News Director, Deuce Blown Out in Tampa

WFTS News Director Bill McFarland and Assistant News Director Michele Murray were both canned at the Scripps Tampa station. 

In a memo the staff WFTS General Manager Nick Nicholson said that McFarland and Murray "were no longer with the television station. We wish them the best in their future endeavors."

Sources tell FTVLive that KSHB (Kansas City) Assistant News Director Matt Brown  is being brought in to act as interim News Director while station searches for replacement.

Sources tell FTVLive that the firings come after both McFarland and Murray voiced displeasure as to the way Reporter Cameron Polom handled the story when he found a missing child.

Polom found a 10 year old boy, who had been reported missing by his family. Polom returned the boy to his home, but not much of the reunion was caught on camera and Polom was not featured in the reunion.

Sources say that McFarland and Murray thought that Polom should have been more involved in the story and should have played up the station finding the boy more. Insiders say that staffers complained to upper management about how McFarland and Murray handled the situation and the station promised to investigate.

They did and now both are gone. 

NY Reporter Says School Kids Bullied Her After Report

WABC (New York) Reporter Kristin Thorne says she was bullied on social media by Sachem East High School  students as she was reporting on a senior class scavenger hunt.

The scavenger hunt includes stealing a street sign and hooking up with a freshman has caused a bit of controversy and Throne covered the story. After words the students took to social media to blast her for the report. 

“Today I got a very good taste of what it’s like to be bullied in high school via social media and do I feel bad for kids,” Throne wrote on Facebook page. “A bunch of students at Sachem East High School were not too happy with my story. The things they’ve written about me on Twitter are disgusting.”

“DM me nudes and I’ll tell you everything,” one student wrote on Twitter. 

“Thank goodness I’m older and wiser and can laugh at it but it makes you think if they have no respect for people older than them what they treat their peers like,” Thorne wrote on Facebook. “So much for all this anti-bullying stuff. It’s a scary world and I’m sad that my kids have to live in it.”

Several members of the Sachem community, however, took issue with Thorne contacting students via Twitter.

“I saw her tweeting at children, following them on Twitter then asking for them to follow her back so she can message them privately,” Sachem North teacher Jonathan Chiaramonte commented on Thorne’s Facebook post. “That is highly inappropriate.”

H/T Patch.com

Chuck Scarborough's Farts Change People's Careers

WNBC (New York) Anchor Chuck Scarborough was honored at the Library of American Broadcasting’s “Giants” awards and he put on quite a show. 

“I’m honored to be among all you giants,” Scarborough quipped, “and I can tell you that my wife Ellen is pleased, too, that some attribute of mine has the word ‘giant’ associated with it.”

He also shared a smelly tale about once working with Judy Woodruff in Atlanta years ago, when, “I had, shall we say . . . gastrointestinal problems. To relieve my dilemma, I looked around the empty newsroom and let one go . . . worthy of a Roseanne Barreruption.” But, “I hadn’t noticed Judy had slipped quietly into the anchor chair behind me. She was paralyzed! I think the very next day she left the station and came up to New York. So I definitely had an impact on her career.”

H/T Page Six

Big Props to CBS on Streaming Service Offer

FTVLive wants to send big props to CBS and their unveiling of their new streaming service they will be offering.

The network launching a stand-alone digital streaming service for $5.99 a month that will offer subscribers access to its current and older shows.

The service will also let users to stream the CBS O&O's. Which means you can watch the CBS O&O's newscast outside of the market. That alone makes it worth the $6 a month. 

"With video consumption habits changing all the time, it is very important that we continue to provide the best local news, entertainment and sports via a service like CBS All Access," said Peter Dunn, president of CBS Television Stations. "Television stations have been the fabric of local broadcasting for 75 years, and today's announcement is part of paving the way for the next 75."

This news comes the same week that HBO said it plans to offer a streaming-only service next year.

This is awesome news to cord cutters and those sick of paying high cable bills. 

It's Only Dirty if You Think it is

The other day, FTVLive posted a video showing that for some reason TV weather people like to draw penises on the screen.

