Debbie Bush is good to go

Two years ago the news director at NBC affiliate KSHB-TV quietly let key people know that she wanted to try her hand at running a station. And apropos of this picture I took of her in 2003, Debbie Bush can now say: Mission accomplished.

She revealed yesterday that she's been named general manager of WFIE-TV ("We're First In Evansville"), the top-rated station owned by Raycom in the 101st market, Evansville, Indiana. Nothing should be read into the fact that Bush will be going down sharply in market size (from #31 here), as that is customary when one jumps from ND to GM. Anyway, she'll be in charge of more troops than she is now, with a staff of 90 at WFIE.

Nor is going to Evansville in any way an indictment of the job Bush did here, unlike if (say) a news anchor had suddenly tumbled 50 or 60 markets. In her five years at KSHB she steered the NBC affiliate to its best ratings since it switched from Fox 13 years ago. It's now got a pulse at 5 and 6 p.m., though she'd be the first to credit management for grabbing "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of Fortune" from KCTV. Above all, KSHB just feels like a player in local TV news, which it didn't when she arrived five years ago.

"Research tells us we're further ahead than the ratings do," Bush told me this afternoon.  "Just wait. This market doesn't like change, but change will come.  Unfortunately it won't come on my watch.  We're not No. 1, but there are times when we are No. 1 and times when we're consistently No. 2."

Bush allowed as how it will be "fun" to work at an established market leader, "as opposed to one that has to work very hard for its niche." But, ever the diplomat, she was quick to add that she likes to work hard.
No kidding: She's leaving KSHB on Aug. 17, taking the weekend off, and beginning work in Evansville on Aug. 21.