THE DESK
The newsletter about TV news gathering...
And the people who do it
 
Paul Skolnick
Managing Editor
skolnick@newstrench.com
 
 
Volume 1, Number 6
August 4, 1997
 
 
BREAKING NEWS
 

CRIME STATS:
SO HOW MANY DOES
THAT ADD UP TO?

Baton Rouge, Louisiana is apparently smarting over making the top of the list in the annual survey of violent crime. City officials say they discovered a problem while looking at advance numbers from the FBI. Number Crunchers Precision Journalism, in data based on the release of the FBI’s preliminary 1996 crime survey, found Baton Rouge to have the highest violent crime rate of the nation’s biggest cities (those with populations greater than 100,000). In fact, from the numbers the Baton Rouge Police Department reported to the FBI and that we put on the Web site (http://www.newstrench.com) the middle of last month, Baton Rouge’s violent crime was a full 27% higher than the next closest city, Newark, NJ.

Baton Rouge now admits it has a problem – but not necessarily a violent crime problem. A series of reports by Melissa Moore July 25-27 in the Baton Rouge Advocate (http://www.theadvocate.com) quotes city officials as saying a computer programming error led to more crimes than violent ones getting counted in that category. The glitch in the computer program – which caused public drunkenness and reckless driving to be incorrectly lumped into the count of violent crimes – may have existed for 20 years or more.

Using the crime totals the Baton Rouge Police offered "The Advocate," the city’s violent crime rate for 1996 drops 65%. It relative ranking would drop 38 places, giving it the 169th highest violent crime rate among America’s big cities (between Tacoma, Washington and Little Rock, Arkansas).

Baton Rouge Police are rushing revised crime statistics to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting program, hoping the new, lower numbers will be adopted before national statistics are published in the fall.

---

FBI: DOES IT ALWAYS
GET ITS MAN?

A new dataset posted by TRAC, the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse http://www.trac.syr.edu/index.html, opens an interesting window on the activities of the FBI. TRAC is the work of investigative writer (and former New York Times reporter) David Burnham and statistician (and Syracuse University professor) Susan Long.

The data just posted shows that, of all major federal law enforcement agencies, the FBI is alone in winning fewer convictions than it has cases rejected for prosecution by the U. S. Attorney for insufficient evidence. Conviction-to-rejection ratios for DEA, INS, ATF, Customs, and IRS run as high as 4 to 1. For the period covered by the data TRAC obtained (1992-1996), the FBI’s conviction-to-rejection ratio was roughly 6 to 7.

TRAC has also obtained – and posted to its Website – a fascinating look at how the FBI deploys its agents. A note with the data says that the FBI has long considered deployment a national security secret, but that TRAC was able to obtain 1994 data from "another" source. TRAC computed the number of FBI field staff per million residents by FBI district, and was able to show that cities with known crime problems – like Atlanta, for instance – have far fewer FBI staff assigned than other cities. (According to TRAC’s data, Atlanta had 44.5 FBI staff for each one million residents, while Salt Lake City had 60.5. Washington Metro, which does not include the FBI’s headquarters staff, led the way with 445.8 staff per million residents, nearly eight times the deployment in Los Angeles.)

The TRAC site is password only, but the registration form is short, simple… and immediately responds with a password.

---

YOUR CHANCE TO JUMP
INTO THE FRAY

"The Producer," an email newsletter for the folks who put the shows together, is inviting your thoughts. Alice Main, executive producer at WKRC-TV in Cincinnati and the producer of "The Producer," asked a central question in the August issue:

      In most of the newsrooms I've been in, there has been a give and
      take between the news assignment editors/producers and the reporters.

      Sometimes the conversation gets hot and heavy, passionate and
      argumentative.

      It's been my contention that this is a healthy atmosphere...a
      vibrant exchange... as long as both parties respect one another.

      Is this usual in newsroom culture?

You can send your response directly to Alice at AJMain@aol.com, with the subject line reading "CULTURE," or you can send it to thedesk@newstrench.com and we’ll forward them to her.