WGN's Paul Conrad shows that it is not just penises that make it on the air:

Paul Konrad and the WGN Morning News gang showcase some dirty weather maps.

Connecticut Weatherman Signs Off

After 25 years at News 12 Connecticut, Weather Anchor Paul Piorek signed off this morning.

Piorek joined the station in 1989 and began his weather career in 1986 as assistant at the Western Connecticut State University weather center in Danbury.

He provided on-air weather forecasts for a number of local and national commercial radio stations. That led to his position at News 12 Connecticut three years later. In addition.

He posted this to his Facebook page this morning:

Houston Weather Anchor is LA Bound

KPRC Anthony Yanez is headed out of Houtson for LA LA land.

The longtime Houston morning meteorologist is becoming the noon and 5pm meteorologist at KNBC in Los Angeles. 

Yanez will stay at KPRC until early next year, before heading off to the NBC O&O. 

"It's bitter sweet, all my kids were born here in Houston," Yanez told mikemcguff.com. "But you get this opportunity and grab it."

Before Houston, Yanez worked for KRQE 13/KASA FOX 2 Albuquerque, NM where he is originally from.

Like We Said....

Back on October 3rd, FTVLive reported that WFLD (Chicago) Sports Anchor Dionne Miller has left the station and was headed across the street to WLS. 

We wrote. "The ABC O&O is not commenting, nor is her agent Matthew Kingsley, but our Chicago source says it's a done deal."

Well, the ABC O&O made it official yesterday, they confirmed that Miller is indeed going to be the Weekend Sports Anchor at the station. 

She is the first female to work on the WLS’s sports staff.

Watch Out!

The crew at WXMI (Grand Rapids) pulled a fast one on Morning Meteorologist Kelly Smith.

Smith let he co-workers know that she is scared of spiders. She found out that was not some information she should have shared.

Let's go to the video:

Local news can be fun sometimes. Sometimes it can be scary. This week a local Michigan station combined both of those things for an amazing prank they pulled on meteorologist Kelly Smith. See, Smith has a fear of spiders. And yesterday was National Face Your Fears Day. Take a guess what happened.

KMBC Gets Hit with a F Her Right in the P

Remember the good old days when people yelled "Hi Mom!" into the camera. Then it became "Baba boooooey."

Now it is the R rated, "Fuck Her Right in the Pussy" and it happened to KMBC while covering the Kansas City Royals win.

Here's the video, click the sound icon in the lower right corner to hear audio: 

This is CNN....

While cable news is doing their best to panic the viewers with ebola stories, the CNN anchors seem to be getting a good laugh from the ebola story.

CNN senior producer John Griffin tweeted out a photo of New Day Anchors Chris Cuomo, Michaela Pereira, and Alisyn Camerota having a good laugh at the Ebola story. And really...what's more fun than ebola.

Not long after the picture was posted, it was then deleted.

It seems not everyone thought the joke was that funny.

Imagine that. 

H/T Inside Cable News

Hartford Station Makes History While Introducing New Anchor

WFSB in Hartford introduced their new news anchor and they just might have made history in doing so. 

Former Cleveland Anchor Mark Zinni anchored his first newscast for WSFB,  joining Denise D'Ascenzo on the 5:30PM newscast.

The station did an introductory story, welcoming Zinni to the station.

In the package, they talk about Zinni's work with charities and his love for animals. They also talk about Zinni moving to Hartford with his partner.

Yes, the station included the fact that Zinni is gay. Now, Zinni is by far and away not the only gay news anchor, but this maybe the first time that a station has ever mentioned the fact on air.

There are a number of openly gay News Anchors working across the country, but has a station ever made mention on the fact in a promo?

WFSB did not make a big deal about it in their story, is was mentioned in the same way they might say a new anchor has moved here with his wife.

But, we have to give WFSB props for stepping up and be straight up with viewers in regards their new anchor.

Here is what aired on the newscast:  

WFSB 3 Connecticut

Nancy Synderman Wanted Posters Go Up in New Jersey

Wanted posters are going up in NBC's Dr. Nancy Snyderman's hometown. 

