LUNCHEON MENU

Freshly Baked Artisan Rolls and Sweet Butter.

Salad

The Parc 55 Salad

Butter Lettuce, Point Reyes Bleu Cheese,

Dried Cherries, Sliced Granny Smith Apples, Candied Walnuts,

Champagne Vinaigrette

Entr�e

Horseradish Crusted Baked Salmon, Tarragon Buerre Blanc

Chef's Selection of Seasonal Accompaniments

Entr�e Option

Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-Free available upon request

Grilled Mediterranean Vegetable Tower

Served with Polenta Cake & Tomato Coul�s

Dessert

Chocolate Indulgence Cake with Raspberry Coulis

Wine

Compliments of Watts Winery

2010 Watts Cabernet Sauvignon

(Los Robles Vineyard, Clements Hills)

2011 Watts Chardonnay

(Casa Azul Vineyard, Dijon California)

Freshly Brewed Coffee, Decaffeinated Coffee and Tea.

Please submit full names and menu choices for each person attending.

Muir Woods was the perfect place for the board to contemplate the future of our Chapter. Over 20 governors, officers and trustees drove to Mill Valley to attend a retreat in an isolated clubhouse looking down on that regal grove of redwoods.

Newly-elected governors got the chance to meet veteran board members. Committee chairs recruited new members. Marketing Chairperson Patty Zubov began a brainstorming session about marketing and event promotions that yielded many new ideas. San Francisco vice-president and Off Camera editor Kevin Wing spoke about new features in the monthly newsletter. Then, Governor Jim Parker gave everyone the first sneak preview of an innovative WordPress website that's under construction.    

Muir Woods had been hidden in a thick morning mist, but by lunchtime, the mighty redwoods could be seen clearly, along with the Pacific coast. The view was inspiring, and so were the ideas that came from a small-group brainstorming session led by National Program Chair Cynthia Zeiden during lunch (it was she who suggested the wonderful venue for the retreat). The board divided into four groups: membership, benefits, recruitment and retention. Each one wrote down ideas for 30 minutes, then presented their findings to the entire assembly.

          Interim Membership Chair Kym McNicholas set up a zoom.us video link with Emmy� Event Committee Chair Julie Watts, who was at a remote location of a different kind than Muir Woods. Watts explained the amazing 2013 Emmy� Awards and Gala success story, asked for comments, and recruited seven new committee members.

By Kevin Wing

Chapter Vice President, San Francisco

      There is life after television news. At least, that's what Mark Jones says.

      The former longtime reporter for KRON in San Francisco is working his dream job of a lifetime, and he's never been happier.

      At 63, Jones is a busy man. He is the official videographer of the new East Span of the Bay Bridge. When it opened to traffic for the very first time on the evening of Sept. 2, Jones was ecstatic. He was just as excited about the highly-anticipated opening as millions of Bay Area commuters.

      Jones, whose beat at KRON was transportation, worked for the station from 1986 to 2010. During the last several years at KRON, Jones was reporting on the progress of the design, planning and construction of the new East Span, which replaces the original 1936 East Span that was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

      After he departed KRON three years ago, the Bay Area Toll Authority hired him to be its official videographer.

      Including his Bay Bridge stories for KRON and what he has done for the state agency the last three years, Jones estimates he has shot thousands of hours of video of the construction of the new East Span.

      "For a TV guy, this is the most visual story you could ever want," Jones says, with a smile.       "There are guys welding, there's 20-ton things passing by your head, scenic views everywhere you look."

     "I started on the project when I left KRON," Jones says. "The Bay Area Toll Authority was under federal mandate under the Environmental Protection Agreement to do oral histories on the people who built the bridge. Oral histories started during the Civil War. When they found out I was available, they asked me if I could do this project for them."

     Jones was more than ready. After years of reporting on the Bay Bridge and how it was damaged in the 1989 quake, the former television reporter was seasoned and experenced.

     "I covered the Bay Bridge collapse," Jones explains. "I was at KRON that day. The building rolled like a surf wave. I went to the roof, and the quake didn't seem like a big deal at first.          But then, I saw dust coming up from downtown and the East Bay, and only then did I realize it was a big quake."

     Jones says that was a wake-up call for the Bay Area.

     First-hand, he has learned all about the construction of the bridge, literally, from the inside out. And the bridge is designed in a certain way for many reasons, including the topography of San Francisco Bay.

     "When you get to the point where the cable starts, there's a curve, a change in elevation, and there's a curve in the actual dimension to the bridge," Jones explains. "And that's because it twists as it comes around. The inside sections where the cables anchored had to reflect all of that, so it's a maze of sections inside."

    As for the signature self-anchored suspension tower, Jones says it is built in sections.

    "It's like a stool, with legs," he says. "Then, it was assembled one section at a time."

Many have asked how long can the new bridge last, over time. Jones says the life span for the bridge is 150 years, and in earthquake country like the Bay Area, that's not bad.