---

"LIGHTNING" OR "LIGHTNING BUG":
ONLINE SOURCE FOR FINDING THE
RIGHT WORD

Anyone who strings words together is undoubtedly familiar with Mark Twain’s great comment on semantics: "The difference between the right word and its second cousin is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug."

There’s a little more online help these days: a complete set of dictionaries on the Web, brought to "The Desk’s" attention by one of our southern California readers (and print reporter) by the name of Kim Kabar.

The site is called "A Web of On-line Dictionaries," and it is at http://www.bucknell.edu/~rbeard/diction.html. It appears to be a labor of love for Professor Robert Beard, head of the linguistics and Russian programs at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. To call the information on this site "all-encompassing" is an understatement.

Need a lexicon of feudal terms? It’s here. How about the definition of "hashi." Through a link to the "Epicurious Eating Dictionary," it, too, is here. Stumped by some of that corporate newspeak coming your way these days from company headquarters? Try the link to the "Management and Technology Dictionary."

There are links to dictionaries in 112 languages – everything from Afrikaans to Zulu – plus hundreds of other look-up resources of both a general and a specialized nature.

It’s not a bad bet to bookmark for the time when the meaning of a word just eludes you.

---

IS THAT A CIVIL SERVANT
LURKING ON USENET?

A chance stop at an out-of-the-way fast-food restaurant in a small central Florida town yielded an interesting idea. It actually had little to do with the fast food or the tiny town, but more with a yellowed, wrinkled copy of the "Palm Beach Post" (http://www.pbpost.com/) which was about the only thing there to read. The lead story on Saturday, July 26, was about government employees caught posting numerous messages to Usenet groups that had little or nothing to do with their government jobs.

It seems a guy by the name of Dave Wickham in the State of Washington has made tracking such civil servants one of his favorite pastimes, going so far as to post the names and email addresses to a Website (http://www.adsnet.net/states.htm). He explains his methodology – find a government email address (usually pretty identifiable by the three-letter domain *.gov or *.mil, or by some other naming convention, such as *@dept.stateabbreviation.gov), use a standard search engine like DejaNews (http://www.dejanews.com), and see what you come up with.

The "Palm Beach Post" found a Florida sewage plant inspector who has posted nearly 300 messages to Usenet groups on college football and video games; a former paralegal with the state’s Public Services Commission who posted more than 250 messages to a single newsgroup on the novelist Tom Robbins; and a systems analyst in the state’s Department of Insurance who posted more than 200 messages to groups about Tasteless Jokes and Professional Wrestling.

Clearly, there are those who abuse their Internet access. And it undoubtedly leads to a loss of productivity, which – in the case of those who water at the public trough – is a waste of tax dollars.

Of course, Usenet is only one of many ways to waste time on the Internet. And the Internet is only one of many communications systems it’s possible to subvert from work to personal use.

The bigger problem may be with – literally – hundreds of thousands of government employees across the country having Internet access for their jobs, there’s no very consistent policy from place to place, or even within the same state, for what constitutes legitimate uses of the system.

---

DESKNOTES

FROM THE AIR:
NOTES FROM A TV NEWS
HELICOPTER PILOT

by Bob Pettee

 
[EDITOR’S NOTE: For several editions,
we’ve been carrying thoughts and
opinions on a Wall Street Journal
(http://www.wsj.com) story in June
that questioned the safety and
journalistic advisability of tele-
vision news helicopters.

A key player in the story was Bob
Pettee, pilot for KNBC-TV in Los
Angeles. University of Southern
California journalism professor
Sherrie Mazingo was quoted in the
article referring to Pettee’s nick-
name – "Capt. Bob" – by saying,
"Reporters are not named Captain Bob.
This is not the Howdy Doody show."

We asked Pettee to write his thoughts
on the article, and on the industry.]

 
When I was six years old, living in North Carolina, my parents took my brother and me to New York City, where, along with other things that tourists do in the City, they arranged for me to be on the "Howdy Doody Show."

