The NWT Group is:
Linda Levy
and Jan Allen are
the principals and founders of The
NWT Group. Back in the day of big shoulder pads and even bigger hair, they
were among the first female news directors in the country. It was
inevitable they would
become friends.
They also found themselves making nationwide
reputations for overseeing successful turnaround situations in the newsrooms
they headed up.
Linda Levy has been a News Director
in markets ranging from large...including the top ten market at KTVT, the
CBS O&O in Dallas ... to medium, including WKBW in
Buffalo, WDSU in New Orleans and KOCO in Oklahoma City... to small, such as KATC
in
Lafayette, LA.
She’s also worked in news at the corporate level, as Director of News Services for Belo. In that role, she oversaw shared coverage of major news events, including the Oklahoma City bombing to hurricanes to the '96 Presidential campaign.
Her coverage of the big stories got noticed. When describing WDSU’s coverage of a nationally watched gubernatorial election, The Times Picayune told its readers to “keep an eye on…News Director Linda Levy…who seems determined to stir things up.” The newspaper also recognized WDSU as "the market leader in special campaign coverage." In fact, C-Span carried the station’s election night coverage. This made Linda’s parents very happy because they were finally able to figure out what she did for a living.
Linda has local programming experience too. While at Belo, she served as one of the Senior Producers of “Prime Time Texas”, a weekly newsmagazine that aired in several markets in the state. Linda was also the Director of News and Local Programming for WKBW in Buffalo. And she was the Director of News Programming for Bay News 9 in Tampa, which included Bay News 9 and Bay News 9 en espanol and Bay News 9.com.
Linda is also currently serving as a faculty member of the Reynolds National Center for Courts and Media, which was formed by The National Judicial College. Its goal is to better communications between judges and journalists through seminars and workshops.
Jan Allen has been called everything from the “queen of the turnarounds” to a” hired gun.” And, well, some other things she just doesn’t want to talk about.
Jan was Vice-President and Station Manager of KATU in Portland, Oregon, where she was responsible for News, Creative Services, Design, Operations, I.S., and Local Programming. Local shows were the daily morning talker “A.M. Northwest” and the weekly “Town Hall”. The name says it all.
She was News Director at KATU for a year prior to her promotion.
Former Fisher Broadcasting CEO Pat Scott called Jan “a passionate manager who cares about people and results.”
One of her most exciting turnarounds was when she was News Director at KXTV in Sacramento. She feels her team accomplished a lot in her 14 month tenure.
The Sacramento Bee said “Perennial TV powerhouse KCRA is feeling the hot breath of KXTV in what has become the first legitimate race for number one in the history of Sacramento television,” Another article announced “Channel 10’s evening newscast makes historic rating jump”
She was Managing Editor at KOMO-TV where she was part
of a great group that took the station from third to first place in all
major newscasts. The Seattle Weekly had this to say about her departure:
“A class act heads south…Jan Allen’s 5 years as assistant news director set
her apart-as did her respected news judgment and what a former staffer calls
her ability to get the work done and still be human being”
Jan’s luck held out at KREM-TV in Spokane where she was
News Director for 3 years.
“For the first time in Channel Two’s 30 year history, KREM 2 News is the top
rated television news show.” Spokane Business Examiner
Jan knows what it’s like to be in front of the camera, too. She started her stint at WJIM-TV in Lansing as an anchor/reporter/weather bunny. After a few years, she was promoted to News Director where she took the station to number one for the first time ever.
She began her broadcasting at WWTV in Cadillac, Michigan where she was an anchor/reporter and generally a one- man band.
There’s been recognition and awards too. When Linda was News Director at KTVT, the station was cited by the Pew Center’s “Project for Excellent in Journalism” as the #1 major market late newscast in the country. KTVT also was awarded a Heartland Emmy for Outstanding Daily news coverage as well. Another Emmy came to “Prime Time Texas”.
Jan can’t remember exactly how many awards her
organizations have won. But there have been dozens and dozens. Some that
stand out: Best Newscast at KOMO 4 out of 5 years from the Emmy folks, 2
consecutive years winning N.P.P.A. Station of the Year, National Best
Newscast from UPI, also at KOMO, and National Edward R. Murrow Award for
Continuing Coverage at KATU.
But probably the most exciting was the Emmy race in California.
Sacramento was being judged alongside the number 5 market, San Francisco. And guess who won Best Newscast? Little ol’ Sacramento. That was huge.
But it’s not about the awards. As we mentioned earlier, Jan and Linda specialized in coming into newsrooms, raising the bar, improving the product, building great teams, and raising the ratings.
They take that same turnaround approach in working with
those looking to The NWT Group for guidance. Their goal: Help you improve
your journalistic skills.
For them, it’s not about your job…it’s about your career. It’s about passion
for doing the best every day…all day. Without whining.
Nancy Shafran has been
working for television stations for more than twenty five years but now
prefers being thought of as a news coach, new job negotiator, or career
development counselor. Nancy’s background as a news manager, which included
discovering, hiring, and developing talent, prepared her for all these
things…and more.
Nancy spent twelve years as News Director at KPRC-TV in
Houston. She helped turn a sleepy, non-competitive newsroom into an
aggressive operation that thrived on live breaking news, weather coverage,
and enterprise reporting.
Her efforts were recognized by winning Best Newscast by the Houston Press
Club (a statewide competition) eleven out of the twelve years she was at the
helm of the newsroom. The station, known for its graphic intensive and fast
paced approach to news, also was consistently recognized for its talented
reporting and storytelling. During her years there, the station won a
coveted Peabody Award for an investigative series. There were countless
awards from the Dallas Press Club, Associated Press, and other groups. Nancy
helped prove that a cutting edge, contemporary newscast could also be a
showcase for quality journalism.
