
How three broadcast journalists are experimenting with the wildly popular but quirky platform.
Anchor Helene Duhamel Leaving KOTA
After more than 30 years, news anchor Helene Duhamel has decided to leave Gray Television’s ABC affiliate KOTA Rapid City, S.D. (DMA 172). Her last broadcasts will be on Friday, March 10. Duhamel started as a reporter at KOTA after college; then she transferred to KDUH Scottsbluff, Ariz., in 1988 as news director and anchor. […]
Viability Of Local TV In Hands Of Congress
Lia Green, president-GM of KOTA Rapid City, Iowa: “The current rules governing broadcast television have fostered a strong spirit of localism, diverse programming options that have served our viewers well. I hold hope that our policymakers in Washington, D.C., will keep these goals in mind with laws that support local stations.”
What Schurz is paying the Duhamel family for the ABC affiliate was revealed today in an FCC filing seeking approval of the deal. The parties announced the sale on Oct. 31 without disclosing the price.
After 58 years as a family business, Bill Duhamel says it’s time to sell KOTA. “The rapidly consolidating television industry makes it difficult for a single, stand-alone business to remain competitive and to develop the necessary capital to expand into the digital era,” he said. Acquisition-minded Schurz owns 10 other TV stations. Terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed.
Argus Leader, KELO In Digital Revenue Battle
Stretched across South Dakota and Wyoming are two DMAs that cover both ends of the spectrum when it comes to making money online. After a year of being more online-focused, and putting up a paywall, The Argus Leader has managed to make 20% of its advertising revenue online, well above the national average. But Young Broadcasting-owned Sioux Falls, S.D. CBS affiliate KELO isn’t far behind its newspaper competition with its KELOLAND.com.