Lynn Huston has a spine, KOIN doesn't. That's why he left. Which is why the controlling and the closed clique at KOIN hated him. He was not about to take any garbage from these people. And he did not want to hang out with them. And he didn't need to be accepted by these people. And could care less what they thought of him. And that was clear to everyone. His very being represented a threat to them from the moment he walked in the door and THAT is the real reason why he didn't fit it (at least to the clique). Good for him! Can't believe newsjanitors take on all this. If he could only see what all goes on at that place. It amazes me the venom that guy drew to this website on numerous occasions. This is my first posting on the subject an I post it because most of the time I never saw anybody post another side of the story in his case. So I will now.
The reason he left was that he had finally had it with the dysfunction that goes on. And Thursday was classic KOIN dysfunction.
Imagine if the desk and the news director told you to be at PDX for the the arrival of the first lady's plane starting with the first live shot at 5 am. The morning crew has very few people and resources and have you ever tried to get a hold of any kind of official at that hour? He tried to get more information before he left and got no answers to any of his calls. Huston was doing live shots that morning talking about preparations for arrival and her mission to reach out to families and young people with drug and alcohol problems. Turns out he learned from some guy at the airport, after several live reports, that her plane had already landed the day before. Huston was furious. Turns out the plane had landed during the afternoon after he had gone home and during the time management was doing the planning for the event. They even discussed using a new camera from a marina to view the location where they thought the plane would go. Did they bother to even check that camera in the afternoon. Obviously not. The desk claims their information came from the White House. Really, so where is the accountability for all of wrong information and half baked newsroom preparations. Nobody asked the White House "why the wrong information" and nobody at the desk felt they had anything to answer to. Incredible. Nobody talks about that. All anybody gave a damn about was that Jeff Gianola got out of bed early to get an interview only to be shafted by the White House who didn't like Huston talking about Bush family dirty laundry regarding drugs and alcohol. Tough. Especially considering the fact Laura Bush, Barbara Bush and other Bush family members talk about it, and what? Lynn Huston can't. What bullshit!
If there was ever a time that something was an obvious problem only because it involved, "Lyn Huston", this was the time. And for no good reason. They should be answering to Lyn. I didn't know the guy that well but I'm tired of watching people get chewed up over the years for now good reason.
Meantime, they prop up people who suck at what they do or have pitifully little or no experience cause they are cheap or don't represent a threat to anything. Anybody who has seen Laura Bush on TV talking about the issue would not understand why anybody would object to what Huston said about her daughters and her neice, Jeb Bush's daughter, who also talks openly about battling prescription drug abuse. And management tells him it's old news and was not relevant to the youth conference she spoke at. What drugs are they on? They just come off looking really ignorant.
Also the White House Drug Czar was there talking about the issue and we had a poll question about prescription drug abuse that day....and the Bush family issues were not relevant? The sun does not rise and set at the White House Press Office. Ass kissers need to get a grip.
Along with being pissed off about the plane arrangements, the ND calls him into her office, then throws the door shut in his face before he gets there and refuses to meet with him. Real rational!
I saw him laugh and shake his head, then he said to somebody, "This is incredible, I would be better off working for the three stooges!" "I'm Outta here I'm not putting up with this anymore". He met with the ND briefly a little later and stormed out of the newsroom muttering, "let me out of here!" in a hallway to the garage. Never saw him again. One of the photographers said they cleaned his desk out and sent him his stuff cause he refused to come back into the newsroom to clean it out. He had a bunch of pictures of his family and stuff. God, he was so pissed when he left.
Sounds like somebody at the White House just needed an excuse to cut an interview or two for convenience and they used a bogus excuse.
Maybe management and Jeff Gianblowya need to look at the bigger picture here and not just another boring interview with the first lady. We already know what she has to say. And Gianblowya thinks no one will know what the first lady thinks unless he brings it to the screen? Yea, right!
Lynn Huston got treated like crap and everybody knows it. He's good at what he does. He worked long hard hours and was a team player. Too bad KOIN coddled its spoiled brats and cliques rather than encourage a guy that was willing to do just about anything for the place. How sad! And that's why this place just can't grow. He'll do better without this place.
Hope KOIN learns form this. Otherwise, the mediocrity and double standards continue for those of us still left here.
