MEDIA COLUMN
SUNDAY
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Here is an abbreviated media column driven by the fact that just about NOTHING is going on locally with our media minions!

Almost a month ago we reported who the new News Director for WATE would be and on the 15th of this month they finally sent out the press release. Lets' all look at it and then let's see what it means!

PRESS RELEASE


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, September 15, 2006


NEW WATE 6 NEWS DIRECTOR


(Knoxville) ABC affiliate WATE 6 has announced that Jamie Foster will be its new News Director. Jamie comes to WATE-TV from WJLA-TV the ABC affiliate in Washington D.C. He has been the News Director there since April 2003. Jamie has also worked, in various management roles, at a number of other strong television news stations, such as: WFAA-TV in Dallas; KNBC-TV in Los Angeles; WSVN-TV in Miami; and WJZ-TV in Baltimore.
“Jamie has very strong news credentials and solid news judgment,” says Jan Wade, President and General Manager of WATE 6. “He has held a number of management positions at very good news stations all across the country,” adds Wade. “Jamie has worked in many newsrooms that do the same type of broadcast journalism and investigative reporting that we do at WATE. He’s a consummate professional and first rate journalist.”
“I’m extremely excited about this opportunity. There are a lot of very talented people both in front of and behind the camera at WATE. It’s a station that is really on the rise and I hope to help it continue to grow.” says Jamie.
Foster begins his tenure at WATE as its new news director later this month, according to Wade. “He will fit in very well here and we are quite excited to have him joining our team” adds Wade.







Standard "fill in the new guy's name here" stuff. If you wanta check out his old station you can do the ask.com thing and plug in WJZ-TV (Baltimore). That was what I did when I got the call from the 6 mole that he had been hired. They (WJZ) do the "THIS PLACE IS SERVING SALAD AT LESS THAN 41 DEGREES AND WE FOUND A DIRTY KNIFE RIGHT NEXT TO THE OPEN SPAM CAN" stuff that WATE does.
I did notice the market standing (Baltimore) was higher than Knoxville. If you move D O W N in market size you do it for the money (stop laughing, it could happen in say a dream?) or to get into management. According to the "fill in the blanks" release Jamie had already ridden the management horse? I will let you talk among yourselves on why the market shift.
As for the remark about starting his tenure, that kinda takes on a completely new meaning at WATE! I can count 5 no hold on 6, is it 6 news directors coming and going at the station in the not too distant past. Lets see, WBIR has handed over the reins once in the same time period and WVLT (the guys who are running WATE into the ground in news) has changed, oh hold on VLT has NOT changed at all.
Back in the olden times if a radio station couldn't move up the General Manager told the Program Director to get new DJs or he was fired. That worked once, if it still didn't move the PD was canned. The third time the General Manager hired a new consultant and if that didn't work, the day after the GM fired the consultant he was seen going down the hall with that famous box and a severance check! Let's keep our eyes pealed on the over-nights and see where everyone is standing after Santa comes to visit.

Great NEWS on the local FILM FRONT! A personal South Knoxville favorite (JOHNNY KNOXVILLE) is back and he had a BIG box office opening of his NEW MOVIE!


The flick took in a bruising $11.9 million Friday and $10 million Saturday at 3,059 theaters Friday for what was a huge $29.2 million opening weekend.
Hit-starved Paramount brass will be thrilled, although the idea for turning the MTV series into a movie pre-dates current management of the studio.
Among other movies opening this weekend, Sony's remake of All the King's Men was a flop despite its illustrious cast including Sean Penn and Anthony Hopkins, finishing #6 by eking out only $1.2 million Friday and $1.5 mil in 1,514 theaters.