New ND Named in KC

KCTV in Kansas City has hired Larry Perret as their new News Director.

Perret has a looooooong resume as a ND, we worked at a number of LA stations and was most recently the news boss at KTVX in Salt Lake City. 

He also spent time as a TV consultant.

FTVLive told you last month that Perret was spotted in the KPHO (Phoenix) newsroom. He was pitching himself for the ND job, but didn't get it. 

Looks like KC was his second (or third, forth) choice.  

He replaces Blaise Labbe, who left the station last Summer for WOAI in San Antonio.

DC Anchor Wants Tossed Out of Lawsuit

Here's a switch, a TV News Anchor claiming she didn't know what the hell was going on. 

WUSA (DC) anchor J.C. Hayward is seeking dismissal from the list of defendants in a case involving allegations of a multimillion-dollar self-dealing scheme at District charter school Options Public.

Hayward was named in a civil complaint last week that sought to take over the school amid allegations that former top school officials had funneled millions to two for-profit companies they owned. Hayward was chairman of the school’s board of trustees — and, according to court documents, allegedly signed off on the contracts and bonuses in that role — before she stepped down in recent days.

Hayward argues that she did not benefit from the alleged contracting scheme, nor knew it existed.

She has been taken off the air at WUSA while the case winds it's way through the courts. 

H/T Washington Business Journal  

Funny Weather

Kevin O'Neill has been in the Buffalo TV market for years at a feature Reporter. He spent years at WIVB as the "Why Guy" doing off beat features and giving viewers a chuckle. 

Seven years ago his contract talks with WIVB went sour and O'Neill took his schtick across the street to WGRZ.

Now, the funny Reporter is looking to become a Weather Anchor. No Joke. 

As FTVLive told you Yesterday, meteorologist Mary Beth Wrobel is leaving WGRZ, where she worked as a weather fill in. 

O'Neill appears to be the person that will be replacing Wrobel as a fill-in forecaster?

O'Neill announced he was going to do weather for WGRZ on Facebook Tuesday, though some of his followers may have thought that was a joke just like most of his posts.

It isn't.

According to other sources, O'Neill quietly received his meteorology degree recently from a Mississppi State University program and the station plans to utilize his new skills shortly.

He wrote on Facebook Tuesday that he is learning the ropes from WGRZ "Daybreak" meteorologist Andy Parker.

An official announcement is expected to be made by the end of this week or early next week, according to sources.

According to sources, O'Neill might even do weather reports from remote locations in the morning to supplement Parker's reports.

O'Neill also would be available to fill in on weather on weekends or when otherwise needed.

H/T Buffalo News

Expanding the News in Sacramento

KTXL FOX40 is expanding its evening newscasts to begin at 5 p.m. weekdays starting Nov. 4.

This increases the station's early evening news block from 60 to 90 minutes, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The station says that they will be adding resources and expanding staffing to accommodate the additional news coverage.

Current Anchors Stefanie Cruz and Eric Harryman will anchor the expanded news block. 

Leaving Bean Town TV

Chalk up another TV newsie leaving the business. 

After 20 years,  Anchor Liz Brunner is leaving WCVB in Boston to launch Brunner Communications, a media training and consulting firm.

Brunner started at WCVB in 1993 as a correspondent for the nightly news magazine show "Chronicle." 

She later moved to the evening newscasts, where during her tenure Brunner anchored NewsCenter 5 at 5:30, 6 & 11.

For nearly the last decade, Brunner has co-anchored the top-rated NewsCenter 5 at 6.

Now, she's leaving the TV business behind to start her own company.  

Hartford Weatherman Eats Cat Vomit On Air

OK, if you're eating or just ate, you might not want to watch this video. WFSB (Hartford) Weatherman Scot Haney thought he was eating some Grape Nuts off the floor of the news set.

Not sure why he feels a need to eat things off the floor, but it turned out much worse. Haney figured out he wasn't eating Grape Nuts....he was chowing down on Cat Vomit. And it's not even a ratings book. 

Now let's go to the video:  

WFSB Channel 3

Jake Tapper: Yes there is Bias in the Media

CNN's Jake Tapper says he believes that there is bias in the media. He also thinks the sky is blue and water is wet.

Tapper was on Reddit doing an AMA (Ask Me Anything) (AMA) Today. He was asked if he believes there is a “bias in the mainstream media.” Tapper replied that he did, but that it was “more complicated than just liberal bias.” 

“Do you believe there is bias in mainstream media?” a Reddit user asked. “If yes, which way does it slant and which networks?”

“Yes I do,” Tapper replied, “but I also think it’s more complicated than just liberal bias.”

