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EP Mag delays print/ KVIA gets new NM reporter

The El Paso Media Group's El Paso Magazine didn't print editions in August or September and it doesn't plan to print one in October either. Advertisers were advised by sales staff that their ads won't be published until November or December, when the magazine returns.

EP Mag publisher Keith Mahar said on Tuesday that the rising costs of putting a print product out are to blame.

“Due to an increase in paper and printing costs, coupled with decreases in overall advertising profits, El Paso Magazine restructured its print cycle to print once in the Fall, coming out with a Nov./Dec. issue," he said in an e-mail statement to the El Paso Times. "Following industry trends in publishing, in 2010 EPMG will focus on a stronger online model to include podcasting, multimedia content and blogs. Currently, all of the content previously published in El Paso Magazine is now available online for free."

In other news, KVIA-TV Channel 7 (cable Channel 6) announced that it has hired a new reporter. Jill Galus will be reporting out of the New Mexico mobile newsroom, management at the station said on Tuesday. That spot has been filled by several staffers for a while and will not feature Galus almost exclusively.

Galus is a Michigan native but graduated from Arizona State University in May. According to a press release from the station, she was part of a team that came in second that finished second this year in the prestigious for the Hearst Journalism Awards.

Times welcomes new reporter

We write a lot about the comings and goings of TV reporters int his blog, but it's time to throw in some newspaper folk in the mix.

The El Paso Times on Tuesday welcomed a new reporter, Adriana Gómez Licón. Adriana is a 2009 University of Texas at El Paso graduate and comes to the Times after having done internships at the Albuquerque Tribune, the El Paso Times and the Roanoke Times in Virginia.

A Sonora, Mexico, native, Adriana will be covering general assignment stories for the Times, which means she'll do a little bit of everything. She has some experience multi-tasking. Although Adriana is a print journalist, this summer she was selected as one of the three students to anchor the El Noticiero student broadcasting project during the National Association of Hispanic Journalists convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Welcome to the Times, Adriana. 

Another KVIA loss

The Medialine Web site stated that KVIA-TV Channel 7 (cable Channel 6) is losing another reporter. Martin Bartlett is slated to become the new political reporter for KVUE, the ABC affiliate in Austin. Marti will be covering state politics for the station.

This year alone, KVIA has lost four on-air personalities: Autumn Sam, Amber Sullins, Rachel Abell and Ashlie Hardway. Martin makes five.

To be fair, having people jump the El Paso market is not unusual. For many reporters, especially broadcasters with no ties to this region, El Paso is stepping stone to bigger markets.

Martin will be joining another familiar El Paso face moving to Austin. El Paso Times education reporter Zahira Torres will be moving to the capital to cover the Legislature and state government for the paper. She'll make the move by the end of October and, of course, she'll be replacing Brandi Grissom who is now working for the Texas Tribune online publication.

Congratulations to both Martin and Zahira. I will miss both of you.

Lone Star Emmy noms

The Lone Star chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced its nominations for the Texas Emmys recently. El Paso stations gathered a total of 15 nominations in 13 categories.

Channel 9 lead with six nominations, followed by Channel 14 with five, Channel 7 with three and Channel 26 with one.

Here's a list of who's nominated.

Community Service Award

• KFOX-TV Channel 14 (cable Channel 8). Liz O'Hara, news director.

Best Newscast, smaller market

• KVIA-TV Channel 7 (cable Channel 6). "Border Violence," Johnathan Eaves, producer.
• KVIA. "Fighting the Drug War," Johnathan Eaves, producer.
• KSTM-TV Channel 9 (cable Channel 10). Oscar Garcia, producer.

News Special

• "Bullied," KTSM. Ben Swann, producer.

General Assignment Report on Deadline

• "Border Agents Freed," KTSM. Adrienne Alvarez, reporter.

Team Coverage

• "The Economy," KTSM. Kim Bridger, news director.

Crime News, Single Story

• "Dude Looks Like a Lady -- Prostitution Bust," KTSM. Irazu Garcia, photojournalist; and Oralia Ortega, reporter.

Historic/Cultural story

• "Lucha Libre in the Barrio," KFOX. Rudy Reyes, photojournalist/editor.

Specialty Assignment Report, Single Story

• "Gangs Behind Bars: Barrio Azteca," KVIA. Ken Molestina, reporter.

Documentary

• "Donate Life," KFOX. Hema Mullur, anchor; Joe Najera, photojournalist/editor; and Liz O'Hara, writer producer.

News Promo Campaign

• "The KFOX Morning News Starting Your Day Right," KFOX. Candice MacBain, writer/editor; and Lonnie Valencia, photographer.

