Medrano leaves ABC... joins KTLA

For the past three years, Manny Medrano has been the ABC network news correspondent covering the U.S. Supreme Court. But he said good-bye to the nation's capital last month, to return to Los Angeles. He is now a KTLA-5 news reporter.

Why the change? "I became a micro-specialist at ABC and when the time came to renew my contract, I just couldn't see myself doing that anymore," Manny tells me. Since he came aboard KTLA, he's covered the raging wildfires, O.J. in Vegas and a great variety of stories. "I do it all and that's exactly the situation I was looking for. I love it." Of course, he admits, California weather is an extra.

Before becoming a reporter, Manny was a trial lawyer in private practice in Los Angeles. He also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in L.A., successfully prosecuting the 1985 kidnapping and murder case of DEA agent Enrique Camarena.

He is a former VP of Broadcast for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

Running for Congress?

Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, known at the L.A. Times for writing one of the nastiest resignation letters, left to become a popular novelist. And now, the author of the NYT best-selling "Dirty Girls Social Club" says she's thinking about running for Congress.

In her blog, Alisavaldesrodriguez.blogspot.com, she talks about the issues that bother her and says: "So, for me, it really has become a choice: Run for office, or leave the country."

She's even started soliciting money on her blog for a potential campaign, to run for New Mexico's 1st Congressional District.

Torres moves to Sacramento

Teo Torres, who's been anchoring the KRON-4 morning show for the past 5 years is leaving San Francisco. He's moving not too far away... to join KCRA/KQCA in Sacramento starting in January.

Teo will anchor the KCRA News at 10pm on My58 and also work as a general assignment reporter for KCRA 3 Reports.

Before KRON, Teo worked at KTRV-TV in Boise, Idaho as weekend anchor and reporter.

Layoffs at NYT

The New York Times is doing some trimming... an internal memo by Bill Keller, picked up by mediabistro.com, announces the elimination of a dozen support positions, the reduction of clerical and secretarial jobs and a hiring freeze.

There are also plans to eliminate some management jobs in 2008, but it was emphasized the staff reduction would not include any journalists.

Izaguirre is new anchor at WFAA

Starting January 2, Cynthia Izaguirre will be News 8's Daybreak anchor, replacing Jackie Hyland who left for New York.

Cynthia currently works as a main anchor at KOAT-TV in Alburquerque, New Mexico. She has been at the station since January of 2000, where she worked her way up from general assignment reporter to co-anchor of Action 7 News Live at 5 p.m., 6 p.m., and 10 p.m.

She looks forward to returning to Dallas, where she grew up and where her family lives.

“TV Digital Que Tal?" to air on Univision

Univision's campaign to educate viewers about the transition to digital is in full force. “TV Digital Que Tal," the first in a series of public-service programs entitled, will air next Sunday, December 1st, at 4:30 pm.

The show is co-production of Univision network and its TV-station group. It will explain the difference between the current analog and upcoming digital systems and why viewers will need to obtain a digital-to-analog converter box to continue to use their analog television sets. It will also tell viewers they can get a digital-to-analog converter box.

Telemundo launches new late-night show

Mas Vale Tarde con Alex Cambert premieres this Thursday, November 29 at 11:30 pm.

The show, which will air once a week, will feature interviews with entertainers, musical performances and comedy skits. It will be taped in front of a live studio audience from Telemundo's Mun2 studio at Universal City Walk.

Arbitron postpones PPMs in several cities

Opposition from several radio companies over the methodology of the personal people meters forced Arbitron to delay the introduction of the measuring devices in nine markets.

The NYT reports the opposition stems from tests of the PPMs conducted earlier this month which showed steep declines for several radio stations catering to younger listeners and minorities.

Arbitron said it remained confident in the people meter ratings, but it wanted more time to address the issues raised by its clients. It will continue to use the paper diary system, an industry standard since 1965.

Radio audiences in Houston and Philadelphia are already being measured under the new system.

Stations in New York, Long Island and parts of northern New Jersey, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Francisco, San Jose and Chicago would begin using the meter ratings next September, nine months later than originally scheduled.

FEMA fake conference not first

Turns out FEMA was not the first government agency to fake it. AP reports that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official acted like a reporter asking questions at a news conference in San Antonio in January 2006.

Homeland Security says the employee asked the question, despite being advised against it. The incident came to light during an investigation of FEMA's staged news conference about the California fires on October 23rd.