“I think there are a lot of hard-working reporters in NYC and DC who have never fired a gun, or never worked a 9-5 manual labor job, or lived in the middle of the country, or worried about their next paycheck, or have anyone in their family who serves in the military and I think that creates a cultural bias,” he continued.

“But I also think there are a lot of reporters who work to counter that and understand the limitations of their own realities,” Tapper concluded. “But yes, I do think there is bias. Reluctant to name names though because I try to be collegial.”

H/T Mediaite

Just When you Thought we were Done with George Zimmerman....

Noooooo!!!!!!! 

Just when you thought we were done with the George Zimmerman/ Trayvon Martin news cycle, CNN is ready to ride it again.

CNN's Anderson Cooper will present "Tragedy on Trial: The George Zimmerman Story" at 10PM this Sunday.

The special is being billed as "Anderson Cooper Special Report."

It appears that CNN thinks that this dead horse might have moved just a bit and they will continue to beat it. 

Why Anderson Why?! 

Sneak Peak at the New Weather Channel's Graphics

The Weather Channel is going to unveil a new graphics package in November. 

If you're like us, you won't be able to sleep well, until you know what it's going to look like?

Lucky for you, FTVLive has a sneak peak. Sleep well my friends. 

8 People Dead and This is Fun

Jimmy Kimmel gives his take on the new Fox News Deck. 

Some Funny stuff: 

Ummmm...That is Just Not Right

You may remember the story of Winston-Salem Anchor Tolly Carr. Carr went to prison after he killed a man while drinking and driving.

So what's Carr doing now? 

He's featured in a commercial for a Carolina car dealer.  

What?!

Frank Myers Auto Maxx often does TV commercials timed to holidays, and the latest spot featuring Carr is meant for the Halloween season. The commercial was comparing old cars with zombies, with the title of “Driving Dead.”

Are you kidding me? And no one thought this might be a bad idea? 

In the spot, Carr plays the role of a news anchor. Needless to say, viewers were not real happy with the ad.

“The commercial you’re speaking of only aired this past weekend,” Tracy Myers, the owner of Frank Myers Auto, told the Winston Salem Journal . “In that short time, we had a couple of complaint calls and several messages complaining about it left on the FMAM Facebook page. Hindsight is 20/20 and I obviously didn't use good judgment when I asked Mr. Carr to be featured in it (the TV commercial).”

The commercial, he said, was meant to be a satire based on the popular TV show “The Walking Dead,” about the survivors of a zombie apocalypse.

“It was certainly not meant to be taken literally,” Myers said. “With that being said, I can understand how Mr. Carr's appearance in the commercial could be considered offensive and in bad taste. ”

For that reason, he said, the commercial was pulled from the air as of Monday. 

And TV Photogs Rejoice Across the Land....

Oops! Did Fox Station Boss Speak Too Soon

In a recent Interview, Fox Stations Boss Jack Abernethy may have let the cat out of the bag a big early.

Abernethy was asked to give examples of some of the things his stations are doing to revamp their newscasts. He responded that “In Chicago [WFLD], we have got sort of three people really. We’ve got two anchors and then Robin Robinson comes in with her special reports,” Abernethy said.

That's news to anyone watching the news in Chi-Town. Longtime Anchor Robin Robinson is anchoring the news alongside new anchor Jeff Herndon. There is no third anchor.... yet.

There have been rumors for quite awhile that the station was looking to take Robinson off the desk. It appears the rumors are indeed happening, but Abernethy might have tipped everyone off to that fact before it happens. 

When it does happen, look for the station to spin it as it was Robinson's idea.  

Stay tuned.... 

H/T Robert Feder 

Chicago Station Cuts Make Up Artist

That's not the only news coming out of the Fox O&O in Chicago.  

WFLD has told their longtime Make Up Artist to pack up her bags, she's history. 

Way back in March, FTVLive told you that the Fox O&O's were ordered to make some slashes to their budgets. It seems that the Make Up woman at WFLD is one of those cuts. 

Robert Feder says that Makeup artist. Debbie Davis was told this week that she’s out after nearly 20 years on the job.

Starting Nov. 1, insiders said, anchors and reporters on Monday-through-Friday newscasts will be responsible for applying their own makeup. There’s been no makeup artist on weekends for some time.

Fox 32 also was the first station in the third largest market to require anchors to operate their own Teleprompters. Studio Teleprompter operator positions were eliminated in cutbacks last year.

Now if you look, you can see anchors stepping on foot pedals or pressing hand-held devices to advance their scripts. Hilarity often ensues when things go wrong.