CBS, Time Warner Continue Song and Dance

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CBS and Time Warner continue to fight over a new Retrans agreement.

While threats have been made for weeks that the CBS stations would be pulled from the TW system, The channels remain. 

 Just as CBS began running warnings to viewers that it would soon vanish, Time Warner released another statement saying it had “halted going dark” on CBS channels.

Like FTVLive has said in the past...the two sides will eventually come to an agreement. CBS will not get as much as they want and Time Warner will pay more than they want. And you and I will get screwed in the end with a higher cable bills, because these two giant media companies need to line their pockets with more money. 

 

EXCLUSIVE: Bra-Less Reporter: "I am not another AJ Clemente."

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EXCLUSIVE: Bra-Less Reporter: "I am not another AJ Clemente."

FTVLive has been telling you about former WAAY Reporter Shea Allen, who was fired from the station for a posting she made on her personal website.

Titeled "Confessions of a Read Headed Reporter," Allen admitted to going bra-lass on a live shot and she's frighten of old people among other things. 

Allen was shocked when her station fired her for the posting. 

FTVLive caught up with Allen and asked her about all this and of course we had to ask the most important question.  

Is she wearing a bra? 

The interview after the jump.    

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Bra-Less Reporter is Fired

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Proof that the politically correct idiots are ruining TV news. This morning we told you that WAAY (Hunstville) Reporter Shea Allen posted some personal confessions on her blog. 

Now word comes that she was fired for her personal blog post.

Allen confess to among other things taking a nap in the newscar and to doing a live shot without wearing a bra. 

FTVLive can admit to do both these things as well.  

While her blog entry did some some humor, she may have realized when she posted the entry, it might bring some trouble. She pulled the blog post down and then re-posted it after thinking about.

Somewhere along the line, her station fired her. Which is complete bullshit if you ask us.

There are plenty of people that do stupid things in this business that fully deserve to be fired. This is not one of those things.  

FTVLive has reached out to Allen and waiting to hear back. 

In the meantime, here's hoping another station picks her up and let's her carry on her career. 

With or without a bra.  

 

Sinclair to Buy Allbritton Stations

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Sinclair Broadcast says it has agreed to purchase the Allbritton stations for $985 million. 

The biggest station in the group is WJLA in DC.  

"We are thrilled to add the Allbritton properties to our growing portfolio and national footprint," commented David Smith, President and CEO of Sinclair. "To buy a full-blown news operation in our nation's capital and an infrastructure that allows us to be connected to our branches of government and be at the pulse of national issues is a once-in-a lifetime event.  We are especially excited to acquire the NewsChannel 8 local news channel, not only for the content it can provide our existing news stations, but moreover because their regional cable presence provides the perfect platform should we decide to expand it into other markets, especially given the amount of local news we produce across our entire portfolio."   

As one WJLA staffer who emailed FTVLive put it "We're all screwed!" 

The company anticipates that the transaction will close and fund in the fourth quarter of 2013.

The Allbritton stations to be owned and operated by Sinclair are:

  • WJLA ABC Washington (DMA 8)
  • WBMA-LP ABC Birmingham-Tuscaloosa-Anniston, Ala. (DMA 42)
  • WCFT ABC Birmingham-Tuscaloosa-Anniston, Ala. (DMA 42)
  • WJSU ABC Birmingham-Tuscaloosa-Anniston, Ala. (DMA 42)
  • WHTM ABC Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York, Pa (DMA 43)
  • KATV ABC Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Ark. (DMA 56)
  • KTUL ABC Tulsa, Okla. (DMA 59)
  • WSET ABC Roanoke-Lynchburg, Va. (DMA 68)
  • WCIV ABC Charleston, S.C. (DMA 98)

Reporter Posts, Pulls and Repost Confessions (Update)

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Reporter Posts, Pulls and Repost Confessions (Update)

WAAY (Hunstville) Reporter Shea Allen posted some personal confessions on her blog. Then after getting some heat she pulled the story down. But, after thinking about it, she reposted the story again.

Here are her confessions: 

1. I've gone bra-less during a live broadcast and no one was the wiser. 

2. My best sources are the ones who secretly have a crush on me. 

3. I am better live when I have no script and no idea what I'm talking about. 

4. I've mastered the ability to contort my body into a position that makes me appear much skinner in front of the camera than I actually am. 

5. I hate the right side of my face. 

After the jump, read the rest, plus why she pulled it down and then reposted  it. 

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Lester Holt Shanks Story on Pro Golfer

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On last night's NBC Nightly News, Anchor Lester Holt had a brief story on PGA Tour player Hunter Mahan. 

Mahan was leading the Canadian Open after 2 rounds, when his wife called and told him she was going into labor.  

Mahan left the course and flew to Texas for the birth of his child.  If he won the event he was looking at a million dollar pay day. 

It was a human interest story that made for a 30 second VO on Sunday's Nightly News.  

It was obvious that the writer of the story and Lester Holt were not golfers.  

I can't find the video on NBC's website, but Holt basically said "Mahan had a commanding 2 shot lead in the Canadian Open..." "He was unstopped...." 

Holt then went on to talk about how he left the event to be with his wife.  

Here's where NBC bogeyed the story.

The event was 72 holes and Mahan left after 36 holes. A 2 shot lead could be lost in a single hole. Mahan still had two rounds to play. In fact the 36 hole leader loses more than he wins on the PGA Tour. Mahan was far from "unstoppable."

It was one of the interesting human interest stories and made a nice 30 second VO.

But for any golfer watching the story, it showed once again "media doesn't know what they are talking about."

It was a small thing, but it still is a hit to the credibility of the broadcast. 

