RANDY DAVIS

      Randy Davis, a news photographer/journalist, grew up in the news business since his father, Steve Davis, was a reporter and anchor in San Francisco for many years. After graduating from California State University, Chico, and attending the Ron Bailey School of Broadcasting, Davis became a freelance film/video photographer in 1979, working at KGO-TV and KTVU. After a brief stint at KICU, he was hired full time at KGO-TV in 1982, where he is still employed.            

      Throughout these years, Davis has worked as a photographer, editor, ENG and satellite truck operator. He is responsible for the day-to-day news gathering, live satellite feeds and editing multiple stories. He has covered a plane crash off the coast of Nova Scotia, Hurricane Katrina, the Loma Prieta Earthquake, Oakland Hills Fire, National Conventions, Olympics, Super Bowls, Oklahoma City Bombing, 911; traveling on assignment to Beijing, Shanghai, Sydney, Mexico and beyond. 

    Davis' work has been recognized with several Emmy® Awards, and he was part of the team receiving a Peabody award for his coverage of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Davis provided video services for Every 15 Minutes, an anti-drunk driving program for teens for the Acalanes School District, Walnut Creek Police and the CHP. In addition to mentoring many young reporters and photographers, Davis has taught a lighting seminar at UC Berkeley, produced graduation videos for schools, and coached multiple little league and soccer teams in Walnut Creek.

ROBERT HANDA

Reporter, KNTV NBC Bay Area 

       Named the "2015 Reporter of the Year" by the Associated Press, Robert Handa, who was previously an award-winning reporter at KTVU's San Jose Bureau, returned to KNTV (now NBC Bay Area) in 2014 where he had started his career more than three decades ago. He is also the host of Asian Pacific America with Robert Handa, a weekly talk show. A South Bay native, Handa attended DeAnza College, winning a journalism contest for an internship at KNTV, which lead to his employment there. Prior to KTVU, Handa worked as a reporter/fill-in anchor at KPIX, was a reporter/documentary producer for KQED and The MacNeil Lehrer News Hour. Handa's memorable reports include flying with the Blue Angels, an ocean rescue with the Air National Guard, the 49ers' Super Bowl victory, and interviewing J immy Carter, Dalai Lama, Hillary Clinton, Henry Kissinger, Mikhail Gorbachav, Buzz Aldrin, Joe Montana, Willie Mays and Bill Walsh. His work has been awarded with several Emmy® statuettes and recognition from RTNDA, UPI, Associated Press, California School Boards Association, Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) as well as the National Association of Black Journalists. In addition, Handa was given the "Community Star" award from Asian Americans for Community Involvement and the first-ever "Media Excellence" award from the South Bay Islamic Association. He served as Vice President for the AAJA Bay Area chapter, was media chair for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation Walkathon, served on the Silicon Valley Volunteer Center, and is an active member of Kimochi, Self Help for the Elderly, Yu Ai Kai Japanese American Community Senior Service, San Jose's Office on Aging, and Family Bridges.

BILL MARTIN 

Chief Meteorologist, KTVU Fox 2 

       As a fifth-generation Northern Californian, Bill Martin's great uncle was the sheriff of Vacaville in the late 1800s. Martin grew up in Paradise (Butte County), graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, with a degree in Physical Geography (emphasis in Climatology). During those years, he spent many hours surfing the California coast from Oregon to Mexico, becoming passionate about forecasting waves and weather. This enthusiasm led him back to college where he spent three years postgraduate at San Francisco State studying Atmospheric Science. 