    "There are elements in this bridge especially in earthquake country that don't exist anywhere else," Jones explains. "There's hinge pipe beams which fit inside where the different sections of the bridge meet, and like roller pads, will allow the bridge to expand and contract in a quake. And you look at the tower and you see the beams at the top? Those are like fuses. So, in a quake, they can pop out."

     Jones assures that the beams will not fall to the ground, but they can actually break and then be replaced.

     "They will relieve the stress if the tower twists, so you can get a crack in it and it won't damage the bridge," Jones says.

     Wonder why the bridge is painted white?

     "They picked white because it's a homage to the Port of Oakland," Jones says. "Because the new bridge is on the Oakland side of the island, the port is all white, so they researched it, went to the port and asked what shade of white is that, and why did you choose that color?"

Bridge officials say having the bridge painted white will make it easier to maintain over time.

     "If there's rust, it's more readily apparent than with a darker color," Jones says. "It is unusual in the United States to see white bridges.

     And what about the bridge's unique lights?

     "These are LED lights made by a company in Nebraska," Jones says. "Made by the same people who design the lights for NASCAR and a lot of football and baseball stadiums around the country. Every bulb is pointed exactly where it needs to be pointed. You will never have lights pointing in your way when you're driving. And they're much more energy efficient."

     It was mostly "politics" that delayed the building of the new East Span, Jones says. "Years of arguing over what the design of it would be. There is no other bridge like it in the world. And it really is unique. It's the tallest self-anchored suspension bridge on earth. There are lots of suspension bridges around the world, but nothing like this."

    Not only has the bridge been eye candy for motorists, it will be, too, for pedestrians and bicyclists, who can travel across the new span from Oakland to Yerba Buena and Treasure islands.

    "If you have a bicycle and you're in the East Bay, there's a path near IKEA in Emeryville, and from that path, you can ride your bike or walk all the way to Yerba Buena Island."

    Since Jones was hired by the toll authority in 2010, he's climbed other bridges spanning San Francisco Bay. He has videotaped retrofit projects on the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge, as well as the Dumbarton and Richmond-San Rafael bridges.

    Jones says the most fun part of his job is to be on top of the cables.

    "The best part of my job is getting to climb the bridge," he says. "If you look at the very top of the tower, I can say I've been up there. I've been up at the top about half a dozen times, I guess. You climb a ladder above your head, then you climb a fence. You're tethered when you go up, because it's a long drop."

    When standing at the top of the tower, Jones "can see the world".

    "You can see all of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, you can see everywhere. It's a spectacular view."

    Jones, who worked in radio in Kansas City for years before becoming a television reporter and anchor in markets like Orlando, Phoenix and Miami, certainly had the proper credentials for this job.

    "How lucky am I?", he asks. "24 years at KRON, and I essentially retire. And then I get to do what I love to do most, which is cover tranpostation, and I work for the agency that is all about transportation."

    Jones says there is definitely life after television news.

    "If I could pass on a message to people in TV, there is life after TV," he says. "And you can still do what you love and do what you're good at. You just need to find your niche. Mine was transportation. I'm still a storyteller."

(Editor's Note: This is the first of a two-part series on KOLO's celebration of its first six decades on the air.)

     September 27, 1953 was the beginning of an new era in northern Nevada.

     Television had arrived as KZTV, Channel 8 signed on the air. Anticipation had been running high for months. TV sets had been selling fast even at what were then high prices.

A typical program day ran from sign on at 4:30 in the afternoon through 11 o'clock and featured programs from all 4 networks, a lineup that varied from Time for Beany to Groucho Marx to Bishop Fulton Sheen and a range of local shows produced in the station's studios with its single camera.

    Two days after its first broadcast, locals gathered around those new sets to watch the first big special event seen on local TV: the 1953 World Series, between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers.

    Three years later, the station's call letters were changed to KOLO. The station and the community was also changing with the times. The station broadcast news and sports from the beginning, but the station and the community were ready to move on from rip-and-read.

    KOLO News never looked back, covering the stories that made northern Nevada history from the big breaking stories: beginning with the Golden Hotel fire in 1962, the prison hostage crisis (for which KOLO's Tad Dunbar helped resolve), the Slide Mountain collapse that roared into Washoe Valley, destroying homes, and the 1997 New Year's Eve flood that left more than $500 million in damage.

    KOLO was on the front lines of the area's biggest wildfires, in 2002 capturing the fatal crash of a tanker plane and winning an Edward R. Murrow Award for its continuing coverage of that tragedy and the aftermath, as well as seven regional Emmy nominations. In 2011, news crews covered the Reno Air Race disaster from its inception to the initial investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. That coverage had crews working around the clock for several days.

    At least once in all of those years, KOLO was more than a witness to a major news story.

    On March 31,1977, KOLO was literally on fire.

    The station burned to the ground, but the following Monday, it was back on the air with a newscast from a temporary location, picking up the pieces in the years following to continue its commitment to the northern Nevada community -- building its legacy one news story at a time.

    KOLO was the pioneer in bringing local television to the market, and 60 years later, it is still paving the way in the new era of digital broadcasting. In 2004, viewers started seeing a brand-new digital signal, and in 2010, they were able to watch their favorite local news in high-definition.

