The Louisiana Association of Broadcasters recognized KTAL Shreveport with the Prestige Award for Community Service – Large Market at its recent awards banquet in Baton Rouge. In addition, Mark McKay, KTAL’s general manager was honored with the 2022 Broadcaster of the Year Award.
The Louisiana Association of Broadcasters recognized KTAL Shreveport with the Prestige Award for Community Service – Large Market at its recent awards banquet in Baton Rouge.
In addition, Mark McKay, KTAL’s general manager was honored with the 2022 Broadcaster of the Year Award.
“I stand here because of all of the reporters and anchors and salespeople and the sales management team and all the other folks in those nine markets, that’s why I’m standing here,” McKay says.
Referring to KTAL’s community service award, McKay says: “This award is something for the whole station to be proud of. We all believe in investing in our community. Our anchors give of their own time to many charities, and we enjoy partnering with local organizations to help fill their coffers and grow their volunteer base.”
In late 2020, the Shreveport Regional Arts Council was unable to host its biennial fundraiser that keeps its programs funded. McKay and KTAL came to their aid.
During 2021, SRAC launched CLUB 365 and every day, KTAL promoted the program inside Loving Living Local and by airing Club 365 commercials. The program invited people to bid for donated prizes. Each day, KTAL announced the winners. At the end of 2021, SRAC had raised an astounding $846,000, in large part due to KTAL’s co-promotion and McKay’s leadership. That figure is more than the annual fundraiser’s, Christmas in the Sky, net profit.
In 2021, McKay helped the integration of KMSS Fox 33 into a joint sales agreement with Nexstar. Bringing KMSS staff into the KTAL culture was immediate and beneficial. Through better sales management and improved focus on news and marketing, KMSS is on the road to financial and ratings rebound. These once fierce competitors now enjoy a beneficial relationship under Mission Broadcasting and Nexstar.
McKay served on the Texas Association of Broadcasters board for six years and participated in the National Association of Broadcasters state leadership programs on three occasions. He serves on the Shreveport Regional Arts Council Board, is a past president and former board member of the Marion County (Texas) Chamber of Commerce and currently is chairman of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute for Texas Tech University.
He is actively involved in KTAL’s charitable projects including Founder’s Day, Feeding America, Clear the Shelters, Remarkable Women and 6 Hours of Caring telethons hosted by the station each quarter to aid local nonprofits. He is a champion for the voiceless and fosters an inclusive environment for people in the station.
KTAL is also active with the Northwest Louisiana Food Bank, and the station holds quarterly “6 Hours of Caring” day-long fundraisers for local charities. For the last five years, Salute the Badge has been a weekly franchise focused on first responders and the work they do. The station also participates in numerous other community projects including Feeding America, Clear the Shelters, Remarkable Women and more.
CLICK HERE to see new jobs posted to TVNewsCheck’s Media Job Center including openings in upper station management, marketing and creative services, news, IT, digital sales and content, engineering and graphic design.
Comments (0)
Reader Interactions