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Making Waves in Orlando

It appears that the dog has woken up in O-Town.

For years, WKMG in Orlando was the dog station in the market. WFTV and WESH used to battle it out for the ratings crown, while WKMG just got scraps.

Back in June, the station sacked GM Skip Valet and brought in Jeff Hoffman as the new GM of the station.

The first order of business was to change the station's brand from "Local 6", to "Getting Results."

“I think it resonates with people,” General Manager Jeff Hoffman said in a recent interview. “I think it’s easy to understand, and I think it’s very focused.”

Not sure if it's the branding or not, but the station is moving out of the ratings basement.

The Orlando Sentinel writes that WKMG has offered the most-watched newscast at 11 p.m. since the TV season began in September. The 6 p.m. newscast is reaching more young adults than it was a year ago.

Hoffman said the new approach builds on investigative reporting that the station did well before he arrived. “I think we took the thing we were doing best and isolated it,” he said.

Allison McGinley, who was named news director in August, said she appreciated Hoffman’s vision.

“When new management comes in, there’s often a shutting of everything that’s there,” said McGinley, who has been at the station 21 years. “What he did was come in and looked at what are doing well, what are our resources and what are our strengths.”

The “Getting Results” style extends from the station’s journalism to its promotion and sales.  “We wanted to have a unified identity. That was really important to us,” Hoffman said.

He said the most important aspect is to be authentic. “People know when they’re being sold on something,” he said. “We have to be upfront about this. We can’t be phony about this.”

In promotional spots, the station has turned to subjects of the reports to say that WKMG did get results.

“If we’re not doing it, then there’s nobody to say that back to us,” McGinley said.


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