Deuce is Favorite for Chicago ND Job

WGN News Director Greg Caputo's last day is Friday. Caputo announced last month that he was retiring from the Tribune owned station.

So who replaces him?

Assistant News Director Jennifer Lyons is the odds on favorite to get the job.

Robert Feder says that Lyons is  20-year veteran of WGN, Lyons has taken a larger role in the news department since Caputo’s announcement and will continue to oversee the department after next week, according to Greg Easterly, president and general manager.

Lyons, 47, has been managing the daily newsroom operations for WGN and CLTV since she was promoted from executive producer of the morning news to assistant news director in 2008.

Stay tuned.... 

One Month and Done

Jack Pagano was hired as News Director at WAKA in Montgomery, AL last month. 

Now he is already leaving the station. 

Pagano says that he is leaving the station after just a few weeks to take care of a "family issue". He did not say what that issue was?

One source says that Pagano did something similar while working at a station in Casper, Wyoming.

Again, he left after just weeks on the job.

Scripps Tries to Breathe some Life into Buffalo Station

Scripps recently bought WKBW in Buffalo from Granite Broadcasting. Now, the company is trying to bring the station back from the dead after Granite all but killed it.

"New equipment is arriving like Christmas morning," GM Michael Nurse told the Buffalo News.

He said the new equipment includes live backpacks and cameras.

"There is a real effort to increase our effort to do live," said Nurse.

Scripps also returned WKBW as a subscriber to the ratings service Nielsen and will add the news services CNN and Associated Press by Today. All three of those ratings and news suppliers were dropped in cost-saving moves by Granite. 

"We're reviewing all our needs from top to bottom," said Nurse.

The station also is starting a major renovation of its newsroom "to become a more cohesive facility," said Nurse.  "It will be very open and editing will be close to reporters."

"It is going to be a process," Nurse said of the station's rebuilding. "But our goal is to have everything worked out and in place by the fall, including new hires and new formats."

Scripps To Swing the Ax at Tampa Station

One group of people that should be nervous at WKBW in Buffalo are the Master Control Operators. 

Word out of Tampa is that Scripps owned WFTS is bouncing the station's Master Control staff and moving the operations to a hub in Minnesota. It is expected that around 10 people will be pink slipped with the move. 

6 days ago, FTVLive FIRST told you that Nexstar owned WJET in Erie, PA. is laying off their entire staff of Master Control Operators in August.

It is expected that more Scripps and Nexstar stations will undergo cuts as the stations either hub or automate their Master Control operations. 

Stay tuned.... 

Isikoff to Join Couric at Yahoo

Yahoo Global Anchor Katie Couric finally has a co-worker and this one as well worked at NBC News.

Yahoo will announce later Today that have hired Michael Isikoff as their new chief investigative correspondent.

Isikoff  recently left NBC News, he will start his Yahoo gig in August.

“He’s a guy who breaks a lot of news and starts huge national conversations,” said Megan Liberman, the editor in chief of Yahoo News.

She did not name examples of the news that Isikoff broke or the national conversations that he started. 

Look for Yahoo to make this all official later Today. 

Katie Gets Hitched

Yahoo Global Anchor Katie Couric got hitched over the weekend in a small gathering at her East Hampton home.

Couric tweeted out the wedding photo to her fans:

Sick Out at Fox LA?

It seems a number of on air staffers have called in sick Today at KTTV Fox LA.

Anchors Laura Diaz Tweeted this:

Maria Quiban also called in sick via Twitter:

Not sure what is going on, but as one viewer said to FTVLive "something is fishy."

Is it some kind of protest, or are the LA Anchors just wanting a long Weekend? 

Let the rumor mill start clicking. 

Maybe People will Die ;-) (Updated)

This morning, FTVLive told you about a new poll that shows that public confidence in television news is at an all-time low.

Now, let us give you an example as to why that might be.

WYFF (Greenville) Reporter Mandy Gaither was sent to a story of a fire at a local hospital. The hospital was forced to relocate most of their patients.

Gaither tweeted a selfie of her all smiles on her way to the story.

Are you F-ing kidding me! I'm sure the families that have patients in that hospital, weren't smiling. 

If I was WYFF's News Director, me and Ms. Gaither would be having a closed door meeting when she gets back from the story.

I promise the smile would be gone. 

Update: After FTVLive's story, Gaither deleted her not so smart Tweet. 

MSNBC Host: I Couldn't Watch the News

MSNBC should figure out that they have a problem, when one of their hosts says even he can't watch the channel.

Lawrence O'Donnell was knocked off the air after car accident. s

O'Donnell was on vacation with his older brother in the British Virgin Islands when an oncoming car hit their taxi in April. The MSNBC host broke his hip in several places and sustained other wounds to his legs. He opened up about the accident and his recovery to the Daily Beast, saying that he needed surgical nails to repair his hip and he has been learning how to walk again in a swimming pool in physical therapy.

He appeared on Rachel Maddow's show last night and said he will return to host his show "The Last Word" on Monday.

O'Donnell told the Daily Beast that the experience has changed him. He said after the accident, for example, he couldn't handle any bad news and became overwhelmed when he turned the television on for the first time in weeks.

"I became one of those people who I’ve met from time to time who say they don’t watch the news," he said. "Too many bad stories. I never understood those people. Now I get them completely."

O'Donnell told Maddow Thursday that he's "not up to date" on anything besides the fact that the Iraq War is over. "Lawrence O'Donnell, I'm not going to spoil the surprise for you," Maddow said, smiling.

