Sex or Sleep? ABC's Newsman's Wife will Take the latter

ABC's Bob Woodruff's wife Lee defiantly enters into the world of too much information in an article she pens for Ladies Home Journal.

Woodruff says that after 25 years a marriage, sex just isn't the same and she rather sleep than take the time to do it. 

She writes:

"Somewhere between the midnight feedings and work deadlines, the chasm grew between my husband's needs and my desire. He once joked that he has the strength of 10,000 men after sex, and it seems to be true. So, like many a wife before me, I am not beneath doing it even when I don't feel like it just so he'll use some of that postcoital power to get the household chores done. (Unclogged drain joke, anyone?) There have been times I've even faked my own pleasure (oh, please, we've all done it) so I can just go to sleep already. But honestly, when things get going, once the motor turns over, well, it's pretty enjoyable on my end, too. It's getting there mentally that's the problem. Many days my libido feels like a shrunken head."

But, Woodruff says that she did try some role playing games after Bob's serious injury while covering the news in Iraq.  

Lee says one of her friends sent me a French maid costume with the message that it could help get better.

Lee writes:

"I was so unenthusiastic about role-playing it took at least a month before I got the nerve to show Bob the costume. I had been waiting on him hand and foot as well as caring for our children, all while trying to act cheerful and lift his spirits. Flouncing around in a lace-up, cleavage-baring mini was not on my list of care-giving duties. But when I pulled out the costume and a feather from the black mules got stuck in my mouth, we both giggled. And then there it was, the flicker of our old selves, ignited by the sexiest gift a long marriage has to offer -- a shared sense of humor.

"Put it on!" he begged with a smirk. So I did, and as I pranced around, half-horrified that a child might enter, we convulsed into genuine belly laughs. What happened next is strictly confidential."

Not sure about the ladies, but any guy reading the article has to cringe for Bob. 

Just saying....  

H/T Alissa Krinsky @TVNewser 
 

Replacing Babs on The View?

As the Deathwatch for Katie Couric's talk show continues to heat up, it looks like she may already have her next gig lined up.

The NY Daily News says that “Katie” will likely be canceled by ABC this winter — but viewers could soon see the peppy TV queen replacing Barbara Walters on “The View.” 

“Katie,” which just started its second season, isn’t attracting a big audience despite efforts by network executives to make it more gossip-centric.

“They realize it will never be a success and ratings are down drastically from last season,” says our tipster. “The ABC development team has been working nonstop on new talk show pilots and are looking at high-profile names to replace her, hopefully by January.”

Talk about good timing — ABC heads happen to be in discussions to find a replacement on “The View” for soon-to-retire Walters.

“Katie may ultimately replace Barbara when she retires,” sources tell the Daily News. 

It's 8:00... Do You Know Where Your Demos Are?

Once again, viewers were not "All In" when it came to watching MSNBC's All In with Chris Hayes.

In fact most of the demos tuned out on Wednesday night. 

Haye's show ranked as one of the lowest across MSNBC in total viewers, with 418k, but he also fell below 100k in the 25-54 demo, racking up a mere 89k, the second-lowest in all of cable news.

Luckily for Hayes, Ed Schultz also works at MSNBC and he could pull in just 78K in the demo.  

Thanks to Ed, Chris stayed out of the ratings basement. 

But just barely.  

H/T Mediaite

Fake TV Producer Busted by Police

It was a good scam, right up until when she got caught. 

Police say a  Miami woman was posing as a television producer and duping customers into believing that their businesses would be featured in exchange for paying a one-time fee.

It's the same gamut that many TV stations around the country run. The problem in this case, the woman did not work for a station and the programs see sold, never aired.

Cops arrested Sandra Bullock look-a-like Jessie Alexander are charged her with on one count of organized scheme to defraud and four counts of obtaining property by false personation.

Palm Beach police said they received a complaint about Alexander in June from Linda Gary, the owner of a Worth Avenue real estate firm.

Gary told police that Alexander claimed Gary's business was chosen to be featured on a program called "Best of the Palm Beaches" on WFLX FOX 29. For a one-time fee of $3,500, Alexander told Gary, she would indirectly receive $47,000 worth of publicity from the show after it aired May 19, police said.

After the show never aired and Gary's request for a refund was ignored, she called police.

An investigation uncovered that several other Palm Beach businesses had fallen victim to Alexander, police said.

The general manager of FOX 29 said Alexander wasn't affiliated with the station and did not have permission to use the station's logo, which was on the agreements, police said.

It was discovered that almost $24,000 had been deposited into Alexander's bank account, police said.

