O-Town Station Banned from Courthouse

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It appears that WKMG in Orlando did something they were not supposed to. 

"The WKMG helicopter followed and possibly filmed jurors from the courthouse to their destination yesterday. Their courtroom credentials have been revoked while this matter is under review," said Michelle Kennedy, court services administrator/PIO.

Now, WKMG has been banned from the courthouse.  

WKMG Reporter Tony Pipitone lost his seat in the courtroom Today and it was given to a Tampa station.  

WKMG General Manager Skip Valet said it was all a misunderstanding. "Someone thought we were taking pictures of the jurors. We were not," he said in an email. "We are working with the court to resolve this misunderstanding."

Ummmm... Good luck with that. 

H/T Orlando Sentinel 

Please Bear With Us

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Please Bear With Us

This week FTVLive is showing you reasons why local TV news is losing their credibility.

From putting on fake mock weddings, to bringing cows out on the news set, local news seems to be dumbing down their newscasts more and more.

Let's head over to WJAR in Providence for the latest installment. The station reported that a man came in contact with a 300 pound bear (who was obviously standing on a scale, since they knew how much the bear weighed) and Reporter Julie Tremmel decided to show viewers what you should do when you come face to face with a bear.

No experts in her story and not a single shot of a bear. This was an "it's all about me" story that showed Tremmel giving "tips" on what to do if you're staring down a big bear. 

The video after the jump and we are warning you, it's 40 seconds of your life you'll never get back:

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OKC Station Gets a New News Director

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KOCO in Oklahoma City has a new News Director and the Creative Service Department made up a nice quote from her. 

Rebecca Gaylord moves over from the Deuce at KOAT in Albuquerque to become the ND in OKC.

So let's go to her statement and see what the Creative Service Department came up with:

“The opportunity to lead a group as talented as the KOCO newsroom is a dream come true,” Gaylord. “I’m excited to be part of such a top-notch team, in such a dynamic city.”

Really?! She said "dynamic city"? I used to live in Oklahoma and I love OKC, but never once have I heard anyone call it a "dynamic city."

We still wait for a newsroom hire to make a real quote in a statement.  

Phoenix Anchor Remains M-I-A

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Back in June, FTVLive told you that KTVK veteran Anchor  Patti Kirkpatrick was nowhere to be found in the newsroom and her desk had been cleaned out. 

Word is that Kirkpatrick is locked in a contract dispute with the station. Her desk remains cleaned off and empty, but the official word is she's on "extended leave".

The station seems to be moving on without the longtime anchor.  

KTVK News Director Cameryn Beck has been shaking things up on the anchor desk.  

Beck has moved co-anchor Fields Moseley to the AM show under the guise that he needs more exposure to a different audience.

Morning anchor Javier Soto has been moved to the evenings and is sitting alongside  Carey Pena.

These moves are supposed to be tempoary, but word is the ratings have improved with the team of Sota and Pena.

Now what?

Stay tuned... 

Fired Milwaukee Reporter Finds a New Life in Acting

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Fired Milwaukee Reporter Finds a New Life in Acting

Last Summer, FTVLive reported on the arrest of WTMJ Reporter Rob Koebel. He was busted for Justin Beibering (urinating) in public outside and Apple store. While being arrested, Koebel told the police "do you know who you're messing with?"

He was soon out of a job.  

And as the Milwaukee Journal reports, Rob Koebel is no longer a journalist.

But he plays one on an episode of USA's "Necessary Roughness," alongside guest star John Stamos.

He also has played a police officer, firefighter and Revolutionary War-era soldier on shows including NBC's "Revolution," the upcoming Fox series "Sleepy Hollow" and CBS' hit summer series "Under the Dome."

"I'd never have believed it if 10 months ago someone had told me I'd be part of a Stephen King-Steven Spielberg event that would be the hottest show of the summer," he said of "Under the Dome." The limited-run series is based on the book by King, and Spielberg is an executive producer.

Koebel appears in five episodes. In one, he plays a cop protecting a disgraced reporter. The irony was not lost on him.

More after the jump.    

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Mud Slide Washes Away Reporter's car

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Mud Slide Washes Away Reporter's car

Colorado Springs Gazette Reporter John Schroyer got a bit closer to a mudslide than he wanted to.

Schroyer was shooting video (because that's what newspaper reporters do now a days) when his Subaru wagon was carried off by a river of mud in the Waldo Canyon area.  

Schroyer said that he was driving on Highway 24 when all the cars came to a stop. A police officer ahead of him threw his cruiser into reverse, but Schroyer was too late to do the same. 

