Together Again...

Fox News and Sarah Palin are back together.  

Palin and KNC parted ways about 5 months ago, but now Palin is back in the Fox News payrool as a paid contributor.

“The power of FOX News is unparalleled. The role of FOX News in the important debates in our world is indispensable" Palin said in a statement. "I am pleased and proud to be rejoining Roger Ailes and the great people at FOX.”

She officially starts back at FNC on Monday.  

Ummmm...That's Not Soledad

Can some please show the NY Post who Soledad O'Brien is. 

The Post used image of Latina CNN anchor Zoraida Sambolin in a story about Ex-CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien.

Blip: Rupert Murdoch Files For Divorce

Rupert Murdoch has filed for divorce from his wife Wendi Deng Murdoch, according to Deadline.

File this under who the hell cares? 

BELO Stations Holding Staff Meetings

Word is that the BELO is calling for all hands on deck meetings at their stations.

For instance  an "ALL EMPLOYEE" meeting has been called for 2:30pm at KTVK in Phoenix.

The GM's at the BELO station have been given their talking points from corporate and will address the staff about the news that Gannett is buying the company.  

Although some employees are already a bit worried as to what will happen, there is time. The transaction of the deal is not expected to close until near the end of the year.

FTVLive has been to,d that Today's meeting is more about "calming down the troops" and answering some basic questions. 

Stay tuned...  

The Internal Memo to BELO Staff

Here is the internal memo that was sent to the staff at BELO about the company selling out to Gannett: 

Gannett to Buy BELO

2013 is going down as the year of the TV stations sale. and this latest one is a blockbuster.  

Gannett  and Belo jointly announced today that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Gannett will acquire all outstanding shares of Belo for $13.75 per share in cash, or approximately $1.5 billion, plus the assumption of $715 million in existing debt for an enterprise value of approximately $2.2 billion. 

The combination creates a broadcast “Super Group,” catapulting Gannett into the nation’s fourth-largest owner of major network affiliates reaching nearly a third of all U.S. households.

The acquisition nearly doubles Gannett’s current broadcast portfolio from 23 to 43 stations, including stations to be serviced by Gannett through shared services or similar sharing arrangements. Upon completion of the transaction, Gannett’s Broadcast segment will have greater geographic and revenue diversity, with 21 stations in the top 25 markets and will become the #1 CBS affiliate group, the #4 ABC affiliate group, and will expand its already #1 NBC affiliate group position. 

My Brain Has Gotten Smaller

Yesterday, FTVLive broke the news that famed LA Chopper Reporter Bob Tur was going to change from a man to a woman.  

Tur says he has been on hormones to change from a man to a woman for the for the past 35 days.

He says that being on the hormone treatment he can feel his body change and his brain get smaller, like a woman's.

Not sure many woman are going to appreciate Bob saying that.

“There have been incredible changes that happen physically and mentally. Mental changes have already happened. The brain is plastic, so its gotten smaller and feminized. I’m thinking the same way a woman would think. About the five-month mark, you won’t recognize me. My body is changing, my skin is changing, hair is changing, and I’ll have a female shape. Breasts start growing and I’ll lose body hair. Later on, about 12 months, there are another couple of surgeries. Facial feminization surgery and sexual reassignment surgery,” Tur said.

Tur's daughter Katy is a reporter for NBC News and has yet to speak about her Dad's decision to become a woman. 

Tur is chronicling his change from man to to woman on his Facebook page Robert "Zoey" Tur.  

Tur plans on changing his name from Bob to Zoey, when he becomes a woman.  

Left on the Cutting Room Floor

Last night, FTVLive favorite Robin Meade held a private launch concert in New York at "The Cutting Room." 

The concert was to promote her new album "Count on me" which is available on iTunes and at Target.  

Robin was nice enough to extend FTVLive an invitation and we almost hopped on a plane to the Big Apple so we could attend and support our favorite anchor and country singer. 

