After Six Year Run KCRA-TV Anchor Ty Steele Announces Departure

After Six Year Run KCRA-TV Anchor Ty Steele Announces Departure

KCRA Anchor Ty Steele announces his departure after six years at the Sacramento station

After a six years at KCRA-TV anchor Ty Steele has announced he’ll be leaving on September 19th. 

Steele posted on his social media account that he, his wife, and four daughters will be moving out of California for another opportunity. 

Steels says he’ll share more details when he can. 

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Veteran Bay Area Television News Photographer Dave Serrano Passes Away

Veteran Bay Area Television News Photographer Dave Serrano Passes Away

Dave Serrano's career spanned more than four decades in the Bay Area

Veteran Bay Area television news photographer Dave Serrano has passed away. He died Sunday morning at the Mission House hospice facility in Redwood City.

Dave’s career spanned more than four decades in the Bay Area. A longtime photographer for KICU in San Jose throughout the 1980s, he eventually joined KTVU in Oakland, where he had worked since the 1990s. He was also a concert cameraman for numerous big music tours.

“He leaves an impressive legacy as a beloved friend and professional achievements as a news photographer at KICU and KTVU”, said KNTV reporter Robert Handa, a longtime friend and colleague who worked with Dave at KTVU.

“We will miss that smile and gentle, towering presence,” he added.

A Celebration of Life is planned and details will be provided at a later date.

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Noe Ortega Newest Addition to Univision Fresno

Noe Ortega Newest Addition to Univision Fresno

Noe Ortega is a bilingual Multimedia Journalist from East Los Angeles, California.

He worked for CBS7 and Telemundo 20 in Odessa, TX from 2022-24.

In those two years, Noe was awarded a Texas Broadcast News Award for Multimedia Journalist of the Year in 2024.

He is now the newest Multimedia Journalist for Univision 21 in Fresno.

Noe is a Sports enthusiast with a love for telling feature stories

You can follow him on Instagram @NoeOrtegaTV.

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San Francisco Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Shares Revenue Picture

San Francisco Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Shares Revenue Picture

By Alison Gibson, Finance Committee Chair 

The San Francisco Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) operates as a non-profit 501(c)(6) organization dedicated to serving the television industry through a balanced and transparent financial approach. As a trade organization, we are committed to thorough financial oversight and accountability, ensuring that our budget is managed with the utmost care and transparency. Every month, our committee presents to the Board of Governors a detailed financial report that meticulously outlines each line item in our budget. These reports not only display actual expenses and revenues but also highlight any shortfalls, providing a clear picture of our financial health.

These documents detail the financial performance of individual programs, including their allocated budgets, actual expenditures, and variances. They also provide insights into various funds, assets, dividend income, and historical data, helping us understand how each component of our budget contributes to our overall financial standing.

For the 2023-2024 fiscal year that ends on August 31, our expenses as of 7/31/24 are exceeding our income by $35,448. This shortfall was primarily due to unexpected costs associated with the Awards Gala and Gold & Silver Circle luncheon, a decline in sponsorships, and storage expenses for our Archive and Museum artifacts. While we have sufficient assets in our account to cover this shortfall, the Board is actively exploring strategies to reduce costs and enhance revenue streams to ensure future financial stability.

It’s important to clarify that, contrary to some perceptions, our organization is not accumulating excessive funds. Membership dues, entry fees, and gala tickets are set based on historical data and a zero-sum financial model. Looking ahead to the 2025 gala, set to take place in Sacramento for the first time, will be a crucial test of our operating budget. We are committed to ensuring that this event breaks even and remains financially viable. 

In addition, San Francisco/Northern California NATAS holds separate accounts for our scholarship monies held under a 501c3 (the TV Academy Fund). Donations to this fund are tax deductible to the extent of IRS rules. 

What follows is a summary of our financial standing as of 8/7/24. We welcome any questions and encourage members to reach out as transparency remains a cornerstone of our operations. Our door is always open for inquiries and feedback.

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Former KTVU Director of Publicity and Public Relations Passes Away

Former KTVU Director of Publicity and Public Relations Passes Away

Kenny Wardell, Sr., former Director of Publicity and Public Relations at KTVU (Photo credits: Kenny Wardell, Jr. Professional Headshot courtesy of KTVU)

By Kevin Wing

A major Bay Area television and radio publicity and promotions executive has died.

Kenny Wardell, Sr., former Director of Publicity and Public Relations at KTVU in Oakland, has died according to a Facebook post by his son, Kenny Wardell, Jr.

Wardell was 76. He died Sunday.

