Media Frenzy

By Rob Holbert Managing Editor

Another one bites the dust

After just three-and-a-half months, WPMI-TV anchor Raquel Eatmon has left the station. Eatmon turned in her resignation Aug. 3 and left after anchoring the evening news.

“Unfortunately, after a lot of prayer, thought and talk with my family, I decided it was best for me to go home, and home is the Midwest,” Eatmon told Lagniappe.

Eatmon, a former beauty pageant winner and reporter and anchor at a Dallas CBS station, joined the NBC affiliate in mid-April. Along with newcomer Greg Peterson, Eatmon helped replace anchors Drexel Gilbert, Peter Albrecht and Kim McCrea, who were fired abruptly in March.

Eatmon’s departure came on the last day for morning show anchor Scott Walker, who has taken a position at a station in Orlando, Fla. Walker was the last of the station’s weekday anchors remaining from last year. The last several months have seen a mass exodus from the station, including anchors Albrecht, Gilbert, McCrea, Walker, Sandra Shaw, meteorologist David Glenn and reporter Nicole Patrick. Reporter Richard Allyn also left WPMI after his boyfriend was arrested for allegedly sending threatening e-mails to the station. News director Joe Raia also left the station in recent months.

While insiders have told Lagniappe Eatmon was having a hard time developing a relationship with co-anchor Greg Peterson, she demurred, saying only that she’d, “never met anyone like Greg Peterson before. Our personalities are very different. I think we’re totally two different people.”

Calls and e-mails to WPMI Station Manager Bob Franklin were not returned in order to discuss the station’s plans regarding Eatmon. However, Lagniappe was sent an internal e-mail from Franklin to the staff regarding Eatmon’s departure. The letter stated:

“It’s with sadness that I let you know that Raquel Eatmon is leaving NBC 15 as of today. While we will miss Raquel’s professionalism, we support her personal decision to return to her family in Ohio.

“Greg Peterson will continue to anchor the News at 5, 6 and 10 while the search for a new co-anchor begins.”

Eatmon says she intends to stay in broadcast, but hopes to land a spot closer to her home near Cleveland, Ohio.

Walker to Orlando

Speaking of Scott Walker, it can now be revealed that WPMI’s former morning anchor has taken a spot at WESH in Orlando, where he will also anchor.

“My time at NBC 15 was part of a tremendous learning and growing experience in my career, but it was time for a change. While we’ll miss the great people we’ve met in Mobile during the past seven years, we’re looking forward to a new challenge in an exciting, fast-paced city. The ownership and management at WESH are top-notch and I really believe in what they’re trying to build in a very competitive news market,” Walker said.

TV moves aplenty

Diana Lucio becomes WKRG’s newest reporter as of Aug. 20, joining the CBS affiliate after a two-year stint on KABC in Los Angeles, where she was an AP/News Apprentice. Prior to that, Lucio was an on-air reporter for a cable broadcast in Torrance, Cal. She has also been a researcher for People Magazine.

Watch out, though, she’s also a Magna Cum Laude from UCLA and a black belt in taekwondo.

Word on the street is that former WPMI anchor Kim McCrea has landed a new gig at WYFF-TV in Greenville, S.C. She will be the co-anchor on the station’s morning show. WYFF is the Spartangurg/Greenville/Ashville market’s NBC affiliate.

Also, former WKRG and WALA anchor/reporter Jonathan Carter is back in the general vicinity. After three years in Cleveland, he’s landed as a morning co-anchor at WVUE in New Orleans.

Goofy on the morning ZEW

As if our own Sean Sullivan weren’t funny enough in his job as WZEW’s morning host, he’s now got one of the “Goofy White Boys” helping him out. Regular ZEW listeners have probably already noticed Trey Matthews of WABB morning show fame has landed at the ZEW.

Matthews and Bill Evans made a name for themselves in the ‘80s with their “Goofy White Boys” morning show on WABB-FM. Matthews has been back in the Mobile market for a few years, but has recently moved over to WZEW, where he will work the morning show with Sullivan.

Longer ‘Drive’

WNSP’s “Afternoon Sports Drive” with Jed Williams and Neal McCready is expanding by an hour and will run from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. beginning Aug. 27. The move will allow for more football-related programming after “Sports Drive.”

Press Club Awards

The 28th Annual Mobile Press Club awards were presented Aug. 4 in a ceremony that was a welcome departure from the rubber chicken luncheons of the past. Roughly 60 of the area’s “newsies” gathered at the Exploreum for dinner, music and cocktails – oh yeah, and a presentation of this year’s awards.

Conspicuously absent were many representatives from the Press-Register, Mobile Bay Monthly or WPMI. But we won’t chastise them this year. We’ll simply encourage them to make the event even better next year by attending.

Shamelessly, I’ll plug Lagniappe’s winners first, since I’m sure the others would do the same. Your favorite independent newspaper took home three awards in the All Print Media division.

Kinnon Phillips won for Best Critique/Review for last year’s article on the Gator’s Pitt. Tamara Ducote defended her 2005 award, winning again for Best General Column for one entitled “Sins of the Father.”

And fortunately I’m not too humble to mention that this writer took the Best Commentary award for “Ditch the Racist Language,” a column I wrote about our woeful state constitution.

Of course there were other winners, and here they are:

In Newspapers – Daily and Non-daily, winners were:

General Reporting – Kristen Campbell, Press-Register; Feature Reporting – Roy Hoffman, Press-Register; Sports Reporting -Tommy Hicks, Press-Register; In-Depth Reporting – Penelope McClenny, Press-Register; Community Service – Ben Raines and Bill Finch, Press-Register; Spot News Photography – Mike Kittrell, Press-Register; Feature Photography – Mary Hattler, Press-Register; Sports Action Photography – John David Mercer, Press-Register; Sports Feature Photography – Bill Starling, Press-Register; Photo Illustrations – Bill Starling and Thom Dudgeon, Press-Register

For magazines the winners were:

General Reporting – Nedra Bloom; Feature Reporting – Emmett Burnett and Mobile Bay Monthly staff; Photography – Dan Anderson, Mobile Bay Monthly; Community Service – Chandra Brown.

Winners in All Print Media were:

Best Editorial – Jane Nicholes, Press-Register; Best General Column – Tamara Ducote; Best Commentary – Rob Holbert; Best Critique/Review – Kinnon Phillips; Best Editorial Cartoon/Illustration – J.D. Crowe.

For television, the winners were:

Weather Anchor – John Nodar, WKRG; Feature Reporting – Holly Ames, WKRG; Photography – Gary Arnold, WKRG; In Depth Reporting – Anissa Centers, WALA; Community Service – Bob Grip, WALA; Sports Anchor – Randy Patrick, WKRG; Sports Reporting – Rob LeHocky, WALA; General Reporting – Q McCray, WALA; News Anchor – Rose Ann Haven, WKRG.

And in radio, the winners were:

Radio General Reporting Chris Newbold; Radio Feature Reporting – Eric Lowe; Radio In depth Reporting – Chris Newbold;

Miscellaneous awards were:

Best Website – WKRG; Best Public Information Officer – Steve Huffman, Mobile Fire/Rescue; Lifetime Achievement – Kellie Jones, WKRG; Collegiate journalism – Anna Chapman, The Vanguard (USA).

Rob Holbert is Lagniappe managing editor. Contact him at rholbert@lagniappemobile.com.

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