   Today, KOLO 8 News Now brings stories to viewers using technology unique to the market. With the most experienced team in northern Nevada, KOLO takes its audience to the news faster than ever before, on air, online and on the go, but with the same commitment to its community that was forged 60 years ago.

   To celebrate, KOLO has scheduled a birthday party at the station Oct. 11. With an anticipated guest list of more than 300 people, we want to thank those who have helped KOLO through its six decades with an anticipation of many more.

(Ed Pearce is a veteran news reporter at KOLO. He has been a part of the Reno television landscape for decades.)

      I keep a picture of a watering can on my desk.

      It's fairly innocuous, and if you saw it, you might think I have some love of gardening, or that it's perhaps referencing some sweet lesson about growth. You'd almost be right.

      In actuality, that watering can is there because about 5 years ago, when I was a baby producer on the midday news show, there was one day when we were dealing with a particularly tense breaking story. Things went a little awry, as they are want to do, and I let aspects of the show get away from me. This story ends with the sunniest anchor in Fresno telling me after the show, very sweetly, that I needed to find a watering can and grow a pair.

     To be fair, she was right.

     Kim Stephens just celebrated 25 years in this business. Her resume reads, I suspect, like many who hit this milestone. She started at KERO in Bakersfield, ended up at WBIR and WVLT in Knoxville, Tennessee, then moved back to California to work at KNTV in the Bay Area, then to KMPH in Fresno, where I was lucky enough to meet her.

     If you look at the resume a little more closely, you'd realize she's more than just an anchor-- she's the person you bring on when you're starting a new show. She started Live at 5 at WBIR, Volunteer News at 7pm at WVLT, and when our show, Great Day, launched in October of 2003, she was brought in to start things off. Anyone who's worked with her, or even just watches her, understands why she's the one you turn to when you kick off a new show. This is an anchor who has an instant connection with viewers. This is an anchor whose laugh is so infectious, there are YouTube montages dedicated to it. She's the sort of person you trust to tell you the news, but you want to hang out with afterward. Really, she's the sort of anchor you think you know. (I know this to be true, because of the handful of times I've gone to the gym with her to work out. "Tried to work out," would really be more accurate, because every time we'd switch stations, inevitably someone would recognize her and want to chat-- usually about fairly personal things. And of course she would be completely warm and friendly-- that's the kind of person she is.) You feel like you know her, because really, you do.

     However, what you won't find on the resume is my favorite story, which she told me right after I started working at the station with her. It was her first gig, in Bakersfield, and she was going out on her first story. She told me there was this moment where she panicked and thought, "What am I doing here?" She said she was so worried until she realized, "Wait a minute. Those people don't know that I don't know what I'm doing. These people think I'm just a regular reporter." So she squared her shoulders, shook off the fear, marched up and covered the story.

    I think most of us have this moment in this career. We're in a business where we're supposed to know things-- a lot of things. We're supposed to know the minute inner-workings of a story we may have just been briefed on. We're supposed to remember that one name from that one case we covered three years ago. But there's a unique power that comes along with believing that we actually do know it. Or at least believing we know enough to make it work. Or barring that, knowing that no matter what, we have to square our shoulders and cover the story.

    Working with Kim is a lesson in learning a new language. Problems are called "opportunities," for example. Everything is a path to some form of growth, and every day we try to be better. For a solid three years, when I was her midday producer, we would sit down an hour before the show and go over my writing, sentence by sentence. This should have been terrifying, but it was always my very favorite time of day. Learning with Kim is never scary, because everything comes from that same positive place. I wanted to be better and she knew that. So we worked.

Great Friends Kim Stephens with producer,  Ashley Taylor

One year in my birthday card she wrote a long story made entirely of news cliches-- one after the other, everything she had helped banish from my vocabulary. It was hilarious, but it was also a little triumphant-- I didn't write like that anymore, so now we could joke about it.

    In one week, I will move to New York and start working for a major news organization that, let's just say, rhymes with "Fox." Sometimes I wonder if maybe, every now and then, she glances over at me and sees that same little producer who thought she didn't know how to write, when really, she just needed to find her moxie. I know I sometimes still feel like that girl. But then I think of that other girl, who swallowed her fear and marched to her live shot. Because she's right. Sometimes we do just need to grow a pair.

    I'm bringing my watering can with me.

(Ashley Taylor recently wrapped up a six-year stay at KMPH in Fresno, where she worked as an assignment editor, news writer and producer. She begins a new job with Fox News Channel this month. Read more about her latest career move in "TV A Go Go", below.)

        In a broadcasting career that spanned 53 years, Al Sturges practically did it all. Sturges is not only a television pioneer of the San Francisco Bay Area television market, his influence stretched beyond the Bay, to places like Chicago and Los Angeles. 

        His love for broadcasting was so immense that when he retired from television, he plunged into radio, purchasing a station on California's Central Coast, to be followed later by a series of radio stations to which he would serve as general manager.