Well, that was rather heady stuff for a boy in 1956 to be in the Peanut Gallery of the "Howdy Doody Show." I can still remember the excitement as I walked into my very first television studio and was ushered onto the "Howdy Doody" set. Exciting, yes, but even before the Wall Street Journal article appeared using the "Howdy Doody" name as a put-down of my profession, I ranked that young experience as one of the most disillusioning of my early life.

When you sat in the audience (or Peanut Gallery, for those of you too young now to remember those old days), you looked onto the set where various skits would be performed by all the characters, both live and puppet. Above the set was a platform or walkway used by the puppeteers and others to introduce the puppets into different parts of the set. There were five or six Howdy Doody puppets on that walkway to make it easier to play that namesake role in the different parts of the set without tangling the strings. Being very young, I had always through that there was only ONE Howdy Doody. Things turn out to be very different when you can see the whole picture.

I have been flying helicopters for 29 years, initially in the U.S. Army, where I served in Vietnam as an observation helicopter pilot. My military job was to describe events or objects on the ground to infantry and aerial commanders. As a civilian, I have flown all over the United States and the world: New Zealand, Polynesia, South America, Central America, and Mexico.

I have been flying news helicopters since 1978, about two-thirds of my time as a professional pilot. I am the immediate past president (four years) of the Professional Helicopter Pilots Association of California and am a board member of the National Broadcast Pilots Association. I have been active in enhancing the communication between public service and media helicopter operators. I assisted in publishing guidelines in a booklet that set parameters by which media and public helicopters can coexist more safely and still accomplish their respective jobs.

I have never claimed to be a school-trained journalist. But what is it that would make what I describe from the air about a breaking news story any less true or less credible than if a graduate from some college's school of broadcasting was describing the very same scene? Of course I'm a reporter. Almost thirty years of on-the-job training has taught me how to report from a helicopter and to do it honestly and effectively. Every day I do the job, I learn something new. I believe that will always be the case in this broadcast news business.

Professor Sherrie Mazingo at the USC School of Journalism has invited me to address several of her classes this fall. What I hope to impart to Professor Mazingo and her students is that the News Helicopter and a professional crew (pilot and camera person) are just one more part of the station's newsgathering team. The helicopter and crew are a valuable, flexible source of both raw information and pictures that can best be interpreted by a helicopter reporter accustomed to viewing events from above. Without the aerial contributions to both picture and informational content, many stories just would not be as interesting or complete.

---

TrogTalk:
COUNTING BEANS WITH THE
BEST OF ’EM

by Dave Linder
dlinder@vegas.infi.net
 

You’ve no doubt seen the memo circulated among CBS O&Os by the beancounters at Westinghouse. It conjured up for me memories of a similar policy brewed at NBC shortly after the GE takeover. The irony of a major television network being purchased by a major manufacturer of light bulbs, refrigerators and jet engines repeating itself is too much.

GE has (or had) a peculiar system of accounting based no doubt on its basic industry of manufacturing, be it light bulbs, refrigerators or jet engines. I plead guilty to oversimplification, but it goes something like the following. You turned in an operating budget for your department based on the need for raw material to make the product you were charged to make, and sell. If your product didn't sell, or you had over estimated the market and had too much inventory, then you were to cut your operating budget, or cut back production, in the next quarter to make up the shortfall. That may be a sound business practice when you are manufacturing durable goods, but when GE got into (relatively) new territory, such as network television, they stumbled badly.

A case in point is KNBC, the NBC Owned and Operated station in Los Angeles. In late 1987 and 1988, it was the dominant station in local news. Every newscast produced by the station -- in every time period -- won. Number One. But, all was not so well at some of the other O&Os, and more importantly, at some of the other divisions of GE.

So, in keeping with the GE way of financial accountability, departments had to adjust their next quarter operating budgets to reflect the shortfalls in the company. I remember in particular a memo that was issued to us in our Department Head meeting one day that all T & E (Travel & Entertainment) expenses were to be cut. (I can't remember the exact amount, but memory serves that it was between 10 and 25 percent.)

