Oregon Media Insiders

By request, a new thread to talk about the start of local news on KOHD Bend. Have at it, folks, I have no access to that here in PDX. I think.

KOHD has finished its new studio:

The new KOHD Studio is also built from the ground up to be environmentally efficient. The building has solar-paneled roofing to cut down on energy consumption, parking lot filters to reduce emissions, passive solar designed concrete floors, green-certified post-consumer recycled pad and carpet, recycled wood flooring, low-energy fluorescent lighting, recycled paperstone reception and bath countertops, and low-water landscaping with indigenous plants.

After move-in, Chambers Communications’ engineers and technicians begin the detailed process of literally "connecting" the parts to bring live, local HD television to Central Oregon. Using cutting edge technology, KOHD-TV will be producing and broadcasting news in high definition to provide superior quality to Central Oregon’s news viewers.

I'm sure the KEZIans are pleased.

Maybe it's their business plan, or just inept managment, but KEZI just dismissed their only photog. No word if they are going to keep it this way, but 7 photogs have left in the last 6 months without being replaced. Reporters (the ones who haven't left yet) are also being trained to shoot and edit. Looks like their turning market 122 into Medford!

[Edited to add KEZI to title. If true this is very strange.--L]

Update 4-4-07: The fired photog speaks, or at least someone claiming to be him speaks:

I decided it was time to let my concerns for the station known to the management. Little did I know that giving the incompetent management fair input, would get me fired. As well as loss of my vacation pay out. So I thought I'd post my infamous email for all to read...

You may have to scroll down and click to the second page to find the whole comment. If this is the letter he sent, I'm not surprised he got fired, frankly, though for a professional to write a letter like that...well, let's just say he must have been really frustrated.

Update 4-5-07: The thread's gotten too long (Eugene represent!) and so I've closed it and opened a new one.

On Wednesday, August 16th, Meredith Broadcasting announced the sale of KFXO (FOX 39 in Bend) to the News-Press Gazette Company -- the company that owns KTVZ (NBC 21) in Bend. So, Bend is getting a TV station duopoly and a new ABC station (KOHD) all in the next two months.

This sale means that all ties between KFXO and KPTV/KPDX in Portland will be severed. It's also likely that KFXO's four-month old News operation will be dismantled, as the larger and more-established KTVZ News operation will probably produce a 10pm newscast on KFXO from the KTVZ studios. Will KTVZ hire some/all of KFXO's people? Too early to say.

Also noteworthy is that Bend's new ABC-affiliate, KOHD, is scheduled to begin airing on September 19th. The current General Manager of KFXO is rumored to be headed over to KOHD to be the General Manager there, and a News Director has been hired as well. I don't know if KOHD will be ready to launch newscasts on that day or not. Either way, Chambers Communications (KOHD's owners) will likely get several resumes from soon-to-be ex-KFXO staffers...

From today's TVSpy:

KOHD-TV, Bend, OR...NICOLE MOYE will be the first news director for this Chambers Communications ABC affiliate, which is starting a news operation. She most recently was the Assistant ND at KCOY-TV in Santa Maria, CA, and has also worked in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Colorado Springs, CO.