The Strange Dating Life of Katie Couric

The Strange Dating Life of Katie Couric

Katie Couric has admitted ​to going on a date with Larry King, but that isn't the only strange guy she has dated.

“I think women need to be much more open-minded,” Couric told Howard Stern on his SirusXM show of her dates with Bob Saget and Jeff Probst.

Couric’s romances with both Saget and Probst were both limited to singular dates. She said her date with the potty-mouthed Full House star was fun, but he never called for back.

“I don’t think I did it for him,” she admitted.

Her relationship with Survivor‘s Probst was also as shortlived as his tenure as a talk show host.

“I think he had puka shells on,” Couric reminisced. “That was kind of a weird thing.”

Stern expressed his surprised that neither man called Couric for a second date. However, she reassured him that she didn’t lose any sleep over unrequited love.

But one guy that was stranger than all asked Couric on a date. Who it is after the hop.  
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There Goes the Neighborhood

There Goes the Neighborhood

Matt Lauer isn't the only one that wants Ann Curry out...so does her neighbors.​

Curry’s neighbors have branded the former “Today” co-anchor as “mean-spirited” and “uncaring” -- criticism caused by Curry’s decade-long renovations on her allegedly uninhabited Manhattan brownstone.

The accusation hardly fits the sympathetic portrait painted of Curry after her unceremonious ouster from the NBC morning show.

John Lee and his wife Lynne Lummel, who live next door to the TV journalist....

What they have to say about living next to Curry after the jump.  ​

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Buffalo Anchor Leaving Low Rated Morning Show

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WKBW Morning co-anchor Patrick Taney is leaving the station at the end of July for a job in Rochester.

Taney is headed to WHEC in Rochester.

WKBW News Director Polly Van Doren wrote in an email to the staff that the move to Rochester will enable Taney to spend more time and care for his parents who live close by.

Taney joined the station in 2007 and has been the co-anchor of the last place morning show. ​

The station is looking for a replacement.

It might be a good spot for someone currently ​in the Witness Protection Program. As low rated as the morning newscast is, it's a good bet that no one will see them. 

Twin Cities News Director to Fox Sports 1

Twin Cities News Director to Fox Sports 1

​FOX Sports announced that Bill Dallman, a longtime executive at multiple FOX owned-and- operated news stations, has been tabbed to serve as Vice President/News Director for FOX Sports 1, America’s new sports network, coming August 17.

Dallman reports to Rick Jaffe, Senior Vice President, News, beginning July 1, and works with affiliates and FOX Sports Regional networks in managing the news-gathering operation and overseeing the editorial format of FOX SPORTS LIVE, the network’s signature three-hour news, opinion and highlight show airing nightly at 11:00 PM ET.

“Bill is a tremendous addition to the news group and we are very excited to have someone with his expertise involved with FOX Sports 1,” said Jaffe. “Bill is not only a great news man, but a creative thinker who will bring a different perspective to traditional sports coverage.''

More after the hop.  ​

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2 In and 1 Out at WCCO

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Some changes to the on air lineup at WCCO in Minneapolis.

Susan-Elizabeth Littlefield (pictured), who most recently was at WIS-TV in Columbia, S.C., joined the station last week. She covered the recent snowstorm -- a novelty for the Georgia native who had to ask co-workers for tips on how to dress for the weather. She also shoveled snow for the first time. There's nothing like a hearty Minnesota welcome.

The station is also adding a reporter to its sports department. David McCoy -- a former sports intern at WCCO who comes from WSBT-TV in South Bend, Ind. -- will start his new gig on March 18. He will report on sports during the week and for "Rosen's Sports Sunday" and will fill in on the anchor desk when Mark Rosen or Mike Max are on vacation.

And after a year and a half at WCCO, reporter Chris Stanford left the station at the end of February for a job as weekend anchor at KMOV-TV in St. Louis, Mo.