That memo may have been written to curb wasteful expense-account lunches for the Sales and Management Executives, but it really hurt out in the field. It got so bad that the Network desk had to get upper level management to send a crew out of Burbank to cover a story as close as San Francisco or Seattle. At the local level, it meant that we couldn't cover the state government in Sacramento as often as we would like, because it meant plane tickets for a reporter, photographer and producer, as well as hotels and meals.

 Accompanying, or shortly following, that T & E directive came one regarding Overtime. It got so bad that the assignment desk could not send a crew out to cover a story if it meant incurring OT (and with the union contracts in effect in those days, you couldn't move without incurring some sort of OT or penalty) without Management Approval.

Well, Management approved OT and T&E to cover the News, and sure enough, come the end of the quarter, and we were ordered to adjust our next quarter operating expenses by XX percent, to reflect the overages of the previous quarter. So, we rarely traveled, meaning that we could hardly cover our vast coverage area, let alone the workings of the largest state in the Union. The network began relying on local stations in those "far away" locales such as San Francisco, Seattle and Las Vegas to provide them with their coverage of stories in their area. The beancounters began changing the way television news was produced.

By the end of '89, KNBC was #2. Morale was down, and it showed on the air. Nearly 10 years later, KNBC is once again healthy and sailing to a dominant role in the Los Angeles market. NBC News is coming off several dozen weeks as number one in the nightly news and morning ratings wars, and "Dateline" has put the flaming truck incident behind it to become a force in the ratings. So, maybe it isn't all the beancounters’ fault. Maybe hard work, talent, and guts will win out.

[EDITOR’S NOTE (which Dave wrote):
Dave Linder occupied a desk at KNBC
from 1987 to 1994, as special projects
producer, Assignment Desk Manager
and Satellite Desk Coordinator.
Wags will point out that perhaps
his departure for Las Vegas in 1994
had something to do with the upturn
in KNBC fortunes.]

 

WHO’S WHERE

GAIL YANCOSEK has been named Vice President, News at the Fox flagship station, WNYW, New York. She was EP there. Gail replaces Marie Hickey who resigned as news director to spend more time with her family. Hickey will also consult the station.

STEVE HUNSICKER, Interim News Director at WTVC, Chattanooga named News Director. Steve has been at WTVC for the past five years. Before that he was News Director at stations in Honolulu, Harrisburg, PA and Gainesville, FL.

MIKE EMANUEL from general assignment reporter, KCAL, to correspondent, Fox News Channel, L.A. bureau.

STEVE NOBLE from correspondent, Fox News Channel, to correspondent, "Inside Edition."

BRAD NITZ from weekend meteorologist, WTLV, Jacksonville, to weekday meteorologist, WESH, Orlando.

ALISON STEWART and DEREK MCGINTY were both named correspondents for "Public Eye With Bryant Gumbel" on CBS.

     MIKE, STEVE, BRAD, ALISON AND DEREK are represented by Henry
     Reisch and Larry Kramer of the William Morris Agency.

KPNX/Channel 12 (Phoenix) has hired C.J. WARD as an investigative reporter. "We're excited about CJ's decision to join us at 12 News," said news director Joan Barrett. "C.J. will join efforts with lead investigative reporter Jeanine L'Ecuyer and I-Team-12 to create an investigative team that will be unmatched in Phoenix." Ward has an extensive background in investigative journalism having worked as a consumer/investigative reporter at KJEO in Fresno and as a weekend anchor/reporter at WLNS in Lansing.

