When the November book roles around, you expect stations to do crazy things.
But, how about the viewers?
One fan of WGN's Morning News, decided to show his love for WGN anchor Robin Baumgarten.
He got Robin's face tattooed on the back of his leg.
We would say this is totally crazy but then we would be hypocritical. Since FTVLive has had a Robin Meade tat on our right butt cheek for the past 10 years.
Gray Television announced they are buying up Yellowstone stations.
If you haven't heard of Yellowstone, it's a good bet because their stations are in tiny TV markets.
Gray is buying up:
KGNS Laredo, Texas (DMA 184). Its channels are affiliated with NBC, CW and Telemundo.
KGWN Cheyenne, Wyo.-Scottsbluff, Neb. (DMA 196). Its channels are affiliated with CBS and CW. KGWN extends throughout the market via KSTF Scottsbluff, Neb., and K19FX Laramie, Wyo.
KCHY-LP Cheyenne-Scottsbluff (NBC). It will now integrate its operations with KGWN.
KCWY Casper, Wyo. (DMA 197). Its primary channel is affiliated with NBC.
Gray is getting the full lot for just under $25 million bucks.
Time for the obligatory soundbites:
"Gray is thrilled to have the opportunity to expand into three new, dynamic markets through the acquisition of Yellowstone's terrific television stations," said Hilton Howell, Gray's CEO and president. "We look forward to working with the strong teams in each of these markets to enhance their leading local positions even further," he added.
Kevin Latek, Gray's SVP for business affairs, said: "Gray's acquisition of Yellowstone will add three more No. 1 stations to what we believe is already the largest collection of top television stations in the industry. As such, the transaction is consistent with Gray's strategy of enhancing shareholder value through select acquisitions of market-leading stations that share the culture and values of our existing television stations."
H/T TVNewsCheck
Deborah Turness has been at NBC as the new President of News since August.
Now, the new boss is experiencing her first major sweeps period since coming to the Peacock.
FTVLive decided to talk to NBC New staffers to get their take on how Turness tenure and how it's working out so far?
NBC picked Turness, who comes to the States after a career in her native U.K. to lead the news division. She is the first woman to hold that job.
Just about everyone that FTVLive talked to says that Turness is much more of a hands on manager than anyone in the past.
But some complain that she is too hands on and needs to back off a bit.
Turness can be found in the control room often when one of NBC's news programs are on the air. Sources tell FTVLive that she will often shout out instructions and some Producers feel like she is trying to do their job for them.
Turness is also known to call Reporters while they are out covering a story. She'll tell the Reporter to make sure they cover a certain angle.
"I've been here (at NBC) for a long time, I don't need her telling me how to do my job," said one NBC staffer to FTVLive.
Some praise the fact that Turness is hands on, but even they say she goes too far.
"I like that she is involved, but at some point let us do the job we were hired to do," said another NBC News staffer speaking about Turness.
While the NBC Boss maybe very active behind the scenes, to the viewer not much has changed.
There has really been no big change in personnel or in news philosophy since she took over.
But, many feel like the ship has been steadied with Turness in control.
"Before it felt like we were just headed down, that isn't the case anymore," said a staffer that has been with NBC over a decade.
So, while Turness may have steadied the ship, it still remains to be seen if she can pilot it back to the days when NBC was number 1 in news, morning and night.
Stay tuned.....
WTLV Weatherman Tim Deegan spent Saturday night in the crossbars hotel after being arrested for DUI in Jacksonville Beach.
Deegan, known in Jacksonville as the suffer dude weatherman and for forecasts that often miss the mark, was busted by cops just before 10PM on Saturday and charged with driving drunk.
Deegan spent the night in the slammer and was released from jail just before Noon yesterday.
WTLV General Manager Eric Land took the wimpy route and of course would not comment on his longtime weather anchor being arrested. "As a matter of policy, FCN does not comment on matters of a legal or personnel nature involving our employees."
Deegan's arrest hits just as the important November Sweeps gets started.
No word yet if he's off the air, but it is likely he will be.
Stay tuned....
When it's ratings, you have to be willing to take one for the team.
For the longest time, Reporters would have cops tase them as one of the most overdone sweeps stunts.
Well, the taser is being replaced by a new weapon, called the JPX Pepper Gun.
Unlike pepper sprays, which can disperse in windy environments, the JPX Pepper Gun shoots straight, delivering a stream of gel that is apparently one thousand times more powerful than Jalapeno peppers.
So of course, we wondered who would be the first idiot.....errrrr ....Reporter to let a cop Pepper gun him.
Say hello to KFOR's (Oklahoma City) Lance West.
West was the first person ever that was shot in the face by Deputies of the Shawnee Sheriffs office.
But hey....it's is the November book after all.
The video is up after the jump.
Read MoreIt appears that CNN's reincarnation of Crossfire is shooting blanks.
The Baltimore Sun writes that the guests for the political show are lame to say the least.
The Sun says that one of the ways you can judge a talk show's energy and momentum -- or lack of such -- is by the guests.
When a show has strong producers and is going well, they have guests who bring energy, edge and insights to the production. The guests help make the production pop.
One of the signs of a show going bad is low-rent guests -- folks not much in demand who are easy to book and bring nothing with them to the show.
