said, I like to be ahead of the curve, but this announcement came by news release. All of it is true. The full KEYE-TV news release follows:

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July 10, 2009
For Immediate Release:


Troy Kimmel named Meteorologist at KEYE TV

Thirty-four years after starting his career in Central Texas, Troy Kimmel is back on television and back on KEYE-TV. “Troy’s style is comfortable and personable without being alarmist or preachy,” says President and General Manager Amy Villarreal. “His wealth of Central Texas weather knowledge and love for the weather is evident on-air.”

Mr. Kimmel’s impressive range of experience includes serving as Chief Meteorologist for Lower Colorado River Authority, he’s taught for over 21 years, including at UT and worked at several TV and radio stations in Austin (including KEYE from 1998-1999).

Twenty-six years ago Troy received his National Weather Association Television Seal of Approval and the American Meteorological Society Television Seal of Approval two years later in 1985. He was awarded the American Meteorological Society Certified Broadcast Meteorologist in May 2005. Troy has won numerous awards, published papers and even continues to take courses and workshops. "I've worked with Ron and Judy before and look forward to being a part of this team again, they are the best!" said Mr. Kimmel.

“Troy is the real deal. He knows Texas and the Austin-area, in particular, and we are proud to have him back at KEYE.” said News Director Suzanne Black.

Troy can be seen weeknights at 5, 6 and 10pm on CBS 42 KEYE starting July 13, 2009. And you can still hear Troy on KASE, KVET and KFMK Clear Channel radio stations in the morning.

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Indeed, KVET-FM (Clear Channel) listeners will still hear him live on the air each morning. “I want to stick with Bucky and Bob,” Troy told me. He will continue. He doesn’t have to make the trek to the KVET studios in South Austin. Kimmel has a weather station, forecasting tools, and broadcast quality equipment at his home in north Austin. He’s not actually standing next to Bucky and Bob, but he doesn’t need to stand next to them.


Further, he will continue teaching at The University of Texas at Austin. Classes are already set at UT, and he will show up and teach. “I will ultimately cut back,” Kimmel said.


Kimmel did the weather at KEYE TV some six years ago and left. Why did he come back? It was a good opportunity, Kimmel says. He cited change over the years since he left. “I have the greatest respect for Amy (Amy Villarreal, general manager) and Suzanne (Suzanne Black, news director).”


Susan Vessell had been the chief meteorologist handling the evening newscasts since Byron Webre was sacked in 2008. She did high quality work in the past year, upgrading the station’s use of the weather graphics package. Her calm, precise presence has been an asset. Vessel is still shown on the KEYE TV web site. Kimmel was added tonight (July 10, 2009). Also shown is Kelly Sifka, the morning meteorologist for the past several months.


However, Vessell’s time at KEYE TV ends September 8th. She is gone. Vessell told me tonight, “It will all work out.” Just like a meteorologist to see a silver lining on the clouds.


It’s a tough business.


© Jim McNabb, 2009

Where In the World Is George Howell???

Some

Like

It

Hot!

George Howell, native Austinite and Texas ex, was the crime reporter at KXAN TV (NBC) who blossomed into a go-to anchor from January, 2001 through July, 2004. Then, he headed to the northwest and disappeared from Austin screens, but not out of mind. Some at the TV station joked that George was McNabb’s other son. I considered that a nice compliment. I think my son did too.

In Seattle Howell’s life took several turns. He married and settled some. He was a reporter/anchor for KOMO TV (ABC), and later did freelance work for KIRO TV and KCTS TV (PBS). He also started George Howell Media. Where’s George Howell now? Not in Seattle.

About three weeks ago He and wife Khristian climbed in the car and drove diagonally across the country where Howell had accepted a position at Atlanta powerhouse WSB-TV (ABC) doing day-to-day big market news again. “We are really excited about being in Atlanta; we've been here for about two weeks now,” Howell said.

“I started work this week,” he continued. “I am absolutely loving WSB!” Knowing George I easily see why he loves the station. “The station is great! WSB remains the 800 pound gorilla of the Atlanta market, and I believe it's because the people here know what they're all about. The focus is on 'hard news', and enterprise stories - no gimmicks, or self-promotional stunts masqueraded as news, like some other places. Hard news, plain and simple, and that's what I'm all about!”

It’s exciting to know that there are still stations still doing “Big J” journalism—hard news and enterprise stories. And, yes, that’s Howell’s profile.

“Hot-lanta” is a good fit for another reason other than TV too. It is Howell’s spouse Khristian’s home town. One aspect, however, is taking some getting used to. “We're still getting used to the weather... as you can imagine, Atlanta is a bit warmer than Seattle! We're really happy about the move!” I asked George what was the temperature in Atlanta at that moment? “About 90,” he said.

It was 103-degrees here, but as the American-Statesman’s John Kelso said in the Sunday (July 5th) newspaper, “100 is the new 90.”