Reporter and L.A. mayor call it quits

The L.A. Times reports former Telemundo reporter Mirthala Salinas and L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa are no longer together.

Sources say the relationship, which caused the breakup of the mayor's marriage and a huge scandal, ended two to three months ago.

Salinas had been suspended for two months after a Telemundo internal investigation and eventually quit rather than return to her job.

Telemundo shows go online

Telemundo announced it will start offering all of its primetime shows and novelas online on Yahoo! Telemundo, the morning after the original air date. The format will allow audience participation through Yahoo! Telemundo Grupos.

Peter Blacker, Telemundo’s senior vice president digital media, says this is part of Telemundo's "360 multi-platform strategy," allowing them to be "the first Spanish-language network to provide our viewers with full-length original programming online on Yahoo! Telemundo.”

Linda Alvarez leaves KCBS

Veteran newsanchor and reporter Linda Alvarez has decided to leave the station where she's worked for the past 14 years. Linda previously worked at KNBC where, in 1986, she became the first Hispanic weekday anchor in Los Angeles.

Her last day on the air is Sunday, December 2nd.

V2.0 Citizen journalism Web site goes live

Pappas Telecasting Companies launched version 2.0 of its citizen journalism Web site, CommunityCorrespondent.com. On the Web since June 2006, it now has new user-friendly features, including larger file size (users now have the ability to upload stories of up to 30 MB and videos of more than five minutes), photo galleries and the Assignment Desk. Another addition: the Whistleblower. It allows users to anonymously report misconduct by businesses, individuals, or government agencies to Pappas Telecasting’s news departments.

Tvnewsday reports that in just over a year, Community Correspondent has attracted more than 750,000 unique visitors and users have submitted over 20,000 stories

Reporter becomes L.A. mayor's press secretary

Jazmín Ortega quit her job as metro reporter for La Opinión to join L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office of communications. Jazmín was named press secretary, Spanish-language media coordinator and strategic advisor to the mayor.

Her first day on the job is December 11.

Univision reporter relocates to Ecuador

WXTV-41 reporter Jean-Paul Dávila leaves the New York station to go home to Ecuador, where he'll continue his career as foreign correspondent for the Univision O&O. He will also anchor a television news magazine in Quito.

Valdés Ryan new Latina editor

Mimi Valdés Ryan is the new editorial director of Latina Media Ventures, taking over from Betty Cortina, who left the company to "pursue other interests."

Mimi joined Latina in August 2006 as a senior contributing editor. She was previously the Editor-in-Chief of Vibe magazine.

Media General cuts D.C. staff

Media General is reducing its Washington, D.C bureau reporting staff from six reporters to four. It will no longer have regional and national correspondents, but rather four multimedia journalists working through a new bureau Web site and it is eliminating its military reporter.

Editor and Publisher reports current bureau chief Marsha Mercer will remain in charge. Two more multimedia reporters and a web producer will be added.

Washington staffers plan to feature their reporting on a new Web site: www.MGWashington.com.

New management for People en Español

Armando Correa is the new managing editor of People en Español. Peter Castro (pictured left), who just celebrated his one year anniversary at the helm of the Spanish-language magazine, returns to People to serve as deputy managing editor, a new position. Correa started his U.S. career as a staff writer for El Nuevo Herald. He's been with the magazine since its launch in 1997. Castro worked at People for 18 years, before being asked to manage the Spanish-language publication in 2006. Both start their new jobs on December 3rd.

CBS newswriters vote for strike

CBS News employees who are members of the WGA voted to authorize a strike against CBS.

According to the WGAE Website, almost 300 WGA-CBS members voted in a special election, held on November 15 and 16th in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C., with 81% authorizing the guild to call a strike at any time.

WGA-CBS members, working in TV and radio have been working under an expired contract since April 2, 2005 and without pay raises since April 2004.

Univision starts PAC

Univision executives have contributed more than $30,000 since June to its new political action committee. The Univision Communications, Inc. Political Action Committee is not affiliated with any political party.

La Politica.com reports Univision VP Alina Falcon, network comptroller Peter Lori, and vice president of research Ceril Shagrin have each contributed $5,000 to the PAC - the maximum amount allowed per individual per year.

FEC records show the Univision PAC has not yet given any contributions to candidates or party committees.

Pineda starts radio show

Former Telemundo anchor Mirna Pineda joins KNUV 1190 AM La Buena Onda in Phoenix as the host of a new community focused program.

