Don't Say We Didn't Warn Her

When it was announced a year and half ago that Polly Van Doren would be the new News Director at WKBW in Buffalo, we warned her that it was an awful station, run by an awful company.

FTVLive predicted at the time that she won't last 18 months in that job.

She didn't.

Van Doren is leaving WKBW to become the News Director at WKEF in Dayton. 

Since WKBW would have such a hard time finding anyone that would want to take the News Director job, they said screw the whole hiring process and required job posting thing and bumped up the Deuce.

Assistant News Director Lisa Polster  now takes over the Titanic of TV news, until she has had enough and quits or gets fired.

By the way, Van Doren came to Buffalo from KOLR in Springfield, MO, where she had been news director for 14 years.

She couldn't even make it two years at the extremely awful WKBW. That should tell you something right there. 

News Management Changes at Houston Station

After two years as KPRC Assistant News Director, Chris Best is moving on to pursue news director opportunities. 

Mike McGuff says that Best previously worked at CBS stations KTVT 11/KTXA 21 in the Dallas-Fort Worth TV market and WKMG Orlando. 

According to an internal memo, Best will be replaced by WDIV 4 Detroit (KPRC Post-Newsweek sister station) Executive Producer Rhonda Errer. 

Also in that memo, KPRC executive producer Kasi Stunson upgrades to senior Executive Producer.

Sean Hannity: I'm Leaving New York

Sean Hannity

Fox News Anchor Sean Hannity says that he is taking his money and leaving New York.

Hannity says that he's sick of paying New York's high taxes and is ready to move out of the state. He says he is leaning towards moving to Florida. 

“Now I want to tell you something,” the 52-year-old Hannity said, “I was born and raised in New York, and I want you to know that and I can’t wait to get out of here. I really can’t. I don’t want to pay their 10-percent state tax anymore. I live in the second-highest property taxed county in the entire country in Nassau County. I can’t wait to sell my house to somebody who wants it.”

“I can’t wait to pay no state income tax down in Florida or Texas,” he said. “I haven’t decided yet, but I’m leaning Florida because I like the water and I like to fish.” Plus he wants to be closer to FTVLive we're guessing. 

Hannity then addressed New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Liberal who recently said the Empire State is no longer a place for Conservatives.

“Gov. Cuomo, I’m going to leave and I’m taking all of my money with me – every single solitary penny,” he said. “And, by the way, there’s a whole bunch of people that work for me and benefit because I do two shows. And I guess maybe some of them will be out of work, governor. I’m sure you’ll take care of them.”

We'll bet that a year from now, Hannity will still be in New York.

Stay tuned.... 

H/T Gossip Extra

Sam Champion to Show Up on Weather Channel Storm Coverage

Sam Champion

The Weather Channel is gearing up to cover Winter Storm Anus.....what?....oh my bad.... it's Winter Storm Janus and Sam Champion will be joining in on the coverage.

As FTVLive FIRST reported, Champion jumped to the Weather Channel from ABC's Good Morning America.

His own show won't hit the air until March, but the Weather Channel says that Champion will be part of their coverage of this latest storm.

He will be joined in the storm's coverage by Mike Seidel, Stepanie Abrams, Kait Parker and the Giant Ego Jim Cantore.

Hopefully Cantore will let Champion get some face time.

DirecTV customers can watch Weather Nation's coverage instead. Well... that is until the snow starts coming down so bad you will lose your signal. 

Anchor Shake Up in the Big Apple

Shiba Russell

 Sources tell FTVLive that WNBC is shaking up their Anchor team just in time for the February ratings book.

Word is that Shiba Russell, who hand been anchoring the 5 and 11PM is now going to anchor the Noon newscast with Rob Schmitt.

Russell will stay on the 5PM and continue to anchor the show with Tom Llmas.

Shibla Vargus moves off the Noon and will take over Shiba Russell's spot at 11PM. She will anchor that show with Chuck Scarborough.