BOB GILMARTIN, award-winning investigative correspondent for the last four years at "American Journal" has moved on to "Dateline NBC" as a producer with the newsmagazine's expanding investigative unit. Gilmartin won a national Headliner Award at "American Journal," the first national award ever won by any of King World's newsmagazines. This is his second stint at "Dateline." He was there at the start up in 1992 while working with former NBC investigative correspondent Brian Ross. Gilmartin won a Peabody Award as a member of Ross' team for a series of reports on the BCCI scandal. During his first week back at "Dateline," Bob headed up the show's coverage of the manhunt for Andrew Cunanan in Miami. It was a perfect assignment, Bob was a police and investigative reporter in Miami for six years at WTVJ and WSVN-TV. Bob is represented by Stu Witt of N.S. Bienstock in New York.

SVEN CRADDOCK goes to KNXV in Phoenix as reporter, from WFRV in Green Bay.

ROSS CAMP of WCBD in Charleston, South Carolina, moves to WFTV in Orlando as a general assignment reporter.

PHIL ROBERTSON, bureau chief at WHNT in Huntsville, Alabama, is leaving for WFTV in Orlando.

SAUL GARZA moves from KGRV in Weslaco, Texas, to reporter at WDFT in Milwaukee.

BARRON JOHNSON, reporter at WSLS in Roanoke, Virginia, has recently been named investigative reporter at WBRE in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

     KRISTY, SVEN, ROSS, PHIL, SAUL and BARRON are represented by
     Kenneth J. Slotnick at the Conrad Shadlen Corporation in New
     York City.

 

TO BE ASSIGNED
(JOBS)

I-TEAM PRODUCER (WISH-TV)
This position requires previous reporting experience, especially in handling research-intensive projects. The producer must be able to cultivate sources and successfully negotiate the handling of complex and sensitive investigative stories. Applicants should possess exceptional analytical, organizational and writing skills, with preferable experience in videotape editing and knowledge of broadcast graphics. Fairness and accuracy of reporting is a must, as is the ability to handle the pressure of juggling several projects at once and meeting long-term deadlines. This is a behind-the-scenes position that requires working well as part of a team. Letters and resume to: Special Projects Manager, WISH-TV, PO Box 7088, Indianapolis, IN 46207. M/F EOE.

ANCHOR/PRODUCER (ATV)
East Coast Canada's national award-winning news magazine, Live at 5, is searching for a co-host. The new member of our family must be a creative, versatile journalist who viewers will believe in, and laugh with, on a range of issues, from serious to light. Must be comfortable presenting in a working newsroom environment. Experience and education a must, Maritime connection an advantage. Rewards include the recognition that comes with being a host of Atlantic Canada's most watched television show. Serious applicants should rush a VHS aircheck of a recent show to ATV News, c/o Jay Witherbee, Director of News and Public Affairs, 2885 Robie Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3K 4P5.

FIELD REPORTER (CNBC)
Experienced, dynamic reporter needed! Experience and/or knowledge in business, money and the financial markets a plus. Generate ideas for news coverage, cover breaking news; enterprise and develop features and series. Do live shots from the field as well as appear on set to update news reports as events unfold. If you are interested in the above opportunity, please forward your resume and reel to Margaret Lazo, Manager, Human Resources c/o CNBC, 2200 Fletcher Ave, 7th Floor Ft. Lee, NJ 07024 Fax: 201-346-6525.

ASSIGNMENT EDITOR (CNBC)
Supervise, develop and execute daily news coverage of business and financial market matter, working past the traditional boundaries of those subjects. Supervise and assign reporters, field producers and news crews. Daily booking of a newsmaker an important part of responsibilities, therefore booking experience an asset. Coordinate live feeds from the field and remotes as well as coverage with other NBC news sources. Strong understanding of economic trends, corporate news and financial markets highly desired. If you are interested in the above opportunity, please forward your resume and reel to Margaret Lazo, Manager, Human Resources c/o CNBC, 2200 Fletcher Ave, 7th Floor Ft. Lee, NJ 07024 Fax: 201-346-6525.

