Austin360 blogs > TV Blog > Archives > 2006 > December > 14
Thursday, December 14, 2006
1 in, 1 out at KXAN
The revolving door at Austin’s NBC affiliate continues to spin.
This time around, a new news director is entering the building and a veteran reporter is exiting.
Michael Fabac, currently news director at KLRT, Little Rock’s Fox station, will lead the KXAN news team beginning in early January.
“I think it’s an amazing opportunity for me,” Fabac said. “I can’t wait to get there. The city obviously is a big draw.”
Fabac, 33, assembled Clear Channel-owned KLRT’s news operation from scratch, launching a nightly 9 p.m. newscast in 2004. Prior to Little Rock, he served as a news director at WNEM in Saginaw, Mich. His first paying TV gig was as a producer at KKTV in Colorado Springs, Colo., followed by stints as a producer at KTVI in St. Louis and WDIV in Detroit. He also served as executive news producer at CBS-owned WWJ and WKBD, both in the Motor City.
“I think Michael will bring a lot of positive energy to the newsroom,” KXAN General Manager Eric Lassberg said. “He comes across as a very passionate leader with a lot of integrity.”
Fabac’s hiring comes at a tumultuous time for the station. KXAN’s previous news director, Bill Seitzler, departed last month after less than a year on the job. Lassberg has been on the job for less than six months. An executive producer position remains open. And a number of familiar faces — avuncular weatherman Dan Robertson, weekend newscaster Julie Shields, and reporters Jim Bergamo and Silva Harapetian — also have disappeared from the station’s newscasts in recent months. Some were forced out; others left by choice.
Next out the door, according to Lassberg, will be longtime reporter R.J. DeSilva. The one-time co-anchor of the station’s morning and weekend newscasts has resigned and will leave later this month to work as a spokesman for a state agency.
Despite the well-publicized turmoil, Lassberg said the news director opening still drew a large number of applicants.
“Magid & Associates, our consultants, told us they had never seen so much interest in a news director position,” Lassberg said. He spoke with 15 hopefuls before inviting three finalists to meet with the station’s news team.
“Everyone’s very excited,” Lassberg said. “When I brought Michael in, I had him spend a lot of time in the newsroom. Everyone really liked his enthusiasm.”
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Life imitates HBO
Fans of the dearly departed series ”Six Feet Under” will recognize the Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM for short) as the congenital condition afflicting main character Nate Fisher through much of the series — and now as the cause of the recent health problems of Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.).
Spoiler alert for those still watching the series via Netflix or on Bravo: Amid wild speculation that control of the Senate could pass back into the hands of the GOP in the event Johnson fails to recover from today’s emergency surgery, fans of the mortician-family drama will recall that Nate, portrayed by Peter Krause, survived almost six seasons with the condition before blissfully succumbing in the penultimate episode.
According to South Dakota rules, even if the newly-elected senator is physically incapacitated, South Dakota has no provision for his replacement by an appointee of Republican Gov. Mike Rounds unless Johnson resigns.
Globes leave ‘Lights’ in dark
The best drama on television, “Friday Night Lights,” was snubbed by the foreign critics for Golden Globe nominations, announced earlier today.
’Grey’s Anatomy’’ will be hard to beat for best TV drama, although ’’Heroes’’ could make a strong showing, since serials “24” and “Lost” have run out of steam.
’’Ugly Betty” is my hands-down favorite for TV comedy, since “Desperate Housewives” and “The Office” turned inconsistent.
Here are this year’s TV nominations.
TELEVISION
Best Drama Series
’’24’’
’’Big Love’’
’’Grey’s Anatomy’’
’’Heroes’’
’’Lost’’
Best Comedy Series
’’Desperate Housewives’’
’’Entourage’’
’’The Office’’
’’Ugly Betty’’
’’Weeds’’
Best Miniseries or Movie
’’Bleak House’’
’’Broken Trail’’
’’Elizabeth I’’
’’Mrs. Harris’’
’’Prime Suspect The Final Act’’
Best Actor Drama Series
Patrick Dempsey, ‘‘Grey’s Anatomy’’
Michael C. Hall, ‘‘Dexter’’
Hugh Laurie, ‘‘House’’
Bill Paxton, ‘‘Big Love’’
Kiefer Sutherland, ‘‘24’’
Best Actress Drama Series
Patricia Arquette, ‘‘Medium’’
Edie Falco, ‘‘The Sopranos’’
Evangeline Lilly, ‘‘Lost’’
Ellen Pompeo, ‘‘Grey’s Anatomy’’
Kyra Sedgwick, ‘‘The Closer’’
Best Actor Comedy Series
Zach Braff, ‘‘Scrubs’’
Alec Baldwin, ‘‘30 Rock’’
Steve Carell, ‘‘The Office’’
Jason Lee, ‘‘My Name Is Earl’’
Tony Shalhoub, ‘‘Monk’’
Best Actress Comedy Series
Marcia Cross, ‘‘Desperate Housewives’’
America Ferrera, ‘‘Ugly Betty’’
Felicity Huffman, ‘‘Desperate Housewives’’
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, ‘‘New Adventures of Old Christine’’
Mary-Louise Parker, ‘‘Weeds’’
Best Supporting Actor Series, Miniseries or Movie
Thomas Haden Church, ‘‘Broken Trail’’
Jeremy Irons, ‘‘Elizabeth I’’
Justin Kirk, ‘‘Weeds’’
Masi Oka, ‘‘Heroes’’
Jeremy Piven, ‘‘Entourage’’
Best Supporting Actress Series, Miniseries or Movie
Emily Blunt, ‘‘Gideon’s Daughter’’
Toni Collette, ‘‘Tsunami, The Aftermath’’
Katherine Heigl, ‘‘Grey’s Anatomy’’
Sarah Paulson, ‘‘Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip’’
Elizabeth Perkins, ‘‘Weeds’’