H/T HuffPo

Public Confidence in TV News at All Time Low

Uh-Oh! This isn't good....

A new Gallup Poll shows that Public confidence in television news is at an all-time low.

Only 18 percent of the Americans surveyed expressed either a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in that news medium.

Gallup has been asking people about their faith in TV news annually since 1993 and that faith has been dropping almost every year. 

In the latest survey, conducted June 5-8, only 10 percent said they had “a great deal” of confidence in T.V. news, and 8 percent said they had “quite a lot” of confidence.

The previous low was in 2012, when a combined 21 percent said they had a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in television news. In 2013, it was 23 percent.

Ouch!

DWI Case Dropped Against Houston Anchor

Although no one is saying why, the Harris County District Clerk's Office has dropped DWI charges against KHOU anchor Ron Trevino.

Trevino was arrested back in March for drunk driving. To their credit KHOU was the first to report on the anchor's arrest. 

Trevino even addressed the bust on air, saying the incident was embarrassing for him and his family.

"Nothing like this has ever happened to me before and I'm still processing it myself," he said. "I do want you all to know that I understand how serious this charge is and while I may not agree with the allegations against me, I absolutely support what HPD does to keep us all safe from drunk drivers."

His case has now been dropped and according to Mike McGuff in the filed paperwork, the reason given for dismissal was marked "other."

Chicago Station Unveils New Toy

The latest gimmick for WBBM in Chicago is the Mobile Weather Lab.

According to the station, whether severe storms bring tornadoes, hail, extreme heat, or blizzard conditions, CBS 2 can bring viewers real-time data from the rooftop of the Mobile Weather Lab. The Columbia Pulsar 600 ultrasonic weather station can pinpoint inclement weather at precise locations; and monitor temperature, wind speed and direction, dew point, and barometric pressure – just to name a few capabilities.

The Mobile Weather Lab also features two types of live transmission capabilities, including a 4G cellular technology system.

WBBM Meteorologist Megan Glaros reports the Chicago area’s first highly-advanced weather station on wheels took more than 100 hours to retrofit and engineer, transforming and taking shape piece-by-piece.

A heavy-duty HD camera gives viewers a new perspective of the ever-changing weather, capable of rotating 360 degrees while the vehicle is in motion – all controlled through a wireless joystick inside the Mobile Weather Lab.

It’s also equipped with a live satellite dish to transmit from any location, and two GoPro cameras – one on the dashboard, and one on the side of the vehicle.

A control panel behind the rear seats allows the user to monitor the cameras, and a touchscreen display creates a multiple camera switcher to deliver pictures back to the CBS 2 studios as they happen.

The car is a BMW X5 and it is sponsored by....use guessed it....BMW.

Kelly File over the Factor...again

Megyn Kelly's interview in which she took former VP Dick Cheney to task was a viral hit and a ratings hit for Fox News. 

Kelly took on Cheney after the former Veep called out President Obama on his handling of Iraq. Kelly told Cheney "But time and time again, history has proven that you got it wrong as well, sir."

The interview help propel Kelly to beat O’Reilly once again in the demo for the night. And forget topping just O'Reilly, acording to Nielsen, FNC’s The Kelly File was #1 in the demo last night beating both MSNBC and CNN combined in both parts for the 9PM timeslot. Whipping both Rachel Maddow and CNN's savior (according to Jeff Zucker) Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown.

The numbers breakdown:

Wednesday, June 18th at 9PM/ET
FNC’s The Kelly File: 2,378,000 in P2+ (389,000 in 25-54)
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow: 961,000 in P2+ (175,000 in 25-54)
CNN’s Parts Unknown: 519,000 in P2+ (175,000 in 25-54)

Natalie Morales: Don't Tell Matt, Savannah is my Favorite Anchor

Today Show Anchor Natalie Morales did a Facebook Q and A Yesterday and she let it out who her favorite Anchor is?

While people were invited to ask Morales questions, her co-worker Savannah Guthrie got in on the act:

Q. Savannah Guthrie: Natalie, I love you and you're my favorite news anchor. But how can you like "We Built This City"?

A. Natalie Morales: I will defend it to my death. It brings back good memories of my teen years in Spain...and rocking out to the Starship! At least we share a love for "True" by Spandau Ballet in common. Oh and you are my favorite anchor...don't tell Matt! oops...is this forever out there??

So Savannah's favorite Anchor is Natalie and Natalie's is Savannah.

Matt Lauer come out as a two time loser.

Somewhere in the world, Ann Curry is smiling. 

NBC Turns Down Movie Ad

With some of the crap that NBC puts on the air, you might be surprised to learn that turned down an ad for a movie because of one word.

Page Six says that NBC turned down ads for the new movie “Obvious Child” because it deals with abortion.

The movie that stars former “SNL” star Jenny Slate as a Brooklyn comic who gets pregnant after a one-night stand and elects to have an abortion.

Other networks “had no problem airing an ad that included the word ‘abortion’ in it,” a source said, adding the film’s distributor “wasn’t trying to purchase ads during ‘Today’ or daytime,” but “during ‘SNL’ ” and primetime sitcoms.

A source close to NBC denied the claim, saying the network was given a rough cut of a trailer, but after “feedback” was given, a final spot wasn’t submitted.

But a different source countered that NBC’s “feedback” was that the subject matter was inappropriate for viewers, and to cut the word abortion.