The fourth general manager at WIVB Buffalo, N.Y., in five years has one thing on his resume that is eye-opening. Joe Abouzeid is a journalist school alumnus and former news director in Providence, R.I., when most general managers come from the sales or business side. He will be busy right away. The CBS affiliate needs a new news director after the firing of Lisa Polster, a new morning co-anchor after Melanie Orlins left in late May, a new Call for Action reporter after the retirement of Al Vaughters. He also eventually will need a new primary anchor team since Jacquie Walker and Don Postles can’t go on forever.
Nexstar moves him up to oversee journalism at the CBS-CW duopoly in upstate New York.
Exclusives
MARKET SHARE
Earth-Shaking Breaking News Hits Buffalo TV Stations
On Monday, Feb. 6, at around 6:15 in the morning, a 3.8-magnitude earthquake struck near Buffalo, N.Y., the strongest recorded in the area in 40 years. Buffalo’s TV stations were airing their morning newscasts at the time and began reporting on the rare phenomenon.
WIVB Buffalo Hall of Fame anchor Jacquie Walker appears to be testing former Buffalo Bills coach Marv Levy’s oft-quoted statement that “once you’re thinking of retiring, you are already retired.” According to multiple sources, Walker recently has been considering retirement. However, some of the same sources say that WIVB officials and high level executives of Nexstar, the station’s owner, have been attempting to persuade her to continue anchoring alongside Don Postles.
They may have left Buffalo, but many former local TV reporters also left a piece of their hearts there. That was clear recently when they left their current stations in bigger markets to help stations in Buffalo cover the racist mass shooting at the Tops supermarket. Those reporters were an asset in covering one of the biggest stories in recent local history because they knew the area and some of the newsmakers before they moved to bigger markets.
TVN’S MEDIA JOBS
New Jobs Posted To TVNewsCheck
New jobs posted to TVNewsCheck’s Media Job Center include openings for an engineering director, IT administrator, digital sales manager, assistant news director, two executive producers, two business development executives, a news producer, social media producer, anchor/producer, general sales manager and broadcast engineer.
WIVB, Nexstar’s CBS affiliate in Buffalo, N.Y., recently premiered a marketing website that showcases its commercial production abilities. It includes examples in a variety of categories including retail, restaurants, medical, car dealers and home improvement, to name just a few.
WKBW, WGRZ, WUTV, WIVB and WNYO are now broadcasting with ATSC 3.0 technology.
TVN’S MEDIA JOBS
News And Marketing Job Openings In Great Markets
New jobs posted to TVNewsCheck’s Media Job Center include openings for a news director, meteorologist, and marketing and promotions producers for Nexstar, Graham Media, Meredith and Gray stations.
TVN’S MEDIA JOBS
Meteorologists Needed In Buffalo And Lincoln
New jobs posted to TVNewsCheck’s Media Job Center include openings for a meteorologist at a Nexstar station in New York state, and an opening for a chief meteorologist/anchor at a Standard Media station in Nebraska.
TVN’S MEDIA JOBS
News Producer Opening At Nexstar’s WIVB
New jobs posted to TVNewsCheck’s Media Job Center include an opening for a news producer at WIVB, Nexstar’s CBS affiliate in Buffalo, N.Y.
DMA 52: BUFFALO, NY
Brien Kennedy To Lead Nexstar’s Buffalo Duopoly
The station group chooses an executive with 34 years of local broadcasting and large market leadership experience to oversee its WIVB (CBS) and WNLO.
MARKET SHARE | DMA 52: BUFFALO, NY
Buffalo Area Kids Warmer Thanks To WIVB
DMA 52: BUFFALO, NY
WIVB Reporter Jenn Schanz Leaves
DMA 53: BUFFALO, NY
WIVB Anchor Callan Gray Expected To Leave
DMA 53: BUFFALO, NY
WIVB Anchor-Reporter Nalina Shapiro Leaving
DMA 53: BUFFALO, NY
WIVB Anchor Don Postles Returning On Monday
DMA 53: BUFFALO, NY
Nick Filipowski Moves Crosstown To WIVB
DMA 53: BUFFALO, NY
Sports Reporter-Anchor Tom Martin Leaving WIVB
DMA 53: BUFFALO, NY
WIVB Returns Traditional Sportscast At 6
The reinstatement of a regular sportscast during the 6 p.m. news at Nexstar’s CBS affil in Buffalo, N.Y., began Monday after almost a two-year absence. Dominic Mancuso, the new GM, and News Director Lisa Polster made the decision. The move is in keeping with Mancuso’s stated goal of rectifying some decisions made by previous management when the station was owned by Media General.
DMA 53: BUFFALO
WIVB Makes Interim ND Polster Permanent
Lisa Polster has been the interim news director since Scott Levy left in August of 2016 to become a news director in Kansas City. She was previously the news director at WKBW, the cross-town rival she left two years ago to become an executive news producer of the morning program Wake Up! under Levy.