Wardell worked at KTVU for 10 years. In addition to his Bay Area television career, he also had an illustrious career in Bay Area radio, serving as former assistant program director and public relations director at KFOG. He was also a former air personality and promotion director at KMEL.

Wardell also worked at one time as marketing director at KCBS radio.

In recent years, he was senior managing director at BAM: Bay Area Music Magazine, which he resurrected an online San Francisco-centric music magazine in 2011.

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KTVU Live Truck Set on Fire at San Francisco’s Hall of Justice

KTVU Live Truck Set on Fire at San Francisco’s Hall of Justice

A KTVU live truck was set on fire Saturday August 3rd in San Francisco outside the Hall of Justice. 

Longtime KTVU photographer Martin Holeton was not injured. He was not in the vehicle at the time of the incident. 

“Somebody set my live van on fire at the Hall of Justice today,” Holeton said on Facebook. “Very upset. Sad to see it go up in flames.”

There have been no arrests. 

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KHON2 Wake Up 2day Team Welcomes Back Former Reporter as Newest Morning Anchor

KHON2 Wake Up 2day Team Welcomes Back Former Reporter as Newest Morning Anchor

Sara Mattison/(Courtesy KHON2)

By Pamela Young

The KHON2 Wake Up 2day team welcomes back Sara Mattison, who left television 4 years ago to start a family.

The former reporter now joins Sam Spangler on the morning anchor desk. A graduate of Hawaii Pacific University, Sara started her news career as the weekend assignment editor at KITV4 before taking a (cold) leap into the snows of Bemidji, Minnesota, where she reported for Lakeland Public Television.

Two years later she joined the KPIC team in Roseburg, Oregon and the KVAL newsroom in
Eugene as anchor and multi-media journalist.

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Television Station Control Rooms See Blue During Crowdstrike Outage

Television Station Control Rooms See Blue During Crowdstrike Outage

The KCRA control room in Sacramento on July 18th when a Crowdstrike tech glitch took systems offline, and left monitors frozen in blue

A global technology outage impacted television newsrooms across the NATAS/SF Norcal region, preventing some stations from airing newscasts Thursday night July 18th.

KITV in Hawaii was not able to air newscasts at 9 and 10pm because the outage impacted all video servers, ENPS and other systems around 7pm. A recorded version of their 6pm newscast was aired instead.

In Reno, KOLO-TV had to cancel the 11pm newscast and had to switch over to Gray Programming. Friday morning newscasts aired in their normal time slots.

NBC Bay Area and Telemundo 48 were not able to air newscasts at all Thursday night. However, they hit the ground running Friday morning. 

In Fresno, KMPH was in their 10pm newscast when systems became non-responsive. Most of the newscast aired as normal until about 10:45pm when video services, graphics, and the teleprompter went down. The impact was felt into the next morning until about 8:30am when the morning news began airing with limited computer systems working.

KRCR in Redding posted about the technical difficulties impacting operations. “Our engineers are aware and are actively working to resolve the issue,” the station wrote on their website.

KCRA News Director Derek Schnell wrote on LinkedIn, “Very proud of all the journalists who persevered the last 24 hours to serve our communities despite a major worldwide tech outage.”

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Hawaii News Now News Director Scott Duff Passes Away After Long Cancer Battle

Hawaii News Now News Director Scott Duff Passes Away After Long Cancer Battle

Hawaii News Now News Director Scott Duff, died Wednesday July 17 following a year-long battle with cancer. He was 59.

By Annalisa BurgosHawaii News Now

Hawaii News Now is mourning the loss of News Director Scott Duff, who died early Wednesday following a year-long battle with cancer. He was 59.

Those who knew Duff say he was not just a dedicated journalist, but also a coach who cared about people and the community.

“I will remember him as just such a positive person. He just walked in with such a great spirit — no matter the day, no matter what was going on,” said HNN chief investigative journalist Lynn Kawano, who knew Scott when they both worked as journalists in Kansas City more than 20 years ago.“He was always there to try to rally us and get us to work together.”

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USC Grad Is Newest Multimedia Journalist for Univisión 21 in Fresno

USC Grad Is Newest Multimedia Journalist for Univisión 21 in Fresno

Multimedia journalist in Fresno, California, for Univisión 21

Originally from the Dominican Republic, Nicole Santos is a recent journalism bachelor’s graduate from the University of Southern California.

From 2023-2024, while studying, she interned at Telemundo 52 and NBC 4 in Los Angeles.

She has become the newest multimedia journalist in Fresno, California, for Univisión 21. She officially joined the team on June 10th.  

Focusing on news and community stories, she hopes to be able to inform them and serve them accurately.  

You can follow her on Instagram: nic.kys

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