CNN Makes another Hire....for Weekends

While CNN is floundering in the morning ratings and downright awful in prime time, CNN boss Jeff Zucker has made another hire.....for Weekends.

The network announced that Michael Smerconish will join CNN as host of a new weekly program that will air live on Saturday mornings from New York.

“We are thrilled to have Michael join CNN,” said Zucker.  “At a time when the cable news landscape has become increasingly polarized, his independence and passion for reasoned dialogue makes him the perfect fit for CNN.” 

Most recently, Smerconish was an MSNBC contributor and for the last four years served as guest-host for Hardball with Chris Matthews.  He will continue hosting his radio show The Michael Smerconish Program on SiriusXM  Radio and writing a weekly column for the Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Said Smerconish, “I’ve long wanted to host a program of my own and I’m appreciative of Jeff Zucker for making that dream a reality.  I think the type of content I seek to provide is perfectly suited for CNN’s non-ideological brand."

No word when Zucker will turn his attention to the time slots that really matter.

Stay tuned.... 

Signing off in Dallas

You can stick a fork in KDFW Weather Anchor Ron Jackson....He's done. 

After 32 years as a meteorologist at the Dallas station Jackson is retiring. 

The station says that Jackson has been part of the number one team that's covered major weather events, including the Super Bowl Ice Storm, the April 2012 tornadoes, the Fort Worth tornado, the wildfires and the record heat years.

He made the announcement on FOX 4's 9 p.m. newscast on last night, saying, "It's been a great run and a privilege to serve the people of North Texas."

Here's his Goodbye:

Dallas News | myFOXdfw.com

Another New Low for New Day

CNN's morning show New Day continues to trek south in the ratings and last week it hit a new low. 

Nielsen ratings for Thursday show that New Day scratched between 7-8am and delivered only 39,000 in the demo. 

It was the program’s second lowest delivery in 25-54 for that hour….only behind the 21,000 it did on 1/13/14. 

The ratings continue to slide and sources tell FTVLive that CNN boss Jeff Zucker continues to explore making changes to the failing morning show.

Some CNN staffers are wondering why Zucker isn't acting faster as New Day continues to reach new lows in the ratings?

Stay tuned.... 

The Revolving Door Continues to turn at Rockford Station

FTVLive was the FIRST to tell you that Anchor Eric Wilson was fired from WREX in Rockford and now one of his former co-Anchors is leaving as well.

Katie Nilsson, co-anchor of the 5 p.m. weekday news on WREX, will leave the station Friday and start a new job with the Winnebago County State's Attorney's office on Feb. 18.

The Rockford Star says that her departure comes about a week after Wilson, co-anchor of the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. weekday newscasts, was let go after 19 years at the station. Earlier last month, meteorologist Eric Sorensen announced he will leave that post by July to pursue other interests after 10 years on the job at WREX.

On Wednesday, Nilsson announced on her Facebook page that she was "excited to announce my departure."

John Chadwick, general manager of WREX, said in a news release that Nilsson is leaving with the "blessings of the station." WREX and the Register Star are media partners.

Nilsson was co-anchor of the 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts with Wilson until Kristin Crowley was named co-anchor of the 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts in April. Nilsson also held the post as content manager for WREX.

Wilson said that his leaving the station was not his choice.

The station released this statement about the firing of Wilson:

"Out of respect for Eric, our long-time association, and also his decision to not publicly discuss the details of his separation, we agree that it would not be appropriate to discuss the specifics of our separation."

In other words, something juicy happened and no one is talking. 

Really?! A Weather Team that Always Gets it Right

At least that's what WYFF claims in this promo:

Philly Sports Anchor Says Don't Watch the Olympics

Philly Fox 29 Sports Anchor Howard Eskin says that he is not going to watch the Olympics and he urges viewers to do the same:

Philadelphia News, Weather and Sports from WTXF FOX 29

ESPN Hires WCBS Sports Anchor

ESPN went to the Big Apple's WCBS for their latest hire.

The sports net hired WCBS morning  Sports Anchor Lisa Kerney. 

She had been at the CBS O&O for two years. 

“We consider ourselves extremely fortunate to add someone as talented and engaging as Lisa to our world-class team of studio anchors,” said Rob King, Sr. Vice president, SportsCenter and News.

Miami Station Hires New Sports Anchor

WPLG is adding a new guy to the sports team. 