        Sturges, inducted into the Silver Circle of the San Francisco/Northern California Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 1986, celebrated his 80^th birthday last month. He spent his birthday weekend traveling with his wife of 40 years, Dorothy, from their home in Palm Desert to the Bay Area to visit family.

To learn more about Sturges and how he became interested in a career in broadcasting, we must go back to his early years of growing up in San Francisco.

"I was always intrigued by broadcasting," Sturges says. "I was always listening to the radio when I was growing up. Growing up during World War II, radio was everything. Radio was always a part of my life."

      "I will never forget that Sunday morning, December 7^th, 1941," Sturges recalls. "My mother was listening to the New York Philharmonic broadcast on CBS radio. My father, brother and I were in front of our house, on Juanita Way in San Francisco, tossing the football around. My mother called us in to hear the frightening news."

      Pearl Harbor had been bombed, and with that, the United States entered the war.

Sturges says "radio had the ability to transport you by the turn of a dial, not only across the nation, but to foreign lands and into the fifth dimension."

      While still in high school, Sturges' broadcasting career began.

      "It started one morning in 1948 at Lincoln High School in San Francisco," he says. "My homeroom teacher, Mrs. Blenerhassett, mentioned to me that KGO-AM's sportscaster, Ira Blue, was seeking a young high school student to serve as a production assistant for his nighly ABC Radio Network sports-interview program."

Sturges got the job. It was an opportunity of a lifetime, for Sturges had known about the famous art-deco facility known as Radio City Studios, located at 420 Taylor Street in San Francisco. "It was a chance to work there," he says.

     That same year, television was about to make its debut in the Bay Area. KPIX Channel 5 was the first station to sign on, in December of 1948.

     Sturges was fascinated with television as much as he was with radio, and he landed a part-time job as a film editor and floor manager at KPIX.

     "I was one of the station's first part-time employees," he says. "One of my jobs was to take all the kinescope recordings, walk across the street to the Mark Hopkins Hotel, where our transmitter and telecine were located. In those days, the station was located on Bush Street adjacent to the hotel. I would bring the recordings to telecine where they would be put on the air."

     While at KPIX, Sturges also worked on the station's newscast, anchored by William Winter. He also worked on The Del Courtney Show, The Faye Stewart Show, The Edna Fischer Show and Family Vespers.

     Sturges also worked on a weekly children's show, Pow Wow Indians.

Keep in mind that Sturges was still in high school when his career began.

But, high school football came calling, and Sturges temporarily gave up his television career briefly to take on the challenges of the Lincoln High School gridiron, where he played guard.

     As high school graduation was approaching, Sturges' teacher, Mrs. Blenerhassett, suggested that he enroll in the broadcast communications program at San Francisco State College. So he did.

     In 1950, Sturges was hired at KQW-AM (now KCBS-AM) as an usher for The Red Blanchard Show. The program was one of the last comedy-variety radio programs with a live 10-piece studio orchestra.

     "The station's studios, in those days, were located in the famed Palace Hotel, and it was a wild scene when Red's audience stampeded through the Palace's sedate lobby," Sturges recalls.

     That same year, Sturges was hired as a part-time film editor at KGO-TV. The following year, he was back at KPIX, producing and directing dramatic vignettes for the Family Vespers program.

     Many jobs, and a lot to juggle for a college student. Sturges was still attending classes at San Francisco State while he worked. In 1952, KGO-AM hired him to be a writer and producer of Cooking with Music, which was also aired by the ABC Radio Network.

     In 1954, Sturges graduated from San Francisco State with a bachelor of arts degree and a lot of broadcasting experience under his belt. And, he was just 21 years old.

That same year, he was back at KGO-TV, where he would begin a seven-year stint there as a production assistant, stage manager and assistant director. Sturges worked on numerous programs there, including The Jack LaLanne Show, San Francisco Tonight with Don Sherwood, Bing Crosby Golf Tournament from Pebble Beach, Queen for a Day, William Winter News and Comment and Billy Graham's San Francisco Crusade.

     While working at KGO-TV, Sturges, who, by then, had earned a reputation for having quite the drive to want to work as much as he could, took on freelance positions: in 1955, he worked for KQED-TV as director of Speeding Your Reading; and, in 1960, he directed San Francisco Giants baseball telecasts.

     But it was around 1961 that Sturges had read an article in Broadcasting magazine that a new television station was about to go on the air in Portland, Oregon.

     "Here was my opportunity," Sturges says. "I had always been put off by applicants for creative positions who submitted a standard resume for a job. So, I decided to submit my resume - in fortune cookies. I typed up all the highlights in my 'show business career' and set off to find a fortune cookie bakery in Chinatown."

     Soon, Sturges sent off his "resume". Bill Hubbach, the newly-appointed general manager at KATU in Portland, responded to Sturges' unique resume with the following Western Union telegram: "Have made reservations for you at the Multnomah Hotel. Send more fortune cookies."

     "My interview at KATU exceeded my expectations, and I left the interview not being offered a position as a television director, but as the program manager of the new station," Sturges explains.

