Summer Breeze of Media Moves

We know that the Godfather (John Walters) has moved from ABC5 to Iowa State University.

More sports shorts…

John Sears comes back to Des Moines and adds four numbers to his station channel assignment. Sears goes from KCRG TV 9 to WHO-TV13. He’ll work under Keith Murphy and replaces Zach Borg.

Molly Nelson has already left KCCI for a position at DMACC.

Another TV8 staffer departs soon. Keri Gavin will leave the news business and KCCI within days.

My old pal Beth Marsoun had the interim tag removed and now is News Director at KWQC in Davenport. Beth started as an intern, then tape editor, producer, executive producer and now is the boss.

Across the river, WQAD is settling into a new main female anchor. Denise Hnytka is new 5, 6, and 10p anchor at the ABC affiliate.  Hnytka replaces Rae Chelle Davis.

Jonathon Gregg has pulled up stakes at CRI in Oskaloosa and become a Packer fan in Green Bay at NBC 26. WGBA hired him to one-man-band, among other things. His boss is former KWWL sports director Bob Healey. Jon’s former boss at CRI was Tami Wiencek, another past-KWWL’er.

Gregg served on the IBNA Board of Directors until April. Another board member Dean Borg, is recovering after a weekend fall. Borg broke an ankle, leg and also had a pacemaker installed. Dean is efficient in his medical visits. He’ll probably show the scars this weekend on Iowa Press. Yes, he wants to be back on air this weekend.

And making his debut on the journal of rural America is Mike Pearson. The Grinnell banker steps to the mic to succeed his father, Mark. The elder Pearson passed away in June.

What else needs to be reported? Drop me a line: IPTVPaul@gmail.com

 

Former WHO and WOI anchor passes away

Bobbi Bergman in her WOI days.

For years, Bobbi Bergman was the first person many people saw when they woke up in Des Moines. As part of the WHO-TV and later WOI news team, she got up early to bring you the news.

Bergman later anchored the weekend evening news at WOI-TV.

Bobbi left the news business and her on-air identity as Bobbi Bergman, a couple of years ago and among many things was a wedding officiant.

Bobbi also spent time officiating weddings.

Now her friends and family are searching for meaning in her passing.

Bobbi Silvernail Brunscheon died November 27th, 2011.

According to friends who’ve talked to her husband, Bobbi was complaining of shortness of breath Thursday, stopped breathing that day and never recovered.

Her Facebook page is being used to distribute information about her passing. Her husband posted this update today.

I would like to thank all of Bobbi’s friends for the condolences and kind words. Bobbi was a very special person and had a heart of gold. The two years I spent with her were the two best years of my life. I loved her and made sure I told her that every day. I will miss her beautiful smile and her good energy she provided to me when I was down. I love you Bobbi Silvernail Brunscheon!!!

Bobbie was very much a people person, loved to engage in good debate and above all, made sure you knew she was a huge Michigan fan.

Friend Brooke Bouma posted this in the WHO’s The Morning Buzz blog.

 I met her when I first started working at WHO in 2000 and I was lucky to count her as a friend over the years. She was a lively spirit and I she always put a smile on my face. I talked to her husband yesterday and he told me doctors still don’t know what happened. She stopped breathing Thursday morning and never recovered.

Click on this link to read the entire post from Brooke.

I was able to find a little more bio information Bobbi for those interested.

Bobbi Bergman joined the ABC5 news team in December 2005 as the weekend anchor. Her decade long journalism career has taken her to Washington, D.C., Rapid City, South Dakota and Minneapolis, and she most recently worked for WHO-TV in Des Moines. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications and a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from Heidelberg College in Tiffin, Ohio. She also attended American University in Washington, D.C.

Bobbi is a champion baton twirler and a former “Mrs. Iowa.” She is active in the Des Moines community and serves as president-elect for VSA Arts of Iowa, a non-profit group that promotes the creative power of people with disabilities.

Her obituary is posted here. Funeral services will be Wednesday.

Big Stage Ahead for TV Anchor, PSL

Paula Sands in 2002 (QUAD-CITY TIMES FILE PHOTO)

There are three named institutions in the Quad Cities. John Deere, Happy Joe and Paula Sands. Everyone knows all three in town and for good reasons. They’re dependable, have good taste and in a class by themselves. That’s just Paula.

Des Moines may have John Bachman and Kevin Cooney. Sioux City has Larry Wentz, the Cedar Valley has The Ron Steele, but they’re no Paula.

The KWQC-TV6 mainstay is the face of the NBC affiliate in Davenport and all the QC TV sets.

