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A few years ago I was digging up a broken French drain from my yard and I had a bunch of PVC pipes and nothing to do with them. I thought it was time to make some art. Much like Michelangelo would carve marble, I fit together PVC pipes.

My original muse was the recession. Then I thought and it only made sense to take pipes commonly used for drainage and make it TV related. My muse was channeled, and like a slap in the face by an executive news producer, I decided to recreate television color bars. It is both painted and lit to match what TV professionals use to set the correct colors for TV productions (although broadcast engineers will say the piece does not accurately recreate color bars - but it’s art).

I’m thinking of calling it TV Color Delight or TV Color Deluxe.

When I finished my work, my two year old said it was “beautiful.” I “premiered” the piece on my front lawn Halloween night. And no joke, trick or treaters actually walked up to it, observed it and said they liked it. The best was when someone drove up and took a photo (maybe it was the HOA looking to fine me - no bill received yet though).

So where do you display something so magnificent?

Naturally you would think it is a perfect fit for a TV station. I could loan it to the KTRK 13 pool area or maybe KPRC 2’s weather garden. However, I really want it in the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH). If anyone has any connections, please let me know.

I have already been plotting my next piece with a totally different medium. However, I think there might be more PVC pipe magic on the way. This time though, there is no more pipes to dig up. I’ll actually have to go to Home Depot and buy some.

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Bob Allen has seen practically everything that passes for sports mythology in Houston over the past 40 years, so I was surprised when he said this week that the team he has most enjoyed following was the 2011 Texans.
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WFAA8’s next news director could be a first for D-FW market
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KDFW Reporter Peter Daut Joins WSOC-WAXN
Peter Daut, a reporter at KDFW, is leaving Dallas for a position as morning anchor at WSOC-WAXN in Charlotte.

Channeling Marvin Zindler
The Dallas Morning News remembers KTRK Action 13’s Marvin Zindler.

WOAI may be making light side too light
WOAI-TV, which was thought of as San Antonio’s no-nonsense news station for decades - even to the point of seeming too stodgy - has done a dramatic turnaround in the past year-and-a-half.

S.A. radio vet Chris Duel axed from sports show
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KVUE-TV Goes North Again to Find Newest Reporter
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All-Comedy Station Hits Dallas Radio February 1
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New morning show debuts on Austin’s Greatest Hits
Bo Chase is now helming the wakeup shift on 98.9 FM Austin’s Greatest Hits, a station focused on oldies from the 1960s and ’70s. He debuted today in the 6 to 10 a.m. timeslot.
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S.A. TV beauty, ex-beau on upcoming ‘Amazing Race’
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Activists want climate change on TV weather reports
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MOVING
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
- DFW reality TV show follows ‘American Pin Ups’
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Chris Best via Twitter @CBS11BestEP

KPRC 2 has hired the Best candidate for its open assistant news director position. Well at least the guy has the Best name.

Chris Best from CBS stations KTVT 11/KTXA 21 in the Dallas-Fort Worth TV market, is taking the Houston TV management gig (I’m sure Chris likes stuff like this as much as I like Crime Dog talk).

According to an internal KTVT memo about his new gig, Best is passionate, very good at breaking news and incorporating technology into the newscasts. It says he has been the driving force behind TXA21 News.

Best joined KTXA as managing editor in 2007 from WKMG Orlando where he was the assistant news director.

Best’s last day in DFW TV will be February 17th. As you might imagine, he is getting well wishes from the Metroplex TV community including former KHOU 11 reporter (now WFAA Jason Whitely.

Best replaces Rick McFarland in the assistant news director role. McFarland is now the senior executive producer in charge of the areas like special assignments, the investigative unit, scheduling and sports.

Best did not get back with me for a comment.

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Mix 102.9 KDMX in Dallas has just landed a big asset for its mid-day lineup. That’s right, new Dallas resident Khloé Kardashian Odom. She’s in the Metroplex because her husband, Lamar Odom, is a recently traded Dallas Mavericks player now.

Clear Channel Media and Entertainment’s MIX 102.9 – KDMX -FM announced today that, Khloé Kardashian Odom will be the newest member of the on-air staff. The Mix Up with Khloé Kardashian Odom on MIX 102.9 takes over DFW from 12 noon – 1 pm CST starting Monday, January 30.

The Mix Up with Khloé Kardashian Odom on MIX 102.9 is a daily, one hour, commercial free show where Khloé will take requests, chat with her celebrity friends and more, during Mavs season while she’s with her husband. “Khloé has the perfect mix of personality and sincerity that will fit right in on MIX 102.9,” stated Operations Manager, Patrick Davis.

