News director Kirk Varner wants an evolution, not revolution, at WKRC-TV

Kirk is the new captain of the WKRC-TV (Channel 12) newsroom, which has been No. 1 in morning and 11 p.m. household ratings for years. Don't expect radical changes.

"It will be more of an evolution, not a revolution," says Varner, who's in his mid-50s.

Varner, on Tuesday, will replace news director Elbert Tucker, who resigned in September to take a similar position at WBNS-TV in Columbus. Varner brings 35 years of experience, having started in radio at 15 while attending high school in Charleston, S.C.

His TV career includes stops at WCBS-TV in New York, Boston, Buffalo, Time Warner corporate headquarters and ESPN.

He was the first news director for "Sports Center" (1985-89), long before ESPN2 or ESPNEWS. One of his claims to fame was allowing Chris Berman to use nicknames for professional athletes, which had been banned by a previous boss.

For Time Warner (1995-2001), he created 24-hour news channels in Tampa, Houston and other cities. Varner came here several times in the 1990s to talk about starting a 24-hour news channel with Virgil Reed, then Cincinnati division president. They decided not to challenge the Ohio News Network.

Tired of traveling, he left Time Warner and returned to local news at New Haven's WTNH-TV in 2001. He likes "being part of a community and having the ability to cover stories and affect change on a local level," he says.