APTRA's 2009 Candidates
ELECTION FOR APTRA PRESIDENT
CAMPAIGN STATEMENTS
ROSS BECKER, KTVX ABC 4, SALT LAKE CITY
When I was starting out in this profession I had several people who taught me that the best way to get the most out of it, is to give back. APTRA has been one of the ways I have been giving back for the past 7 years. I have served on the Board of Directors and during that time I led the way to establish the APTRA Las Vegas Prep/Tape Critique event. That gathering is now one of the most successful APTRA programs. I have also participated as a mentor at the Malibu “Boot Camp.`` My leadership has included the presidency of the Radio-TV News Association of Southern California for two terms.
As APTRA president I will lead this growing organization into the next decade. We have just expanded and with that expansion comes a huge challenge. This organization is supposed to be a link between the AP and its professional members. That is part of the mission that has been neglected. As APTRA president, I will continue to grow the current programs for young journalists and the awards programs to reward current working professionals. However, I will also grow the mission by promoting the
efforts of reporters, producers, photographers and editors in all members’ stations to encourage the sharing of more stories and content so the AP can continue as the most important news gathering organization in the world.
GAYLEN YOUNG, KUZZ-AM, BAKERSFIELD
My name is Gaylen Young. I’ve been in radio and television news for 35 years, working in TV and Radio in Salt Lake City, then at the network level with CNN and SNC in Los Angeles. I also worked at KTTV-TV; KHJ-TV; KTLA-TV also in Los Angeles; and eventually spent the past 25 years in Bakersfield, CA at KGET-TV; KBAK-TV; and KERN-AM and KUZZ-AM.
I have been a News Director and I served four years as an APTRA Board member. And even though my board term expired, I have continued to serve as Chairman of the By-Laws Revision Committee, revising APTRA’s By-Laws for the 21st Century. This has been especially important as APTRA has grown from just two states to representing journalists now in twelve states.
Unfortunately, many journalists today have found their jobs in jeopardy if not eliminated as television and radio stations are condensing and eliminating jobs, just to survive. APTRA must play a key role in helping train and prepare young journalists for the newsrooms of the future to ensure trustworthiness, fairness and quality are traits that will dominate.
As your APTRA President I would continue the niche APTRA has developed over the years in providing such leadership and training. I’m hoping to have APTRA help broaden the skills that journalists of the 21st Century are going to need to get and keep their jobs as stations evolve. This is not “my” APTRA, but “our” APTRA. I would appreciate your support as we move the organization forward. Thanks.
ELECTION FOR APTRA VICE PRESIDENT
CAMPAIGN STATEMENTS
CALVERT COLLINS, KLAS-TV, LAS VEGAS
I am interested in becoming an APTRA officer because I think the organization is extremely valuable to media outlets on the West Coast. APTRA now has 12 member states, so now it’s more important to reach out to some of those smaller states who haven’t had representation before. As a younger journalist, I can also help provide ways to increase APTRA’s presence online with journalism students and professionals. It’s key that APTRA adjust to the shift in media just like television and radio stations are.
I am also a new APTRA board member, but I have sat on a number of boards before including the United Way and other volunteer and arts organizations, so I understand Roberts Rules and parliamentary processes. I feel that being new to the board is an asset because I haven’t known previous officers’ visions, and have new ideas for how to improve and advance APTRA.
Having worked as a Photojournalist, Editor, Assignment Editor and Assistant News Director I would love to see more focus on the valuable jobs behind the camera. I would like to see training and education that gets people excited about working in news and educates them on the many jobs and skills that it takes to make a newscast happen. I hope that APTRA can be a tool to unite the next generation of journalists.
ELECTION FOR APTRA BOARD
CAMPAIGN STATEMENTS
ARIZONA TV: MICHELLE GERMANO, KOLD-TV, TUCSON
I would like to continue in the second year as a Board Member for APTRA. In my first year on the board I was just getting started. I was able to participate in the Las Vegas workshop and many board conference calls. In this next year, I look forward to sharing my tenure in the industry with the group as well as helping out in workshops and events.
I am qualified to serve on the board. I have been in the broadcast industry for more than 15 years and served as News Director for the past seven. I am on the Arizona First Amendment Coalition Board, a member of RTNDA, and a Board Member of the Junior League of Tucson.
