Melanie Olivas left KTSM-TV last week just days before her graduation from the University of Texas at El Paso with an education degree in counseling on Saturday. She said she was starting a counseling gig at a local school today.
That meant that the morning anchor chair at Channel 9 was vacant, and KTSM has decided to put reporter Kai Porter on it. The Santa Fe native has been in El Paso for about two years and he started his new early-morning gig the day after Olivas left the job.
Channel 9 is looking to hire what they're calling videojournalists, but what most people in the industry know as a one-man band. Basically a reporter who will have to shoot their own video.
In other KTSM/KDBC news, the departure of Nichole Ayoub left a big hole on the anchor desk at Channel 4. Several people have filled in, including reporters Monique Griego and Adrianne Alvarez. But the station has now decided to give the spot to newcomer Phillip Mena.
Mena is a Montwood High graduate who received his bachelors degree at Arizona State University. He has been shooting and reporting stories for KDBC/KTSM for several weeks. Because the KDBC anchor also reads the news for KVEO-TV in Brownsville, Texas, Mena is now also the anchor of the NBC station in the Rio Grande Valley.
Thats just ridiculous! Give the anchor to Adrianne Alvarez, she is absolutely the most gorgeous young lady on the news today! Do you honestly think some unknown young male is going to turn the ratings around for KDBC? No wonder that station is in the toilet.
Posted by: Dave | May 17, 2010 at 11:05 PM
Great for kai but even better for gay rights. it's wonderful to know that all the men on local Morning news are gay. Now that's El Paso pride!
Posted by: dolce | May 18, 2010 at 12:48 AM
Whats so nice about it?
Posted by: Dave | May 18, 2010 at 07:16 AM
Omar Ropele on Univision/Telefutura mornings is NOT gay.
Not that there's anything wrong with that one way or another.
Posted by: Stop the bull | May 18, 2010 at 10:09 AM
The people who are getting into TV news these days are the same kids who were in your high school theater clubs. Gay guys and Beauty Queen wannabees. If you are going to filter out all the gay males you are not going to have a lot of guys left to choose from. Sorry folks, if you want straight males, you better bring Warner and Miller out of retirement.
Posted by: badjuju | May 18, 2010 at 10:38 AM
That is a questionable move putting a male as a main anchor, ratings will surely fall. Lets not forget the lack of experience this guy has. If anyone should take over the anchor spot it should be Monique Griego. Adrianne Alavarez does not even compare in both natural talent for the job and looks. Bad management if you ask me.
Posted by: John | May 18, 2010 at 12:32 PM
Melanie we will miss you. So now ktsm has two guys on the morning show and some newbie guy will be anchoring for ayoub.
Great for the other channels kfox and 7 should thank the boss over there.
Posted by: great | May 18, 2010 at 01:11 PM
Good Job, Grizzard. Really turning the thing around.
Posted by: El Rockero | May 18, 2010 at 04:40 PM
Word has it that since the departing of Kim Bridger...KTSM is sinking.
Posted by: KTSMGuyWatcher | May 18, 2010 at 11:35 PM
KTSM/KDBC is gone. Their ratings will go down the toilet, no one will watch. KFOX must be loving all of this. They recently converted to HD signal for their News at Nine casts so they'll rake in more viewers, not to mention a great looking news cast team. KVIA will always reign on top for one thing, keeping their news family crews together.
Posted by: AlcoholicsAnonymous | May 19, 2010 at 01:00 AM
look closer aa. that's not hd!! all they did was stretch the video to fool the public, cheaply!!
Posted by: iwantrealhd | May 19, 2010 at 11:30 AM
Kim Bridger put the nail in the coffin at KTSM. She is the reason someone like Adrianne Alvarez has a job. This is a girl who couldn't report her way out of a paper bag. She cant do a live-shot to save her life. She's the a$$cream girl on youtube! LMFAO!
As for Kai, great job Kai!