CONEXION 1190 AM begins airing today from 10 am to 12 noon.Mirna also teaches leadership and motivational seminars in Spanish and this year wrote and published her first book, “7 Soles”, about human trafficking of undocumented immigrants across the Arizona-Sonora border.

New Mexican TV network available in U.S.

MEXICANAL, a new multicast channel that will provide news, entertainment and local access stations from 11 regional networks in Mexico, is now available to U.S. broadcasters and advertisers.

The network's programming, which includes MX-24 Noticias, will specifically target the Mexican audience in the U.S.

USA Today to cut jobs

Citing declining revenue woes, USA Today will be cutting 45 newsroom jobs. In a memo to staff, Editor Ken Paulson said he hopes the reductions are done through voluntary buyouts, but warned layoffs are possible, if not enough people apply.

Employees with more than 15 years experience will be eligible for a buyout.

USA Today, a Gannett publication, is the largest US newspaper by circulation. It currently has 500 employees.

Entravision looking to sell one of its divisions

Spanish-language media company Entravision Communications, which owns TV, radio and outdoor properties wants to sell its outdoor advertising division.

The company announced it's exploring "strategic alternatives" for its outdoor advertising operations, which operate under the name Vista Media.

CEO Walter Ulloa said Entravision is taking this course of action after "thorough review" of the company's operations, seeking to benefit shareholders. He promises to "continue to build and invest in our TV and radio assets with the goal of further strengthening our position in the nation's highest density Hispanic markets."

Entravision owns the largest group of TV stations affiliated to Univision and TeleFutura, operating in 20 of the top 50 U.S. Hispanic markets.

San Antonio cameraman assaulted on the job

KENS-5 cameraman Dario Ramos and reporter were covering a brushfire yesterday morning when a man approached them during a live shot to say they were on private property. Shortly after, the man knocked Ramos down. Station video shows what happened.

The Seguin Gazette-Enterprise reports Ramos suffered a broken wrist and other injuries.

No charges have yet been filed against the landowner.

New editor at PODER magazine

PODER magazine has named Daniel Eilemberg editor of its U.S. and Miami-area editions. He was previously the editor of Hispanic magazine. Before that, he was the executive editor of LOFT.

Eilemberg, originally from Colombia, replaces Cathleen Farrell, who leaves the magazine after seven years. She will be the new editorial director for Vista magazine.

PODER is published by Page One Media in association with Televisa Publishing.

New Latino Media Association is born in Arizona

The Asociación Amigos Medios Hispanos de Arizona (AAMHAZ) is on its way to becoming a 501C3. The group got started earlier this year as a way for Spanish-language journalists and media professionals to connect in Phoenix.

AAMHAZ's first major event is tomorrow, Saturday, when they host the first “Annual Gerardo Higginson Scholarship & Hispanic Media Award Gala,” with proceeds funding scholarships for financially challenged minority students attending Phoenix College.

The event is named after Gerardo Higginson, a former Telemundo anchor and currently a mayor's aide, who has become an advocate for Latino issues in the media and in city government. Stella Paolini is the organizer of the group and the event.

V-me expands reach

Spanish language network V-me (pronounced veh-meh), which launched in March of this year, is now also available on DirecTV, extending its national reach to more than 36 million homes.

The network, presented locally via public TV stations across the country, airs the largest daily block of preschool programming on Spanish TV.

V-me is the first U.S. Hispanic network developed by Educational Broadcasting Corp. (which holds the license for New York public broadcaster Thirteeen/WNET), in association with private investors including The Baeza Group and Syncom Funds.

Telemundo management shuffle

It's a short stay for Mike Rodriguez in L.A. Rodriguez has been manning two stations since September. The VP and general manager of Telemundo's WSCV-Channel 51 in Miami, he was named interim general manager of KVEA-52 in Los Angeles to replace Manuel Abud, who was removed from the job after the Salinas-Villaraigosa scandal.

Rodriguez is being promoted to senior vice president of sales for Telemundo. He succeeds Steve Mandala.

Ibra Morales, President of Telemundo's station group, will temporarily take over the helm of KVEA and WSCV, until a decision is made on the new GMs for the two stations.

CNN to increase international news staff

CNN Worldwide says it will add 15 or 16 correspondents to its existing staff of 150 in an effort to generate more original news content, at an expense of just under $10 million dollars.