If you believe the legend, Paula Sands walked into the WOC (Channel 6′s call letters until 1986) station in 1982, got a job as a receptionist and quickly moved in to a roll on the syndicated PM Magazine, as the youngest host of the show. Then she hosted Live at Five and eventually Paula Sands Live.

Name me another TV personality in Iowa with their name in the show?

Paula now anchors PSL at 430p and the 6p news on KWQC.

Paula delivers her news on her show, May 12, 2011. (image from KWQC.com)

Now she’s in the middle of a story of a fight against ovarian cancer, her own. Paula announced in a pre-taped segment on Thursday that its been 3 weeks since her diagnosis of Stage II ovarian cancer. According to a Quad City Times story by David Burke, Sands said on-air “I am equipped for the battle.” She later added, “we’re gonna start out having a little bit of fun with this.” Another article in the Argus/Dispatch includes quotes from news director Denise Killian about Paula’s battle, including details about the .

This is the 3rd health issue to strike the folks on Brady Street Hill. Chief Photographer Randy Biery‘s wife was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year. Reporter Fran Riley was diagnosed with a brain tumorand is recovering. He hopes to return to work in the next couple of weeks.

Whenever I would make a public appearance for the station, one question I would always get was, “what is Paula really like?” For me and anyone inside the walls, it was the same, professional, upbeat and identical to her on-air personality.

For those not familiar, I would describe PSL as Martha Stewart meets Oprah with some Rachel Ray thrown in for fun. A typical show has a cooking segment, movie reviews, visit from the zoo, a fashion show and usually a visit to some new speciality shop in the Quad City area.

Paul and Amy holding Noah with Paula. A day short of 5 years before Paula went through her first cancer surgery.

I was on PSL several times. Amy was on as well. Once we made our favorite holiday desert. Amy was a great and Paula wanted her on more. The next time for Amy was when Paula visited our hospital room as we were about to go home from the hospital with Baby Noah.

Each I got to anchor with Paula, it was fun and nerve-racking. This was The Paula Sands you were sitting next to. There was that one time I sang in a toga and even got to talk about Ron Burgandy’s Anchorman movie as the three TV6 male anchors spent time on Paula’s couch. Good thing no one put anything on YouTube back then….

Best to Paula and David in this trying time ahead for them both.

First weekend at KWQC

KWQC - TV6 Logo

First days are one thing, first weekends are another.

I don’t mean weekends to party, I mean weekends to work.

When you’re hired to be the weeknight evening anchor, you work Saturday and Sunday from about 1 to 11p. Weekends in news can be fun. It is just you and the crew doing the news. No extras around to hold you back or distract you.

My first weekend in Davenport at KWQC-TV6 was June 10 and 11, 2000. That’s ten years ago today. Earlier this week I talked about my first day at TV6. Part of my job description was to be the producer as well as the anchor. Not a problem since I had produced before. My first weekend in the Quad Cities, I had some producing help which allowed me to be comfortable with the set up of this newsroom. It is an undertaking to get used to the way script pages are written and marked, scripts printed and what time all of that is supposed to happen.

My trainer was executive producer Betty Vesey. She had lots of experience and was in charge of all news producers in the building. She helped me get my feet wet and before I would be on my own for decisions, most likely the next weekend. Because afterall, what person wants to work weekends once they get off of them?

Fran "The Legend" Riley - KWQC-TV (hat and ear muffs)

A typical weekend staff included a package by weekend morning anchor Fran Riley. Eugene Kennedy was the dayside reporter and Elizabeth Goodsitt was our nightside reporter. Sunday’s staff included only 1 dayside and 1 nightside crew. Each reporter was with a photojournalist who I would have gather another story in addition to the reporter’s story. If you ask some of those guys, it was 23 extra stories. Erik Maitland did weather and Dan Pearson knocked it out of the park with sports. Sunday’s brought Thom TC Cornelis in to the fray.

All the behind the scenes stuff went fine to my knowledge.

It was the on-air stuff that was a different story.

The lead story that first Saturday night was about the Moline softball team. In Illinois, softball and baseball end in early June not early August like in Iowa.

Moline softball had made it to state in the championship game.

Our first piece or video in the open tease was Moline softball. I knew where Moline was, I knew they were the Maroons and Amy even lived in Moline.

Here’s the transcript from that night.

“Good evening I’m Paul Yeager. The Moline softball team played for history today…..”

If you read it that way, it is fine.

The problem with TV is you have talk and do pictures with the words.

The way it sounded at home?

“Good evening, I’m Paul Yeager. The Mo-Line softball team played for history today.”

Problem is, the town is pronounced Mo-Leen.

Somehow I kept that job for the next six years. Because afterall, all I could do was go up from there.

Thanks for being so understanding, Quad Cities.