KSWB-TV/Fox 5 San Diego will televise its final regular-season San Diego Gulls hockey game at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 23. The Gulls will play the Ontario Reign.
Announcers will be Andy Zilch and B.J. MacPherson, who played for the Gulls from 1996-2001, when the team played in the West Coast Hockey League, winning four Taylor Cups.
KSWB aired eight Gulls games during the 2018-2019 American Hockey League season. After the regular season ends mid-April, station officials said playoff games may be televised but the schedule is not set.
KSWB aired its first Gulls game on Feb. 12, 2017. It was the first TV broadcast of a game since the team began play in San Diego in 2015, and the first AHL Pacific Division club to televise a game.
Meanwhile, the station also announced that TV ratings company A.C. Nielsen Co. reports its Fox 5 Morning News (5-10 a.m., weekdays) and Fox 5 News at 10 p.m. (10-11:30 p.m., weekdays) ranked #1 with adults ages 25-54 during the recent February 2019 sweeps. The station says it has ranked tops with those two programs for five consecutive Nielsen ratings periods.
“Fox 5 continues to provide content that resonates with viewers and users across all platforms, from news to live local sports,” said Scott Heath, president and GM. “We are grateful to our viewers for their loyalty and continued dedications.”
“We are gratified to see our newscasts continue to connect with viewers and users,” said Rich Goldner, VP and news director.
Southwestern College’s Student Newspaper Enters Hall of Fame
The Southwestern Sun, Southwestern College’s student newspaper, was recently inducted into the Associated Collegiate Press Hall of Fame.
Qualifying for the hall of fame requires a college or university student-operated publication to win at least 10 national Pacemaker awards, which is equivalent to the Pulitzer Prize for college student journalism. Over the past 14 years, under the leadership of faculty advisor Max Branscomb, the Sun has earned 13 Pacemaker awards.
The Sun’s Hall of Fame induction was presented at the National College Journalism Convention in La Jolla on March 2. During the awards ceremony the Sun was also honored with the Best of Show award.
SDX Announces Staff Changes
After four years working at SDX, Laurie Ganz has left her director role to join the American Liver Foundation’s Pacific Coast Division in San Diego as special events manager.
In her new role, Ganz will coordinate three fundraising events, including the Liver Life Walk San Diego on May 11 at Liberty Station NTC Park, the Sip ‘n Savor Festival on June 2 at Liberty Station Barracks, and Flavors of San Diego on Oct. 6 at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar. The events raise funds to support people living with liver disease and their families. The foundation is the nation’s largest nonprofit focused solely on promoting liver health and disease prevention.
Succeeding Ganz as interim executive director is Georgina Forster with 15 years of advertising agency and digital marketing experience. Forster was previously with Mirum Agency in San Diego and New York. She has a degree in marketing from Lancaster University in England.
Founded in 1911, SDX is San Diego’s largest and oldest local networking and professional group for advertising and marketing executives with more than 100 companies representing about 300 members.
San Diego Press Club to Host Yappy Hour Mixer
To celebrate the arrival of spring, the San Diego Press Club will host a “Yappy Hour” mixer from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m, on Wednesday, March 20, at Lazy Dog restaurant’s outdoor patio, 1202 Camino del Rio North. Attendees are encouraged to bring their well-behaved canine companions. Cost to attend is $15 per person, which includes one drink ticket, appetizers and a gift bag for any four-legged friend. The event is open to the public. All animal lovers are welcomed.
Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.