Station Break
By Dan Trigoboff -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/21/2001 8:00:00 PM
Freed in Frisco
Young Broadcasting-owned KRON-TV San Francisco cut loose veteran anchor Pete Wilson shortly after the revelation that he would be leaving the soon-to-be-independent station for ABC-owned KGO-TV. Wilson has been hosting a show on ABC-owned KGO(AM), but that deal had been done with the blessing of former KRON-TV management. Wilson's new deal is for six years at both the radio and TV stations. KRON-TV will pay Wilson through the year, agent Jeff Moorad said; the anchor begins at KGO-TV Jan. 1.
Wilson had made no secret of his lack of enthusiasm for working for KRON-TV when it loses its NBC affiliation next year. But KRON-TV News Director Stacy Owen said several of the station's veterans have extended their commitments, including Vic Lee, Greg Lyons, Linda Yee and Mark Jones. KRON-TV plans an additional four hours of news next year. Anchor Tom Sinkovitz will be more prominent following Wilson's exit.
Fitting the Bill
Bill Peterson, whose VP/GM job at WRAL-TV Raleigh, N.C., was eliminated last month, re-emerged last week at WPTV(TV) West Palm Beach, Fla. He replaced Bob Jordan as VP/GM. Sources say Jordan was forced out amid labor problems. Former Scripps TV boss Jim Hart had been running the station, but Scripps appeared confident it would name a new GM this month, and Peterson, who ran WPEC(TV) West Palm Beach for 10 years before going to WRAL-TV, was an early favorite for the job.
Tolerant TV
News anchors from Los Angeles's 10 major local TV stations will jointly headline a special program encouraging tolerance—particularly against the Muslim community there—in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. Together: A Call for Unity was taped last week and was scheduled to air at various times on the different stations.
Together will feature KTLA-TV's Hal Fishman, KNBC-TV's Paul Moyer, KABC-TV's Marc Brown, KCOP-TV's Rick Chambers and KCAL-TV's Pat Harvey and will be overseen by former KCOP-TV News Executive Producer Michael Linder. KCBS-TV, KCET-TV, and Spanish-language outlets KMEX-TV and KVEA-TV also contributed segments.
CHP Chips in
Amid the growing number of mail-delivered anthrax exposures, the California Highway Patrol is making its mail-handling training tape available to TV stations, both in California and elsewhere, and asking them to spread the word about proper procedures. After the availability of the tape was publicized, more than 400 requests from concerned businesses—including some TV stations—came in last Tuesday alone, according to a CHP spokeswoman.
CHP hopes stations will air the tape in hopes of "promoting safety and reducing panic," not to mention freeing up CHP's phones, which have been ringing off the hook. Stations that want the tape or a satellite feed of the demonstration should fax the request on company letterhead to 916-657-8720. There is no charge.
Moving up in Detroit
Fox Stations stayed in-house last week when Jeff Murri was promoted from general sales manager to VP/GM at WJBK(TV) Detroit, a job that includes local ad sales and marketing for regional sports network Fox Sports Net Detroit. Murri, who joined the station as national sales manager in 1990, succeeds Jim Clayton, who left to run Fox's New York duopoly. "Jeff has played an important role in WJBK/FOX2's past and current success," said Fox Stations Chairman Mitch Stern.
What goes around
CBS-owned KUTV(TV) Salt Lake City is finally getting a news director: Steve Charlier from KING-TV and KONG-TV Seattle. When Pat Costello left in 1998 for WBBM-TV Chicago, Brian Shiffer stepped up, first as interim news director and then as news director. But Shiffer wanted to return to a more hands-on role in the news shows, and General Manager Dave Phillips acted as news director until Charlier was hired. Charlier's current boss in Seattle: Pat Costello.
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