Nexstar Starts Swinging the Ax in Fresno

Left Coast sources are telling FTVLive the ax is starting to swing in Fresno.

It's not like anyone didn't expect it.

When Nexstar purchased Fresno's KSEE and KGPE, it was inevitable that jobs would be lost. Just look at Nexstar's track record.  

Sources tell FTVLive that 30-year AM anchor has been canned…. as well as the Midday anchor.  

KGPE is slated to move into the same building with KSEE in the Fall, so many more cuts are expected.  

Message to staff:  You might want to update that resume. 
 

Hey Fox News, CNN and MSNBC .... WTF?!

While we maybe just moments away from world history with Egyptian military on the verge of  government takeover and the ousting President Mohamed Morsi... what are the cable nets doing?

They are covering the George Zimmerman trial.  

Maybe I'm looking forward to Al Jazeera America after all.  

Shame on Fox News, CNN and MSNBC.

Bouncing the Baer

FTVLive FIRST told you yesterday that according to sources WHP in Harrisburg has parted ways with News Director Dave Baer.  

Baer had only been station a couple of months. Last week Baer was arrested in a Prostitution sting along with a couple of hookers. 

WHP GM Arthur Hasson has remained mum on the story and will not even confirm if Baer was busted by cops. 

And while a station that runs a news department, won't talk to the media, it does appear that Baer has been bounced. 

On the WHP website, there is a "contact us"  page that yesterday morning had a listing under staff that looked like this:

Late yesterday, the "contact us" page had a change and Baer's name was gone as News Director and it was replaced by Stacey Hanrahan as the "Acting News Director." 

Sources also tell FTVLive that Baer has left the station.  

WHP has yet to make any announcement.  

MSNBC in Ratings Free Fall

Back on March 25th, FTVLive wrote that MSNBC Boss Phil Griffin is either, Very confident,  very optimistic , or he's smoking crack. 

The story was about an article in The New Republic in which Griffin felt MSNBC is hitting it's stride and will soon be running right past Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and the rest of the gang at Fox News. 

Griffin predicted that MSNBC would pass Fox News in the next year. 

So, how is the quest for the cable net to make it to the top of the ratings chart?  

In latest ratings MSNBC delivered its worst quarterly primetime showing among total viewers and adults 25-54 since 2007.

Ouch! 

MSNBC has now been passed by CNN. 

Double ouch! 

MSNBC's primetime in total viewers (576,000) and the demos (191,000) were at lows not seen since the 2007. 

Does someone smell smoke? Smells like a crack pipe?  

Bailing on the Big Easy

WWL Morning News anchor Melanie Hebert told viewers in a Facebook post that she is leaving the station. 

She wrote: I thought it would be much harder to write this post, but it is with great relief right now that I am sharing my big news with you. For a while I have considered moving to Baton Rouge where my husband works. I have had a very good job at WWL and he has had a very good job in Baton Rouge, so we have tried to keep both jobs with demanding (and opposite) schedules while raising a baby. Waking up at 2 am for work is never easy, but added to our other challenges frankly it just seems crazy, and we’ve been doing it for too long. We have so many blessings we should be able to enjoy each day but the truth is we have been spread too thin, and I have been struggling with this decision for a long time. My bosses at WWL understand and support my decision, and I am grateful they have given me the opportunities I’ve had here. But it is with bittersweet feelings I'm letting you know that I'm resigning and moving to Baton Rouge. My last day at WWL will be Tuesday, July 23.

Unpaid Interns Sue Gawker

Remember back to your first internship at a TV station. You were paid nothing, worked long hours and if you were lucky, you got to carry the tripod.

Ahhhh... the good old days. 

Now, it seems Interns don't want to do anything and they defiantly want to get paid for it. 

The website Gawker and their network of blogs have been sued by unpaid interns who allege the online publisher violated minimum-wage law.

In the case, filed yesterday in Manhattan federal court, three former interns said they each spent at least 15 hours a week working on blogs affiliated with the New York media company and were “not paid a single cent.”

“Gawker employs numerous other ‘interns’ in the same way, paying them nothing or underpaying them and utilizing their services to publish its content on the Internet, an enterprise that generates significant amounts of revenue for Gawker,” the plaintiffs said in the complaint, which was filed on behalf of all of the company’s unpaid interns.

The lawsuit, which also names company founder Nick Denton as a defendant, seeks unpaid wages and overtime. Representatives for Gawker didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Lucky for us here at FTVLive, we pay our interns  $75 dollars and hour and give them a company car. 

H/T Bloomberg

FIRST on FTVLive: Sources Say Dave Baer Out at WHP

It looks like Dave Baer is out as News Director at WHP in Harrisburg. 

FTVLive was the FIRST to tell you that Baer had been arrested by police last week in a prostitution sting. 

Baer was busted along with two prostitutes last Thursday, he was charged with soliciting. 

WHP has not commented on Baer's arrest and they have yet to release a statement. But, sources tell FTVLive that Baer has been let go from the station and a posting on the station's website seems to confirm that information. 

On WHP's contact page, Baer was listed as the News Director, but his name has been removed and replaced with an Acting News Director.  

It appears that Stacey Hanrahan is now running the WHP News Department. 

So far WHP GM Arthur Hasson has refused to address the story of the arrest of Baer. 

Stay tuned....  

Wilmington ND Gets Off with Fine

Back on May 3rd, FTVLive told you that WWAY News Director Scott Pickey had agreed to take a defensive driving class before his next court hearing in July in an attempt to end the saga of his brief arrest during the Martin Luther King Parade. 

Well, he did that and now the case is closed. 

Today, Pickey pleaded guilty to failure to obey an officer.

The charge stems from his arrest in January during Wilmington's Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade when Pickey drove a WWAY news vehicle from the station's parking lot despite orders by police not to leave the lot during the parade.

In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to drop a reckless driving charge against Pickey, who also had to complete driving school as part of the agreement and pay a $50 fine plus $190 court costs.

"I would like to thank Ben David and his DA's office for working with me to solve this issue. I think we all learned valuable lessons," Pickey said.

H/T WWAY

Headed to Prime Time at FNC

Megyn Kelly will move to FOX News Channel’s primetime lineup upon her return from maternity leave, announced Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO, FOX News. Additionally, the network has signed long-term deals with Bret Baier, Shepard Smith, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and Greta Van Susteren. A new schedule will be announced at a later date.

In making the announcement, Ailes said, “Megyn is an exceptional talent who has successfully filled and surpassed each role we have given her at the network. Her ability to command the screen, delve into the facts and lead a debate is what makes her one of the most sought-after anchors in the business.”

Kelly added, “Roger Ailes hired me nine years ago when I was new to this business and he had little other than instinct to suggest it might work out. I was grateful to him then, remain so today, and am excited for this next opportunity.”

Since February 2010, Kelly has anchored the network’s daytime news program, America Live (1-3PM ET), while appearing in a weekly primetime segment on The O’Reilly Factor entitled The Kelly File.