Vargus and Scarborough will continue to do the 6PM as well.

How I Work - Mendes Napoli

Let's head out to Beverly Hills land of swimming pools and movie stars to see how TV Agent Mendes Napoli works. Mendes is the head of the Napoli Management Group and talent agency that reps people in both local TV and the network level. 

Location: Beverly Hills, CA

Current gig: Agent for TV News People

Current computer: Dell XPS   26” Samsung Monitor

Current mobile device: I Phone 5-  I pad Air

One word that best describes how you work: Intense
 
What are your favorite Apps that you can't live without?

Twitter, Facebook, Link-In  New York Times
 

What's your workspace like?

My office is all geared around the computer monitors and a large TV screen.  Most of my work includes the phone which is totally controlled from my computer screen.  I never have to touch the actual instrument formally known as a telephone.   My second screen is a live feed of all of the information we collect during the course of a day.

Besides your phone and computer, what gadget can't you live without?  

My headset

What Music are you listening to?  

I listen to the BPM channel on Sirius XM but obviously not at my desk!

What's your sleep routine like? 

To sleep at 11:30 and up at 6:30

Best Advice you Ever Got? 

Stay focused on the tasks at hand

Best Thing About your Job? 

Helping people get a job

Worst thing about your Job?

Delivering bad news to clients

Really Jim Cantore?!

Jim "the Giant Ego" Cantore

The more Jim Cantore keeps talking the less people are liking him.

Cantore is one of the stars of the Weather Channel and has been on the front lines in the battle against DirecTV. But, maybe Cantore should just shut up.

Cantore was on CNN's Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter and said something that pissed off a number of weather people.

Stelter asked Cantore "Is it really appropriate to say this channel is about saving lives?"

Cantore replied "I really think when you kind of look at The Weather Channel overall, and you think about what happens before a storm, whether you’re an emergency manager’s office, whether you’re even at the National Weather Service or a local TV station, your first hint at what’s to come is from The Weather Channel."

So, Cantore now thinks the Weather Channel which airs about as much reality crap as it does weather coverage is more important than the National Weather Service. 

NOAA Meteorologist Patrick Marsh sees Cantore's statement is more about his big ass ego. Marsh wrote on Facebook "Fellow NWS mets, while I believe Cantore’s latest interview crosses the line and outright lies about the NWS, maybe we should reconsider having TWC on so many of the offices’ Situational Awareness Displays. It does send the wrong message to visitors, and feeds a certain ego."

After catching some heat, Cantore backed off his statement a bit. " I hope everyone is aware of my respect for all in the weather community. If not, know it now."

I'm not so sure they do Jim.

Maybe you should just shut up and worry about making up some stupid names for the next storm.

State Rep Hopes Station's Stunt Doesn't Leave Kids Scared

FTVLIve was the FIRST to tell you about KSDK's (St. Louis) stunt that caused a high school to go on lockdown.

A state representative from Kirkwood says he’s not going to take action after a TV station’s stunt and thinks Kirkwood high school is safe. 

“I think the school district handled it properly … maybe they could have acted a little quicker as far as the lockdown if they thought that there was serious danger to the students, but again I don’t like to second guess people because I wasn’t there,” says State Rep Rick Srteam.

He also hopes that KSDK's little stunt did not frighten the kids too much to hurt their schoolwork.

“If I were a student at the school I might be a little more careful about who I see in the hallways,” says Stream. “It doesn’t help learning to have the kids afraid of what might happen around the corner.”

KSDK has apologized to parents, school staff and students for causing the lockdown. Comments on its Facebook page have been largely critical of the station.

Pushed out in the Twin Cities

Pete Bush

KARE Traffic Reporter Pete Bush will no longer be playing in traffic, he's been kicked to the curb.

“They wanted to go a different direction. That’s what their news director told me after I applied for the job and didn’t get it,” he said last week with a laugh.

