Shake Up Continues at NY Station

It seems WPIX, the struggling Tribune station in New York isn't done shaking things up.  

The station announced changes Today to it's morning newscast. 

Marysol Castro is returning to the station to anchor alongside Dan Mannarino.

Castro, who was the traffic reporter for WPIX when it launched Morning News in 2001, will return to the station to anchor PIX11 Morning News from 4-6 a.m.

Mannarino, who has been reporting and fill-in anchoring for WPIX since 2011, has been bumped up the food chain. 

The changes start next Monday.  

The Cougar Has Been Captured

While many of you spent the Labor Day Weekend cleaning out the garage, Katie Couric did something a bit more exciting.

She got engaged. 

The perk one said "yes" to her boyfriend of nearly two years, financier John Molner.

People reports that a rep for Couric confirms the engagement – Molner popped the question with a spectacular diamond ring at sunset on the beach in East Hampton, N.Y. 

A widow since her husband Jay Monahan died from colon cancer in 1998, Couric, 56, has had several suitors over the past decades, but never seemed to find "The One." 

Now it appears she has.  

Miami Anchor Canned for Streaming Station's Newscasts

FTVLive FIRST told you that WFOR morning Anchor Josh Benson had been fired from the station on Friday.

As we reported Benson has been at the Miami station for just a year, joining WFOR from WFTV in Orlando. 

The station has released a statement as to why the anchor was sacked: 

“WFOR-TV has terminated the employment of Josh Benson for his operation of a personal website that streamed the station's newscasts without the knowledge and consent of the station.” 

Word is that Benson posted stories on his blog about the web streaming service Aereo. CBS is locked in a lawsuit trying to stop Aereo from streaming their stations. The service had recently started operations in the Miami market. 

Benson has since taken his personal website down and his social media accounts have been deleted. 

FTVLive reached out to Benson, we are yet to hear back from him.

You'll Need a Lineup Card to Watch WNBC

During our long day and half vacation, WNBC made official what FTVLive FIRST reported back in August.

FTVLive told you that KCBS morning anchor Sibila Vargas had left the station and was bound for the Big Apple and WNBC.

WNBC has now confirmed our report and named Vargas anchor of its Noon and 6PM newscasts.

With placing Vargas on these newscasts, it appears that WNBC has become the only major station with a different anchor team for each of its weekday newscasts.

At most stations, the morning team sticks around to do the Noon news, and the late news team also pairs up for at least one afternoon newscast.

That's not the case at WNBC: 

Mornings: Darlene Rodriguez and Michael Gargiulo.

Noon- Rob Schmitt and Sibila Vargas

5PM- Tom Llamas and Shiba Russell

6PM- Chuck Scarborough and Sibila Vargas

11PM- Chuck Scarborough and Shiba Russell.

Watching WNBC's newscast will be like trying to tell who's married to who at a swingers convention. 

Milwaukee Anchor Sues Station for Fair Pay

Are the guys getting paid for than the ladies at one Milwaukee station?

At least one female Anchor believes that is the case and she's suing the station. 

Anchor-reporter Shari Dunn has filed a complaint against her employers, WDJT and it's owner Weigel Broadcasting.

Dunn says in her suit that there is "a possible pattern and practice of paying female employees less than male employees."

The complaint alleges that Weigel provides more high-profile opportunities for men and that it has created "a culture where the opinions of male employees are valued more than the opinions of female employees." 

The complaint also states race was also a cause for discrimination as was the fact that she opposed discrimination in the workplace.

The complaint was filed with the Wisconsin Equal Rights Division and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, said attorney Nola Hitchcock Cross in a statement.

She said the case was expected to proceed to federal court on a class-action basis.

Dunn describes herself in the statement as a "loyal, consistent and eager employee." She was born in Milwaukee and attended Nicolet High School and Marquette University. She joined the station in 2009.

Station manager Jim Hall did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

H/T The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Fired Reporter Suing Wichita Station

One-time KAKE reporter and part-time anchor Jared Cerullo has filed a lawsuit against his former employer, citing breach of contract and defamation.

The Wichita Business Journal reports that the lawsuit  filed on Aug. 23, names Gray Television Group Inc., the parent company of KAKE, and Michael Sipes, KAKE’s news director.

Sipes, who became KAKE’s news director in January, says he cannot comment on the lawsuit.

Cerullo is seeking damages in excess of $75,000.

The suit alleges that Cerullo was wrongly terminated for information he shared through Twitter and during an on-air newscast about how a defendant in a murder case pleaded during a June preliminary hearing.

Cerullo incorrectly reported that that person entered a plea of guilty, when, in fact, the defendant pleaded not guilty and waived his right to a preliminary hearing, meaning the case was bound over for a jury trial.

Notified of the error, Cerullo corrected his mistake on Twitter and later issued an on-air correction and apology.

