Back to Rosie?

ABC's 'The View' is looking to go back to the future to try and bring back viewers to the daytime talker.

And it appears that they think Rosie O'Donnell might be the answer.

TMZ says that O'Donnell, who hosted the show from 2006 to 2007 is coming back and it's a done deal.

ABC says "We are weeks away from making any type of announcement about anything pertaining to the show."

Page Six says that O'Donnell has signed a 1 year deal for seven figures and it demands her say on her co-hosts and absolutely no reality stars are allowed. 

Bringing back O'Donnell seems like a last gasp effort by the network to keep the show relevant.

Let's be honest, The View has jumped the shark and bringing in a whale isn't going to save it.

Just saying.... 

John Walsh to Try and Finish what Piers Morgan Started

John Walsh is going to try and finish what Piers Morgan started at CNN.

He says that he will beat the drum against the gun lobby.

Walsh, whose CNN show, “The Hunt,” debuts Sunday, said Monday that politicians are “scared shitless” of the NRA.

Walsh, a gun owner who says he loves to hunt, is a longtime advocate of background checks and other measures for gun sales.

He said he has “testified in every state capital multiple times” about guns.

“I’ve hunted all my life. I hunt quail on my ranch,” he said. “And I am the biggest advocate for background checks out of any gun owner in America.”

CNN President Jeff Zucker noted that Walsh has spoken in favor of gun-control measures “many, many, many times on CNN.”

Now, he will be paid to do it. 

H/T NY Daily News

Wow! Can I really be That Old?

It doesn't seem that long ago that Gary Tuchman and I were working together at a station in West Palm Beach.

Gary left for CNN and I left for, well...... another 10 or so stations before ending up here at good old FTVLive.com

It seems like just yesterday I was visiting Gary in New York. He and his wife just had a baby girl.

So imagine my surprise when I saw this Tweet that Gary sent out:

How the hell could that baby girl I just saw a short time ago already be anchoring the news?!

I have to say, this is one story that makes me feel very very old. 

Thanks Gary....and congrats to Lindsay!

Suck My WHAT?!

WNYW Fox 5 in New York was playing  a lighthearted version of "Name That Tune" on this morning's Good Day NY.

The song that was up next was from rapper DMX. If you listen to any DMX song, you can just bet what happened. 

The song was DMX's "Party Up"  and when it got to the part where he yells "suck my dick!" Anchor Greg Kelly let out a yell of his own. 

Looking at the clip, it appears that the control room tried to dump the vulgar language, but was a bit late on the punch.

Let's go to the video: 

H/T  Gawker 

Man Busted for Attacking Reporter with Tripod

Back in my News Photographer days, it was next to impossible to try and get the Reporter to carry the tripod.

Now-a-days, Reporters carry the sticks all the time, they also carry the camera, because they are working as a one man band. 

Reporter/Photographer Bob Aaron of WCHS (Charleston) found a guy more than willing to grab the tripod.

Problem was the guy used it as a weapon against the Reporter

State Police arrested Howard Lilly after he was caught on video attacking Reporter Bob Aaron while shooting a story Monday.

Lilly is charged with destruction of property, grand larceny and malicious wounding.  He is being held on a $25,000 property or cash bond. 

State Police say Lilly confessed to attacking Aaron and say he was remorseful and tearful. 

Aaron was taken to the hospital as a precaution but is doing well. He has deep tissue bruising but no broken bones. 

"He came up off of his property onto the roadway," Aaron said. "And before we could have much of a conversation further about it he came at me grabbed the tripod and starting hitting me with it. He broke the camera lens and gave me a couple of pretty good shots before we left."

While he was being attacked, Aaron says he thought "I can't believe this is happening,"

H/T WCHS

No Sick Time without a Doctor's Note

It appears that a number of staffers have been calling in sick at Raycom owned WTVM in Columbus, GA.

News Director Darryl Huger sent out a couple of emails, telling the staff that if you're going to call in sick you need a doctor's note. In Huger's email to the staff he writes that "...all vacation and sick time is approved at a manager’s discretion." 

A number of station staffers do not have insurance, or a doctor's visit will cost them a $50 co-pay. Those staffers wonder if they have a nasty cold or just a stomach bug, do they really expect the station to require them to go to the doctor and pay them, just to get a note?

