Bounced in the Big Apple

Word is that WCBS and reporter Derricke Dennis have parted ways.

Dennis tells the website Tuned In that he is no longer employed by the CBS O&O.

While Dennis would not elaborate about the departure, sources say this was a case of station management choosing not to renew his contract.

Dennis, who left the station at the end of July, spent three years at WCBS.

“I enjoyed my time at WCBS,” Dennis tells Tuned In. “I loved telling the stories across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, and plan to do it again very soon.”

Before landing in New York, Dennis had a six-year stint as a reporter at WDIV in Detroit. 

Viewers Appear to be 'All Out' when it Comes to 'All In'

MSNBC was featured in a long article in The New Yorker this week.

The struggling cable news network that admits they don't like to cover news should be happy that anyone is paying attention to them. 

The story hits on a number of things going on at MSNBC, including the lack of ratings for Chris Hayes' 8PM show.

As FTVLive FIRST predicted months ago, Hayes' is finding it very hard to get viewers to watch his show 'All in.'

MSNBC trying to prop up Hayes' show by moving Chris Matthews' show to 7 PM, in what appears to be an attempt to provide Hayes with a more solid lead-in.

MSNBC president Phil Griffin was quoted in the story, "I'm building for the future," he said. "We're making a bet that this is what our audience wants." 

What does Hayes have to say?  

 "Obviously, the numbers are bad right now," Hayes said. 

Thank you Captain Obvious! 

Howie Kurtz FNC Show has a Launch Date

I know you haven't been able to sleep at night, wondering when TV "Critic" Howard Kurtz's new show will launch on the Fox News Channel. 

Well, we now have a date! 

Kurtz show will hit the air on September 8th and since Kurtz has long passed the days of being "reliable," the show will be called "Media Buzz."   

What will be the topic of Howie's first show?

Kurtz will take a closer look at the firing of top Roger Ailes' right hand man Brian Lewis.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! 

We're kidding of course.

It is likely that Kurtz will never cast a critical look at Fox News. Just like he didn't do it to CNN when he was on their network.  

Former Tampa Reporter to Run for Office

Former WFTS Investigative Reporter Alan Cohn knows he is giving up his news reporter life with his next move. 

On Thursday, Cohn will announce that he is running for political office.   

"You can't do what I'm doing and go back to covering a beat," said Cohn, 50. "But I would like to do this more than any job I can think of."

Cohan is choosing to run as a Democrat against U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross to represent Florida's 15th Congressional district. 

He made a name as an investigative reporter over three years at WFTS, revealing an undisclosed vacation home owned by the wife of then-Hillsborough County Commissioner Jim Norman.

But WFTS let him go in June 2012 with no public explanation; Cohn said then and now he doesn't know why they ended his employment. He created a company, AMC Productions, which has developed promotional videos for the state's tourism office and Tampa's Chamber of Commerce.

He's hoping some of the notoriety he gained as a TV reporter will help in his first bid for public office. "We're all frustrated by the gridlock in Washington," said Cohn, who lives in New Tampa with his wife, Patricia, and two teenage children. "That's not who we are."

H/T Tampa Bay Times

Charlotte Anchor Leaving

After 3 years at WCNC in Charlotte, Morning Anchor Kellie Patterson is leaving the station.  

Patterson came to Charlotte from KENS in San Antonio in 2010 and she also competed on CBS Amazing Race.

Here is the internal memo that News Director Corrie Harding sent out to the staff:

From: Harding, Corrie 
Sent: Friday, August 23, 2013 12:47 PM
To: WCNC AllNews
Cc: WCNC Department Heads
Subject: Kellie Patterson

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It’s been a week…

I’ve got some news on Kellie Patterson.  She’ll be leaving WCNC TV to take on a new opportunity.  Kellie’s been a critical part of our morning news effort for almost three years, and I’m thankful for her efforts on that show, as well as working on the medical news segments for the 4pm and other special projects.  She particularly helped us by field anchoring during the coverage of those awful storms in York County.

This is one of those situations that is ‘good news’ for Kellie, but a few other things need to shake out before we’ll all know all the details on just how good it is.

Her last day on the air with us will be Friday, August 30th.   I hope you’ll join me in wishing Kellie the best of luck in the future.

Thanks,
Corrie

In and Out

It will be a odd day at your favorite TV website Today. 

This morning I am attempting to qualify for the United States Golf Association Mid-Amature which will be held in October in Alabama. 

That means a very early wakeup call this morning.

