SUMMARY: He was successful in Kansas City with a "Live, Late-Breaking,Investigative" concept of taking no prisoners, but Regent Ducas found his KCTV5 act did not play well in Dallas and he was fired in just five months. 09-04-2007
DUCAS' ACT OVER IN FIVE MONTHS
Posted on September 1, 2007 at 11:20:54 AM by Press Release
By ED BARK CBS11 news director Regent Ducas' "run 'n' gun" approach is out of ammunition after five contentious months.
Ducas was dropped early Friday evening, with CBS11 president and general manager Steve Mauldin making the announcement to the newsroom. The catch-all cover story: he has left to "pursue other interests."
The station's new news director is Scott Diener, who according to sources, was loudly applauded by staffers. He has been the assistant news director since June 2006.
Mauldin, who hired Ducas, reportedly told the staff that he wants to reboot the newsroom, protect the CBS brand and create an environment where "people are happy to come to work and love their jobs." According to sources, Mauldin also said he wants to return to "complete coverage you can count on."
Ducas, who arrived from Kansas City's CBS' affiliate in late March, emphasized a quick-hit, "urgent" crime-ridden approach to the news epitomized by a "First Five Minutes" segment that Mauldin ordered stopped earlier this week.
Later Friday, in a brief phone conversation, Mauldin said he didn't want to comment further beyond an official statement released at 6:30 p.m. by CBS11.
"Regent infused a lot of energy and tempo into our newscasts," Mauldin said in the release. "I wish him well in his new pursuits."
Ratings for CBS11's 10 p.m. newscast did not improve under Ducas' tenure. But the station's reputation for quality news took a nosedive while a number of staffers privately expressed their disgust. One of the station's star reporters, Sarah Dodd, recently left the station, saying she'd had enough.
Diener, a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, came to CBS11 from KTVK-TV in Phoenix, where he was news director for two years. That station is owned by Dallas-based Belo Corp., which also runs local ABC affiliate WFAA-TV (Channel 8).
Diener "has proven himself to be a solid newsman, a strong leader and a great member of our team," Mauldin said in the CBS11 release. "I'm proud to promote him to this position."
Regent Ducas
Summary: Regent Ducas, 42, a lightning rod for controversy as a highly successful news director at KCTV5 in Kansas City, is shaking things up at the CBS affiliate in Dallas. However, his strategy of highlighting the "First Five Minutes" of news worked in KC, but not in Dallas. The author, Ed Bark, was the TV critic at the Dallas Morning News for 26 years. 08-30-2007
CLOCKING OUT: "FIRST FIVE MINUTES" NO LONGER IN PLAY ON CBS-11'S 10 P.M. NEWS 08/29/07 05:03 PM
By ED BARK Several informed sources at CBS11 confirm that the station has dropped the "First Five Minutes" segment from its 10 p.m. newscasts. The order came from president and general manager Steve Mauldin, who also reportedly wants a more balanced approach with less emphasis on crime and tragedy. Mauldin met with news director Regent Ducas on Monday to express his displeasure with both the content and the ratings of the 10 p.m. newscast. Ducas, hired by Mauldin, arrived from Kansas City's CBS station in late March with a mandate to improve CBS11's late night news ratings. He quickly deployed the same "First Five Minutes" tack that he had used at his previous station. "Instead of taking a more issue-oriented approach to news, we're going to take a more topical approach," Ducas said in an April interview with unclebarky.com. "It's all about the here and now of news. That's one of the changes you'll feel, sense and hear on the air. A bit more urgency. Not so much the way it's been." But Ducas' self-described "run and gun" approach hasn't triggered any ratings revivals. It has, however, caused significant unrest in the CBS11 newsroom. Tuesday's 10 p.m. CBS11 newscast, shorn of the "First Five Minutes" gambit, improved slightly on its 9:45 to 10 p.m. lead-in from an NCIS repeat to finish second in the total homes Nielsens behind Belo8. That might be only coincidental. But it's certainly a rare occurrence at CBS11, where generous network lead-ins usually are squandered rather than built on. Mauldin's decision to undo some of Ducas' changes could have further repercussions as the station prepares for both a new season and a conversion to HD on Sept. 24th. It's going to be an interesting work environment for at least the short-term future.