Pioneer Press

Bumped up at Black Rock

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Bill Felling has been promoted to Executive Director, News Services for CBS News, it was announced today by CBS News Chairman and 60 MINUTES Executive Producer Jeff Fager and David Rhodes, President of CBS News.  In his new role, Felling will direct day-to-day newsgathering for CBS affiliates and broadcasters worldwide reporting to Kurt Davis, Vice President of News Services.

Felling joined CBS News in 1982 and has held various positions during his tenure.  Most recently, he served as CBS News’ National Editor since 1995, where he was a key figure in coordinating coverage for two Emmy Award-winning CBS News reports, including the September 11 attacks and the 1996 Olympic park bombing in Atlanta.  He also managed day-to-day coverage of 1996 Presidential campaigns for the hard news and special events broadcasts. 

The Top 5 Stories Read this MONTH on FTVLive

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As we wrap up the month of May. I looked back at the FTVLive stats to see what stories you guys read the most this month on FTVLive.

Here are the stories that you all clicked on and read the most for the Month of May 2013:​

No. 5 -​ NY Anchor Tweets Racy Message on Twitter By Mistake

No. 4 -​ Wolf Blitzer Asks Atheist Tornado Survivor, "Do You Thank The Lord?"

No. 3 -​ Chicago Sports Reporter Sacked for Old YouTube Videos

No. 2 -​ F-Bomb Anchor Now Tending Bar

And the most read story on FTVLive for the Month of May:​ 

Sorry Jay.... But that's Kind of How TV News Works

Pulling the Plug on The News Department

Pulling the Plug on The News Department

The plug has been pulled on a news operation north of the border.

The all-news CityNews Channel in Toronto is fading to black.

Rogers Media announced Thursday morning that the 24-hour channel, introduced in October 2011 to compete with all-news channel CP24, which is owned by rival Bell, would cease to operate.

A notice was posted on the channel and in the ticker: “CityNews Channel is no longer available. Thank you to our loyal viewers.

“Today, we made changes to the company’s television strategy to reflect evolving viewer habits and the global structural shift in advertising,” said Scott Moore, Rogers Media’s president of broadcast, in a statement.

More after the leap.   ​

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The Fox Mole: Dreading the Call from Roger Ailes

The Fox Mole: Dreading the Call from Roger Ailes

Joe Muto worked for Fox News until he was fired for leaking information about the Fox News Channel to the website Gawker.​

Muto was writing ​as the "Fox Mole" for Gawker and it didn't take long for Fox to sniff out the mole and get rid of him. 

Authorities raided ​raided Muto's apartment and took his laptop among other items. Muto ended up pleading guilty to two misdemeanor charges and he ain't ever getting back his laptop.

Since Muto's days in TV news are most likely over, he decided to write a book. It is aptly titled "An Atheist in the FOXhole."​

Muto talks about his time working as a Producer on "The O'Reilly Factor" and he talks about the one call that every producer deeded.​

Muto writes that "Roger (Ailes) himself had a phone in his office, a hotline he could pick up and immediately be connected to the control room. Every producer knew that, and dreaded seeing his name on the caller ID. If Roger took the time to personally call the control room, in my experience it was almost never complimentary."

What really pisses off Bill O'Reilly.... after the jump. ​

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WGN to Expand Morning Show

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Back on March 12th, FTVLive told you that WGN in Chicago was looking to expand their morning newscast. ​

We wrote that the move would likely happened this Fall when the syndicated Live with Kelly & Michael leaves the Tribune Broadcasting station. 

Months later, WGN has confirmed that they are in fact going to expend the "Morning News" ​in the Fall.

The addition of another hour of news will expand what already is the busiest television news operation in town, with weekday news blocks airing from 4 to 10am, 11am to 1pm, 5 to 6pm, and 9 to 10pm. That would make it a full 10 hours a day.

Chicago Weather Anchor Leaving

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WLS Meteorologist Mark Bishop is leaving the station after 8 years.

Word is that Bishop is headed to Nashville for a teaching job.​

In addition to his weather forecasting duties at WLS, Bishop has been a full-time professor in the Department of Communication at Olivet Nazarene University (In nearby Kankakee, Il) since 2001.