Anderson Cooper's Stalker Is Charged

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Anderson Cooper's Stalker Is Charged

A 40-year-old psychiatric patient who allegedly stalked CNN's Anderson Cooper for five years, including making unsolicited calls and trying to kick down the front door, has been charged. 

Convicted felon Alex Hausner, from Queens, faced court last night accused of making unwelcome phone calls and trying four times to see Cooper.

Last month, the 'gay, Jewish white supremacist' allegedly attempted to kick down the front door of the anchor's four-story West Village residence which he shares with boyfriend Benjamin Maisani.

According to court papers obtained by the New York Post, security cameras captured Hausner's vicious attempted break-in. 

'I swear to f--king God, don’t insult me. I’m going to f--k you up!' he can be heard screaming while kicking the door to Cooper's $4.3 million converted firehouse.

More after the jump.    

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Signing off in Seattle

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KING veteran reporter and anchor Allen Schauffler signed off from the station last night.  

He's is going to be a "regional correspondent for a network."

In the story on KING's website, they did not say what the network was. A search shows that he is headed to Al Jazeera America. You have to wonder if Schauffler was headed to NBC, ABC or CNN if they would have named the network?

Schauffler joined the station in October 1992 as a weekend anchor and general reporter. 

“I had a mustache, brown hair. It was awesome,” said Allen. "Thankfully, the mustache left pretty quickly. The brown hair -- the last five years have been brutal on it, it's just gone.”

He says the hardest he worked in his years at KING was covering the Olympic games.

He covered seven of them. 

No word if he will get to cover the Olympic's at Al Jazeera? 

Korean TV Station Pokes Fun at KTVU (Updated)

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A Korean TV station took a well deserved shot at  San Francisco's KTVU.

While reporting on the Southwest flight that a landing gear failure when it touched down in New York, the TV station came up with some names for the flight crew.

The Korean news agency showed this graphic with American pilot names “Captain Kent Parker Wright”, “Co-Captain Wyatt Wooden Workman”.

They even made up fake names for people to interview. Flight instructor “Heywood U. Flye-Moore” and skeptical passenger “Macy Lawyers”.

So far, KTVU has no comment.  

Update: FTVLive was sent the picture with the story. But as a few of you pointed out, this is obviously a photoshop job. Why would Korean TV have english fonts? Also, after we posted it, we wondered why Korean TV has the Nasdaq numbers?  

We could have taken the story down and acted like it was never there, but then we would be doing the same thing KTVU is doing by trying to delete the video off YouTube.

Two people emailed the story and a number of people tweeted about it. But yeah...it's fake.  

Talk to our lawyer So Su Mi if you have any problems. 

 

This Reporter has gone to the Birds

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This Reporter has gone to the Birds

You know it's a slow news day in Chicago when the station airs a story about a bird in the park.

A protective red-wing black bird was swooping down on people in Chicago's Grant Park.

The bird was doing his best to protect his nest.

WBBM Reporter Ed Curran turned it into a story. 

Although you might not know it from this story, Chicago is the number 3 market. Although you might have easily gathered from this story, WBBM is the number 3 station in the market. 

The video is up after the jump.   

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Could Hoda be Changing Her View?

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Is Hoda Kotb ready to give up her seat next to Kathie Lee Gifford for a different View?

Page Six says that NBC could be up for another battle with ABC, this time over popular “Today” show co-host Hoda Kotb — who sources tell Page Six is being eyed by ABC as a potential new co-host for “The View.”

Kotb — who sits alongside Kathie Lee Gifford to host the bubbly fourth hour of the “Today” show, “Kathie Lee & Hoda” — has been mentioned by ABC chiefs as a possible replacement for longtime “View” host Joy Behar, who’s exiting the show after 16 years.

A source told us “The View” is “very interested” in Kotb and has already reached out to her camp.

The fourth hour is a ratings hit for “Today,” while the earlier programming blocks have fought hard to keep viewers in the wake of last year’s awkward dismissal of Ann Curry.

Insiders believe NBC would hustle to keep its Kotb/Gifford partnership intact.

A source close to Kotb told us: “Hoda loves her job at ‘Today’ and she’s very happy laughing and scratching with Kathie Lee every day.”

And a rep for ABC insisted of any move to bring Kotb over to the network, “There’s absolutely zero truth to this whatsoever.”

 

Shake Up at the Top of Bloomberg

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Shake Up at the Top of Bloomberg

loomberg announced that Justin B. Smith will serve as chief executive officer of Bloomberg Media Group, which comprises Bloomberg’s television, radio, magazine, conferences and digital businesses globally.  Smith will join Bloomberg LP on September 16, reporting to CEO and President Daniel L. Doctoroff. Andrew Lack (pictured), who has served as CEO of Bloomberg Media Group since 2008, will become Chairman of Bloomberg Media Group. 

Smith served as President of Atlantic Media from 2010-2013 and President of Atlantic Consumer Media division from 2007-2010. While at Atlantic Media, he spearheaded The Atlantic’s dramatic transformation from a largely print-centric magazine to a digitally-led multi-platform franchise. Under Smith’s leadership, Atlantic Media also launched several new critically acclaimed disruptive digital platforms such as Quartz and Defense One.

"Throughout Bloomberg’s history, we’ve been defined by our ability to disrupt markets, our willingness to invest when others don’t, and our constant focus on innovation," said Doctoroff. "Justin Smith has an exceptional track record in each of these areas. His deep understanding of the media and vision for its future makes him an ideal fit at Bloomberg as we continue to transform and expand our media businesses worldwide."

More after the jump.   

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