UPDATE 03-17-2010 JIM FLINK LEAVING KMBC FOR 'NEWSY' Jim Flink, who joined KMBC-TV9 in 1995 and has served as the station's morning and weekend anchor, will be leaving the ABC affiliate after 15 years to join Newsy.com. Co-anchor Lara Moritz broke down in tears saying goodbye to him as he concluded his Sunday anchor duties (3/14). Moritz and Flink started within a month of each other at KMBC and anchored "First News" together. In reality, Flink, 48, will be on the air part-time (Fridays & Saturday nights) until April 10th when he leaves to assume a new position with Newsy.com based in Columbia, MO. (We were originally told that his contract was not renewed, however, Flink told Bottom Line it was renewed, but he chose not sign it.) Flink said he and his wife have two young sons (8 and 5) and working nights, weekends and holidays started to take its toll on the entire family. The Newsy.com opportunity opened and his family "made a collective decision" for him to take it. He will assume the position of Vice President of News Operations at Newsy. According to its site, Newsy.com is a "multi-source online video news site that monitors, analyzes and presents the world's news coverage." One of Flink's more memorable stories with KMBC involved a man dying of cancer because his treatment was not covered by health insurance. The piece was featured in filmmaker Michael Moore's controversial documentary "Sicko." The man died within hours of Flink's dramatic interview. During his career Flink has been featured on "Larry King Live," "The Oprah Winfrey Show," CNN, BBC, NBC-Mutual Radio and the Korean Broadcasting System. He has been awarded a regional Emmy and anchored the newscast that won both the national Edward R. Murrow Award and the top national honor from Sigma Delta Chi. A graduate of Westminster College, he received his M.A. in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He resides in Parkville with his wife, Jamie, and their children. He has served as an adjunct professor at Avila and Park Universities. Sherrie Brown, KMBC news director, notified the staff February 23 of his departure (below).
02-23-2010
TO: KMBC STAFF: Jim Flink has announced that he is leaving KMBC. Jim’s last day fulltime is March 14th. He will stay on to anchor Friday and Saturday evenings through April 10th. Jim has allowed us some flexibility understanding that people have vacation time and I would like some time to conduct a search for his replacement which is now underway.
In my two years here at KMBC Jim has been very understanding about my vision for the newsroom and the news product. Jim gets it and he has a history of being a strong, passionate, versatile player on the KMBC team. We will miss him very much. Here’s a note from Jim.
“Being a part of the number one news team, not just in Kansas City, but working at the most-watched ABC affiliate in the nation has been such a privilege. It has allowed me to be featured on Oprah and Larry King, to be part of documentaries ranging like “Sicko,” and to cover major sporting events like KU’s National Championship win and Mizzou’s Cotton Bowl victory. Don’t let anyone ever kid you. Working for a winning news station is so much easier than working for the other guys. And KMBC wins, because it does things right.”
“Sometimes in life, you have to make a choice between two good things. My family has been patient as I pursued my life’s passion – community journalism. But now, I want to put their lives as my priority, and pursue a career that is more conducive to allowing me to do just that.”
Jim is joining “Newsey” as VP of News Operations in Columbia, MO.
Congratulations Jim and good luck.
Sherrie
Copyright 2010 Bottom Line Communications. BLC is a Media News Web site that analyzes media and marketing issues. Please give credit or link to http://www.bottomlinecom.com when using any materials. Click on the FEEDBACK tab to send any media tips/comments/thoughts to us. We honor all off-the-record requests and will correct/clarify any information found not to be 100% accurate.