Lynn Huston leaves dysfunctional KOIN
Right, face it. You are just one of those who hated the guy to begin with. Didn't matter what he did or how he did it. You are just another northwestern bigot who can't handle anybody who moves here from out of the region. God forbid, we might be some subversives from say, California~ Oh, my God!
Soooo people are supposed to sound like they're talking to somebody at the grocery store??? Right, now there's professionalism! If that were the preferred delivery you wouldn't see 8, the networks, and others in large markets with professional broadcast deliveries. That's part of the problem at KOIN. Their evening newscasts sound like a conversation at the grocery store and not a professional delivery. I'll bet you hate Brenda Braxton. Well she's #1 in the morning much of time. Looks like the audience prefers it too.
A long continued line of screw ups? The ones you talk about? Sounds like nobody deserves to work in Portland in your mind unless they are approved northwesterners. Hell be to those don't happen to be in with the in crowd. To hear you talk the guy did nothing positive. No one else I know at KOIN felt that way.
Speaking of screw ups can we count the recent incident during the evening news where one of the anchors had a scream out with one of the producers, but they accidentally turned the intercom phone on so everybody in the building could hear it. You mean like that kind of screw up? No, he never did anything like that in the morning. We could go on with evening news examples like that forever I suppose, but heck, why bother when you're dealing with those of lesser intelligence. They wouldn't understand anyway. Besides screw ups in the evening don't count. That's the "in" crowd.
Clown? Hardly. Most of his reports were about local issues, murders and stuff. Sounds like you were one of those that just had it in for the guy. The only humorous ones he did were the ones he was forced to do to promote sales department events. Let see, having news reporters do stories promoting sales department events. Sounds pretty small town to me. He didn't like some of them but he did it anyway and did well.
Yea, he had an accent that said he wasn't from here but, so what.
As far as his packages, are you sure you were even watching them? They were some of the best this place had. And his live shots were the same. Half the time he had trouble hearing the crappy IFB system. I think they've have had those same crackly IFB boxes since 1959 maybe? His material was painfully dull I suppose if your IQ is somewhere around 75 or lower. But I hear that happens a lot in these mountain towns where there's a lot of inbreeding.
I think it's interesting you had nothing to say about anything on the previous posting. That's because you could care less what happened and only wanted to see the guy shit on.
I'll bet the Aussie traffic lady's accent drove you nuts. She didn't sound like she was from a grocery store in Estacada!
yes, but she could probably say "Estacada"...... Lynn, stop posting on here, it's getting embarrassing because it is so obviously you. You said so many of these things to so many people in the newsroom during your time at KOIN.
OK, I wasn't there.
But,to me,it seems like everyone at KOIN was more worried about their own jobs than what was going on with Lynn Huston. KOINers didn't want change? That's all they've had over there for the past four years, although hardly any of it was good. I'm sure he wasn't the only one frustrated by the goings on at KOIN.
About the anchor thing. How can any objective person argue against giving Mike Donahue the slot? Frankly, he's better, and his credibility in the market is unrivaled.
It sounds like Jeff Alan did Huston a service by hiring him, and a disservice by elevating him into the morning anchor slot immediately, while Donahue sat on the sidelines. A lot of people wondered about that one. Really, having Donahue on that show is a no-brainer. The low ratings are part of KOIN's larger problems. The morning show has had issues, no matter who was at the anchor desk.
Finally, the east coast/outsider thing. I don't buy it. KOIN's newsroom has people from all over the place. Del Cid's from Chicago, Boddie's from New York, Iwanaga's from LA, Ferriera's from Philadelphia. They've all been here awhile now, but I'm sure they haven't lost their ability to relate to new people from strange lands, even as strange as New York City.
I wish the guy well.
I don't know Lynn Huston or any of the folks at KOIN but I have to say this post sounds a preemptive attempt to portray KOIN in a bad light and generate sympathy for Huston.
Could have been written by Huston himself.
Thursday morning, apparently something he referenced in his morning live shot for the Laura Bush visit cost KOIN their one on one interview with the First Lady. Do you think this might have been the the straw that broke the camel's back?
You mean the comment that this is Laura's cause because of her daughters' drinking problem? Apparently someone was watching and KOIN was packing up their equipment and leaving. I didn't know Lyn was the guy that made that comment! Gave KATU exclusive bragging rights!
