Florida Weatherman and Wife Being Sued for $2 Million

A well-known celebrity photographer in New York has filed a lawsuit against his daughter, a communications director with the State Attorney's Office in Fort Myers, and son-in-law, WFTX (Ft. Myers) Fox4 weatherman Jim Syoen, claiming the couple stole $1 million worth of his property while he was gravely ill and in the hospital.

A summons was issued for Samantha Syoen and her husband by a New York court, where Frank Ross is suing them for elder abuse, fraud, conversion, trespass to property and unjust enrichment.

Ross alleges in the lawsuit that Samantha Syoen got him to sign papers giving them control of his property last year when he was critically ill.

The summons states, while Ross was sick, both Samantha and Jim Syoen traveled to New York and looted his home, shipping the contents to their Fort Myers home.

The Syoens allegedly stole furniture, antiques, a car and an archive of photographs and negatives Ross acquired over thirty years as a professional photographer.

Ross is seeking the return of the property, plus another $1 million in punitive damages.

We reached out to the Syoens for comment on the allegations, they referred our request for comment to their attorney, Carlos Cavenago, who provided a statement saying: "The allegations in the complaint are meritless... And it will be vigorously defended."

H/T WZVN

Geraldo's Missing Plane Theory

Fox News's Geraldo Rivera is not going to sit by idly and let CNN's Don Lemon come up with all the wacky ideas that happened the missing Malaysian flight.

This morning on Fox and Friends, Geraldo have a few of his theories as to what happened to the missing jet.

Rivera said that it was possible that the plane was hijacked and landed somewhere so that the hijackers could get to a “secret passenger” of some importance.

Rivera said that he thought a recent lead on the missing plane linked to debris in the South Indian Ocean was not going to prove fruitful. He said that, similar to the movie All is Lost, that debris was likely a container that fell off of a transoceanic shipping liner.

Rivera said that his “favorite” theory, which he added has about a 5 percent likelihood of being true, is that the plane was hijacked and landed somewhere. “Not to take off again to be used as a weapon, but just to get it someplace so they could get to the secret passenger or the secret cargo,” Rivera submitted.

Rivera added that even more likely is that the plane’s oxygen levels sank to the point where most of the passengers and crew became unconscious.

When host Brian Kilmeade asked who, then, would have disabled the plane’s transponders, Rivera said he could not account for all the variables in this mystery.Oops! Guess he forgot about that last part. 

Some viewers are hoping the black hole opens up and swallows both Geraldo and Don Lemon, so we don't have to listen to their wacky theories anymore. 

H/T Mediaite

NTSB Looking at Chopper Pilot's Work Schedule

Federal investigators trying to determine the cause of the fatal crash of a Seattle news helicopter said Thursday they will be examining the pilot’s recent history for factors that could contribute to fatigue.

The Seattle Times writes that Dennis Hogenson, acting deputy chief of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Western Pacific Region, said in an interview that officials want to understand how pilot Gary Pfitzner, who died in the Tuesday crash, balanced his two jobs — early mornings in the helicopter followed by work as a technical analyst at Boeing. Officials are collecting information on Pfitzner’s activities in the hours and days before the crash that occurred upon takeoff from KOMO’s helipad.

“That’s going to be a big part of the investigation,” Hogenson said.

Examination of a pilot’s rest periods before a crash are a standard part of any such inquiry — one part of an investigation, Hogenson said, that includes a review of the helicopter’s components, maintenance records and the weather conditions at the time of the crash.

Some witnesses have said the helicopter made an odd sound as it tried to lift off its pad before losing control and tumbling to the street.

Hogenson said two NTSB investigators will review what Pfitzner was doing in the 72 hours before the crash, and they may extend that analysis to a full week before the accident. Some of the work will involve reviewing phone records and talking with people close to Pfitzner, but Hogenson said the NTSB wants to give family members some time to grieve before that detailed discussion takes place.

Officials have described Pfitzner, 59, as experienced, with some 7,700 hours of flying time. Pfitzner died in the crash along with photojournalist Bill Strothman.

Richard Newman, burned when the helicopter struck his car, remains in serious condition in the Harborview Medical Center intensive-care unit.

While there are rules governing the amount of rest commercial-airline pilots must receive before flying — including an opportunity for eight hours of uninterrupted sleep — Hogenson said the rules are less stringent for private helicopter pilots.

Mark Pfitzner said earlier this week that his brother typically had a seven-hour sleep window, going to bed at 8:30 p.m. and getting up at 3:30 a.m. He said in a subsequent interview that his brother never worked fatigued and did not operate unsafely.

Boeing declined to describe Pfitzner’s recent or typical hours, and KOMO-TV declined to comment on his recent schedule. Officials with helicopter operator Helicopters Inc. did not return a call seeking comment.