      After San Francisco State, Martin completed an internship at KRON 4 and then took a job as a Chief Meteorologist at KFTY 50 in Santa Rosa in 1990. Moving on to KPIX 5, he was their morning show meteorologist for two years, leaving in 1995 to join KTVU. At that time, KTVU did not have a weather department, so Martin was given the opportunity of creating and building KTVU's weather brand, working weekends until he became the Chief Meteorologist. In 2014, after over 25 years of forecasting weather in the Bay Area, Martin became one of six meteorologists in the country chosen to go to the White House to interview President Barack Obama on climate change. The American Meteorological Society has awarded him the CBM (Certified Broadcast Meteorologist) which is the highest level of certification available and only given to a handful of meteorologists on the West Coast. He was also recognized with an Emmy® statuette in 2015 for his work as a meteorologist. Martin continues to be fascinated with California history and the stories of the people who live here.

LYANNE MELENDEZ

Reporter, KGO-TV ABC7

       Lyanne Melendez joined KGO-TV in 1994 as a general assignment reporter. She covers the AIDS and education beat in the Bay Area, is guest host of ABC7's  Beyond the Headlines , and is a fill-in news anchor. She began her broadcasting career in 1984 as a production specialist at WTMJ in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She also worked in San Juan, Puerto Rico; as well as CNN-Spanish in New York where she was a senior correspondent and substitute anchor before relocating to KGO-TV. 

     In 1999, Melendez received an Emmy® and RTNDA award for Nicholas' Gift of Life, the story of a Bay Area boy whose organs were donated to seven Italian recipients. In 1992, she received the Latina Media Person of the Year Award from New York University and her local reporting has been recognized by the California Teachers Association. Melendez's charitable contributions include working with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Scholar Match, 826 Valencia (a writing center), the Mission Economic Development Agency, Galeria de la Raza/Studio 24; and Melendez's own organization, "From Closet to Care," which supports unaccompanied minors who come to the Bay Area from Central America. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Alabama and a Master's degree in Mass Communications from the University of Wisconsin. Melendez has traveled to Somalia, Iraq, Central and South America, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait on special assignments.

STEVE SWATT

Political Analyst, Comcast/Time Warner

       Steve Swatt is an award-winning, Sacramento-based author and political analyst, and is in his 46th year covering topics of interest in Northern California. Swatt currently hosts Comcast Newsmakers and Time Warner Cable's Sacramento Report. After reporting stints at the San Francisco Examiner and United Press International (Los Angeles), Swatt began his broadcasting career in 1969 at KCRA in Sacramento, first as a general assignment reporter, covering stories like the Juan Corona trial, Manson family, San Francisco Zodiac killings, and return of POWs from Vietnam. 

      In 1979, he became KCRA's Capitol and political correspondent reporting on every major ballot proposition, issues in the state legislature, as well as state and national elections. This included exclusive interviews with presidential nominees during a twelve year period and every California governor. After leaving KCRA, Swatt worked as a public affairs executive, providing strategic media relations and political counsel, where he continues to provide election analysis for KCRA as well as other media outlets. 

       He has been involved with the California Conservation Corps Board, the Alliance for Better Campaigns and Community Learning Advisory Board. For his contributions, Swatt has been recognized with an Emmy® statuette; and awards from National Health Journalism, State Bar Association, SPJ, Association of American Political Consultants and Sacramento Public Relations Society, amongst others. Swatt is the author of Game Changers: Twelve Elections That Transformed California, a political history of California, recognized by the California Historical Society; as well as Fair, Balanced...and Dead, a political mystery. As an adjunct professor, Swatt has also taught and mentored graduate journalism students at Sacramento State University.

LORI WALDON

News Director, KCRA3/KQCA58 

      Lori Waldon, the news director at KCRA/KQCA, in Sacramento, was promoted by Hearst Television in 2012 to lead a nationally recognized news operation with an outstanding reputation for strong investigative, enterprise and political reporting. Under Waldon's leadership, KCRA has been honored with Emmy® and Edward R. Murrow Awards for Overall News Excellence, Breaking News and Best Newscast. Before joining KCRA/KQCA, 

      Waldon was the news director at WISN 12 News in Milwaukee; where, under her leadership, the station received recognition with a national Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Newscast- Large Market, several regional Murrow awards, along with a Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Political Journalism, 28 first place Associated Press awards; and several awards from the Milwaukee Press Club and Wisconsin Broadcasters Association. During her time in Milwaukee, Lori served for two years as the chairperson of the ABC News Directors Advisory Board. She also received recognition in Black Enterprise Magazine's "People on the Move," and guested on the Dr. Phil show, discussing diversity in newsroom leadership. Waldon joined WISN from the Sacramento duopoly KOVR13/KMAX31, where she served as assistant news director. She previously spent 13 years in news management roles at KPIX5. 