Khloé, star of, ‘Khloé & Lamar’, ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’, co-designer of Kardashian Kollection and other projects will now add daytime radio host in her new hometown of Dallas to her list of credits.

“We embark on a new era where our on-air talent is also an international star,” says Program Director, Jay Michaels; “I am excited to see how this unfolds on-air and the entertainment it will offer our listeners.”

“I have always loved doing radio! The best part is connecting with the callers and I’m so excited to get to know the Dallas audience,” stated Khloé.

In addition to her new role in Dallas as hostess of The Mix Up with Khloé Kardashian Odom on MIX 102.9, you can find Khloé active in her different business ventures, engaged in her charity work and filming.

Tune in Monday, January 30 at 12 noon for the debut of The Mix Up with Khloé Kardashian Odom on MIX 102.9…..the voice that will become DFW’s source of entertainment.

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Dallas based network news producer, Derik Lattig (also formerly of KTVT 11 and KTRK 13), tells me he is embarking on a new project and it involves women and reality TV. Sounds like it a winning formula in that world!

It’s called American Pin Ups and follows pin-up models and a photographer in Fort Worth:

Safari Productions presents the new original real-life series “American Pin Ups,” which follows two Texas pin up models and a photographer who are hoping fame and fortune are just one click away. A “pin up” craze is sweeping the country and this trio hopes their photographs, costumes and attitude will propel them into the national spotlight. The soon to be shot 10-episode half-hour series is currently being shopped to several major Networks.

Each episode of “American Pin ups” dives into the fun but competitive world of retro pin up photography. Watch as these nationally published professional’s juggle their day to day lives and battle for the chance to land a cover or spread in major magazines. The show begins featuring Lorelei Lee and Flossie Carmichael who appear to be everyday wives, moms and homemakers. Appearances can be deceiving though as a phone call can transform this pair into sexy rock and roll gals from days gone by or elegant fur clad models. The man behind the camera is Rene Soliz, who has his own magazine “Delicious Dolls”. He too works to balance his “real job” as an engineer with his love of photography. It’s a rock and roll filled half hour show illustrating the rollercoaster life of a pin up.

From pesky garage workers on location to conflicts with other models to the truly bizarre, these models do what it takes in hopes of reaching the top. The high-stakes race is on as they set out to get that perfect picture, and any setback can cost big bucks.

From shooting in freezing cold temperatures in front of Texas landmarks to dark damp warehouses, no shoot is too hard for these professionals to handle. Lorelei Lee has been featured in numerous magazines, films and commercial TV over the past several years and clearly has a knack for the business. She always manages to keep a smile on her face and makes the best of adverse situations both in front of and behind the camera. Flossie Carmichael may be slightly newer to the pin up world but is no rookie. She’s about as tough and competitive as they come. She has participated in dozens of shoots since 2009. Whether at work in his historic Deep Ellum studio in Dallas or on location Rene Soliz is a true professional whose photographs and magazine have received a lot of attention.

www.Americanpinups.tv

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NBC KXAS 5 sent me a release about how one of its shows has been nominated for a GLAAD Media Award. The station says it is the only local TV station nominated for this national award:

NBC 5’s “NBC 5 Spotlight,” a locally-produced program for and about North Texans, has been nominated by The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) for their annual GLAAD Media Awards, which recognize and honor media for outstanding images of the GLBT community.

“NBC 5 Spotlight: GLBT in Texas” is nominated in the Outstanding TV Journalism – Newsmagazine category and is the only local television station to earn a nomination among any of GLAAD’s 116 nominees across 25 English-language categories.

The 23rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media from across the nation for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives.

“NBC 5 Spotlight: GLBT in Texas,” a thirty-minute program, originally aired in February 2011 on NBC 5 and DFW Nonstop, NBC 5’s 24/7 digital channel. The program tells the stories of local people in touching reality: the first Dallas Police Department officer to transition gender during her career with the department; a Fort Worth lesbian couple successfully adopting an at-risk youth into the family; and, a video essay on the Dallas Diablos Rugby Football Club who openly include both gay and straight team members.

NBC 5 anchor/reporter Kristi Nelson hosted and reported in the nominated episode and NBC 5 executive producer Reginald Hardwick produced the program.

The GLAAD Media Awards ceremonies will be held in New York on March 24, in Los Angeles on April 21 and in San Francisco on June 2.

