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Photo, color. KTNV news director Richard Urey shows off the station's
dramatic new set. Jeff Scheid/Review-Journal
Richard Urey stood against the wall, lighting an unfiltered Camel cigarette, using the KTNV TV-13 building to shield him from the cold wind.
The station's news director had just finished working on a story (a rarity for news directors), and was unwinding in the parking lot from a day of dealing with executives from the home office in Milwaukee and overseeing the "Inside Las Vegas" evening newscast.
Nearby, Urey's motorcycle rested on its kickstand awaiting repair, his pickup, complete with camper shell and bashed-in tailgate, was parked in his space and across the way was his car of unknown vintage.
Aside from being a good place to park his vehicles, Channel 13 has been Urey's employer for the last couple of years, and his biggest challenge _ the station's newscast has been third in the ratings since anyone can remember.
Making the station a viable competitor has been the former radio and TV news reporter's mission, and a recent change in newscast name and set design are the last pieces of his plan to make Channel 13 competitive, he says between drags on his cigarette.
"Our research shows more viewers were familiar with what we do than were filling out the ratings survey," Urey said. He acknowledged that viewers have had trouble pinning down the station's identity, and the set change, among other things, was part of his plan to overhaul Channel 13's image.
"We said, `Let's make it (the set) really different, so that more likely people will know they're watching Channel 13."'
If being different is the only criterion, the new set, designed by Michael Wright of Los Angeles, would have...