And the first one out the door at Youngstown ABC affiliate WYTV/33 is...news director Pat Livingston.
OMW hears via the folks at NewsBlues that Livingston stays in the state, taking the open ND post at Barrington Broadcasting NBC affiliate WNWO/24 "NBC 24" Toledo.
Our headline, of course, refers to the fact that Livingston is exiting WYTV before he, and likely the entire station newsroom staff, will be pushed out the door.
Most market observers expect that a planned "shared services" agreement between the incoming owner of WYTV, and the new owner of CBS/FOX combo WKBN/27-WYFX "FOX 17/62", will mean the end of the separate news operation at WYTV's Shady Run Road headquarters.
WYTV has pretty much been the third-rated TV newsroom in Youngstown for as long as we can remember, even after Vindicator's WFMJ/21 supplanted "27 First News" as the most popular news operation in the market.
And though we have a limited grasp on the Toledo market, we're pretty sure WNWO is a perennial third-place newsroom behind Raycom CBS affiliate WTOL/11 and ABC O&O WTVG/13. Of course, Raycom once owned WNWO, before it had to spin the station to Barrington after the deal to acquire WTOL.
At "NBC 24", Livingston will replace Jonathan Mitchell, who moved to KHQ/Spokane...
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
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14 comments:
Let's hope WYTV goes after Bill Applegate for there replacement so he is finally out of the Cleveland TV market and can run another TV station into the ground.
There is NO WAY they will fire longtime WYTV meteorologist Stan Boney when the takeover happens...not gonna happen. He's 300 MILLION times more talented than WKBN's Don Guthrie.
The cream of 'YTV's crop will probably salvage their jobs...Boney and sports director Bob Hannon to name a couple.
On the fron page of the business journal, it stares the sale price is 15 million plus a 586,000 dollar reimbursement for last year's investment.
If the SSA goes though, what will happen to the new news studio downtown? Could WKBN use that for their newscasts since it is larger and more modern?
Also of note, MY-YTV's for the people has gone though changes from the cohost Andrea Mahone no longer on the show and WSOM no longer airs the show. Could this be the begining of the end for all local WYTV programming?
On the front page of the business journal, it states the sale price is 15 million plus a 586,000 dollar reimbursement for last year's investment.
If the SSA goes though, what will happen to the new news studio downtown? Could WKBN use that for their newscasts since it is larger and more modern than their mini studio on sunset?
Also of note, MY-YTV's for the people has gone though changes from the cohost Andrea Mahone no longer on the show and WSOM no longer airs the show. Could this be the begining of the end for all local WYTV programming?
Sorry for error!!
pat is simply going back to work for people he knows......the barrington people are the same people who ran benedek ( former wytv owners).....IF the shared deal goes through there are simply too many newscasts to have a mass bloodletting.....
with a shared reporting pool they could cover more than wfmj tv...
this could actually be an interesting change....
(INDUSTRY INSIDER)
NVT of Y-town takes over WKBN/WYFX officially at midnight tonight.
WNWO has fallen to fourth our of four tv stations in Toledo news, loosing third place to WUPW which has a ten o'clock cast. He has his work cut out for him.
I always shudder when I hear someone say "There's NO Way they will fire ___________ ... not gonna happen". So many (too many) people who should never be let go are dropped because the corporate morons make decisions they are not qualified to consider.
I sincerely hope that there won't be a massive bloodletting. I went through a few of them in my time. I feel badly for everyone involved (the laid off, the remaining few, the listeners/viewers). Everyone loses in those cases (except, of course, for the corporate pigs).
Bad move again for WNWO-TV, "NBC24." What WNWO needs is someone from a higher market, not a smaller to same size market, to cut through in the non-covered story news arena. I have yet to see anyone who actually reports something other than what the other 3 stations report.
With this said, if WNWO doesn't seek higher (vs. lower market), one has to question if 3 stations reporting the same exact news is a good idea.
Nothing against Mr. Livingston's work, but Toledo was NEVER a news town, as we found when all 3 stations tried to get "choppers" for news coverage. They were rarely used enoug h to make it a profitable move for channels 11, 13 and 24.
Congrats to Mr. Livingston. Also welcome to Toledo, the most non-news major city, in America.
Maybe you'll get your newsroom to actually "seek out" news. not report from a scanner.
You made the cover of the http://www.business-journal.com/ . Quotes OMW!!!
From the business journal:
As Newsroom Consolidation Looms,
33’s Livingston Heads to Toledo
March 1, 2007 6:27 p.m.
Media Commentary by Andrea Wood
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – “Channel 33 lifeboats begin newsroom evacuation,” reads today’s headline on Ohio Media Watch, a blog that tracks newsroom comings and goings. The item refers to the resignation of WYTV’s news director, Pat Livingston, who announced this week that he is leaving to become the news director of WNWO-TV in Toledo, an NBC affiliate. [MORE]
http://www.business-journal.com/
Wow. Pat Livingston, ND, meet Tim Livingston, Asst. ND. Should make for some interesting confusion.
Re: Possible name confusion.
Maybe Pat should go back to his old 33 on-air alias; "Pat Alexander"? :-)
Perhaps a bigger market will teach Pat Livingston not to pull reporters off of meaningful stories to, instead, go chase a vacant house fire or fender bender. That was just one of his many micro-mangerial flaws at 33.
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