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Dave Ward fans flood KTRK with well wishes after fall takes Houston TV icon off the air
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NBC Sports seeks incentives to put studio downtown
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Teresa Woodard leaving KTVI to work at WFAA in Dallas, her hometown
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Hansen re-ups at WFAA8
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Reporter Julie Tam Leaving KXAS in Dallas
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Sarah Lucero’s new bundle pays first visit to KENS 5 newsroom
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KEYE-TV, KXAN-TV Short Staffed; Anybody Notice?
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Sarah Frazier Named SVP/Market Manager For CBS Radio Houston
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Houston Christian non-com KSBJ pays $2.1M for Liberman’s KNTE-FM (96.9)
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Girl, Wanted, by Texas Watchdog’s Steve Miller, nominated for Edgar Allan Poe award
Texas Watchdog reporter Steve Miller has been nominated for the prestigious Edgar Allan Poe Award.

Radio consultant Bob Cohen strengthens ties with Gow Broadcasting
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MegaTV Channel 55 in Houston, Texas Reveals Its 2012 Upfront Plans
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Spurs will remain a Clear Channel property on WOAI
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KUT’s John Aielli thanks listeners for their support
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Dallas company buys DFW area TV station
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DIGITAL
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
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MORE VIDEOS
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ABC-13 faces critical ratings period without Dave Ward as he recovers from fall
Viewers flooded ABC-13’s website Tuesday with well wishes for the recovery of news mainstay Dave Ward, while the station faced an impending ratings period without a star anchor.
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Mary Benton, TV news reporter
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Behind enemy lines
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Wrapping up bowl ratings
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UH School of Theatre & Dance Lending Talents to CBS’ ‘48 Hours’
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Photog blogger Turdpolisher writes first novel
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Nick and Artie Show jumped out of the gate in 2012
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Southbound Food returns to Houston market on NewsRadio 740 KTRH
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‘The Prison Show’ Helps Texas Inmates Find Escape
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Social Embed Makes Houston News Stickier
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KXAN’s Jim Swift Still Spinning Yarns After 34 Years
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New KVUE Crime & Courts Reporter Returns Home to Texas
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New KVET morning show debuts
nne Hudson, who works evenings at sister station KASE 101, will team up with “The Roadhouse” host Chris Mosser weekdays from 5 to 10 a.m.
They replace longtime KVET-FM host Bob Cole, who departed the station last month after 20 years on the air.

Documentary covers KTRH host
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Houston, We Have a Problem: Let’s Talk Radio in Houston
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Former local news anchor dies at 66
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KIAH dumps Universal Sports
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‘Texas Trib’ Ropes In Funds and Readers
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Belo Promotes Valentine and Weir
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KTMD Houston Names McAlone Sales VP
Former Univision account exec Michael McAlone is tapped to lead sales efforts at Telemundo’s Houston O&O.

Craig James Debuts in Senate Debate
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The Live Well Network Adds Two New Shows to Winter Schedule
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KRIS Files Complaint with FCC against Time Warner
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NATIONAL
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DIGITAL
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
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- KPRC 2 anchors use tablet for scripts on air
- KCOH owner Michael Petrizzo passes away
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- KTRK 13 moves anchors to newsroom for a night?
- KTRK 13’s Art Rascon’s son Jacob to KNBC Los Angeles
- KHOU 11’s Mark Greenblatt joins ABC News

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MORE VIDEO
- Reporter punches boy in live shot (Thanks Eric)
- Matt Lauer Celebrates 15th Anniversary As ‘Today’ Co-Host
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Texans’ playoff win draws massive TV audience
More than one-third of the Greater Houston area’s 2.1 million television households watched the Texans’ playoff wild card win Saturday over the Bengals.

Fox anchor Jose Grinan ties the knot
Fox 26 KRIV anchor Jose’ Grinan married long time girlfriend Kathryn Griffin Townsend.

Shawn Rutherford Gone From KXAN TV
Morning weather anchor Shawn Rutherford is gone from KXAN-TV reports Jim McNabb.

KHOU 11 studio demolished…the old one at least
A big boom could be heard at the Texas Medical Center on Sunday as demolition crews brought down a 20-story building that used to be home to KHOU 11 News.

Another Belo split completed
It’s been nearly four years since Belo Corporation split in two, with the newspaper side being spun off into a new company, A.H. Belo Corporation. Now the two have finally divided up their real estate holdings.

Dynamo, KPRC-TV reach historic agreement to broadcast games for 2012 season
The Houston Dynamo and Houston’s NBC affiliate, KPRC-TV, have reached an agreement to broadcast six regular season matches for the 2012 season. KPRC will exclusively air a “Match of the Month” on the station’s main channel, KPRC Local 2, and feature Dynamo ancillary programming on its digital channel throughout the season.

