Cox Coverage of Huskers Rained Out

Because of rain, tonight's baseball game between Nebraska and Texas Tech will not air on Cox Channel 3 at 6:35 p.m. as originally scheduled. The game has been postponed, but Cox will not be airing it when it is rescheduled.

The Huskers' next scheduled televised game on Cox is on May 20 at 2 p.m. against Oklahoma.

Coming This Weekend

In this weekend's edition of The Reader's Online Media Notes column, an in-depth look at the revamped "KXVO 15 10:00 News" featuring Brian McFayden.

If you have a suggestion for a future topic of this column, please use the "comments" section to respond.

In This Week's Print Edition

Find out which Academy Award winner will speak at the Omaha Press Club's "Excellence in Journalism" awards banquet on June 3. Plus, one media outlet is asking its online visitors to fill out a 70-plus question survey to help it improve its website.

Notes From The Laptop

The initial response to Brian McFayden's debut as host of the "KXVO 15 10:00 News" has not been overwhelmingly positive, at least on local message boards:

From Nebraskaradio.com: KXVO wants to have a "hip" newscast, but yet Mr. MTV 1) acts like he is auditioning; and 2) doesn't act like he cares. Making fun of the camera kid at the end of the half hour broadcast was CLASSY. Note to Programming, don't include him in you're staff just cuz he was the host of TRL, include him because he is the right guy for the job. Not cuz he was on MTV, TRL, IOU or UPS.....give him the job because he is good. The last three nights may tell us different, and warrant a new host.

From Mavpuck.com: I watched this event they call a "newscast" last night and it was nothing but rubbish. Either broadcast news (hard news and not fluff, like what viruses are going around) or forget it. There is a reason I don't watch local TV anymore and the trash they call newscasts is the primary reason (I'm including all five stations in Omaha who have "newscasts" scheduled in this last sentence).

From eomaha.com: 15 minutes of fame goes fast!

---

[Updated: Thursday, April 27, 3:30 p.m.]
Because of incorrect information supplied to Media Notes, it was erroneously written in this space in this morning's column that KMTV aired a story referencing "a local radio station in Omaha."

The story actually involved a 93-cent promotion by a Philadelphia gas station and a Philadelphia radio station, not an Omaha radio station. The first four comments made under this post refer to the original, incorrect story. The Reader's Media Notes regrets any confusion this may have caused.

KKAR Changing Morning Show

The death of former co-host Terry Mason is what led Clay Michaels to announce he is signing off from the KKAR morning show Friday.

“Mason and Michaels” had previously teamed together from 1980-89 on (“The Mighty 1290”) KOIL. Before they reunited in September on KKAR (1290 AM), Michaels was publishing “Night Moves Magazine,” an Omaha area bi-weekly entertainment guide and Mason was doing on-air work and programming for Waitt Radio Networks’ “Oldies Plus” radio format. The pair replaced Kent Pavelka, whose contract was set to expire at the end of 2005.

But when Mason, 52, suddenly died in December of undisclosed causes, Michaels said his enthusiasm for the job waned.

“With all respect to John Thomas, he was tapped to fill a huge void and did a great job,” Michaels wrote on Nebraskaradio.com this week. “We both knew when we were teamed-up that it was a temporary fix. I agreed to say on for a time until everything shook out. And now it has.”

Thomas will continue his duties at Waitt while Michaels said Brian Barks will take over the 5:30-8 a.m. time slot, beginning Monday. Barks is hardly a stranger to Omaha, having spent a dozen years at KKAR before leaving for Phoenix and a job at KTAR in 1995.

Photojournalists Honored

The Nebraska News Photographers Association handed out its annual awards last weekend, honoring Matt Miller of the Omaha World-Herald as Photographer of the Year and Pete Soby of KETV as Television Photographer of the Year.

In the individual categories in the still photography competition, the World-Herald took home seven first place awards to go along with 28 other honors. The state's second-largest newspaper, the Lincoln Journal Star, won one first place and six additional honors and the Grand Island Independent won two first places with four additional awards.

Brian Lehman of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was named College Photographer of the Year. UNL also won all the college awards except one honorable mention.

In the NNPA Television News contest, KMTV scored four first place honors to go along with eight overall, while KETV had 16 overall honors, including three for first place. A new honor, the NNPA Reporter Recognition Award, went to KMTV's Corey Rangel for scoring the most points based on stories he worked on with photographers who earned places.

NNPA Reporter Recognition Award
1. Corey Rangel - KMTV, 10 points
2. Rob McCartney - KETV, 8.5
3. Carol Kloss - KETV, 8
3. Todd Andrews - KETV, 8
5. Michelle Bandur - KMTV, 5.5
6. Kathy Santos-Niver - KMTV, 5

NNPA 2005 Television Photographer of the Year:
Pete Soby, KETV

NNPA 2005 Television Runner-up Photographer of the Year:
Harry Flansburg, Action 3 News

Spot News
HM: Wood River Flood - John Haxby KMTV (Michelle Bandur)
HM: Iowa Grass Fires - Michael Richard KETV ­(Tom Elser)
3. Cass County Fires -­ Sean Kelly ­ KMTV ­ (Sarah Simmons)
2. Fort Calhoun Fire - Peter Soby ­ KETV ­ (Todd Andrews)
House Explosion - ­Harry Flansburg ­ KMTV ­ (Michelle Bandur)

General News
HM: Special Training - Mike Richard KETV (Rob McCartney)
3: Gretna Aid ­- Peter Soby ­ KETV (Brandi Peterson)
2: Clean Up - Kevin Ridley ­ WOWT ­(reporter not listed)
1: Another Scorcher -­ Sean Kelly KMTV ­(Corey Rangel)

News Feature
HM: Hog Power ­- Peter Soby ­ KETV ­ (Tom Elser)
3. Copper Tree -­ Kevin Ridley ­ WOWT ­ (reporter not listed)
2. 60 Jumps ­- Peter Soby ­ KETV ­ (Rob McCartney)
Avenue of Flags ­- Harry Flansburg ­ KMTV -(Kathy Sarantos-Niver)

Feature
HM: Hawk Tower ­- Peter Soby ­ KETV ­ (Tom Elser)
3: Copper Leaves ­- Terry Sedivy ­ KETV ­ (John Oakey)
2: Balloon Love - Jason Pressler ­ KPTM (photographer not listed)
1: PICU- Peter Soby -­ KETV ­(Rob McCartney)

Sports
3. Ball Girl -­ Harry Flansburg ­ KMTV ­ (Kayla Thomas)
2. New Year's Skiers - Terry Sedivy ­ KETV (Suzanne Deyo)
1. Huskers in the CWS ­- Harry Flansburg ­ KMTV (Corey Rangel)

Team3
Farmers Fight Fires -­ KETV ­ Michael Richard/Terry Sedivy KETV
(Brandi Peterson)
Bad Fans - KETV ­ Jim Healy/Michael Richard ­ KETV (Mike Digacimo)
River Search ­- KETV - Peter Soby/John Matya/Keith Gentrup (Todd Andrew)

In Depth/Series:
Dangerous Railroad Crossing -­ Harry Flansburg ­ KMTV (Joe Jordan)
2 Steroids ­- Peter Soby ­ KETV ­ (Carol Kloss)
1. Wabash Trail -­ Peter Soby ­ KETV ­ (Carol Kloss)

Professional - Still

First Place General News
"Teacher of the Year" Phil Johnson/Omaha World-Herald
Second Place General News
"Arlington Funeral" Rebecca Gratz/Omaha World-Herald
Third Place General News
"SIDs" Laura Inns/Omaha World-Herald

First Place Spot News
"Katrina" Kent Sievers/Omaha World-Herald
Second Place Spot News
"Grass Fire" Phil Johnson/Omaha World-Herald
Third Place Spot News
"Soldier's Defiance" Jeff Bundy/Omaha World-Herald
HM Spot News
"Fire" Lane Hickenbottom/Grand Island Independent

First Place Feature
"Sledding" Jeff Beiermann/Omaha World-Herald
Second Place Feature
"Crop Duster" Matt Miller/Omaha World-Herald
Third Place Feature
"Storm Troopers" Kent Sievers/Omaha World-Herald
HM Feature
"Elvis" Matt Miller/Omaha World-Herald
HM Feature
"Choir" Rebecca Gratz/Omaha World-Herald
HM Feature
"Lamb" Dior Azcuy/Lincoln Journal Star

First Place Portrait/Personality
"Sudanese" Matt Miller/Omaha World-Herald
Second Place Portrait/Personality
"Carnival Worker" Kent Sievers/Omaha World-Herald
Third Place Portrait/Personality
"Robert Rands" Matt Miller/Omaha World-Herald
HM Portrait/Personality
"Smoke" Jeff Bundy/Omaha World-Herald
HM Portrait/Personality
"Prayer" Lane Hickenbottom/Grand Island Independent

First Place Illustration
"Fashion" Jim Burnett/Omaha World-Herald
Second Place Illustration
"Technology Gifts" Kiley Cruse/Omaha World-Herald
Third Place Illustration
"Snake" Rebecca Gratz/Omaha World-Herald
HM Illustration
"Tractor Tires" Barrett Stinson/Grand Island Independent

First Place Pictorial
"Fog² Mark Davis/Omaha World-Herald
Second Place Pictorial
"Balloon" Rebecca Gratz/Omaha World-Herald
Third Place Pictorial
"Stables" Jim Burnett/Omaha World-Herald
HM Pictorial
"Tire tracks" William Lauer/Lincoln Journal Star
HM Pictorial
"Flag" Lane Hickenbottom/Grand Island Independent

First Place Sports Action
"Wrestling² Jeff Bundy/Omaha World-Herald
Second Place Sports Action
"Quarterback" Matt Miller/Omaha World-Herald
Third Place Sports Action
"Under the Helmet" Chris Machian/Freelance
HM Sports Action
"Volleyball Dive" Matt Miller/Omaha World-Herald
HM Sports Action
"Missing the Pass" Kent Sievers/Omaha World-Herald
HM Sports Action
³Pole Vault" William Lauer/Lincoln Journal Star

