All Calm after Zimmerman Verdict

The media brace for and expected violence in George Zimmerman was found night guilty. 

He was and there wasn't. 

Despite having news crews out in force waiting for riots and protests, it never happened. 

The media spent the past serval days airing messages from community leaders calling for a peaceful, non-violent response to the verdict.

Some in the media felt those messages worked. But, in reality it just might be that the young people didn't really pay attention to the case. 

The fact is, kids aren't watching TV news and the media's message may have never even reached them. 

As one miami Reporter said to FTVLive "there's more media than there are protestors on the streets tonight." 

Just like many hurricanes and their coverage, the media braced for the storm and it just did not come. 

Zimmerman Walks...Media Runs

The cable news nets spent much of Saturday tap dancing and filling time as a jury of 6 women decided the fate of George Zimmerman. 

In the end, they found him not guilty. 

When the verdict came down, the broadcast networks jumped into the coverage pool.  

Three of the major broadcast networks as well as the four major cable news networks all covered the George Zimmerman trial verdict Saturday night at about 10 p.m.

ABC cut into a 20/20 report with David Muir reporting the news, then continued with the Zimmerman case at 10:16 p.m. via its regular 20/20 episode. NBC briefly reported the news, pre-empting a portion of a repeat of "Get Out Alive With Bear Grylls" but returned to the reality show by a quarter after 10. CBS cut into a repeat of "48 Hours" but returned to the murder case it was originally recounting. Fox was airing a baseball game.

HLN has saturated coverage of the trial, as it did with Casey Anthony and Jodi Arias. CNN has given it major coverage, including a 10 p.m. nightly special effectively competing with sister station HLN's "After Dark." MSNBC and Fox News were lighter overall in overseeing the case. 

The top trending topic on Twitter at 10:35 was #notguilty, followed by #Trayvon.

H/T Atlanta Journal Constitution  

The Intern Did it...

After KTVU made what will go down as one of the biggest screw ups in local television history, they then apologized.  

In the station's apology they said that an NTSB official in Washington confirmed the names. 

The NTSB has now released a press release saying that the station did not talk to an official, but instead talked to a "Summer Intern."

Here is the release from the NTSB: 

And Here Comes the Apology

Here is KTVU's apology and of course they put the blame on the NTSB. I don't care if President Obama himself confirmed the names. Anyone pass the 5th grade would know it's a joke. LAME!!!

OMG! You Can NOT be This Stupid

KTVU reported on their Noon news that they had got the names of the flight crew that was aboard the Asiana flight 214 that crash on landing at San Francisco's Airport.

How the hell these names got on the air and no one figured out it was a joke is beyond us.

Watch and listen to the anchor read the names. Seriously, who is losing their job over this? The station also reports that the NSTB "has confirmed" that these are the names of the flight crew.

Here's the video that will make you shake your head and roll your eyes: 

O-Town Station Banned from Courthouse

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 

Geraldo: The Jury would Have Shot Trayvon Martin Faster than Zimmerman

Geraldo Rivera went on Fox and Friends and says that the George Zimmerman jury all would have shot teenager Trayvon Martin.

And Geraldo says they likely would have shot him quicker than Zimmerman did. 

OKC Station Gets a New News Director

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

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... 

An App that Pays You to Watch TV

We here at FTVLive just don't watch TV very much. After sitting in front of a computer most of the day, the last thing we want to do is plop down in front of another screen.

But if you are a person that loves TV, there's an app that will make your TV watching profitable. 

Viggle is an App that gives you reward points to watch the TV shows.

The Full Story is in FTV Tech

From the Mile High City to Motown

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.