     At that time, Sturges, all of 28 years old, was one of the youngest program managers in a major market.

     Sturges' programming highlights at KATU during his tenure there included the station's inaugural broadcast featuring actress and Portland native, Jane Powell; 1964 election night coverage with Oregon Gov. Mark Hatfield as KATU's political commentator; and coverage of numerous sporting events, including Oregon State University football games and Portland Beaver baseball games.

     Hatfield's exclusive commentaries on KATU, unheard of at that time, made headlines in The Oregonian and in Newsweek. But, the exclusive affiliation with KATU scooped the station's competition.

     In 1964, Sturges was facing turmoil; his mother was dying of cancer in San Francisco, and he was making frequent trips to the family home from Portland to be with his mother and father during this difficult time. At the time, KATU was also riding a wave of success, and the rest of the country was watching. Sturges was fielding numerous job offers elsewhere, including one from KTVU, in Oakland. He was also being wooed by Elton Rule, the general manager of KABC-TV in Los Angeles, who was offering him the position of assistant program manager there.

     But, Sturges chose to be closer to home and accepted an offer to be KTVU's new program manager, beginning in 1965. It was short-lived.

     "I knew that Bill Pabst, former co-owner and general manager (of KTVU), had held it against me that KATU had hired (news anchor) Les Nichols away from KTVU. But, I knew Les Nichols wanted to leave the Bay Area and had approached KATU about a position in its news department," Sturges explains. "

     At that time, KTVU's new general manager, Frank King, assured Sturges that Pabst was out of the picture, retired, and living in Hawaii.

     "Much to Frank King's and my surprise, Pabst returned from Hawaii and was back at KTVU, and my days were numbered," Sturges says.

Sturges left KTVU in 1966.

     Unfortunately, the KABC-TV position was already filled, but Rule helped Sturges land a job as an account executive at ABC Films in Hollywood.

     "My position at ABC Films gave me a new perspective on the television industry from the other side of the desk," Sturges explains. "At ABC Films, I gained insights into the production and distribution side of the television industry."

     Sturges was only with ABC Films for a year, but says during that time, he met "many wonderful station owners and program managers."

     He enjoyed working for ABC Films, but Sturges grew tired of being away from home.

"My territory consisted of the 13 western states, and I was in the air Monday through Friday," he explains. "An awful life for a family man."

     In 1967, Sturges went to work for Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation, based in Oakland. The company was launching television stations across the country, including a new station in the Bay Area, KBHK-TV. But, the company needed Sturges' talents in Cleveland first, where WKBS-TV was going to sign on. Sturges secured the station's license, designed the studios and acquired the programming.

     By 1968, Sturges had returned to the Bay Area to become program manager at KBHK-TV. And, for Sturges, it was bittersweet to work at the station, because it was to be located at 420 Taylor Street in San Francisco, the same Radio City Studios where Sturges began his broadcasting career 20 years before.

     The Kaiser station saw tremendous growth in the five years Sturges was there as program manager.

     One of the stalwarts of the KBHK-TV schedule was The Joe Dolan Show, along with Point of View, hosted by Jerri Lange. Terry Lowry also served as substitute host.

In 1969, KBHK-TV got a big break when KRON, wanting to expand its early evening news programming, made plans to sell off some of its programming inventory, which included reruns of The Flintstones - a big hit since its network debut on ABC in 1960.

Sturges made it known that he wanted Fred, Wilma, Barney and Betty on the Channel 44 schedule.

     "The Flintstones became a cornerstone of KBHK-TV's late afternoon programming," Sturges says.

     In 1972, Sturges purchased reruns of Hogan's Heroes, which had ended its popular CBS run the year before.

     "I scheduled two half-hour episodes back to back in the early evening." Sturges says. He also persuaded actor Werner Klemperer - Hogan's Col. Klink - to record stay-tuned announcements that would run in between the episodes.

     The programming was a ratings smash for KBHK-TV. Later, Sturges added sports programming to the schedule, including live broadcasts of Golden State Warriors basketball games and Oakland A's baseball games.

     Sturges' successes with KBHK-TV were certainly recognized, enough that Kaiser Broadcasting wanted him to run a station in Chicago that it was about to acquire.

     They wanted him to be station manager of WFLD-TV. The year was 1973.

     "As station manager, I would be responsible for all aspects of the station's operation except for sales and engineering," Sturges says. "I was thrilled."

Sturges remained with WFLD-TV and Kaiser until 1977.

     In 1977, Sturges switched gears, returning to his radio roots. He returned to California, and purchased KQSB-AM in Santa Maria. He had grown tired of corporate politics in Chicago, and it was time for a change. Time for Sturges to be his own boss.

Not only did he own the station, he was its general manager.

     In 1984, Sturges became general manager of KTOB-AM, in Petaluma/Santa Rosa, closer to his Bay Area roots.

     In 1985, he would make a decision to return to the Central Coast, serving as general manager or station manager for a series of AM and FM stations in Santa Barbara. In 1998. he joined Clear Channel Communications, becoming local sales manager for seven Santa Barbara radio stations.