FIELD PRODUCER (CNBC)
Produce packages and develop fresh angles on breaking news and enterprise features. Coordinate and supervise live field coverage, working with the assignment editor, reporters and photographers. Must have extensive experience in both daily news short form and long form television magazine type production. Good story tellin ability essential. Experience in covering business, money and financial markets preferred. If you are interested in the above opportunity, please forward your resume and reel to Margaret Lazo, Manager, Human Resources c/o CNBC, 2200 Fletcher Ave, 7th Floor Ft. Lee, NJ 07024 Fax: 201-346-6525.

GENERAL ASSIGNMENT REPORTER (KDNL)
KDNL-TV, the ABC station for St. Louis, has an immediate opening for a general assignment reporter. Qualified candidates will have 3-5 years tv news reporting experience with a heavy emphasis on enterprise reporting, creative storytelling, and liveshots. Send resume and videotape to: Jean Schmid, Human Resources, KDNL-TV, 1215 Cole Street, St. Louis, MO, 63106. No phone calls accepted. EEOC. Drug testing required.

REPORTERS (WREG)
Elvis, Barbecue, and The Mighty Mississippi beckon. The 2 hottest reporters in the country will soon be part of one of the best news operations in America as we expand. News Channel 3, the New York Times Company Broadcast Group flagship station in Memphis, Tennessee has immediate openings for a RELIGION REPORTER, and a GENERAL ASSIGNMENT REPORTER. If you have anchoring on your tape, send it elsewhere. Anchors I got. Reporters I need. I want reporters who know how to dig up a story, tell it in a compelling way through the eyes of people, and do stand-ups that will take me somewhere and show me something. Compel me to watch your tape, and enjoy life here in Memphis. No beginners. Please send tape & resume to Craig Jahelka, VP & ND, WREG, 803 Channel 3 Drive, Memphis, TN 38103.

REPORTERS & PRODUCERS (p/t) (FOX NEWS CHANNEL)
Fox News Channel seeks freelance reporters and field producers in the New York City area. Major market and/or network experience preferred, but if you have the chutzpah to think that you've got what it takes to report at this level, we'll consider you. Ability to report live and availability to travel are pluses. Please send a tape and resume to Tom Merluzzi, Assignment Desk Manager, Fox News Channel, C-1, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York, 10036.

NEWS DIRECTOR (KCPQ)
Seattle's Fox affiliate is gearing up for a local news operation and you could be the driver. Experience as ND in top 75 market or a #2 person in strong station required. Additional experience as ND at successful FOX start-up a plus! We have a brand new, $20 million, all-digital facility in the nation's most livable city. Here's an opportunity for an outstanding manager to create an entire news department/on-air presentation. Backed by the news-leading Kelly ownership, Q-13 SOX is looking for the best and brightest. FAX your resume and introductory letter to: 206-674-1334. ATTN: ND-F. The closing date for this position is 8/1/97. No calls, please! Any offer of employment is contingent upon passing a medical test for drug/alcohol use. EOE. M/F. ADA. All applications will be confidential.

ASSIGNMENT EDITOR NIGHTSIDE AND WEEKENDS (WTVT)
Responsible for tracking breaking news stories and coordinating crew coverage, monitoring police/fire radio scanners, making beat checks and gathering information by phone, fax, news wires and mail. Assign reporters and/or photographers to cover news stories and coordinate with FOX, CNN, Conus and other affiliates for shared news coverage. Must have strong knowledge of local and national news events as well as television newsroom operations. We need a fast thinker with exceptional organizational skills, solid news judgment and good people skills. Two years newsroom experience. Journalism or related degree preferred. WTVT is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Send resumes and list of references (no phone calls please) to Keith Bunce, Director of Planning and Assignments, WTVT FOX 13, 3213 West Kennedy Blvd., Tampa, FL 33609.

