Omaha Local TV News Channels

bbinks · Post by **bbinks** » Sun Aug 18, 2019 7:02 pm

damonhynes wrote: Sun Aug 18, 2019 3:59 pm
bbinks wrote: Sun Aug 18, 2019 3:27 pm What ever became of Flowers? I still don't buy that he was let go because of his pay being too high and not being offered a new contract. If salary were an issue, I'd think Knicely would have been let go long ago too.
I totally buy it being a salary dump. Three is a cheap outfit.

As for Knicely, he's the only thing keeping Six from turning into the UNO AV Department. They do less with more. Six has a longtime reputation of keeping their male talent longer than the other stations. I'm sure Knicely is giving a hometown discount to Gray, as well--he's stuck in this market and both sides understand that. He's still on-air because the idea of changing him out has never crossed Gray's collective mind.

He retired from 3, was let go by 6 after the massage fiasco. I don't think he was at 3 too long.

damonhynes · Post by **damonhynes** » Sun Aug 18, 2019 8:40 pm

There was no 'massage fiasco'.

mrsticka · Post by **mrsticka** » Mon Aug 19, 2019 1:29 pm

What if Jim Flowers had never left KETV in 1992? What if he had stayed there after all those years until his retirement in 2016? Same for Ross Jernstrom. What if he had stayed at KETV all these years, too?

damonhynes · Post by **damonhynes** » Mon Aug 19, 2019 2:00 pm

mrsticka wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 1:29 pm What if Jim Flowers had never left KETV in 1992? What if he had stayed there after all those years until his retirement in 2016? Same for Ross Jernstrom. What if he had stayed at KETV all these years, too?

What if Knicely had stayed on sports and not news? I don't know if Six was Gray back at that time, but whoever owned it had the rep of being lean and hungry, and not ashamed to be poaching talent. How times--and the industry--have changed.

mrsticka · Post by **mrsticka** » Mon Aug 19, 2019 3:05 pm

WOWT was not owned by Gray at the time. I don't know who owned them. I think it was a company associated with the Omaha World Herald.

But if Jim Flowers had stayed at KETV, what would Bill Randby have done? Maybe he would've gone to WOWT and became their new chief meteorologist upon Dale Munson's retirement? If that were the case, then Julie Cornell would've gone to WOWT with Bill because she's his wife.

I often have my Omaha station "What-If" moments. They also include:
-Tom Bevacqua not leaving KMTV in 1993. Instead he stays for at least another 20 years. So when Carey Coleman comes to the station, he doesn't become chief meteorologist. Instead, he becomes the morning/midday meteorologist meaning Tom is no longer on at midday. But he is still on at 5, 6 and 10:00.
-KMTV still calling their newscasts NewsCenter 3 and WOWT still calling theirs Action News. But like KETV, they add their respective call letters to their names. So KMTV's newscasts are KMTV NewsCenter 3 and WOWT's are WOWT 6 Action News.
-KMTV still using the "3" logo they first adopted in 1986 when they switched back to CBS. But making it appear more high-tech and 3D looking to keep up with the times. And also placing it on a dark blue box with the CBS eye logo in the middle left just like what they did from 2006 to 2017. And KETV using the Circle 7 logo they first adopted in the early 80's, but having it be a yellow Circle 7 with blue inside like what they did from 1996 to 2000. But placing the ABC logo on the middle left.
-KMTV keeping Al Vanik as their voiceover for several more years like how WOWT has with Charlie Van Dyke and KETV did with Ed O'Brien.

Of course, if Tom Bevacqua was still at KMTV all these years, then neither Ryan McPike nor Jennifer Zeppelin would have ever been chief meteorologist. Personally, I think Tom would've enjoyed working with Ryan and Jennifer.

Greg S · Post by **Greg S** » Tue Aug 27, 2019 12:39 pm

Thor Tripp is leaving Channel 7.

Greg

Post by **nebugeater** » Tue Aug 27, 2019 2:55 pm

Greg S wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2019 12:39 pm Thor Tripp is leaving Channel 7.

Greg

Any announcement of where to.

damonhynes · Post by **damonhynes** » Tue Aug 27, 2019 3:20 pm

Greg S wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2019 12:39 pm Thor Tripp is leaving Channel 7.

