Tom Brokaw Can't Even Watch Chuck Todd

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NBC did good to get rid of David Gregory and we now all know that Chuck Todd wasn't the Peacock's first choice to take over Meet The Press.

It's still too early to say whether Todd will tank, but judging by Tom Brokaw's interest in the show, it's not looking good.

Brokaw was seated on the far right of the screen and while Todd was talking, old Tom seemed to be much more interested in what was happening off camera.

Maybe he was watching a rerun of The Daily Show.

Let's go to the video.

H/T HuffPo 

We Did Some Painting and Remodeling

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As you can see by looking around FTVLive, we have made a few changes to the way the site looks. 

There are a number of changes you will notice right away and some changes that you might never notice. 

The work isn't quite finished and you might see a bit more tweaking here and there. 

The FTV Tech page is gone from the navigation bar. It was canceled, due to low ratings.

No really, it is the one part of the site that I looked forward to updating, but I never seemed to get around to it.

I'm hoping to add a few new features in its place. Stand by and we look to add new things to this site that we hope you will find interesting and entertaining.  

By the way.......The most important page on this site is THIS one. 

Just saying.... 

Gannett Moves Atlanta Deuce

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WXIA (Atlanta) Assistant News Director Matt King is leaving the station and headed up the road to Gannett’s WCNC in Charlotte as News Director.  

Which means - WXIA technically is without a ND (Ellen Crooke promoted to corporate) and now no Deuce.

There are a number of news management opening in the Gannett food chain. ND/AND in Atlanta, ND in DC, ND in Phoenix, ND in Jacksonville.

Get your resumes out. 

Diva Takes Center Stage During Vegas Station's Live Report

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KLAS Reporter Patranya Bhoolsuwan (try saying that 3 times fast) was doing a live shot from a new shopping center opening in Las Vegas. 

It would have been, the hum drum, boring story, but thanks to a boy in a black shirt and his diva act, the live shot was well worth watching.

Bhoolsuwan sent out this tweet after her live shot.

Yes he did Patranya, yes he did. 

New Phoenix Duop Sets up Management Team

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New Phoenix Duop Sets up Management Team

Now that KPHO and KTVK have merged under the Meredith umbrella and are operating out of the same building, a new management team has been put in place to run the two stations.

KPHO/KTVK GM Ed Munson sent out a long memo to the staff telling them who's running the departments.

He is the memo, obtained by FTVLive:

To:         All KPHO, All KTVK and All West Coast Hub Teams

CC        Paul Karpowicz, Doug Lowe

From:        Ed Munson Jr.

Re:        New Leadership Team Meredith Arizona

Date:        10/10/14

Team,

It has been a challenging and exciting time for this merger of our two great TV stations and digital properties. For the CBS 5 team it has been an anxious time, the unknowns, the changes and ultimately the move to an unfamiliar building. For the 3TV team, a surprise announcement in June of 2013 that the station was to be sold to Gannett, the waiting and waiting then the surprise announcement in December that the station was to be sold to Meredith, then waiting and waiting for regulatory approval.

I have enjoyed getting to know the staff at 3TV and of course getting to know the team at CBS 5 even better.

After considerable thought and consideration, we are ready to announce the leadership team for the stations in Phoenix. While we will not be fully integrated for some 9 to 12 months, having the leadership team in place now will allow us to better understand the right way to proceed. 

For the merged news department I am pleased to tell you....

Read the rest after the jump

Read More

NBC News Crew Under Mandatory Quarantine

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Members of an NBC News crew who traveled to Africa  and worked with a cameraman who contracted Ebola in Liberia have been ordered under a mandatory quarantined, New Jersey health officials said.

The order was issued late Friday after the crew members violated an agreement to voluntarily confine themselves.

Meanwhile Reuters reports that the condition of the freelance American cameraman continued to improve. At Nebraska Medical Center, Ashoka Mukpo, 33, has received the experimental drug Brincidofovir and a blood transfusion from Dr. Kent Brantly, who earlier recovered from a bout with Ebola at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. Brantly also contracted the disease in Liberia.

Mukpo "is eating some solid food now, so we're still headed in the right direction," said Dr. Phil Smith, director of the biocontainment unit at Nebraska Medical Center.

The NBC News crew had agreed with health officials to stay in their homes after returning to the United States but then failed to do so, Donna Leusner, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Health, said in a statement.

The mandatory quarantine will ensure the group remains confined until Oct. 22, the end of a 21-day maximum incubation period for Ebola, Leusner said.

"The NBC crew remains symptom-free, so there is no reason for concern of exposure to the community," she said.

NBC News has reported that the crew that worked with Mukpo included its medical correspondent Dr. Nancy Snyderman.

NABJ Blasts CNN

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The National Association of Black Journalist has issued a statement this week condemning the treatment of black employees at CNN.

The NABJ cites examples in Suzanne Malveaux, T.J. Holmes and Soledad O’Brien, who have all left or been forced to leave their anchor posts in the past few years. They say there are only two black executive producers at the network.

