KOMU Is Getting Up Earlier

As Kansas City NBC station KSHB unveiled a new high definition set on the day of the Olympic Opening Ceremony, on August 8th, Columbia's NBC affiliate KOMU made the transition to high definition.

According to this press release issued by KOMU, they are also going to be waking up a little earlier to bring Mid-Missouri residents morning news. Their morning show now begins at 4:30 a.m. KMIZ and KRCG have morning shows which begin at 5 a.m.

KMIZ Changes

Some changes are coming to KMIZ news. John Bassford, the station's evening co-anchor, will be leaving the anchor chair to become involved in public relations for AmerenUE. He will be replaced by Ryan Tate, weekend anchor at KFVS-TV in Cape Girardeau. Tate's co-anchor will be Stephanie Schaefer at 6 and Brynn Gringas at 10.

KRCG's Ex-Sports Director Has Big News

According to the Jefferson City News Tribune, former KRCG Sports Director Rod Smith will be announcing his next career move in an article this afternoon for that city's paper. You can check out the article here that details why the decision was made to provide the information to the public through this avenue. The article also gives some vague hints as to what his new career might be.

This scenario likely means that Smith will not be joining either KOMU or KMIZ. It would not be far fetched to see Rod become a sports writer for the paper or an announcer for a local radio station, although the article seems to indicate he would like to go in a different direction.

The News 2K will bring the announcement as soon as we have access to it.

Tribune: "I've Got A Feeling Smith Will Be All Right. KRCG? That's Another Story."

KRCG's decision to let Sports Director Rod Smith go has been all the rage on several internet sites across Central Missouri for the last few days, this one being no exception. I have been receiving numerous hits from people searching for details on this story from Google.

So, here is the latest in the saga. The Columbia Tribune has been doing its fair share of the noise making since last week's announcement. The Sunday sports editorial is a great example. You can check out their opinion by clicking here.

University of Missouri Students Set Police Car Ablaze

The Columbia and Jefferson City television stations have been buzzing the last 24 hours with the news of 2 students setting an MU police car on fire. There is no word at this time exactly what their punishment will be for this crime. They were charged with 3 felonies. What is interesting is the difference in the story as reported on KOMU and KMIZ. It is obvious that apparently one has more insight into what actually took place than the other. I will let you decide which one is which.

For the details from KOMU, click here.

For the details from KMIZ, click here.

The story could not be found on KRCG's website.

KRCG Reporter Reports Back To Alma Mater

Here is a nice story that you don't see every day. KRCG's Mallory McGowin was profiled in a recent edition of her alma mater's paper, the Mirror. The twist is that Mallory herself will be writing these articles and providing updates on her transition from college life to the real world. It is an interesting read that I suggest you check out by clicking here. McGowin graduated from Drury in May of 2007.

Campus Security A Big Story

After the shooting at NIU a couple of days ago, news stations have gone into overdrive preparing pieces about what local colleges and universities are doing to keep safe. What about the largest university in the state of Missouri?

KOMU has the story of how MU is reevaluating its own security in light of the latest situation. By clicking here, you can read the story as well as sign up for MU Campus Alerts.

How many seconds until Christmas?

Are you stressing that you won't get your holiday shopping done in time? People in Mid-Missouri must be. KMIZ has placed a Christmas countdown clock on their website. You can find out just exactly how much time is left until the big day by heading to www.kmiz.com !

Just a word of caution, however, as it is a cleverly designed link to KMIZ's holiday gift guide. Hmm...

New Springfield 33 Meteorologist

I have received a couple of emails regarding a new weekend meteorologist coming to Springfield 33. I did some researching and finally confirmed that the new met will be Josh deBerge, who comes from KOMU-TV in Columbia.

Here is Josh's bio from KOMU. It may not be up very long, depending on how quickly the webmasters remove it. No word on start date at KSPR.