Former TV meteorologist Dagmar Midcap feels she is living through her third life-changing chapter.
The first dramatic episode for the native Canadian was escaping at age 30 from a Vancouver-based cult she had grown up in. At age 19, Dagmar Gottschalk (her maiden name) was married in an arranged marriage. “I’ve never taken the time to change my married name of Midcap,” she said.
The second life-altering experienced occurred in July 2008, when Midcap was working as the main weather anchor for WGCL-TV, the CBS affiliate in Atlanta. Her boyfriend of three years committed suicide.
“I met Neil after I started the job in Atlanta,” she said. “After he took his own life, I felt lost.”
She tendered her notice to the station in September 2010, citing ongoing emotional and physical distress.
“After Atlanta, I moved back to the West Coast and did nothing for eight or nine months,” Midcap said. “Then I posted on Facebook that I was ready to return to TV and three stations contacted me the next day.”
In 2011, she joined KNSD-TV NBC 7 San Diego, where she worked until recently. After a dozen years, the 54-year-old Midcap has left the station to begin a third change in life.
She admits she has “no idea” what will happen next.
“I’m terrified, I just got my final paycheck. But I’ve got to follow my heart,” Midcap told Times of San Diego. “My heart and gut are telling me to walk a path that I cannot see right now. Right now, I have no idea where it will lead me. Still, I feel that now is the time to follow my passions, fully and completely.”
Her passions include endangered wildlife species and environmental issues.
Over the past couple of years at NBC 7, she hosted “Down to Earth,” an ongoing series of news segments that focused on the planet and its fragile ecosystems.
“The purpose of `Down to Earth’ was to awaken and inspire,” she said. “I wanted people to wake up to the beauty of this planet and then inspire them to work to save it and protect it. I loved traveling around Southern California, telling stories and interacting with people who feel the same way I do about saving wildlife.”
Midcap says she is disappointed with NBC 7 management who did not share her deep passions for habitat and animals.
A year ago, in August 2022, on assignment for a series of shows planned to air on NBC 7, Midcap traveled to Durham, N.C., to Duke University’s Lemur Center, which is a sanctuary for lemurs, a primate with large eyes, face like a fox and body similar to a monkey with long, thin tail and strong hind limbs. The lemur is a rare and endangered species.
Then, on the same trip, she traveled to Madagascar, a country with the world’s largest population of wild lemurs. The trip included a visit to the island of Sumatra, home of the Sumatran tiger, another critically endangered species with only 400 to 500 currently in the wild.
“We shot enough film for three half-hour specials, but the station never dedicated the manpower for post-production work,” Midcap said. “Unfortunately, they were not able to sustain the mountain I was asking them to carry.
“Thankfully, the station gave me all the footage and I’m grateful for their kindness. Now I have time to put together some incredible programming.”
Midcap started her television career at WBNX-TV in Akron, Ohio, before returning to Canada to work on “Breakfast,” a morning program in Vancouver. She also worked as a traffic reporter for the “Morning Show” produced by Global Television, a national TV network with 15 owned-and-operated stations throughout the country.
Aside from forecasting the weather, Dagmar’s TV talents include driving test cars and motorcycles as co-host of Global Television’s “Driving Television” show. She has even played goaltender for an amateur hockey team.
However, during her final months at NBC, Midcap said her “soul was dying.”
“When I looked toward the future while still at NBC, I felt like my soul was dying, locked away in a prison,” she said. “Here I was the evening meteorologist, standing in front a green screen, saying the same thing every day about a marine layer, sunny and 70 degrees. For a person like me who is an adrenaline junkie, who thrives on growth and challenge, my job was leaving me with fewer brain cells.”
Her final broadcast was Aug. 7, when she began a personal leave of absence. The station announced her departure Oct. 3.
“I don’t know exactly what I’m going to do,” Midcap said. “I’m not sure where my home base will be. I might move to Boston or stay in San Diego. I’m even thinking of moving to Tanzania. At this point, I have no idea.”
Jack in the Box’s TV Spooky Spots Feature Angry Monster Tacos
San Diego-based, fast-food hamburger chain Jack in the Box has launched a new Halloween-themed advertising campaign.
Coinciding with the spooky season is the return of its Angry Monster tacos with a spicy red shell. A company statement said, “The shells are red because red is the color of anger. They’re called Angry Monster Tacos because they’re spicy. Trust us, it all adds up.”
The campaign includes two 15-second spots airing on linear TV and streaming in October.
One of the spots describes the Angry Monster tacos.
The other spot highlights the Angry Monster tacos and Monster Taco, both which are available until Nov. 19, according to a Jack spokesperson. The Monster Taco is returning for the third year in a row, the company said.
In addition, a 30-second spot that is running on Hulu features dark streets with an ominous monster truck following the Jack in the Box mascot.
Media expenditures were not disclosed.
Clearpoint Agency Adds Nonaste as Client
Clearpoint Agency, a public relations firm in Encinitas, reports it has begun providing public relations services to Nonaste (pronounced “No-Nasty”), a maker of laundry detergents, odor-eliminating sprays, sanitizing sprays and car seat protectors.
In a statement, Clearpoint said it will raise awareness for Nonaste through public relations strategies, partner programs and earned media.
“When you’re rapidly scaling a consumer brand and looking for nationwide exposure quickly, you need a PR team like Clearpoint Agency that has solid experience, is objective driven and able to keep things moving independently,” said Andy Voggenthaler, Nonaste co-founder and CEO. “We have found the team to be resourceful, creative and effective.”
Voggenthaler, a lifelong endurance athlete, has a background in product development at General Motors, Dupont-Teflon and Hang Ten, Clearpoint said.
“Nonaste is the type of client we love working with,” said Bonnie Shaw, president, Clearpoint Agency. “It is a superior product managed by an experienced, talented and motivated team, and they are incredible brand strategists. We are looking forward to creating more awareness for the Nonaste line of products as it seeks funding and continues to grow sales on Amazon and specialty retail stores across the nation.”
IABC San Diego Hosts Fall Mixer
The International Association of Business Communicators San Diego chapter will host a fall mixer from 5:30 to 7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 18, at The Wine Bar at Westfield UTC, the shopping mall at 4301 La Jolla Village Drive.
Admission is free. Food and drinks will be available for purchase. For more information, visit sandiego.iabc.com.
Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.