Summary: The ratings battle in local TV is shifting to mornings and WDAF-TV FOX4 is under attack. KMBC shifted Kris Ketz to mornings and KCTV countered with Dana Wright. 01-16-2008
DANA WRIGHT ENERGIZING KCTV5'S MORNING NEWS
KCTV5 unleashed Dana Wright on its morning viewers Monday as the evening news firebrand has officially shifted to join the fray versus WDAF-FOX4 and KMBC-TV9. Wright officially started Jan. 14 as Carolyn Long moved to the daytime. So far, so good for Wright. "Mornings are going great! It�s only week two�so I�m still pretty tired, but I�m slowly getting used to it," she told us. "I�m going to start volunteering at the kids� school next week so I�m excited about more opportunity for things like that� and really looking forward to playing golf after I get off set in the spring �" Wright, whom one KCTV5 staffer said is "like a balloon with the air being let out," is being brought in to counter-punch rival KMBC, which shifted veteran news anchor Kris Ketz to mornings prior to the November sweeps period. The move worked as KMBC won the time slot. Both stations are declaring war on FOX4, which has dominated the morning period for years. The most recent sweeps ratings showed KMBC the new morning news leader with FOX second and KCTV5 a distant third.
Update 01-02-2008: An alert reader of this site points out that maybe Dana Wright isn't quite as delighted to be doing morning duty at KCTV5 as she says. On the station's Web site she answers a series of questions:
Alarm Clock or Body Clock? Alarm clock - hate mornings.
Early Morning or Late Night? Late night person. Hate mornings.
MARK ALFORD RESPONDS: 12-05-2007 "We welcome the competition. Both Dana and Kris are formidable journalists and entertaining personalities. "Mornings" are where the growth and future is for local TV news. Managers and station owners are starting to recognize that.
"The increased competition for viewers will only make the Kansas City market better for all of us." ----Mark Alford
Dana Wright Responds: 12-06-2007
"Thanks for the mention� a balloon, huh?" Lol.---dw
- Mark is too kind. And I have to admit I like the schedule.
I also have renewed respect for the professionals who have done this schedule for much, much longer than I.
