Allison McGinley, who joined WKMG as an intern in 1993, is wholly focused on delivering timely and at times vital information to viewers, and users, on all platforms. That includes franchise Make Ends Meet, which launched as COVID-19 took over last year, set up to help unemployed people receive the benefits due them.
Local TV Awards: Celebrating 2021’s Station Standouts
Broadcaster of the Year: Diane Kniowski, Chief Local Media Officer, Univision Communications
Station Group of the Year: E.W. Scripps
GM of the Year, Markets 1-25: Chad Matthews, WABC New York
GM of the Year, Markets 21-50: Collin Gaston, WBRC Birmingham, Alabama
GM of the Year, Markets 51-Plus: Bruce Cummings, KIII Corpus Christi, Texas
Multiplatform Broadcaster of the Year: NBCUniversal Local
Local TV Anchor of the Year: Robert Hadlock, KXAN Austin
Meteorologist of the Year: Tom Messner, WPTZ Burlington
Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity snafus persisted in 2021, and Make Ends Meet has helped return more than $2 million to those who rely on the funds, much of that this year. It is a news segment, a section on the website and a weekly newsletter. McGinley called it “a culmination of what we do” — investigative journalism, community service, nudging lawmakers to make changes.
“That’s what we’re here for,” she said.
Also: Local News: Sweltering Orlando Heats Up
WKMG launched Solutionaries this year, an OTT program with a problem-solving focus. Under McGinley’s leadership, a dozen WKMG staffers hatched the first episode, on law enforcement, in June, and the second, on affordable housing, in September. The rest of the Graham Media Group stations will work off the template to create their own Solutionaries programming, suitable for both digital snacking and longer-term viewing. “It really gives some tangible answers that are actionable,” said Jeff Hoffman, WKMG VP/general manager.
WKMG’s “Getting Results” news has emerged as a factor in super-competitive Orlando. The station has seen aggregate news ratings points climb 6% in 2021. WKMG’s ClickOrlando.com had 18 million users in 2019, and 47.5 million year to date in 2021. Before McGinley took over as news director in 2015, the website “did not register,” according to Hoffman, who said his news director’s work ethic is “unmatched.”
With 28 years at the station, McGinley understands what makes Orlando unique among TV markets. She was named chair of RTDNA this year. Dan Shelley, executive director, called McGinley “the perfect leader” for RTDNA based on “her passion for the industry, her compassion for journalists still facing unprecedented challenges, and her clear vision for what we need to do to make broadcast and digital journalism better for the public we serve.”
