Chris Clark, WCNC’s (Channel 36) new sports director, has this eye thing going and this head thing going.

Eye thing first.

When he was a kid, he’d mock his dad, who used to do a “look-me-in-the-eye” thing, like Joe Pesci in “Goodfellas.” He thought it was something that would also work on TV, and does it with high school football coverage.

He’s been on for about a month, and players he covers already get it.

“They’ll come over and point to their eyes and point to the camera,” says Clark. “If the kids do it, they know I’ll put it on television. They’re yelling, ‘Looking at you!’ Does it have anything to do with football? No. But everyone’s having fun with it and remembering it.”

Now the head thing.

Clark says he used to have a mop of hair like the Zack Morris character from “Saved By the Bell.” When he was working at a station in Atlanta, he was taken off-air and put into a producer’s role. Nobody cared what he looked like behind the scenes, so he shaved his head. His wife loved it.

Now he’s one of the few bald TV news personalities in Charlotte.

“When I go on camera, I stick out like a broken finger. People think, ‘Is that Dr. Evil?’ It’s noticeable. It stands out. It turns heads. That’s the first step. The second is to keep the eyeballs on you.”

Clark, 37, grew up in suburban Washington. His family was in the construction business and raised horses.

He started college at Wingate, then transferred after two years to Bowie State University in Maryland so he could play baseball. His career has taken him to sports broadcasting jobs in Clarksburg, W.Va., Savannah, Ga., Tampa and Atlanta.

He says he was drawn to the job at NBC Charlotte because he always wanted to run a sports department and try things he thought might work to energize sports segments. Right now, he’s putting together a series, “Real Men Live Like Real Men,” showcasing cool cars and man caves.

Local sports segments have been de-emphasized at many stations around the country. “Most sports fans already know the stuff that’s happened because it’s been on ESPN,” he says. “For local TV though, anyone who wants to see sports is going to hang around and see it.

“There’s 25 percent of the viewers who just don’t care – we can go on and say we’re going to show you how to make lead into gold and they won’t watch it. But there’s that group in the middle – if you don’t talk sports to them with a lot of stats and figures and make it interesting, they’ll watch it. If you make it interesting you’ll grow an audience, and that’s what I hope I can do here.”

Media Movers

WSOC (Channel 9) reporter Dan Tordjman, who apologized last week on his personal Twitter account for a September tweet that said he expected New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano to be accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, has left the station. He hasn’t been on air since the Sept. 20 incident, and Channel 9 aired a correction and apology for Tordjman’s personal post last week. He had been with station for a year. … Joining WBT-AM (1110) later this month as program director is Jason Furst from upstate New York where he programs three stations. He replaces longtime WBT-er Carl East, who left the station this week. …

WTVI (Channel 42) has returned to providing a civic affairs program, “Off the Record” airing at 9:30 p.m. Fridays. It is modeled on the long-running “Final Edition,” which was canceled in 2009 during a round of budget cuts. Panelists on last week’s first edition were Herbert White, editor of The Charlotte Post; reporter Shawn Flynn of News 14 Carolina; Beatrice Thompson, news and public affairs director of WBAV-FM; and Observer political reporter Jim Morrill. It is hosted by WTVI general manager David Rhew, a former WBTV (Channe1 3) reporter who unintentionally provided a homage to the old show when signing off the broadcast: “We hope you’ll tune in next week at 9:30 for ‘Final Edition’ – excuse me, for ‘Off the Record.’” …

Anniversary of note: consumer reporter Don Griffin marked 30 years at Channel 9 on Thursday. … Wayne Brown, who managed WPEG-FM (“Power” 98.7) and WBAV-FM (“V” 101.9) in the 1990s and was active in Charlotte’s civic community, died last weekend in Atlanta of liver cancer at age 55. …

Doug Kellett, known for his fill-in host duties at WBT-AM, takes over as morning host on Raleigh’s WPTF-AM (850). … Mike Seidel of the Weather Channel will speak Saturday at the annual Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas meeting in Charlotte. …

Three local barbeque chefs, Zach Goodyear of Sauceman’s BBQ, Debbie Holt of Clyde Cooper’s BBQ and Sam Jones of Skylight Inn, will be filmed for an episode of Destination America’s “BBQ Pitmasters” Saturday at the N.C. Music Factory during Time Warner Cable BBQ & Blues Festival. … Owen Stuart, 17, of Charlotte has advanced to the Top 24 round on Fox’s “The X Factor” with his group Playback, which will be mentored by Simon Cowell.