TMCnet News
WSPD news director gets the boot(Blade, The (Toledo, OH) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) May 15--Tom Watkins, the longtime voice of morning news for several Clear Channel radio stations in northwest Ohio, is out of a job. He had been news director of WSPD-AM (1370) since 1999. Watkins, 64, said he can't comment on his departure pending a separation agreement with Clear Channel. "It's not a retirement," he said. "I'm on the market for anyone interested in my talents." WSPD program director Brian Wilson, citing corporate policy regarding personnel matters, declined comment. Watkins was the last local on-air link to the WSPD that listeners knew last fall, in the months before Wilson was hired. At the time, the station's local talk-show hosts were Bob Frantz and Denny Schaffer; its news department was composed of two full-timers, Watkins and Rob Wiercinski. (Wilson succeeded Schaffer as afternoon-drive host in November; Wiercinksi and France left in January and March, respectively.) Watkins said his final day was Tuesday. That morning, he did the news on 10 Clear Channel stations throughout the region -- including ones in Toledo, Findlay, Defiance, Tiffin, and Napoleon. The station with the most listeners on which Watkins appeared was Toledo's WRVF-FM (101.5). He hopes Tuesday wasn't the end of a radio career that began in 1966. He spent 27 years at Lima's WIMA-AM (1150) before joining WSPD. The Mansfield, Ohio, native described his distinctive voice as a "Midwestern twang," saying it's something he picked up in the Navy after moving from New England to Virginia. "I know my voice is unique because one time I ordered a fudge ripple [ice cream cone], and the girl behind the counter looked up and asked, 'Are you Tom Watkins?' " REUNITED: WTVG-TV, Channel 13, has hired Kristin Emery as a weekend meteorologist. Her previous job was as a meteorologist for Sinclair Broadcasting in Baltimore. Sinclair recently announced the closing of its regional news operation (News Central) for which she worked. This will be the second time WTVG news director Brian Trauring and Emery have worked together. The first time was in the late 1980s at WTOV-TV in Steubenville, Ohio, where Trauring was the news director and Emery a news reporter. At WTVG, Emery, who is expected to start around June 1, will take over the role previously held by Susan Ware. According to Trauring, Ware, who had been out on maternity leave, wants to work only on a fill-in basis. WEEKEND GIGS: WTOL-TV, Channel 11, and WUPW-TV, Channel 36, are looking to hire weekend weathercasters. At WTOL, Scott Brown's final day of working weekend evenings will be May 21, said news director Mitch Jacob. Brown will do only AM Saturday beginning May 27. At WUPW, Katie Miller wants to reduce her role at the station because she is now a full-time administrator for the Mason Consolidated school district in Erie, said news director Steve France. The person hired will work as a news reporter three days a week. |