MEDIA UPDATE: ANCHOR SPECULATION AND LATEST NEWS
(The following two items were updated Wednesday, 11:30 p.m., May 15, 2012)
Supporters of Chris Saldana are organizing a campaign for the openly gay morning anchor at KLAS-TV, Channel 8.
“He has the support of many inside the station for the morning show anchor position and numerous community groups,” one of those supporters told me by email.
They are pushing the CBS affiliate to promote Saldana to Dave McCann’s soon-to-be-vacated morning anchor chair opposite Dayna Roselli.
Vegas Confidential reported on Tuesday that there are rumblings the station may been looking at former Channel 3 news anchors Kendall Tenney and Beth Fisher. (Scroll down to see the original item).
Saldana’s backers have a Facebook campaign going.
LAS VEGAS SANDS PROMOTES DAWN BRITT
Dawn Britt has been promoted to corporate director of communications for Las Vegas Sands. In her new role, she will be responsible for overseeing the social responsibility initiatives for the company.
--NORM CLARKE, Vegas Confidential
There’s buzz in the Las Vegas media market that former Channel 3 news anchors Kendall Tenney and Beth Fisher are being courted by an unidentified local station.
 Dave McCann |
Tenney, now the owner of a local TV public relations firm, left KVBC-TV (now KSNV) after 15 years about 2 years ago after his contract expired.
Fisher, who joined Channel 3 in 1999 as a weekend anchor, left in the fall of 2007 to become a full-time mom.
She told a newsroom gathering at the time: "There are hundreds and thousands of women qualified to do my job here at Channel 3 but only one woman in the world qualified to be the mother of my little girl."
A morning anchor spot is opening this month at KLAS-TV, Channel 8 with the departure of Dave McCann, who is leaving after 19 years. He’s moving to the main anchor chair at Utah powerhouse KSL-TV in Salt Lake City.
SADOWSKY PROMOTED
Amy Sadowsky has been promoted to senior vice president of public relations and celebrity entertainment with Planet Hollywood International.
She’s been the top lieutenant for Robert Earl, chairman and CEO of Planet Hollywood International, for years. Earl recently announced the hiring of Larry Fink as vice president of public relations/celebrity entertainment for Planet Hollywood International Inc. Fink's duties will include Buca di Beppo, Earl of Sandwich, Planet Dallies LA and Mixology 101. He was executive director of public relations at the Palms the past 6 years.
DEPARTURES
Associated Press staffer Oskar Garcia, who covered gaming in Las Vegas since 2008, recently transferred to Hawaii where he will be news editor for Hawaii and the Pacific Rim…
Stacie Schmidt, director of marketing for CBS Radio Las Vegas for the last three years, is returning to Cleveland, Ohio, her hometown area, to take a job with CBS. She will head Integrated sales and serve as marketing director. She previously worked as promotions and marketing manager for Live Nation/House of Blues Mandalay Bay for five years…
Desiree Duncan, longtime reporter for Vegas PBS' “Inside Education” program, is leaving the station and moving out of state.
MONTI ROCK RECUPERATING
Disco icon Monti Rock has been hospitalized in a Las Vegas care center for several weeks.
Friends of Rock said he has been in a rehabilitation center since a health setback. Rock, who turns 70 on May 29, has been an entertainment columnist for Gaming Today in recent years.
MYRAM BORDERS’NEWS BUREAU MEMORIES
Longtime Las Vegas newswoman Myram Borders was traveling and unable to attend the 65th birthday of the Las Vegas News Bureau last week.
But she sent her regards.
During her 25 years as the Las Vegas bureau manager for United Press International, she worked closely with News Bureau photographers whose pictures of celebrities and breaking news events were transmitted worldwide by UPI.
They teamed up for one of the bigger scoops in Las Vegas entertainment history.
It happened May 1, 1967, when, acting on a 1 a.m. anonymous tip, Borders went to the Aladdin hotel. After a sleepless night, she tracked down the news that Elvis and Priscilla Presley were getting married.
They “scooped the world,” she said.
When the Chamber of Commerce turned the News Bureau over to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority in 1992, she became the first bureau chief of the LVCVA News Bureau and served in that post 10 fun years.
“I lift my glass in a birthday toast to all ... with special thanks and recognition to the pioneer photographers who shaped the image of Las Vegas,” she said.
‘WORLD OF LAS VEGAS DINING’ BOOK SIGNING
Food writers Laury Bakie and John Bakie will be signing their book, “The World of Las Vegas Dining,” 3-6 p.m., Saturday, May 26, at the Bellagio, inside the Tutto store. Professional food writers, the Bakies put the book together after 750 dinners.
-- Norm Clarke, Vegas Confidential