When we got the invitation we saw that CNN President Jeff Zucker would be there, we also found out that Matt Lauer would also be there along with a bunch of who's who in the network TV world. 

We decided that FTVLive being in the same room as Jeff Zucker and Matt Lauer might make for some very interesting stories. But, in the end we decided the night should be about Robin and her brand new excellent album.  

Plus, we could not find a kevlar vest on such short notice. 

FTVLive politely declined the invite.

But DAMN! You just know how much fun it would have been.  

Triple OT!

Today's FTVLive is being done with one eye closed as we try to catch up on the sleep lost thanks to game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The Chicago Blackhawks Outlasted the Boston Bruins, Winning Opener in Third Overtime.

The game was broadcast on NBC and it pushed the late local newscast into early this morning. 

While true hockey fans were glided to the tube, some news anchors were ready for the game to be over and get on with the news. 

Walker is the news anchor WDSU in New Orleans and he was clearly not happy that the game was going on and on.

Sugalski works at WESH in Orlando and she's pregnant with triplets that are due very soon. The while it was a long wait for the game to end, Sugalski was waiting for 4. 

Zimmerman Jury Not Fans of the Media

One thing seems for certain, the potential jurors in the George Zimmerman trial are not big fans of the media.  

Yesterday the potential jurors toom a number of swipes while giving their impressions of news outlets.

A woman known as E-73 was asked if she watched Fox News Channel. "Not if I can help it," she said. But she didn't watch MSNBC, either.

A woman known as M-75 said she watched Fox News in the morning, but she couldn't remember anchor names. (So much for making a connection.) She didn't watch Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity, the biggest Fox News stars. She didn't read newspapers, either.

A man known as B-72 watched Central Florida News 13 and CNN, but said he doesn't pay attention to the news because it drags him down. And he didn't care about the Zimmerman case because it didn't involve anyone he knows. "After a while, I got sick of hearing it," he said. He added that he tries to avoid the media because he doesn't want to be brainwashed.

Ouch!

H/T Orlando Sentinel  

NY Station Makes an ASS of their Interviewee

WPIX in New York made an ass out of themselves during the 5PM newscast yesterday.

Or should we say that made an ass out of a person they were interviewing.

The station was covering the Window washers that were trapped 46 floors up outside the Hearst building in New York. 

Above is a screen cap of the the chyron the station used while interviewing an expert on the phone.

Did no one in the control room notice this?!

Going Up?

CNN will be kicking off their latest attempt at a morning show on Monday. 

"New Day" will be anchored by Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan and Michaela Pereira.
And to show that CNN is serious this time, they are spending some big bucks promoting the show. Including decking out the elevator doors of the Time Warner Center.

Chris Cuomo thought it was a bit odd while waiting for the ride up on the elevators:  

At least when the elevator doors open,  Chris and Michaela get to stay in one piece. Poor Kate Bolduan loses her right arm, hand and breast as the doors open up.

Ouch! 

Fair and Balanced?....why Yes...sort of

Fox News catches heat often about their slogan "Fair and Balanced."  

Many seem to think the cable network is neither fair or balanced, but take a look at this video. 

When George Bush was President, Fox's Sean Hannity was all for the NSA spying and the Patriot Act. 

Now, with Obama in office, he is 100% against the NSA. 

So he was for the NSA and now he's against the NSA.

How much more fair can you get than that? 

Buffalo Station Names New GM

WIVB the LIN station in Buffalo has named a new General Manager. 

Rene LaSpina will take over the station that is suffering from a very low morale problem and sagging ratings.

LaSpina had been the GM at low rated, low morale WPTY in Memphis. WPTY has recently rebranded themselves and started over from scratch. 

LaSpina did work across state from 2004-2009 at WTEN in Albany where the station went through huge turnover during her reign.

She replaces Chris Musial who was either fired or resigned, depending on who you ask.