       Prior to KPIX, Waldon worked as a news reporter at stations in Charlotte, North Carolina; Mobile, Alabama and Peoria, Illinois. She graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science, receiving a Master's degree in Journalism from Northwestern University. Waldon is visiting faculty at The Poynter Institute for Journalism Studies, an RTNDA Leadership Coach, and an active member of the National Association of Black Journalists.

       Luisa Conlon from the Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism won the $3,000 Jerry Jensen Memorial Graduate Overall Excellence Scholarship. Boyoung Kim  from De Anza College won the $3,000

       That passion for connecting with children slowly surpassed Tokuda's desire to command the anchor desk. Her most endearing endeavor, "Students Rising Above", is her most important work.  The segment highlights a non-profit organization that helps at-risk students who excel in the classroom despite harrowing personal challenges. The franchise began when Tokuda was at KRON; it moved with her to KPIX. 

      Tokuda says the franchise is being turned over to another trusted Bay Area journalist, Sherry Hu. Hu was, for many years, a reporter and anchor at KPIX. 

      Tokuda is now spending more time with her husband and the five daughters they share while continuing to pursue her continuing passions of storytelling, environmental restoration and finding ways to help at-risk children. She is also quite a green thumb in her sprawling garden.

_______________________________________________

      After graduating from Truman State University, Null got his start in television news working as a reporter at KTVO in Kirksville, Missouri, from 2003 to 2006. He went on to become a morning executive producer at WKBN in Youngstown, Ohio. He relocated to Florida to be a news producer at WFTS in Tampa in 2007 and 2008, before becoming a senior producer at WSVN in Miami in 2009 and 2010. 

      In November 2010, he joined KRON as executive producer of its afternoon and evening newscasts, a position he held until December 2012, when he accepted the producing job with Fox News Channel. He was at Fox for six months until CNN hired him in mid-2013.

By Patty Zubov

Chapter Marketing Chairperson

 

      The best advice you can give anyone not already a member of our NATAS Chapter is to join during the month of September and get four months FREE! Signing up now for membership in the SF / NorCal chapter of NATAS qualifies them for benefits through December of 2017.

      As you know, membership benefits include d iscounts to seminars, workshops, product demonstrations, luncheons, networking events, and other Academy activities. A sample benefit is the chapter's Master Classes series, free to members. Past classes have been on "Voiceovers" with voice master Elaine Clark, "Editing" with KTVU FOX 2 's Steve Shlisky, and "Storytelling" with KGO-TV ABC7 's Wayne Freedman. Many gatherings like these are webcast to make them accessible to all areas of our Chapter. Events with pertinent forward-looking industry topics and personal branding tips are in the works for the near future.

      Emmy ®  Award entry fees and Gala tickets are discounted for members.

      Our Cinema Club offers members special preview screenings of major studio movies and independent films, FREE for you and a guest. 

	NATAS members and their guests were admitted to a special Aug. 20 screening of the star-studded feature film, The Hollars,  directed by John Krasinski , with a cast Q&A following the movie. The film opened Sept. 2.

      A complimentary copy of the "Motion Picture, TV, and Theatre Directory" is mailed to members annually.

      Every month, the Chapter's 1,400-plus members receive the award-winning Off Camera newsletter directly into email inboxes. This publication provides news and information from the San Francisco/Northern California/Reno/ Hawaii/Guam-area television communities, along with Chapter news, events, career profiles and member announcements.

