In The Spotlight: Brian McFayden

Editor’s note: This story contains opinions of the author.

Brian McFayden was in the middle of writing a story for the "KXVO 15 10:00 Newscast" when the phone rang at news director Allen Beckner’s desk.

McFayden answered it somewhat hesitantly with a "Hello?"

One reason for the trepidation, perhaps, was that he had turned Beckner’s office into his own personal workspace for his first week on the job. (Beckner was off at a national convention.) McFayden – who says he knew no one at KPTM or KXVO before starting at the station a week ago – probably felt a little more at ease in the surroundings of a quiet office away from the hustle-bustle, police-scanner chatter of the KPTM newsroom one floor below.

And there in lies one of the primary problems some viewers have complained about in McFayden’s first week on the job: that the KXVO 15 10:00 Newscast is not exactly a "NEWScast."

McFayden is the first to agree.

"We take more of a positive slant on the news and we offer more entertainment," McFayden said. "So I think we should rename it, but that’s up to (management). Maybe we could run a contest to rename the whole show."

The new name would be appropriate, considering the major overhaul the newscast (hereafter referred to as "the show") has undergone since its launch in December on a makeshift set opposite sister station KPTM’s newsroom.

For 30 minutes, McFayden stands in front of a swirling virtual set backdrop (ala "Talk Soup"), delivering mostly entertainment- and celebrity-focused stories with an ad lib-style that at times resembles a stand-up comedian. The "serious" news of the day is delivered by one of KPTM’s anchors in a brief segment from the KPTM news set.

Reporter Calvert Collins, the original anchor of the KXVO 15 10:00 News, is the only KPTM on-air staffer reporting exclusively for KXVO. Her "Heartland Underground" reports typically explore a local issue of interest to the show’s targeted demographic of 18- to-34-year-olds.

Friday night’s lead story exemplified the new direction the show has taken in just the first week with McFayden at the helm. In a tribute to Arbor Day, the former MTV Veejay was seen hugging and kissing a tree in Memorial Park in a taped segment set to the strains of Alphaville’s "Forever Young."

Two nights earlier, a story on celebrity couples included pictures of Omaha KETV anchor Julie Cornell and her husband, chief meteorologist Bill Randby. McFayden said the comedic reference to the competition was "not a slam."

"I did that because my parents watch Channel 7’s news," he said. "My mom and my stepdad love Bill Randby. I wanted to do it all in fun."

From MTV to Omaha

McFayden is certainly not the first TV personality to make the jump from Omaha to network work and then return to the Midlands. In 1993, former KETV anchor Michael Scott landed a gig on "Entertainment Tonight" then returned to Omaha two years later to anchor for competitor KMTV. And Omaha World-Herald and WOWT entertainment critic Peter Citron left Omaha for three years in 1981 to take an on-air job at KRON in San Francisco.

For McFayden, the path to success started with waiting tables in Omaha to working in Minneapolis radio as "Altar Boy," a comedic sidekick on "The Cane Show." Not long after that, he landed a gig on New York City radio station K-Rock that led to his job on MTV’s "Total Request Live" and eventual host of network shows like "Cupid," "Superstar USA" and "Beauty and the Geek."

So why go from a life of dating supermodels and actresses like Nicky Hilton to hosting a show on the lowest-rated TV station in Omaha?

McFayden said his agent in Los Angeles suggested he find work in Omaha since he was returning to Nebraska so often.

"I come back here all the time," he said. "I’m here four to five months out of the year. It was the opportunity to work at home while being able to go Los Angeles. It’s definitely not LA money, but it’s a dream come true for me."

Not everything has been sunshine and rainbows for McFayden since his meteoric rise to stardom.

In the early 2000s, he fathered a child with Escada model Heather Knese, then broke up with her four months later. Knese obtained a restraining order against him and referred to him as a "Deadbeat Dad" until a DNA test confirmed McFayden was indeed the child’s father and the pair reached a settlement. Now five years old, McFayden’s son, Dane, lives in Ohio.

McFayden says he is currently dating a woman from Omaha who just happens to be a fellow Ralston High grad (though four-and-a-half years younger).

Behind the Scenes

The banter between McFayden and Pearsall or sports director JJ Davis can be, at times, uncomfortable to watch. In one exchange between McFayden and Pearsall last week, McFayden picked up a piece of paper in the weather lab, waved it in front of the camera and remarked how the information on it made no sense to him. Pearsall shot him one of those "what are you going to say next?" looks.

Technical problems plagued the show in its first week. The virtual background sometimes melded into McFayden’s clothing, video often had the same shots edited to loop over and over and McFayden’s casual attire and disheveled look resembled someone who had just strolled off the dance floor at a wedding reception.

Behind the scenes can be just as chaotic.

When the teleprompter went out Thursday night. McFayden was momentarily caught off guard but adlibbed his way to a commercial break. Once the studio was "clear" though, McFayden launched into a mini-tirade, repeatedly asking, "What happened?"

The silence from the studio crew was deafening.

"This isn't public access folks — what the hell happened?" McFayden yelled.

One night later, McFayden can laugh at the incident.

"I’m so used to these big network TV stations, (technical problems) are the last thing you worry about," he said. "It’s something I have to get used to. It’s one thing I have to learn — that we all have to learn.

"I do look forward to coming to work every day – coming in at noon and getting off at 10:30," he said. "This is the most fun I’ve had in my entire career."

Extended Absences Planned

He insists he brings no prima donna attitude to a station that’s highest-rated programs are the WB’s "Gilmore Girls" and "7th Heaven." Proof can be found in what he was doing Friday afternoon: conducting interviews with students outside a high school during a virtual downpour. (For reasons unknown, the story did not air.)

His contract reportedly runs through the end of the year and provides him with the opportunity to return to Los Angeles for weeks at a time to work on network projects he said will soon be announced.

While he is away, McFayden said he plans to write an online diary to keep viewers in Omaha informed about what he is doing. On weekends, KPTM reporter Jo Giles fills in for him, carrying through with the show’s unconventional style (Sunday night, she sported an umbrella for her lead story.)

"This is definitely something no one has done," McFayden said. "We’re trying to have fun with the news but we’re serious about doing something different. I would say watch the show and see for yourself."