First-ever KSAT Pigskin Classic to Showcase High School Football at Alamodome

The first-ever KSAT Pigskin Classic will showcase six local high school football teams over three games in one day at the Alamodome on Saturday, August 27, 2022.

The full day of high school football action features the following matchups:

11:30 a.m.: Smithson Valley vs. Reagan

3:30 p.m.: Judson vs. Johnson

7:30 p.m.: Steele vs. Brennan

The games will be televised live starting at 11am on KSAT 12, on KSAT.com and KSAT Plus streaming as well at the Big Game Coverage mobile app and on the KSAT YouTube channel. Production of the BGC games is in partnership with Texas Sports Productions.

Tickets are available at the Alamodome box office and San Antonio area Lal Palapas locations. VIP seating packages are available for purchase at KSAT.com/pigskin.

Graham Media Group named Station Group of the Year

Graham Media Group has been named Station Group of the Year for 2021 by TVNewsCheck.

GMG, which is led by CEO Emily Barr, was recognized for its "early and aggressive strategy in content and platform experimentation with a view to longevity in a rapidly-changing industry."

TVNewsCheck recognized GMG as understanding the importance of emerging platforms in cultivating new and younger generations of viewers, where it has aggressively pursued audience data.

“Graham Media has long demonstrated a fearlessness in experimentation from the presentation of its news content to the platforms on which it iterates,” said TVNewsCheck Editor Michael Depp. “Emily Barr’s leadership embodies the recognition of tectonic changes in the industry, the embrace of innovation to meet those changes and the smart entrepreneur’s instinct to pivot quickly around both successes and failures. Graham’s pioneering work in streaming news content and its exploration of a viewer membership scheme are only the most recent proof of the company’s fundamental understanding that it must adapt to fundamentally changing audience habits and sensibilities. And the company’s independent streak amid the enormous pressures of a consolidating industry compels respect in its tenacity.”

WKMG-TV finalist for National Association of Broadcasters Service to America Award

Graham Media Group’s WKMG-TV in Orlando has been named a finalist for the National Association of Broadcasters Service to America Award for the fourth consecutive year in a row.

WKMG News 6 and ClickOrlando.com have been committed to helping Floridians make ends meet since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, which has put a financial strain on countless Americans, particularly in Florida, where the state’s unemployment system became clogged last year. Now, that work is being recognized.

Hearing story after story about Floridians struggling to pay their bills or put food on the table after being left without work due to statewide layoffs and furloughs sparked the station’s “Make Ends Meet” series, led by News 6 investigator Mike Holfeld and photojournalist Robert Breuer.

News 6 has reached out to individuals and state and congressional lawmakers by the day and month, trying to get help for those who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ongoing campaign began in March 2020 and remains a weekly part of newscasts and the website.

Holfeld began airing and posting a series of Make Ends Meet economic reports on March 30, 2020. At that time, the entire campaign was aimed at helping families who were suddenly unemployed develop a budget based on their stimulus check and state and federal economic relief.

What Holfeld realized very quickly is that life in the pandemic was more about surviving than simply budgeting.

Since the start of the series, News 6 has worked to recover nearly $1 million in unemployment from the Department of Economic Opportunity for deserving people, and has procured more than $60,000 in donations from viewers.

Because of the difference News 6 has made through the Make Ends Meet initiative, the station has again landed a spot among the finalists for the National Association of Broadcasters Service to America Award.

The award is presented each year by the NAB Leadership Foundation to honor outstanding public service commitment of local television and radio broadcasters.

News 6 has been a recipient of the prestigious award twice before.

WKMG-TV was honored in 2019 for its work to help first responders with post-traumatic stress disorder receive benefits they needed to deal with their illness. The station’s 21-month fight resulted in the passing of Florida state law providing those benefits for all first responders.

News 6 was recognized in 2020 for its “Driving Change” campaign, led by News 6 anchor Matt Austin, who was hit by a driver who admitted to texting behind the wheel. The station's coverage over the span of three years led to changing the texting and driving law in the state of Florida from a primary offense to a secondary offense.

The winner of the Service to America award will be announced later this year.

Graham Media Group stations win big at LMA Digital Innovation Awards

Each year, the Local Media Association awards the leaders in each market, and this year, Graham Media Group stations won big.

An especially noteworthy award went to Dustin Block, the audience development lead for Graham Media Group.

Block was named Innovator of the Year and was recognized for his leading content strategies and original, digital content production for platforms across the group, as well as driving new content and revenue opportunities.

“I’ve had the chance to work with Dustin on several innovation projects and have been consistently impressed with his thoughtfulness, his creativity, and his ability to combine technology with content innovation to create better journalism and sustainable business models,” said Frank Mungeam, LMA chief innovation officer. “Dustin is on the short list of people who ask me innovation questions that no one has ever asked me before. He is a worthy winner of LMA’s award for News Innovator of the Year.”

In addition to Block’s big win, Graham Media Stations won the most awards of any media company, of which include:

WDIV and ClickOnDetroit.com

• 1st place: Best Contest and/or Promotion – Win for Vote 4 The Best
• 1st place: Best Local Newsletter/Email Strategy
• 2nd place: Best Contest and/or Promotion – Win for 4Frenzy
• 3rd place: Best Digital News Project

WJXT and News4Jax.com

• 1st place: Best Virtual Event
• 3rd place: Best Local Website
• 3rd place: Best Branded Content Strategy

KPRC and Click2Houston.com

• 2nd place: Best Service to Diverse Audiences
• 3rd place: Best COVID 19 Local Community Coverage

KSAT and KSAT.com

• 3rd place: Best Local Newsletter/Email Strategy

WKMG and ClickOrlando.com

• 2nd place: Best Local Newsletter/Email Strategy