Billy The Kidd Signs Multi-Year Clear Channel Deal
CLEAR CHANNEL Top 40 KHKS (106.1 KISS-FM)/DALLAS APD/MD/afternoon jock and syndicated PREMIUM CHOICE jock BILLY THE KIDD has signed a multi-year deal that will allow him to continue kicking ass for the company for the foreseeable future.

Mark Shecterle Named NSM At News 92 FM/Houston
RADIO ONE News KROI (NEWS 92 FM)/HOUSTON has named METRO NETWORKS regional Dir./Sales MARK SHECTERLE as GSM. SHECTERLE is a former VP/GM of crosstown Top 40 KRBE when it was owned by SUSQUEHANNA.

KEYE News Crawl Delivers Old News
KEYE-TV made the crawl even less important Tuesday on its 10 p.m. newscast when it ran stories that were several days old.

All That Jazz
Critics say KTSU has lost its listeners, not to mention its soul, by ditching its cutting-edge music and many of its veteran DJs.

5 Replacements for The Jim Rome Show
​Jim Rome is done in the Houston sports-talk radio market after KILT-AM 610 dropped the popular The Jim Rome Show last week.
Rome’s show had become more than a little tedious in recent years, so replacing it should be easy; here are five replacements that would make for riveting programming in Rome’s vacated three-hour hole.

Say howdy to freshly scrubbed Hank-FM at KTFW, outside Fort Worth
LKCM Radio Group’s KTFW-FM (92.1 FM) relaunched Friday, January 6 at 6 a.m., as Hank-FM, a broad country-based format in the realm of variety hits Jack and Bob.

Shout out to Houston journalist Matt Sampsell
He’s former sports reporter/ anchor from FOX 26 who has transferred his skills to the radio. Matt now works as a general assignment report for the new News 92 radio in Houston.

A Tim and Bob Gallery
Often referred to as Houston’s first morning duo, Tim and Bob were together on KPRC for over a decade.

Disney, Comcast Set Major Carriage Deal
The 10-year agreement provides Xfinity TV customers broad access to sports, news and entertainment content across multiple screens in and out of the home. Also included are retransmission consent rights for the seven ABC O&Os (KTRK).

KTMD drops Inmigrante for new rerun channel
KTMD channel 47 has dropped Manuel Solis’ Inmigrante TV from channel 47.2, replacing it with “Exitos TV.”

“Kat Country” KATP Amarillo, Texas, Adopts Jockless Presentation
Townsquare Media’s KATP (Kat Country 102) Amarillo, Texas, has let its air staff go and is adopting a Jack-FM like, jockless presentation, while keeping the format country, according to Radio Info.

MOVING
Napoli Management Group let’s us know LoriAna Hernandez renews her agreement with KTBC in Austin as primary anchor.

NATIONAL
- For ‘CBS This Morning,’ Showtime Has Arrived
- Changing the State of Play
- NBC Entertainment Head Weighs In on ‘Community,’ ’30 Rock’ and ‘House’
- Keith Olbermann: Not Worth It
- Chelsea Clinton’s NBC News Tenure May Be Over Soon: Report

DIGITAL
- Houston, Dallas, San Antonio among first cities to get Sprint’s 4G LTE
- Analyst: Netflix Now the 15th Most-Watched TV ‘Network’ in U.S.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
- Changes at 740 KTRH and 950 KPRC
- KHOU 11’s Christine Haas to KNSD 7 NBC San Diego
- Oprah to air Joel Osteen interview with tough questions
- New 740 KTRH and 950 KTRH lineup schedule 2012
- Understand weight loss, calories and MTV through books

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MORE VIDEOS
- Ron Burgundy News Prank Gets WGBA Meteorologist (Thanks Murdock)
- KTLA’s Weatherman Throws A Fit When There’s Not Enough Time For His Forecast
- Hot Anchorwoman blooper FAIL
- Traffic reporter accidentally walks in front of camera
- KHOU 11 News 2011 Year Ender
- KEYE 2011 Year In Review

WFAA’s Dale Hansen talks about being molested as a child
In an emotional segment on WFAA/Channel 8, sports anchor Dale Hansen, led to speak out by the Penn State scandal, revealed that he had been sexually molested when he was 10 years old.
- Dale Hansen talks about reaction to his revelation that he was molested

KILT (610 AM) will end Rome’s 14-year run with station
Jim Rome, whose hard-edged, opinionated talk show has been a fixture on KILT (610 AM) for almost 14 years, will be dropped by the CBS Radio all-sports station after Friday’s show after more than a year of declining ratings.
- Disappointed Rome to Houston fans: ‘Don’t give up on me’

Former KPRC reporter’s website heals the brokenhearted
Former KPRC Local 2 reporter Elizabeth “Ellie” Scarborough’s website Pink Kisses.