First Place Sports Feature
"South Sioux Hug" Dior Azcuy/Lincoln Journal Star
Second Place Sports Feature
"Soccer Jube" Jeff Bundy/Omaha World-Herald
Third Place Sports Feature
"Red and Yellow" Matt Miller/Omaha World-Herald
HM Sports Feature
"Touchdown Celebration" Jeff Beiermann/Omaha World-Herald
HM Sports Feature
"Victory" Laura Inns/Omaha World-Herald

First Place Multiple Picture Package
"Fair" Lane Hickenbottom/Grand Island Independent
Second Place Multiple Picture Package
"Kabuki" Rebecca Gratz/Omaha World-Herald
Third Place Multiple Picture Package
"Iraq" Jeff Bundy/Omaha World-Herald
HM Multiple Picture Package
"Fort Robinson" Jim Burnett/Omaha World-Herald

First Place Picture Story
"Alzheimers" Scott Kingsley/Grand Island Independent
Second Place Picture Story
"Crossroads" William Lauer/Lincoln Journal Star
Third Place Picture Story
"SIDS" Laura Inns/Omaha World-Herald
HM Picture Story
"Fair" Matt Miller/Omaha World-Herald
HM Picture Story
"Afghanistan" Dior Azcuy/Lincoln Journal Star

2005 Nebraska College Photographer of the Year
Brian Lehmann/UNL

Runner-up College Photographer of the Year
Kris Kolden/UNL

Professional - STILL

First Place General News:
"Teacher of the Year” Phil Johnson/Omaha World-Herald
Second Place General News:
“Arlington Funeral” Rebecca Gratz/Omaha World-Herald
Third Place General News:
“SIDS” Laura Inns/Omaha World-Herald

First Place Spot News:
“Katrina” Kent Sievers/Omaha World-Herald
Second Place Spot News:
“Grass Fire” Phil Johnson/Omaha World-Herald
Third Place Spot News:
“Soldier’s Defiance” Jeff Bundy/Omaha World-Herald
HM Spot News:
“Fire” Lane Hickenbottom/Grand Island Independent

First Place Feature:
“Sledding” Jeff Beiermann/Omaha World-Herald
Second Place Feature:
“Crop Duster” Matt Miller/Omaha World-Herald
Third Place Feature:
“Storm Troopers” Kent Sievers/Omaha World-Herald
HM Feature:
“Elvis” Matt Miller/Omaha World-Herald
HM Feature:
“Choir” Rebecca Gratz/Omaha World-Herald
HM Feature:
“Lamb” Dior Azcuy/Lincoln Journal Star

First Place Portrait/Personality:
“Sudanese” Matt Miller/Omaha World-Herald
Second Place Portrait/Personality:
“Carnival Worker” Kent Sievers/Omaha World-Herald
Third Place Portrait/Personality:
“Robert Rands” Matt Miller/Omaha World-Herald
HM Portrait/Personality:
“Smoke” Jeff Bundy/Omaha World-Herald
HM Portrait/Personality:
“Prayer” Lane Hickenbottom/Grand Island Independent

First Place Illustration:
“Fashion” Jim Burnett/Omaha World-Herald
Second Place Illustration:
“Technology Gifts” Kiley Cruse/Omaha World-Herald
Third Place Illustration:
“Snake” Rebecca Gratz/Omaha World-Herald
HM Illustration:
“Tractor Tires” Barrett Stinson/Grand Island Independent

First Place Pictorial:
“Fog” Mark Davis/Omaha World-Herald
Second Place Pictorial:
“Balloon” Rebecca Gratz/Omaha World-Herald
Third Place Pictorial
“Stables” Jim Burnett/Omaha World-Herald
HM Pictorial:
“Tire tracks” William Lauer/Lincoln Journal Star
HM Pictorial:
“Flag” Lane Hickenbottom/Grand Island Independent

First Place Sports Action:
“Wrestling” Jeff Bundy/Omaha World-Herald
Second Place Sports Action:
“Quarterback” Matt Miller/Omaha World-Herald
Third Place Sports Action:
“Under the Helmet” Chris Machian/Freelance
HM Sports Action:
“Volleyball Dive” Matt Miller/Omaha World-Herald
HM Sports Action:
“Missing the Pass” Kent Sievers/Omaha World-Herald
HM Sports Action:
“Pole Vault” William Lauer/Lincoln Journal Star

First Place Sports Feature:
“South Sioux Hug” Dior Azcuy/Lincoln Journal Star
Second Place Sports Feature:
“Soccer Jube” Jeff Bundy/Omaha World-Herald
Third Place Sports Feature:
“Red and Yellow” Matt Miller/Omaha World-Herald
HM Sports Feature:
“Touchdown Celebration” Jeff Beiermann/Omaha World-Herald
HM Sports Feature:
“Victory” Laura Inns/Omaha World-Herald


First Place Multiple Picture Package:
“Fair” Lane Hickenbottom/Grand Island Independent
Second Place Multiple Picture Package:
“Kabuki” Rebecca Gratz/Omaha World-Herald
Third Place Multiple Picture Package:
“Iraq” Jeff Bundy/Omaha World-Herald
HM Multiple Picture Package:
“Fort Robinson” Jim Burnett/Omaha World-Herald

First Place Picture Story:
“Alzheimers” Scott Kingsley/Grand Island Independent
Second Place Picture Story:
“Crossroads” William Lauer/Lincoln Journal Star
Third Place Picture Story:
“SIDS” Laura Inns/Omaha World-Herald
HM Picture Story
“Fair” Matt Miller/Omaha World-Herald
HM Picture Story
“Afghanistan” Dior Azcuy/Lincoln Journal Star

2005 Nebraska Photographer of the Year:
Matt Miller/Omaha World-Herald

Runner-up Photographer of the Year:
Kent Sievers/Omaha World-Herald

College Division:

First Place General News:
“Jim Exon” Brian Lehmann/UNL
Second Place General News:
“Fire” Alyssa Schukar/ UNL
Third Place General News:
“Cadet” Greg Blobaum/UNL
HM General News:
“Flag” Greg Blobaum/UNL

First Place Spot News:
“Drowning” Kris Kolden/UNL
Second Place Spot News
“Fire” Kris Kolden/UNL
Third Place Spot News:
“Wreckage” Alyssa Schukar/ UNL

First Place Feature:
“Harvesting Wheat” Brian Lehmann/UNL
Second Place Feature:
“Fireworks” Brian Lehmann/UNL
Third Place Feature:
“Plunge” Greg Blobaum/UNL

First Place Portrait/Personality:
“Burried” Brian Lehmann/UNL
Second Place Portrait/Personality:
“Relaxing” Teresa Prince/UNL
Third Place Portrait/Personality:
“Diving Board” Brian Lehmann/UNL
HM Portrait/Personality:
“Gymnist” Alyssa Schukar/ UNL
HM Portrait/Personality:
“Make-up Check” Teresa Prince/UNL
HM Portrait/Personality:
“Writing” Kris Kolden/UNL

First Place Illustration:
“Clothes” Hillary Sorensen/UNL
Second Place Illustration:
“Champagne” Hillary Sorensen/UNL
Third Place Illustration:
“Clothes” Hillary Sorensen/UNL

First Place Pictorial:
“Cranes” Brian Lehmann/UNL
Second Place Pictorial:
“Balloon” Kris Kolden/UNL
Third Place Pictorial:
“Lightening” Brian Lehmann/UNL
HM Pictorial:
“Water” Brian Lehmann/UNL
HM Pictorial:
“Dusk” Brian Lehmann/UNL

First Place Sports Action:
“Wrestling” Kris Kolden/UNL
Second Place Sports Action:
“Puck” Robert Meyer/UNL
Third Place Sports Actionv
“Diving Stop” Chris Van Kat/UNL
HM Sports Action:
“Face Mask” Robert Meyer/UNL
HM Sports Action:
“Homeplate” Michelle Bishop/UNO
HM Sports Action:
“Swimming” Teresa Prince/UNL

First Place Sports Feature:
“Run” Brian Lehmann/UNL
Second Place Sports Feature:
“Dog” Robert Meyer/UNL
Third Place Sports Feature:
“Third Goal” Robert Meyer/UNL
HM Sports Feature:
“Body Paint” Alyssa Schukar/UNL
HM Sports Feature:
“Rodeo” Robert Meyer/UNL

First Place Multiple Picture Package:
“Harvest” Brian Lehmann/UNL
Second Place Multiple Picture Package:
“Drowning” Kris Kolden/UNL
Third Place Multiple Picture Package:
“Detasseling” Brian Lehmann/UNL

First Place Picture Story:
“Platte River” Brian Lehmann/UNL
Second Place Picture Story:
“Quinceanera” Alyssa Schukar/UNL
Third Place Picture Story:
“Hurricane” Alyssa Schukar/UNL

2005 Nebraska College Photographer of the Year:
Brian Lehmann/UNL

Runner-up College Photographer of the Year:
Kris Kolden/UNL

(Thanks, Pete Soby, Ray Meints)

Cox Communications Recognized for Diversity

Cox Communications ranks 32nd on DiversityInc magazine's list of "America’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity."

According to a press release, a total of 256 companies competed for a spot on the magazine's list, which is available at the magazine's website. A more detailed analysis of the winners and the results will be featured in the June issue.

Cox also ranked No. 3 on the list of Top 10 Companies for African Americans.

McFayden Debuts Monday On KXVO News

One month and a week after his unofficial "tryout" on KXVO (Cox Channel 11), Brian McFayden was announced as the new host of the "KXVO 15 10:00 News."

McFayden will make his debut Monday night, which coincides with the launch of a revamped format and a new virtual set. Former KXVO 15 10:00 News anchor Calvert Collins shifts to a reporting role, focusing on "Heartland Underground" stories, KXVO News Director Allen Beckner said. She will also fill in for McFayden on his days off. Jo Giles will continue to solo anchor weekends and the rest of the news team will remain the same, Beckner said.

