60% Say Journalism is Going in the Wrong Direction

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A poll done by Indiana University School of Journalism shows that 60% think that Journalism is headed in the wrong direction.

Who cares right? Everyone hates the media, so what's the big deal?

Well, the 60% in the poll are actually Journalists themselves.

That's not good.

Other numbers coming out of the 1080 Journalist show:

Job satisfaction went from 33.3% of journalists who said they were “very satisfied” with their job in 2002, to 23.3% in 2013.

Six in ten say their newsrooms have shrunk during the past year, while only 13.2% report newsroom growth.

Just over 80% agree that social media helps promote them and their work, but only 25% say that it improves their productivity.

The number of minority journalists working for the U.S. news media has decreased from 9.5% in 2002 to 8.5% in 2013.

In the latest survey, the median age of full-time U.S. journalists increased by six years to 47 from 2002′s poll.

Fewer journalists say that concentrating on news that’s of interest to “the widest possible audience” is extremely important.

H/T Romenesko

Robach: I'm Still not 100% Yet

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FTVLive told you back on April 25th, that GMA Anchor Amy Robach had her last cancer treatment.

So how's she feeling now?

Robach says she’s “feeling okay” “I’m not 100 percent yet, but you get up and you go to work,” she told reporters at a City of Hope event at the Plaza Hotel in New York on Monday. “It’s better than being in fetal position in bed… I still take two-hour naps every day.”

Robach, who received an award at the event, thanked her colleague and fellow cancer survivor Robin Roberts, saying, “Robin has given me guidance emotionally, and medically,” and she also thanked ABC for “letting me come into work, even with chemo brain, putting me on the air and giving me that structure I needed in an otherwise out-of-control time in my life.”

H/T Page Six

FCC Approves Sale of Buffalo Station

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The light at the end of the tunnel is finally in reach for staffers at WKBW in Buffalo. 

The once proud station, which was run into the ground by Granite Broadcasting and General Manager Bill Ransom is this/close to being handed over to Scripps. 

Brian Lawlor, the senior vice president for television for Scripps, announced  on Twitter that the FCC had approved the sale of the station and that closing date will be announced this week.

Happy days are just about here again for the staff at WKBW. 

State Department is Withholding Email About Fox News

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Fox News Chief Intelligence Correspondent Catherine Herridge says that Fox News learning new details of a seven page email — circulated at the highest levels of the white house – apparently to come up with a media strategy to deal with a fox news report- is being withheld by the state department, citing executive branch deliberations.

The report, which is the subject line of the emails, “Fox News: US officials knew Libya attack was terrorism within 24 hours, sources confirm” was circulated september 27th and September 28th 2012 concluded the intelligence community knew benghazi was terrorism within 24 hours.

On the email chain, among others, Denis McDonough, the president’s deputy national security adviser during Benghazi, John Brennan former White House counterterrorism adviser and now CIA Director, then deputy director of the CIA Michael Morell, and presidential aide Ben Rhodes who sent the email September 14th 2012, critics say, attempted to shape the public discussion of Benghazi.

Chris Farrell with Judicial Watch which is suing for the documents, including the email related to the Fox News report, said “A 7-page dialogue concerning one Fox News report to me uh demonstrates um an alarm bell situation where they are reacting to and trying to shape a response or commentary to react to or to shut down reporting.”

“The reporting itself would appear to be at odds or at least to challenge strongly the White House position that had been announced. And so this report from Fox News would run counter to what the Obama administration was attempting to put out there as their position.”

H/T GretaWire

News Director Stepping Down in Chi-Town

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You can stick a fork in longtime WGN News Director Greg Caputo....he's done. 

Caputo told staffers at the station Today that he is stepping down at the end of June. He has been with the WGN since 2002. 

Caputo joined WGN from WLVI in Boston, a former Tribune Co. station that was sold in 2006. Previously he was vice president and news director for WFLD-Ch. 32 in Chicago for eight years. He also was news director at New York and Washington, D.C., stations, and holds a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. 

"Being a part of WGN was a goal for me for years," Caputo said.  "Being here for the last 11 years has been even better than I thought it would be."

No successor has been named, according to executives. 

H/T Chicago Tribune

Cedar Rapids Station to Name New News Director

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KWWL in Cedar Rapids has called a staff meeting for 2PM Central Time.

FTVLive has learned that the station will announce that Shane Moreland is the new News Director at the station.

Moreland is a longtime news manager with stops in West Palm, St. Louis, Miami, Pittsburgh, Roanoke and New Bern.

He was last at WVNS in West Virginia as General Manager.

He will join the Quincy owned station after the book. 

A Blast From the Past Going Back on the Air in Chicago

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I guess you can say, the Journalism bug never dies.