Snyderman made news when she broke her voluntary quarantine by going out to a local restaurant. The New Jersey Health Department then ordered Synderman and her crew that accompanied her to Liberia to a mandatory quarantine.

At least one resident wants to make sure that NBC's Dr. does not leave her house. 

The person or group has put up effective wanted posters that reads in part: "SNYDERMAN PLACES OUR COMMUNITY AT RISK UNLESS SHE FOLLOWS THE ORDERS OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND OUR LOCAL AUTHORITIES."

The blurred portion of the image contains Snyderman's address and the names of her children.

H/T Gawker 

Columbus Station Trolling Facebook for Ebola Stories

WSYX in Columbus wants to add to the ebola fear and they are hoping that Facebook can help them out.

The station reached out on the social media site hoping find someone that was on the flight with Dallas nurse Amber Vinson.

The best part of the Facebook post are the comments. It seems many viewers have already grown tired of the media scare tactics surrounding their ebola smotherage.

You can see the full thread at this link. 

Seattle News Director Headed to Denver

KOMO News Director Holly Gauntt is leaving the station and headed to Denver. 

Gauntt will be the Vice President of News & Digital for KDVR/KWGN. Gauntt tells the KOMO staff in a memo that she wasn't looking for a new job and that the Denver gig "presented itself" (don't you love when that happens?).

She will stay at the Seattle station through the November book, before heading to Denver.

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

From: Holly Gauntt
Date: October 15, 2014 at 3:02:38 PM PDT
To: &Seattle-KOMO-News-All
Subject: Family

HI all,

We’ve all heard people say that when it’s all said and done they’ll want to be remembered for the kind of person they were and for the love they showed their family and friends. I have reached a crossroads in my life in which I need to choose family and home. So it is with a heavy heart that I leave KOMO and Seattle and return to my hometown of Denver. I wasn’t looking for a job but a fantastic one presented itself. I have accepted the position of Vice President of News & Digital for KDVR/KWGN in Denver. It’s a great station with a fantastic GM and staff.  While I’m sad to be leaving KOMO, I am excited about joining such a great operation.

We’ve been through so much in the last 8 years at KOMO. Ups and downs and way too much loss. But we’ve always weathered the storm together with great grace, compassion and professionalism.  Working at KOMO has been the best professional experience of my 31 year career. You have no idea how much I will miss you, the people here in every single department. I’ve said it many times since I’ve been here, it’s been like Camelot.  

Sinclair has been extremely supportive of me over the past year and I am very, very grateful. They understand the need to make family and home a priority. Also, keep in mind that they’ve given us a lot at KOMO and will continue to. Scott and his team will do everything in their power to support KOMO and help the station grow. They really like us guys!  

We’ve been hitting on all cylinders and making great strides. All of the departments work so well together. I know that will continue long after I leave.

It’s in the DNA here. As you all know, Janene has spent her professional career at KOMO. She knows the kind of News Director that’s needed for this newsroom and you know she’ll make a great choice. Scott knows a lot of great news people in the business and will partner with Janene to find the perfect fit.  

I will stay at KOMO through the November book and leave soon after it’s over. In the interim, Sarah will take charge of the newsroom and I will start handing over the reigns.  We still have a very important book to get through so lets bring our “A” game and do what we’ve done a few times recently, end a major book #1 in all newscasts!

One final thought… my allegiance to my hometown team is a surprise to no one at KOMO!!! It never waivered, even in the face of adversity!

#SupportTheScrubs

It seems like the consultants at Gannett have been busy trying to get the #SupportTheScrubs hashtag trending on Twitter.

Talent from Gannett stations all over the country have been tweeting pictures of THEMSELVES (because, they may support the nurses, by really, It's all about them) holding up signs that say #SupportTheScrubs the scrubs. 

The message is that the TV talent is supporting the healthcare nurses around the country. 

Some would argue that it is a dangerous slope when you start showing your outward support for a job industry. Like what about the nurse that's in news for killing patients and then taking selfies with their dead bodies?

Do you #SupportThatScrub?

Just asking....