It Just Doesn't End

Proving that no station can come up with a single original idea, we turn to WXIA in Atlanta.

I will beg one more time PLEASE MAKE IT STOP

Media General LIN Announce Merger

The consolidation of TV stations into just a few companies continues this morning after Media General and LIN announced that the two companies were merging. 

Here is the internal memo that was sent out to LIN employees this morning:

From: Vincent Sadusky <vincent.sadusky@linmedia.com>
Date: March 21, 2014 at 7:47:02 AM EDT
To: _Corp All Lin Employees <AllLinEmployees@linmedia.com>
Subject: Important Announcement from Vincent Sadusky, President and CEO

Dear Fellow Employees,

This morning, LIN Media announced plans to merge with Media General, another great local television and digital media company. This is an exciting and historic day for our employees and shareholders. In Media General, we found the right partner to deliver significant value for all of our stakeholders. Combined under the Media General brand, we will be the second largest company in the U.S. that is singularly focused on being the leading provider of multiscreen content and marketing solutions. Importantly, we will also have the enhanced scale, breadth and capabilities to compete more effectively in the rapidly evolving media landscape.

I am excited about the opportunity to lead our new company as its President & Chief Executive Officer, and achieve new levels of success. 

Other key points from the attached press release include:

• The company will be headquartered in Richmond, VA. We expect to maintain a significant corporate and operational presence in Austin, Providence and Indianapolis.
• The company will own and operate or service 74 stations across 46 markets, reaching approximately 26.5 million households, or 23%, of U.S. TV households.
• The company’s digital media portfolio, which includes LIN Digital, LIN Mobile, Dedicated Media, HYFN, Nami Media and Federated Media, will be the largest and most diversified in the TV broadcasting sector.
• Together, we will extend the reach of our unique, local content to consumers on multiple screens, further grow our industry-leading digital business and increase our multiscreen marketing capabilities to capitalize on the high demand for differentiated, best-in-class advertising solutions.
• We anticipate closing in early 2015 upon approval by shareholders and regulatory authorities. Until then, LIN Media and Media General will remain separate companies, and it will be business as usual for all of us. The key to our success has been – and will continue to be – you. As we move forward, I ask that you continue to focus on your day-to-day responsibilities, and on providing our viewers and advertisers the premium products and service they value and trust.

As in any transaction of this size, the integration process will take time. In the coming weeks, we will establish a transition-planning team. We will also communicate more information to you as quickly as we can on our transition plans.

You have been an integral part of building LIN Media’s success over the years. Today, that value is being recognized by this opportunity to merge with Media General and to be a part of an industry-leading company that can capitalize on its position of strength, which will create greater opportunities over the long term.

Thank you,

Vince Sadusky
President & CEO
LIN Media

Sinclair Proposes Selling Stations to Get FCC Approval

In a letter to the FCC, Sinclair Broadcast Group says they are ready to sell some stations in order to meet certain objections the FCC has to shared services agreements.

If the FCC agrees to the propose, Sinclair will sell certain stations it currently owns to parties other than the parties who were originally contemplated to buy these stations, and following the sale will not provide any services to such stations.

The stations to be sold are WHP, the CBS affiliate in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, WMMP, the MyNetwork affiliate in Charleston, South Carolina and WABM, the MyNetwork affiliate in Birmingham, Alabama; Sinclair would also discontinue providing services to WTAT, the FOX affiliate in Charleston and would transfer to the buyer of WHP, the rights under an existing LMA to provide services to WLYH, the CW affiliate in Harrisburg. In each of these three markets, Sinclair is buying the ABC affiliate from Allbritton. Sinclair would retain ownership of WTTO, the CW affiliate in Birmingham.

“The proposed changes to the transaction will have an immaterial impact on Sinclair as a whole and on the Allbritton transaction in particular,” commented David Smith, Sinclair’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Although we believe the shared services arrangements that were contemplated would have provided significant public interest benefits, including promoting minority ownership of broadcast stations,” Mr. Smith continued, “even without such arrangements the Allbritton transaction will result in significant upgrades for Sinclair in each of these three overlap markets. Moreover, these markets were always a very small part of the Allbritton acquistion, which was driven to a much larger extent by their ABC affiliated station and 24-hour cable news channel in Washington, D.C. The stations to be sold were expected to contribute only approximately $21 million of pro forma EBITDA in 2014, and we expect to realize full value for the stations in a sale. In addition, the sale of these stations will only reduce the previously announced $21.5 million of operating synergies created in the Allbritton transaction by $2 million.” 

Word is that staff at the proposed stations being sold we not told anything about the possible sale of their stations and many of those people are going to find out about this by reading this story. 

Ahhhhh....the communications business. 

