Is 'The View' Looking to Sack Jenny McCarthy?

Talk about short a honeymoon.

Word is that after making her debut just one month ago, it looks like Jenny McCarthy may already be getting axed from ABC's 'The View'.

The former Playboy favourite is turning off viewers due to her controversial style on the chat show, prompting ABC executives to apparently consider letting her go.

A source told Radar: 'ABC has begun doing deep research on Jenny's work on the show and the initial findings are that viewers want to tune out the second she opens her mouth!

'The data has revealed that she is far more off-putting than Elisabeth (Hasselbeck).'

The decision on whether to fire the mouthy blonde is said to lie with old warhorse Barbara Walters, 84, who is retiring from the show next summer.

The insider said: "[Barbara] isn't looking for a replacement for Jenny yet, she is obsessed with ratings and the longevity of the show, so Jenny needs to turn it around or she will be gone.

'If Barbara wants her out, they will buy out her contract. Right now they're just trying to adjust Jenny's performance on the show so that she comes off as more appealing, but that's an uphill battle.'

Stay tuned...  

New ND Named at New York Station

You know how anchors always act like they are the News Director? 

Well it one small market station in Utica, NY, that's the case. 

Don Dudley joined WUTR and will anchor both the 6 and 11PM newscasts.

He will also serve as the station's News Director.

If that was me, my first order of business would be to give the 6 and 11PM anchor a huge raise.  

Just saying....  

Nielsen Says 'The Kelley File' Ratings are Legit

When Megyn Kelly's ratings for her second night of her new show 'The Kelly File' jumped, MSNBC Boss Phil Griffin cried foul. 

He demanded an investigation into how Kelly's ratings rocketed past Rachel Maddow's? 

Nielsen says they did conducted an investigation into the ratings and investigation has revealed that the numbers for Kelly are accurate.

On it's second night “The Kelly File” doubled its audience, crushing “The Rachel Maddow Show.”

Griffin called for a probe, dubbing the ratings feat “impossible.”

Sorry Phil, but it looks like the impossible was possible.  

Pastors Turn on MSNBC's Al Sharpton

For Black Pastors in New York say it's time for Al Sharpton to step aside. 

They say that Sharpton is not the leader of the Black community and they want to bring that community back together. 

“Sharpton isn’t a community organizer. He’s a personality,” scoffed Raymond Blanchette, head bishop of the United Churches for Kingdom Building.

Mount Neboh pastor Johnnie Green, 51, said Sharpton has neglected black New York while pursuing national fame and acclaim.

“While (Sharpton) is jet-setting around the country, people are going to our churches saying they don’t have money to eat,” the Dallas native said. “People need somebody to fight for them.”

The group is planning a large rally for Oct. 24th against Sharpton.  

Sharpton shot back. “If you want to be the big guy, be the big guy, be that. Don’t act like I’m not doing anything local. I am.”

“I run a civil rights organization,” Sharpton added. “They’re not going to do what I do. ... I don’t run a church organization.”

Over 1500 people are expected at the rally. 

Stay tuned....  

H/T NY Daily News

Siri is a Sabres Fan

WKBW Anchor Keith Radford asked Siri, or has he calls it "That woman in there", who is her favorite NHL Hockey team?  

Here's the video: 

OK.....Now That's Scary

I'll be honest.....WGN (Chicago) Sports Reporter Rich King scares the hell out of me. Watch King in the background and tell me this guy doesn't look like he should be standing in the bushes outside some woman's bedroom window.

Just saying..... 

Like We Said....

AL.com is reporting that Bill Ballard, who helped rebuild Birmingham's CBS 42/WIAT-TV from a perennial ratings doormat into one of the stronger CBS stations in the country, was released after his contract expired Friday.

Of course if you are a regular reader of FTVLive, you knew this was coming weeks ago. 

Ballard had been the president and general manager at CBS 42 since 2003, when he came here from WBFS-TV in Miami.

LIN TV Corp., which bought CBS 42 and 12 other stations from New Vision Television last year, chose not to renew Ballard’s contract, according to Birmingham media sources.

