Happy Friday to all who celebrate! For those who work other schedules, may you enjoy the weekend and find yourself doing your best work.
In this edition of the stories we didn’t get to for one reason or another, we see NBCUniversal Local is looking to clear the animal shelters again this year, a longtime Houston anchor is retiring and Poynter talks about burnout for local journalists.
Let’s get started:
After 30 years of anchoring the morning news at Fox 26 Houston, Jose Griñan is still not quite ready to let go of journalism. Today, the beloved 70-year-old news veteran will deliver his final broadcast on the channel alongside his longtime co-anchor Melissa Wilson as he officially retires. Click here to read about it.
On June 23, 2023, Brandon VanSickel joined the WFXR News team as the newest Good Day Virginia anchor. He comes to the Roanoke Valley from WFXR’s sister station in Youngstown, Ohio. Click here for more.
Poynter reports that America’s local journalists are burned out. It’s not just some of them — it’s the majority of them. And women and young people are more likely to endure the psychological phenomenon than men and older reporters. Click here to see the story.
From NBCUniversal:
NBCUniversal Local’s nationwide pet adoption and donation campaign, Clear The Shelters, will return for its ninth consecutive year from Aug. 1 to 31. As part of the initiative, NBC and Telemundo owned and affiliated stations across the U.S. and Puerto Rico partner with local animal shelters and rescues to promote pet adoption and raise funds for animal welfare.
Details on 2023 Clear The Shelters highlights and initiatives, including specials on participating NBC and Telemundo stations, will be announced at a later time. Fundraising totals and the number of pet adoptions will be announced after the conclusion of the campaign.
For more information on Clear The Shelters, including participating animal shelters and rescues, along with details on local events, visit ClearTheShelters.com and the Spanish-language site DesocuparlosAlbergues.com.
On Tuesday, Troy Kless announced that his first day reporting at Houston station KHOU will be on July 10. Click here for more.
A senior executive from Nexstar Media Group scolded journalists at a Michigan TV station for leaking a memo that urged reporters to ease up on their coverage of Pride Month events. The Desk.net has the report.
Cullen Browder‘s last day at WRAL was on Tuesday. Browder, who has worked in journalism for 36 years and spent the last 25 of those as an anchor and reporter at the Raleigh news station, announced in January that he would be leaving the news business in June. Click here for more.
Fox 8 anchor Stefani Schaefer has returned to the Cleveland station. She suffered serious injuries in a home improvement accident in May, leaving her in a wheelchair. In a post on social media, Schaefer revealed that her foot slipped out from under her during yard work a few weeks ago, resulting in a hospital stay. Click here for more.
From Telemundo 48 El Paso / KTDO in El Paso, Texas:
Telemundo 48 El Paso / KTDO unveiled its new, 12,000 square-foot media center yesterday, during the station’s 4 p.m. weekday edition of Noticias Telemundo 48 giving audiences an inside look at its new facility. Featuring IP and cloud-based technology and advanced newsroom tools that improve newsgathering and content publishing across multiple platforms – built exclusively by NBCUniversal Local – at launch, KTDO’s new facility became the most advanced TV station in the El Paso DMA. NBCUniversal Local is the division that is home to 31 Telemundo-owned stations including KTDO, 12 NBC owned stations, five NBC Regional Sports Networks and two multicast networks. Click here for more on Newscast Studio.
From WCVB in Boston:
WCVB Channel 5 in Boston will present a series of grants today totaling more than $260,000 to five nonprofit organizations through its Fifty Years Fund which was facilitated by the United Way of Massachusetts Bay. The Fifty Years Fund was created as the public service component of Channel 5’s year-long celebration of its 50th year on the air and in service to the community. With the goal of raising funds to support youth-focused charities, WCVB launched this important initiative as a way to reinforce and pay homage to the station’s commitment to community service made at its inception in 1972.
The grants, range from $21,000 to $100,000, will be awarded to five local nonprofit institutions and will aid a variety of programs that target at-risk youth in the areas of mental health, mentoring, and self-esteem. The awards will be presented today by NewsCenter 5 anchor Erika Tarantal on behalf of WCVB President and General Manager, Kyle I. Grimes, and United Way of Massachusetts Bay Ansin President and Chief Executive Officer, Bob Giannino, at the start line of the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge on the Boston Common.