Anchor Said He was Fired Over Skype

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Well, we have learned that Skype can used for something besides sending naked video back and forth.

Who knew?

One TV station used it to fire their Sports Anchor. KNOP in North Platte sacked longtime Sports Anchor Joe Swift and they did it over the Internet. 

Swift says he was fired because he went on air and said goodbye to two co-workers that were leaving the station.

It seems the Gray owned station did not like Swift's goodbye and swiftly (you see what I did there?) canned him. 

“I was never told I couldn’t say goodbye to them,” Swift said. “We’ve been bidding farewell to outgoing employees and wishing them luck in their new endeavors as long as I can remember. We said goodbye to a cameramen who had only been there a month. It was just something we did.”

At first he was suspended for his on air comments, but told he would still have to produce the sportscasts. 

Last week, Swift arrived at work with a suit — prepared for the suspension to be over and to resume on-air duties. Two hours into his shift, he was told to visit with Stephanie Hedrick, ND at sister station in Lincoln via Skype.

That’s when he was terminated.

“They fired me over the Internet on my wife’s birthday,” Swift said. “I got to call her and say, ‘Happy birthday. I’m fired.’”

H/T NPTelegraph.com

Only Geraldo would Tweet a Selfie from a Car Crash

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Geraldo Rivera's wife and daughter got into an accident over the weekend and it gave Geraldo another chance to take a selfie. Because only Geraldo would take a selfie at a car crash. 

Rivera's wife Erica and daughter Sol were involved in a fender bender:

Not sure why Geraldo has to point out that the driver was from out of state, but we're betting he was also wearing a hoodie.

Geraldo then tweeted a selfie of himself with the cops that responded to the crash. Lucky for everyone, Geraldo put his clothes on before doing so.

The Corn Desk

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First we had the ice desk, which was followed by the sand desk and now it's the corn desk.

There just about isn't anything that WRAL in Raleigh won't try to make an anchor desk out of. 

Newscast Studio points out that the desk includes a mix of multicolored corns that are stacked and layered in a variety of methods to create horizontal and vertical banding.

Behind the station’s (non-corn) number and call signs are blue ears of corn.

CNN Cuts off NABJ's Funding

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A week ago, FTVLive told you that the National Association of Black Journalist has issued a statement this week condemning the treatment of black employees at CNN.

“I know CNN is going through layoffs, but the departure of so many African Americans is worrisome," said NABJ President Bob Butler.

CNN refused to comment about NABJ's claims, but they did do something else.

The cable news network withdrew their financial support of the NABJ's 2015 Convention and Career Fair.

Butler told NABJ's Board of Directors that their request to CNN for support was denied.

Ouch!

Like We Said....

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Back in June, FTVLive told you that layoffs were going to go down a CNN NewsSource. The company denied our report.

We said, "Newsource currently has 7 managers and at least some of those will be let go in the cuts."

Sources tell FTVLive that last week CNN Newsource laid off two managers. One who oversaw the production unit, the other who oversaw the wire service. 

Not to say we told you so, but..... 
 

The Company Man

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You know all those reports that CNN has been laying off people, some that have worked at the network for decades?

Well, those reports are wrong.

CNN isn't going through layoffs, the company is just "reshaping."

It least that is according to CNN's Brian Stelter.

Stelter took to his show, Reliable Sources to set everyone straight on the CNN cuts. "Now, there is some overall shrinking going on. But the better word for what’s happening in media today is reshaping,” Stelter said on his show.

It should come as no surprise that Stelter helped tow the company line.

Last month, Stelter said claimed that Fareed Zakaria's plagiarism were some "attribution mistakes."

WTF?!

Stelter is busy this morning wiping the brown stuff off his nose. 

Pumpkin Fest Organizer Tries to Censor Live News Report

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Jared Goodell is a Reporter for a local public access station in Keene.

The Pumpkin Fest turned from a festival to a riot and when Goodell tried to report that news,  Pumpkin Fest organizer Ruth Sterling did the best she could to censor Goodell's report and threatens to pull the plug on him.

It might be some of the best public access TV watching you have seen:

http://freekeene.com/2014/10/19/pumpkin-fest-organizer-assaults-threatens-to-censor-local-newsman/ Jared Goodell is a Keene native and local independent journalist. Yesterday he was the host for EIGHT hours during Pumpkin Fest 2014 on Cheshire TV, the local public access channel. Jared also put thousands of dollars of his own money into producing the all-day event coverage.

F Her Right in the P

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The act of yelling "Fuck her right in the pussy" is now THE thing to do when you see a live TV camera.

WHDH  (Boston) Reporter Kelli O'Hara and a WHDH Photographer were hit with tear gas after a riot broke out at the pumpkin festival in Keene, NH.

Then, during her live hit, O'Hara became the latest victim of the "F her right in the P" prank that reporters have been plagued with lately.

Let's go to the video:

WHDH 7 News reporter Kelli O'Hara was reporting live from Keene State College in Keene, NH on a riot that broke out at the annual Pumpkin Festival. (To watch riot coverage clips, go here: http://youtu.be/de7MbIbCsO0) In addition to getting hit with tear gas earlier, her day got even better when she was hit with the "Fuck her right in the pussy" prank on live television.

Falling into New Jobs

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Adams Broadcast Consulting has clients moving into new jobs as the Fall TV season hits full swing. They are happy to report the following client news:

Katie Kim jumps 44 markets to join WMAQ-TV in Chicago as a reporter from KRQE-TV in Albuquerque where she was an investigative reporter.