H/T WPBF

Hartford Stations Can't be Happy with This Twitter Account

It appears that someone is not really happy with WFSB in Hartford. The person(s) setup a fake Twitter account called @WFSBFAKENEWS with the tag line "Fake news from Connecticut's most watched news station. We fabricate stories better."  

Then the Tweets take some shots at the station's coverage and the station's app with the Tweeter says bombards you with ads.

How long before WFSB is petitioning Twitter to get this account pulled?

3.....2..... 

Sexting Hoda

Today Show co-anchor Hoda Kotb has had to change her phone number after her personal number was accidentally broadcast on-air during a segment showing off the new Samsung smart watch. 

Hoda told Page Six that she kept the phone, with more than 2,000 texts.

“I hope it’s not porn,” she said going through them randomly. “There was only one porn I saw. Someone had to text his junk because that’s what people do.”

Ummmmmm...... Sorry Hoda, I thought you and I had something special. 

My bad.

Run for your Lives!!! It's a Flash Food....Huh?

People in Hartford had to be scared when then turned on WTNH. The station was reporting a "Flash Food" was hitting the area. 

They did not report what kind of Food was flooding the area. I hope it was ice cream. 

FBI Spokesman Going Back to TV News

While a number of TV newsies have been leaving the business for a gig outside of TV, he's a guy coming back to the tube. 

After 1 year and 10 months as the FBI spokesman in Detroit, Simon Shaykhet — the guy with the hard to spell last name — is returning to TV as a reporter.

“The FBI was a terrific experience and I was proud to be able to represent such a prestigious law enforcement organization,” Shaykhet told Deadline Detroit.

Shaykhet, 32, who worked for Fox2 for 5 1/2 years before joining the FBI, has joined WXYZ-TV as a general assignment and investigative reporter. He did an internship with WXYZ back in 2003.

Shaykhet, a Detroit native, was first hired at the FBI by Andy Arena, who then headed up the Detroit office. Arena was very outgoing and considered very press friendly. When Arena departed to head up the Detroit Crime Commission, he was replaced by Robert Foley III, who seemed less at ease with the press and was considerably lower profile. Foley transferred weeks ago to Florida.

Shayket insists both Arena and Foley were great to work for, acknowledging that each had a different style.

“Channel 7 was an excellent fit for me,” he said. “It was a great opportunity for me to go back to journalism, and it happened to occur just as my boss at the FBI was transferring to another position. ”

H/T Ticklethewire.com

Former Reporter Died from "Accidental Causes"

FTVLive had told you that a former Milwaukee Anchor was found dead in her home last week.

Now, her death is being ruled to be from accidental causes, according to a Milwaukee County medical examiner's report that said a final ruling will depend on pending toxicology tests.

Asa George, 34, had reported for WITI-TV and WDJT-TV. On Friday morning, a relative called police and asked that they check on George's welfare at her house in the 2300 block of S. 58th St.

According to the medical examiner's report:

Officers and firefighters found George's decomposing body inside a bathtub filled with water. The house was messy and covered with blood and feces, and a malnourished boxer dog was in the home.

Positive identification was delayed as examiners awaited dental records from Ohio, where George had once worked as a TV anchor in Dayton.

Relatives told investigators that George had battled a serious alcoholism problem for years. Two empty vodka bottles and numerous prescription medications also were found in the home.

George's aunt told investigators that George had lost several jobs over her drinking problem and had been treated numerous times, against her will, but continued abusing alcohol.

The report indicates that the death was not attributable to drowning or a laceration to her George's head.

George's father, who lives in California, expressed concern to investigators that there might have been foul play involved because his daughter had spoken of some kind of harassment.

H/T Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 

So What is a Journalist?

The U.S. Senate took time away from the crisis in Syria to define what a "Journalist" is. 

According to the U.S. Senate they define a "covered journalist" as an employee, independent contractor or agent of an entity that disseminates news or information. The individual would have been employed for one year within the last 20 or three months within the last five years.

It would apply to student journalists or someone with a considerable amount of freelance work in the last five years. A federal judge also would have the discretion to declare an individual a "covered journalist," who would be granted the privileges of the law.

The Senate approved the measure defining a journalist, which had been an obstacle to broader media shield legislation designed to protect reporters and the news media from having to reveal their sources.

Read more from the AP  

Philly Station Looking to Hire 15 Staffers

One Philly station is looking to hire Anchors, Reporters, Photographers and Producers.  

The catch? 

You have to speak fluent Spanish. 

Telemundo Philadelphia (WWSI) has announced that it is recruiting a total of 15 Spanish-speaking journalists and other professionals to fill the roles of reporter, producer, anchor and photographer, as well as positions in sales, finance and engineering.