Greg

:-(

Greg S · Post by **Greg S** » Wed Aug 28, 2019 8:24 am

nebugeater wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2019 2:55 pm
Greg S wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2019 12:39 pm Thor Tripp is leaving Channel 7.

Greg
Any announcement of where to.

Not yet but sounds like it's not in Nebraska.

Greg

DennyMarkham · Post by **DennyMarkham** » Tue Sep 03, 2019 6:36 pm

Omababe wrote: Fri Aug 16, 2019 6:33 am
DennyMarkham wrote: Wed Aug 14, 2019 5:34 pmI know these things
How, specifically?

I know these things too! I've worked in media and I haven't spent the last 50+ years on some turnip farm in Manitoba!

I know of one possible scenario where it may have been a production error, but highly unlikely.

Basically each story has to be transcribed 1st so that it can appear in the prompter. Whoever transcribed it misspells the word which happens more often than not and it's producer's job to go thru everything and correct the spelling errors before the live newscast, if it slips thru then it's up to the Anchor to catch it during the live newscast as they're reading it and pronounce it correctly. During commercial breaks, they have some time to read the next few stories but not all, and if they have experience, they can make it work, in this instance it didn't work so here we are talking about it... lol

DennyMarkham · Post by **DennyMarkham** » Tue Sep 03, 2019 6:40 pm

bbinks wrote: Sun Aug 18, 2019 3:27 pm What ever became of Flowers? I still don't buy that he was let go because of his pay being too high and not being offered a new contract. If salary were an issue, I'd think Knicely would have been let go long ago too.

I heard it was for indiscretion. Regarding what, not sure.

DennyMarkham · Post by **DennyMarkham** » Tue Sep 03, 2019 6:46 pm

damonhynes wrote: Sun Aug 18, 2019 3:59 pm
bbinks wrote: Sun Aug 18, 2019 3:27 pm What ever became of Flowers? I still don't buy that he was let go because of his pay being too high and not being offered a new contract. If salary were an issue, I'd think Knicely would have been let go long ago too.
I totally buy it being a salary dump. Three is a cheap outfit.

As for Knicely, he's the only thing keeping Six from turning into the UNO AV Department. They do less with more. Six has a longtime reputation of keeping their male talent longer than the other stations. I'm sure Knicely is giving a hometown discount to Gray, as well--he's stuck in this market and both sides understand that. He's still on-air because the idea of changing him out has never crossed Gray's collective mind.

Lots of people who watch local TV become attached to their favorite people and Knicely has been around since forever. The age group that watches TV anymore keeps going up too so people want to see someone that's in their age group that they trust, not some snot nosed "kid" that wears "revealing clothing" and mispronounces names... lol Although Knicely's mispronunciation of crystal pepsi as crystal meth IS legendary!

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Tue Sep 03, 2019 8:03 pm

Greg S wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2019 8:24 am
nebugeater wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2019 2:55 pm
Greg S wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2019 12:39 pm Thor Tripp is leaving Channel 7.

Greg
Any announcement of where to.
Not yet but sounds like it's not in Nebraska.

Greg

Today was Thor's last day here.
He was on 1620 and made no mention where he may be going

damonhynes · Post by **damonhynes** » Tue Sep 03, 2019 8:26 pm

DennyMarkham wrote: Tue Sep 03, 2019 6:40 pm
bbinks wrote: Sun Aug 18, 2019 3:27 pm What ever became of Flowers? I still don't buy that he was let go because of his pay being too high and not being offered a new contract. If salary were an issue, I'd think Knicely would have been let go long ago too.
I heard it was for indiscretion. Regarding what, not sure.

"Everybody" says it was because he visited a Tug 'n Rub that turned out to be a sting. I don't buy it for one second. If Robert Kraft and Hugh Grant do a perp walk. Jimbo LeFleur sure as shoot would.

mrsticka · Post by **mrsticka** » Wed Sep 04, 2019 1:42 am

That's not why Jim Flowers was dropped from WOWT. I'm not sure why they released him from his contract, but that sting operation had nothing to do with it. Jim wasn't even involved in that. It was another guy who just happened to be named Jim Flowers.

