KHNL/KFVE-TV anchors are switching shows
POSTED: Friday, February 20, 2009
A newsroom shake-up usually means job losses, pay cuts or both, but not in this case - anchors are changing show times and no paychecks are affected.
“;Essentially we're changing our batting order,”; said Dan Schmidt, director of content, in charge of news, programming and creative services at KHNL/KFVE-TV.
Howard Dashefsky will move to mornings to co-anchor News 8 Today with current weekend anchor Diane Ako. He also will serve as executive producer of the 5 to 7 a.m. show.
The move reflects the station's renewed commitment to morning news, a growth area in the industry, Schmidt said.
Kristine Uyeno will anchor KHNL's 5 p.m. news and co-anchor the 6 p.m. news with Stephanie Lum.
Lum will solo-anchor the 6:30 and 9 p.m. news on KFVE and the 10 p.m. news on KHNL.
Mari-Ela David will anchor weekend newscasts at 6 and 10 p.m. on KHNL and at 9 p.m. on KFVE Saturdays and at 5, 9 (KFVE) and 10 p.m. Sundays.
The changes will come in mid-April, following the March Nielsen ratings.
“;The reason we are making these changes is to make the best use of the human resources that we have here at KHNL and KFVE,”; Schmidt said.
The changes also will help the anchors “;achieve their personal goals.”;
Dashefsky, on vacation for the next week, looks forward to mentoring newsroom staffers but more than that, to having more time with his 11- and 13-year-old daughters.
“;Last week alone I missed a volleyball game, a dance recital and the opening night of a play,”; he said.
Dashefsky knows people will perceive his move as a demotion but, “;I can't worry about that. You want to have an argument with me about wanting to put my girls first? Case closed,”; he said.
Lum will “;miss Howard; I've anchored with him for two years.”;
Nevertheless, “;I am also excited about the new direction, where we're headed,”; she said.
Lum started at KHNL as a nighttime reporter in 2001 and moved quickly into the anchor ranks, but she will continue reporting during the day.
“;I love being out in the field,”; she said.