Talking Turkey

NBC's Richard Engel is in the middle of the protests going on in Turkey. Engel and his crew have had to add some new equipment to their coverage plans. 

Gas masks! 

Turkish police are using heavy amounts of tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets as they attempt to clear the area of the anti-government protestors who have occupying it for over a week.

Protestors responded with makeshift barricades, only to be overrun by the riot police.

For TV crews back here in the U.S., it makes covering Today's City Council meeting seem even more boring that usual.

My 3 Day Project that is Lasting a Week

Why do guys think they can knock out a project around the house in just a few hours?  

It must be in our DNA.

I made the huge mistake of taking on a project that I thought I could knock out real quick and I'm still not done with it. 

Then, Yesterday I new problem arose. 

Find out about my living hell in ScottLand.  

One Year Ago...

It's hard to believe that one year ago Today, Good Morning America's Robin Roberts was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome.  

There were some that didn't give her a year to live. But she proved them wrong and has show great courage and an awesome attitude in her fight.

She tweeted this message early this morning: 

Get out of Bed with Hottie Julie Durda

Do you want to have weather hottie Julie Durda wake you up each morning? 

There's an app for that. 

WPLG in Miami has released a new app called "Wake Up With Local 10." The app gives users easy access to the time, weather, traffic and a live stream of  WPLG all from its home page. 

But the most interesting feature has to be the alarm clock. You can set the alarm to play a pre-recorded wake up greeting from any one of the WPLG morning news anchors –
Jason Martinez,  Jen Herrera, Constance Jones or the very popular Julie Durda.

We haven't downloaded the app yet, so we don't know what sweet things Durda whispers in your ear to wake you, but were guessing it might not be as sexy as what many guys had hoped.

If you don't want one of the WPLG anchors to wake you...you can always pick a police siren. It is

Miami after all.

H/T SFLTV

The Missing 7 Minutes leads Atlanta Stations Newscasts

Yesterday, FTVLive FIRST told you that WGCL in Atlanta was catching heat from viewers when they dumped out of The Tony Awards early to start their newscast.

Viewers lit the station up on social media and with phone calls to the station. 

Yesterday, after our story, the station released a statement as to what happened. Of course they put the initial blame on the network.

WGCL GM Trey Fabacher statement:

"Last night towards the end of the Tony Awards just after 11:00 p.m., WGCL encountered a few seconds of black and our local producers (as opposed to their national producers?)  accepted that trigger as the end of the network broadcast and began our 11 p.m. newscast. The network feed of the Tony Awards was not over and WGCL did not air the final seven minutes of the broadcast. This was a human error and action is being taken to guarantee this does not happen again. We apologize to our viewers who were watching the broadcast. CBS Atlanta News is a passionate supporter of the arts; this error in no way reflects the opinion of WGCL-TV, CBS Atlanta News or its employees. We will be airing the final segment of the Tony Awards at the start of all newscasts at 4 p.m., 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. today."

It appears that WGCL wasn't the only station fooled by the "few seconds of black," word is that WDJT also dumped out of The Tony's telecast. 

Al Jazeera America Has a Launch Date

If you're like me, you have been sitting on pins and needles wondering when Al Jazeera America is going to finally launch?

OK, so maybe you are really like me and could care less. 

Either way, the old Current TV channel will launch as Al Jazeera America the week of August 24th.

At launch they will have some shows already announced. Ali Velshi's show, called Real Money and air at 7PM., a nightly newsmagazine will be on at 9 and America Tonight, which will be a more in depth news show will also be in the prime time lineup.

But the network still doesn't have a President. 

Rumors have circulated that for CNN News Boss Jon Klein and former ABC news head David Westin are pitching the gig.

Word is that Al Jazeera is going to make a hire in the next couple of weeks.

Don't let the Facts get in the Way of a Good Story

During the May book, WSMV in Nashville spent a lot of time airing reports on a local woman gone missing. Now that the book is over, the station is correcting all the wrong information they gave in their reports.

They spent a good deal of the newscast eating crow as they read a statement that sounded like it was written by the station's attorney.  

Here's their on air apology: 

WSMV Channel 4

What the....

I'm not sure what is going on here with WCNC Anchor Larry Sprinkle. But, we might need a clean up in the studio. #dogpoopstance 
 

The Media Seating Chart for the Zimmerman Trial

Here is the media seating chart for the George Zimmerman trial.  As you can see Orlando stations WKMG, WESH and WFTV all landed front row seats to the trial.

Also occupying the front row is NBC and the Orlando Sentinel. 

Jury selection in the trial started Today.  

My Name is Mud...

Not sure why you would pull the live truck off the road into the mud, but it appears the crew might be here for awhile. 

Of course the Reporter sits in the truck on her phone, waiting for the Photographer remedy the situation. 

Typical...  

Staying out of the Hood(ie)

With the George Zimmerman trial starting Today, Sinclair has sent down an edict not to show pictures of Trayvon Martin wearing a hoodie. 

The Producers at WPEC in West Palm Beach were sent a memo that says to replace any photos in any packages that show Martin wearing a hoodie. 

The memo read in part: 

"Do not use any photos showing Trayvon Martin wearing a hoodie. 

Do not show show Trayvon wearing a hoodie in vid boxes, teases, cold opens or in packages that are downloaded from CBS or CNN. If there is a pic of Trayvon wearing a hoodie in a CBS or CNN pkg please replace it."

Corporate has approve 9 photos that are allowed on the newscasts at WPEC.  

No word if Sinclair is allowing Producers to wear a hoodie in the often chilly WPEC newsroom.  

Couric Heading to CNN?

Is Katie Couric going to go to CNN to rejoin Jeff Zucker? 

FTVLive told you last week that Couric's talkshow 'Katie' is on deathwatch and many think next season will be the last for the perky one.

But, it appears that Couric may already have her next job lined up. 

Buzz in the hallways at ABC is that Couric could leave 'Katie"after Season 2 and head to CNN to rejoin Zucker.

“The show was oversold at syndication and hasn’t lived up to expectations,”  a TV source told Page Six. “Now everyone at ABC is gossiping that Katie will end up at CNN with Jeff.”

Stay tuned....