Maria Cristina Barros		Spero Canton
Maria Cristina Barros is the Director of Marketing and Community Relations for WSCV-TV Telemundo 51. Her career in broadcasting began in 1985.		Spero Canton is Regional Director of Public Relations for Comcast. He was hired as a WTVJ reporter by Ralph Renick in 1975.

Bert Delgado, Jr.		Jose Diaz Balart
Bert Delgado, Jr. is Vice President for Production Services for the Univision Network and WLTV. His first job in TV came in 1983 at WPBT in Miami.		Jose Diaz Balart is the News Anchor Director for Noticiero Telemundo as well as the Telemundo’s National Director of Public Affairs.

Peter G. D’Oench		Frank Forte
Peter G. D’Oench is a Reporter for WFOR-TV in Miami, He started his career in TV in 1977 at the NBC station in Amarillo, Texas.		Frank Forte produces and hosts for Fox Sports Florida & Sun Sports , following 23 years in sports reporting at WPLG-TV.

John Mays

John Mays is the Production Manager for WFOR-TV CBS4/33-TO THE MAX. He started his TV career in Fort Myers at WBBH-TV in 1981.

The 2010 Silver Circle Awards will be held on Sunday evening, April 25 at the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Hotel, 1617 SE 17th Street, Ft. Lauderdale, reception at 5:30 pm, banquet dinner ay 6:30 pm, followed by the awards presentation. The awards are given to each honoree by someone who has been important in their personal or professional life. The Award to Maria Cristina Barros will be present by Jose Cansela who is Head of Hispanic USA, a Hispanic Market Communications Firm. The Award to Spero Canton will be presented by his sons, Patrick Collins and Michael Canton. The Award to Bert Delgado, Jr. will be presented by his daughters, Alyssa and Amanda Delgado. The Award to Jose Diaz-Balart will be presented by former Silver Circle honoree Don Browne who is President of the Telemundo Communications Group, Inc. The Award to Peter D’Oench will be presented by 2008 Silver Circle honoree Manny Alvarez, longtime WFOR-TV photographer. The Award to Frank Forte will be presented by his wife, Carol Dowd Forte. The Award to John Mays will be presented by former Silver Circle honoree Mac MacDonald who is Director of Operations, Traffic and TQC for HBO Latin America. For ticket information, contact the Suncoast Chapter Administrator, Karla MacDonald at emmysuncst@aol.com.

The Suncoast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) are working together to present a student career workshop on March 27, 2010 at the University of Miami. Students from all colleges and
universities in South Florida are invited to attend.

On Friday, February 5, Dick Block flew into Miami from Los Angeles to meet with people involved with the production of the workshop. Dick, former CEO of Kaiser Broadcasting, consultant to many major broadcasting entities and mentor to leading executives in broadcasting, now devotes his time to teaching television to young people.

Pictured above with Dick in a meeting at the University of Miami are (on the left) Natalie Crujeiras, Director of Broadcast Operations and (in the center) Terry Bloom, Ph. D.

This series of shocking investigative reports exposed the inner workings of pain clinics and prescription drug abuse in the Miami-Dade County area. With adept undercover camerawork, reporter Carmel Cafiero and photographer Anthony Pineda captured damning pictures of addicts legally buying and abusing prescription drugs in broad daylight. Doctors writing these prescriptions were confronted and held accountable. Previous efforts to pass legislation to control these “pill mills”
failed, but after these stories aired, a prescription drug monitoring bill was signed into law. The hours the team invested in undercover reporting are commendable. Carmel Cafiero, reporter; Anthony Pineda, producer, photography.

The soon to retire president and CEO of WEDU, Tampa - St. Petersburg, Channel 3, has received a federal appointment from President Barack Obama to become Director of the International Broadcasting Bureau.

Richard Lobo, who has run Tampa’s PBS outlet for eight years, will need confirmation from the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Last fall, Lobo announced that he was retiring from WEDU but would stay on until a replacement is found. The station has a search committee working on finding a new president.