© Jim McNabb, 2009

In the Aftermath ...

The Night TV Was Dark

The DTV dust hasn’t quite settled yet, but KEYE TV (CBS) seems to have weathered a subdued storm after becoming Austin’s first TV station to turn off its analogue transmitter and go 100-percent digital. “We are proud to make history in Austin again. We were the first to go HD and now we’re the first to bring the digital signal to viewers, offering superior pictures and sound,” says Suzanne Black, KEYE news director. KEYE TV joined some 420 other stations across the nation in deciding to stick with the original February 17th date for the digital transition.

As soon has analogue went dark, the calls started coming into KEYE’s 24-hour phone bank. “We fielded about 700 calls in 36 hours, and our phone bank remains open.” Black said. “The most common questions were, ‘How do I hook up my box’ and ‘My box is hooked up, but I can’t see the picture.’” Many viewers had not set their TVs on Channel Three. As soon as they did, BINGO, they’d entered the digital age.

Across the nation, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) says the transition is about what they expected. “By and large TV households affected in those markets were ready," said Jonathan Collegio, NAB vice president for the digital television transition. “Of the estimated 12.4 million exclusively over-the-air TV households that were impacted … when 421 stations switched to digital, the FCC reported only 28,000 viewer calls – an incredibly small percentage of those affected. While call volume has generally been low, there were some hotspots that received more calls due to unique market situations,” the NAB news release says.

The Austin market may have been one of the “hotspots” with greater call volume, despite being one of the more cabled markets in the country. “Everyone has been gracious and understanding in why we made the choice to turn off our analog transmitter now, rather than waiting until June,” Black says. Public TV’s KLRU will go all digital next month. KTBC TV plans analogue broadcasts all the way to the new transition date, June 12. KVUE TV AND KXAN TV are assessing readiness on a month-by-month basis. Costs run into the tens of thousands of dollars to continue operating multiple transmitters all of them broadcasting on both bands. LIN TV operates three Central Texas stations, KXAN, KXAM (in the Hill Country), and KNVA (CW).

The remaining Austin TV stations will undoubtedly consider the bottom line as they consider whether to join KEYE in the totally digital world. Another factor affecting the bottom line is ratings. There is no clear picture yet on how the digital transition will be reflected in ratings. The ratings relate directly to revenue, and revenue, like the rest of the economy, is down. Ratings may well be why other stations didn’t go totally digital.

Sweeps months are four times a year, usually starting with February. Because of the planned digital transition, Nielsen pushed winter sweeps to March. Then, the government pushed the DTV deadline to June. Other stations continuing to broadcast in both digital and analogue may hope for a ratings boost. That remains to be seen. At any rate KEYE seems to be treating February is a sweeps month anyway, running an “Investigates” piece about City of Austin employees going bowling among other things during business hours.

The sweeps switch also disrupts station staff personal lives. “It’s unfortunate for families used to taking the week off for Spring break (or for SXSW for that matter),” says Michael Fabac, KXAN news director. “In our newsroom, we are planning special promotable content [for March]. True, the turnaround to May is tight, but we’ve had plenty of time to prepare!” May is the second sweeps month of the year. The other two are July and November.

Taking the long view, it will be interesting to see how this latest change in the Austin/Central Texas market will sort out. KEYE TV indeed is a station of firsts. It is also a station of change, having gone from independent KBVO TV in the 1980s to a Fox affiliate in the late ‘80s to CBS in the mid-1990s when the call letters became KEYE. KEYE is an aggressive competitor luring top talent from other stations. Going all digital with the current economy is a leap of faith.

All the Austin TV stations, once they are all digital [and I wish that were now] will have a different coverage area, a different footprint. With digital signals, either you have reception or you don’t. In one way, the playing field will be level. No longer will KTBC TV, Austin’s only VHF station, have the built-in power advantage. It takes more power to push a UHF signal than a VHF signal. That’s one reason why KTBC dominated the market for decades in the last millennium when the TV station was owned by the Johnson family. Ironically, it was the Johnson family’s creation of Capital Cable, now Time Warner Cable, that allowed other stations greater reach resulting in a shift in ratings. Any future shifts because of DTV, if any, may be minimal given cable penetration in the market at above 70-percent, not to mention subscriptions to satellite and AT&T U-verse. It will be fun watching the stations shuffle over the next few months.

And, oh, get ready for glitz of the March sweeps weeks. They begin February 28th.

© Jim McNabb, 2009

Seals? I Don't Need No Stinkin' Seal!

Does Your Favorite Weather Broadcaster Have What It Takes?

Storm clouds are stirring on the horizon! A frigid over-running condition could contribute to dangerous black ice on area roadways! A “rain-bomb” dumps eight-inches in the Shoal Creek Watershed! An F-4 tornado is on the ground!

