1 Year Ago....
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One year ago Today, Savannah Guthrie took over as the co-anchor on NBC's Today Show.
Also, one year ago... Ann Curry stuck her first pin in her Savannah Guthrie voodoo doll.
My how time flies.....
NBC Nightly News Wipes Out New Hampshire
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We're not sure what the state of New Hampshire did to NBC's Brian Williams, but obviously they really pissed him off.
During last night's NBC Nightly News, BriWi was covering the train derailment in Canada and the story that included a map of the area.
But, the state of New Hampshire was eliminated from the map. And looking at the map, it appears that New York has also annexed part of Vermont.
Crisis in KIRO
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You have to hand it to the graphics people at KIRO in Seattle. They are company people through and through.
The station was doing a report of the protests in Cairo Egypt that included this graphic.
"Crisis in KIRO"?!
Oops!
Leno's Ratings Rising
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As NBC gets ready to kick Jay Leno to the curb, his ratings continue to rise.
In numbers for the second quarter, The “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” was easily the top-rated hour in latenight.
ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” came in second in key demos for a second straight quarter in its new, earlier timeslot.
As for David Letterman on CBS? He appears to be headed in the wrong direction.
The “Late Show” logged one of its weakest quarterly performances on record. The program was down from last year in virtually every category except adults 50 and older.
Maybe Leno could replace Letterman over at CBS. It would be like deja vu all over again.
Senate Hopeful Wants WWOR's License Revoked
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Citing what he called more than a decade of declining commitment to New Jersey, a congressman who is running for U.S. Senate called Monday for the state’s only commercial television station to have its license revoked because it abruptly canceled its nightly newscast last week.
The cancellation of WWOR’s 10 p.m. newscast was the latest blow for television news coverage of New Jersey, where residents traditionally have had little choice but to rely on scattershot reports from stations based in New York City and Philadelphia.
It comes two years after the state-run public station, NJN, was shut down and its license transferred to New York-based WNET, and 30 years after the politically arranged deal that brought WWOR across the Hudson River with promises of increased Garden State coverage.
“Now WWOR has pulled the plug on the only newscast the station had left,” Rep. Frank Pallone said in a letter Monday to Mignon Clyburn, the acting chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission. “This action deserves immediate enforcement by your agency.”
More after the hop.
Read MoreThe Future or Just Another Waste of Time?
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Former Tribune executive Lee Abrams and former WPIX News Director Bill Carey are some of the key people behind the launch TouchVision 24/7.
It's being billed as a digital news operation headquartered in Chicago.
"TouchVision Network will have no on-air anchors or reporters; instead the story is the star," the startup says.
So in other words it's NewsFix formula for the internet.
You can read more about it from AdWeek.
H/T Robert Feder
Back Again...
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What's old is new again in Roanoke.
Former WSLS Anchor John Carlin returned to the station last night after being off the air for 5 years.
The last time he sat behind an anchor desk, he read the news from a paper script. Last night he did so from an iPad.
Carlin left the station in 2008 after 21 years as an anchorman in order to work in public relations and other businesses.
One aspect of the newscast that hasn’t changed is his co-anchor. Karen McNew worked with Carlin from 2003 until 2008.
In fact, McNew gave Carlin his tutorial on the iPad.
“She sat there and flipped through the pages and I thought, ‘Boy, I hope I can trust that,’” Carlin said.
More after the jump.
Read MoreDallas Station Names New Anchor for 4PM News
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Jason Wheeler, who joined WFAA8 in late November of last year, will solo anchor the Dallas-based station’s new 4 p.m. weekday newscasts, several sources confirm.
The University of Houston graduate, who previously spent five years at Austin’s KEYE-TV, has been co-anchoring WFAA8’s weekend newscasts with fellow newcomer Carla Wade. She will now solo on that shift.
WFAA8 news director Carolyn Mungo so far has not returned emails requesting comment on Wheeler’s promotion.
More after the hop.
Read MoreSucked Back in to TV News
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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
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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
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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
Harrisburg Weatherman Attacked and Beaten
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It has not been a very good month for WHP in Harrisburg.
Days ago, the station's News Director Dave Baer was busted in a prostitution sting and has been quietly let go from the station.
Now word comes that the station's weatherman was attacked and beaten as he went out for a jog.
Meteorologist and reporter Kirk Clyatt went for a run very early Sunday morning when was jumped.
Clyatt was on his run and noticed a group of five young men and a woman coming towards him. The group passes him when the woman comes from behind and hits him in the head with a very heavy purse, possibly with a brick inside.
Clyatt says then one of the punks tackled him, while others from the group attack a Hispanic male just a few feet away.
More after the jump.
Read MoreKRON Misses on Crash Coverage
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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
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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?
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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
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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.