Lobo has had a long career in broadcasting as well as government service.

He served as general manager of WTVJ, the NBC-owned station in Miami. He also was station manager at NBC’s flagship station, WNBC-TV, in New York City; and was general manager of the NBC-owned stations in Chicago and Cleveland.

In 1994, President Bill Clinton named Lobo the director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting in the United States Information Agency where he supervised the Radio Marti program, which broadcast pro-American programs to Cuba out of Miami.

A graduate of the University of Miami, Lobo is Chairman of the Florida Public Broadcasting Service, Inc.; and sits on the Board of the Florida Association of Broadcasters, and was chosen as its Broadcaster of the Year in 1992.

He serves on the Leadership Council of the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay. A retired captain in the in the U.S. Army Reserve, Lobo will be inducted into the Tampa Bay Business Hall of Fame in March.

Your spouse works for your competitor. How do you handle that challenge?

WFTV-Channel 9 anchor-reporter Vanessa Welch and WESH-Channel 2 meteorologist Jason Brewer know the drill. They have been in the Orlando market for three years.

“Some news director might frown on having competing couples,” says Brewer, 36. “We’ve tried to be as honest and loyal to whatever company we’re working for and just do our jobs and have a healthy competition. So far, we haven’t had any issues.”

They aren’t scheduled head to head often, but when they are, they race to see the ratings.

Life in New Orleans is always vibrant, but it’s been extra lively of late. There was the Saints’ memorable Super Bowl run and the mayoral election in early February. Of course, Mardi Gras, with all its cocktails and parades, kicked off Feb. 16.

Devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, New Orleans welcomes the good times. “The Saints home playoff games were like two major conventions,” says WVUE President/General Manager Joe Cook. “The crowds were rocking.”

Yet amidst the revelry was the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti, which the New Orleans stations covered closely. New Orleans has a substantial Haitian community, and some residents felt a sense of déja vu while watching the news from Port-au-Prince. “The reactions of the Haitians-'Where is everybody?” ‘Where is the help?’–I think it sent a chill up everyone’s spine,” says WWL President/General Manager Bud Brown.

The market has about 80% of the population it did pre-Katrina. It was DMA No. 43 beforehand, dropped to No. 53 when Nielsen resumed measuring the market two years later, and sits at No. 51 now. The Big Easy’s considerable charms–quirky architecture, world-class restaurants and inimitable nightlife–keep luring folks back. “There are cultural things that exist here that don’t exist anywhere else,” says WGNO/WNOL VP/General Manager Phil Waterman.

Belo’s WWL has ruled ratings for decades, and had another big book in November. It took all the major races, with the CBS affiliate’s 12.0 household rating/17.9 share at 10 p.m. topping Hearst NBC affiliate WDSU’s 5.6/8.7. Also in the hunt are Tribune’s ABC-CW duopoly WGNO/WNOL, Louisiana Media Co.’s Fox affiliate WVUE, Belo’s MyNetworkTV affiliate WUPL and LeSEA’s independent WHNO. WWL’s $31 million in 2008 was tops in the market, per BIA/Kelsey.

WWL was one of six stations awarded a 2010 duPont-Columbia award. “There’s a hunger in the market for newscasts that have substance and involve investigative reporting,” Brown says. “It’s a difficult thing to do in a 50+ market.”

Stations are fighting hard for No. 2. WGNO is growing its Good Morning New Orleans program, which launched in fall 2008. WDSU has a new partnership with the Times-Picayune’s NOLA.com. “We provide much more video than they can generate,” says President/General Manager Joel Vilmenay,“and they provide much more exposure for our content.”

WVUE may be making the most noise. The Fox outlet has added talent and equipment to up its local presence since Saints owner Tom Benson acquired it from Emmis in 2008. Cook says WVUE may relocate to offices in the Benson Tower–which its namesake bought last September–right across from the Superdome.

“To say it mildly,” Cook says, “we have ambitious plans.”