As for the meteorologist Jim Flowers, he went to KMTV in 2013. But he wasn't there for very long. He retired in 2016.

mrsticka · Post by **mrsticka** » Wed Sep 04, 2019 7:21 pm

Apparently this new ATSC 3.0 standard that's being rolled out in 40 TV markets next year, including Omaha, is supposed to revolutionize broadcast TV, make news more appealing to younger viewers. And no, I don't mean anything sexy or raunchy. Nothing like that. They say it's supposed to promise better news coverage, including emergencies like severe weather. There's supposed to be some kind of interactive features. I don't know what they are, but that's what they're saying.

Imagine what Tom Bevacqua or Jim Flowers might've done with it if they were still on TV in Omaha.

bbinks · Post by **bbinks** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 8:28 am

mrsticka wrote: Wed Sep 04, 2019 7:21 pm Apparently this new ATSC 3.0 standard that's being rolled out in 40 TV markets next year, including Omaha, is supposed to revolutionize broadcast TV, make news more appealing to younger viewers. And no, I don't mean anything sexy or raunchy. Nothing like that. They say it's supposed to promise better news coverage, including emergencies like severe weather. There's supposed to be some kind of interactive features. I don't know what they are, but that's what they're saying.

Imagine what Tom Bevacqua or Jim Flowers might've done with it if they were still on TV in Omaha.

Protests to follow. The weather event interrupted their program.

HskrFanMike · Post by **HskrFanMike** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 12:19 pm

Greg S wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2019 8:24 am
nebugeater wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2019 2:55 pm
Greg S wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2019 12:39 pm Thor Tripp is leaving Channel 7.

Greg
Any announcement of where to.
Not yet but sounds like it's not in Nebraska.

Greg

His tweet yesterday suggests that he's merely leaving TV, not Omaha.

Thanks Andy, you’re the best! Looking forward to watching you guys crush it from the couch instead of the set! Thanks for all your help & guidance over the years, I’m better because of you!

mrsticka · Post by **mrsticka** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 12:20 pm

bbinks wrote: Thu Sep 05, 2019 8:28 am
mrsticka wrote: Wed Sep 04, 2019 7:21 pm Apparently this new ATSC 3.0 standard that's being rolled out in 40 TV markets next year, including Omaha, is supposed to revolutionize broadcast TV, make news more appealing to younger viewers. And no, I don't mean anything sexy or raunchy. Nothing like that. They say it's supposed to promise better news coverage, including emergencies like severe weather. There's supposed to be some kind of interactive features. I don't know what they are, but that's what they're saying.

Imagine what Tom Bevacqua or Jim Flowers might've done with it if they were still on TV in Omaha.
Protests to follow. The weather event interrupted their program.

That's nothing new. They've been doing that for decades.

swinquest · Post by **swinquest** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 10:11 pm

HskrFanMike wrote: Thu Sep 05, 2019 12:19 pm
Greg S wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2019 8:24 am
nebugeater wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2019 2:55 pm
Greg S wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2019 12:39 pm Thor Tripp is leaving Channel 7.

Greg
Any announcement of where to.
Not yet but sounds like it's not in Nebraska.

Greg
His tweet yesterday suggests that he's merely leaving TV, not Omaha.

Thanks Andy, you’re the best! Looking forward to watching you guys crush it from the couch instead of the set! Thanks for all your help & guidance over the years, I’m better because of you!

Per his Facebook post ( he indicates that "Nebraska will always hold a special place in my heart. I moved here 11 years ago without knowing a soul. I’ll leave here with my wife, our son, two dogs, lifelong friends, and a career I love." So we will see what happens.

Cermak · Post by **Cermak** » Fri Sep 06, 2019 8:41 am

Looks like his contract wasn’t renewed would be my guess, that business is cut-throat. Not as glamorous and exciting as it looks. Hopefully he will land on his feet somewhere, if he decides to stay in the business.

nativeomahan · Post by **nativeomahan** » Sat Sep 07, 2019 9:01 pm

Has WOWT6 completely stopped doing Saturday morning newscasts?

mrsticka · Post by **mrsticka** » Thu Sep 12, 2019 2:08 am

When it comes to local news, the on-air personality most likely to stick around for a long time, say 30 or 40 years, is the chief meteorologist. It's like that all over the country. There are some chief meteorologists who have been on at their local station since the 70's or 80's who are still on today.

nativeomahan · Post by **nativeomahan** » Thu Sep 12, 2019 4:43 pm

I have noted that many (most?) of the TV weather people in larger cities are slender 20-30ish women who appear ready to head to a cocktail lounge or nightclub just as soon as they get off the air.