Phoenix Reporter Post Photo of "Off the Record" Chat

Someone really needs to learn what "Off the Record" means:

By the way, where is the coffee? I don't see one person holding a cup. 

Chicago Station is Glorified Drug Dealer

Robert Feder writes that the whoring out of local television news continues without letup — this time courtesy of Fox-owned WFLD-Channel 32.

Thursday’s “Good Day Chicago” featured a satellite interview with actress and model Shari Belafonte, who turned up to hawk a diet pill called Qsymia. Presented in the form of a Q&A with news anchor Natalie Bomke, the segment was paid for by biopharmaceutical company Vivus Inc., which hired Belafonte to promote the weight-loss drug.

“The idea that there’s now something that’s on the market that’s FDA approved that can help people who are overweight such as Qsymia is tantamount,” Belafonte said. “Patients in particular need to know that they can go to their doctor and ask about it.”

When it was over, Bomke mentioned that the interview with Belafonte was “sponsored by the pharmaceutical company Vivus Inc.”  But to most viewers, I suspect, it came off as anything but a commercial.

Unmentioned in Bomke’s brief disclaimer, of course, were any of the numerous side effects the drug could cause, including (according to its website) birth defects, increases in heart rate, suicidal thoughts or actions, serious eye problems, mood changes and trouble sleeping, concentration, memory and speech difficulties, increases of acid in bloodstream, low blood sugar, possible seizures, kidney stones, decreased sweating and increased body temperature. Or that it can be abused or lead to drug dependence.

These days practically every satellite interview on “Good Day Chicago” is sponsored by somebody selling something. But this one was about as shameless as they get.

Really?!

KHSB (Kansas City) Reporter Brendaliss Gonzalez sent out this Tweet last night:

I'm not sure being called a "small child" would make my night. 

But that's just me. 

NBC Stands Behind David Gregory

Despite his falling ratings, NBC bosses say they are standing 100% behind Meet the Press Moderator David Gregory.

Rumors have swirled for months that the network might look at replacing him on the Sunday talk  show.

Gregory has heard the rumors, too.

"This comes with the territory. I understand it," Gregory told The Huffington Post on Wednesday night. "I see speculation out there. I just try to pay attention to the stuff I know is real."

Gregory assumed the "Meet the Press" throne in 2008 following the death of Tim Russert, and has long been dogged by comparisons to his predecessor -- a figure who still casts a shadow over Washington media. But grumblings about Gregory's continued stewardship turned into audible criticisms this past year, as the once indomitable Sunday morning show plummeted in late 2013 to its lowest ratings in decades.

There's been chatter about whether NBC News' Chuck Todd, a political junkie whom many wanted to replace Russert, deserves a shot. Speculation has also emerged that "Morning Joe" co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski are angling for a Sunday program such as "Meet the Press."

Just last week, NBC News president Deborah Turness visited Washington, D.C., to attend a March 12 awards dinner. She met the following day with Gregory and his executive producer. Politico reported a meeting was taking place, which led to more buzz about Gregory's future.

But if the chatter is mounting, it doesn't appear to have persuaded management. NBC News senior vice president Alex Wallace, who was also in that March 13 meeting -- and many others since being tasked with overseeing "Meet the Press" in January -- dismissed the speculation in an interview with The Huffington Post.

"I cannot be more declarative about David -- is our guy, is going to be our guy, and we are really happy with him," said Wallace in her first interview since adding the Sunday show to her portfolio. "I know there continues to be lots of hubbub, but I'm in every single meeting: There is no internal hubbub."

H/T HuffPo

Today Show Staff Celebrates with Savannah

NBC's “Today” staffers stayed up late enough on Wednesday night to celebrate Savannah Guthrie’s wedding, pregnancy and more good news at Lexington Brass in Midtown.

Matt Lauer, Al Roker, Natalie Morales, Tamron Hall and NBC News president Deborah Turness gathered to dine and toast expecting newlywed Guthrie, who tied the knot last weekend to DC communications exec Michael Feldman in Tucson, Ariz.

Guthrie announced at the wedding she’s four months pregnant.

“Today” exec producer Don Nash gave a toast to his staff, saying, “We have so much to celebrate, not the least of which is this week’s surprising and joyful news . . . that Matt finally shaved his beard.”

H/T Page Six

Reporter Charged with Trespassing

WMBF (Myrtle Beach) anchor Michael Maely has been charged with trespassing after attempting to get a comment from the parents of Tammy Moorer, the woman charged with kidnapping and murdering 20-year-old Heather Elvis.

According to a court summons from the State of South Carolina, on February 27, Maely entered the land of Tammy's father William Caison, where cops says there are about 100 "no trespassing" signs around the property.

