By Rick Griffin
Lynda Martin, who has worked in radio and TV in San Diego for the past 17 years, has left radio station KFMB 760-AM and is returning this week to co-anchor with Marc Bailey the “CW 6 News in the Morning” on XETV-TV/Channel 6.
Martin co-anchored the morning news show with Bailey from 2007 to 2011. She also was one of the original anchors for the Channel 6’s 10 p.m. news when it launched in 1999.
“We know that Lynda and Marc have a good chemistry, and the audience is already familiar with both of them,” said Chuck Dunning, Channel 6 station VP and GM.
While in San Diego, Martin also has worked as a TV anchor at KSWB-TV/Channel 5 and radio news anchor at KOGO AM-600. She started her broadcasting career in 1994 in Springfield, MA.
Martin joined KFMB radio in January 2015 and later launched the “KFMB News Hour with Carlo Cecchetto and Lynda Martin” in September 2015, when the station dropped Sean Hannity’s nationally-syndicated radio talk show it had carried for the past 10 years. KFMB officials said Martin’s departure has prompted the cancellation of its 2-to-3 p.m. news hour and the addition of another hour to Brett Winterble’s afternoon talk show, which now will air from 2 to 6 p.m.
NBC 7 Adds Sportscaster to Staff
KNSD-TV/NBC 7 San Diego has added MJ Acosta (“MJ” stands for Marjorie) as a sports journalist. She recently worked as a reporter and anchor at WPLG, the ABC affiliate in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale market. She also worked from 2011 to 2013 as a sports anchor at Generation Next Youth Sports Network in Miami.
She also was a cheerleader for the Miami Dolphins during the 2012 and 2013 seasons, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Barry University in Miami in 2010.
“MJ’s vast experience as a sports journalist, coupled with her avid passion and dedication to the world of sports, will help us deliver the best sports coverage that San Diegans want,” said Greg Dawson, NBC 7 San Diego VP of news, in a statement.
The opening at Channel 7 was created following last fall’s decision by sports director Jim Laslavic to reduce his on-camera duties and work on a semi-retirement basis. Laslavic, a former linebacker with the NFL’s Detroit Lions, San Diego Chargers and Green Bay Packers, has worked at NBC 7 San Diego since 1989. The station’s sports staff also currently includes Derek Togerson, who has been at the station since 2005, and Todd Strain, who began working there in 2011.
J. Walcher Communications Receives City and State Certifications
J. Walcher Communications, a San Diego public relations firm, has announced it has received four business certifications allowing future company growth.
JWC said the city of San Diego’s Small Local Business Enterprise certification will provide it with opportunities to work on city contracts. The firm is one of about 550 San Diego County vendors who have completed the SLBE application process.
JWC also said it has received three state-issued certifications, including Women Business Enterprise, Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and State Women Business Enterprise.
“These certifications will enable our creative and nimble team to work on a wider array of projects that appeal to us,” said Jean Walcher, president of the firm.
San Diego AMA Will ‘Supercharge Your Content’
San Diego’s American Marketing Association chapter will host “Supercharge Your Content Marketing Efforts,” a program on creating and managing agile personas, from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 10, at UCSD Extension, Room 317, on 6256 Greenwich Dr. in San Diego.
The two speakers will be Sandra Piccillo, senior marketing manager, Mitchell International, and Jacques Pavlenyi, senior portfolio manager at IBM. Topics covered will include: creating a culture that values personas to save time and optimize budget; developing living personas that maintain their relevance over time; connecting personas with relevant content to maximize ROI.
Cost to attend is $24 for AMA members and $37 for guests. For more information, visit www.sdama.org. The Feb. 10 AMA program is the first of four in this year’s “Personas and Content Marketing” series designed to help AMA members optimize their content marketing efforts.
Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.