RIP

Sad news coming out of Egypt.

Sky News cameraman Mick Deane was shot and killed in Egypt this morning.

Mick had worked for Sky for 15 years, based in Washington and then Jerusalem.

He was part of the team covering the violence in Cairo. The rest of the team are unhurt.

The Head of Sky News John Ryley described Mick as the very best of cameramen, a brilliant journalist and an inspiring mentor to many at Sky.

Sky's Foreign Affairs Editor Tim Marshall called Mick "a friend, brave as a lion but what a heart… what a human being".

He added: "Micky was humorous in a dry way, he was wise and when you're on the road with small teams, people like that are diamonds to be with.

"Our hearts go out to his family. He died doing what he'd done so brilliantly for decades."

Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: "I am saddened to hear of the death of cameraman Mick Deane, covering Egyptian violence.

H/T Sky News

Arizona Weatherman "Resigning" from the Station

Call me cynical, but I don't believe one bit of this stuff that is being shoveled out at KOLD in Tucson. 

The station issued a statement saying that chief meteorologist Chuck George has "resigned." He's leaving the station to pursue a doctoral degree.

George has been on and off the air for years. Over the last few years, George has left the station a number of times for long absences. 

He came out during a rating book and said that he was battling depression. Then a few weeks after that interview, he was suddenly gone from the air again. He never did come back. 

Now word is that George has decided to leave the station.  

Here are the sound bites from George and the station, neither of which we lend any credence to what-so-ever:

“This is the right time for me to pursue my lifelong dream,” George said in the news release. “I want to continue my love of science in the academic community by pursuing a career in teaching and science in academia. It is a tough decision to leave my friends and family at KOLD as well as the wonderfully supportive Southern Arizona community". 

“Chuck is known for teaching viewers about the science of weather,” KOLD Vice President and General Manager Debbie Bush said. “He made weather informative and fun in Tucson. He helped hire a great team of meteorologists that, together, made KOLD the leader in severe weather coverage. He was a great team member and we’re going to miss him. We also know that this is what he wants and we want to support him.”

How refreshing would it have been for the station to be honest and say something like this: 

"Chuck has taken for extended leaves from the station and while we did our best to be patient while he battles his personal demons, it was just time for us to move on."

God that would be so nice. 

What The?

If you get lost anywhere in the State of New York, I wouldn't go asking MSNBC for directions.  

The cable news network that admits they really don't like covering news, shows they really aren't big fans of geography either. 

Check out this screen shot from Martin Bashir's show. 

FTVLive grew up in Buffalo, NY and we are certain that it is not located there. In fact despite living over 20 years in NY state, we have never been to where MSNBC thinks Buffalo is in the Empire State. 

Syracuse and Binghamton have also been moved to locations nowhere close to where they really are. 

Maybe it's a good thing that MSNBC doesn't like covering news, it's more than likely with their geography skills, they would never find it anyway.  

Breaking the News with All Terrain One

WVIT in Hartford is taking news gathering to the next step with their Breaking News Vehicle  "All Terrain One" or "AT1" for short.

With All Terrain One, WVIT will use this top of the line news gathering mobile unit, packed with state of the.....ummmmmm.... who are we kidding.

It's a new pickup truck.

Sinkhole + Casey Anthony = CNN

CNN knows how well the Casey Antony trial helped their sagging ratings. 

So it now appears that anything that happens in Florida, will have a Casey Anthony twist. 

Don't believe us?  

While covering the news of the massive sinkhole near Walt Disney World, CNN legal analyst Paul Callan observed that the sinkhole would be "a nice place to move Casey Anthony."

WTF?! How the hell are these two stories even related, other than the fact they are both Florida based?

This is crazy for a CNN analyst to take a story of a huge sinkhole and then say it would be a great place for Casey Anthony to live.  

Besides....George Zimmerman already moved his stuff into the sink hole two days ago. 

Don't forget to tip your waitresses before you leave. 

Vegas Station to Launch 3PM Newscast

Soon the morning newscast and the evening newscast are going to bump into each other. 

KSNV in Las Vegas has announced that they will be adding a 3PM newscast. 

News 3 Live at 3 will hit the air on Monday.

Many stations around the country have launched newscast starting at 4PM, but the Sin City station is one of the first to move that up by an hour.  

The afternoon cast will be anchored by Jeff Gillan.

CBS Claims Time Warner Blackout having Little Effect

If the Time Warner blackout of CBS is hurting the network, CBS sure isn't acting like it is. 

The network claims that ratings are doing well despite falling off the cable giant. CBS says that in the first 11 days since Time Warner Cable dropped CBS to nearly three million customers in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas-Fort Worth, the local stations’ sign-on to sign-off average among adults 25-54 – the primary demographic for local advertisers – is even with the stations’ average during the same period of time last summer. 

Meanwhile, CBS says average viewership from sign-on to sign-off is up 6% on a year-to-year basis.

“Our stations have held up very well against this backdrop, says CBS Stations President Peter Dunn.  "We’re riding momentum from a summer of ratings growth and August is traditionally a slow month, so the overall ratings impact is minor and the financial impact is negligible.  But, we know our viewers are frustrated in these markets and anxious about the start of the NFL and the new Fall season, and we hope they will soon be able to get back to enjoying their favorite CBS programs.”

In other words..... it's your turn Time Warner. 

Meet the Depressed

When NBC named David Gregory to replace the late Tim Russert on the network's Meet the Press Sunday program, we predicted that the show would fall in the ratings.

That prediction has come true. 

The Gregory hosted show has recently fallen to its lowest ratings in over 20 years.

The past few weeks, Meet the Press has taken up the  ratings cellar.  The show has come in third place, behind CBS’s Face the Nation and ABC’s This Week.

NBC has been facing an up hill battle with the Today Show still losing to Good Morning America and now Meet The Press which has lost it's ratings crown. 

It's unlikely that the network will soon replace Gregory, but until they do, they will have problems getting back on top of the numbers.  

You're Out of a Job Eh

Global New Toronto has kicked anchor Anne Mroczkowski to the curb.

The Canadian station says that they have decided to change the News Hour to a single anchor program.

“I’ve greatly enjoyed my time working with the Global Toronto news team, and although I am leaving, I’m happy that we’ve parted ways on good terms,” Mroczkowski said. “I’m looking forward to what new opportunities await.”

Mroczkowski joined Global Toronto in 2010. 

You're Fired!

Many people go to the NABJ convention to try and find a job in TV. 

One ESPN Anchor went there and lost his.  

Remember back on August 7, we told you about ESPN Host Hugh Douglas had too much to drink and threaten his “Numbers Don’t Lie” co-host Michael Smith while at NABJ in Orlando.

Well, ESPN just fired him. 

Proving what happens at NABJ does not always stay at NABJ. 

Never Thought I would See Charlie Rose Dufnering

If you don't know what Dufnering is, you either don't play golf or don't have a Twitter account.

FTVLive got a big kicking out of Norah O'Donnell, PGA Champ Jason Dufner and Charlie Rose Dufnering‬ on CBS This Morning.