WTVM Assistant News Director Janell  Lewis followed up that question with another email to the staff: 

Lewis, Janell
Mon 7/7/2014 12:14 PM

No medical insurance or low funds do not make employees exempt from the policy…corporate’s answer is to go to a free clinic or ER.

Janell J. Lewis | Assistant News Director | WTVM-TV WXTX-TV

Really?! So staffers are supposed to clog the ER, all because the station wants a doctor's note?

No wonder why people are calling in sick and don't want to go to work at the station. 

Arrrrrrrrgh!!

Over the July 4th Weekend KWES (Midland) did not have enough news to fill 30 minutes, so they decided to waste viewers time with a wedding proposal.

Weekend Anchor Alexa Williams read a tease for her own wedding proposal. It was followed by her boyfriend entering the studio and asking Williams to marry him.

She told him "No".....ha we wish...actually she said yes and KWES posted the video all over social media.

Let's go to the stomach turning video:

Post by NewsWest 9.

Taking the Story from the Competition

KTUU in Anchorage posted a story of a guy that suffered a severe brain injury in a race he was running. This year he returned to the race to run it again and finish what he started.

It was one of those feel good stories and a good filler story for the holiday weekend. KTUU posted the video on their website.

There was just one problem.

The story was done by competitor KTVA.

KTUU did put a  courtesy at the top of the story but it still seems odd that they would take a story straight from the competitor.

After FTVLive called and asked about the story, it was pulled from KTUU's website. We did get a screen shot (above) before the story was pulled. 

Getting Out of Traffic

KHOU (Houston) morning traffic anchor Katherine Whaley is done playing in traffic.

Her last day reporting on the Houston commute was last Friday, July 4th, and she will be leaving the CBS affiliate next month. 

"KHOU offered me a different position, which I ultimately determined was not the right fit for me," Whaley told mikemcguff.com. "I will be with the station through most of August."

In June, KHOU announced the return of Darby Douglas, who Whaley originally replaced in 2009. Douglas will once again perform morning traffic duties.

According to the KHOU release about Douglas, Whaley was to move out of his way, but stay on as a reporter. 

That isn't happening. 

She says she plans to start up a blog covering food. 

Fan Sues ESPN for Showing him Sleeping

In a lawsuit that will likely be laughed out of court, a man who was shown sleeping during the broadcast of a Yankee-Red Sox baseball game on ESPN has filed a defamation suit claming that he was portrayed as being "fatty, unintelligent and stupid."

Andrew Rector's  Bronx County Supreme Court lawsuit names Major League Baseball Advanced Media, ESPN New York, the New York Yankees, and ESPN announcers Dan Shulman and John Kruk as defendants.

Rector is seeking $10 million in damages for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress after being shown on television during the April 13 game between the Yankees and the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.

Let's hope he doesn't sleep in for his court date. 

H/T UPI

Crying Wolf (Not Blitzer) at CNN

Maybe it was an effort to jack up the ratings.

Eric Wemple writes in the Washington Post those who relied exclusively on CNN for their weather news had reason to be very concerned about Hurricane Arthur. Last Thursday, as the storm was spinning toward the coast of North Carolina, afternoon meteorologist Chad Myers was delivering a near-calamitous message.

“This thing is going to be 100 miles per hour right over the top of you,” said Myers in one segment. “I consider that a hurricane.”

Also: “This storm is going to go right along that North Carolina coast. It is going to scour the beach. It’s going to devour the beach for that matter.”

Not to mention: “This couldn’t be a worst case than what we have right now.”

We all know how little storm danger there was. Even North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory reported that there were “minimal reports of damage.” The storm flopped.

So did Myers over-hype Arthur?

“Everybody can be a Monday morning quarterback. I’m really, really happy with this one,” said Myers in a chat today with the Erik Wemple Blog. “I didn’t call it a monster.”

So the storm didn’t “devour” North Carolina beach country, though Myers still notes that the damage in places like Ocracoke and Hatteras Island is still pretty severe. “The fact that zero people are dead, I think we win,” says Myers. “We at least scared those people out of the water.”

You might have "scared" those people this time, but next time they might not take your serious.

Maybe next time you shouldn't be trying to scare people and just work on a more accurate forecast.

Just saying.... 

Indy News Director Response to Viewer Outrage over Story

WISH in Indianapolis has viewers up in arms after they interviewed the family of a (see above) a man that is accused of gunning down a police officer.

