WRTV reporter leaving station after 23 years
Stacia Matthews said she is quitting the station to become public relations manager for the Indiana Spine Group. Matthews joined WRTV in 1989.
Stacia Matthews said she is quitting the station to become public relations manager for the Indiana Spine Group. Matthews joined WRTV in 1989.
Two of the four Indianapolis television stations are without news directors after WRTV-TV Channel 6 parted ways with industry veteran Kevin Finch, less than two years after hiring him.
Grace Trahan, who has anchored the Indianapolis TV station’s weekday morning and noon newscasts for the past 14 years, said she was resigning to spend more time with her family.
WTHR led in the ratings for its nightly newscasts during the May sweeps in the key 25-to-54-year-old demographic, but TV stations are rapidly losing these coveted viewers. The addition of popular meteorologist Angela Buchman could help Channel 13 staunch further losses.
On Sunday, the Indiana Pacers grabbed the attention of a big chunk of the local market, drawing nearly 10 times the television audience they did for their regular-season games.
The Indianapolis TV station will occasionally broadcast live from the WIBC-FM 93.1 studio as part of an agreement with the radio station’s parent company, Emmis Communications Corp. WRTV is hoping to gain more exposure from the deal.
Local TV news operations have built temporary studios downtown, budgeted thousands for overtime, assigned special Super Bowl beats to field reporters, and will broadcast hours of extra news coverage between now and Feb. 6, the day after Super Bowl XLVI.
Jenna Kooi, a former anchor for Fox59 previously known as Jenna Maloney, will co-anchor the 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts for WRTV, and Erika Flye has been promoted to co-anchor the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts.
Deal with WRTV-Channel 6 will provide most extensive coverage in franchise history.
Television station and newspaper owner The E.W. Scripps Co. said Monday that it will pay $212 million in cash for nine TV stations, including WRTV in Indianapolis, owned by The McGraw-Hill Cos.
WRTV-TV Channel 6 anchor Trisha Shepherd is leaving the station at the end of the month to take a position with the Riley Children's Foundation.
Digital technology ushered in over the last five years allows television stations to squeeze four signals into the broadcast spectrum a single analog signal occupied.
The retired WRTV-TV anchor is one of only six to receive award in 42 years.
Station owner McGraw-Hill plans to sell its nine television stations, including the Indianapolis ABC affiliate. The impact on local operations is unclear.
Larry Blackerby, the new general manager at WRTV-TV Channel 6, has replaced the station’s news director and sales manager as first steps in his bid to elevate the perennial ratings loser.
He previously was news director at WISH-TV and special projects producer at WTHR.
A partnership with HomeTown Sports Indiana will give more than a million Hoosiers access to a mixture of live and taped sporting events.
Channel 13 received a huge ratings boost at 11 p.m., enabling it to surpass WISH-TV Channel 8 as the most-watched newscast during that time. WTHR’s newscast retained its lead in several other time slots, although audience numbers dipped, enabling competitors to close the gap.
Larry Blackerby, a 30-year television veteran, has been picked to replace long-time WRTV-TV General Manager Donald Lundy, parent company McGraw-Hill Broadcasting announced Tuesday.
Ad buyers are watching the November sweeps period to see if the NBC affiliate bounces back from recent periods when it lost ground in the ratings.