CNN's announcement comes two months after the network said it wouldn't renew its contract with Reuters and would instead boost its own news resources.

According to an AP story, the focus of the expansion is the CNN bureau in the United Arab Emirates, where it currently operates CNN.com Arabic. The network will increase staff in Hong Kong, hire staff in Johannesburg and Mexico City and start news operations in Afghanistan, Belgium, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, the Philippines, Poland and Vietnam.

Alvarez promoted in Orlando

Elizabeth Alvarez has been promoted from reporter to weekend evening anchor & reporter at WOFL-TV in Orlando. She's been with Fox 35 since April of 2006.

Shareholders vote in favor of Sirius/XM Merger

More than 96 percent of Sirius Satellite Radio shareholders and almost 100 percent of XM Satellite Radio shareholders voted yesterday to approve the merger of both companies.

The XM-Sirius combination is still awaiting approval by the FCC and the Department of Justice, which could be a little harder to achieve, as the merger is widely seen as the creation of a satellite radio industry monopoly.

Aragón leaves the anchor chair

After more than 30 years in broadcasting, Carla Aragón has decided to leave the news business. Her last day as co-anchor of KOB-TV's newscasts at 5, 6 and 10 p.m is November 30.

“I’ve come to a point in my life where I want and need to explore other opportunities,” Carla said in a statement. “I’ve decided to leave the news desk at KOB-TV so I can have time to pursue some of my many interests, including other areas of television and film.”

Carla has been at KOB-TV since 1994. No word yet on her replacement.

Alvear back at NBC for Today show special

Former NAHJ president Cecilia Alvear just wrapped up a month-long assignment in Ecuador. She was there to help produce the Today show's "ends of the earth" special coverage. For two days, NBC broadcast live remotes from Greenland, Antarctica and the Equator.

Cecilia retired from NBC News in February. The network called her back on the job when it decided to have weather forecaster Al Roker in Ecuador for the two days of broadcasts.

CBS newswriters could go on strike

500 CBS News writers, represented by the Writers Guild of America East (WGAE), are preparing for a strike vote this Thursday.

Employees of CBS News TV and radio operations in New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles have been working without a contract... and without a pay raise... since April 2005.

Broadcasting & Cable reports writers are fighting CBS proposals to withhold retroactive pay and implement a two-tiered wage package that puts television and network radio members on one pay scale and local radio members on a lower scale.

There's also trouble brewing at ABC News, where about 200 WGA members have been working without a contract since 2005.

New CEO for Time Warner

Time Warner confirmed on Monday that Richard Parsons will leave his post as CEO. Jeff Bewkes, currently the COO, will take over effective Jan. 1, 2008. Parsons stays on as Chair of the Board.

Analysts predict that Bewkes, who's earned a reputation for being an "efficient operator," could decide to sell or spin off assets, in order to run a leaner and more effective company.

Republican debate set to air on Univision

A change of heart from the leading GOP candidates - they've now agreed to participate in a debate to air on Univision network on December 9. Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney will join John McCain and lesser-known candidates Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter.

Almost all Republican presidential candidates initially ignored Univision's invitation to a September 16 debate, forcing the network to postpone it indefinitely. Only John McCain and Duncan Hunter had agreed to talk about the issues in front of Spanish-language viewers.

The event is set to take place at the University of Miami. Questions will be asked in Spanish and translated into English, just like in the Democratic debate.

Only two candidates are not confirmed: Mike Huckabee and Tom Tancredo.

Perez named CNN contributor

He's been a print, radio and television journalist for 30 years and has frequently been on CNN to speak about national and international issues. Now Miguel Perez has been recruited to be a "contributor" by the 24-hour news network.

Perez is currently a professor at Lehman College and a nationally syndicated columnist, often writing about Latino-related issues.

"I enjoy presenting viewpoints that are not always heard in the mainstream media," Professor Perez says on the Lehman College Website. "It livens up the conversation. The Hispanic perspective, not just on Latino issues but on mainstream issues that also affect Latinos, has been missing from the cable-news networks. I feel privileged to be able to present that perspective on CNN."

Station group starts centralcasting

Fisher Communications has chosen Omneon Spectrum servers to help run seven stations in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Three CBS affiliates and four Univision affiliates will share a single remote master control facility in Seattle.

Fisher Communications operates 19 television stations and eight radio stations. The stations all broadcast in standard definition, but Fisher will soon be moving KOMO, its flagship station, to HD.