COLORADO TV: BRUCE KIRK, KKTV, CBS 11, COLORADO SPRINGS
I bring more than three decades of broadcasting experience in both radio and television. My career includes work as a reporter, producer, assignments manager, managing editor, anchor, executive producer and, for the past ten years, news director. I have worked in Ohio, Michigan, Arizona, California, Virginia, Florida and now Colorado. In addition to winning numerous AP awards during my career, I have also won five Emmy’s and my news teams have won two Edward R. Murrow awards.
I have served two terms as President of the Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association and also on the national board for the RTNDA (Radio and Television News Directors Association).
During my tenure on the RTNDA board, I was chairman of the FOIA committee and I take freedom of the press very seriously. I have also served two terms as President of the Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association. I also believe strongly in the work of the AP and would cherish the opportunity to work on behalf of APTRA.
IDAHO TV: ROBBY MESSER, KIVI-TV, BOISE
I started my career as a producer in Phoenix, and Salt Lake City before moving into management as an Assistant News Director and now as a News Director. I am a four-time Emmy nominee (one win) as well as a Murrow Award winner. I am running for the board because I believe all journalists can learn from each other and contribute helpful experiences to our ever-changing business. Each of us has experiences that can help one another find better ways to give viewers what they want: compelling, informative, visual and ethical storytelling. I believe the experiences from my fellow journalists running for the board will give me additional tools to pass along to my staff as we search to find new ways of making news more accessible in a time when people fewer people are using a television to get their information.
NEVADA RADIO: JOHN SHAFFER, KDWN, LAS VEGAS
The broadcast industry is facing tough times. We all are doing more with less. That is why I am ready to step up to the plate and do more for the industry we all love. I want to help shape the future of news here in the west. Bring in my ideas and listen to those of others as we all work toward the same goal, making APTRA the best it can be for its member stations all across the west.
As I mentioned in the opening, we are all doing more with less. I am currently the Program Director, News Director, and morning anchor at News Talk 720 KDWN in Las Vegas. Wearing three hats, I’ve learned to organize and prioritize to get the task at hand completed. Like everyone in management, I’ve had to make some tough decisions regarding programming and staffing. “Anyone can program when times are good, but it takes a special person to do so when times are tough.” The news business is changing and we need to be at the forefront of that change. I’ve been in the radio news business for nearly 18 years. I am ready to put my skills and experience to work for APTRA.
UTAH RADIO: SCOTT SEEGER, KSL, SALT LAKE CITY
I’ve wanted to be a reporter ever since my neighbor Monty decided to launch his cat into space after Alan Shepard’s historic Mercury flight in 1961. We were six. I was Walter Cronkite and Monty was mission control. Fortunately for Monty’s cat, his mother scrubbed the mission before the poor guy got airborne.
I graduated from San Diego State University in 1977 with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and minors in Political Science and Psychology. A minor in Arts Appreciation didn’t look as good on a diploma.
My first real paying job in radio was at KFMB in San Diego where I was a weekend reporter. I left that job for the incredible opportunity to lose massive amounts of sleep and work overnights at KSDO News Radio also in San Diego. I landed at KSL in Salt Lake City in 1982, and have done everything from reporting to anchoring to management to working as a reporter at KSL TV. I currently co-anchor Utah’s Afternoon News on KSL Newsradio.
I would be honored to be considered for a member of the board of the Associated Press Television and Radio Association. I believe I have the experience coming up in the ranks of radio and television and have a perspective on new and emerging technologies that are both complimenting and challenging our industry.
Thank you for your consideration.
WASHINGTON TV: TOM DURIAN, KHQ-TV, SPOKANE
I would like you to consider casting your ballot for me this spring in the APTRA elections. I currently serve on the APTRA board as the television representative from the Evergreen state. Washington is new to the APTRA organization, but I am not. I have been attending organization events for nearly a decade. I started as a beginning journalist looking for some guidance, and now attend events as a mentor. The APTRA organization and its leaders have helped me immensely in my career and I believe in returning the favor. I always enjoy the events and meeting new people. My goal this term is to grow the state of Washington’s involvement in the APTRA organization. There are four television markets in the state that deserve representation by someone familiar with the board and procedures. My experience in television has brought me from a production assistant in Los Angeles, to my current position as anchor and reporter at KHQ-TV the NBC affiliate in Spokane. The field of electronic journalism is changing. I believe with the help of APTRA, our core journalistic values will not be compromised. Thanks for your vote.