Charlotte

TV stations help their local communities countless ways, year after year. These days, the need for food, warm clothes, toys, and Thanksgiving turkeys is much greater because of the pandemic. And stations are responding to the need.

Thousands of families are turning to the Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte because they can’t afford to buy holiday gifts for their children, with applications up nearly 40% for children age 0 to 12 years old.

“These recognitions are a result of the hard work and dedication of every employee in all departments at WCSC,” said Dan Cates, WCSC’s general manager.

The Nexstar Fox affiliate in Charlotte, N.C., has a new owner, new general manager and now a new news director, all since March. I caught up with Casey Clark in the WJZY Charlotte newsroom on Thursday, his second day on the job.

WBTV’s investigative team is leading the charge with the support of the station’s news director to include the entire newsroom in results-focused journalism. “This is a campaign designed to encourage viewers to turn to us when they need someone on their side,” said Robby Thomas, WBTV’s marketing director.

John Steed retired from WBTV after spending 51 years as a cameraman. From film to video, from news to commercials, Steed has shot it all. “I am a little different animal,” Steed says. “I like change. I like learning new things. In fact, I told people if I don’t learn something new every day I feel like it has not been a good day.”

Both shows fall underneath the umbrella, QC Life, a multiplatform lifestyle brand that seeks to educate, empower, engage and entertain audiences throughout the Carolinas.

At the Promax Station Summit last week in Las Vegas, attendees filled the room for the session Zero Budget Magic, to see how imagination, and little more, is the only currency allowed in spots submitted from stations across the country. Here are all 40 of them.

Robby Thomas, WBTV’s marketing director, said the station went into the February sweep with a strategic plan. However, said Thomas, that plan changed when an investigation helped expose issues that undermined the public’s confidence in an election.

Steve Riley, the director of marketing for Cox’s Atlanta ABC affiliate, WSB, is retiring after 42 years in local TV news marketing. “It’s been a great ride and I’m so fortunate to have worked for this wonderful company for over four decades, and to retire as a lifelong member of Cox.”