After our round FTVLive will be back in the World Headquarters and updating you on the latest news about TV news.

As we said last week, August is a very slow month. FTVLive is planning on taking a day or two off later this week, before settling in for the Fall.

We have taken one day off in the last 200 days, so I think you can understand why we could use a little R&R. 

See you back on here later Today.  

Right now..... FORE!  

That Didn't Last Long

3 weeks ago, FTVLive told you that WDBJ News Director Dan Dennison was being replaced, but was staying on at the station as a feature reporter.

At the time WDBJ GM Jeff Marks said that Dennison's new gig was making him the "reporter of the future." 

Well if he's the reporter of the future, Today's reporters might want to live in the past. Dennison has left the station after just a few weeks into his new reporting gig.  

“Dan changed his mind about the reporting role and has elected to move on,” Marks wrote in an email. “We are all grateful to him for the work he did to elevate the production and content of our newscasts.”

Dennison shed little light on the reason for his departure.

“I’m proud of the accomplishments made by the WDBJ7 team during my tenure at the station,” Dennison said in a statement he emailed to The Roanoke Times. “This includes many product improvements, as evidenced by consistent ratings growth, and recently in recognition from broadcast industry peers, in the form of three regional Emmy Awards and an Edward R. Murrow Award for overall news excellence.”

Chicago Anchor Headed to the Big Apple

Word is that WFLD morning Anchor Kori Chambers will soon be packing his bags for the Big Apple. 

Rumor is that Chambers is going to the struggling WPIX in New York.  He is expected to anchor the morning show with Sukanya Krishnan.

Stay tuned...  

Memo from The Boss

New NBC News President Deborah Turness has wrapped up her third week on the job and she likes what she sees so far.

Turness sent a memo to the staff congratulating them on "a great week."

She was particularly happy with the Today Show and the job they did last week. 

Here's the memo to the troops: 

Dear All,  

I wanted to send a short note of thanks at the end of a great week for NBC News. A huge amount of enterprise and hard work by so many people meant that we won the biggest prizes of the week, and produced some outstanding added-value reporting. It's impossible to capture all the good work, but I wanted to pick out a few highlights. 

The Hannah Anderson exclusive was a major coup and delivered first for the Today show, then our digital platforms and Nightly News......right through to last night's Dateline that used the interview and other content to create a compelling narrative and a great film. 

The Bradley Manning "Chelsea" bombshell was another Today show exclusive that was picked up on every other news outlet. NBCNews.com teamed up with Today to offer smart spin-off coverage on Manning's bid to change gender.

And as One Direction were warming up for their Plaza spectacular in front of record crowds, Nancy Kerrigan broke her silence on the Today show after years away from the spotlight raising her kids.

What a week for Matt Zimmerman and what a week for the Today show.

The horrific events in Syria were brought home through Richard Engel's powerful reports. Richard was able to Skype an eyewitness as the story broke and yesterday we heard for the first time from a doctor who had treated the victims via Ann Curry's Skype interview. Ann was also first to break the depressing story that one million Syrian children have now been displaced by the war.

As fires rage across large swaths of the US we were not content to film at a distance. We got up close to the teams fighting the fires both on the ground and in the air, producing truly distinctive coverage that stood out from what others were offering. Miguel Almaguer's tireless team were supported by Al Henkel who walked for hours carrying heavy kit to send back his content. And Miguel's spectacular Yosemite into-camera on last night's Nightly News is well worth a look if you missed it.

Meet The Press was number one last Sunday. Tomorrow we look forward to the archive re-run of a 50 year old episode of the show featuring MLK which was a great idea from Rob Yarin.

And of course our #dreamday project is underway, with a range of contributions already in - including the Dalai Lama! We look forward to sharing them with our audiences on Wednesday.

There are so many more stories and names I could mention. It has been a week when so much ambition, enterprise and imagination have lifted our shows.

Thanks to everyone who worked to make it all happen.

Deborah

So Much for the Liberal Media

Former Seattle TV anchor Susan Hutchison has been elected chair of the Washington State Republican Party.

Hutchison who anchored for years at KIRO defeated the interim GOP chair, Luanne Van Werven, in a runoff vote after two other candidates were eliminated at the party’s meeting in Spokane on Saturday.

Hutchison ran unsuccessfully for King County Executive in 2009, downplaying her Republican ties.

On Saturday, she pledged to breathe new life into a state Republican Party that has suffered stinging election defeats.

