Callie Starnes was named station manager at WRCB-TV, the NBC affiliate in Chattanooga, Tennessee, owned by Sarkes Tarzian, and will become general manager at the end of the year.

The station’s current general manager, Pam Teague, was promoted to chief operating officer at Sarkes Tarzian.

Starnes will continue to serve as the station’s news director and assist Teague in overseeing the station’s broadcast, digital and mobile operations.

“Callie truly deserves the opportunity to lead Channel 3 as its General Manager,” said Tom Tolar, COO at Sarkes Tarzian. “She is passionate about providing outstanding service to our viewers, community, and advertisers. Her leadership and focus have produced impressive results for the Eyewitness News Team. I am confident she will use those same leadership and decision-making skills to continue the strong performance of WRCB.”

Starnes joined WRCB in 2008 and served as an anchor, investigative reporter and assistant news director before being named news director.

“Callie’s commitment to excellence in news and strategic thinking make her a natural for this new role,” said Teague. “She is highly respected in the industry and by her peers.  She will lead the talented staff of Channel 3 for years to come.” 

Phoenix Center chief economist George Ford has taken issue with a story in The Tennessean newspaper in which Chattanooga, Tenn., Mayor Andy Berke touted the economic benefits of its municipal fiber network.

A federal appeals court recently rejected the FCC's preemption of a Tennessee state law limiting the expansion of that city network, but the story preceded that decision and made no mention of it.

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The story noted that, over the past three years, "the city’s unemployment rate has dropped to 4.1% from 7.8%, and the wage rate has also been climbing," citing a speech by Berke to the Fiber to the Home Council Americas conference in June.

Berke is quoted in the story as saying the wage rate in Chattanooga is definitely linked to Internet-related jobs and the tech sector.

“Our fiber goes to each and every home,” the story quoted Berke as saying. “We can’t have digital gated communities. If we do that, and only allow fiber to go to some parts of the city, some parts of the state, we will see technology widen the gulf between people as opposed to bridging it."

But Ford, responding to the story via an op ed in The Tennessean, took issue with what he said was Berke's lead claim that "the city’s unemployment rate has dropped to 4.1% from 7.8%."

Ford pointed out that over the same period the nationwide unemployment rate had fallen from 7.5% to 4.7%, saying, "In terms of unemployment, Chattanooga isn’t much different than the nation as a whole.

"Unless the Chattanooga system is having nationwide economic impacts, it’s pretty clear that attributing the unemployment decline to a city broadband network is bogus," Ford said.

He said that looking at statewide unemployment rates, tying the rate drop to the muni broadband net is even more problematic.

"For those cities operating broadband networks, unemployment has fallen by an average of 4.0 points," he said, while "in cities without municipal systems, unemployment has fallen by 4.7 points."

Local TV's lead story this past year has been consolidation— the big guys getting bigger and the small guys either getting out of the business or fighting extra hard to stay in the race. Chattanooga, Tenn., offers a stark example of both sides of the equation. WTVC was acquired by Sinclair Broadcast Group in its Freedom Broadcasting acquisition in 2012, and the station has benefited from Sinclair’s breadth and wealth: A new set, HD production and the undoing of a hiring freeze.

WRCB, meanwhile, is part of tiny Sarkes Tarzian, whose other TV station is KTVN Reno (Nev.). Tom Tolar, WRCB president and general manager, cops to “some concern” about other broadcasters getting larger but says the NBC affiliate remains in a favorable spot. “The fact that we have had a very strong position gives us a good relationship with syndicators and the network,” Tolar says.

Both stations are making significant additions to their news lineups. WRCB debuted a 7-8 a.m. Saturday-Sunday newscast a few months back and moved it up to 6 a.m. in mid-February. WTVC, meanwhile, on March 1 launched 6-7 a.m. and 8-9 a.m. weekend news, sandwiched around Good Morning America. “We waited to do that until we could do it right,” says Mike Costa, general manager.

Chalk that one up to Sinclair’s arrival in Chattanooga. Costa admits to a bit of a cultural transition to the new owner, but Sinclair imperatives, such as a 20% increase in head count, go far to smooth the process. “They’ve invested a ton in the station,” he says, “especially after what we call the nuclear winter during the [former owner] Freedom years.”

While Sinclair has agreed to acquire New Age Media as part of its buying spree of the past few years, that deal does not include New Age’s stations in Chattanooga: Fox affiliate WDSI and CW outlet WFLI. WTVC produces newscasts for WDSI.

Other Chattanooga owners include Morris Multimedia, which has CBS affiliate WDEF. With the tagline “Local, Quick & To the Point,” WDEF added a 7 p.m. news and has the syndicated Dr. Oz at 5. Local sources say Oz took the place of news; WDEF executives did not return calls requesting comment.

Comcast is Chattanooga’s primary subscription TV operator, while Charter has a strong presence in DMA No. 87 too. Chattanooga is unique in that a utility company, EPB, offers the triple play, its fiber-optic connection providing the rare 1-gigabyte Internet connection. “They’ve taken a lot of subs from Comcast,” says Costa.

WRCB holds its own in the Nielsen diary market despite the lack of corporate scale. WTVC won total-day household ratings in last November’s sweeps, while it and WRCB tied in morning news household ratings. WTVC held the advantage at 6 p.m. and won 11 p.m. with a 4.5 rating/17 share, ahead of WRCB’s 4/15. WRCB won the adults 25-54 news race; WTVC and WDEF split primetime honors.

WTVC wins on the backs of extremely experienced staffers. Many managers have spent 30 to 35 years at the station, and a “no walls” approach has all departments working seamlessly, Costa says. “NewsChannel 9” has a “Depend On Us” brand that includes a promise about taking the extra steps to keep viewers informed. “Everyone in that newsroom lives it,” Costa adds.

Much of the discussion in Chattanooga these days centers around the local Volkswagen plant. News crews were busy reporting on a bruising mid-February debate, and vote, in which VW workers rejected UAW union representation. “It’s good to have that issue behind us,” says Tolar.

The economy is lukewarm, but Chattanooga residents enjoy mountains, lakes, a lively downtown and access to major metropolitan centers such as Atlanta and Nashville. “There’s a quality of life here that you can’t get in a lot of places,” says Costa. “It’s just a good place to be.”

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Local TV reporters love Twitter; local TV executives not so much. But count Mike Costa, WTVC general manager, among those who actively use it. With the handle @JudeCostaNC9, he has more than 19,000 tweets and 2,200 followers, including Tom Petty and Barack Obama. Costa views Twitter as a “personal news feed” and a two-way discussion with users. “Viewers don’t want a monologue—they want a dialogue,” he says. “They want to interact. Twitter allows that.”

TV execs who are active on Twitter include Brian Lawlor, Scripps senior VP of TV, and Doug Franklin, Cox executive VP/CFO. But Costa may be the most active. As his profile says, “I’ve got an opinion, it is mine and mine alone.”