Chicago Deuce Heads to Milwaukee

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WLS Assistant News Director is leaving Chicago's blowtorch to take the ND gig at WTMJ in Milwaukee.

Janet Hundley is leaving the Windy City after a dozen years.

Here is the internal memo that News Director Jennifer Graves sent out to the staff:

It's been more than 12 years since Janet Hundley joined me to lead ABC 7 Eyewitness News.  That’s why it’s with such mixed emotions that I let you know that Janet is leaving our newsroom to accept the News Director position at Journal Broadcasting’s WTMJ-TV, the NBC affiliate in Milwaukee.

I am absolutely thrilled for Janet.  She’s wanted to run her own newsroom again for some time and she’s found a position that’s a great fit at a company with a long tradition of journalistic integrity and excellence.  I cannot thank her enough for everything she’s done in the past 12 years.  Janet has worked tirelessly in our newsroom, helping craft our product to best serve our viewers. She’s led the special projects team, planned our coverage of numerous historic events and kept our day-to-day news gathering operation running smoothly.  But most of all, she’s been a friend and mentor to many.  She’s truly been my right hand, and I know we would not have enjoyed our many successes without Janet in the office next to mine. Janet’s been a dedicated and loyal member of the ABC/Disney team for 26 years, here at WLS, at WTVG-TV in Toledo and WTVD-TV in Raleigh-Durham.

As Janet said to me today, this isn’t goodbye.  Milwaukee is right up the road and I’m sure her path will cross with many of ours as we move ahead.  She’ll be in the newsroom for the next couple of weeks as we finish the May book.  We’ll plan the appropriate farewell in the coming days.

Let’s all wish Janet the best as she takes this exciting step in her career.

Expanding the News in Grand Rapids

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Gannett owned WZZM in Grand Rapids is taking on an extra half hour to their noon newscast which will take it to 1PM.

On May 27 the station will debut the expanded newscast.

Why are they doing it? For the viewers of course!

"We are thrilled about expanding this extremely popular newscast", says Janet Mason, President and General Manager of WZZM 13. "Our viewers will now have the opportunity to enjoy more of their favorite local news and weather during their lunch hour," she adds.

Longtime news anchor Lauren Stanton and meteorologist Aaron Ofseyer will hold the helm of the extended broadcast.

Dallas News Director Lands GM Job in Portland

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KOIN in Portland has a new General Manager.

KTVT (Dallas) News Director Adrienne Roark is moving up the broadcast food chain and getting her first shot in the GM chair.

Before coming to Dallas, Roark was the ND at WFOR in Miami.

Here is the internal memo that was sent to the staff and obtained by FTVLive:

Dear KOIN 6 team,

I am pleased to announce that Adrienne Roark has been named the station's new President and General Manager, effectiveJune 23, 2014. A press release announcing her appointment will go out Monday morning. 

Adrienne brings over 20 years of television industry experience to the position, the last decade of which were spent overseeing news departments in some of the largest markets in the country. Most recently, she served as Vice President and News Director at KTVT-TV, the local CBS affiliate in Dallas-Fort Worth, TX.  

With your recent brand launch, great things are happening at KOIN and Adrienne is an ideal choice to lead the station forward. 

Adrienne, her husband Dave and their two sons, Alex and Stephen, are excited to move to Portland. She will be visiting the station on Thursday, May 29 to meet all of you. 

Best regards,
Jay Howell
VP Television

Busted in Grand Forks

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Dan Corey, a sports reporter with WDAZ news in Grand Forks, was arrested over the weekend for driving under the influence, the TV station said Monday.

Corey is a native of Sioux City, Iowa, and a graduate of Morningside College there, according to his biography on the WDAZ website. He worked at KTIV, an NBC affiliate in Sioux City, prior to working here.

He's expected back in court next week. 

CBS Boss: We can live With or Without our Affiliates

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If CBS affiliates are looking for a long and warm hug, they might not want to turn to CBS boss Les Moonves.

On an earning conference call, Moonves says that he hopes the CBS affils do well, but if they don't CBS could easily move on without them.

"The health of our affiliates is very important to us. However, we own almost 40% of country with our O&Os. I recently met with the FCC and I think by and large the FCC wants a healthy affiliate body. But if you look down road and say what if affiliates weren't able to perform, remember almost 90% of our viewers watch us on satellite, cable" and other non-affiliate platforms.

In other words, if the shit hits the fan, you're on your own guys. 

Gulp! 

Robin Roberts Steers Clear of Lewinsky in Clinton Interview

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Did GMA's Robin Roberts give Hillary Clinton a free pass? 