Hutchison said the party is “nearly broke,” has a “useless” website and a get-out-the-vote operation that is spotty in some places and ineffective in others.

H/T Spokesman Review

Time for the Top 5

Here's a look at the Top 5 most read stories on FTVLive in the past week. 

Let's start the countdown: 

No. 5 -  This is Starting to Get Ugly

No. 4 -  The ABC O&O Layoffs Have Started

No. 3 -  Ed Schultz Back To Weekdays on MSNBC

No. 2 -  New App to Help Integrate Twitter in Live Broadcast

And the most read story this past week was: Sources: NBC Backing Away from Clinton Miniseries 

Former Reporter Arrested in Murder for Hire Plot

Former WJHL (Johnson City, Tennessee) Thomas Kenneth “T.K.” Owens has been busted by police in a murder for hire plot.

Owens was arrested after he met up with the hit man at a sports bar and paid him $500 as down payment to kill his uncle, Ernest "Ernie" Widby. According to the TBI, Owens brought a picture of the intended victim and the victim's home address. That's when law enforcement got involved and arrested Owens after the payment was made.

"If somebody is willing to start spending money, or provide a gun, or extensive details on how to do this. It's pretty serious," said Carter County Sheriff, Chris Mathes. "I'll say in my opinion...Mr. Owens is a disturbed individual."

Mathes said an informant came to the sheriff’s office with information that Owens was looking to pay someone to kill Widby. That led to a meeting in Johnson City where Owens connected with another individual — who was working undercover for the operation — and handed over $500 as a down payment for the $2,500 hit.

This isn't the only legal trouble the former reporter faces. Owens is also facing a Carter County Criminal Court charge of solicitation of a minor. He was arrested May 31, 2011, after a 7-year-old girl’s mother told officials that Owens had invited her into his apartment to get a “twisty tie” ring he made.

The girl told her mother Owens gave her the ring and asked for a hug. After she hugged him, she said he unzipped his pants and exposed himself to her and asked her if she wanted to perform an inappropriate act. The girl told Owens she had to go home to finish her chores. She then ran home. 

The case is still pending, with the latest hearing set for Oct. 3. 

Owens also unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in 2012.

Between the murder for hire and the solicitation of a minor, seems like he would have made a perfect Senator.

New ND Named in Sacramento

Ed Chapuis is returning to Sacramento as News Director. 

Chapuis spent 11 years at number one KCRA, now he's headed across the street to KTXL.

“We are fortunate that Ed was available.  Ed spent the past 10 years leading the top rated news at KTVU, the FOX station in San Francisco.  Before that, he spent 11 years at KCRA.  His experience and tenure at #1 ranked stations in both the Bay Area and, more importantly, here in Sacramento will prove to be invaluable for our station,” said Jerry Del Core, VP and General Manager KTXL FOX40/Antenna TV.  “He will take FOX40 to new heights.”

“I’m excited about joining FOX40 with its strong news tradition of innovation, creativity and story-telling,” Chapuis said.  “I’ve watched and admired KTXL for years and know it has an exceptionally strong news team.  I’m looking forward to working with them.”

He starts his new gig at KTXL on Monday.  

Lauer on Top of Anchor Salaries

TV Guide has come out with their kist of how much TV stars are paid.  

Jon Stewart rakes in close to $30 million bucks but is still far behind Judge Judy who pulls down $47 million a year.

Turning to TV news, Ann Curry Executioner Matt Lauer sits at the top of the chart.

Here is a look at what some other TV newsies are pulling down: 

Matt Lauer (NBC): $22-25 million

Rachel Maddow (MSNBC): $7 million

Megyn Kelly (Fox News Channel): $6 million

Scott Pelley (CBS): $5 million

Chris Cuomo (CNN): $2.5 million 

H/T TV Guide  

Anchor Loses It While Interviewing Grumpy Cat

An Anchor for the Today Show Australia interviewed Grump Cat and while it wasn't all that funny, the anchor found it hilarious.

Man Sues WBRE

A man that owns a Gold Exchange place is suing WBRE (Wilkes-Barre) claiming the station said he was a "scam artist." 

Tim Shadle says he is filing a defamation suit against WBRE's parent company Nexstar Broadcasting Group, reporter Laurie Monteforte, news director Jim DePury, and anchors Candice Kelly and Drew Speier.

Shadle t that the station falsely portrayed him as a "scam artist" following his arrest on charges relating to his failure to renew his license to sell precious metals.

H/T Citizen's Voice