by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
In a time of recession and contraction, not many companies are spending time and money on growth — especially in the media. Across the nation, newspapers are folding, staffs are being cut and unpaid furloughs have become the norm as opposed to the exception.
Not locally.
In part as a result of being bought a little over a year ago and in part a desire to shift to a more present-tense newscast, Ch. 30/47 today officially became “Action News.” The FOX/CBS affiliate was bought in March 2008 and station Vice President and General Manager Jeff Whitson said the changes entered the planning stage about six months ago. Those changes include a new multi-use set, state-of-the-art graphics, a shifting of on-air talent that will take advantage of each reporter’s and anchor’s strengths and a rebranding to “Action News.”
Thursday evening, Whitson opened the doors to local elected officials and business leaders.
“They were pretty impressed with what they saw,” said Whitson, who was with the station from 1996-2002. He went to Albany, N.Y. for five years where he was GM of the FOX affiliate before coming back to Jacksonville two years ago. “It went really, really well. They were impressed with how the set looked and the flexibility it provides us in production.”
Whitson said after the station was purchased from Clear Channel by Newport Television, discussions began on how to improve everything from how the sets looked to the graphics to the use of the anchors and reporters. Whitson and others met to talk about the goals of the station, perform market research and determine what TV viewers in Jacksonville want.
Getting them to watch FOX or CBS was never an issue. Whitson said when he got back in 2007, the two networks had 92 of the top 100 rated running on one-time shows in Jacksonville. The viewership was there, getting them to tune in or stick around for the local news was the trick.
“The news content has been changing the last six months,” said Whitson. “There has been a ratings increase the last six months. I think the audience likes what they see.”
There will be a shuffling of anchors and reporters as part of the changes and the most obvious may be the switch of Celine McArthur from anchoring the morning weekday news to anchoring the weekend news at 6, 10 and 11 p.m. while working as an investigative reporter for the 10 and 11 p.m. newscasts Monday-Wednesday. Taking her place in the mornings, effective today, is Dawn Lopez, who used to anchor the evening newscasts during the week.
“For me the changes are great,” said McArthur, who has been with the station since 2000 with the exception of eight months at a station in Austin, Texas. “I’m an investigative journalist first and this shift allows me to be the watchdog our community needs. It’s what I love and what I do best. The added perk is that I don’t have to set the alarm clock for 1:30 in the morning ever again.”
Whitson said the decision to invest in a new set and shuffle the staff is the right thing at the right time, regardless of the economy.
“The company invested heavily at a time when most are pulling back. It makes sense,” said Whitson.
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