"I looked down for a minute, and when I glanced back up, a giant black wave of mud slammed into my car. It turned my car completely around and washed me probably a few hundred feet down the highway to the east, until I finally came to rest on the side of the on ramp," he said. "The flood waters kept going and going, and I was stuck in my car for probably half an hour, until I climbed out of the window onto my car's roof and jumped to solid ground."

The video after the leap.    

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From the Mile High City to Motown

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Detroit's WDIV announced that Evrod Cassimy will join the newly named morning newscast, Local 4 News Today, beginning Aug. 12. 

Cassimy is currently the morning anchor and reporter for CBS4 News in Denver.  He began his career in Grand Junction, Colorado at KJCT News 8 and worked in Madison, Wisconsin; Orlando, Florida; and Richmond, Virginia.

Let's see what soundbite the WDIV Creative Services department made up for Cassimy in their press release:  

"Local 4 is known for its passion for journalistic excellence. Becoming part of such an experienced news gathering team is what attracted me to this opportunity. Detroit is a fascinating town and I can't wait to be part of such an outstanding news organization and the Metro Detroit community," said Cassimy.

So he really said "Metro Detroit" instead of just "Detroit"?

And he also said "experienced news gathering team"?

Just once we would love to read a press release with real quotes. 

Just once.  

 

Palm Springs Station Falls off Time Warner Cable

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Palm Springs Station Falls off Time Warner Cable

A pissing match between KPSE and Time Warner cable has resulted in cable viewers not being able to watch the station. And their sister station, KMIR might be off TW by the end of the month. 

Negotiations failed between Journal Broadcast Group and Time Warner Cable. A June 30th deadline was extended to Wednesday. But that deadline ran out and KPSE fell off the system. 

“It is unfortunate that Journal Broadcast Group has decided to pull their programming from our customers’ lineups,” spokesman Dennis Johnson said in a statement. “Journal is demanding more than a 200 percent increase over previous compensation without delivering more value.”

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Chicago Anchor Making Move to Plan "B"

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As FTVLive has told you, WFLD, the Fox O&O in Chicago looking at their options to bring the station's 9PM newscast out of the ratings basement. 

Word is the station is exploring the hiring of new anchors for the newscast. 

It looks like one of WFLD's main anchors is hedging his bets for the future. 

Bob Sirott who anchors the 9PM newscast alongside Robin Robinson has taken a job at WGN radio in Chicago.

Our man Robert Feder reports that Sirott is headed to a Monday-through-Friday air shift at WGN AM 720 with his wife, Marianne Murciano. They're expected to co-host a midday or afternoon show on the Tribune Broadcasting news/talk station, starting in the next few weeks.

Sirott continues to anchor the 9 p.m. weekday newscast for the Fox-owned station under an extension of his contract, which was to have expired Saturday (July 6). While talks proceed between Sirott's agent, Steve Mandell, and management, Sirott remains onboard with co-anchor Robin Robinson, whose contract expires in August. Fox Chicago bosses did not respond to inquiries about reported plans to alter their anchor lineup.

If Sirott does leave Fox 32, his agreement with Tribune Broadcasting likely would be expanded to include television work. But sources emphasized that he was not being considered for the 9 p.m. news anchor position at WGN-Channel 9 currently held by Mark Suppelsa. 

It appears that Sirott may have made a very wise move. FTVLive is betting you will not see Sirott on WFLD for much longer.

Stay tuned... 

 

Can MSNBC Stop Bleeding Viewers?

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Can MSNBC Stop Bleeding Viewers?

MSNBC is ratings free fall and it appears they are starting to panic.

For the cable news network that admits it doesn't do very well covering news has put all their eggs in the George Zimmerman basket.  

MSNBC which prides itself as the place for politics, has cast that aside to join all the other cable nets in obsessing over the Zimmerman case. 

The National Journal asks if the amount of Zimmerman mania was causing any eye rolling at the network, one MSNBC insider said: "It's less the amount of coverage because everyone does that and especially after CNN covering [Jodi] Arias [murder trial] did so well. And we have a large African-American viewership that's interested. The issue is whether we cover it the right way, as a legal issue, which we're mostly doing or does it get covered like it's 2012, when there was no indictment, as a political fight. I worry."

More after the jump.   

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Four More Anchors Named for Al Jazeera America

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Al Jazeera America is still without a news president, but that hasn't slowed them down when it comes to hiring.

The network has named some more anchors that will hit the air when the network launches next month.

The latest hires are  HLN's Richelle Carey and three local TV anchors. They are former WFAA Dallas Anchor Jonathan Betz, former WCCB Charlotte Morgan Fogarty (pictured)  and DC Radio Anchor Del Walters.

All four will be anchoring Daytime at Al Jazeera.