I am sad that he is gone. Now that I am over the magic age of 50, I approach the separation of an employee and a company quite differently. Ageism is a very relevant factor today and may have had something to do with Mr. Huston's experience at KOIN. I can emphasize with his employment with a dysfunctional company. I once was employed for a long period and subsequently fired by one of Oregon's prestige companies. I was on the receiving end of a very verbally abusive "human resources director" on my final day. Combine the druggie-moron HR "director" with a little Hitler "manager" who had been recently promoted and one has a recipe for disaster.
Another big factor in Oregon, is the "employment at will" situation. This makes a successful wrongful termination lawsuit that much harder. It also makes it easier for companies to target certain employees and make them want to quit. It sounds like KOIN is pretty dysfunctional.
I cannot understand why they continue to showcase certain on-air personalities- Portland's very own syrupy "Barbie Nordstrom" and "Ted Baxter" with a bad dye job come to mind first and foremost. Their combined talents run the gamut from A to B. Combine this with the usual problem of not showing the RIGHT graphics with the RIGHT news and there your have it... WJM lives. One longs to call Murray, or Mary to complain- but they've been let go as well.
That had nothing, nothing to do with Lynn Huston's departure. Mike Donahue is older than Lynn, and probably makes a lot more money, and he's still there. Look, the guy came to KOIN, and the station was flooded with e-mails from people who didn't like him. Instead of wondering what he may be doing wrong, or trying to improve, Lynn decided that all Oregonians were idiots. He made no secret of that. Problem was, a lot of people in the newsroom are from Oregon. Then, when Lynn was demoted and Donahue was given his job, instead of bowing out with grace, going to one of these "top markets" that would "appreciate" Lynn's talents, he stayed. He stayed, and bashed Donahue. If there is one person you do not talk badly about, it is Mike Donahue. Lynn just never got it. He needs to get a grip on reality and move on.
That is about the funniest item I have ever seen on the internet ever. It's actually hard to type while convulsing with laughter. Goodtimes...
Wow, someone is a little TOO upset about someone ELSE'S job...sorry you got fired Lynn. I could tell you were pissed and not satisfied for some time now. You didn't hide it very well. You and that chick that was pregnant and had cancer, started out in studio. Then, for some reason, you got stuck out in the field reporting on the daily murder/abuse/baby born in a toilet story. I'm sure that was a demotion or a perceived one, at least.
Chill out and head to the next city. Clear the decks.
Look Lynn,
It sucks to be in a bad job where no one likes you and you never really fit it. It's happened to many of us, and we feel your pain.
But to post on a blog a rant about why you left KOIN, by walking out from the sounds of it (very professional by the way), doesn't really help your case.
Then to write: "His material was painfully dull I suppose if your IQ is somewhere around 75 or lower. But I hear that happens a lot in these mountain towns where there's a lot of inbreeding."
Maybe that's the source of your problem, you never really enjoyed (or understood) the market. Now sure I could go into the fact that, as a viewer, I just felt you were too "slick" and "plastic," but that's just me.
Regardless, I hope you find a job where you do fit in and are used to your full potential. But flailing on a media blog just doesn't suit you.
Oh, and the RETURN button is your friend. It's hard enough to read whining, but doing it in huge blocks of text is just annoying -- like you being on my TV set.
Bye Lynn,
A random KOIN viewer
Let's be honest, there are a lot of problems at KOIN. The station is broken and perhaps irrevocably. The previous owners really did a job on the station and staff and the viewers know it. The shortage of staff, resources, overall inability to aggressively cover the news, the misguided promotional campaigns: 'News That's To The Point'; all of it has finally caught up with the station and rightly so.
To have your morning report standing in the dark at 5am to preview an event that has already happened: you don't get any more broken than that. Management failed to realize what we all know: viewers have a choice; and they're smartly choosing not to watch KOIN.
You could have posted a professional goodbye, with a reasoned explanation of why KOIN is dysfunctional. (I have no doubt that it is.)
Instead, we get this incoherent rant?
I'm no Gianola fan, but you just made him look like a saint.
Best of luck moving on... hopefully your future employer won't find this thread.
....welcome to Portland and the openly dysfunctional KOIN 6. This was once a proud and successful television station [as was WEWS]. But years of budget-cutting, economizing, reinvention, failure to fire bad hires and just about every other mistake a string of news directors supported by corporate dolts could make finally caught up with the station and now KOIN 6 is not only the laughing stock of Portland but the industry as a whole.
