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When Wendy Chioji died on October 7th, my Facebook feed was literally taken over by people who knew her and wanted to share their pictures and stories about her. Wendy was the news anchor and reporter at WESH, the Hearst NBC affiliate in Orlando, and that’s where our paths crossed. Family, friends, co-workers, other cancer survivors, people who climbed mountains with her and others who were inspired by her strength, her spirit and her composure, share their thoughts here about how Wendy made their lives brighter.

In a ground-breaking, comprehensive series of broadcast and digital reports, Nexstar Broadcasting sent a team of journalists on a 10-day mission to offer viewers a unique and revealing look at life along the border from one end to the other. Nexstar’s Border Report Tour started in San Diego on Sunday, Sept. 22, and concluded on Tuesday, Oct. 1 in Brownsville, Texas. Along the way, the team generated more than 50 pieces of original content for digital, hundreds of news stories and more than 130 live shots for broadcast.

On Tuesday, September 17th, 52 members of the Detroit Youth Choir took the stage on the NBC hit show, America’s Got Talent. WDIV, Detroit’s NBC affiliate, turned the appearance into a ratings and social media winner. “We were so happy to use the power of TV and digital to rally the community and put a spotlight on Detroit’s kids,” said Marla Drutz, WDIV’s general manager.

“What we do is we peruse through every Nexstar station whether it is Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and we are looking for things that are more appealing than just the average, everyday news story that only affects a Little Rock market, a Fayetteville market, or a Birmingham, Alabama market,” says Aaron Nolan, the host of Newsfeed Now. 

As part of its on-air and digital campaign, KPRC will spotlight some of Houston’s most prolific Hispanic artists and muralists.  The campaign will also celebrate the diversity of its own KPRC family.

New openings posted to TVNewsCheck’s Media Job Center include openings in sales in Los Angeles; Laredo, Texas; and Tampa from ABC, Fox and Gray.

“Thank you for coverage during Hurricane Dorian. The calm, practical, truthful, sage educational advice and professional coverage is very much appreciated. No doubt you and our community/state agencies have guided millions in the most organized, well-coordinated efforts I’ve seen in my four decades of living in Florida,” is how one viewer characterized WPTV’s coverage.

Over two days of coverage on Sept. 2-3, WFTV, Cox’s ABC affiliate in Orlando, had 41% of the adults 25-54 audience in all newscasts combined. During that time, WFTV.com set new benchmarks with page views, sessions and video content plays that reached into the millions.

WHO-HD is packing up and hittin’ the road all this week for RVTV 2019, the station’s annual week-long Iowa/Iowa State tailgate party. “We never know quite what to expect, which is part of the fun,” said Keith Murphy, WHO-HD’s sports director.

I contend that just about every news story, from live breaking news to routine news packages, can benefit from the perspective that drones can provide. But having the ability, the timing, the training and the equipment to include drone footage into daily news coverage is not easy. “I have a drone that is basically in a little briefcase and it is in the back of my car so it is on scene just as quick as I am,” says Fred Matthis, WTIC Hartford, Conn., drone operator.