Bishop was the Director of the television/video production and film studies concentrations, he teaches classes in TV news, video editing, studio production communication ethics, and mass media and society.

At WLS, Bishop was the Weekend Morning Weather Anchor. His last day at te station is June 15th. ​

Huge Sports Anchor Shake Up in Jacksonville

Huge Sports Anchor Shake Up in Jacksonville

Dan Hicken, longtime sports anchor and sports director at WTLV/WJXX First Coast News, is leaving the station after almost 30 years to jump across the street.

Hicken is headed to WTEV TV/WAWS.

Jim Zerwekh, general manager at WTEV/WAWS announced on Wednesday that Brent Martineau was being elevated to sports director at the station effective immediately.

Word is that current WTEV/WAWS sports director Steve Wrigley is or will soon be out at the station. 

Hicken's contract was set to expire Friday, and the two sides could not come to an agreement. Tuesday was his last night on air. 

More after the hop. ​

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"That Can't Be Him"

"That Can't Be Him"

Yesterday, FTVLive told you about WMTW ReporterNorm Karkos and the missing man.

Karkos was doing live hits about the search for a 72 year old man that was missing. The man walked right up to Karkos while he was on camera.

Karkos exchanged ​pleasantries with the man but it did click that this was the same guy he was reporting about. 

“I just looked at him and I was thinking, that can’t be him,” Karkos, an anchor-reporter, told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday.

“I was doing a double take, and he says, ‘Don’t put me on television,’ and I said, ‘I won’t,’ and I saw him walking a little farther and going toward a garage," Karkos said.

McDonough then circled back while Karkos did his live broadcast about McDonough’s disappearance -- as McDonough watched.

“We wrapped up, and he kind of approaches me, and he says ‘So?’ And I said, ‘So what?’ And he said, ‘Don’t you want to talk to me?’ ”

More after the hop.  ​

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O-Town Station Starting 4PM

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The Doctor is Out at WFTV in Orlando.​

The O-Town station is starting up a 4PM newscast that will replace Dr. Oz. The Doc's show is being moved to 3PM.

The newscast, anchored Bob Opsahl, Martie Salt is expected to hit the air June 10th. 

The moves are long-term, WFTV General Manager Shawn Bartelt said. "Dr. Oz should be strong in the 3 p.m. time period with the 'General Hospital' lead-in," she said. " 'Feud' performs well with both women and men viewers. And our Eyewitness News viewer will know they can get the jump on major news, breaking news and weather at 4."

The moves could help bolster WFTV's 5 p.m. news, which fell behind WESH-Channel 2 and WOFL-Channel 35 in the 25-to-54 age group during the May ratings period.

H/T Orlando Sentinel ​

CNBC Pulls Plug on "Crowd Rules"

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NY!'s Pat Kiernan was given the chance to do more than a cable news show in New York City. ​

He was given his on show on CNBC called "Crowd Rules." ​The show was a business competition show that Kiernan hosted along with jewelry designer Kendra Scott.

It's been on the air just a few weeks, so we decided to check in and see how it is going for the local news anchor?​

Not good.​

CNBC has already canceled the show ​and you knew it wasn't going to last long when drew a dismal 47,000 viewers in its debut airing.

Oh well, back to local cable news.​

Zucker Slams Fox News, MSNBC

Zucker Slams Fox News, MSNBC

CNN Boss Jeff Zucker took some swipes at both Fox News and MSNBC.​

“Those two channels are covering political news. We’re covering politics and much more,” Jeff Zucker said of the two. “Our competition now is two political channels that have actually left most of the actual news coverage to the side,” he also said. 

​Zucker made the comments at this year’s D11 conference in Ranchos Palos Verdes.

“News is how you define it, we define it broadly as news and information. We’re expanding the audience that is watching CNN. In order to be successful, we need to bring new viewers,” he added stressing that elements of CNN programming have more in common now with Discovery and Nat Geo than FNC and MSNBC. “

​More after the hop.  

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