The new hires come as the affiliate gears up to launch two new, high definition Spanish-language newscasts on the station, starting in January 2014. The live, half-hour newscasts, which will air weeknights at 6pm ET and 11pm ET, will give Spanish-speaking viewers across the Philadelphia market a range of content including local news, weather, entertainment, sports and community news.

WWSI has also made technology investments, including a more powerful transmitter and stronger antenna, scheduled to be installed in November 2013.

"We're looking for talented Spanish-speaking journalists who are passionate about delivering the Hispanic community the local news and information that is important and relevant in their lives," said Eric Lerner, president and general manager of Telemundo Philadelphia and NBC10 Philadelphia. "This is a unique opportunity to play a role in the launch of a first-time newscast, working for a company that is dedicated to serving our communities with quality journalism."

The new employees will be part of Telemundo parent NBCUniversal and will be based at the Telemundo Philadelphia facilities in Bala Cynwyd.

H/T Rapid TV News

Austin Makes Biggest Jump in Markets

Nielsen released the 2014 list of TV markets and the biggest mover in the Top 50 was Austin, Tx. 

Austin made a 5 market leap, going from the 45th market all the way up to number 40. Las Vegas was in the 40th spot, but it falls 2 markets to number 42. 

In other top 50 market news, Phoenix swaps spots with Seattle, The Valley of the sun moves up to number 12, while Seattle moves down one to number 13. 

O-Town moves up one spot to number 18, pushing Cleveland down a spot to 19.  

FTVLive's home market of Jacksonville moves up to Number 48 from the 50th spot.  

You can check out the entire list here.  

Shep To Head Up Breaking News Unit at FNC

While MSNBC could care less about breaking news, Fox News is launching a whole Breaking News Division. 

And it will be headed up by Shepard Smith. 

Shep is losing some face time on the anchor desk, but now in his new deal with Fox he will lead a newly established breaking news division as its Managing Editor and continue as Chief News Anchor.

Shep will be in charge of breaking news at fox no matter when it happens. 

Shep will no longer work out of the studio, he will have his own "deck" at Fox News.

FNC says the show will be housed in a newly constructed signature studio unveiled upon launch, known as The FOX News Deck. We're guessing that the deck will also have a bed for Shep to sleep in. That way when news breaks they can wake Shep up and he can get to work.

“Shep is a premier journalist and one of the finest newsmen of the modern era. He will exemplify the ethos that FOX News is when and where the news is, as it happens, no longer bound by a traditional evening format conceived in the 1960’s,” Said Fox Boss Roger Ailes.

KTVU Hires New Managing Editor

Ho Lee Fuk, KTVU has finally hired a new Managing Editor.

The Cox station has hired Amber Eikel as their new M.E.

Eikel is coming from sister station KIRO (Seattle), where she has been an Executive Producer for the last 2 ½ years. 

“We are very fortunate to have someone of Amber’s caliber in the Cox Media Group family.  Her great work at KIRO and previous experience covering big stories will make her a great leader here at KTVU,” said Lee Rosenthal, KTVU News Director.

“I’m proud to be joining the Channel 2 News team. It will be an honor to work with such a talented group of journalists, and I look forward to helping KTVU continue its success as the number one news station in the Bay Area,” said Eikel.

She starts at the end of the month...unless of course Sum Ting Wong and she changes her start date.  

Yes.... this is the same station that did this.

Former Milwaukee Anchor Found Dead

Wow...WDJT in Milwaukee seems to have a huge black cloud hanging over the station. 

Two of their Talent are filing discrimination suits against the station. As FTVLive FIRST told you a Photographer at the station massed emailed his resignation letter. 

And now one of their former Anchors has turned up dead.  

The Milwaukee Journal says that police are investigating the death of a woman who was found when officers were checking the welfare of a local TV reporter, police said Thursday.

Police were asked to check the welfare of Asa George, 34, who had reported for WITI-TV and WDJT-TV, at her house.

George was a former morning Anchor at WDJT, she left the station in February 2011 after working for one year.

She then freelanced across the street at WITI.

Here we Go Again - Hottest News Chicks

When radio stations run out of ideas (which happens often) they love to go to the old stand by.  

"Who is the Hottest News Chick?" contests are an easy way to draw listeners to the radio station's website.

93.3 in San Diego Frankie and Geena show is asking their listeners which SoCal newswoman is the hottest?

Of course we are expecting the TV stations to come out and say this is demeaning to their female journalists and they condemn any such contest.

The Anchors and Reporters featured in the contest will publicly say something close to the same thing..... and then when they get home at night, that battle carpal-tunnel pain clicking on their picture over and over again.

Here's a link to the contest if you care to partake or be outraged and the objectifying of these nice young women.