Ballard, who declined to discuss specifics of his departure, told AL.com that he will remain in Birmingham but has no immediate future plans.

“I really enjoy Birmingham,” he said. “I have lived here longer than anywhere I’ve ever lived. Birmingham is my home, and I intend to spend the rest of my life here.”

LIN TV Corp. is expected to announce Ballard’s replacement as early as today.

AL.com links to an FTVLive.com story saying that  "One of the leading candidates, according to media sources, is Helen Swenson....."

Let FTVLive be clear, Swenson is not a leading candidate...SHE"S GETTING THE JOB.

You'll see and then when the press release is finally issued, that's when you'll see the story that we broke two weeks ago, will be picked up by everyone else.  

Did Indy Weather Anchor Really Move the Needle that far?

A story in the Indianapolis Business Journal says that when WISH Weather Anchor crossed the street to WTHR, the ratings rose dramatically for WTHR and tanked for WISH.

The IBJ writes that WTHR posted double-digit ratings gains in all newscasts during September except at noon, versus the same month in 2012. Buchman first appeared Sept. 3. She reports the weather weekdays at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.

At the same time, the station’s ascension triggered rain on competitors including WISH-TV Channel 8, from which WTHR hired away Buchman last year.

For example, at 6 p.m., WTHR’s ratings rose 14 percent over September 2012—while WISH’s ratings tumbled 31 percent.

WTHR had a viewer rating of 10.3 percent of all TV households at 6 p.m., while WISH was second at 3.4 percent.

Buchman left WISH in August 2012 and had been off the air for just over a year, per a non-compete clause of her WISH contract.

“They [WTHR] were able to strong-arm WISH. Now it is paying dividends,” said Bruce Bryant, president and creative director of Promotus Advertising.

“I would say that, with the reaction they’ve gotten so far, I would expect to see even more of her on the air. It appears to be working,” said Bill Perkins, of local media-buying firm Perkins Nichols Media.

It's really hard to believe that any anchor could move the ratings needle a combined 45%, but if I was Buchman's agent I would be making sure everyone thought it was all her.  

But, if you look at the lead ins for both newscasts, you will see a similar shift in the ratings.  WISH added the talk show ‘Bethenny,’ from 4 to 5PM and the ratings are awful. 

Either way, Buchman is getting the credit and it will force other stations to try and steal talent away from the competition. And no one is more happy than the TV Agents that Rep the Anchors.  

Bob Costas Weighs in on Redskins' Name

Bob Costas climbed up on his soapbox during halftime of NBC's Sunday Night Football to give his take on the Washington Redskins. No, Costas did not talk about their play on the field, but about their name.  

Many feel that the Redskins is a derogatory name and it needs to be change. Everyone from players to the President have weighed in on the subject.

Last night, Costas gave his take:  

EXCLUSIVE: Troubled Times at CNN's New Day

CNN sources tell FTVLive that things are going south at CNN's New Day fast. 

The morning show that CNN boss Jeff Zucker put so much time, effort and money into is dragging in the ratings and behind the scenes it is turning into a train wreck. 

Sources tell FTVLive that New Day Anchor Chris Cuomo told Zucker that he thinks he needs a new co-anchor.

Cuomo told Zucker that Kate Bolduan is not a good fit for him and he wants someone new. 

It's never a good thing when one anchor is going to the boss to complain about the other anchor. 

But, it doesn't stop there.

Sources tell FTVLive that New Day News Reader Michaela Pereira has contacted friends at her old station KTLA and said she would like to come back to LA.

Word is that Pereira is not happy with life or work on the East Coast and would love to go back to her gig in local TV. 

Of course, she's locked in a contract and it's doubtful that Zucker is going to accommodate her wishes.

Although Zucker had high hopes for New Day and has spent million promoting the show, it continues to flop in the ratings.  

The entire project got off to a bad start, when Zucker was set on having Erin Burnett host the show with Cuomo. Burnett balked and Zucker went with Bolduan. 

Now, if Cuomo gets his way, he might have another new co-anchor soon. 

Stay tuned....  

No?! Really?!