Reporters on the move

Rosa Flores (pictured left) joins KHOU-CBS in Houston. She previously worked for KWTV, the CBS affiliate in Oklahoma City. She co-founded the Oklahoma Chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and began a foundation "Corazon a Corazon," that serves communities along the U.S. Mexico border.

Leticia Juarez makes a huge jump to the same station in Houston to work as morning reporter. "Letty" left KERO-TV in Bakersfield where she was a general assignments reporter.

Nicole Gonzales joins KSL-NBC in Salt Lake City as the primary reporter for their morning news show. She previously worked as helicopter reporter in KTLA- Los Angeles.

Liberman Broadcasting signs on for PPMs

Liberman Broadcasting, a privately held, minority-owned Spanish-language broadcaster, signed a five-year deal with Arbitron for its portable people meter radio ratings service. According to Arbitron, the ratings agreement covers PPM ratings for 16 Spanish-language radio stations in three markets: Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles.

“We’re confident that the Arbitron portable people meter system will provide advertisers with persuasive evidence of the influence that Spanish-language radio has with Hispanic customers,” said Lenard Liberman, executive VP of Liberman Broadcasting.

SBS names new S.F. GM

Joe Cunningham is the new VP/General Manager of Spanish Broadcasting System operations in San Francisco, which includes Regional Mexican KRZZ-FM (La Raza 93.3 FM).

Cunningham is a 20-year industry vet, serving most recently as Market Manager for crosstown Clear Channel (San Francisco-San Jose).

Time Warner to buy Quigo

Time Warner Inc's AOL says it plans to buy Internet advertising technology company Quigo to boost its ad force and better compete with Google. Reuters reports a source estimating the purchase price at approximately $340 million.

Quigo, which has more than 500 publisher relationships, signed a deal with the company's magazine division, Time Inc in June. The Internet ad-targeting company lets advertisers buy sponsored listings, but the main difference with Google is that it allows advertisers to place their ads on specific Web pages.

Spanish-language media gains strength

Money gives media a boost... and it has done just that for Spanish-language media across the board. According to Nielsen data, total ad spending went up 2.3 percent during the first six months of 2007, reaching almost $3 billion. The biggest increase comes from Spanish-language cable TV advertising.

Mediaweek reports only Hispanic newspaper ad revenue was down... but by a small margin: 0.4 percent to $52.3 million from $52.5 million. Overall, Nielsen points to increased ad growth in Hispanic media.

Change in command in Chicago's La Raza

Robert J. Armband, CEO and Publisher of Impremedia's La Raza Newspaper in Chicago, is leaving his post effective immediately. He has been with the paper for 16 years.

Mike Cano, marketing director of La Opinión in Los Angeles, will take over from Armband on a interim basis.

Before joining La Opinión, Mr. Cano was President and CEO of LANG's Impacto USA out of Long Beach. He also helped Belo launch and develop Al Dia in Dallas, Texas.

New political magazine launches online

The first issue of La Politica landed in many email inboxes on Monday. According to its publisher, Arturo Villar, it is "the first and only electronic trade publication covering the business of reaching Hispanic voters in the U.S. "

Published by Solmark Media Group, La Politica is the sister publication of Hispanic Market Weekly. According to Villar, both digital newsletters will remain totally independent, with no connection to any other media group, organization or network.

KTXA goes interactive

KTXA, The Dallas CBS O&O, launched an on-air and online campaign to make TXA21 News "the most interactive newscast in North Texas."

According to TV Newsday, viewers are encouraged to contact the station to ask questions, send photos and videos and chat online with the anchors while they're live on the air.

Seattle reporter sues over firing

Former KOMO-4 reporter April Zepeda is suing Fisher Communications Inc., for discrimination based on race and age, almost six months after she was fired from her job.

The civil suit, filed on Monday, also alleges Zepeda's firing was retaliation for participating in union activities and for raising the issue of unpaid overtime.

Zepeda's attorney, Lori Haskell, told the Seattle Post Intelligencer KOMO fired the only Hispanic employee they had: "She had gotten very good performance reviews, and then they fired her within about a week of her volunteering to be shop steward."

An AFTRA grievance on behalf of Zepeda is still pending.

Univision anchor quits on first day of sweeps

Denisse Oller, who has co- anchored New York's "Noticias 41" since 1999 told the station's management she was leaving last Thursday - the first day of November sweeps. She signed off the air the next day.