WFAA8 looking for new news director after Michael Valentine’s promotion to corporate position
Dallas-based WFAA8 has begun the search for a new news director with the promotion of Michael Valentine to a corporate position, station sources tell unclebarky.com.

Former KXAS Reporter Says Media Bias Is Reason He’s Running for Congress
Former KXAS reporter Grant Stinchfield says a major reason he’s now running for Congress is because he got tired of dealing with bias in the media.

And to all a good night: D-FW’s list of 2011 TV departures
Uncle Barky’s annual alphabetical list of on-camera D-FW news people who left their stations by choice or otherwise.

Get that camera out of my face - it’s illegal for you to video tape me
Fox 26 KRIV photographer Torrey Walker heard it on Monday. Isiah Carey AKA The Insite was told it last Thursday. What did they hear? People who were clearly in the public told us as members of the news media it was illegal for us to video tape them in a public place.

Exclusive December PPM Analysis: Houston
CLEAR CHANNEL AC KODA bested RADIO ONE Top 40/Rhythmic KBXX to assume the #1 ranking in HOUSTON for DECEMBER P6+.

Houston’s top 20 sports talk personalities of 2011
Houston Media Watch breaks it down.

Austin TV vacancies to be filled
Change was a constant at local TV and radio stations in 2011. Look for a number of vacant spots to be filled in coming weeks, including new reporters at KEYE, KVUE and KXAN. KXAN is also searching for weekday morning and weekend morning anchors.

Walton and Johnson in Austin
KKRW 93.7 The Arrow’s Walton and Johnson have picked up Talk Radio 1370 AM KJCE as an affiliate.

Craig James exits ESPN to run for US Senate
Former SMU football star turned ESPN analyst Craig James made it official and filed to run in the Texas Republican Primary for U.S. Senate on April 3.

P-N’s Frank: Local Nielsen Problems ‘Severe’
Alan Frank, president of the six-station Post-Newsweek group (including KPRC and KSAT), says that he has expanded his use of the Rentrak set-to-box viewing data because his problems with the local Nielsen services are “extraordinary and severe.” He may not renew his Nielsen contract, he says.

WFAA, WSB, WTVF Honored with duPont Awards
The duPont jury has announced 14 winners of the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, including four local news stations. WFAA-TV in Dallas/Ft. Worth will be honored for a series of investigative reports about corrupt practices at local trade school.

New Mom Sally Hernandez Back at the KXAN-TV Morning Anchor Desk
Sally Hernandez has returned to her familiar spot anchoring the KXAN-TV morning and Noon newscasts following three months maternity leave.

Celina Avila to take the airwaves in California
Former KVIA reporter Celina Avila will return to the airwaves in the new year at KESQ, the ABC affiliate in Palm Springs, Calif.

KTSM’s Porter leaving next month
KTSM reporter and former weekend anchor Kai Porter will say goodbye to El Paso next month. His last day at the station is Jan. 8.

Friends Solicit Donations For Allen McGee’s Survivors
Friends and acquaintances of TOWNSQUARE MEDIA Rock KKTX (96X)/TYLER, TX afternoon-drive host ALLEN MCGEE are coming to the aid of his surviving family and children.

MOVING
Former KTRK 13 digital sales account executive Hector Garcia moves to KPRC 2 in the same role. His role at Power Radio will diminish.

NATIONAL
- NBC Sports Network gets into game
- Winfrey: Dedicated to OWN despite rocky first year
- JERRY SANDUSKY CASE NBC Correspondent Arrested Courting Exclusive Interview
- Telemundo To Deliver Best Primetime Ratings Performance In Network History In 2011
- Viral video of anchor raises new questions
- In Beck’s Shadow, Rise of ‘The Five’
- New Day Dawns for CNN Mornings

DIGITAL
- 5 New Year’s Resolutions for Your Station’s Facebook Page
- Internet distributors are changing the TV syndication game

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
- KXAS NBC5 reporter Kimberly King leaves station
- Reporter gets biggest story of all time
- KHOU 11 grabs Rekha Muddaraj from KFMB San Diego
- Top mikemcguff.com posts for 2011
- KTRK 13 reporter Cynthia Cisneros becomes VP

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