In a press release, Beckner said McFayden’s strong ties to the Omaha-area and outstanding experience will add a new level of excitement and passion to the newscast.

"Brian’s passion for Nebraska is incredible," Beckner said. "He has so many great contacts in the community and he really cares about what happens here. There is no doubt that the viewer will see that. His enthusiasm is contagious and we are all excited about having him on board.”

McFayden is a Ralston High School graduate whose resume includes a wide variety of national television experience, including hosting "Cupid," "Beauty and The Geek," "SNAFU," and "Superstars USA." He has also made appearances on "Dawson's Creek," "MadTV," "Grounded For Life," and "Sabrina The Teenage Witch." McFayden also spent three years on MTV as a VJ hosting "Total Request Live," "Hot Zone" and "MTV News."

Internet Rankings: Alexa Puts KETV First

The controversy over which Internet news media sites in Omaha are getting the most vistors just got a little complicated.

According to Amazon.com's "Alexa" Internet traffic-ranking site, KETV.com and Omaha.com rank as the No. 1 and 2 most-visited Omaha "News and Media" websites.

Alexa provides a search powered by Google, and a directory from the Open Directory Project (ODP). Alexa's toolbar "phones home" website traffic details to its servers so Alexa can keep track of site popularity and surfing habits. Directory listings can be ordered by popularity, user rating or alphabetically.

According to Alexa's free data, here are how Omaha TV websites rank as of April 20:

KETV 7 (Traffic Rank for ketv.com: 21,941)

WOWT 6 (Traffic Rank for wowt.com: 78,292)

KPTM 42 (Traffic Rank for kptm.com: 200,257)

KMTV 3 (Traffic Rank for action3news.com: 465,428)

The top 10 of the Omaha "News and Media" category looks similar:

1. KETV 7
www.ketv.com (Traffic Rank: 21,941)

2. Omaha.com
www.omaha.com (Traffic Rank: 19,143)

3. WOWT 6
www.wowt.com (Traffic Rank: 78,292)

4. KPTM 42
www.kptm.com (Traffic Rank: 200,257)

5. KFAB 1110 AM
www.kfab.com (Traffic Rank: 221,057)

6. KMTV 3
www.action3news.com (Traffic Rank: 465,428)

7. KGBI (100.7 FM)
www.kgbifm.com (Traffic Rank: 1,158,570)

8. KCRO (660 AM)
www.kcro.com (Traffic Rank: 3,579,429)

9. Her Home Magazine
herhomemagazine.com (Traffic Rank: 1,338,157)

10. The Reader
www.thereader.com (Traffic Rank: 1,466,943)

Alexa's traffic rank is based on three months of aggregated historical traffic data from millions of Alexa Toolbar users. It is a combined measure of page views and users. As a first step, Alexa computes the reach and number of page views for all sites on the Web on a daily basis.

The main Alexa traffic rank is based on the geometric mean of these two quantities averaged over time (so that the rank of a site reflects both the number of users who visit that site as well as the number of pages on the site viewed by those users).

On April 11, The Reader's online Media Notes column wrote how Nielsen Media Research/NetRatings statistics showed more people visited KETV.com than any other Omaha news website.

One week later, WOWT News Director John Clark questioned KETV’s claim that its website had three times more unique viewers, citing statistics generated by the station's Internet provider.

In the same story, Nielsen Research/NetRatings disclosed that visitor counts for both Ketv.com and Omaha.com did not meet the minimum sample size standards for reliable measurement. Two other local media sites, WOWT.com and Action3News.com, had insufficient sample sizes for reliable projection of any audience size, Nielsen NetRatings said.

KETV Creative Services Director John Livingston issued a response Thursday, saying Nielsen/NetRatings is the only third-party company KETV subscribes to that generates reliable, accurate and competitive data about local news websites. But even it is not without its flaws, he pointed out.

"The methodology they use leads to under reporting for all local news websites," Livingston said. "In fact, the 393,000 unique visitors in March reported by Nielsen/NetRatings is less than half of the number reported to KETV by WebTrends, a service all Hearst-Argyle stations subscribe to."

Allison Steele Leaving KQKQ

KQKQ (98.5 FM) on-air personality Allison Steele's last day on the air is one week from today. Steele, who currently holds down the midday slot, is moving to Chicago to take another job in radio.

KXVO Debuts Virtual Set On Monday

Just in time for the May "sweeps," KXVO (Cox Channel 11) is relaunching its 10 p.m. newscast Monday with a fresh look.

According to News Director Allen Beckner, a virtual set will replace the flat screen TV and logo background currently seen on the "KXVO15 10:00 News." The new look also brings a change in "attitude," Beckner said.

"The KXVO15 10:00 News has always been more of a news magazine," Beckner said. "The new format will reinforce that."

Included in the new format is a news update segment delivered from the KPTM (Cox Channel 10) news desk, utilizing that station's anchors. Beckner said KXVO has not tried to hide the fact that both stations work together.

KPTM will also have a fresh graphics look, Beckner said, beginning with tonight's newscast.

Beckner also said there is still nothing official to report on the possibility of "Beauty and the Geek" host Brian McFayden joining the KXVO newscast. McFayden had a one-night tryout in March.

"I hope to have Brian on board, but it's still not a done deal," Beckner said late Wednesday afternoon.

WOWT Questions Website Statistics

WOWT News Director John Clark disputes KETV’s claim that its website, KETV.com, had three times more unique visitors than WOWT.com in March.

“I'm not really sure where you or Nielsen got the numbers for WOWT,” Clark said, referring to a April 11th story. “But I can tell you the number is nowhere remotely close to what the real traffic on our site is.”

Clark said WOWT contracts with Clickability, a San Francisco software company that advertises itself as "the leading single-source provider of web publishing technologies for traditional and enterprise publishers." The company has provided services for the publishing and management of 23 Gray Television locations since 2002.

According to Clickability, WOWT.com had 451,728 unique visitors in March. That is more than triple the 107,000 that KETV referenced in its press release (using information provided by Nielsen/Net Ratings).

The way web visitation is measured has changed over the years. Most recently, the "unique visitor" statistic has emerged as arguably the most reliable way of gauging audience. A unique visitor is, theoretically, a single person who visited a site within a specified period.

However, measurement services like Nielsen/NetRatings, Media Metrix, @Plan and comScore Media Metrix occasionally face criticism for the numbers they generate. The controversy is understandable, since companies compete for web visitors and advertising dollars.

Initially, web sites referred to the number of "hits" received – either cumulatively or during a particular time period. A "hit" is recorded every time anyone, anywhere clicks to a site, even if the full web page does not load on their screen. So the same person logging on from both home and their office is counted as two hits.

As sites became more sophisticated and incorporated multiple pages, the "page view" became a more common measurement. But that, too, proved to be an inexact measurement. If someone visits a website’s home page, reads a story that takes up two pages, and returns to the home page, that counts as four "page views." But it is still only one person.

Nielsen/NetRatings, which was launched in 1999, claims to be the industry's standard for Internet and digital media measurement and analysis. (Nielsen Media Research, which is a separate company, is a leading provider of television audience measurement and related services in the world.)

According to Suzy Bausch, Nielsen/NetRatings spokeswoman, more than 30,000 people nationwide, who are called “panelists,” are selected to participate through telephone calls placed randomly. Each panelist agrees to let Nielsen/NetRatings place software on their home or work computer to record the websites they visit, how often they visit them, how long they stay, etc.

Bausch said the company feels very strongly about how it goes about recruiting these panelists and collecting information.

“It’s the gold standard in terms of market research data,” she said.

Because panelists are located throughout the nation, it is possible some of the data regarding local websites falls below Nielsen/NetRatings’ reporting cutoff for accurate measurement, Bausch said. Upon further review of the numbers released to KETV last month, that is the case, Bausch acknowledged.

In a March 6 measurement by Nielsen/NetRatings’, KETV.com was shown with 393,000 unique visitors and Omaha.com with 219,000. However, each number was flagged for not meeting the minimum sample size standards.

“Projected and average measures for these sites may exhibit large changes month-to-month as a result,” said a notation on the measurement report. KMTV.com and WOWT.com had insufficient sample sizes for reliable projection of audience size, Nielsen/NetRatings said. Thus, no numbers were released for those websites.

Whether WOWT puts much stock in Nielsen/Net Ratings’ research or not, it does reference the company on its Internet advertising page, citing the fact that “daytime users spend 68 percent of their time, while on the Internet, on news sites (such as WOWT.com).”

Brook Berringer Plane Crash: 10 Years Later

Omaha World-Herald sports reporter Dirk Chatelain traveled to Goodland, Kan., to recall the life of former Nebraska football quarterback Brook Berringer 10 years after he died in a plane crash near Lincoln.

The story (registration required) does not mention the cause of the crash that killed Berringer and his girlfriend's brother, Tobey Lake.

The National Transportation Safety Board, in an investigation released in January of 1997, found that the Piper J-3’s fuel valve was never switched on, indicating the engine stalled shortly after takeoff due to a lack of fuel.

To verify the cause, the NTSB conducted a test with a similar aircraft four months after the accident. With the fuel valve set in the “off” position, the aircraft's engine operated for approximately 30 seconds at maximum power, then shut off completely.

West Point Radio Broadcaster Found Dead

Ryan Guill, program director for KTIC-AM and midday announcer for KWPN-FM in West Point, was found dead at his home Monday.

Guill, 27, began his radio career in high school, working at KRVN-AM in Lexington. He graduated with a degree in broadcasting from Central Community College in 2001, then moved to the Nebraska Rural Radio Association-owned stations in West Point in 2003.

No cause of death has been made public. Funeral services are pending.

Registration Closes Wednesday for NNPA Weekend

“Sporting News” photographer Robert Seale and former KMTV anchor Bev Chapman are among the speakers at this weekend’s Nebraska News Photographers Association workshop and seminar.

The registration deadline for the annual event has been extended until Wednesday. Click here to register.

Seale has been a Staff Photographer at the “Sporting News” since 1996. His photographs have appeared on more than 200 covers. Chapman is an Emmy and Radio and Television News Directors award winner who now works at Hearst-Argyle station KMBC in Kansas City.