Leave it to El Pasoan's small town mentality to throw in the gay card. "What? He's gay! Lets run him out of town!" Whether he's gay or not doesn't make a difference. He's got integrity, something a lot of these young reporters (gay guys and beauty queens) don't have.
Monique does a great job as a reporter. It is just the nature of the beast. Some can't report ie. Adrienne, and yet they can read the prompter and end up on the desk because somebody screwed up and hired them. Others, like Monique, do a great job reporting and the station cant afford to put them on the desk because they're carrying the team on their shoulders.
Posted by: =)~ | May 19, 2010 at 09:04 PM
=)~... Adrienne won an Emmy. Someone thinks she can report.
Posted by: F=)~ | May 19, 2010 at 09:14 PM
They're giving those EMMY's away! lol! Even I have one! You just have to be a member on NATAs! Dont take it personal, shes a good person, just not good as a reporter.
Posted by: =)~ | May 19, 2010 at 09:24 PM
Somebody has an obsession with Monique Griego.
Posted by: Eric Boca | May 20, 2010 at 07:07 AM
To "iwantrealhd" - KFOX isn't trying to fool anyone; they've never claimed to be broadcasting their news in HD, they've simply converted to the 16x9 format that is more common nowadays. KVIA did the same thing some time ago (and I don't believe has converted to HD in their news yet, either).
Posted by: hello there | May 20, 2010 at 06:29 PM
@iwantrealhd...KVIA is broadcasting their network shows and all of their local newscasts in 720p high def and has been for awhile.
Posted by: epnuzguy | May 20, 2010 at 07:54 PM
I never said they were claiming to be HD, just that it has people fooled like AA posted. He was the one who said fox was in HD. @epnuzguy, where in my post did I say anything about kvia?? If this is a real noes guy, working at a station, and can't even get this right, this town is worse off than I thought.
Posted by: iwantrealhd | May 20, 2010 at 11:07 PM
Gay pride for Kai Porter? Yeah Right... he barely came out of the closet and he still tries to pretend he isn't.
Posted by: Nunya | May 21, 2010 at 10:40 AM
epnuzguy - Then why does ABC 7's picture flicker terribly? It looks like everything they are wearing is dancing... and it's not just my TV.
Posted by: Nunya | May 21, 2010 at 10:44 AM
@iwant...sorry, meant that comment for @hello there. apologize for the confusion.
@nunya...beats me. I'm not a TV engineer. Just a regular viewer who used to work in TV news.
Posted by: epnuzguy | May 21, 2010 at 03:37 PM
KFOX is in HD in the studio. Not in the field.
Posted by: Odd | May 21, 2010 at 11:41 PM
sorry Odd, but nope. its all that 16X9 crap. and they shoot in the field with it as well, and the live shots. thanks epnuzguy, apology accepted. claasy comment.
Posted by: iwantrealhd | May 22, 2010 at 12:44 AM
@iwantrealhd Well I wouldn't know, I watch all my programming in HD now. I don't know how it is in SD programming. I just know they converted to HD signal and the picture is 720p. I know they don't have HD cameras in the field though. But I agree, this town is terrible for local news.
Posted by: AlcoholicsAnonymous | May 22, 2010 at 10:10 PM
@iwantrealhd Actually I just watched their cast tonight and compared from their SD channel to their HD channel. It is in HD, 720p. You can tell the difference now on their full studio shot on both channels because in the HD channel, you can see how the sets end on the sides and the SD channel, it's just the two anchors. This 16x9 shot, whoever said that, that is what HD is. If you watch SportSCenter on ESPN, it's the same as what KFOX / KVIA / KTSM / KDBC is doing. That's what HD is, not this stretch the video out. Only stretching video shots I've seen on KFOX is when they do the weather. KFOX has fully converted to HD Signal, they just need HD cameras now for the field and relay those signals to the broadcast.
Posted by: AlcoholicsAnonymous | May 22, 2010 at 10:17 PM