Fifteen years after she left Chicago television, former news anchor Joan Esposito is getting back on the air.

Robert Feder says that Esposito, 60, has been hired part-time at Chicago Public Media WBEZ FM 91.5, where she will serve as a backup and vacation-relief news anchor during mornings, middays and afternoons.

Now that her two children are older, Esposito expressed interest in returning to broadcasting on a limited basis, according to Sally Eisele, managing editor at WBEZ. “What we’re doing is developing a relationship with someone who can help us out and get to know the public radio side of the business,” Eisele said.

Esposito, who first came to Chicago in 1981 as a 27-year-old reporter and weekend anchor at Tribune Broadcasting WGN-Channel 9, became a Monday-through-Friday anchor star at ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7 and later at NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5.

Since leaving WMAQ in 1999, Esposito formed J2 Strategic Communications, a media training firm.

Charlotte Station Names New GM

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Gannett has named Deborah Collura president and general manager at WCNC in Charlotte, NC.

Collura most recently she served as vice president of news for KPRC in Houston, TX. In addition to her role at KPRC, she served as vice president of news for Post-Newsweek Stations where she oversaw news operations for its six properties.

Prior to her role in Houston, Collura was vice president of news for WDIV in Detroit, MI, and WTVJ in Miami, FL. She has also held positions at KTSP in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, KCRA in Sacramento, CA, WTEN in Albany, NY, and at Gannett's KSDK in St. Louis, MO.

Let's see what quotes the creative service department made up:

"Deborah's passion for journalism, multi-media background and more than 30 years of experience make her an excellent selection to help WCNC continue its quest to provide award-winning news and community service to the greater Charlotte community," said Peter Diaz, executive vice president of Gannett Broadcasting. "There is no doubt Deborah will be an outstanding leader for WCNC and a great addition to the Gannett Broadcasting team."

In Other Words...Fields is F-d in Phoenix

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This is the internal memo that went out to the staff at KTVK in Phoenix.

It appears that Main Anchor Fields Moseley (pictured) is about to have a really bad week. And remember, this is happening in the middle of the very important May book.

If I was Fields, I won't be buying the green bananas. He might not be around long enough for them to get ripe.

Just saying..... 

Here's the memo:

From: "Beck, Cameryn" <cbeck@azfamily.com>
Date: May 1, 2014 at 6:07:27 PM MST
To: KTVK News <ktvknews@azfamily.com>
Cc: KTVK Leadership Team <leadership_team@azfamily.com>
Subject: Changes at 10pm

Newsies,
 
Starting Monday, we are going to try something new.   Brandon Lee will move to co-anchor the 10pm with Carey Pena.  Fields will continue to anchor the 9pm with Carey and do reports from the newsroom at 10pm.
 
This is a great opportunity to expand our resources and add a new dimension to both shows.
 
Thanks..
 
Cameryn Beck
Executive News Director

Well That was Awkward

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One year ago Tomorrow, Michelle Knight and two other girls were rescued from the house of Cleveland monster Ariel Castro.

NBC and the Today Show were excited that Savannah Guthrie would be sitting down with Knight and having her tell her story (and of course to pimp her new book).

Unfortunately for NBC, Knight is an awful interview and it was awkward. 

Let's go to the video for the cringe worthy interview:

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Is Lara Logan Done at 60 Minutes?

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When Lara Logan was pushed into a very long vacation after her flawed report on the attack in Benghazi, many wondered if she would ever return to the ticking clock?

Here we are, 6 months later and Logan has yet to appear on CBS. 

When 60 Minutes boss Jeff Fager "suspend"Logan he said that she would return sometime this year. His decision sent a ripple of discontent through CBS News, prompting questions about Fager’s judgment. And as the months have rolled on, Logan’s return appears less and less certain.

“It’s not an accident that Lara Logan fucked up,” says a colleague at CBS News to NY Magazine. “It was inevitable. Everybody saw this coming.”

NY Mag says Fager has tried to keep Logan out of the spotlight: In recent months, she was scheduled to give several speeches for the Greater Talent Network, some paying as much as $50,000, but was advised by CBS to cancel the appointments. Other 60 Minutes correspondents filled in for her. Logan has spent recent weeks in her house in Washington, D.C., “losing her mind” and “stressing out of her head,” according to one CBS source. 

And what about Les Moonves? A well-placed source at CBS suggests that he has soured on Logan. Through a spokesman, Moonves declined to comment.

So Lara Logan may, or may not, return in the fall season. Either way, the show must go on and CBS has a hottie lined up to take Logan's spot. 

 34-year-old Clarissa Ward. “Jeff’s very high on her,” says a 60 Minutes producer.

Stay tuned.