bigredmed1 · Post by **bigredmed1** » Thu Sep 12, 2019 8:40 pm

They don’t have to know anything. Our guys have to be knowledgeable. The weather team in OKC have PhDs. If you are in AZ, and your skill set needs to include being hot and being able to pronounce “112 in the shade”, you are great.

damonhynes · Post by **damonhynes** » Fri Sep 13, 2019 10:46 am

There's a difference with having a meteorology degree and having a degree in broadcast meteorology. Mississippi State has a degree program in the latter, and a shi tton of TV mets come from there.

mrsticka · Post by **mrsticka** » Thu Sep 19, 2019 5:48 pm

Dallas Raines is the chief meteorologist at KABC in Los Angeles. He first joined that station in 1984 and is still there today. A perfect example of chief meteorologists sticking around for a long time.

advcomp2019 · Post by **advcomp2019** » Sun Sep 22, 2019 1:27 pm

mrsticka wrote: Wed Sep 04, 2019 7:21 pm Apparently this new ATSC 3.0 standard that's being rolled out in 40 TV markets next year, including Omaha, is supposed to revolutionize broadcast TV, make news more appealing to younger viewers. And no, I don't mean anything sexy or raunchy. Nothing like that. They say it's supposed to promise better news coverage, including emergencies like severe weather. There's supposed to be some kind of interactive features. I don't know what they are, but that's what they're saying.

Imagine what Tom Bevacqua or Jim Flowers might've done with it if they were still on TV in Omaha.

There is an issue with ATSC 3.0 right now, There is no ATSC 3.0 TVs in the USA that I have found yet. Most of them are South Korea models that you have to import into the USA. The big thing with ATSC 3.0 is more bandwidth which means higher resolution video or more sub channels. They say that ATSC 3.0 can broadcast 4K video.

mrsticka · Post by **mrsticka** » Sun Sep 22, 2019 6:10 pm

advcomp2019 wrote: Sun Sep 22, 2019 1:27 pm
mrsticka wrote: Wed Sep 04, 2019 7:21 pm Apparently this new ATSC 3.0 standard that's being rolled out in 40 TV markets next year, including Omaha, is supposed to revolutionize broadcast TV, make news more appealing to younger viewers. And no, I don't mean anything sexy or raunchy. Nothing like that. They say it's supposed to promise better news coverage, including emergencies like severe weather. There's supposed to be some kind of interactive features. I don't know what they are, but that's what they're saying.

Imagine what Tom Bevacqua or Jim Flowers might've done with it if they were still on TV in Omaha.
There is an issue with ATSC 3.0 right now, There is no ATSC 3.0 TVs in the USA that I have found yet. Most of them are South Korea models that you have to import into the USA. The big thing with ATSC 3.0 is more bandwidth which means higher resolution video or more sub channels. They say that ATSC 3.0 can broadcast 4K video.

I'm not sure when they'll start being rolled out. I think they said 2023 at the latest?

nativeomahan · Post by **nativeomahan** » Sun Sep 22, 2019 7:27 pm

Another reason to need a new TV?

mrsticka · Post by **mrsticka** » Sun Sep 22, 2019 10:15 pm

For now, just keep the one you have. But you'll probably need a new one eventually.

advcomp2019 · Post by **advcomp2019** » Sun Oct 13, 2019 1:43 am

mrsticka wrote: Sun Sep 22, 2019 6:10 pm
advcomp2019 wrote: Sun Sep 22, 2019 1:27 pm
mrsticka wrote: Wed Sep 04, 2019 7:21 pm Apparently this new ATSC 3.0 standard that's being rolled out in 40 TV markets next year, including Omaha, is supposed to revolutionize broadcast TV, make news more appealing to younger viewers. And no, I don't mean anything sexy or raunchy. Nothing like that. They say it's supposed to promise better news coverage, including emergencies like severe weather. There's supposed to be some kind of interactive features. I don't know what they are, but that's what they're saying.

Imagine what Tom Bevacqua or Jim Flowers might've done with it if they were still on TV in Omaha.
There is an issue with ATSC 3.0 right now, There is no ATSC 3.0 TVs in the USA that I have found yet. Most of them are South Korea models that you have to import into the USA. The big thing with ATSC 3.0 is more bandwidth which means higher resolution video or more sub channels. They say that ATSC 3.0 can broadcast 4K video.
I'm not sure when they'll start being rolled out. I think they said 2023 at the latest?

