Media Buzz | News/views about local media

Press club forum to discuss state education budget cuts

Canutillo ISD Superintendent Damon Murphy, El Paso ISD chief financial officer Ken Parker and Socorro ISD Superintendent Xavier De La Torre will be our guests for this month's Meet the Press. This is a chance to ask them about state budget cuts and how they're affecting districts in El Paso County, including any effects on the quality of education area students are receiving.

The event will take place at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 30 in the El Paso Times community room, 300 N. Campbell. Parking is available in the El Paso Times parking lot. Food and drinks are for sale at the event, with all proceeds benefiting the Press Club, a nonprofit organization.

An invitation was extended to Ysleta ISD to send a superintendent or a representative to be a part of the Meet the Press, but the district was unable to provide a representative to discuss the topic.

Mexican journalist and author to speak about drug-related violence

Journalist Marcela Turati will give a lecture at 6 p.m. Wednesday (April 27) at UTEP's Rubin Center Auditorium.

Turati is the author of the book "Fuego Cruzado" (or Crossfire), which was the result of her coverage and interviews in the 10 Mexican states hit hardest by current violence.

In the book she provides a detailed look at the effects of the war on drugs. Turati gives a voice to people who have been widowed, orphaned, maimed or forced to leave their homes by the drug-related violence -- the invisible victims of a conflict that has captured international attention.

Turati, a reporter for the Mexican magazine Processo, has won international prizes for her work and is the co-founder and head of Periodistas de a Pie, an organisation of women journalists focused on reviving social responsibility in Mexican journalism.

She has written for a variety of newspapers including Reforma, Excélsior y El Universal (México), La Opinión (Los Angeles), El Universo (Ecuador), and the magazines Etiqueta Negra (Perú), Hecho en Buenos Aires (Argentina) Expansión, Chilango, Revista Mexicana de la Comunicación, Etcétera y Gatopardo (México).

KTSM starting a new show

Word is Channel 9-KTSM is planning to make a big announcement this afternoon regarding a foray into entertainment news.

Rumor has it that KTSM anchor Oralia Ortega will host an entertainment-type show from 6:30 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. The show would replace syndicated episodes of "The George Lopez Show", a move that could save the station a lot of money since they would no longer have to pay syndication fees to air those episodes.

If the move is true, that leaves us wondering about who will fill in the weekday evening anchor slot. Who would you like to see become KTSM's new anchor?

Novick's farewell

Yesterday was KFOX reporter/anchor Daniel Novick's last day at the station. This week he'll be moving to Dallas, where he will be a reporter/multimedia journalist for the CW affiliate there.

Read more about Novick's departure in his own words.

KTSM's Mena receives police award

Dozens of police officers and citizens were recognized Wednesday at the El Paso Police Department's annual awards ceremony, including one reporter credited for helping save the life of a suicidal man.
KTSM reporter Phillip Mena received the Chief's Award at Wednesday's ceremony. In August, during President Obama's visit to Fort Bliss, a Gulf War veteran called the station threatening to jump from the roof of a bank building while holding a sign addressed to Obama.
Police said Mena used a negotiator tactic known as a "hook" when he diverted the man's attention to football and began talking to him about the Dallas Cowboys. The suicidal man happened to be a big Cowboys fan and told Mena had hoped to see them play in person before he died.
Mena kept the man on the phone for 45 minutes while another reporter called 911 for assistance. As Mena spoke to the man, police and other emergency units found the man and were able to talk him down to safety.
Mena was credited for his ability to remain calm and divert the attention of the suicidal man.
To watch KTSM's story about the situation, click here.

KVIA's Valle expecting

KVIA reporter/anchor Stephanie Valle is expecting her second child in September.

Valle and her husband, Scott, are the proud parents of a gorgeous 1-year-old girl, Velora. Valle recently announced their second child will be a boy.

Meanwhile, another KVIA mama, Celina Avila, will be returning from maternity leave on April 18. She recently gave birth to her second son, John Christian.

Newspaper Tree to be relaunched soon?

The long-awaited return of Newspaper Tree has yet to come to fruition, but if you visit newspapertree.com, you'll see an interesting posting that hints at its rebirth.

According to the posting, Newspaper Tree is searching for a founding publisher with at least five years of experience as a "senior management executive."

No word yet on who may have applied for the position.

Another local online publication is also soliciting staff members. It's no secret eptribune.com has been looking for local staff members for its online version and a print version, but so far the site consists mainly of wire stories from the Associated Press.

So far, the Tribune has a CEO and publisher, an editor-in-chief and a design manager.

Two reporters join KFOX

According to KFOX's website, the station has hired two new reporters.
The news comes after two other KFOX reporters, Monica Balderrama and Daniel Novick, announced their departures. Balderrama's last day at the station was Friday.
The station has hired Jacob Rascon, a Houston native with El Paso roots. Rascon's experience includes reporting in the Middle East for ABC and covering immigration legislation and other noteworthy topics with the CBS affiliate in Salt Lake City, Utah. He also has experience in print media — he once worked as a reporter for the Salt Lake Tribune.
Another addition to KFOX's roster is Ric Dupont, who previously worked as a reporter at KTSM and as a photojournalist at KVIA.
Dupont's experience includes working as a freelance videographer for clients such as CNN and Access Hollywood.
Locally, he may be best known as the photographer who, in 2009, was involved in a scuffle with an El Paso police officer as he covered a traffic accident on I-10 with KVIA reporter Darren Hunt. The officer was later suspended for 11 days after officials determine he acted "unprofessionally" towards Dupont and Hunt.

Another KFOX reporter announces departure

Another KFOX reporter will be leaving the station this month.
Daniel Novick, who has been with the station since August 2005, has accepted a reporter/multimedia journalist position with the CW affiliate in Dallas. His last day with KFOX is April 17.
"I am so lucky to have started my career at KFOX 14 and spent the last 5 1/2 years in El Paso," Novick said. "While there are so many great things about the Sun City, what I will never forget about El Paso is how kind and wonderful the people are. I will certainly miss El Paso, but I am very excited for this new chapter in my life."
Among Novick's highlights in El Paso are covering Danny Olivas' space shuttle launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla., this year's Super Bowl in Dallas, President Obama's visit to Fort Bliss, conducting a one-on-one interview with Sen. John McCain during his presidential bid, and reporting on local issues such as ASARCO's air quality permit renewal, housing problems at Fort Bliss and the 2006 floods.
In the past, Novick has been recognized for his work through the Associated Press Broadcasters Awards and the Lone Star EMMY EMMA Awards.

Balderrama leaving KFOX

Monica Balderrama, KFOX's East Side bureau reporter, will be leaving the station in pursuit of a career outside of journalism.

Balderrama's last day at KFOX will be this Friday. She said her future plans aren't set in stone yet, but she'll miss the station where she spent the last 10 years and covering stories about animal welfare and animal cruelty prevention, Medicare and insurance practices and deceptive business practices. She started at KFOX in November 2001 as a freelance reporter and spearheaded the creation of KFOX's East Side bureau.

"I will always value my time and experience at KFOX-TV. I can't thank the community enough for their support and their willingness to bring forward their issues and concerns and for the trust they had in me to tell their stories," Balderrama said.