First on The Scene

Several dozen people were injured in the collapse of a crowded deck at the popular Shuckers Bar & Grill tonight in North Bay Village (just outside Miami).

The incident occurred as crowded the deck to watched the Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs play their NBA Finals game.

The deck collapsed in the during the first half of the game. Many were thrown into Biscayne Bay about 10 feet below as the deck broke in half.

Some were rescued from the water by heroic bartenders and waiters at first, then by EMS crews.

WSVN in Miami was first on the scene. Which was no surprise, since the station was right next door and one of their directors was in the bar. 

Look Who's Back in TV News

Back in May, FTVLive told you about Jay Plyburn.

Plyburn was the reporter that quit his job  at Hearst Duop  KHBS-/ KHOG (Ft. Smith)  because he was sent out in bad weather to cover a storm. 

Plyburn claims that he was sent out to cover possible tornado damage and he as he wrote in an email to his co-workers "lightning was striking all around us. This was the single most frightening experience of my life."

Then when he got back to the station, no one even took the time to say "thank you."

In his email, which also doubled as his resignation letter, Plyburn wrote "When the day was done and we finally got back to the station, it was business as usual. No managers had any sort of feedback...just a new list of things they wanted done."

He then use the email to say he would not be coming back into work and no story was worth losing his life over.

Plyburn has landed another another job and it is back in TV news. He will be the morning anchor across the street at KFSM. 

We advised Plyburn to get out of the business altogether, but it appears that he did not take our advice.

Hopefully as an anchor, Plyburn will just stay inside the cushy studio all day and KFSM won't dare send him out on story where he might be in danger. And God knows, you better thank him when he gets back from the story! 

All we can say is good luck Jay and don't shuffle those papers around to fast on the anchor desk. We don't want you to get a paper cut and end up quitting the station.   

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.