I have heard that we might hear or see something in 2020 or 2021 for a date for ATSC 3.0, but this is just a rumor yet.

PS: These server errors for the past week or so has been bad for me. So I would have replied sooner.

mrsticka · Post by **mrsticka** » Sun Oct 13, 2019 2:35 am

Yeah, I know. I keep getting them, too. It really drives me crazy.

DennyMarkham · Post by **DennyMarkham** » Thu Oct 17, 2019 4:03 pm

mrsticka wrote: Thu Sep 12, 2019 2:08 am When it comes to local news, the on-air personality most likely to stick around for a long time, say 30 or 40 years, is the chief meteorologist. It's like that all over the country. There are some chief meteorologists who have been on at their local station since the 70's or 80's who are still on today.

I'd stick around too if I were being paid over $200K/year and a bonus, plus wardrobe money and other goodies... All for reading off the teleprompter. Life is good.

bbinks · Post by **bbinks** » Thu Oct 17, 2019 5:29 pm

DennyMarkham wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2019 4:03 pm
mrsticka wrote: Thu Sep 12, 2019 2:08 am When it comes to local news, the on-air personality most likely to stick around for a long time, say 30 or 40 years, is the chief meteorologist. It's like that all over the country. There are some chief meteorologists who have been on at their local station since the 70's or 80's who are still on today.
I'd stick around too if I were being paid over $200K/year and a bonus, plus wardrobe money and other goodies... All for reading off the teleprompter. Life is good.

And to be wrong about 50% of the time too.

Post by **Brad** » Fri Oct 18, 2019 8:40 am

DennyMarkham wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2019 4:03 pm
I'd stick around too if I were being paid over $200K/year and a bonus, plus wardrobe money and other goodies... All for reading off the teleprompter. Life is good.

I know the internet is not always right, but Glassdoor shows the range for a Chief Meteorologist 70K-100K with the average being 80K.

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Fri Oct 18, 2019 7:55 pm

DennyMarkham wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2019 4:03 pm I'd stick around too if I were being paid over $200K/year and a bonus, plus wardrobe money and other goodies... All for reading off the teleprompter. Life is good.

I’m fairly certain this is an accurate description of the salary and perks of Bill Randby’s contract...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

mrsticka · Post by **mrsticka** » Sat Oct 19, 2019 3:51 pm

Is that what Jim Flowers made? If Tom Bevacqua had stayed in Omaha all these years, you think he'd be making that kind of money?

DennyMarkham · Post by **DennyMarkham** » Sun Oct 20, 2019 5:05 pm

bbinks wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2019 5:29 pm
DennyMarkham wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2019 4:03 pm
mrsticka wrote: Thu Sep 12, 2019 2:08 am When it comes to local news, the on-air personality most likely to stick around for a long time, say 30 or 40 years, is the chief meteorologist. It's like that all over the country. There are some chief meteorologists who have been on at their local station since the 70's or 80's who are still on today.
I'd stick around too if I were being paid over $200K/year and a bonus, plus wardrobe money and other goodies... All for reading off the teleprompter. Life is good.
And to be wrong about 50% of the time too.

Certainly! I mean their "job" is mostly being handled by computer models anymore, all they have to do is make an educated guess and sell it on TV and like you said, they're still wrong half the time.

mrsticka · Post by **mrsticka** » Sun Oct 20, 2019 10:35 pm

DennyMarkham wrote: Sun Oct 20, 2019 5:05 pm
bbinks wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2019 5:29 pm
DennyMarkham wrote: Thu Oct 17, 2019 4:03 pm
mrsticka wrote: Thu Sep 12, 2019 2:08 am When it comes to local news, the on-air personality most likely to stick around for a long time, say 30 or 40 years, is the chief meteorologist. It's like that all over the country. There are some chief meteorologists who have been on at their local station since the 70's or 80's who are still on today.
I'd stick around too if I were being paid over $200K/year and a bonus, plus wardrobe money and other goodies... All for reading off the teleprompter. Life is good.
And to be wrong about 50% of the time too.
Certainly! I mean their "job" is mostly being handled by computer models anymore, all they have to do is make an educated guess and sell it on TV and like you said, they're still wrong half the time.

It's been that way since the 80's. So that's nothing new.