KOMO moves Eric Johnson to anchor chair

If you've tuned in to a newscast on KOMO-TV lately, you've noticed things have changed.

First came new music. Then a new logo and set. Then the introduction of a new kind of "ombudsman" journalism feature. And the arrival of a once-rival meteorologist doing the morning news.

Now beginning tonight, no more Dan Lewis anchoring at 5 p.m. His replacement: Eric Johnson, the station's longtime sports journalist.

And just one day after the anchor change was announced comes more: Jim Tellus, the station's news director, is leaving to take a job at the NBC affiliate in Indianapolis.

So what exactly's going on? Do all these changes mean "brighter and bolder" news coverage, as station heads would have you believe? Or do they signal trouble at KOMO?

In the ratings race, KOMO and KIRO news are just about tied for second place. KING continues to rule.

Last year's fall sweeps' ratings for the 5 p.m. local newscasts, according to Nielsen, showed KING with a 22 share of the market; KOMO and KIRO each had a 12 (meaning 12 percent of the greater-Seattle household market had their TVs tuned to those stations). KCPQ doesn't have a 5 p.m. news show.

The man responsible for so much change: Jim Clayton, vice president and general manager, who arrived at the station this summer from Fox TV in New York.

The logo, music and set changes were all about improving "packaging," Clayton said in an interview last week.

"I'd never seen a TV station where the call letters were all lowercase," he said about the logo, for example. So, no more. "It signaled to me that the station needed to be bolder and brighter and a little bit louder." Which explains, partly, the recent hiring of Jim Castillo, who used to be the meteorologist at the Fox affiliate in town. Castillo left Seattle six years ago to work in Los Angeles and then New York (Clayton was his boss there). When Castillo's New York contract wasn't renewed, Clayton snapped him up for his morning news show here.

"We want people who pop on television," Clayton said.

The station also wants juicier content, so it's added a new "Problem Solvers" feature, which focuses on fixing what's at fault. Clayton calls it "advocacy journalism."

"My view is that every station in Seattle does a good job covering the news. If we want to separate ourselves, it's with content that's something above and beyond."

But it was something basic that led to Johnson's promotion. "We need to broaden our bench for male anchors here," Clayton said. "When Dan is off we really didn't have anyone who could substitute."

So now at 5 p.m., Johnson will sit alongside Mary Nam. And when Lewis anchors the 6 and 11 p.m. news shows, Johnson will continue filing his sports reports.

For Johnson, a move into the anchor chair was first broached several years ago. He wasn't ready back then, he says.

Now he's looking forward to the challenge.

"Yes, sports is a huge part of my life. But I don't go to bed every night thinking only about sports," he said.

Johnson's been a TV journalist for 22 years, beginning in Boise, then Spokane, Portland and, since 1993, at KOMO. He's earned 29 Emmys. Some might say his most memorable moment as a sports journalist was when Lou Piniella wept while explaining his decision to leave Seattle. Others could argue Johnson shone every time he delivered his "Eric's Little Heroes" features that showcased assorted tykes playing (or trying to) play sports. That feature, however, has been dead for the past year.

Can he continue to score points when he moves to the anchor spot? You'll have to watch to see.

Florangela Davila: 206-464-2916 or fdavila@seattletimes.com