The story leaned in favor of the suspect with at least 3 different sound bites saying that "he was not a bad person." The story also seemed to put the blame on the cop that was killed. The story was poorly done and was far from balanced. 

Needless to say, viewers took issue with the story and lit up WISH phone lines and social media.

Today, WISH News Director Steve Bray tried to explain why the station would run such a story.

On the station's website, Bray wrote: 

Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers go out to Officer Renn’s family and friends during his extremely difficult time. A brave husband, friend and hero lost his life in another senseless crime. We have seen way too many lives lost to violence in Indianapolis, but it is even more heart wrenching to see someone who answered the call every day to protect us. We also extend our sympathy to the IMPD family and offer thanks to those who continue to stand on the Thin Blue Line.

We have received numerous comments about a story we covered on Sunday involving the family of Major Davis Jr., the accused killer of Officer Renn. As a news organization, we provide balanced coverage and both sides of the story. Our obligation to you is to cover every angle of a story. That obligation unfortunately, at times, includes uncomfortable subjects or comments that are difficult to hear, or even make you angry. And while we are journalists, everyone on our staff is human as well and we have similar reactions. So these are situations we take very seriously.

By showing the other side, you were able to get the answer to “why someone would do this?” We wanted to give insight into the mind of the people/family who were involved so there was some context and exposure for you into this world. For some, maybe it’s a world you are already familiar with; for others it may be something you cannot even comprehend. It was difficult for many of us to watch and understand mostly for the reporter who did the story. Her father is a veteran of IMPD.

This story was just a small part of our complete coverage, with the vast majority honoring the fallen officer for his service. We will continue to do so this week as he is laid to rest. Again, we honor him for his dedication to duty and we hope you understand the tough choices we have to make in doing ours. Like our viewers, we want justice to be served.

Steve Bray
News Director, WISH-TV 24-Hour News 8

Dead Women Walking

This morning was the first show for 'The View" after news broke that Jenny McCarthy and Sherri Shepherd we're getting the axe. 

The discussion about her and Shepherd's departures in August when their contracts expire began when fellow co-host Whoopi Goldberg cut straight to the chase.

"We're sitting here, and there's a giant neon pink gorilla in the room," she began. "We're going to deal with it."

"We're staying!," McCarthy told the audience. after the applause died down, McCarthy, fessed up that the rumors were factual.

"Actually, it is true," she said about leaving the show she joined in September. "But I love the support."

Shepherd's exit speech was a bit more emotional than McCarthy's.

"A lot of producers have known since the spring that I didn't intend to return after my contract ends in August," she said.

The 47-year-old TV personality made headlines in early May when she split from her husband of three years, Lamar Sally.

"I didn't want to discuss anything in my personal life because I didn't want to do anything to distract from Barbara Walters and her (retirement) celebration in May," Shepherd added Monday.

"You know I'm a woman of faith, and seven is the number of God's completion," she said, alluding to the amount of years she's been on the ABC daytime talk show.

"I've been here seven years, and my time with 'The View' is complete," Shepherd continued. "I'm going to forever be grateful to Barbara Walters and (producer) Bill Geddie for taking a chance on an actress and making me learn things, helping me step out of my comfort zone. They gave me a chance."

She went on to thank past co-hosts Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Joy Behar, saying, "you are my sister," before adding, "Whoopi Goldberg, she's always had my back."

H/T NY Daily News

ND Jumping from SoFlo to Dallas

WPTV (West Palm Beach) News Director Mike Garber is leaving SoFlo and headed to the Big 'D'.

Garber has been named the new ND at KTVT in Dallas. 

Garber has been at WPTV for a couple of years and now jumps to a CBS O&O. He replaces e Adrienne Roark left in May.

Garber had also worked as news director at WTLV/WJXX in Jacksonville, Fla. from 2008 to 2012, He has also worked at stations in Columbia, S.C., and Tucson, Ariz. 

He starts later this month. 

Widow of Vegas Station Owner says KSNV is Not For Sale

When KSNV station owner Jim Rogers passed away last month, many inside the station wondered what the future might hold?

Rumors were flying that Sinclair might be looking to buy the station.

Sources tell FTVLive that Rogers' wife, Beverly, held a meeting with KSNV employees late last week. She assured them that she will not be selling the station because she feels that it's her late husband's work and vision wasn't completed before his death. 

She plans to be involved daily and has an office already at the station.

Sources say that Beverly made rounds after the meeting by getting to know most of the employees and personally getting aquatinted.