Just Might Have to Give the CW News at Nine Team a Shot After All

Broadcasting & Cable this morning takes note of big news on the local newscast scene: WFAA-TV's news director, David Duitch, is exiting the Belo building and heading over to ... KDAF-TV, where he'll be the news director for the CW's local affiliate on Channel 33. Dunno how Belo feels about it now, but it's certainly been high on Duitch in the past: Less than four years ago, he was named the vice president of Belo's capital bureau, where, beginning in January '05, he was second-in-command for the entire company's newspaper, television and online operation out of D.C. And, in September '05, it was Duitch who Belo sent before the Federal Communications Commission to address how Belo-owned WWL-TV remained on the air in New Orleans -- for 24 hours a day for nine straight days, without a single commercial -- following Hurricane Katrina.

Duitch has been a Belo employee since 1994, working his way through several now-formerly Belo-owned properties in Tulsa and Sacramento before moving to Dallas in 1998; he became WFAA's exec news director in 1999. And, as Belo noted in its '04 news release, "Under Duitch's leadership, his newsrooms have won a duPont-Columbia Award, a Peabody Award, national and regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, Emmy Awards, Associated Press awards, national IRE awards, National Headliner Awards and the Cronkite Award for Political Coverage." In other words, hello, Terri Chappell and Tom Crespo. Let's see what ya got now. --Robert Wilonsky

Update: Uncle Barky sends word tonight that he made mention of Duitch's move a good week before Broadcasting & Cable. The reason for the jump? "Recent budget cuts put him on the street."