Though not in the Upper Midwest, the TV industry is mourning the deaths of WBTV (Charlotte) meteorologist Jason Myers and pilot Chip Tayag in a helicopter crash. The local police chief said it appeared Tayag veered the helicopter toward a grassy area to avoid traffic on the interstate, calling it a “heroic incident” that may have prevented additional injuries. Meanwhile, colleagues remembered Myers as a family man who always had a positive attitude. GoFundMe accounts have been set up to help both the Myers and Tayag families.
People
Samantha Mesa has been named morning co-anchor at Tegna ABC affiliate WOI-DT/5 (Ames-Des Moines). The Des Moines Register has more.
Inside Radio reports that Hayden Douglas has been promoted to program director and morning host at “101.7 The Bull” (KBKB-FM Fort Madison-Burlington).
Longtime radio and TV personality Leo Laporte announced plans to depart from his nationally-syndicated “The Tech Guy” radio show, which airs live on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. Central time. In January, Rich DeMuro of KTLA (Los Angeles) will take over the Saturday timeslot on the Premiere Radio Networks as “Rich on Tech.” Laporte will continue to host podcasts on his own TWiT network, which he founded before the radio show went into syndication. Regional affiliates include WNAX/570 (Yankton), WMEQ/880 (Menomonie-Eau Claire), KDAL/610 (Duluth), and KKEQ/1480 (Fosston).
Stations
Gray TV CBS/FOX/NBC affiliate KEYC/12 (Mankato) has debuted a new studio and news set, which includes a video array behind the main news desk, a weather center, touchscreen, and a separate area with several small monitors.
Incredibly proud of the team at KEYC News Now, especially those behind the scenes who’ve been involved in our set project over the past few months. Planning began more than a year ago on the first new set since 2004. Honored to work for a great company @GrayTelevision #GrayProud pic.twitter.com/FFVAOfgP3P
— Mitch Keegan (@Mitch_Keegan) November 22, 2022
The Des Moines Register and The Gazette (Cedar Rapids) reported that Iowa PBS ended its fall pledge drive early after noticing suspicious activity on its network system.
Iowa Public Radio noted that KSUI/91.7 (Iowa City) is at reduced power and its HD Radio signal is temporarily off the air.
The Friday before Thanksgiving (Nov. 18) proved to be the most popular pre-Thanksgiving day for Upper Midwest radio stations to make the transition to All-Christmas playlist, with at least 13 making the change that day. Many more stations, especially non-commercial Contemporary Christian outlets, are making the change over the long Thanksgiving weekend. Results are still being tabulated.
In case you missed it here:
- Forum to Buy Independent TV Station in Sioux Falls, Launch News
- “El Gallo” Brings First-Ever Spanish-Language Format to Cedar Rapids
- Five Stations in Western UP Sold to California-Based Group
- North-Central Iowa Radio Pair Sold to Local Buyer
News tips? Press releases? If you don’t see yours here, I probably didn’t receive it! Please send them to jonellis@northpine.com!
Disclosure: Jon Ellis was an employee of Gray Media Group at the time this item was posted. The statements and views expressed in this posting are his own and do not reflect those of Gray Media Group.