WOWT Disputes Nielsen Net/Ratings Numbers

KOLN/KGIN Hires Veteran Producer/Reporter

Practicing and teaching journalism will be Brad Penner's responsibility as KOLN/KGIN's Newsroom Manager.

Penner begins work in the newly created position at the Lincoln CBS affiliate on Monday. He will be responsible for the daily operation of the news department under the direction of News Director Randy Lube.

"I'm impressed with his journalistic qualities," Lube said. "He knows news and what stories we need to do. He also knows how to approach stories, so he can give good advice to our reporters. He also has very strong writing skills, which will help with the reporters and the producers."

A Beatrice native, Penner actually started his TV news career at KOLN/KGIN when he was a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He worked there as a reporter and sports anchor until 1993, when he joined the Nebraska ETV Network. He produced the network's legislative coverage for two years, before joining its "Statewide" program as its series producer.

Storm Coverage Varied Widely

KETV Chief Meterologist Bill Randby (left, in front of green screen) delivers live coverage Saturday evening while anchor Suzanne Deyo can be seen at the news desk in this screenshot from the station's Newsplex camera at 5:45 p.m. Saturday.

If you were in Johnson, Gage or Otoe Counties late Saturday afternoon, your best bet to find out what was happening with the weather would have been Lincoln TV or radio stations.

With no severe weather warnings for Douglas, Sarpy or Washington County, meteorologists at Omaha’s five TV stations were forced to make a decision: interrupt regular programming or rely on on-screen weather radar and crawls to inform viewers in those counties of the threat of severe weather.

Each took a different approach.

KETV (Cox Channel 9) provided the most comprehensive storm coverage. Chief Meteorologist Bill Randby and meteorologists John Campbell, Chuck McWilliams and Andrea Bredow spent more than an hour on the air providing wall-to-wall forecasting.

KETV utilized phone reports from photojournalism Scott Buer, Lincoln bureau reporter Andrew Ozaki, University of Nebraska meteorology student Sean McMullen, information credited to radio station KWBE, photos of damage e-mailed from viewers and frame grabs from the Nebraska Department of Roads highway cams.

The station finally took a break at 5:37 p.m., but resumed continuous coverage past 6 p.m., when Randby advised viewers that might be tuning in to ABC’s broadcast of “The Ten Commandments” that they might not be seeing what they had hoped to watch. After sharing video of a tornado McMullen caught on tape and a review of current conditions, Randby signed off at 7:05 p.m.

KMTV (Cox Channel 5) Chief Meteorologist Ryan McPike and Dean Wysocki periodically interrupted CBS Sports’ coverage of the third round of the Verizon Heritage golf tournament between 4:30 and 5 p.m.

After 5 p.m., as tornado warnings continued for Johnson, Gage and Otoe counties, KMTV stayed with the same approach as it aired an infomercial for Time-Life’s superstars of country music. McPike returned a few more times once the storm reached the metropolitan area.

WOWT (Cox Channel 8) meteorologist Jeff Jensen fronted nearly continuous coverage until 5 p.m., assisted by Michael Born and Scot Akin. At 5 p.m., the station proceeded with its regularly scheduled newscast, with Jensen telling viewers after his main forecast that severe weather situations merit special interruptions, but "we’ll try not to break into programming as much as possible."

On Omaha radio, KKAR (1290 AM) provided continuous coverage with an Accuweather meteorologist joining Neil Nelkin and Terry Leahy.

KFAB (1110 AM) periodically updated listeners on the progress of the storms during its coverage of the Nebraska baseball game.

Storms Bearing Down

In The Forecast: A Stormy Saturday

For the third time this spring, the Omaha metropolitan area is under the threat of severe weather, according to the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center.

The National Weather Service office in Valley, Neb., issued the following statement Friday at 10:15 p.m.:

Saturday: Windy. Not as warm. Partly cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms in the morning. Then thunderstorms likely in the afternoon. Some thunderstorms may be severe with large hail and damaging winds in the afternoon. Saturday night, breezy. Thunderstorms likely in the evening. Some thunderstorms may be severe with large hail and damaging winds.

The Omaha World-Herald newspaper, which contracts with AccuWeather, Inc., to provide its forecasts, did not publish a weather-specific story in its Saturday editions (which go to press after midnight).

However, on the weather page within the Midlands section, the following forecast appears:

Southeast Nebraska: Turning windy and warm today with some strong to severe thunderstorms.

Meteorologists from Omaha’s five TV stations weighed in with their forecasts on Friday late evening newscasts. Here are capsule looks at what they said:

Dean Wysocki
Meteorologist, KMTV (Cox Channel 5)
Wysocki, subbing for Chief Meteorologist Ryan McPike, said the latest computer guidance pointed toward a severe weather event.

“It looks like mid to late afternoon it should start off to our south and west and then spread toward the metro,” he said. “Once it gets here, it’s going to pack quite a punch.”

Jim Flowers
Chief Meteorologist, WOWT (Cox Channel 8)
Flowers pointed out that he had adjusted his forecast in terms of the timing of the arrival of severe weather.

“Some showers or maybe even a thundershowers may (develop) around noon,” he said. “But this is not the severe weather event we are talking about.

“The squal line lifts to about Omaha up toward Tekamah, this would be probably between about nine and 10 o’clock if this current timing holds true. Then that squal line would lift on to Western Iowa. The main threat tomorrow would be hail and high winds. You can’t rule out a few tornadoes out west during the initial spinoff that would occur during the afternoon along that dry line.”

Bill Randby
Chief Meterologist, KETV (Cox Channel 9)
“We are, according to the Storm Prediction Center, in the area that is ripe for severe thunderstorms and maybe tornadoes,” Randby said.

"I do expect storms to occur, we may get a shower early but the real risk of severe weather is from 4 p.m. on into the evening.”

Randby also made a point of encouraging viewers to “stay tuned to KETV” through Saturday afternoon for the latest weather information.

Elizabeth Merriman
Meteorologist, KPTM/KXVO (Cox Channels 10/11)
Merriman, subbing for Chief Meteorologist Tyson Pearsall, pointed out that the Omaha metropolitan area was in the “moderate risk” area, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

“Thunderstorms are likely to erupt in the area after four o’clock,” she said. “Most likely (those) things are going to be large hail and damaging winds.”

KETV Makes Big Climb In Ratings

If there is a secret to the success of KETV’s news operation, it can be traced to the station’s philosophy of maintaining consistency.

“We place the same level of focus, attention and emphasis on (every ratings period),” said KETV general manager Joel Vilmenay.

And before Vilmenay could say anything more, News Director Rose Ann Shannon interrupted, saying, “We deliver every day because viewers don’t make a decision on April 29 or whatever the first day of the book is to start watching us. Every (book) is important, but every day is important, too.”

So while KETV (Cox Channel 9) might not be celebrating the results of the February ratings, it does have reason to break out some bubbly.

According to Nielsen Market Research ratings measured Feb. 2 to March 1, KETV had the most viewership at 5 a.m., 6 a.m. and 5 p.m., is locked in a dead heat with WOWT (Cox Channel 8) at 6 p.m. and is close behind at 10.

KETV is not only No. 1 in the morning newscast race, it is posting dominant numbers. According to Nielsen, at 5 a.m., KETV has 9,438 viewers to WOWT’s 3,146. At 6 a.m., KETV attracts as big a viewing audience (22,022) as KMTV gets for its 10 p.m. newscast. (WOWT has 15,730 viewers at 6 a.m.)

KETV’s lead over WOWT at 5 p.m. is two ratings points, a virtual reversal from what the ratings looked like last November. At 6 p.m., KETV gained nearly two ratings points from November to match WOWT’s total viewership in the same time period.

Ratings points measure the percentage of all households viewing a program. In February, each ratings point equaled 3,146 viewers.

“We are all very pleased with the results,” Vilmenay said. “We just continue to focus on our core news areas. In early morning, we knew that 5 to 7 a.m. would not be impacted tremendously by the Olympics, nor would our early evening news. With late news, we knew we would run up against the Oympics, so we just continued to provide our coverage as we normally do.”

KETV’s reputation of being the breaking news leader faced a new challenge in February when KMTV (Cox Channel 5) relaunched its newscasts the day before the ratings period as “Action 3 News.” The CBS affiliate promotes itself as being first with breaking news and “First Warning Weather.” The change boosted KMTV’s 10 p.m. rating by three points.

But Vilmenay said it made little difference.

“I don’t think we’re trying to get into a counter-position to everyone,” he said. “We’re just abouut providing what our brand says to the viewer and that is complete coverage in every sense. That includes breaking news, severe weather coverage, news of the day and local news in every way.”

From an evening news standpoint, very little changed at KETV between November and February. The main anchor team of Julie Cornell and Rob McCartney and chief meteorologist Bill Randby and sports director Jon Schuetz are in their 10th year together.

“We believe they’re comfortably in place,” Vilmenay said, declining to elaborate on where things stand contract-wise for each member of the team.

KETV did add a well-branded “I-Team” to its newscast offering before the February book. The addition has proved its worth, Shannon said.

“We’ve had a strong investigative effort for a long time and I think viewers have viewed us as the station to go for investigations,” Shannon said. “We put a lot of emphasis on that. So this is just an extension of the brand, really. It’s increasing our investigative presence.

“That being said, I think it’s getting a lot of traction. Viewers are bonding to it. They’re calling in with story ideas. So it’s making for very interesting television.”

Yet to be seen is the impact the addition of KETV’s weekend morning newscasts at 7 and 11 a.m. From 8 to 8:30 a.m., KETV competes directly with WOWT, which has offered an 8 to 9 a.m. newscast for several years.

KETV’s website, KETV.com, is also showing its strength. According to Nielsen Media Research/NetRatings for the month of March, more people visited KETV.com than any other Omaha news website.

John Livingston, KETV’s creative services director, said the website strives to meet what viewers expect from an online news site.

“One of the things we’ve done in the past year is put live, streaming doppler on the site,” Livingston said. “Plus, we continue to stream important live, breaking news events.”