      Professional members work in the television community at broadcast stations, cable and satellite companies, as independent television producers and consultants, in academic settings as editors and communications specialists, as marketing experts, as performers or in creative crafts positions, and -- newly added -- as creators of video content for the web.

      Membership dues vary  by Chapter area, and renewals cost much less than first-time fees. Students in all areas can join for $15. Annual dues covers the period Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, but join after Sept. 1 for full credit through the following year. Pay for two years at a time and save 5 percent, or join for three years and save 10 percent. 

      Share this link with anyone who ay be interested in learning more about the advantages of joining our NATAS Chapter, particularly in September!

http://emmysf.tv/membership-2/

       Sacramento's KTXL, the city's Fox affiliate, is changing its midday lineup offering with the premiere of  Studio 40 , a new midday lifestyle program.

       The 30-minute program airs at noon weekdays and is hosted by  Gary Gelfand and  Lori Wallace .

    Telemundo 48 co-anchors  César Bayona and  Blanca Garza have been tapped to anchor the station's latest offering when it premieres on Monday, Sept. 26.

    Currently, Bayona and Garza co-anchor  Noticiero Telemundo 48 at 5:30 p.m. Additionally, they also shared the anchor desk at 6 and 11 p.m. weeknights. 

    That changed on June 27. That is when Lorena Domínguez  began co-anchoring the 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts with Bayona. Dominguez had previously anchored KSTS' morning newscasts.

By Keith Sanders

Chapter Education Chairperson

       The founder and executive director of Media Enterprise Alliance at KDOL-TV in Oakland has retired. 

      "Jeff could've retired after a long and fulfilling teaching career," said veteran KPIX reporter and MEA ONews Producer  Sherry Hu (SC '11 ).  "Instead, he created our program from scratch and given young people in Oakland a real gift - a way for students to express themselves and learn real life skills for college and work."  

        "I've had the great pleasure to work with Jeff for a few years now," says  Steve Shlisky ( SC'14 ), media communications co-chairperson at Laney College and president of the San Francisco/Northern California Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. "His MEA program is a fabulous example of mentoring, not only to teenagers learning about creating video content but to the bigger ethics of adult responsibility, the importance of deadlines, and disciplining oneself to excel at a craft."

       Key graduated from UC Berkeley with degrees in Communications and Public Policy, Fine Arts, and Education. He received his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1972. From 1974 to 2010, he taught Media and Fine Arts at the Head-Royce School in Oakland, California, where he served as chairman of the Fine Arts Department from 2005-2010. In 2003, Key helped establish the Head-Royce Summer Art and Technology Institute in conjunction with the Heads-Up program, a partnership with the Oakland public schools.  

      Key has also worked with Rebuilding Together Oakland for the past 20 years renovating community centers and homes of low income, elderly people, and for the East Bay Community Foundation on projects serving the arts and community organizations.

        Want to learn more about this popular program? Here are some links for the show: 

        

        Web: 

http://blogs.kqed.org/filmschoolshorts/

        Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/FilmSchoolShorts/

        Twitter: 

https://twitter.com/FilmSchoolShort

        PBS Video: 

http://www.pbs.org/show/film-school-shorts-program/

         The 2015-2016 study, which Nielsen released Sept. 4, puts the total number of TV households at 113,314,430, a loss of -494,480  from last year. Compared to  the 2013-2014 study, the loss is -2,496,400, down -2.2 percent. 

         In the Top 10 markets, only five markets grew their TV households: Dallas (5), San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (6), Washington, D.C. (7), Atlanta (9), and Houston (10). New York (1), Los Angeles (2), Chicago (3), Philadelphia (4), and Boston (8) lost TV homes.

         The only mover in the Top 10: Washington, D.C./Hagerstown, MD is now No. 7 ahead of Boston/Manchester, which drops to No. 8. D.C. added +34,740 TV households while Boston lost -11,750.