"Crossfire" had two of the latter Thursday with former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former Maryland Gov. Bob Ehrlich. It might not be fair to call them has-beens, but I would be hard pressed off the top of my head to find two political figures less in demand by the standards of political TV than these two.
The only way Ehrlich can get on local TV in Baltimore is to buy time as he did with his last infotainment show on WMAR. This is not a guy who's going to get people switching away from Fox News or MSNBC to see what he has to say on CNN.
But there he was with Richardson Thursday in the scintillating debate: "Is Obamacare a trick or a treat?"
Yes, that's a quote from the CNN website and the show. That's another way you can tell when a show is not going well: The framing and writing are lame.
Viewers were asked to weigh in on Obamacare as "trick or treat." Which still falls under CNN's new guideline of breaking down every sort as a "Good Thing or Bad Thing."
So, the Crossfire deathwatch has officially started.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
SNL has been under fire because the comedy show dose not have any black female comics on the staff.
The show decided to use the heat they have been taking as part of their opening bit.
Kerry Washington was the guest host of the show and SNL used the fact that she was a black female to poke fun at the latest controversy.
It also included a cameo from MSNBC's Al Sharpton.
Here's the video:
KXAS in Dallas took the wraps off their new set last night.
The newly designed and constructed KXAS and Telemundo 39 / KXTX news sets were showcased to the public for the first time on Sunday evening.
The new set is part of KXAS's new "state-of-the-art broadcasting and multimedia news facility" located just south of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
The station says that the new sets are specially designed to allow journalists and meteorologists to deliver breaking news and weather information fast and effectively.
As opposed to the old set, which allowed journalists to deliver breaking news slow and often wrong.
Longtime WTVL Weather Anchor Tim Deegan was arrested by police in Jacksonville Beach Saturday night and charged with driving under the influence, according to Jacksonville Sheriff's Office records.
According to JSO's jail log, Deegan was booked shortly before 10 p.m. and released on his own recognizance Sunday morning at about 11:19 a.m.
The initial arrest was made by the Jacksonville Beach Police department.
Sgt. Thomas Crumley, spokesperson for the department, indicated Deegan's booking report and mugshot will not be available until Monday when the records department is available to redact and release them.
First Coast News president and general manager Eric S. Land released the following statement: "As a matter of policy, FCN does not comment on matters of a legal or personnel nature involving our employees."
Of course they don't.
FTVLive will have more on this story on Monday.
As you know FTVLive updates 7 days a week. In the past 272 days, we have taken a total of 2 1/2 days off.
This site tries to give you the honest straight forward news about TV news.
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You may think the hardest moment journalist Lara Logan's life when she was sexually assaulted in February 2011 while reporting from Cairo’s Tahrir Square amid the Egyptian revolution.
But you would be wrong.
Logan describes her 2012 breast cancer diagnosis as “without a doubt psychologically the worst thing that I’ve ever had to deal with."
Logan gave a blunt, personal account of her struggle with cancer – she is in remission – during the Roswell Park Cancer Institute’s All Star Night gala Saturday at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center.
Logan, a 42-year-old South Africa native, is a “60 Minutes” correspondent and CBS News’ chief foreign affairs correspondent. Using only notes she had scribbled on the back of a piece of paper, Logan spoke about balancing the demands of her health, her family and her high-profile TV news career.
More after the jump.
Read MoreEarlier this week FTVLive told you that former Indianapolis News Director Keith Connors was spotted in the KPHO newsroom in Phoenix, pitching for the ND job at the station.
He didn't get the job.
In an afternoon staff meeting on Friday, the staff at KPHO learned that the Deuce is taking over the top job.
Assistant News Director Leona Wood has been bumped up the food chain and is now the station's news boss.
Wood takes over the job that was left open when Michelle Donaldson left the station to go to to KOB
FTVLive wraps another week of record traffic as this site continues to get more traffic each and every week. October was our biggest month ever and we thank all of you for helping spread the gospel of FTVLive.
We also thank our great sponsors. They are simply the best companies that work in and around TV news.
We have and companies that have wanted to advertise of FTVLive and we turned down their money. FTVLive will only align ourselves with the best of the best.
Companies like Napoli Management Group.
More on them after the jump:
Read MoreAs we head into November and the all important November book, FTVLive takes a look back at October.
October 2013 goes down as the best month ever for FTVLive.com. A look at the numbers:
So, what stories did you guys click on the most in October on FTVLive.com? Here is a look at the Top 5:
No. 5 - Troubled Times at CNN's New Day
No. 4 - Still Waiting by the Phone for KNBC to Callback
No. 3 - Hartford Weatherman Eats Cat Vomit On Air
No. 2 - LA Anchor to Be Sent Packing
And No. 1 most read story on FTVLive last month: CNN to Drop Piers Morgan
FTVLive has to give you the obligatory cute animal video. Normally when you think of a porcupine, you don't think "cute."
But that's only because you haven't met our buddy Ted yet.
Ted likes to eat pumpkins and he will tell you just how much he enjoys it while he does. Try to watch this video without saying "Awwwwwww."
I bet you can't.
Very stoic and unflappable BBC Newsnight anchor Kirsty Wark surprised viewers when she signed off news last night.
Wark, who shot to prominence across the pond in the 1980s with her one to one interview with Margaret Thatcher, showed she does have a sense of humor.
She hinted via Twitter that something special was planned.
So just what did the anchor do?
Let's roll the video:
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