Tag Archives: NBC 13

CBS 42 owner clears bankruptcy

Posted on October 27, 2009 by | Leave a comment

cbs42-logoNew Vision Television, owner of CBS 42 (WIAT) in Birmingham, emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy this month. We first reported the bankruptcy in July.

The company, based in Atlanta and Los Angeles, owns 14 stations nationwide.

“New Vision now has one of the strongest balance sheets in our sector,” Jason Elkin, CEO and founder of New Vision, said in a statement. “Being debt-free will enable us to invest in our people, our product and complementary acquisitions to drive New Vision forward, while our competitors continue to focus on daily liquidity and covenant compliance.”

New Vision made no job or benefit cuts linked to the reorganization, the company said.

Other local TV notes:

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How a UAB student blogger scooped Birmingham mainstream media

Posted on May 21, 2009 by | 5 comments

uab car crash commons

When a car sped through a busy UAB campus green and crashed into the dining hall window, the news went out quickly on Twitter and Facebook. But not a single mainstream media outlet responded.

andrew stoneInstead, UAB student blogger Andrew Stone posted the story and photos to his site, Iloveuab.com. That single post, “BREAKING NEWS! Car crashes into UAB Commons!” led to high traffic and queries from those media outlets.

We asked Stone to share how the story came together, and how he managed to build on that one fateful post.

Reporting

April 27 was a normal day, and as usual I was brainstorming about what I needed to write for the day. I’m sure you know how it is: Sometimes, there’s tons to talk about, and other times, you have to force the words to flow from your fingers. However, all that changed very quickly!

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EXCLUSIVE: NBC 13 cuts another 11 positions

Posted on March 31, 2009 by | 6 comments

scott mauldin NBC 13Media of Birmingham has learned in this exclusive report that NBC 13 eliminated 11 positions across various departments this week, including senior reporter Scott Mauldin (top left) and reporter Havonnah Johnson (bottom left). Vice president and general manager Gene Kirkconnell cited the economy as the reason behind the latest round of cuts.

havonnah johnson NBC 13Monday, Media General, which owns NBC 13, cut 130 positions total nationwide, after suspending 401(k) matching contributions and mandating two-week furloughs.

NBC 13

NBC 13 laid off 10 people in January, while ABC 33/40 laid off 15 people and Fox 6 laid off 10 in February.

Kirkconnell would not say how many employees NBC 13 has, and referred questions about further cuts from Media General to the company’s representatives. Media General has not responded to e-mail requests.

He said that NBC 13’s employees were doing a good job working with limited resources and that the station’s March ratings were looking good. NBC’s local news programs in the morning and at 5 and 6 p.m. showed increases in household ratings over the same time in 2008.

Update: Birmingham Business Journal story profiles Mauldin’s new company, Vulcan Media Team.

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ABC 33/40, NBC 13 cut jobs

Posted on February 3, 2009 by | 2 comments

Two Birmingham stations cut 25 jobs in the past two weeks.

NBC 13

On Thursday, NBC 13 laid off 10 people:

Ten people in the news, sales and marketing departments were laid off this morning and their positions eliminated at NBC 13.

“As a result of the continued business recession, WVTM has been affected by lower advertising spending,” Vice President and General Manager Gene Kirkconnell said of the layoffs.

“Parting with valued employees is difficult,” he said. “I don’t anticipate anything else to come.”

ABC 33/40

And less than week before that, ABC 33/40 laid off 15 people (nearly 13 percent of its total staff):

Birmingham’s ABC 33/40 laid off 15 full-time and part-time employees Friday afternoon, including sports reporter Melissa Lee and meteorologist Brian Peters, a station official confirmed.

The cuts affected all areas of the station – including producers, engineers, photographers and sales representatives – but Lee and Peters were the only on-air personnel let go. The station employed 120 people before the layoffs.

“It’s a very difficult time,” ABC 33/40’s vice president and general manager, Mike Murphy, said Friday. “We regret that it had to take place.”

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