     During his three years with Clear Channel, Sturges also served as an adjunct professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, the University of LaVerne in Oxnard, and Allan Hancock College at the U.S. Penitentiary at Lompoc.

     During his 53 years in broadcasting, Sturges' career took him from San Francisco to Portland, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Cleveland, back to the Bay Area, Chicago and Santa Barbara.

     Throughout his career, Sturges made a point to be involved in the communities he served.

     Looking back, he says his years in Portland were the most memorable for him.

     These days, Sturges and his wife live in Palm Desert, and visit the Bay Area regularly to see their four grandchildren. 

Where did you grow up?

Medford, Wisconsin.

Do you have siblings? If so, are you the oldest? Youngest? Middle?

 I am the middle child. I have an older sister and a younger brother.

When did you first realize, and at what age, that you wanted to work in

television news?

I fell in love with journalism in high school, after writing an editorial on why I didn't think physical education should count in your GPA. I saw the waves it created and realized the power of the pen. The TV stuff came in college - when I saw a sign for anchor tryouts for the college TV station.

Who has inspired you in your career? As a person?

My mom has inspired me in both - always supporting and believing in me no matter what the dream.

Before KPIX, where did you work before?

I started in TV at a cable station outside of Atlanta, then WQOW in Eau Claire, WI, KION/KCBA in Salinas, KGO-TV in San Francisco, and KXTV in Sacramento.

As a journalist, every day at work is different from the one before it. Can you describe a "day in the life of Anne Makovec"?

The alarm goes off in the wee morning hours (and then it goes off again after at least one tap of the snooze button!) Up and at 'em! The first part of the AM shift is almost always devoted to live shots covering overnight or breaking news for the 4:30 AM - 7 AM broadcast. I can end up anywhere in the Bay Area on a moment's notice. After the KPIX Morning News, we take a quick break and then get moving to turn a package for the noon broadcast. After work, I work out, take walks, or meet up with friends. Then it's off to bed, often in the early evening hours.

What are your favorite types of stories to report on? Your least favorite?

I enjoy reporting on local political issues of substance, stories that are serious and consequential without being downright depressing (most of the time). My least favorite stories are those that involve unexpected misfortune, like car crashes or random shootings. It's so scary to think such unforeseen circumstances could befall any one of us at anytime.

What's your favorite ice cream flavor?

Strawberry Cheesecake

Have a guilty pleasure?

Judge Judy

What do you enjoy most about your work?

The immediacy of television news, the ever-changing landscape of assignments, and the ability to provide a balanced and informed report which illuminates and explains important issues or events.

Do you have any mentors, and if so, who? Who do you look up to?

I have been so very fortunate to work with smart and able broadcast journalists throughout my career, from the time I was an intern at the CBS Network News in New York, to this very day. It would be hard to single out any one individual, as so many have contributed to my growth as a reporter and anchor. Just being a member of the Bay Area press forces me to keep challenging myself and striving to improve. My colleagues in this market, rival and otherwise, bring their A-game every day. I'm proud to be a part of the mix, and inspired to keep learning and improving.

What do you do to relax? What hobbies and/or activities are you involved with?

Walking around the city, baking, and spending quality time with my friends and family. In the past couple of years, I've been fortunate to volunteer with the Boys & Girls Club of Oakland, and on a few occasions, Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco.

What do you like most about working at KPIX?

My co-workers - I get along with everyone. I also get the chance to do a wide variety of work - from breaking news to pet segments.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I love working and living in the Bay Area. There's no other place I'd rather be than right here.

Who is your favorite television journalist? Is there anyone in the business who you emulate?

I wouldn't say I emulate her, but I respect Barbara Walters. Even though she can be quirky, she's trusted and beloved. I've got a little thing for Diane Sawyer as well.

Who is your favorite author?

F. Scott Fitzgerald

San Francisco Chronicle, or USA Today?

Both

Personality-wise, are you more of a goof than you are serious?!

I'm both - depending on the time of day, the duties in front of me, and the company I'm in. I tend to be pretty business-like at work, but there are plenty of people out there who could attest to my lighter and fun-loving side.

If you could do it all over again, is there anything you would change about your life?

Not a thing.

Any words of wisdom for the next generation of broadcast journalists?

Learn a little something about everything. Inquisitiveness and curiosity are valuable attributes. Don't be intimidated. Don't be afraid to ask hard questions. That's your job, after all.

Giants, or A's?

Giants

Favorite vacation destination?

Somewhere with a good swimming beach - Hawaii is always good.

During your career, has there been a story that you've "owned" that, up to now, has defined who you are as a journalist?

I did a lot of work on the Jaycee Dugard/Phillip Garrido case when I worked in Sacramento. It was a compelling, fascinating, and heartbreaking story all wrapped up in a complicated mess. It didn't alone define me as a journalist, though. I don't think any designation of whom one is professionally can be ascertained by a single story, unless of course, you happen to be Bob Woodward or Carl Bernstein.