“She didn’t want me there anymore [is] the impression I got out of the whole thing,” Busch told me.

The "she" that he is referring to is News Director Jane Helmke?

And SHE isn't commenting. 

Bush says, “they’ve (KARE) got Bryan Piatt doing the traffic in the mornings and it’s not, like, his deal,.” 

“I would say I hope not [when asked if his successor is Piatt]. He’s a reporter right now, I don’t know why he’d want to go and do traffic. I always said the traffic people are at the bottom of the barrel when it came to television and radio.”

Platt says he's just filling in till they make a new hire. 

H/T Star Tribune

Doh!

Doh!

Someone might want to tell the Pensacola News Journal that the Broncos and NOT the Patriots are going to the Super Bowl.

Just saying....

H/T Jim Romenesko

The New Star at Fox News

Megyn Kelly

Megyn Kelly is not new to Fox News, but she is the new kid on the block in prime time and her star is rising and her ratings are rising fast.

Kelly is featured in this month's Elle magazine and they point out how she has quickly become a ratings juggernaut.

Elle writes Since Kelly returned from maternity leave and launched The Kelly File last October 7, she has blazed a vivid-ratings trail, outdrawing both major cable competitors—MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and CNN’s Piers Morgan—combined, in both total audience and the 25-to-54 demographic crucial to advertisers. Kelly has even occasionally beaten the Big Daddy of cable news, Bill O’Reilly, in that key demo. She’s quick to credit the big push O’Reilly has given her as the lead-in to her show, and she knows her debut was marvelously timed, coming on the eve of Congress’s freak-out over raising the nation’s debt ceiling (failure to do so would only have destroyed the global financial system), the budgetary standoff that led to the 16-day-long government shutdown, and the epic meltdown over Obama-care and the Healthcare.gov website.

As for getting her big break?

The article says Bill Lord, a man with an easy laugh and a magnanimous manner, was the news director at WJLA, ABC’s Washington, DC, affiliate, who gave Kelly her big break scarcely a decade ago. He doesn’t remember her holding to an ideological stance. “Even now, I’m not sure what it is,” he says. “There was nothing about her political views that would have even come up in a conversation here.” Reminded that FOX News Channel, too, purports to be “fair and balanced,” Lord chortles indulgently and says, “They have a number of people, and I would put Megyn among them, whose journalism transcends some of the ideological biases. I think they want to have newscasts in addition to the kind of all-day live talk—and I think Megyn is a great person to do that.”

A New Twist on an Old Classic

You might not watch the Wizard of Oz the same way again after reading this brief synopsis:

I Get No Respect I tell ya....

I'm the CEO of FTVLive, but you would never know that by the way my coworkers act.

The video proof is posted in ScottLand.

LA Photog Gets a Bit too Close to Wildfire

Your Mom always told you that if you play with fire you might get burned.

KCBS/KCAL Photographer JR Hall was using Dejero. the new technology that FTVLive told you about last week while covering the wildfires. 

But Hall ended up getting a bit closer than he might have wanted to get. 

Watch the video below:

Boston Anchor Cuts off His Tie On Air

The city of Boston is licking their wounds Today after the Patriots lost to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship game.

The loss and hard feeling has carried over to the morning Anchors at WBZ.

The anchors had to pay off their bet to sister-station CBS Denver. WBZ anchors David Wade and Kerry Connolly put on Bronco heads.

But David Wade ended the show with an act of defiance.

Inadvertently, he had worn a tie in the Denver colors.

“I was not thinking, so here you go,” Wade said as he cut his tie in half. “That’s what I think of the Denver colors.”

Looks like more than 2" to Me

WBNS (Columbus) Weatherman Chris Bradley likes to post weather updates on  his Facebook page that he says are for "geeks" only. 

Last night he posted a weather graphic that some of the "geeks" thought looked a bit familiar. Bradley himself saw what they were talking about and replied.