Best Anchor

• KINT-TV Channel 25 (cable Channel 2): Karla Mariscal. Karla will be up against two former El Paso anchors: Norma Garcia who used to anchor at KINT and is now a Telemundo anchor in Dallas; and Tyler Sieswerda who used to anchor at KFOX and is now in Austin.

Best Features Reporter

• KTSM: Adrienne Alvarez

Best Photographer, Sports Single Camera

• Rudy Ryes, KFOX, for "Sports for the Blue Collar Worker." 

Congratulations to all the nominees! Good luck on Oct. 17, when the winners are announced in Dallas.

Press Club will tackle Juarez violence during forum

Here's a press release from the El Paso Press Club. The event is open to the public.

 

JUAREZ DRUG VIOLENCE: WHERE ARE WE NOW?

EL PASO – It’s been more than a year since a bloody drug war broke out in the streets of Juárez. Thousands of men, women and children have been brutally murdered. Businesses have shut down or burned to the ground. And, amid all this, a city of nearly 2 million people still lives in fear.

How is Juárez coping a year and a half after the drug-related violence erupted? What is the status of the war against the violence? How will all this affect El Paso?

Join the El Paso Press Club for a conversation and update on the drug violence in Juárez. Our guests will be experts and lawmakers who will participate in the upcoming War on Drugs Conference at the University of Texas at El Paso.

The event, part of the press club’s Meet the Press series, will start at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, at the El Paso Times, 300 N. Campbell.

The panelists will be:

• Tony Payan, a political science professor at UTEP and UACJ who focuses on border relations and recently penned an editorial piece on the violence in Juárez for Newsweek magazine.

• Kathleen Staudt, a political science professor at UTEP whose published books have focused on U.S.-Mexico relations.

• El Paso Sheriff Richard Wiles, a long-time law-enforcement officer who has been vocal about the effects the violence in Juárez will have on El Paso.

• City Rep. Beto O’Rourke, an El Paso City Council member who has advocated for the creation of local, state and national policy that would address the issues causing the violence along the border. 

Former El Paso Times Juárez reporter Louie Gilot will moderate the event.

For more information contact Press Club President Gustavo Reveles Acosta at 256-3273 or greveles@gmail.com.

Ayoub is back on the air at KDBC

Nichole Ayoub is back from maternity leave at KDBC-TV Channel 4 (cable Channel 3) after several months off. Nichole gave birth to twin boys in June and has been off the air since before Heaton and Hampton were born.

She returned to the air last week and took back her spot as the main anchor after Cristina Rodda filled in for her at 5:30 and 10 p.m.

Nichole said she's happy to be back.

"It's great to be back!" she wrote in an e-mail to me today. "I forgot how much I loved what I did until I sat back down on the set."

KVIA's Valle expecting

The KVIA-TV Channel 7 (cable Channel 6) family keeps growing.

No, Kevin Lovell didn't hire a new reporter. Reporter/anchor and fellow El Paso Press Club board member Stephanie Valle announced today that she and her husband, Scott, are expecting a baby. This is their first child.

She is due in March and tells me that they will find out whether the baby is a boy or a girl in a few weeks. Congrats!

In case you're keeping track, this is the third Channel 7 birth or pregnancy in the last 12 months. Former reporter/anchor Ashlie Hardway gave birth earlier this year, and former reporter Rachel Abell is due later this year. She, of course, is married to KVIA sports director Raul Martinez.

Dallas Morning News reporter gets UTEP Alumni award

Reporter Alfredo Corchado, the Mexico Bureau chief for the Dallas Morning News, received the 2009 Gold Nugget Award from the University of Texas at El Paso's College of Liberal Arts. Corchado received a bachelors degree in journalism from UTEP in 1987 and has since become a respected reporter throughout the region.

The Gold Nugget aims to recognize UTEP graduates who have achieved success in their fields. Each college appoints at least one honoree.

Corchado, who grew up along the border, has been key in the Morning News' reporting efforts in Mexico. His work won him the Mario Moors Cabot Prize for outstanding Latin American reporting in 2007. He is also a 2009 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University.

Amber Sullins resurfaces

Former KVIA-TV Channel 7 (cable Channel 6) meteorologist Amber Sullins has landed a new job. She is the new morning weather forecaster for KNXV, the ABC station in Phoenix, Ariz. She will start her new job on Sept. 7 and will go through a week-long training before she hits the air.

Sullins will join two journalists with ties to El Paso when she arrives at KNXV. Former Sun City reporters Christina Boomer and Stephanie Sandoval work at the Phoenix station.