        The biggest mover in the Top 20 is Tampa/St. Petersburg, jumping up two spots, from 13 to 11, pushing Phoenix to 12 and Detroit to 13. Cleveland swaps spots with Orlando, with the Ohio city now 18 and the Florida city now 19. Both markets added TV households. Charlotte moves from 24 to 22, which pushed Pittsburgh to 23 and Portland, OR to 24.

 

Do This and You'll Be Happier

 

Working in television likely means you are the king or queen of multitasking. Can you recall the last time you were totally immersed in the moment and not worrying, reminiscing or planning what you're going to do next?

 

If you can possibly find some time to step away from this high-stress industry, take some time to live in the moment. Don't multitask.

 

In today's high tech world where you can follow multiple browser tabs at once while tweeting and listening to your favorite playlist, you've been trained to fragment your brain into various compartments, scatter your attention, and demand instant gratification. Multitasking has become a way of life, addiction and/or survival. But that practice can lead you down a road to unhappiness.

 

 

 

 

Karen's F it Tip:   Living in the moment may be one of the most important lessons we learn from our pets. Pets are great teachers of this concept. Dogs aren't watching the clock or wondering how they look or how their behavior will be perceived by others. They live in the present... and just wag their happy tails. :)

 

Karen Owoc is a Clinical Exercise Physiologist specializing in cardiac rehabilitation at a San Francisco Bay Area hospital and a Health Education Instructor for Kaiser Permanente. She is a former NATAS Governor and produces/hosts healthy living TV segments. Visit her website for more healthy how-to's at http://TheHealthReporter.tv.

OFFICERS

President: Steve Shlisky*, KTVU FOX 2

Vice President- San Francisco: Don Sanchez *, KGO-TV ABC7 (Retired)

Vice President-Sacramento:  Cynthia Zeiden*,  Zeiden  Media   

Vice President- Fresno:  Kim Stephens*,  KMPH Fox 26 

Vice President- Reno: Landon Miller, KTVN 2 

Past President: Keith Sanders , San Jose State University

 

NATIONAL TRUSTEES

Linda Giannecchini*,  KQED 9  (National Awards Chair)

John Odell*,  CCSF Emeritus

Steve Shlisky*,  KTVU Fox 2  

Cynthia Zeiden*, Zeiden Media

Alternate: Kevin Wing*,  ABC-TV Good Morning America

 

GOVERNORS

Kent Beichley, Pac 12 Networks

Wayne Freedman*, KGO-TV, ABC 7

Alison Gibson, Media Cool

Luis Godinez,  KDTV Univision 14

Richard Harmelink,  KFSN ABC30  

Pablo Iacub,  KUVS Univision 19

Brian Johnson,  KFSN ABC30

Sean Karlin, Independent

George Lang* ,  The Big Picture

Melissa Mapes Mainz, Mainz Media

Joyce Mitchell*,  4 U Productions

Michael Moya, fotografx

David Paredes,  KNTV NBC Bay Area

Scott Patterson, San Francisco State University

Pat Patton, KRON 4 (Retired)

Ross Perich,  ProMotion Studios

Manny Ramos*,  Manny Ramos Communications

Erik Rosales,  KMPH FOX 26

Terri Russell, KOLO 8

Don Sanchez*,  KGO-TV ABC7 (Retired) 

Juan Serna, San Jose State University

Matt Skryja, AAA NCNU Insurance Exchange  

Julie Watts, KPIX 5

Melanie Woodrow,  KGO-TV ABC7

Noemi Zeigler Sanchez, Laney College

 

COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Activities/Programs:  Cynthia Zeiden*,  Zeiden Media 

Archives/Museum:  John Catchings*,  Catchings & Associates

                             Linda Giannecchini*,  KQED 9  

Finance:  Alison Gibson,  Media Cool  

Legal/Bylaws:  Mark Pearson,  ARC Law Group 

Membership:  (Vacant)

Marketing:  Patty Zubov,  Platonic TV

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Darryl R. Compton*,  NATAS

* Silver Circle inductee