People
Ahmad Hicks is joining FOX owned-and-operated KMSP/9 (Minneapolis) on Oct. 10 as a sports host/reporter, coming from Tegna NBC affiliate KSDK/5 (St. Louis).
****Life Update****
— Ahmad Hicks (@AhmadHicksTV) September 7, 2022
After spending a majority of my life in St. Louis, including the last four years at KSDK, it’s time for me to take that next step. I’ve accepted a job at Fox 9 in Minnesota to be their next Sports Host/Reporter. It’ll be bittersweet leaving all my friends. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/Dzq7V266fN
Beret Leone has departed Gray NBC affiliate KTTC/10 (Rochester) and is headed to a morning reporting job at CBS O&O WCCO-TV/4 (Minneapolis). KTTC posted video of their farewell.
Country Insider reported that Tony Schultz has been promoted to brand manager and morning host at Mid-West Family’s “KQ98” (KQYB/98.3 Spring Grove-La Crosse).
Stations and companies
BIA Advisory Services says St. Paul-based Hubbard Radio is the fourth-largest radio company nationwide based on 2021 revenue, despite having far fewer stations than the top three companies (iHeartMedia, Audacy, and Cumulus). Hubbard All News outlet WTOP-FM/103.5 (Washington) maintained its position as the top revenue-generating station in the country, a distinction it’s held since 2014.
Broadcasting & Cable’s regular market profile feature turned its attention to the Minneapolis TV market, with a mention that Telemundo Minnesota (KJNK-LD/KMWE-LD) is planning to launch a full newscast in the “near future.”
CBS News and Stations, which owns WCCO-TV/4 (Minneapolis), has added its stations to the NewsON streaming app and website. It appears NewsON will include livestreams and clips from the CBS owned-and-operated stations, but not on-demand newscast replays. Hubbard ABC affiliate KSTP-TV/5 and Tegna NBC affiliate KARE/11 are already on NewsON with livestreams, newscast replays, and clips.
Gray TV’s CBS3 (KBJR/6.2 Superior-Duluth) is promoting a change to its newscast schedule on Monday, Sept. 26, with 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. newscasts replacing the current 5 and 6 p.m. broadcasts. It appears to be the first time Duluth has had a 4 p.m. newscast. KBJR’s primary NBC channel will continue to air local news at 5 and 6, with Jeopardy! and Inside Edition moving into the timeslots on the CBS channel. The two affiliations have shared a newsroom since 2007. They are also promoting a change in branding to “Northern News Now” and recently adopted “First Alert” branding for weather.
Excited to be a part of this next chapter at @KBJR6news and @CBS3Duluth!
— Briggs LeSavage (@briggslesavage) September 20, 2022
We’ve been competing against ourselves (out of the same newsroom, with the same staff) for years now. Time to come together and bring you a better product. More on what to expect this week! #northernnewsnow pic.twitter.com/oSbrQCiM46
Sinclair’s KPTH (Sioux City) has rebranded its major network-affiliated channels as “FOX Siouxland” (44.1) and “CBS Siouxland” (44.3). The CBS channel had continued to identify as “CBS14” after moving from its longtime home, KMEG/14.1, early last year.
MinnPost reported on a trend of KFAN (KFXN-FM/100.3 Minneapolis) and other radio stations involving listeners in on-air games.
The McCook Gazette profiled new station KEZL/89.7 (Culbertson), which was reported here last month, with a mention that the station plans to produce a local daily soap opera.
Regulatory issues
The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, sponsored by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Sen. Mark Kennedy (R-Louisiana), made its way through the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 15-7 vote after being briefly derailed earlier this month. Among other things, the bill would temporarily allow local media companies to collectively bargain with tech companies for reimbursement of the use of their content on services such as Facebook and Google.
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Disclosure: Jon Ellis is an employee of Gray Media Group. The statements and views expressed in this posting are his own and do not reflect those of Gray Media Group.