Obviously, Maely did not see all those signs or just ignored them. He attempted to talk Tammy Moorer's family in an attempt to get a comment regarding the allegations against her. 

"Hi there, with WMBF News, can we talk to you about your daughter Tammy, or your sister Tammy?" Maely is seen on station video asking the family. 

A woman is seen taking pictures of Maely and using an obscene gesture. The trip ended with a call to police, and Maely says he then left the property.

According to the police report, Caison told police that after being told to leave the property, Maely attempted to force the door open. Maely told police that he did not come within eight feet of Caison's door.

The court summons states that Maely "did not immediately leave the property and remained near the door of the residence in an attempt to interview the occupants for a news story."

Maely has been summoned to appear in court on one charge of trespassing on April 9th. 

H/T WMBF

NTSB Looking at a Number of Scenarios in News Chopper Crash

Federal investigators are reviewing a number of scenarios to determine what caused a news helicopter to crash into the pavement near Seattle's Space Needle, killing two men on board and seriously burning a third on the ground."I'm confident that we're going to figure this out," said Dennis Hogenson, with the National Safety Transportation Board, said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. 

KOMO News reports that Hogenson says they're looking at all possibilities, including what role, if any, construction cranes in the area played.

A crane operator was in radio contact with the pilot on a prior landing on the rooftop helipad, though there's no substantial evidence to link the cranes with the crash, Hogenson said.

Investigators also are poring over pilot, maintenance and company records, and they will recreate the crash scene to look for anomalies, he said. Wreckage from the helicopter has been moved to a secured hangar in Auburn, about 30 miles south of Seattle, where the team will lay out the pieces to determine what parts potentially are missing.

A large portion of the helicopter, which was built in 2003, was made of composite material that burned, so "a lot of those parts and pieces are simply gone," Hogenson said.

It may be months before federal investigators know what caused the KOMO-TV news chopper to hit the pavement and burst into flames Tuesday, setting three vehicles ablaze and spewing burning fuel down the street.

While a preliminary report could be released as early as this week, Hogenson said a final report could take up to a year.

EP to Leave CBS Evening News

Pat Shevlin, the Executive Producer of the CBS Evening News, has sent a memo to colleagues announcing that she will step down, sources at the network told POLITICO on Thursday. She will remain with the network in another role.

Her departure clears the way for Marsha Cooke, the network's Asia bureau chief, who is returning to New York and is widely expected to take the reins on the network's nightly news program.

Shevlin, who has spent nearly four decades with CBS News, was named Executive Producer of the CBS Evening News in 2011 when Scott Pelley replaced Katie Couric as anchor. The program won three Emmys and saw notable ratings growth during her tenure, though it remains in third place behind ABC World News and NBC Nightly News.

CNN Using Missing Plane for Ratings Grab

Magician David Copperfield makes something disappear and the audience is stuck wondering what happened to it?

Let's hope that CNN boss Jeff Zucker never attends a Copperfield magic show, it might dominate CNN's coverage for weeks.

"I'm Wolf Biltzer tonight in the Situation Room, we discuss where the bunny went in David Copperfield's latest show on the Las Vegas strip."

The Daily Beast writes that with scant hard information on the missing Malaysia flit, the prevailing storyline has evolved, in pop-culture terms, from Agatha Christie to Tom Clancy to Oprah, with Wednesday’s most indelible image--aired several times each hour on CNN--being that of the Chinese mother of a missing passenger wailing in grief and anger as Malaysian security officers dragged her forcibly out of a Flight 370 press briefing. Increasingly the focus has been: How does it feel?

Lloyd Grove of The Daily Beast writes "Is it really news coverage, when there is no news to report?" an anonymous CNN staffer asked in an email to FTVLive, a television business insiders’ blog. The email seemed representative of the handwringing said to be occurring in various cable newsrooms among journalism traditionalists. FTVLive’s proprietor, TV news veteran Scott Jones, noted that while the NBC Nightly News on Tuesday took two minutes to give “all the new information” on the story, CNN “took all day to give you the same information… CNN's coverage is mainly just a group of talking heads guessing what might have happened to the missing jet."

CNN's former Washington bureau chief, Frank Sesno, echoed those concerns, especially when a more consequential story, the Russian takeover of Crimea in the Ukraine, is getting comparatively short shrift on CNN’s air. “When I’ve watched CNN on my television, I thought they were doing it [the missing plane] way too much, especially given this other gigantic story that’s unfolding in Crimea,” Sesno, director of George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs, told The Daily Beast.

Sesno added that while Flight 370 is “a fascinating, huge mystery, the Russian takeover of Crimea is potentially world-changing…My issue is what is the proportionate amount of coverage that the [missing plane] story should receive?” Absent new facts, “there are four pieces to this puzzle: what you say, how you say it, how often you say it, and how loud you say it."