After three years at WTHR in Indianapolis, Eric Yutzy is signing on at the Miami station.  

Yutzy was the weekend sports anchor in Indy.

His starts his new Miami gig today.

H/T SFTV

It's Perfect for Running.....Ooops

A woman was being interviewed on KOIN about running in the snow.

In the interview she said how perfect the conditions were for running and the texture of the snow was just right.

As the interview was over, she jogged away and fell dead on her ass and hurt her back. The Reporter did not ask her about the "perfect conditions" after her fall.

Let's cue up the irony:

The Nightmare might soon Be Over at Buffalo Station

Back on December 9th, FTVLive told you that WKBW in Buffalo might finally get some good news.

When the station was taken over by Granite it went from first to worst in the ratings and it has been a nightmare for anyone still left working at the station. 

Now, word comes that the sale of WKBW might finally happen and Scripps is likely the savior.  

The deal could be announced as early as tomorrow and the party could start at WKBW shortly after that announcement.

It has been sad to watch the one time powerhouse station being gutted by longtime GM Bill Ransom (thankfully now retired) and Granite.

It will take a ton of work to bring WKBW back from the dead.

ut, this could be the start and the day many WKBW employees having been looking to for a very long time. 

Stay tuned..... 

Going Out With a Bang

Jay Leno left with a ratings bang. His last show on Thursday night pulled in his biggest audience in 15 years. 

TV By the Numbers says that In fast-official ratings for Thursday night:

• Jay Leno has concluded his run as host of “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” by delivering the show’s biggest overall audience in more than 15 years, since May 1998.

• Leno averaged 14.637million viewers overall and a 3.8 rating in adults 18-49 in fast-official “live plus same day” ratings from Nielsen Media Research, representing the biggest “Tonight” overall audience since May 14, 1998, the night of the “Seinfeld” finale when Jerry Seinfeld appeared as a guest on the show (14.962 million).  In adults 18-49, the 3.8 rating is the top “Tonight” since Jan. 22, 2010, Conan O’Brien’s last night hosting the show (4.4).  The 18-49 rating is the highest for a Thursday “Tonight” since March 19, 2009 (appearance by President Barack Obama, 3.8).

• The average audience of 14.6 million is the fourth biggest ever for a “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”  The top four telecasts in total viewers are May 20, 1993 (“Cheers” finale, 22.4 million), May 25, 1992 (Leno’s debut, 16.1 million), May 14, 1998 (“Seinfeld” finale, 15.0 million) and Feb. 6, 2014 (Leno’s final telecast, 14.6 million) (list excludes a brief post-Olympic telecast in 1996).

• The final “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” was up 283%, nearly tripling the show’s season average in total viewers, 3.822 million (“live plus same day”) heading into this week, and last night’s 3.8 rating quadrupled the show’s season average in adults 18-49 (3.8 vs. 0.9, L+SD).

• “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” followed the “Tonight Show” with 6.014 million viewers overall, the show’s biggest audience since a special 11:56 p.m. ET telecast on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012, which averaged 6.087 million viewers.

Atlanta Anchor Found Not Guilty in DUI Case

Former WAGA Anchor Amanda Davis found not guilty of DUI earlier Today after she was involved in a wrong-way crash in 2012.

Davis, a former longtime anchor at WAGA-TV in Atlanta, was also found not guilty of reckless driving. However, she was found guilty of maintaining a lane.

Atlanta police said Davis was driving northbound in the southbound lane of Piedmont Avenue around 12:20 a.m. in November when the crash happened. Both cars had serious front-end damage.

The other driver, listed in the police report as David Jarman, was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital after complaining of injuries.

Davis charged with a $200 fine and ordered 20 hours of community service.

Davis told the judge she would have no problem with community service because she already does it.

H/T WSB

Thanks Shithead

WFAA (Dallas) Traffic Reporter Alexa Conomos had a dilemma that many working parents face.

She needed to go to work on Thursday, but her daughter's daycare center was closed because of the weather. 

Conomos knew that the traffic news never stops and she needed to be at work. So she brought her daughter along with her. 

The station posted pictures and video of Conomos and her daughter working in the traffic center and it racked up thousands of "Likes."

And even Shithead Johnson was giving props to Mom and her little helper.

It's not everyday you bring your daughter to work and Tweet a "Thank You" to Shithead Johnson. 

Ahhhh....Life in TV News.