SYRACUSE -- Two producers and a news photographer are leaving NewsChannel 9 (WSYR-TV) for new jobs elsewhere. That's according to the latest newsletter from the Syracuse Press Club.
Sabrina Betts, who has worked as a producer for the ABC affiliate for the past five years, has accepted a similar position at Cincinnati's WCPO-TV, which is also an ABC affiliate, on channel 9. During her time at channel 9, Betts worked primarily on the station's 90-minute early evening newscast, which has consistently dominated the ratings for years. In her new role, she'll be producing for a significantly larger audience: According to TV ratings giant Nielsen, Cincinnati is the 35th largest market in the country, with nearly 898,000 TV-viewing households. By comparison, Syracuse is market #84 on Nielsen's list for the 2012-13 TV season, encompassing 377,550 TV-viewing households.
The SPC newsletter also reports producer Renee Taylor is headed west to Rochester. At NewsChannel 9, she had a unique split schedule, producing the 5:30pm newscast three nights during the week, then flipping her schedule to work overnights, in order to produce "The Morning News Weekend."
Last but not least, news photographer Whitney Wagner is jumping across town to Time Warner Cable's YNN. With her move, she'll have completed the circuit of Syracuse's television news operations, as she had worked at CNY Central (WSTM-TV/WTVH/WSTQ-LP) prior to joining NewsChannel 9.
CNYTVNews.com wishes all three women the best in their future endeavors.
As expected, the departures mean there are job openings available. The NewsChannel 9 website lists openings for two news producers. Although there's no opening listed for a photog, there is a listing for a reporter, which has apparently been open since September of last year. The station is also still listing an opening for a Bridge Street host/producer, a position which was posted in July 2012.
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