Online viewers can expect to see KETV.com continue to evolve in the coming months, he said.

“We’re just going to continue to make KETV on the web what it is on the air, which is more complete coverage,” Livingston said. “Any way we can do that we’ll make the investment to try and lead the way.”

It is also not out of the question to see further expansion of KETV’s morning newscast, either, Vilmenay said. Currently, KETV utilizes five people on-air (anchors Elictia Hammond and John Oakey, meteorologist Andrea Bredow, live reporter Mike’l Severe and traffic reporter Jana Murrell) while WOWT has three and KMTV two.

“We’re going to continue to respond to the viewers’ needs,” Vilmenay said. “We’re investing in research to get a better understanding of what the viewers want. In that sense, we’ll continue to enhance what we do to meet their needs.”

Olympics Hurt, Not Helped WOWT

One year ago, WOWT (Cox Channel 8) viewers learned that a mainstay on the anchor desk was getting ready to say goodbye.

The month-long farewell to Pat Persaud that encompassed the entire May ratings period proved to be one of the NBC affiliate’s strongest ratings performances in recent memory. That is, until last November.

With Tracy Madden elevated to co-anchor with John Knicely, WOWT surprisingly scored even larger audiences, widening its lead on KETV (Cox Channel 9) at 10 p.m. to the point where a newscast promo touted WOWT’s 10 p.m. newscast as being “watched by more people than all other local newscasts combined.”

That promo was still airing Thursday night. But according to the February 2006 Nielsen Media Research report, WOWT no longer draws such a sizeable audience in the most coveted newscast time slot.

So what happened?

NBC’s coverage of the Winter Olympics scored a bronze when WOWT – and other affiliates of the Peacock network around the country – had hoped it would be golden. Case in point, the 4 p.m. time slot. WOWT’s average rating for its newscast at that time (which airs against “Judge Judy” and “Oprah”) is a 6 rating and 22 share. Airing in the same time slot for three weeks of the ratings period, the Olympics attracted an audience of about half that (3/13).

Ratings points measure the percentage of all households viewing a program, while the share measures the percentage of households with sets in use. (Example: if there are 100 households, 50 of them watching television, and 25 watching a specific program, that program has a 25 rating and a 50 share). At present, each ratings point equals 3,146 viewers.

Because NBC’s prime-time Olympics coverage typically extended well past 10 p.m. on 17 of the 28 days in the ratings period, audience numbers for 10 p.m. newscasts in an Olympic year are often considered “skewed” and do not paint an accurate picture of typical viewership.

Notwithstanding, WOWT saw its total viewership erode at 5 a.m., 6 a.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. when compared to the last ratings period (November 2005) and a year ago (February 2005). Only its 11:30 a.m. newscast gained viewers.

“The lead in of low Olympics numbers from four o’clock did affect our five o’clock news somewhat,” said WOWT General Manager Frank Jonas. “But we are confident that it will bounce back. Year to year, we actually went up a rating point at 10 o’clock, in spite of (coming on the air later). So we have maintained our No. 1 position at 10.”

But the dominance WOWT once enjoyed has been whittled away considerably. Two years ago in February, it boasted the No. 1 newscast in total viewers at 6 a.m., 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Its lead at 10 p.m. over KETV back then was a whopping three ratings points, the equivalent to several thousand dollars in advertising revenue.

But according to Nielsen, KETV now has the most viewers at 5 a.m., 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. At 6 p.m., it is a virtual tie between KETV and WOWT.

In the battle of locally-produced sports shows, WOWT’s “Sunday Sports Extra” handily outdistances KMTV’s “Harrah’s Sports Sound-Off.” But its viewership has declined, losing two ratings points and three share points from two years ago.

In the face of it all, though, Jonas remains optimistic that the May ratings, which begin April 27, will pose a more accurate representation of WOWT’s viewing audience.

“We are extremely happy with the way February turned out,” he said. “As positive as the Olympics are, it is always difficult on your regularly scheduled programming, such as news pre-emptions.”

The Rage About MySpace.com

The online blog, forums, email, groups, dating/relationships website, Myspace.com, is enjoying a publicist's dream of exposure this week, with stories (both good and bad) on cable television news programs, in national newspapers and magazines and plenty of discussion on the Internet.

Now comes word that MySpace.com is posting TV jobs and resumes in a special TV News section. A quick check by zip code indicates at least a half dozen media types (TV, radio, etc.) in the Omaha and Lincoln markets maintain Myspace.com profiles.

KMTV Celebrates Move Up In The Ratings

"When your TV station is third in a market of five local affiliates, you've got nothing to lose by shaking things up a bit."

That statement could have easily been written shortly after the Journal Broadcast Group’s acquisition of KMTV (Cox Channel 5) in December 2005.

But it actually comes from an Omaha World-Herald story in August of 2003. It reflects the long climb KMTV has faced in the Nielsen Media Research ratings. Once Omaha’s No. 1 station (for the last time in July of 1994), the CBS affiliate has endured numerous anchor changes, weak network programming and questionable decisions regarding the content in its newscasts.

But with the release of the Nielsen ratings for February, staffers on 108th and Mockingbird Drive had something to celebrate. In total viewership, KMTV gained ground on KETV (Cox Channel 9) and WOWT (Cox Channel 8) at 5 and 10 p.m.

So what was the difference between this ratings book and all the rest since the current anchor team of Deborah Ward and Greg Peterson — along with chief meteorologist Ryan McPike and sports director Travis Justice — debuted in January of 2002?

KMTV introduced a new slogan ("Action 3 News"), along with new news and weather sets, a new website (action3news.com) and new graphics. And though toned down from an almost breathless delivery of the news when the format first launched a day before the February ratings period, KMTV’s newscasts remain fast-paced, with a heavy emphasis on breaking news and weather.

"Before (Journal took over), there was an emphasis on storytelling instead of the more aggressive way of reporting," said Journal Broadcast Group Senior Vice-President of Television & Radio Operations Steve Wexler.

From a network standpoint, CBS also helped KMTV’s cause, posting a wide lead in total viewers, helped by a stable of solid dramas: Without a Trace, NCIS, CSI: NY, Cold Case and Numbers, joined this season by rookies Criminal Minds and The Unit. And don’t forget The Eye’s hit reality shows, Survivor and The Amazing Race.

The combination proved worthwhile enough to overcome two decisions that proved mostly unpopular with viewers when former owner Emmis Communications was running the station: the elimination of a traditional sportscast within evening newscasts and the green-lighting of a weeknight "For What It’s Worth" opinion segment.

Wexler’s formula for change is a little more conventional to television news.

"We are very pleased with the tremendous growth of Action 3 News in such a short time," he said. "We remain committed to our news mission of delivering a newscast that provides in-depth reporting on important stories and live coverage of breaking news events, including accurate and timely severe weather coverage with our "First Warning Forecast" program on both Action 3 News and our Journal Broadcast Group radio stations."

And though no one at KMTV will officially confirm it, reporters and photographers at other stations say they have heard KMTV staffers are under orders to be "first on the scene and last to leave" in order to provide the most comprehensive coverage of spot news.

Another factor to consider for future ratings strength is CBS’ recent signing of Katie Couric as anchor of "The CBS Evening News." The strong lead-in she has the potential to provide for the 6 p.m. time slot is fueling rumors that KMTV will revive its six o’clock newscast three years after shuttering it.

"The fact that news viewers have responded so quickly to Action 3 News is very gratifying," Wexler said. "We're going to work hard to continue earning their trust and loyalty."

KETV.com Is Top Choice For Omaha News Online

The recent surge in viewership KETV (Cox Channel 9) has enjoyed is not limited solely to its newscasts.

According to Nielsen Media Research/NetRatings statistics, more people visit KETV.com than any other Omaha news website.

For the month of March, 393,000 visitors viewed content on the ABC affiliate station’s website. That’s nearly 175,000 visitors more than the Omaha World-Herald newspaper’s website, Omaha.com.

“We are very excited by this information” said Shiloh Woolman, Managing Editor for KETV.com. “KETV is working very hard to provide the best local news coverage, and KETV.com is one way we deliver on our motto of 'more complete coverage.' One of the ways we are doing it is by providing live, streaming video of important and breaking news.”

KETV has also experienced significant gains in viewership for its newscasts. (A story coming Friday to The Reader’s online Media Notes column will provide more details.)

In comparison against its television news counterparts’ websites, Ketv.com has triple the viewership of WOWT.com (107,000 viewers) and Action3news.com (30,000 viewers), according to Nielsen. KETV was also first in online viewership in February, besting Omaha.com by 36,000 viewers.

KPTM Looks Ahead, Not Back

Sam Lawson, KPTM and KXVO Director of Promotions, will certainly discuss the two stations’ performance in the February Nielsen Market Research ratings. But in between, he can’t stop talking about what lies ahead in May for the Omaha Fox and WB affiliates.

“We’re going to have the season finale of “American Idol,” the finale of “24,” the finale of “Bones” – a show that is really catching on,” he said. “All of those shows are going right into the nine o’clock hour. So we’re really going to hunker down and continue to do what we do well.”

KPTM (Cox Channel 10) produces a 9 p.m. newscast that has to square off against prime-time programming from “The Big 3” networks. KXVO (Cox Channel 11) airs a 10 p.m. newscast that competes against more established and better-staffed news products from “The Big 3” network-affiliated competitors.

Toss in the fact that the Winter Olympics were going on for three of the four weeks of the February ratings period and it would be easy to hoist a white flag up the pole.

Instead, Lawson refers to the two stations’ uphill battles as “challenges.”

“We have challenges and we have issues,” he said. “Some of them are programming. We’re working on that. And we’re constantly working on the (KPTM) newscast. The improvements for people who have been watching that newscast for some time are pretty striking.”

Key to maximizing Fox’s potentially strong lead-ins is good promotion – something Lawson cut his teeth on at a Fox O&O in Cleveland, a UPN start-up in St. Louis and as the Affiliate Promotion Manager for Fox Broadcasting in Los Angeles. He is coming up on his one-year anniversary of being in Omaha.

