D-FW TV news notes, featuring Mark Davis, Debbie Denmon
05/06/13 12:10 PM
By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom
D-FW’s KTXD-TV (Ch. 47) is newly simulcasting Mark Davis’ 660 AM (The Answer) radio show, which debuted Monday, May 6th in the station’s 7 to 8:30 a.m. weekday slot.
It supplants religious programming and a 7:30 a.m. I Love Lucy rerun, with the syndicated America Now shortened to a half-hour (8:30 to 9 a.m.) leading into D magazine’s two-hour D: The Broadcast.
But in September, KTXD plans to air the new OK Magazine (an offshoot of the same-named publication) from 8:30 to 9 a.m., says station executive vice president and chief operating officer Phil Hurley. In an email response, Hurley said KTXD will be the Dallas bureau for the show, which also will have bureaus in Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas and Nashville.
KTXD is still a ME-TV affiliate, but its menu of TV oldies continues to shrink. It now skips ME’s entire 5 to 11 a.m. lineup of The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, My Three Sons, The Donna Reed Show, That Girl, I Love Lucy, two episodes of Leave It to Beaver, Perry Mason and The Rockford Files.
KTXD also opts out of two episodes of M*A*S*H from 6 to 7 p.m. in favor of The Texas Daily. And a repeat of that locally produced baby boomer-aimed newscast punches out The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Twilight Zone from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m. weeknights.
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In another KTXD development, rotating Texas Daily pundit Debbie Denmon accepted an on-air marriage proposal during Friday’s show from Richard Greagor. They’ve been dating since December 2011. Denmon, a former longtime WFAA8 anchor-reporter, is now director of communications for the Dallas County District Attorney’s office. Witnessing the bended-knee ring ceremony were Texas Daily host Jeff Brady and pundit Iola Johnson, also formerly of WFAA8.
Denmon said that Greagor is a technology administrator for IBM.
This is such an exciting time for us,” she told unclebarky.com. “I feel like I have been living the story of Job. God allowed me to lose some things, then blessed me with a great job and gave me a wonderful man who is about to become my husband. I feel like I have more now and my live is happier than it has been in several years.”
The live TV proposal was a genuine surprise, “Denmon said. “I knew it was coming, but I didn’t know when.”
No date has been set yet, but Denmon said she’s lobbying for an out-of-town “destination” wedding sometime in December of this year.
Go here if you’d like to watch the proposal proceedings on KTXD.
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WFAA8’s Sunday morning Inside Texas Politics program is continuing after its veteran host, Brad Watson, recently left the station for a public relations position with Luminant Energy. Staffers Jason Whitely and Shelly Slater so far have taken a turn on the program.
“We will be plugging a couple of folks into that slot for the time being,” WFAA8 news director said in an email reply. Inside Politics precedes ABC’s This Week on Sunday mornings and airs during the station’s Daybreak program.
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