What's the most favorite thing about your job? Least favorite thing, if anything?

I love being able to experience so many things in the field - good and bad, funny and dramatic - and never knowing what's next. The least favorite thing has got to be the early AM hours.

Favorite music? What's in your iPod (if you have one) or collection of CDs? Favorite TV show (besides KPIX 5 News)? Favorite movie?

I have very eclectic music taste - much of it from the 60's and the 80's. On TV, I love news magazines, like 20/20, Dateline, and 48 Hours. Favorite Movie? Anything Disney.

Wine tasting, or a cold bottle of beer?

Wine tasting

What's the craziest thing you've ever done?

Jumped in the ocean with my clothes on, more than once. I'm a sucker for warm water and a tropical breeze. I know it's not that crazy, but it's the best I've got.

From a journalistic standpoint, how would you prefer viewers to see you?

Capable, approachable, compassionate, and real.

Favorite spot in the Bay Area?

Downtown San Francisco

What do you like about social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus? Does it help bring in new viewers?

I enjoy the real-time nature of communicating with viewers, whether it's getting tips and feedback, or posting new information for a story. Social media clearly is a permanent weave in the fabric of our profession. But I know television executives here and across the country are continually struggling with how to best utilize the different avenues & platforms as they relate to viewership. I don't know how many new viewers social media actually brings in, but it certainly doesn't hurt.

By Stephanie Stone

Chapter Governor

       I've never been one for scary movies or ghost stories. I consider myself a factual news person. I depend on information and I prefer it come from three different sources. 

       For this story, I can drum up more than three newsroom sources at KFSN ABC30, all of whom will relay similarly bizarre "TelePrompTer tales".

       These are the stories of ghosts. Maybe a computer virus. Regardless of what it is, this ghost has some supreme talents. Even the most solid of anchors can't beat this dilemma- that is, when the ghost decides to take over.

       But let me start from the beginning. It was a typical weekend morning. We had a lot of good content for a Sunday morning, and our newscast was going smoothly. We were in the "A" block, and I was reading an extremely sad story about two elderly people who died in a tragic house fire. The next story was supposed to be local, similarly sad in nature. The prompter crawled forward and I heard myself reading an introduction about a YouTube sensation. A "D" block story, about a drum playing prodigy of a Grandmother whose story had gone viral. It was certainly odd placement -- but, wanting a clean on-air product, I kept on going. There was no

No laughing matter  Is this TelePrompTer at KFSN-TV haunted? Anchors and producers there think so.

video, no sound, no break for me to discuss this odd occurrence with the producer and director. Suspecting something strange, we decided to cut to break.

      Immediately I asked the producer "what was that about?" He replied, "I honestly have no idea". 

      We thought it was a fluke, and decided to move on.

      Then it happened again. It was a similar situation with odd story placement, no video and no sound.           The story was, once again, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Problem is, no one could figure out how it happened or why.             When stories get jumped like that, it's impossible for master control to keep up, and it's similarly impossible for the producer to figure out where to go next.

      Armed with our mass confusion, we decided- when in doubt, restart. The reload gave us a Rubik's cube of squares, in black, white and gray and sprawled across the screen. I stared at it in disbelief, as clearly there was no way to read the technological graphics. Luckily, I had my iPad. Or so I thought. Problem is,  the iPad syncs with ENPS, which syncs with the prompter. When in doubt -- trust your director and producer, who then told me which stories to read and which ones to load on my iPad. It wasn't pretty, but we got through it, however painfully.

      Once off the set, we stared at each other in wonderment. And then we laughed. What else can you do? It doesn't seem possible that a mysterious ghost could take over and start switching stories around. But no one else has any sort of conclusion. I can only hope I didn't make the ghost angry. I really don't want it to come back. Maybe it's the persona of someone who quit, or left the business, or really hated being a prompter operator. However it's happening, we're begging this mysterious entity to move on. Find another station to haunt, or maybe leave said tricks for Halloween, when we're not on the air.

By Kevin Eck

TV Spy

      Walt Gray, who spent 25 years at KCRA in Sacramento as a sports anchor and, later, as a

Walt Gray Returning to Sacramento TV

news anchor, is returning to Sacramento television after a brief stint as a radio show host.

      Gray announced last month that he is joining CBS affiliate KXTV as weekend morning anchor.

      His first day on the air will be Sept. 7.

      Gray left KCRA, the NBC affiliate there, in 2012 to host his own radio show on 96.9 The Eagle. He was among several employees laid off in July.

      Gray announced the news of his return to Sacramento television on KXTV's Sunday morning newscast, to which he was promoting his charity motorcycle ride. 

      "Walt is one of Sacramento's best known and most respected news anchors," says KXTV news director Jerome Parra. "He's done it all. He is a trusted voice and an accomplished storyteller."

      Gray's wife, Monica Woods, is KXTV's chief meteorologist. Woods has worked at the station since 2001. 