“I appreciate our marketing guys,” he said. “During this next book, we’ll get a 30-second promo and be able to run a 20-second topical between 7 and 9 o’clock every night. That’s a couple thousand bucks worth of time they could be selling.”

Lawson said he would like to improve on the five household rating that KPTM garnered in November.

“I’d like to see us get another point,” he said.

For KXVO, which registered a single household point in the first week of the February book, but none after the Winter Olympics began, Lawson would like to see at least a demographic point across the board. The February ratings period was KXVO’s first book since launching a newscast specifically targeted to 18-to-34-year-old adults.

“We’re constantly making changes and people are beginning to respond,” Lawson said, referring to both stations. “I have high expectations for May.”

Ahead This Week...

Featured stories ahead on this week's edition of "Media Notes" online:

Tuesday: February Ratings Review: KPTM/KXVO

Wednesday: February Ratings Review: KMTV

Thursday: February Ratings Review: WOWT

Friday: February Ratings Review: KETV

Saturday: Following the rules for covering Nebraska football

Caught On Tape

The Reader's "Media Notes" columnist, Sean Weide, was pressed into service as a "spokesman" this morning on KETV's "First News This Morning" at 6 a.m.

Click here to watch the report on the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Great Strides Walk awareness event.

Video and story courtesy of ketv.com.

New KMTV Weekend Sports Anchor Is USC Grad

New KMTV (Cox Channel 5) weekend sports anchor Matt Seigel will be the first to admit he has some homework to do when it comes to covering the University of Nebraska football team.

After all, the Northbrook, Ill., native spent four years watching and reporting on the University of Southern California Trojans. A 2003 USC grad, Seigel made his "Action 3 News" debut over the weekend and will report sports three days a week.

"I'm a Big 10 and Pac 10 guy, but eagerly anticipate covering the Big 12," Seigel said.

So what has he learned in less than a week on the job?

"I know that Tom Osborne is a living legend, and that Coach Callahan is successfully implementing a West Coast offense that seems to work," he said. "I also know that the team lost its best running back last season, and that Memorial Stadium is arguably the best venue in college football."

After working for USC's campus TV station, "Annenberg TV News," Seigel landed his first full-time job as sports director at KCFW-NBC in Kalispell, Mont. (Nielsen Market No. 168) He comes to Omaha after seven months in Terre Haute, Ind., as a sports reporter. He has also freelanced at Fox Sports Chicago.

Reporter Profile

---

Dave Roberts, KMTV

Previous Experience:
KGAN, KAAL, KWWL

---

To find out how Dave Roberts got his inspiration to pursue a career in television news, you have to go back to the mid-80s in Philadelphia. That's where weatherman Dave Roberts was delivering forecasts on WPVI "Action News" Channel 6.

The younger Roberts, who watched the older Roberts on WPVI when he was growing up in nearby South Jersey, decided to give TV news a try by anchoring his high school’s morning news broadcast. From there, he went on to Coe College and a job at KGAN, the Eastern Iowa CBS affiliate for Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Waterloo and Dubuque. In three years there, he worked his way up to associate director.

In 2001, he took a job at KAAL-ABC in Austin, Minn., where he was the weekend anchor. Two years later, he moved back to Eastern Iowa to Waterloo's KWWL-ABC, working his way up from mornings to evenings and winning first place in "spot news coverage" from the Iowa Broadcast News Association for his story, "Arsonist Starts Fire Live on Morning Show."

"I tend to enjoy undercover investigative work and catching people who prey on the vulnerable," Roberts said.

He encourages viewers to share news tips, emails and comments on his work at Action 3 News. You can him at dgroberts@Action3News.com or call the Action3News tip line: 402-592-3333 ext. 700.

McPike: Be Careful Using The 'T' Word

While Thursday's bout with severe weather was limited to a small portion of the "Action 3 News" viewing area, KMTV (Cox Channel 5) Chief Meteorologist Ryan McPike is not going out of his way to tell viewers that he did not forecast the threat of strong, severe or even numerous tornadoes during Wednesday night's 10 o'clock newscast.

McPike said he knew there was "a good possibility" for severe weather Thursday and even mentioned the likelihood of hail and damaging winds in his forecast Wednesday night. But he was cautious in making mention that at least parts of the "Action 3 News" viewing area would have the threat of tornadoes.

"As a meteorologist, I feel that you have to be careful when it comes to the 'T' word," McPike said. "On one hand, you certainly want to warn people it could get really nasty, but you have to be careful not to scare the living daylights out of them."

McPike, who has been at KMTV since 1997 and its chief meteorologist since 2002, said he regularly receives emails and phone calls from viewers telling him they are scared of tornadoes.

Humor From The Press Club Newsletter

By Jon Brooks

Reprinted with permission from the Omaha Press Club newsletter.

Twenty Years Ago: Another Tragic Disappearance

Thursday, a crew from "America's Most Wanted" visited Omaha to re-create the disappearance of 12-year-old Amber Harris for an upcoming segment on the network program.

It was 20 years ago this week that an Omaha TV crew was recreating another child's disappearance in hopes of solving the disappearance and murder of 11-year-old Richard F. Chadek III on March 23, 1986.

Chadek, a fourth grader at Beals Elementary, rode his bicycle into a bank parking lot near 42nd & Valley — two blocks from his home — then disappeared along with a blue pickup truck that entered the parking lot after he arrived. Hope for the boy's safe return gave way to tragedy when Chadek's body was discovered eight days later in a roadside ditch northwest of Omaha.

Police said Richard died of traumatic asphyxia, possibly caused by strangulation or smothering. They also said he may have been held by his abductor for as long as six days.

There were no suspects, despite one of the largest manhunts ever organized by the Omaha Police Department. Fifty-nine investigators from nine area law enforcement agencies were involved. The force was split into six teams, with investigators working 12- to 16-hour daily shifts for several weeks.

The man who witnesses said might have picked up Chadek was described as white, 45 to 50, with a reddish complexion. The truck he was driving was described as a medium blue 1968 to 1972 Chevrolet or GMC pickup with sideboards the same color as the truck. More than 1,000 trucks in Nebraska and Iowa were checked and cleared. Investigators traveled as far as 300 miles to check leads.

Police Lt. Tony Mohatt, a second-generation Omaha Police Officer who had joined the force in 1962, told the Omaha World-Herald at the time that he had never been involved in an investigation of that magnitude.

The reward fund established after Chadek's disappearance of Richard Chadek III had reached $12,697 within two weeks after his body was discovered.

Editor's Note: Lt. Mohatt died of cancer in January of 2000. In his obituary, Omaha World-Herald reporter Tanya Eiseser wrote, "If retired Omaha Police Lt. Tony Mohatt had one regret during his long career, it was that he never solved the 1986 abduction and slaying of 11-year-old Ricky Chadek."

Mohatt retired from the Omaha Police force in 1992. The next year, Tim Dunning tapped Mohatt to be his campaign manager for Douglas County sheriff. After the election, Dunning chose him to be his chief deputy. One of Mohatt's first actions was to reopen the Chadek case. He re-retired from law enforcement in 1997.

Another Tornadic Thursday?

One week ago, a series of powerful thunderstorms and at least one tornado swept across the Omaha metropolitan area just before the evening drive.

A similar situation is likely to occur today, according to chief meterologists' forecasts at all five Omaha TV stations Wednesday night.

WOWT (Cox Channel 8) Chief Meteorologist Jim Flowers said at 10 p.m. that there "is the potential across portions of the area for large tornadoes tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon."

During his main forecast, he said, "The axis of the more unstable air swings over to the Missouri River into Western Iowa and Northwest Missouri by about seven o’clock tonight. As I mentioned earlier, wind fields with this system are very strong, so there is the possibility of getting not only numerous tornadoes, but a few that are large and damaging tornadoes in the area that we’ve highlighted, especially central Nebraska and arcing down into western portions of Missouri."

The highlighted area on his forecast map included the Omaha metropolitan area.

KETV (Cox Channel 9) Chief Meteorologist Bill Randby told viewers at 10 Wednesday night: "I really want you to pay attention to the weather as we get into Thursday afternoon and evening."

He was more specific in his main forecast, predicting that severe thunderstorms will develop between 4 and 7 p.m.

"That’s our highest risk of strong, severe, even tornadic thunderstorms," Randby said. "These storms could be stronger than what we saw last Thursday. We could have stronger winds, larger hail and possibly stronger tornadoes. We’ll be following it closely."

KPTM/KXVO (Cox Channels 10/11) Chief Meteorologist Tyson Pearsall forecast the potential for severe weather to be in the late afternoon into the evening, crediting the Storm Prediction Center for putting the viewing area under a moderate risk for severe weather.

"This means there’s a pretty good chance of large hail, damaging winds and yes, certainly that chance for a few isolated tornadoes," Pearsall told KPTM viewers at 9 p.m. "That’s going to be a threat or at least a concern for tomorrow late afternoon and again through the evening hours."

Of the four, KMTV (Cox Channel 5) Chief Meteorologist Ryan McPike was the most non-committal, saying only that the Storm Prediction Center had the viewing area in the moderate risk category for severe weather for Thursday afternoon.

Meteorologist Dean Wysocki (a former chief meteorologist at KPTM) elaborated a little more on the "Action 3 News" 5 a.m. newscast Thursday, saying "anytime after three or four o'clock, storms are expected to break out."

Masters in HD

Even people watching The Masters on a non-HD TV will see a better picture.

Whether you have a high definition TV or not, coverage of The Masters golf tournament today through Sunday on KMTV (Cox Channel 5 and 805) promises to be one of the highest quality from a video standpoint.

That's because this year's Masters will go down as the largest HDTV golf production to date, with CBS Sports utilizing 54 high definition cameras. Ten of those cameras will be hand-held HDTV cameras -- a first for a PGA golf event.

The production will be produced in HDTV's highest definition format, 1080i, and downconverted for the analog broadcast, meaning even people watching on a non-HD TV will see a better quality picture.

