Stations Collect More Than Share Of TV Awards
I know, I know, it’s difficult to care about another bunch of journalism awards.
But something quite remarkable happened in the national Edward R. Murrow Awards, which are the annual awards of the Radio-Television News Directors Association.
Spokane’s TV stations - specifically KHQ-6 and KREM-2 - did astonishingly well, far out of proportion to their size. Spokane is the nation’s 73rd largest TV market, which means it qualifies in the Small Market Division for station’s smaller than the top 30. This still pits Spokane against stations in much larger cities, such as Milwaukee, Kansas City, New Orleans, and Salt Lake City.
Out of 10 awards in that division, Spokane’s stations won three. No other city won more than one.
KREM won two: Best Continuing Coverage, a staff award for its extensive coverage of Ice Storm; and Best News Documentary, for “Gulf War Disease: The Hidden Enemy,” written by Tom Grant, produced by Tamara Lehman and edited by photojournalist Gary Burckhardt.
KHQ won for Best Spot News Coverage, a staff award for its stories about the flooding in February.
The awards will be presented in a ceremony emceed by = Walter Cronkite= on Sept. 17 in New York.
“It’s pretty amazing,” said KREM news director Ron Comings. “It says quite a lot about the quality of TV in this town.”
Upwardly (?) mobile
Yes, but what does this say about the quality of TV in this town?
Maureen O’Boyle, whose “In Person” show was just canceled, has been named anchor of the syndicated tabloid show “Extra.” She replaces Libby Weaver, who got the sack on Thursday.
To sum up, one former Spokane newswoman has replaced another. O’Boyle is a former KREM news anchor, and Weaver is a former KHQ news anchor.
Spokane, cradle of the tabloid anchors.
It’s a miracle
The final tally is in for the Children’s Miracle Network, a 21-hour telethon on KHQ: $602,011.
That’s a lot of green, all of it going to local children’s hospitals and agencies.
Don Imus show is coming
Don Imus, the New York shock jock, will make his debut Monday on Spokane’s airwaves.
Imus’ syndicated radio show will be carried on KTRW-AM (The Score, 970) from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. every weekday.
Imus is notorious for two things: Being Howard Stern’s archenemy, and for publicly insulting the Clintons while speaking at the 1996 Radio-Television Correspondents’ Association Dinner.
At one point, he turned to Bill Clinton and said, “We all know you’re a pot-smoking weasel, that you once ate an apple fritter the size of a baby’s head and that you actually run a 12-minute mile.”
He also made jokes about Clinton’s alleged extramarital affairs, his wife’s legal problems, Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerry’s “wooden leg,” and the homosexuality of Newt Gingrich’s half-sister.
According to the Washington Post, Imus’ cracks were received with “stony silence” by the Clintons and the other 3,000 people in attendance.
Imus later apologized, calling the jokes “hideously inappropriate.” Yet he has also said that his syndicated show has nearly doubled its stations.
“It turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me,” he was once quoted as saying.
Imus seems like an odd fit on KTRW, which is an all-sports station. His show consists of interviews with a wide variety of guests, including politicians and entertainers.
However, Brian Paul, in charge of radio for KXLY’s family of stations (of which KTRW is one), said the show makes some sense on a sports station.
“Imus’ flagship station in New York is The Fan (WFAN), which is a sports station,” said Paul. “The show does have a sports base.”
The addition of Imus to the schedule means that the Fabulous Sports Babe will be heard only from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. starting Monday, although Paul said that her hours will be expanded sometime soon.
Imus’ shows this week will be “best-of” reruns because Imus is on vacation. Beginning July 7, the show will be broadcast live.
The whole thing makes me wonder: Will Stern be next for Spokane?
Weiser winners
Once again, local fiddlers acquitted themselves well in the National Fiddle Contest at Weiser, Idaho.
Luke Bulla, 17, of Northport, Wash., the defending Grand National Champion, ended up in an unprecedented tie for first this year with Jimmie Don Bates, 33, of Burleson, Texas. They fought it out in a fiddle-off, which Bates won, thus robbing Bulla of two championships in a row.
In addition, Bulla’s sister, Jenny Anne Bulla, 16, took second place in her age group.
Rod Anderson of Spokane won an accompanist award for appearing onstage 119 times (!!!) during the weeklong contest.
Tony Ludiker of Spokane also served as an accompanist. Ludiker is a five-time Grand National Champion himself.
Pantera bites the dust
The Pantera show, scheduled for July 4 at The Gorge Amphitheater, has been canceled. No reason was given.
New Edition canceled its July 6 show at The Gorge, too, which means that we have gone from three shows at The Gorge on the Fourth of July weekend to just one.
That one, the Lilith Fair, appears to be safely on schedule for July 5.
Shift those paradigms
Here’s early warning about a meeting of Spokane’s performing arts community:
Paradigm Shift II, an open forum for artists, will be held July 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the Firth Chew Studio Theatre at the Spokane Civic, 1020 N. Howard.
It’s for singers, dancers, actors, musicians, technicians and anyone who considers what they do an art. The topics on the table will be: Ideas for helping performing artists not just survive but thrive, and also ideas for making the performing arts more visible here.
, DataTimes MEMO: Spotlight is a weekly column of news and commentary on the arts and media. To leave a message on Jim Kershner’s voice-mail, call 459-5493. Or send e-mail to jimk@spokesman.com, or regular mail to Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210.