By David Waxman

Chapter Governor

     I'm the senior television producer at KRCB North Bay Public Media, based in the heart of Sonoma County Wine Country, 50 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge. It's a small-town PBS station in a big market.

     Unlike most commercial stations, where most local production is all about local news, my job is mostly about producing local fundraising.

     Yet over the last decade or so, many of the smaller PBS stations in the country have moved away from live, local on-air fundraising (the classic "pledge drive") in favor of pre-recorded fundraising efforts that are produced by larger stations in other markets.

     That's why if you travel to Chicago or Omaha or even Los Angeles, you'll still tune into the local PBS station and find a familiar face, like KQED's home-grown talent, Greg Sherwood, urging you to support "this" public television station. Pay attention... nowadays, it's always, "this" station, "this" community, never calling it out by name!

     Of course, this makes financial sense in most cases. Why power up the studio for 4 hours a night, 14 nights in a row, just to reinvent the wheel? But at KRCB (like many other PBS stations), we still strive to produce live programming from our small Rohnert Park studio whenever possible. It may not make us more money, but we feel that there's intangible value added.

     One of our biggest fundraising efforts of the year is "The Bay Area Wine & Epicurean Auction," which is coming up next month, and it's an example of fundraising that only works so well because it done live. It's old-school, "retro," TV, the way it used to be.

     We're on the air for 5 hours a night over 6 nights (two weekends). There's our 800-number on the screen. It's fast-paced. It's local. We even have white marker boards for people in the studio to write in the current bid! 

     Everything about our fundraisers is driven by the generosity of our supporters. The items are donated by generous wineries, restaurants, inns, and other Wine Country attractions and events. The on-camera talent are all volunteers-sometimes it shows, but we work hard to promote a professional, organized live broadcast event.

     As the only paid production staff member responsible for the on-air look and feel of the auction, I start preparing as early as 6 months before our first live night. That's because once Master Control tosses to the studio, my real work is done. Unless I am needed to fill in on a position, all of my preparations are now in the hands of my production volunteers!

    Yes, volunteers run the cameras! They run the playback server, the switcher, the audio console, the CG. They even Direct in the control room and manage the floor.

    I call them the "KRCB Production Crew Corps," and they make everything possible.

    Our most successful volunteers include both high school students and retired folks; professionals as well as hobbyists. Volunteers appreciate the hands-on training, the excitement of live production, the sense of community among our volunteers, and the value of contributing time to a locally-operated non-profit broadcast media organization.

    While I've worked at KRCB since 2006, some of my volunteers have decades of experience on me. Paul Franceschini, an engineer at Agilent Technologies by day, has been a production volunteer since 1986.

    "Every time I come to KRCB," says Franceschini, a Petaluma resident, "I meet someone new; someone that has a different background and experience. That diversity is a big part of what makes it fun."

    Sutter Laird, a 15-year-old Cotati boy, has "only" been volunteering for 2 years. "It's been great getting all this hands-on experience," he says. He is now my intern, and I am thrilled that he is considering a career in broadcasting.

    We're always training new volunteers, but twice a year we host a New Crew Orientation Event. Our next event is scheduled for Saturday, September 21, at our Rohnert Park studios. It starts at 1 p.m. and it's a perfect opportunity for new volunteers to join with our existing Production Crew Corps.

    There are even ways for professionals like you to get involved. Last spring, we hosted a New Directors' Workshop and we brought in a YouTube video of professional TV Directors in action. That worked, but nothing would be better than having more professionals work side-by-side with our volunteers, helping them to develop their skills and their confidence. KRCB is a nonprofit corporation and your in-kind donation of professional experience will be duly documented.

    I am very proud of our all-volunteer crew. They make mistakes, but I challenge anyone to find me an example of truly flawless live television. Most importantly, they make our local fundraising efforts possible, and on behalf of the staff and viewers of KRCB-TV 22, I thank them every day.

The Bay Area Wine & Epicurean Auction, scheduled for October 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, and 20. We're live from 6:30pm until 11pm; free dinner is served to our volunteers each evening starting at 5:30pm, with snacks and dessert provided for the rest of the night. Food is graciously provided by generous donors who appreciate your contribution to public media in the North Bay.

Learn more by contacting KRCB Senior Producer David Waxman at [email protected]

       A new Pew Study shows a majority of people think TV journalists are more important today than in the past because they "help make sense of all the info that is available."

       However, industry experts are not certain how this relates to the last study, which showed fewer Americans thought journalists made a positive contribution to society.

But back to the study at hand. 

       This most recent study showed attitudes about journalists ability to sort through information remained on the positive side of the spectrum regardless of age and political affiliation. 

       Of those polled, the people between the ages of 18 and 49 had the highest percentage of those who thought journalists were "more important" (55%). The lowest came from those 65 and older (52%).

       The split between the political parties also weighted the survey. 51% of Republicans felt journalists were more important while Democrats came in at 60%.

       Another positive for journalists? There's an increasing appreciation for the media's role as political watchdog. 68% of those polled thought the press, "keep leaders from doing things that shouldn't be done." That number is up from 58% in 2011.