WWL-TV’s relentless 50-part investigation into a non-profit city agency revealed that a post-Hurricane Katrina house-gutting program designed for the poor and elderly may have been a scheme to funnel money to contractors. Their investigation showed homes that the non-profit claimed to have renovated using federal dollars but where work was never done. Through extensive research, the WWL-TV team also found significant links between the highest paid contractors and the executive director of the non-profit, and one contractor who was linked to the city’s mayor, Ray Nagin. WWL-TV’s stories triggered an investigation by the U.S. Attorney, FBI, and HUD. As a result of the series, a federal grand jury began reviewing evidence of the case. The team produced a remarkable volume of stories that provided depth and detail to the investigation.

Lee Zurik, reporter; Karen Gadbois, contributor, researcher; Tom Moore, Bob Parkinson, photography; Dominic Massa, Chris Slaughter, executive producers.

Terry Gerstner Sr., a longtime fixture of New Orleans television who was admired for his professionalism and beloved for his absolute calm in a business that can be anything but, died Feb. 10 of complications of Parkinson's disease at Southeast Louisiana War Veterans Home in
Reserve. He was 83.

Mr. Gerstner was at WDSU-TV for 39 years, starting in the engineering department shortly after New Orleans’ first television station went on the air in 1948. He became a floor director, the person behind the scenes who is responsible for making sure everything happens on time and on cue, and he retired as a director.

First Coast News, which airs on Jacksonville NBC affiliate WTLV TV-12 and ABC affiliate WJXX TV-25, began broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition starting with the 5 p.m. news on Monday, February 1. And Action News, which broadcasts on CBS affiliate WTEV TV-47 and Fox affiliate WAWS TV-30, also started showing its news in HD.

The other local television newscaster, independent station WJXT TV-4, began broadcasting in HD a year ago. All local newscasts in Jacksonville are now available in high definition.

The stations have been broadcasting network programs in HD for several years, but producing local programming in HD requires a lot more equipment and can be quite expensive. None of the station managers would say how much they have spent on the equipment. But National Association of Broadcasters spokesman Dennis Wharton said the cost of a local station going HD averages about $10 million, although it can vary widely.

Jeff Brogan, a Cincinnati-native who has been with the city’s ABC-affiliate for 10 years, is packing his bags and moving to Florida to become the News Director of West Palm Beach’s WPTV. Brogan had most recently served as assistant news director for WCPO, which, like his new home, is owned by Scripps. “Brogan has been a key behind-the-scenes figure at WCPO,” writes Cincinnati media columnist John Kiesewetter.

In a memo to his staff, WPTV GM Steve Wasserman said that “an exhaustive search” had come to an end. “WCPO has made tremendous strides in recent years in the quality of its newscasts and the ratings that they generate,” Wasserman acknowledged. “Jeff has been a big part of that success.”

Brogan will begin at WPTV at the end of February. Before becoming assistant news director at WCPO, Jeff served as an Executive Producer and newscast producer.

Eric Maze has been named News Director at WFTX in Cape Coral, Florida. Maze moves to the Journal Broadcast-owned Fox-affiliate from KSHB, the NBC-affiliate in Kansas City, Missouri, where he served as Assistant News Director for three years.

In making the announcement, WFTX Vice President and General Manager Judy Kenney emphasized that Maze was the right fit for the station. “He ‘gets’ our brand and can lead the charge,” she said, adding, “There are few individuals with the skill sets to proactively advance our viewer advocacy journalism. Eric is that right person.”

His first day at WFTX was February 22. In a news release, Maze expressed his excitement at the opportunity and said that the station “executes a style of interactive journalism that is unique and resonates with the community.”

Local stations are organizing so they aren’t left out of industry efforts to develop new audience measurement services based on cable and satellite set-top box data, TVNewscheck reports.

A group of station executives met quietly at the annual convention of the National Association of Television Program Executives to discuss their strategy vis-a-vis the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement, according to sources. Among those at the NATPE meeting were representatives from Sinclair, Hearst, Fox and Fisher Communications, according to TVNewscheck

Who has time to sit on the couch and watch TV anymore? In the last 10 years, broadcasters have lost 25 percent of their audience. So to win back some viewers, the industry has a plan to grab their attention while they are on the move.

