Sucked Back in to TV News

On March 12th, FTVLive reported that after 17 years WGRZ (Buffalo) Anchor/Reporter Pete Gallivan was leaving the Gannett station and getting out of TV News.

Gallivan left the station to work in the communications department in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Buffalo office.

Being the mouthpiece for the Governor.... kind of sounded like a crappy job to us.  

And obviously after a few months on the job, Gallivan agreed.

WGRZ has announced that Gallivan is returning to the station. He return as a news and sports reporter/anchor, covering the issues and people of Western New York, as well as providing in-depth coverage and analysis of the Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bills.

"Sports and broadcast journalism have always been a part of me," said Gallivan. "I couldn't be happier to return to 2 On Your Side, a place that I called home for 17 years. There is nothing more rewarding than to tell the stories in your hometown of your family, friends, and neighbors."

"We are thrilled to have Pete back in the family," said News Director Jeff Woodard. "His unique skill set is the perfect fit for our information center going forward. He will be part of the biggest sports department in Buffalo television, while also using his incredible story-telling abilities to showcase the people and places that make Western New York unique."

Slow Going in Motown

If you're in Detroit and call the police, you will be waiting a longtime before they finally  show up. 

WJBK Reporter Charlie LeDuff reported on the slow response by police, but he did so in a way that really got the point across has to how ridiculous police response times are in Motown really are. 

Watch the story above and you'll see how a Reporter can turn a story that could just be a VO or a boring graphic with response times into a excellent story that drives home the point. 

Oh CNN...Not Again

It looks like CNN is catching heat for more reporting that turned out to be wrong. 

Thge Cable News Network is a target of protesters in Egypt after it mistakenly labeled a crowd as being supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi and repeatedly referred to his overthrow as a "coup."

The crowd was actually protesting against Morsi, and backers of his ouster have strongly objected to calling it a coup, saying that the Egyptian military deposed him based on popular will. CNN called the events a coup minutes after Morsi's departure from office was announced last Wednesday.

Someone created a "CNN Supports Terrorism" Facebook page and Twitter account, and protesters could be seen in Cairo with signs reading "CNN Shame On You":

There was also a march in New York, and a petition which has garnered over 40,000 signatures.

Ben Wedeman, CNN's longtime Cairo correspondent, said on Twitter that people had become so incensed about the coverage that he didn't feel safe enough to go to Tahrir Square. He admitted on Twitter to making the reporting mistake as well.

It seems that wrong reporting is happening to CNN more and more and especially on the big stories. The network is still nursing a black eye over their mistakes they made while covering the Boston bombings. 

H/T HuffPo

KRON Misses on Crash Coverage

When Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crash landed at San Francisco Airport it exposed how short staff local TV stations are on the Weekends.

Social media was way out in front of the San Francisco affiliates when it came to getting information about the crash.

But, it appears that no station was caught more flat footed than Media General's KRON. 

The station that bills itself as the Bay Area's News Station, was the only one in the market to offered no live streaming. And this is the most tech savvy market in the country.

Also the station's website feature several pictures from competitor KGO's News Helicopter (see picture above).

And looking at the station's website on Sunday (right), the most read stories on the site had nothing to do with the plane crash. The number 2 most read story on the site was the death of the Night Stalker that happened a month ago! 

KRON might want to change their slogan to "The Bay Area's News Station on Monday - Friday" 

Just a thought. 

Dan Abrams: Zimmerman is Going to Walk

A number of legal analysts believe it's going to happen, but ABC's Dan Abrams was the first to voice it on the air. 

Abram's believes that George Zimmerman is going to walk on the charges of second degree murder in the shooting of Trayvon Martin. 

"I just don't see how a jury convicts him of second degree murder or even manslaughter in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.," Abrams says. "I certainly sympathize with the anger and frustration of the Martin family and doubt that a jury will accept the entirety of George Zimmerman's account as credible. But based on the legal standard and evidence presented by prosecutors it is difficult to see how jurors find proof beyond a reasonable doubt that it wasn't self defense."

WTKS (Orlando) Radio host Jim Phillips has been saying on the radio for months that Zimmerman is going to get off. Abrams is the first TV network legal analyst to say so on air. 

The defense started their side late last week and the jury could get the case by the end of the week. 

Is BriWi Shopping for an Agent?

Is Brian Williams shopping for an agent to help him get a better deal at NBC?

Page Six gossips that Williams got tongues wagging that he might be on the lookout for a new Matt Lauer style contract after he was spotted sharing lunch at the Sea Grill with CAA CEO Richard Lovett last week.

A source mused, “Brian was not happy the way NBC brass handled his ‘Rock Center.’ He felt they didn’t show him support.

He previously has not had an agent, so by dining with Lovett at such a public spot, he’s sending a clear message.”

But an NBC rep said, “Brian is in the midst of a long-term contract with NBC News. What sources ‘spotted’ was simply two friends having lunch while Brian was on standby for news from Egypt.

The closest they came to discussing money was who was going to pay the check.”

Windy City Anchor Shake Up

FTVLive told you on Saturday (yes..we update 7 days a week) that WFLD in Chicago is looking to shaking up their 9PM Anchor team. 

Current anchors Bob Sirott and Robin Robinson — both longtime local TV news talents — currently occupy those crucial anchor seats on the station's late newscast.

Robinson has been in the anchor chair since the 9PM newscast signed on the air.  

But, word is the station is sick and tired of the low ratings and are looking to make a change in the anchor chair(s).

Sources say the station has quietly begun looking at potential replacements for the (PM newscast.

Word is that new News Director Tom Doerr is also a big fan of current morning anchor Anna Davlantes. Could Davalantes being making the move from mornings to evenings?

Stay tuned.... 

By the way, FTVLive also told you exclusively back in March and CBS O&O WBBM has been quietly looking for an anchor to replace Rob Johnson.  

Could be be seen a replacement named sometime this Summer. 

Stay tuned and remember where you read it first.  

Leaving for the Law

Colleen McCarty, a member of the investigative team at KLAS in Las Vegas is leaving the TV business for what most likely will be a better paying job.

McCarty, who has been at the station since 2005 is leaving to join a local law firm. 

McCarty recently graduated from the William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV and is now taking an unpaid leave to study for the Nevada Bar exam.

Jenny for Joy?

Will Jenny McCarthy be the newest member of "The View"?

The former Playmate of the Year is in negotiations to join the morning show full-time, according to Us Weekly.

McCarthy is apparnelty angling for the spot that Joy Behar, 70, will leave vacant when she departs the show in August.

"She's in serious talks right now," a source told the magazine. The insider said that McCarthy, 40, is mulling a move after a disappointing ratings showing from her own VH1 talk program, "The Jenny McCarthy Show.

Of course the show already has a perky blonde in Elisabeth Hasselbeck. But rumors continue to swirl that she will be out this Summer as well.

Stay tuned... 

H/T NY Daily News

Breaking News! MSNBC Covers Breaking News

This just in...MSNBC decided to cover some breaking news over the Weekend. 

The struggling cable news network that has admitted they really aren't very good at covering breaking news, did just that when a plane went down at the San Francisco airport. 

MSNBC went so far as to push their season premiere of Lockup back one week, so they could devote more time to the crash coverage. 

MSNBC’s Craig Melvin anchored coverage of crash landing of Asiana Airlines Flight 214. Correspondent Noelle Walkeron reported from the scene.

This was a big step for MSNBC to not only acknowledge breaking news, but to actually cover it as well.

Of course, the George Zimmerman trail was off for the Weekend, so it was a much easier call for the cable net.