“The public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything. Except what is worth knowing. Journalism, conscious of this, and having tradesman-like habits, supplies their demands.”
The quote comes from Oscar Wilde, Irish poet and playwright, detailing his view on journalism and its role in society. The unfortunate side of this, at least for news people, is that the journalists themselves have become as recognizable as the people they cover– thus making their lives subject to that “insatiable curiosity.”
Hence, the birth of this column.
Twice a month, Newspaper Tree will bring you– the public– the behind-the-scenes action going on in El Paso media. Today we have a bunch on the local TV news scene, which is a constant source of drama, and will be revisiting some of El Paso’s print past.
Currently, KDBC-TV, Channel 4 is searching for a new news director, its third in two years and fifth in the last five years. It’s been a few weeks since Steve Johnson “resigned” the position, but people inside the newsroom say it wasn’t his choice. Some staffers reportedly felt threatened by his actions with a baseball bat in a staff meeting, and he reportedly showed up to work one morning in an “impaired” state. This is the latest drama for El Paso’s CBS affiliate as rumors still abound about the long-term intentions of its parent company, Pappas Telecasting, and the possibility of turning the station into a Spanish-language affiliate of Azteca America.
The air of uncertainty at KDBC is even more clouded by one potential news director candidate. Channel 4 is apparently reaching out to a news director with experience running a Spanish-language TV station in El Paso– and who is currently working at a competing station, KTSM, Channel 9. NewsChannel 9’s top news executive, Zoltan Csanyi, has reportedly had meetings with Channel 4’s general manager, Bram Watkins, about the job. Bram himself is no stranger to the Spanish-language market, with several years of experience with Univision.
The word inside the KTSM newsroom is that Zoltan has become distant in the past few weeks and isn’t as involved as he had been upon his arrival in January 2006. Since that time, Zoltan has had to deal with the bankruptcy of 9’s parent company, Communications Corporation of America, and the departure of several key staff members. He reportedly has told friends in El Paso that he made a mistake in coming to KTSM, but his former staffers at KXTX say he had little choice. Management at the NBC-owned station in Dallas reportedly decided not to renew his contract, amid many complaints from staff to upper management. Several people on the current news team are less than thrilled with their boss, who they say does not provide them direction and guidance. ComCorp is also keeping a close eye on the news operation, recently coming to El Paso from their base in Lafayette, La. to get in-person explanations for expenses.
The roller coaster rolls on at KTSM even as they are seeing a rise in the ratings. Although KVIA Channel 7 remains the No. 1 in El Paso television, NewsChannel 9 saw increases in the November ratings. It remains to be seen if KTSM’s jump is a signal of prolonged increased viewership or a one-time spike in the ratings. The results of the all-important February sweeps period should be in around mid-March.
Despite KVIA’s success, there are several people in the newsroom who can’t wait for their contracts to end– including a couple of their anchors. No, Gary and Estela aren’t going anywhere, but they don’t read the news on all their newscasts. Even if some of their other top news readers bolt, management at Channel 7 probably isn’t too worried. Over the years, they have seen popular personalities leave for elsewhere, but the ratings success remains. Even when they pop up on another local station– like former KVIA meteorologist Robert Bettes– the ratings don’t seem to follow.
Meanwhile, it looks like the El Paso Times will have some competition again– at least for a day. Former staffers from the El Paso Herald-Post plan on reuniting in October of this year to mark the 10-year anniversary of the paper’s last printing. The event, which is still in the planning stages, could also bring together former Post staffers who left before the operation was shut down. Former staffers have moved on to larger papers, such as the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times and the Dallas Morning News. Old “Posties” are encouraged to get in touch with organizers via a special website, www.elpasoheraldpostreunion.com.
That’s all for this edition. Depending on availability, we may have some preliminary numbers on the February TV ratings and more. If you have any information to add to this column or have a comment, email npt@epmediagroup.com.