Denisse told the NY Post she wanted to pursue other interests, including her passion for cooking (she recently graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education's professional program) and that the parting with her employer was amicable, as a picture slide show on Univision's website shows.

Final FCC media ownership hearing set

The FCC's sixth and final public hearings on media ownership related to the 2006 Quadrennial Broadcast Media Ownership Review is set for November 9 in Seattle.

The short notice was criticized by FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein: "It shows there is a preordained outcome," they said in a statement. Copps and Adelstein are the only two Democrats on the five-member board.

Earlier hearings were held in Los Angeles, on October 3, 2006; in Nashville, on December 11, 2006; in Harrisburg, on February 23; in Tampa, on April 30; in Chicago, on September 20: and in Washington, D.C., on October 31.

CaribeVisión launches in Puerto Rico

Almost two months after the launch of CaribeVisión in Miami and New York, the new network hits the airwaves in Puerto Rico.

Tvnewsday reports the Caribbean-flavored programming will be seen in several stations in the island.

The new network was founded by Carlos Barba, a former Univision and Telemundo executive and Alejandro Burillo Azcarraga, a founding executive and owner of Grupo Televisa.

RTNDA Asks FCC to Rescind VNR Fines

The Radio and Television News Director's Association (RTNDA) argues the FCC is overstepping its boundaries, coming close to exercising government censorship by fining broadcasters who use VNRs without source attribution.

“The heart of this matter really is the FCC’s outright intrusion into the newsroom,” says RTNDA president Barbara Cochran. “Congress, the Supreme Court—even the FCC itself—have all determined that the government does not get to make editorial decisions better left to the free and independent journalists.”

RTNDA, along with 70 other news organizations, is asking the FCC to rescind the $20,000 fine it imposed on Comcast's regional news channel CN8 for using unattributed VNR footage it picked up from the CNN Newsource service, arguing the FCC is violating journalists' first ammendment rights.

Time puts people meters in its "Best Inventions" list

Keeping track of what people are really watching... or listening to... is crucial in the ratings game. For years, the networks complained about the lack of accuracy of consumer diaries. Now... there are Portable People Meters (PPM) and Time Magazine has included the gadget in its list of Best Inventions of the Year.

Arbitron's information-gathering device allows for the recording of in-home and out-of-home media impressions for TV and radio.

Newspaper readership on the rise... on the Web

More than 59 million people logged on to newspaper Web sites during the third quarter of 2007, generating 2.8 billion page views per month. That's an increase of more than 2 million visitors compared to a year ago.

Those numbers are lifted from the fall 2007 Newspaper Audience Database (NAdbase) report just released by the Newspaper Association of America (NAA).

An NAA analysis also shows that nearly eight in 10 adults (77 percent) read a newspaper in print or online each week.

Several publishers, including Tribune, Gannett and McClatchy have reported higher online advertising income, while some of their print papers suffered declines in ad revenues.

Diaz is Belo's new EVP of TV Operations

Belo Corp. announced today the promotions of four television executives.

Peter Diaz was named Executive Vice President/Television Operations. He has served as Sr. VP of Belo Corp. since January 2006 and as President/General Manager of KHOU since 1999. He joined Belo in 1984. Diaz serves on the board of the CBS Television Network Affiliates Association.

Diaz will report to Dunia A. Shive, Belo Corp.'s President/Chief Operating Officer, and will have oversight responsibility for all Belo television stations.

Others promoted: Kathy Clements to Sr. VP/Television Operations, Mike Devlin to President/General Manager of WFAA-TV and Susan McEldoon to President/General Manager of KHOU-TV.

FCC vote on media ownership could be delayed

There's growing opposition to FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin's push to loosen media ownership.

People who spoke at a public hearing Wednesday in Washington, D.C., including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, argued increased media consolidation has led to less local news and community service and urge the FCC to slow down. Martin, a Republican, wants the FCC to vote on media ownership changes on December 18.

According to the L.A. Times, the FCC's two Democrats, Michael J. Copps and Jonathan S. Adelstein, agreed Martin's timetable does not give enough time to complete a study of how broadcasters serve their local communities.

"A rush to judgment to clear the way for more big media mergers? No way," Copps said at the start of the hearing.

A Media and Democracy Coalition poll released yesterday found that 70% of respondents thought media consolidation was a problem and 57% said it should be illegal for a company to own a newspaper and TV station in the same market.