Before coming to KPRC, Nancy spent almost fourteen years at WJXT-TV in
Jacksonville, Florida. She started there as an entry-level producer,
initially on the noon newscast…progressing through the 6PM and 11PM shows.
(While she produced the six, it was the highest rated 6PM newscast in the
country.) She also worked the assignment desk. As she climbed the management
ranks to the job of News Director, Nancy learned the ins and outs of t-v
news. She was fortunate to work with some of the best in the business both
in front of and behind the camera.
In addition to producing newscasts at WJXT, Nancy produced documentaries
that won two prestigious Columbia-DuPont Awards and three Emmy Awards. More
important, these programs affected positive change in the city. (Yes, Nancy
still believes in the adage we should comfort the afflicted and afflict the
comfortable.)
Nancy graduated from the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of
Journalism. She was a paid teaching assistant at KOMU-TV, the NBC affiliate
in Columbia, Missouri. Her first job after graduation was at CNN in Atlanta.
The news business has changed in countless ways since Nancy walked into her
first newsroom, but Nancy still loves News…still loves finding new
talent…and loves seeing them succeed.
Melanie Henry has a personal mantra...“Do business with good people and be one
of the good people to do business with.” Along the way, she has had the
pleasure of working with and for some very, very good people. She’s also
been fortunate enough to work in newsrooms where journalistic ethics were
not only expected, they were protected.
Melanie understands that the demands on journalists today have never been
greater. Their roles are constantly being redefined as content is now pushed
across multiple platforms. Embracing this ever-changing technology is
critical for success and Melanie knows it. She enjoys working with
journalists and helping them adapt and grow in this rapidly changing
business.
Melanie began her television career at KTUL in her hometown of Tulsa,
Oklahoma. Still in college, she started working on the weekend assignment
desk shortly before the Oklahoma City bombing. Her experiences, both in the
field and in- house, fueled her desire to learn more about her craft.
Melanie moved to Dallas and worked at KTVT on the assignment desk, learned all she could about the web and was a field producer. She left KTVT to come home to Tulsa to work as a Special Projects Director at KJRH. Over the years, she produced numerous political debates, sporting events and an Emmy award-winning news series.
As News Director at KOKI
FOX23 in Tulsa Melanie and her team took FOX23 News at 9 to #1
in the market and the newscast was ranked in the Top 5 of FOX newscasts in
the country. During this time Melanie and her team also launched five hours
of news content and successfully re-launched the station website.
Through her experiences Melanie has learned about adapting and evolving. The
changing face of television insists we do so. Now, she’s thrilled to take
the journey with you.
Martha
Crofts is the Office Manager for The NWT Group. Besides making
Jan, Linda, Nancy and Melanie fill out paperwork (an almost impossible
task), she is instrumental in helping our folk’s various needs.
Martha loves the field of communications and is a valued member of the NWT family. She decided on a degree in public relations because it satisfies her interests in marketing, journalism, and relationships.
She got her BA in PR from Brigham Young University. After finishing classes, she worked at Community Action Services in Provo, Utah as part of their communications team.
Martha was born and raised in Westland, Mich. but lived in McAllen, Texas for a year and half as a missionary for her church. She is glad to be back in Texas but especially to be part of The NWT Group.
She loves to write, organize, and see people have
success and gratification from their job. If you have any questions, or need
help with anything from managing a move to filling out a form and all things
in-between – just give Martha a call!
The other folks you’ll meet:
Rich Everitt began his
broadcasting career when, at age 10, he read a local newspaper over a
“crystal radio” he made from a coil of wire and a 10-cent diode from Radio
Shack. Since then, he has won numerous major market awards for investigative
reporting, public service reporting, and producing. As a TV reporter, Rich
has exposed corruption in local governments, covered civil unrest in the
South (he was the first Television News Reporter to infiltrate the Ku Klux
Klan and returned with the video), and has interviewed most of the major
newsmakers of the past 20 years.
Rich is the President and CEO of the immensely popular
TALENTapes, INC., the premier
resume tape/career consulting business for those in the Television News
Industry.
He is also the author of the popular non-fiction book,
Falling Stars: Air Crashes that Filled Rock & Roll Heaven, published by Harbor House Books.
Rich holds a Master of Arts from Emerson College. He further honed his film
and television writing at Harvard. He also holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in
psychology and speech from LaGrange College.
Rich lives in Augusta, Georgia, with his wife, Susan, and daughter, Ellen.
Ed
Sardella is the author of Write Like You Talk…A Broadcast Newswriting
Handbook. His book came from his many years spent covering news.
Ed served for thirty years as a primary news anchor and senior editor at KUSA-TV in Denver, Colorado.
Ed is considered by many to be one of the primary anchors around the country. He has helped hundreds of journalists improve their skills…both in the newsroom and in the classroom.
Ed also taught broadcast news reporting and writing on the college level for many years at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
His book…Write Like You Talk…continues to serve as a valuable resource to journalists around the country.
Barbara
is a former award-winning anchor and reporter at numerous stations around
the country. She took that experience and coupled her journalistic talents
with her other skills…knowing what will work on-camera so that you look your
best. Barbara is now an appearance coach…consulting on-air talent around the
country.
Barbara also serves as the makeup and appearance consultant for The NWT Group. Her sharp eye and vast experience have helped numerous journalists look camera ready.
