Media Watch

Kayla Anderson leaves town and more

ANDERSON MOVES ON

Kayla Anderson is a steadfast believer in television broadcasting's so-called two-year plan. As a result, the sportscaster has concluded her stay with KGUN TV 9 for a position in a larger market.

"I accepted a job in Columbus, Ohio. It's market 32 and a significant jump for me," Anderson said. "The main reason for taking that job is I've been in the business nine years, and I've been about six different places. My mission is to learn the most I can and hopefully get me to where I want to be, which is hopefully a network. I'm one of those people who has to take the steps on the ladder, and that's what I'm doing. This is my next step."

The jump in market number—by comparison, Nielsen places Tucson No. 71, others usually rank it somewhere in the 60s—comes with it a significant increase in sports options. Columbus is a blossoming pro sports town in addition to being the home of one of the nation's more noteworthy collegiate sports programs, and the general geographic area has plenty of athletic options to cover as well.

"It's one of the best TV stations in the country: WBNS, a CBS affiliate, and they're really known for their sports coverage. They have a six-person team. They're really big on how they cover sports," Anderson said. "Columbus is crazy for Ohio State, which is their priority. They also have an NHL team, an MLS team, a AAA baseball team, and then they cover (Cleveland teams) the Cavs, Browns, (Cincinnati teams) Reds and Bengals, so there's a lot to cover there. I said why not take the challenge and expand my horizons a little."

Anderson's steps on the rung approach has made the journey to her final career stop longer than she might like, but she's benefited along the way through the opportunities of tackling a number of assignment styles.

"I have enjoyed doing a combo of everything," Anderson said. "I've anchored a lot, but I prefer being out in the community and out covering teams. I like the reporting side of it because I think I have a way to connect. That's more natural to me. I am definitely someone who is a go-getter. I've known what I wanted to do since I was in the fifth grade. Some people can get a really good job two years out of college. Some people are lucky like that. I'm not, but I think it makes me a better reporter and a more respected reporter because I've covered so much. There's not a sport I can't cover. But I'd like to eventually be more specific. I'd like to be more involved with a regional sports network position or maybe an ESPN bureau reporter."

The opportunity to cover professional sports teams will certainly add to the resume, but Anderson's collegiate sports experience is already pretty strong. Among her stops, a stint in television in college football ravaged Alabama, and of course, Tucson, which is UA men's basketball-centric. Yet Ohio State might be a new animal with what some believe is the most lunatic fan base in collegiate athletics.

"I hear Ohio State fans are even crazier than Alabama," Anderson said. "(As for Tucson,) some of my biggest memories are starting here and finding out how great they are here. The feedback from the community and students and coaches was great. Basketball season has to be the best memory. They're so dynamic. It's really fun to go cover the NCAA Tournament and covering one of the top teams in the country."

Anderson starts in Columbus next week.

NEW KOLD METEOROLOGIST STARTS NEXT WEEK

KOLD TV 13 has finally nabbed a weather replacement for Aaron Pickering. Wes Callison will join the CBS affiliate's news team next week. Callison's experience is almost exclusively Midwest based. He went to school at St. Louis University and parlayed that into weather-related positions with television outlets in Lincoln, Kalamazoo and Des Moines, where the NWA certified meteorologist worked for KCCI TV.

Pickering left the industry altogether to pursue other opportunities after completing his MBA from the UA.

CHANGES AT KEVT

KEVT AM 1210 has made tweaks to its local talk lineup. Claiming it's important to enhance political coverage in more accessible time slots, operations manager Jim Parisi switched Forrest Carr to afternoon drive and Matt Condie to nights.

Carr, a former television news director, has already made a noticeable splash in the local talk market.

"For the political season I have to put the most experienced political folks in morning and afternoon drive," said Parisi through a facebook communiqué. "Forrest coming out of John C. Scott makes for the best and most experienced local afternoon drive team for covering politics."

Carr's show airs weeknights from 5 to 7, immediately following Scott's two-hour politically driven showcase broadcast weekday afternoons from 3 to 5.

Meanwhile, Condie's program undergoes an interesting fate. His local show airs weeknights from 10 to midnight, making him local radio's only nighttime talk show.

"Matthew Condie is doing late nights after (syndicated Fox Sports talk show host) Jay Mohr," Parisi said. "Their styles are similar, younger demo, edgier talk. He does lots of entertainment, has comedians on, etc."

But in that time slot he'll also have to endure significant signal degradation. KEVT's stick has strong reach during daylight hours, but dips quite a bit overnight.

Parisi expects the local portion of the lineup to remain this way even beyond the close of the political campaign, although some of the syndicated options remain in flux as a result of the transition. The KEVT lineup features five hours of locally focused talk from 5 to 10 a.m. and four hours between 3 to 7 in afternoon drive.