[On paper KATU has many of the same problems; except they've actually got a plan, and resources, to fix them.]
It's incredulous, to me, how a station in this size market could be so badly run; worse still, key people who have run morale into the ground still work there. It's time to clear the decks, clean out the cobwebs and start from scratch.
Lynn was never a good fit for Koin. He served more as an opening salvo to viewers and staff by the forgettable lamentable Jeff Alan than anything else. Lynn came in and was going to show everyone how it was done and the newsroom folks resented him for it. From day one, no one bought into his Ted Baxter personality or style. He was doomed from the beginning and the kinship and personal relationships he had with a handful wasn't to save him or bridge the divide he created in his first few weeks.
Let's not forget the time Lynn "Silver Fox Huston" went ballistic on a poor Tina Yothers (family ties) in the KOIN Newsroom in front of her family when she came in to pimp Nutrasystem.
And then weeks later wrote a very in depth piece using only Video News Release material without attribution. That's the pinnacle of Journalism right there.
Stay Classy Lynn Huston.
Classy. Pithy. Erudite.
He must be proud of you.
WOW! Apparently, he's not only a terrible anchor... he's also a terrible father!
Sounds like his kid could use a little soap in the mouth - along with a grammar coach!
yes, he is a good man, and a smart man, I will miss working with him. And I know he loved his kids very much. Don't take too much of this junk on this website seriously. When people are anonymous they say all sorts of rotten things they would never say to the person, or would never want to hear about themselves. I don't know why, but it's true.
Your dad will need your support now. Being knocked down like that, no matter what the reason, takes a long time to heal. I know, I've been there.
God, apparently I don't watch enough KOIN. I moved here several months back and have no idea who this guy is and I thought I knew almost every anchor on the four networks. Was he a fill-in for Gianola and/or Day? I'm not trying to be a smart alec, but it sounds like he was well-known. Maybe my cluelessness is an indicator of KOIN's product?
Wow!
I thought this thread was done, and now comes the "HE IS MY FATHER" thing. I immediately thought of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.
Hey, this blog can be pretty harsh at times, kid.
But, even if the above rants weren't written by your dad, whoever did write them insulted a lot of your dad's colleagues, and others who obviously didn't appreciate the Lynn Huston style, either on air or behind the scenes.
It opened the door for things to get personal.
And it made for some great blogging!
Don't take all this so personally.
We'll move on to something else.
Thanks for reminding us that it's not just the "insiders" reading
this thing.
As a regular old viewer, I find this website fascinating. I always wondered why someone on TV just disapears, or moves to some weird timeslot. Thanks to disgruntled, ex-employees of the local stations, now I know.
It's also awesome to know that these stodgy, straight foward news readers are total message board losers that hide behind fake screen names too. That's the best! In a lot of ways, it makes them more human and less robotic, like most of them appear.
Is Mike Donahue (sp?) really that nice and humble and pleasant? Goddamn, he seems like the nicest guy in Portland. One of those people that makes me think "man, why can't I be that nice." The most reassuring delivery I've ever heard. He could tell me that the world is about to end, but because of his delivery, I'd think that everything is going to be okay. No need to panic. I really like him. It makes me happy to know that he's still on the air. If KOIN ever fires him, I'm going to be the first to lead the protest.
Anyone in the biz who'd say a word against him, and not because he'd "get" you if you did.
-----
Lynn Siprelle * Fairy Blogmother
...outside the biz who worked with him regularly before the morning gig (e.g., flacks and hacks) who would say a word against him either.
He was/is fair, and was/is a grownup and a gentleperson. You don't get that much these days.
By far the finest person I've ever had the chance to work with. A real throwback. The only, only negative thing I would ever say about Mike is that he lives and dies for the New York Yankees!
Nobody's perfect, but Mike is pretty darn close.
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Lynn Huston is a clown - KOIN's news product just got better by his leaving.
Look past the fact that he couldn't even correctly pronounce the name of the state in which he worked, his vapid delivery, painfully dull packages and live shots only proved that he's in over his head for this market.
Maybe he can go back to where they say cul-de-saw rather than cul-de-sac.
It's obvious that his firing wasn't from just one incident - but a long continued line of screw ups.