What weather source will you punch up to find the facts about our ever-changing weather in Austin? Why did you pick that channel? Does it matter whether your favorite source has some sort of seal of approval from some national association? OK. Which seal is the “good” seal? Or do you think, I’ll just go to the Internet for all of my weather fact-finding now?

Here are the facts:

> Jim Spencer at KXAN dominates Nielson ratings whenever there is news-worthy weather. It’s been that way for years.

> Meantime, “Best Weather” awards from the Texas Associated Press have been scattered among all of the local stations over the years. For 2007-08 (First place went to KTBC and second place and honorable mention went to KVUE, with main meteorologist Mark Murray getting the “Honorable Mention”.) [These awards are totally subjective with judges in different states every year. You never know what might make a judge smile. That’s why awards mean little.]

> The TV station that has always emphasized American Meteorological Society Seals for its weather staff is KVUE. Both Mark Murray and Meghan Danahey have degrees and seals of approval from both the American Meteorological Association and the National Weather Association. A KVUE promotional spots proclaims, “Only KVUE has Austin’s all certified meteorologists. KVUE—Austin’s weather authority.”

> Other Austin weather sources also have apparent strong emphases on education and seals of approval—News 8 with the most meteorolgists in town, many with strong degrees and seals and KEYE where Susan Vessell has her AMS seal and Megan Campbell holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in weather.

> KXAN has never emphasized seals; it seems to be left up to the individuals on the staff.

What matters? Go back to my first fact. Jim Spencer and KXAN win the weather ratings. Have you ever wondered why KXAN’s weather is so deep in the newscast with a couple of weather snippets earlier in the show? KXAN is trying to carry the audience into the second quarter hour of the newscast, knowing that people will hang around for the weather.

“Jim Spencer has forgotten more about weather than most others have learned,” says former Austin meteorologist Laura Skirde. Skirde holds seals from both the National Weather Association and the American Meteorological Association. TV weather is as much to do with communicating as it is the science and mathematics of meteorology. Spencer, himself, agrees. “It’s kind of funny actually—seems like those with B.S. degrees in meteorology (essentially a math degree) feel threatened by “broadcast” mets [meteorologists], who get to skip the higher level math—and are often MUCH better at telling the weather story, not to mention often better forecasters too.”

A little background may be needed here. Several of the people doing TV weather in Austin got their credentials from a Mississippi State University curriculum created with the assistance of one of the certification associations, the Nation Weather Association (NWA) in 1986. Using distance learning, students take 17 courses or 52 credit hours for a certificate in broadcast meteorology. Those hours can also lead to a degree. More than 1,200 students have gone through the program. Now, there is also a continuing education program.

Also, as of January 1, 2009 the American Meteorological Society is no longer issuing AMS seals to broadcasters. Now, they will be awarded something called “Certified Broadcast Meteorologists” and get a CBM seal. Of course, those who have the AMS seal can keep theirs. Troy Kimmel, meteorologist for Clear Channel Radio in Austin, a teacher at The University of Texas, and a former TV weatherman, was one of the prime movers in the new CBM certification program. Kimmel, a San Marcos native, majored in meteorology at Texas A&M. The AMS certification was based on a degree and demonstrated experience in forecasting on the air. Once granted, there is a continuing education requirement. Kimmel holds AMS, CBM, and NWA seals.
“Personally I can tell you it had a lot more to do with the necessary requirement for continuing ed and to insure meteorological knowledge,” Kimmel says. Kimmel adds that the test for the CBM is hard. “It was tough,” he says.

Do the professional seals really matter? “I really don't think it is so much a battle of the seals as much as trying to be the best we could be,” Kimmel says. While Jim Spencer pursues continuing education like others in the craft, as noted earlier, some sort of seal means little. “The research shows people watching at home couldn’t care less about a seal.”

Bottom lines: Can your weather broadcaster communicate? Further, can your weather broadcasters effectively use the high tech toys now in most of the TV stations? Is the TV station’s weather graphics strong, and do they also communicate? More importantly, can the weather broadcaster use these powerful tools under pressure when all hell breaks out?

By my count there are some 20 TV weather broadcasters on the air in Austin right now. Their talents and skills in all of the above areas vary widely. I have to say it: It’s not because I worked with him. I’ve worked with several and enjoy watching many. Jim Spencer is the best. He knows his weather. Further, he knows Austin weather. There is a difference.

[By the way, judging maps and weather graphics on a scale of 1-10, I score KVUE-5, KTBC-6, KEYE-7, and KXAN-8. But sometimes it depends on the person using them. Some may not make full use of the palette.]

[One other postscript: What gives me the right to make these judgments? I suppose anybody has the right and should make these judgments. But, shoot, I was the #1 weather REPORTER (Not meteorologist) in Austin in the early ‘70s on KTBC. I have the paper weather maps of my last broadcast to prove it! See the above photo. Plus, I'm a weather geek.]

© Jim McNabb, 2009