True story, at 3:22AM this morning, i was awaken by the sound of one of my cats about to be sick. 

Lucky for me I was able to get a towel under her before she threw up at the foot of my bed. 

Now, I'm wondering if I should call WFSB in Hartford and ask if they want to send their Sat-truck to my house to cover the story.

You may remember that FTVLive posted the story last Wednesday about WFSB Weatherman Scot Haney thought he was eating some Grape Nuts off the floor of the news set, but it turned out to be cat vomit.

After FTVLive posted the video it went viral across the Internet.

Then as we reported on Friday, WFSB did team coverage on Thursday's newscasts about Haney eating cat vomit. How this deserved team coverage? We have no clue.

But, the station did not stop there. On Friday night's evening newscasts, WFSB once again covered the story of their weatherman that accidentally ate cat vomit off the floor. 

The lead for their 5:30PM newscast on Friday (two days after their morning weatherman are cat barf) was Scot Haney sitting down for a one-on-one with the co-anchor. WTF?!

The topic of Friday's site down with Haney was to apologize and urge viewers not to eat off the floor.  

And who says you don't learn things from TV news?

No word yet if the cat barf story will spill over into this week. 

Stay tuned.... 

Awwwww......

New York Times TV Critic Brian Stelter popped the question to NY1 traffic anchor Jamie Shupak.

Either that, or he was on the ground looking for some cat barf to eat.  

Congrats to Brian and Jamie and a big thanks for not doing it on the air. 

You all know how I hate that.  

Falling for the Job

Being a Photog is not as easy as it might seem.  Yes, setting the camera on the tripod for the city council meeting, is not a hard chore. 

But, when you are covering something on the move and the only thing you can see is what's in the viewfinder, then the job can turn a bit tougher. 

And of course there are some falls and crashes along the way. 

Let's cue up the video: 

Fox News' Ed Henry Wals Out of WH Briefing

OK, let's see if we can get this straight.

Fox News spends a large chunk of their day attacking President Obama and or tells lies about him. 

Then FNC gets pissed when the White House ignores them. 

Fox News Washington Correspondent Ed Henry was trying to ask a question at a    White House Press Briefing and was pissed that he was ignored. 

WH spokesman Jay Carney blew Henry off twice and at that point Henry got up. took his ball and went home. 

Here's the video, Henry can be seen in the first row on the right of the screen. Fast ford to the end if you don't want to watch the whole thing. 

Welcome to 2013 Utah

Nadia Crow is Utah's first black News Anchor as she has landed a gig at KTVX in Salt Lake City.

"When we lived in Norfolk [Va.], there were black females in TV news who were good role models," she tells the Salt Lake Tribune. "And then when we moved to Chicago, you only had a few, even though Chicago is such a big city and it’s so diverse."

In Utah, Crow is the first African-American to land a regular news anchoring gig at a Salt Lake television station.

It’s rather remarkable that it took until the year 2013 for that to happen. And it’s one of the reasons Crow took the job in Utah despite offers from other stations. And despite the fact that KTVX is in the early stages of a major rebuilding process after a series of ownership changes, layoffs and staff turnover.

"I knew it would be a challenge coming here with the struggles they’ve had, but chaos creates opportunity," she said. "So I looked at it more as a challenge. And knowing that I would be the first African-American anchor was also a challenge that I wanted to take on."

Once she got used to the idea and visited Utah to check things out, that is.

"You just don’t think of black people being in Utah," Crow said. "Whether that’s true or not, that was my image and my perception of the state.

"I knew that my agent sent my résumé tape and all my materials here, but I just never thought it would come to anything. So when [KTVX news director] George [Severson] called me, I was, like, ‘I’m sorry, where are you from?’ " she said, with a laugh. 

"I asked George, ‘Is there somewhere I can get my hair done? Am I going to be able to go to the grocery store and see somebody that looks like me? What is going to happen if I come there?’ " Crow said.

 For Severson, hiring Crow was a no-brainer.

"I’m so amazed, for someone that young, how advanced her skills are," he said. "She stands out because she seems so engaged, especially coming to a whole new world."

Huh?! Utah is a new world? 

Who knew....