Media Frenzy

By Rob Holbert Managing Editor

The local advertising community recently had its annual awards ceremony honoring the best of the past year’s campaigns. The 2006 ADDY Awards were given to the area advertising firms that produced the year’s most memorable spots.

Lewis Communications won this year’s Best of Show Award for its brochure and DVD for The Village at Cypress Point. Lewis also took the award for Best Collateral advertisement for a brochure for St. John’s Forest Fulfillment.

On the broadcast side of things, Sullivan-St. Clair Marketing/Public Relations won the award for Best Broadcast for it’s Foosackly’s Chicken Fingers “Can’t Fake the Foo” radio campaign. Sullivan also grabbed the ADDY for Best Concept for stickers it produced for Springhill Athletic Center.

Sullivan-St. Clair took the ADDY for Best Campaign for its ads for First Community Bank’s “Un-Big” series of ads. Lewis Communications also won ADDYs for Best Interactive for their Web site for Perdido Yacht Club and a Judge’s Choice for a Commercial Brochure & Envelope for the Towne of Seahaven.

Other big awards were two Judge’s Choices to Sullivan-St. Clair for the Zea’s Branding Campaign and another for the University of Alabama’s Annual Report.

Sullivan-St. Clair won the most awards with 28, followed by Lewis with 24. Hummingbird, a much smaller firm, took nine ADDYs, including a Silver ADDY for their work for the Downtown Mobile District Management Corporation.

The Bellwether Group, co-owned by Lagniappe’s own Kinnon Phillips, also garnered a couple of awards, including for its work with Alabama Power.

WPMI shakeup coming?

Since Clear Channel Communications announced a few months ago that it was going to be selling many of its television and radio holdings, things have been tense for its local employees. This is particularly true at WPMI TV-15, the local NBC affiliate, where the news staff has been getting used to new management and the use of focus groups to help determine the station’s direction.

It seems things may be getting even tougher. This past week, Lagniappe came into possession of an internal WPMI message that appears to put WPMI staffers on notice that their positions could be on the chopping block. A WPMI staffer contacted by Lagniappe acknowledged the letter’s existence and said many in the station are fearful there will be many cuts of both on-air and behind-the-scenes employees soon.

The letter, e-mailed to staffers by an assistant news director, read as follows:

“All News Department Employees, Please read this carefully it’s extremely important!!!! Next week, Clear Channel is sending a team to analyze all of your jobs. They will be looking to see how you utilize your time at the station. I need each of you to give me an hour by hour description of what you do during your typical day. The corporate team will be looking to see if you have any down time, so please make sure you include EVERYTHING. I need this by Monday, the Corporate Team is coming on Tuesday & Wednesday. I know I recently asked our News Production Employees to do this, but you will need to do it again. When you have your schedule, print it and leave it in my mailbox in the newsroom. My mailbox is on the top shelf all the way to the right. Please DO NOT make me track you down for this information. If you have any questions please e-mail or call me. DO NOT E-mail me your schedule – put a printed version in my mailbox!! This applies to every single employee!”

Employees at WPMI, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they believe the station is about to be sold and there will be attempts to cut some salaries to make it more attractive to potential buyers.

Lagniappe was unable to reach WPMI management for comment prior to Friday’s deadline.

County communicator out

Katherine Eddy, director of public affairs and community services for the Mobile County Commission abruptly announced her resignation Feb. 23, sending out a letter with little elaboration. Eddy had only been the county spokesperson since Barbara Drummond left to join the mayor’s office in 2005.

Departures at WALA

We’re told WALA is about to lose two on-air personalities at the beginning of March. Reporter/anchor Jeff Barker is heading out to Oregon to take a position with another station, and reporter Erica Fox is getting married and her husband is in the military and stationed in another state. We wish them both luck.

Idol chatter

Let me get on my soapbox for just a moment here. I’m as big an “American Idol” fan as there is, and I could see a reason for WALA’s wall-to-wall coverage of Alabama’s Taylor Hicks last year as he won the competition, but I’m scratching my head over this year’s coverage of the show as news.

Apparently most FOX affiliates, including WALA, are making “Idol” reports part of their regular news packages this year. I know the show is a big ratings booster, but come on! Conjuring up an Idol-related news story once or twice a week is a bit overboard in my opinion, especially when there’s no local tie-in.

There’s just too much blurring the line between “Extra” and the local news for my taste.

O’Brien fighting illness

We’re told WPMI radio’s Scott O’Brien is fighting a serious illness and is off the air for an extended period while he recuperates. O’Brien hosts a public affairs show weekday mornings on 710-AM. We wish him luck in his fight and hope to hear him back on the air soon.

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

Archives