Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review.

Q: I thought that I read that Andrew Stockey left WTAE after 30 years on the air. When I turned on my TV today, there was an advertisement playing showing Stockey. Is he only on vacation or has he retired?

— Joy, via email

Rob: As soon as this question arrived, I knew exactly what Joy was referring to.

Earlier this month, Stockey posted to social media that he was celebrating the “completion” of 30 years at Channel 4. He was on vacation for a few days after that post before returning the following week.

When I first saw Stockey’s Facebook post, I also initially did a double take at the word “completion” because my instinctive response, similar to Joy’s, was to read it as “conclusion,” even though that’s not what the word means nor what Stockey intended. He completed 30 years, but Stockey remains with the station and isn’t going anywhere.

Q: I was surprised to see Gannon University sponsor a segment on our local Channel 4 news. Why is a university located in Erie sponsoring a local TV news station that is not in their viewing area and, if they are a sponsor, why aren’t any promos shown for the university during the newscast?

— Joe, Pittsburgh

Rob: I never was able to find this sponsorship – Joe sent me a screengrab of the university’s logo in the lower third graphic during WTAE’s 4 p.m. newscast but it wasn’t there when I went looking for it — so the promotion may have ended already. Having the logo in the lower third was the sponsorship.

I don’t find it surprising that Gannon would try to get its name out in Pittsburgh. Presumably, viewers in the Erie market are familiar with the school while those in Pittsburgh are less likely to know about it, hence, the need to advertise in Pittsburgh. People have been known to leave Pittsburgh to go to college and this was an effort to familiarize the local audience with a school located elsewhere in Pennsylvania.

Q: What happened to KDKA ’s over-the-air signal on March 9? I lost it all of a sudden and I don’t seem to have any idea what’s happened.

— Ralph, Greensburg

Rob: What likely happened: Leaves grew on trees, interfering with the digital broadcast signal.

This is an issue for some viewers every spring since the switch from analog to digital television in 2009. Digital signals are more susceptible to interference from things like trees.

Maybe this year that tree grew just enough that when the new leaves came out, the signal got blocked. There are some options viewers can try to improve reception, including use of indoor or outdoor antennas.

There was no change to the way WPKD-TV broadcasts KDKA , so interference is the likely culprit.

Q: Where has Kelly Clarkson been? She hasn’t been on her own daytime talk show show for several weeks and guest hosts have filled in.

— Cathy, Blairsville

Rob: As of this writing, Clarkson’s whereabouts remain a mystery. She has not addressed her absence on social media and a show publicist did not respond to an inquiry. Listings released suggest she’s expected to return to host episodes scheduled to air March 18, 20 and 21.