Cerullo, according to court documents filed with Sedgwick County District Court, was suspended on June 25 only to have his employment contract terminated a day later for what was characterized as “gross negligence.”

Cerullo’s termination sparked a firestorm among some KAKE viewers, some of whom launched a Facebook campaign demanding he be reinstated.

In June, Cerullo shared his story during an interview for a local radio show, telling the host that he made a mistake but the “punishment didn’t fit the crime.”

Welcoming BGA into the Fold

As FTVLive has told you in the past, we only accept sponsorships from the best companies in and around TV news. 

If it is not a company you can trust, you will NOT see their ad on FTVLive. We have actually turned down companies that have wanted to post ads on this website (how many other sites would do that?).

Today, we're happy to have the best companies in the business help sponsor FTVLive. We are also more than happy to add talent agency BGA to our list of sponsors.

BGA is a full-service Talent Agency specializing in Broadcast TV News, New Media and Writers for Film/TV.

The BGA staff has industry experience with today's top media companies including ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, NBC, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony and Warner Bros.

A source of pride has always been in their Agent/Talent relationship and our continued commitment to provide guidance with strong ethical standards. That's BGA's guarantee.

The company has a strict policy of representing only a limited number of clients. They work closely with their clients, and matching their talent and skills to the right opportunities is paramount.

BGA helps build successful careers, and offer around-the-clock access to your agent.

You can check out their website here. 

We warmly Welcome BGA to FTVLive!

Back to Local News for Regis

Word is that Regis Philbin is going to co-anchor the 9 a.m. hour of WNYW's “Good Day New York” with Rosanna Scotto.

It is part of a publicity stunt to tell viewers that Philbin now has a show on Fox Sports 1.  

As for Scotto, Page Six says it's a full circle moment for Rosanna since she began her career as Regis’ PA back in 1982.

Watch Out Ronnie!

NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott got a bit carried away while doing some late-night commentary for the Pac-12 Network following UCLA's 58-20 win over Nevada on Saturday.

H/T Bleacher Report

Heeeeee's Baaaaaaaack!

Jon Stewart returns to The Daily Show Tonight after taking off the Summer.  

Concussion Story Hits Home for Fox's Pam Oliver

While the NFL is doing their best to try an quash reports about NFL players suffering concussions, the story has hit home for one Fox Sports sideline reporter.

The NY Daily News reports that no one could blame Oliver for not wanting to talk about the most painful moment — literally — of her career as Fox’s NFL sideline reporter. It happened on Sunday, Aug. 18, at the Meadowlands during pregame warmups when a pass thrown by Colts backup QB Chandler Harnish hit her flush on the side of the face.

In the immediate aftermath she refused to read about it, talk about it or watch the video. “Now I want to get it out there. It was a painful, shocking moment,” Oliver said in an exclusive interview over the telephone. “I didn’t really know what happened.”

In the days following this flash of pain, neither would anyone else who watched the Internet video. Not the people who thought it was funny. Nor the ones who felt bad for her.

Until now, they did not know she suffered a concussion.

Adrenaline got Oliver through the game telecast (“You don’t want to be wimpy, you just have to push through it.”), but in the car riding back to the hotel, when she began to relax, the slight headache turned into one of the pounding variety. She tried reconstructing what happened leading up to the moment.

Oliver had just finished doing an interview with referee Ed Hochuli for a piece she was doing on NFL refs for Showtime’s “60 Minutes Sports,” which airs Wednesday night, and returned to the sidelines. “That’s all I remember,” she said. “I asked the people around me, ‘What happened?’ They told me I just got hit in the head with a football.”

After waking up that Monday her head hurt so much she had to hold it. “The sensitivity to light started and some nausea too,” she said, “my whole body was sore.” Oliver went to the doctor. The CT Scan came up clean, but she was diagnosed with a concussion. Oliver spent the next five days in a dark room inside her home.

“I slept for hours on end. The minute you wake up you’re reminded. Your head is pounding,” she said. “I really could not take light — the light from the TV, the accent lighting. The sun was completely my enemy. My blinds were drawn. It was miserable.”

Read the rest from the NY Daily News

Talk about a Hot Anchor

WCBS Anchor Chris Wragge was assigned to field anchor from the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament. 

Needless to say, it was a hot day: 

He's Tuckered Out

FTVLive has to admit that we have fallen asleep while watching Fox and Friends. 

But you know it's bad when you fall nod off during the show....and you're anchoring it. 

Miami Anchor Gone, Social Media Deleted

You can call it the mystery in Miami. 

Sources tell FTVLive that WFOR Anchor Josh Benson is gone from the station. 

Benson has been at the Miami station for just a year, joining WFOR from WFTV in Orlando. 

Insiders say Benson was ousted from the station on Friday and so far no one is talking.

His bio remains on the station's website, but his personal website and all his social media accounts are down or have been deleted. 

FTVLive reached out to Benson and have received no response.  

Stay tuned...