REGIONAL TELEVISION EXECUTIVE (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
TV News Director experience and like to travel? This job may be for you. Markets AP's exceptional and growing list of products for local television stations and cable in the multi-state Southwest sales territory, based in Dallas, Texas. Provides a high level of sales and service to members and subscribers. Visits current members and subscribers and makes verbal and written presentations to prospects. Requirements: Quality experience in TV news and/or broadcast management. A thorough knowledge of news services and technology as they apply to local broadcast and cable TV industries. Must have solid organizational skills, be self-motivated, possess high ethical standards, and a strong commitment to service, as well as sales. Should have excellent verbal and written communication skills. Computer skills important. Willingness to travel EXTENSIVELY required. Having sales AND TV news experience is a significant benefit. Contact Larry Price, Director of Television Marketing, Associated Press Broadcast Services, 1825 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006. Email: <lprice@ap.org>. Fax #: 202-736-1107. Emailing of resumes preferable - please use plain text.

NEWSMAGAZINE SENIOR PRODUCER UNC
Center for Public Television (PBS), Research Triangle Park, NC, seeks solid team player with excellent motivational skills to produce our weeknightly newsmagazine. Management and leadership expertise required to effectively shepherd reporters, crew and talent. Will assign news stories, edit scripts, coordinate live and pre-recorded studio/field productions in a deadline-oriented environment. Related 4-year degree, 2 years progressive/related experience or equivalent education/experience required. Knowledge of NC's economy, politics, communities and culture a big plus. If you want to live in one of the top-rated metro areas of the Sunbelt and have what it takes to show North Carolinians what's hot, what to do and where to go five evenings a week, apply in writing (fax 919-549-7825) by Monday, August 4, 1997 to: Human Resources Office, UNC Center for Public Television, PO Box 14900, RTP, NC 27709-4900. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER. WOMEN AND MINORITIES ENCOURAGED TO APPLY.

ASSIGNMENT MANAGER (WHNT)
I'm looking for an experienced news professional who is the consummate story developer/traffic cop. Al Carl, News Director, WHNT-TV 200 Holmes Ave., Huntsville, AL 35801 or E-mail: alcarl@whnt19.com. EOE

NEWS DIRECTOR (KXXV)
Central Texas ABC Affiliate is looking for a solid, aggressive leader for our News Department. Must have excellent motivational skills and previous experience in news management. Send resume to KXXV-TV Attn: General Manager, KXXV-TV, P.O. Box 2522, Waco Tx. 76702, or fax to 254-757-1119

NEWS DIRECTOR (WOI)
The ABC affiliate in central Iowa is in need of a news director. Applicant must have a BA in journalism from an accredited university and have 5 years experience. the candidate would be responsible for overseeing four daily newscasts, and two newscasts daily newscasts on the weekend. The successful candidate will be a dynamic leader with strong people skills. Management expertise in the budgeting process and controlling department expenditures is a plus. Send salary requirements and resume to: WOI-TV, Business Manager, 300 E. Locust, Des Moines, IA 50309. EOE

GENERAL ASSIGNMENT REPORTER (WAFB)
WAFB-TV has an opening for a general assignments reporter. Applicants must be aggressive, creative, and have at least 2 years experience in television news reporting. Team players only need apply. WAFB is the dominant Number One station in the Louisiana's news-rich capital city. Interested reporters should send tape, resume and salary requirements to Liz Golson, News Director, WAFB, 844 Government St., Baton Rouge, LA 70802.

---

Material in the WHO’S WHERE and
TO BE ASSIGNED (JOBS) sections
reprinted from "ShopTalk" by per-
mission of Don Fitzpatrick Asso-
ciates (http://www.tvspy.com).

---

The Desk is published by Thunder & Lightning News Service. It circulates free of charge by email.

To subscribe to The Desk, send email to TheDesk@newstrench.com. The subject line of the email must read: SUBSCRIBE. To stop your free subscription to The Desk, send email to TheDesk@newstrench.com. The subject line must read UNSUBSCRIBE.

To submit a letter, article, information or otherwise communicate with The Desk, send email to Skolnick@newstrench.com.

Thunder & Lightning News Service
2840 W. Bay Drive, Suite 150
Belleair Bluffs, FL 33770-2620
813/596-4428 (voice) 813/596-0886 (fax)
http://www.newstrench.com
 
© 1997 Thunder & Lightning News Service
All Rights Reserved