KMTV will broadcast the 2006 Masters in HD on its digital carrier, Cox Channel 805, today and Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. On Saturday, coverage can be seen on Cox Channels 5 and 805 from 2:30 to 6 p.m. and on Sunday from 1:30-6 p.m. live from Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.

The 2000 Masters on CBS was the first golf tournament ever presented live in HDTV on network television. The 2003 Masters marked the first time that standard and HDTV productions of the Tournament were unified.

Stanton Shares Insight On Radio News Advancements

KFAB (1110 AM) News Director Tom Stanton says the station will be switching to digital compact flash recorders to do interviews on the street. Using it with a Verizon PDA/Blackberry, he will be able to transfer the audio file to the PDA and e-mail it directly to the station.

Read more from Stanton about how technology is changing the way radio news reporters gather and file their reports in this month's issue of "Beyond 30," the Omaha Press Club's newsletter.

NET Promo Takes Swing At Pederson's Comments

Screen shots of NET's new promo touting the network as "Nebraska's Statewide Home For Sports."

The crowd of 12,276 fans who were on hand at Rosenblatt Stadium Tuesday night for Nebraska's 6-4 win over Creighton game didn't get a chance to see a new promotional advertisement on Nebraska Educational Television (NET) that makes light of an uncomfortable situation for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Athletic Director Steve Pederson.

First, some background:

The broadcast rights for Nebraska baseball broadcasts switched this season from NET, which had carried them for the past 25 years, to Cox Communications. Pederson told the Omaha World-Herald's Tom Shatel that he switched broadcasting teams for one reason - recruiting.

"The wave of the future for sporting events is cable TV," Pederson said in Shatel's column March 28. "We want to find out what is out there with cable TV. NETV (sic) is fabulous. They're great to work with.

"But the fact is, we have to recruit nationally, in all sports. And getting our product on cable is a way for recruits to see it. This might allow us to be on CSTV (College Sports TV), or the sports cable network in Kansas City, Texas or Colorado, where (Nebraska baseball Coach) Mike (Anderson) recruits a lot. We don't know what's out there. This is about finding out."

But what Pederson failed to acknowledge is that for several years, NET has produced broadcasts that have been picked up on CSTV and other sports cable networks for national broadcast coverage.

That brings us back to Tuesday night's promo. Using footage from Creighton's thrilling win over Wichita State last week - a game that NET broadcast live from Rosenblatt - several phrases flash onto the screen:

"Award Winning Sports Television"

"Everywhere in Nebraska"

"National Coverage"

"You Were There"

and the coup de grace:

"Nebraska's Statewide Home For Sports"

A live, post-game "thank you for watching message" also noted that Tuesday night's game was carried live on CSTV to more than 32 million subscribers.

Sports This Weekend: Beef Preview

Tuesday, April 04, 2006, Omaha, Nebraska – The Omaha Beef of the United Indoor Football Association is pleased to announce that the Week 3 Edition of “The Robert Fuller Show” will be broadcast live from Sports Subs Wednesday night starting at 7pm. Sports Subs is located at 9957 Redick Circle (Across from Wal-Mart I-680 & Blair High Road). The show will also be broadcast on 1620 AM “The Zone”.

Beef Head Coach Robert Fuller and host Nick Handley will review last Saturdays big win versus Sioux City and breakdown this Sunday’s battle with Evansville at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.

Defensive Coordinator, James Kerwin, will also be on hand to talk about his much-improved defense and the exciting final defensive stand against Sioux City. Kerwin will also have insight on Evansville as he prepares to coach against his former team.

Assistant General Manager Dustin Talacko will also appear to discuss upcoming events, promotions, and Meat Wagon Bus Trips.

The Beef return home on April 9, as they will battle the Evansville BlueCats (1-1) at 3:30 PM. Sunday’s game is “Faith and Family” Day where Beef fans can receive $3 off their admission by bringing a non-perishable food item to the Beef Office or The Civic Auditorium Box Office. Donations will benefit the Omaha Food Bank. Individual game tickets still remain for all Beef home games and can be obtained by calling Jenny Cheney at the Omaha Beef Football office at 402-346-2333

WOWT, KETV Win Murrow Awards

Omaha TV stations WOWT and KETV each won regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for excellence in electronic journalism from the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA).

WOWT (Cox Channel 8) won a pair of Murrow Awards: Best News Series for "Matt's Dream" and anchor/reporter Brian Mastre won for Best Writing.

KETV (Cox Channel 9) earned its Murrow Award in the "Hard News Feature" category for its story, "Sex Offender Rehab." I-Team reporter Carol Kloss, photojournalist Peter Soby and senior investigative producer and night assignment manager Cathy Beeler were responsible for the story.

RTNDA has been honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971. Murrow Award recipients demonstrate the spirit of excellence that Edward R. Murrow created as a standard for the broadcast news profession.

Nebraska TV and radio stations compete in the region which includes Kansas, Missouri and Iowa.

RTNDA received 3,253 regional entries, up 354 from last year. Judges gave 606 awards to 279 stations in 14 categories ranging from overall excellence to spot news to continuing coverage to investigative reporting.

Shatel New President Of Hoops Writers

The Omaha World-Herald's Tom Shatel assumed the presidency of the American Basketball Writers Association Monday at the group's annual awards meeting in Indianapolis.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution sportswriter Tony Barnhart, outgoing president of the USBWA, wrote in his final column of "Tipoff," the association's newsletter, that his year with the gavel went by all too quickly.

"When we gather on April 3, it will be my honor to pass the gavel to Tom Shatel, a very active and enthusiastic vice-president," Barnhart wrote. "When you sit in this chair, you appreciate that."

Shatel has been a sports columnist at the World-Herald since 1991. He served as president of the Football Writers Association of America in 2000.

Gerrish Gets Good Review From New Peers

Former WOWT anchor Courtny Gerrish's first assignment at her new station in Milwaukee was a trip to Louisiana for spring break.

Last month, Gerrish left her weekend evening newscast anchoring for WOWT behind for a job anchoring and reporting at NBC and Journal Broadcast Group-owned WTMJ, better known as "Today's TMJ4"

Mike Jacobs, her new co-anchor on the station's 4:30 p.m. newscast writes in his online blog that "you're never quite sure what you're going to get" until a new hire walks through the door.

In Gerrish's case, it was in and out the door the same day, as she headed south to New Orleans to cover a group of Marquette University students who were spending their spring break helping residents clean up from Hurricane Katrina.

Coincidentally, WTMJ is home to former KMTV Chief Meteorologist Craig Koplein, who has worked there since 2000.

EVERYONE Will See Tonight's Husker Baseball Game

On the night when the state's two baseball powerhouses meet at Rosenblatt Stadium, Lincoln Journal Star columnist (and former Grand Island Independent sports editor) Jeff Korbelik writes that the Nebraska athletic department and Cox Communications "should have had their ducks in a row" before attempting to televise a Husker baseball game this season.

The problems Cox Communications and Time Warner had televising a Husker home game more than a week ago could have been avoided, Korbelik writes, if the Nebraska athletic department had granted NET Television (home to Husker baseball for the past 25 years) permission to air the three home games it requested to go along with the Huskers’ two road games at Creighton.

He adds: "Cox also has had trouble selling the games to cable companies outside of Lincoln and Omaha. Two companies were hesitant to take the broadcasts because of technical and cost concerns. Another — Cable One in Norfolk — hasn’t even heard from Cox yet."

Click here to read the rest of Korbelik's "Ground Zero" online story.

Incidentally, tonight's game can be seen statewide, in high-definition, on NET, beginning at 7 p.m. CDT.

KETV.com Revives 'News@Work' Feature

KETV's website, ketv.com, re-launched its "News@Work" feature last week. The online newscast is three minutes of local news and weather available only between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on ketv.com.

News@Work first debuted in 2004, but was discontinued by the end of 2005. Hearst-Argyle, which owns KETV, revived the online newscast with a few changes.

"It used to be about a seven-minute newscast, now it's about three minutes long," said KETV.com webmaster Shiloh Woolman. "It won't take nearly as long for people to load, so it will be more integrated with the other content on our site."

KFAB: Pavelka Welcome Anytime

Listeners to the "Good Morning Show" on KFAB (1110 AM) are letting it be known that they enjoy hearing Kent Pavelka back on the "Blowtorch of the Midwest."

Pavelka spent more than 35 years working in radio, including 27 at KFAB. His most recent on-air shift, doing a morning drive show at KKAR (1290 AM), ended last fall. Pavelka now owns his own advertising agency and public relations firm, Kent Pavelka & Associates, and has produced several advertisements for the Omaha Public Schools’ “One City, One School District” campaign.

The past couple of months, Pavelka has filled in on "The Good Morning Show" with one of his longtime on-air colleagues, Gary Sadlemyer, and University of Nebraska-Lincoln football sports play-by-play guy, Jim Rose, when either of them has taken vacation.

Sadlemyer, KFAB's program director who has worked at the station since 1976, said listeners have made it known they enjoy hearing Pavelka. One even made mention that hearing Pavelka read snow-related closings and postponements recently conjured up nostolgic memories of KFAB in the early 80s, with Pavelka, the late Walt Kavanaugh, Don Cole and Roger Flemmer handling the morning airshift.

"Usually people take the time to email me when they’re unhappy," Sadlemyer said. "But the response (to Pavelka) has been overwhelmingly positive. The first couple of times he was on, I received 30 emails. Out of that total, there were only three or four that were negative."

Now that producer Roger Olson has returned (following seven weeks of recovery from a mild stroke) to the show, the opportunities to fill in for Sadlemyer or Rose might not be as frequent. But Sadlemyer said Pavelka is always welcome on KFAB.

"As long as he wants to and is able to do it, I’m sure you’ll hear him on our air," Sadlemyer said.

[Updated: April 6, 2006]

World-Herald On The Move

The Omaha World-Herald will be moving many of its operations to the Qwest Communications building at 1314 Douglas St., according to a story in today's editions of the newspaper. Qwest will remain in the building with a long-term lease for half of the floors.