Just a day after Monica Lewinsky released her most detailed account of her relationship with former President Bill Clinton and its fallout in a wide-ranging essay in the June issue of Vanity Fair magazine, Roberts blew an opportunity to follow up on it with Hillary Clinton — a key player in the scandal that threatened to bring down her husband’s presidency.

Lewinsky, in her essay, labeled the former First Lady’s “tendency” to blame the “other woman” as “troubling.”

The NY Daily News reports that Roberts interviewed Clinton at a charity event in New York Wednesday, with ABC airing portions, but opted to ignore Lewinsky’s comments. An ABC News rep denied that Clinton had asked Roberts to steer clear of the Lewinsky essay.

“There were no restrictions, and Robin was free to ask whatever she wanted,” network spokeswoman Heather Riley said. “Having prepared a question on Monica, as the live interview unfolded with the former secretary of state, Robin made the decision to focus on Benghazi and the kidnapping of hundreds of young schoolgirls in Nigeria.”

In her Vanity Fair piece, Lewinsky indicated that she is dreading Clinton’s potential run for the White House in 2016.

NBC Rides David Gregory to the Ratings Cellar

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The Peacock is riding the Gregory horse right into the ratings basement. 

One again, "Meet the Press" came in third place Sunday morning, for the fourth week in a row.

The NBC News program fell once again to ABC News’ “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” and CBS News' "Face the Nation," according to the latest Nielsen data. 

"Meet the Press" drew 2,288,000 total viewers and only 530,000 key demo viewers, which ABC gleefully noted were its lowest demo ratings in more than 22 years.

The ratings mark even more trouble for "Meet the Press," which has seen its ratings plunge in recent months, starting in September when it fell to “This Week” for the first time in 16 years. "This Week" has topped "Meet the Press" in total viewers for 10 out of the last 11 weeks.

Just for the record, you may remember that Jay Leno was pushed out at NBC, while he was on the top of the ratings. Yet, NBC is sticking with Gregory as his numbers plunge.

And still, people can't understand why NBC is having problems?

Duh....

H/T HuffPo

Katie Couric has Lost her Mojo

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It's safe to say that the New York Post's Andrea Peyser is not a Katie Couric fan.

Peyser addresses the rumors that Couric could be coming back to the Today Show to fill in while Savannah Guthrie leaves to have her baby.

Peyser does not think it's a good idea, writing Katie Couric has lost her mojo.

Now 57, the former “Today’’ show anchor, who crashed and burned as the first female to helm a network news broadcast solo when she jumped to “CBS Evening News,” has reached her expiration date.

Couric, who stars in a disastrous daytime talk show that’s days away from being canceled, can’t possibly recapture the hearts and eyeballs of TV viewers who once loved her like a sister.

She’d have a better shot at becoming a successful pitchwoman for AARP than cheering up grumps over breakfast.

But suits at NBC are looking to Couric as a savior. In a desperate bid to regain morning ratings dominance, the rocket scientists running “Today’’ are in preliminary talks with Couric aimed at bringing her back to the show — at least temporarily — after anchor Savannah Guthrie, 42, goes on maternity leave this summer, The Post’s Claire Atkinson reported.

It could turn into a longer-term gig if Couric sparks a ratings bump.

(“Uh, I don’t think so. No, no, no,” Couric told CNN’s Bill Weir when asked whether she was returning to “Today.”)

I think dumping the despised co-anchor Matt Lauer overboard is a better way to save a leaky ship.

The public turned against Lauer in 2012 when, in front of millions of TV watchers, he pushed Ann Curry under the bus. Ousted as a co-anchor, Curry said goodbye to “Today” viewers as Lauer sat impatiently on a couch, ignoring Curry’s heart-wrenching sobs. It was like watching a snuff film.

Ouch!

New Met Hired in Palm Beach

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WPTV has finally gotten around to hiring a replacement for Meteorologist Kait Parker.

Parker left the Palm Beach station late last year for a gig at the Weather Channel.

Station management has finally found her replacement. 

Lisa Vaughn is jointing the station, coming from WJTV in Jackson, MS where she served as the weekend morning meteorologist for just a year.

Vaughn recently got her broadcast meteorology degree from Mississippi State University.

Oh....It's You Again....

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And old face is popping back up on WBAL in B-More....

Domenica Davis, who worked at the station from 2004 to 2007, is returning on a part-time basis starting Monday, according to General Manager Dan Joerres.

Davis, who also served as a weathercaster for the Fox News cable channel and WNBC, the NBC-owned station in New York, will be featured in Preakness coverage next week, Joerres said.

It is expected that Davis will become a recurring contributor to WBAL's morning news program.

In a tweet last week, Davis described her return to WBAL as "doing some freelance."

H/T Baltimore Sun