Broadcast TV
Blake Bryant,
VP, advertising, promotion and creative development, WMAQ-TV Chicago, joins KNTV(TV) San Jose, Calif., as VP, creative services and consumer marketing.
Wendy Bello,
regional VP/GM, East region, interactive division, The Ackerley Group, New York, named national sales manager, WUHF(TV) Rochester, N.Y.
John Witte,
general sales manager, KFOX-TV El Paso, Texas, named GM.
Gloria Spence,
controller, WTAE-TV Pittsburgh, joins WCVB-TV Boston and WMUR-TV Manchester, N.H., as finance director.
At KRON-TV San Francisco: Jeanie Yun,
designer, ABC Network, New York, joins as art director; Candace Hirleman,
writer/producer, Tribune Creative Services Group, Atlanta, joins in the same capacity; Michael Smith,
writer/producer, creative services, KTVU(TV) Oakland, Calif., rejoins in the same capacity.
Jack Potter,
general sales manager, WJXT(TV) Jacksonville, Fla., named local sales manager, WAWS(TV) Jacksonville.
Cable TV
Walter H. Carstensen,
president, Metro Fiber and Cable Construction, Toledo, Ohio, adds president/GM, Buckeye Cablevision, Toledo, and president, Erie County Cablevision Inc., Sandusky, Ohio.
Programming
At AMC, New York; Rob Sorcher,
executive VP/GM, USA Network, New York, joins as senior VP, programming and production; Isabel Miller,
VP, Nickelodeon Online, New York, joins senior VP, marketing.
At Artisan Entertainment, Los Angeles: Erin Austin,
senior VP, business and legal affairs, promoted to executive VP; Jim Gladstone,
VP/deputy general counsel, promoted to senior VP, business and legal affairs.
Cathy DeRoy,
VP, counsel, legal affairs, The Walt Disney Co., Burbank, Calif., named senior VP, counsel.
Lisa Fischer,
account executive, Discovery Networks, New York, named VP, ad sales, Eastern region.
Joy Rosen,
director, business development, Turner Learning, Atlanta, named VP, marketing.
Allan Kartun,
director, First Annual American Film Institute Awards, Los Angeles, named director, Late Night With Conan O'Brien.
Jason Miller,
director, advertising sales, Eastern region, Outdoor Life Network, Stamford, Conn., promoted to VP.
At Columbia TriStar Domestic Television, Culver City, Calif.: Flory Bramnick,
VP, interactive media, Belo Corp., Dallas, joins as VP, strategic sales operations; Rachel Mizuno,
manager, affiliate marketing, promoted to director.
Mark O'Connor,
director, public relations, MSNBC, Fort Lee, N.J., joins Food Network, New York, in the same capacity.
Radio
At Clear Channel Radio Sales, Los Angeles: Greg Glenday,
VP/director, sales, Diamond Team, named VP/director; Kenny Ossen,
VP, sales, New York and Los Angeles, named VP/director, sales, Diamond Team.
Kathleen Maitino,
manager, Boston office, Katz Radio, named VP/manager.
Journalism
Larry Moscow
senior producer, The News With Brian Williams, MSNBC, Secaucus, N.J., n,amed executive producer, Wall $treet Week With Fortune, Maryland Public Television, New York.
Michael Kunkle,
morning editor, KTRH(AM) Houston, named executive news producer, WBT(AM) Charlotte, N.C.
Morris Jones,
anchor, WTTG(TV) Washington, joins Corporate News Center, Sinclair Broadcasting, Hunt Valley, Md., as main anchor.
Maria Menounos,
international correspondent, Channel One News, Boston, joins Entertainment Tonight, Hollywood, Calif., as correspondent.
Tony Ventrella,
sports director, KIRO-TV Seattle, has retired.
Krista Voda,
weekend sports anchor, WLEX-TV Lexington, Ky., joins Fox Sports Net, as reporter, Totally NASCAR, Charlotte, N.C.
At WCNC-TV Charlotte, N.C.: Kerwin Speight,
associate producer, WRC-TV Washington, joins in the same capacity; Alexis Gordon,
news intern, named news assistant.
At WBAL-TV Baltimore: Lena Moore,
nighttime assignment editor, WBFF-TV Baltimore, joins as assignment editor/planner; Michele Cohen,
weekend news producer, WNUV-TV Baltimore, joins as 5 a.m. morning news producer; Stephen Bamonti,
freelance producer, joins as senior promotions director; NicoleBonnani,
intern, named part time assignment editor.
Technology
Robert Chalfant,
VP, sales and marketing, Standard Communications, Torrance, Calif., named to board of directors.
Associations/Law Firms
At National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences: Dennis Swanson,
president/ GM, WNBC-TV New York, elected national chairman;
Linda Giannecchini,
independent producer/ director, named vice chairman; Darryl Cohen,
counsel, Cahill, Gordon & Reindel, elected treasurer; Janice Selinger,
deputy executive director, production, NJN Public Television, elected secretary.
Obituaries
Jack Buck,
legendary announcer for the St. Louis Cardinals, died June 18 after a long illness. He was 77.
Buck started broadcasting for the Cardinals on KMOX(AM) in 1954 after calling minor-league baseball games for WCOL(AM) Columbus, Ohio. He was partnered with Harry Caray, whose boisterous style was countered by Buck's low-key but exciting, smoky delivery. He spent the last 30 years teamed with Mike Shannon.
Though best-known as "the voice of the Cardinals," Buck also worked in national radio. He served as a baseball and football announcer for CBS Radio and briefly left the Cardinals' booth to host NBC Studios'Grandstand
in 1975.
He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame's broadcasters wing in 1987 and was awarded the Pete Rozelle Award by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996.
He is survived by his second wife, Carole; eight children, including Joe Buck, Fox Sports' top baseball and football announcer, who also calls Cardinals games; and 16 grandchildren.
Leslie Midgley, former CBS News producer, died of pneumonia in New York on June 19. He was 87.
Originally a newspaperman, Midgley joined CBS in 1954, where he was paired with Andy Rooney to write the pilot for the morning show, F.Y.I.
Most notably, Midgley was the executive producer of The CBS Evening News
with Walter Cronkite from 1967-72, when, because of the war in Vietnam, the newscast was especially influential on public opinion. He also is credited with producing the coverage of Kennedy assassination and its aftermath in 1963.
Midgley was the recipient of several Emmy and Peabody awards. After a brief appointment as NBC News VP for special programs in 1980, Midgley became a teacher and consultant.
He is survived by two daughters; a son; and two sisters and a brother.
Tony Oquendo,
senior VP and operations manager for Univision's TeleFutura Network, died suddenly following a heart attack on June 6. He was 54.
Oquendo joined Univision in 1980 as an operations director and was promoted eight years later to general director of operations. Over the past year, he was instrumental in establishing Univision's new network, TeleFutura.
He is survived by his wife, Teresa, and two sons, Victor and Julian.
John Raymond Hope,
The Weather Channel's hurricane specialist, died June 13 of complications following heart surgery.
After forging his career at the United States Weather Bureau and the Spacelift Meteorology Group, Hope joined the Weather Channel in 1982. He semi-retired in 1997 when heart problems arose, but rejoined the network in 1998. He fully retired in 2001.
Hope is survived by his wife, Bernice; daughter, Camille; and sons James, Thomas and Joseph.
Pierre Weis,
former president of United Artists Domestic Television Sales, died of pneumonia on June 3. He was 92.
Weis was president of United Artists Domestic Television sales from 1968 to 1972. He also worked for Metromedia
Producers Corp. as a special-projects sales executive. He was also executive VP of ITC Entertainment. He retired in 1985.