The World-Herald's current building -- which sits on the appropriately named "World-Herald Square" -- has housed the paper's news, circulation, advertising and administrative departments for more than 50 years.

According to the story, none of the newspaper's four circulation and distribution centers will be affected, nor will its west Omaha advertising office.

Former Omaha Anchor Weighs In With Grammar Lesson

Former KMTV reporter Chris Egert was featured in Monday's edition of "Mrs. Bluezette's Grammar Yammar" on newsblues.com.

Egert writes to Mona Scott:

At a volunteer retreat for Easter Seals, I picked up a few tips on portraying people with disabilities that I thought people might find useful.

Avoid using "wheelchair bound" or "confined to a wheelchair."
Say uses a wheelchair.
(People can't generally sleep in a wheelchair.)

Handicapped" is a no no.
Use the word disability when referring to people with disabilities.
A disabling condition may or may not be handicapping.
For example, someone who uses a wheelchair has a physical disability. This person is handicapped when faced with a set of stairs when there is no ramp nearby.

Because people are not conditions, don't label individuals as "the disabled," "epileptics," "post-polios," or other names of conditions.
Refer, instead, to people with cerebral palsy or someone who has epilepsy.

Chris Egert, WFTV/WRDQ

Egert and his wife, Kate, both worked at KMTV until 2002. The couple have a nearly one-year-old son, Dakota.

WOWT, NET Radio Top AP Awards List

Grand Island, Neb. -- Gray Communications-owned WOWT-Omaha and KOLN/KGIN-Lincoln were the top TV news category winners Saturday at the Nebraska Associated Press Broadcasters Association contest.

Among radio stations that are members of The Associated Press, NET Radio and Omaha's KFAB (1110 AM) took home the most awards.

Among TV stations in the large (Omaha-only) division, WOWT (Cox Channel 8) won 11 first or second-place honors, KETV (Cox Channel 9) and KPTM (Cox Channel 10) each took home six and KMTV (Cox Channel 5) won two.

KOLN/KGIN-CBS won took home nine first place awards in the smaller market television division, while NBC affiliate KHAS in Hastings had four first place awards.

NET Radio, Nebraska's National Public Radio station out of Lincoln, won four first place awards while KFAB and KFOR (1240 AM) each earned two.

Note: The following information was supplied directly to Media Notes not by The Associated Press.

TELEVISION DIVISION I (Omaha Market)

Large Market Television Category

Spot News:
1st — KETV, "Iowa wildfires," Todd Andrews, Tom Elser, Michael Richard, Steve Goetz, Suzanne Deyo, Carrie Chambers
2nd — WOWT, "Missouri Valley fire," Roger Hamer, Brian Mastre

General News:
1st — WOWT, "Duffle bag," Brian Mastre, Jody Church
2nd — KPTM, "Williams fatal fall," Dave Hansen, Jahad Wade

Feature:
1st — KETV, "Elderly Skydiver," Rob McCartney, Peter Soby
2nd — KMTV, "Batting coach," Michelle Bandur

Agriculture:
1st — KETV, "Power from hogs," Tom Elser, Peter Soby
2nd — KPTM, "Karzai visit," Jo Giles, Nate Jank

Investigative:
1st — KMTV, "Beach road crossing," Joe Jordan
2nd — KPTM-"You're paying for meth," Dave Hansen, Nathan Jank

Series:
1st — WOWT, "Matt's Dream," Brian Mastre, Kevin Ridley, Roger Hamer, Jim Hinchik, Jim Fackler
2nd — WOWT, "Hallam tornado: a year later," Andrea McMaster, Kevin Ridley, Mike Plews, Roger Hamer, Jim Hinchik

Sports Story:
1st — KPTM, "Catch of the day," J.J. Davis
2nd — KETV, "Life of a long snapper," Matt Schick

Sports Special:
1st — KETV, "Big Red Zone: Signing Day," Jon Schuetz, Sean McMahon, Jim Healey, Andrew Ozaki, Jeannie Roubidoux, Mike DiGiacomo, Engineering Staff
2nd — WOWT, "Big Red Extra: Nebraska preview," Channel 6 Sports Staff, Ross Jernstrom, producer

Videography:
1st — KPTM, "Love above," Jason Pressler
2nd — WOWT, "College World Series cleanup," Gary Smollen, Kevin Ridley

Weathercast:
1st — WOWT, "Winter 2005-2006 forecast," Nov. 4, Jim Flowers
2nd — WOWT, "5 p.m. weather," April 21, Jeff Jensen

Sportscast:
1st — WOWT, "Sunday Sports Extra," Oct. 30, Ross Jernstrom
2nd — KPTM, "Sportscast," Nov. 23, J.J. Davis

Newscast:
1st — WOWT, "6 News Live at 6," Dec. 13, Channel 6 News Staff
2nd — KETV, "Newswatch 7 at 5," Aug. 24, Jennifer Shatel, Producer

Web site (Divisions I and II):
1st — KHAS-TV, Julie Tork, webmaster
2nd — WOWT, Geoff Crunick, webmaster

TELEVISION DIVISION II (Outside Omaha):

Spot News:
1st (tie) — KTIV, "Double shootings," Jolene Loetscher, Melissa Lanzourakis; KHAS-TV, "School bus crash/apartment fire," Scott Dobroski, Jeremy Watson
2nd — KHAS-TV, "2005 blizzard team coverage," News 5 staff

General News:
1st — KLKN-TV, "MRSA," Liz Tufts
2nd — KLKN-TV, "Meth 911 call," Liz Tufts

Feature:
1st — KTIV, "Wife want ad," Melissa Lanzourakis
2nd — KHAS-TV, "Day in the heartland: ticketmaster," Dennis Kellogg, Jeremy Watson

Agriculture:
1st — KOLN/KGIN, "Plowing thru profits," Addie Knowlton
2nd — KHAS-TV, "Dangerous teen jobs," Scott Dobroski

Investigative:
1st — KHAS-TV, "Walking the line," Scott Dobroski
2nd — NTV, "Howard County Sheriff's troubles," Steve White

Series:
1st — KOLN/KGIN, "Hurricane Katrina: help from the heartland," Royale Da', Andy Chaves
2nd — KHAS-TV, "Meth's youngest victims," Stacia Harris, Jesse Boeckermann

Sports Story:
1st — KOLN/KGIN, "Long shot," Lance Schwartz
2nd — KLKN, "Sports feature," Lon Nichols

Sports Special:
1st — KOLN/KGIN, "The new recruits," Andrew Fellios, Kyle Delia, Tregg White
2nd — NTV, "Countdown to kickoff," NTV Sports team

Videography:
1st — KOLN/KGIN, "Ice fishing," Lance Schwartz
2nd — KOLN/KGIN, "Busted," Andy Chaves

Weathercast:
1st — KHAS-TV, "6:00 Weather," Nov. 28, John Walsh
2nd — KOLN/KGIN, "Pinpoint forecast-10/11 News Now," Nov. 7, Ken Siemek

Sportscast:
1st — KOLN/KGIN, "Sports Overtime," Nov. 11, Kyle Delia, Kevin Sjuts
2nd — KOLN/KGIN, "Sports Overtime," Nov. 23, Kyle Delia, Kevin Sjuts

Newscast:
1st — NTV, "NTV News," Nov. 7, NTV News Crew
2nd — KHAS-TV, "News 5 at 6," Sept. 30, News 5 Staff

RADIO DIVISION I (Omaha and Lincoln)

Spot News:
1st — KFOR, "History made in Havana," Dale Johnson
2nd — KFAB, "House fire," Tom Stanton

General News:
1st — KFOR, "History made in Havana," Dale Johnson
2nd — NET RADIO, "Palmerton profile," Fred Knapp

Feature:
1st — NET RADIO, "Hispanic higher education," Sarah McCammon
2nd — NET RADIO, "Johnny Carson Memorial," Fred Knapp

Agriculture:
1st — NET RADIO, "Poultry antibiotics," Sarah McCammon
2nd — KFOR, "History made in Havana," Dale Johnson

Public Affairs:
1st — KFAB, "Violence in the streets," Rick Vincent
2nd — NET RADIO, "Emergency responders," Hope Stockwell

Natural Sound:
1st — NET RADIO, "Grossology exhibit," Avishay Artsy
2nd — NET RADIO, "Iraqis get ready to vote," Sarah McCammon

Sports Feature:
1st — NET Radio, "Cancer survivor meets Huskers," Avishay Artsy
2nd — NET Radio, "Volleyball excitement," Fred Knapp

Newscast:
1st — KFAB, "7 a.m. News," Aug. 24, Rick Vincent, Karla James
2nd — KFAB, "5 p.m. News," Dec. 12, Coleen Cook

RADIO DIVISION II

Spot News:
1st — KUSO, "Dick's Barbershop shooting," Dave Amick, Mike Flood
2nd — KWBE, "Courtroom Tackle," Doug Kennedy

General News:
1st — WJAG/KEXL, "57 channels," Susan Risinger
2nd — KUSO, "Zoo shakeup," Brian Masters

Feature:
1st — WJAG/KEXL, "Suessical at Westside," Jim Curry
2nd — KNEN, "Thanks for the memories, Johnny," Bill Seifert

Agriculture:
1st — KWBE, "America's Heartland," Dave Neidfeldt
2nd — WJAG/KEXL, "NACTA at Northeast Community College," Susan Risinger

Public Affairs:
1st — WJAG/KEXL, "Norfolk 2005," Jim Curry
2nd — KWBE, "The F-Four tornado ... one year later," Doug Kennedy, Bryan Cook

Natural Sound:
1st — KWBE, "Little House cast," Doug Kennedy

Sports Story:
1st — KEXL, "A championship awaits," Joseph Tjaden
2nd — KEXL, "KEXL football pre-game show," Joseph Tjaden

Sportscast:
1st — KKPR-FM, "Power 99 Sports," Feb. 2, Doug Duda
2nd — KWBE, "Race to records," Aug. 3, Bryan Cook

Newscast:
1st — KWPN, "10 o'clock news," Dec. 13, David Gustafson