Last week, Stanley Wilson, a 51-year-old writer/producer filed a $5 million lawsuit in Los Angeles County against the network for race and age discrimination after he was fired in January. He worked at CNN for 17 years. He was promoted one time despite applying for numerous positions.

The NABJ gave CNN it’s “best practices” award in 2007.

So what has happened in the last seven years?

“Since that time, we have seen a number of African Americans leave CNN,” said NABJ President Bob Butler. “I know CNN is going through layoffs, but the departure of so many African Americans is worrisome.

CNN refused to comment on this to NABJ.

H/T Daily Caller 

MSNBC Ratings are Leaning Downward

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While Jeff Zucker has mainly given up on news at CNN, viewers have pretty much given up on left leaning MSNBC.

How bad is it? MSNBC's Rachel Maddow  posted her lowest quarterly ratings results ever.

“Morning Joe,” MSNBC’s signature morning program, scored its second-lowest quarterly ratings, reaching an average of just 87,000 viewers in the key news demographic group.

And “Ronan Farrow Daily,” has been a flop since it hit the air.

Yet, amazingly MSNBC boss Phil Griffin still has a job. 

Griffin has acknowledged that his network had been struggling (hello Captain Obvious) but points out that so has everyone else.

“This has been a tough year all around,” he said. “All three cable news channels are drawing a smaller combined audience than they were five years ago.”

He also emphasized that despite the plunge that caused it to trail CNN in the last quarter, the network remained ahead of CNN for the full year.

Griffin says you can blame politicians for his network's low ratings. “You can look at the dysfunction in Washington, the wariness about politics, the low approval ratings,” he said. “That’s had an impact. But we’ve got to adjust; we’ve got to evolve.”

Which begs the question, if the politicians are the problem and everyone hates them, why do cable networks continues to hire former politicians to host shows and be contributors?

Just asking....

H/T NY Times

Another DC News Director OUT!

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Word out of the Nation's capital is that WUSA-TV ND Fred D'Ambrosi is out. He came to WUSA in 2009 from KFMB in San Diego. He had been with them for 12 years before DC. Gannett has been making some big changes at its stations and this is the latest.

No matter who gets the gig, having corporate looking over your shoulder all the time should garner hazard pay.

Stay tuned for more details.

Texas Station Hires Sports Anchor

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KWTX (Waco) announced Ed Sorensen will join the station as evening Sports Anchor.

Sorensen will anchor sports weeknights on KWTX­, starting Monday, October 13.

“This region has been a hotbed for sports, Baylor’s recent athletics success, UT rebuilding just down the road and Aggies exceeding expectations,” said KWTX Media Vice­President and General Manager Mike Wright. “Add over 80 local high schools and professional teams within driving distance, and it creates almost a perfect storm for a pro like Ed Sorensen.”

Sorensen brings more than 25 years of sports broadcasting experience to KWTX, including 18 years as sports director at WRTV­ in Indianapolis, Indiana before leaving to become a stay­at­home father.

“You talk about a jarring lifestyle change, going from the local television sports guy to being trapped in an apartment with a screaming infant all day,” Sorensen said. “While that was the best job I’ve ever had, I cannot wait to begin covering sports once again.”

“Adding Ed Sorensen to the area’s most trusted anchor team gives viewers in Central Texas one more reason to make KWTX News 10 their source for local news,” said Mikel Lauber, KWTX News Director. “Ed delivers sports in a way that makes it just as interesting and relevant to the non­sports fan as it is to the die­hards. We couldn’t be more excited to have him on our team.

Camera Found in Huntsville Station's Bathroom

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Cops say they have found a camera in the bathroom at WHNT in Huntsville and it wasn't put there so Anchors could do news updates while sitting on the can.

The State Bureau of Investigation arrested sicko Jeremy Joseph Nelson and charged him with four counts of production of child pornography.

WAFF reports that the arrest stemmed from an investigation by ICE Homeland Security when they received a tip through their Cyber Crimes Center about Internet-based criminal activity in Huntsville. Cops busted Nelson for child pornography and also leaned that he placed a hidden camera at the Tribune owned station. 

The camera was found, removed, and sent to HSI's computer forensics laboratory for analysis. 

Nelson worked for Sanitary Systems, a janitorial service business that did work at WHNT. 

WHNT GM Stan Pylant released the following statement:

“Yesterday, the management of WHNT-TV was informed by law enforcement authorities that a man arrested that afternoon told them he had placed a video camera inside one of the restrooms at WHNT-TV. The man now in custody was an employee of an outside cleaning service utilized by the TV station, and said he placed the camera in the restroom while performing his duties for the cleaning service. During their visit to the station yesterday, authorities recovered a video camera from the restroom. No other hidden recording devices were found anywhere at the station. We are cooperating fully with the ongoing investigation into this incident.

The man arrested, Jeremy Nelson, has been charged with four counts of production of child pornography.

Our employees have been fully informed of the situation and we will continue to keep them informed about the progress of the investigation. We are also offering professional counseling and other support services to WHNT-TV employees. We have terminated our relationship with the cleaning service that employed the man in custody. Our concern now is for the well-being of our employees and the protection of their privacy. We would ask you to please respect their privacy, as well.”