Beginning in April, eight television stations in Washington, D.C., will broadcast a signal for a new class of devices that can show programming, even in a car at high speed. In all, 30 stations in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle and Washington have installed the necessary equipment, at a cost of $75,000 to $150,000.

“Younger generations want programming on the go,” said Dennis Wharton, a spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters.

GUY RAWLINGS enters into a new agreement with WESH-TV in Orlando as primary sports anchor.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN anchor, hosts his own, new two-hour program, “Rick’s List”, Monday through Friday, from 3PM-5PM Eastern.

The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Suncoast Chapter

Officers

Dave Game, President, Executive Producer for Digital Media/CBS Stations South Florida
Chip Richards, 1st Vice President, Production Manager, WLRN-TV, PBS, Miami
Craig Stevens, 2nd Vice President, News Anchor, WSVN-TV, Miami
Victor Montilla, Vice President Puerto Rico, President, More Than Media, San Juan
Karla MacDonald, Acting Secretary, Suncoast Chapter Administrator
Betsy Behrens, Treasurer and Trustee, television producer
Bob Behrens, Executive Director, television producer

Board of Governors

Manny Alvarez, Photojournalist, WFOR/CBS4, Miami
Fabio Apelbaum, Graphic Designer, Sherjan Broadcasting, Miami
Teri Arvesu, Executive Producer, Noticias23 Univision
Jeff Barnes, Owner, COO, Big Eyed Fish Media
Giovani Benitez, Investigative Producer, WFOR/CBS4
Holly Brobst, 11pm News Producer, WSVN-TV/7
Jeff Burnside, Special Projects Reporter, NBC6/WTVJ
Abel Castillo, News Photojournalist, WFOR/CBS4
Kathleen Corso, Special Projects Producer, WPLG-TV Local 10
Wendie Feinberg, Managing Editor, Nightly Business Report,
PBS/WPBT-TV/2
Steve Greenberg, Independent Producer/Reporter
Jack Kelly, VP for Production, WPBT, Miami
Reizel Larrea-Alvarez, Producer, I-Zoom
Kevin Layne, Producer & Cinematographer, Forti/Layne Entertainment, Miami
Richard S. Maher, Technical Manager, David Brinkley Studios,
Barry University, Miami Shores
Angela Gonzalez Ramos, Programming & Public Affairs Director, Univision 23
Dan Roujansky, President, Spotlight Media Group, Inc., Miami
Laurie Stein, Producer, I-Zoom
Rodney Ward, Executive Editor of Nightly Business Report and
Senior Vice President of NBR Enterprises

Committee Chairs

Art & Design
Stacey Panson, Graphic Artist, Ft. Lauderdale
Emmy Awards
Spears Mallis, Mallis Enterprises, Inc., Miami
John Mays, Production Supervisor, WFOR/CBS4
Emmys On The Road
Craig Stevens, News Anchor, WSVN-TV, Miami
Membership Development
Tammy Darling, Director, WSVN-TV, Miami
Newsletter
Bob Behrens, Executive Director, Suncoast Chapter
Scholarship
Angela Gonzalez Ramos, Programming & Public Affairs Director, WLTV/Univision23
Web Site
Dave Game, Executive Producer for Digital Media/CBS Stations South Florida

Karla MacDonald, Suncoast Chapter Administrator
Tel. 954-322-3171
e-mail emmysuncst@aol.com

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TUBE TALK is written and published by newsletter editor, Bob Behrens who also is Executive Director of the Suncoast Chapter with design and layout produced by Stacey Panson who also is Chairman of the Art & Design Committee for the Suncoast Chapter. Submissions related to television in the Suncoast region of Florida, Mobile, Alabama, Louisiana and Puerto Rico are welcome. Send to emmysuncst@aol.com.