Chris McKinnon returns home to Boston as a freelance reporter for WBZ-TV from KWTV in Oklahoma City where he was a staff reporter.

Lauren Seaver joins KSBW-TV in Salinas as a weekend anchor.

Alex Weishaupt joins WCBD-TV in Charleston, South Carolina as an MMJ.  Prior to that she was an MMJ for Time Warner Cable News in Albany.

Ophelia Young jumps 82 markets joining KVVU-TV in Las Vegas as a weekend weathercaster/MMJ from KEYT in Santa Barbara where she was an MMJ.

Katie, Chris, Lauren, Alex and Ophelia are represented by Dana Adams.  Adams Broadcast Consulting is a full service boutique agency.  Visit ABC on the web at www.adamsconsulting.tv.

Another Reason to Hate Nielsen

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There very smug and monopoly company Nielsen can't even issue an apology without  acting like an idiot.

Nielsen is catching flack for miscounting the TV viewers and giving more viewers to ABC.

The company blamed a "glitch" which has been giving ABC an unfair advantage since March. 

So, you would think the company would give all the networks refunds on their money spent and be very humble in their apology.

If that is what you expected, you don't know Nielsen.

The NY Daily News reports that while Nielsen was conducting a conference call with reporters to explain how badly things got fouled up, a red-faced Nielsen executive took the time to slam Rentrak. That’s a far smaller competitor that has been making serious inroads on Nielsen’s turf.

Rentrak never lets “the facts get in the way of a good press release,” Nielsen’s global president Steve Hasker says.

So much for contrition.

Dog Gone Weather

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Here's more proof that no one listens to the Weatherman.

Global Edmonton's Mike Sobel attempts to give the weather forecast while Ripple the dog - from the Edmonton Humane Society, could care less and rather play. 

Let's go to the video:

Wed, Oct 15 - Global Edmonton's Mike Sobel attempts to give the weather forecast while Ripple the dog - from the Edmonton Humane Society - just wants to play. For more info, please go to http://www.globalnews.ca

Fargo Sports Director Faces Felony Charges

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Look for a job opening at one Fargo station very soon. 

KVRR Sports Director Jim Nelson was busted aggravated assault charge for allegedly punching a man in the face, breaking his nose.

Nelson previously pleaded guilty to obstructing police when they responded to a report of an assault the morning of Aug. 24 and was suspended from KVRR the following week.

On Wednesday, prosecutors filed an additional charge against Nelson of felony aggravated assault, accusing him of punching a partygoer at an apartment at 47th Street South that morning.

Jesse Cloos, who was invited to the party, got into a verbal argument with other partygoers and was punched several times in the face, court documents filed in Cass County District Court allege.

Two Fargo police officers responded at about 5 a.m. and found Cloos in a nearby parking lot unable to identify who punched him except that he was “a very large white male,” documents say. When one officer went to the apartment, Nelson obstructed the investigation and was arrested, police have said.

Nelson was later identified as the person who punched Cloos, who suffered a fractured or broken nose, documents say.

H/T InForum

Tribune's Seattle Station Re-ups with Fox

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There was speculation on other TV websites (not FTVLive) that Fox was going to drop their affiliation agreement with Tribune owned KCPQ.

While others were reporting the story, sources were telling FTVLive it was not going to happen.

And our sources were dead on. 

Today, Tribune Media Company and Fox announced they have reached agreement on a new multi-year extension for KCPQ.

Tribune will continue its FOX affiliation with KCPQ-TV in Seattle through July 2018, which is concurrent with the timing of seven other Tribune Broadcasting FOX affiliation agreements.  A

s part of the agreement, FOX has withdrawn its previously delivered termination notice and has agreed that the affiliation will no longer be subject to early termination prior to July 2018.  

"We are pleased to have secured a multi-year agreement with FOX to extend our affiliation with KCPQ-TV in Seattle through July 2018," said Peter Liguori, President and Chief Executive Officer, Tribune Media.  "Tribune is not only FOX's largest local affiliate group, but also has a far-reaching business partnership with FOX on nearly 20 syndicated programs as well as Salem, a WGN America original series.  Today's agreement illustrates the value both parties place on resolving issues on mutually satisfactory and beneficial terms."

"KCPQ is an outstanding station driven by the high-quality local news, entertainment and sports programming offered by the station and its continued affiliation with FOX," said Larry Wert, president of Tribune Broadcasting. "This extension serves the community of Seattle, and reinforces the vibrancy of our station group."

Backing Up Peacock

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The ratings news at NBC is going from bad to worse. So, is NBC News boss Deborah Turness going to get whacked?

The Today Show and Meet The Press and Sunday news have over the last few years lost their No. 1 ratings spots — and now what was the last remaining ratings champ, “Nightly News with Brian Williams,” is showing a serious fissure.

For the first time in five years, “Nightly News” lost in all demographics to ABC’s “World News with David Muir,”according to Nielsen numbers for the latest week.

In September, “World News” attracted 2.2 million viewers, compared with 1.9 million for “Nightly,” in the 25- to 54-year-old demographic advertisers care about.

Over the 12 months ended Sept. 30, “World News” saw ratings in that key demo jump 16 percent while “Nightly News” ratings tumbled 18 percent.

The slide is turning up the heat on NBC News boss Deborah Turness, who has been on the hot seat since her arrival in August 2013. NBC News Chairwoman Patricia Fili-Krushel drafted the 47-year-old British import to lead the news division in a more profitable direction.

While NBC critics are wondering whether Turness’ days are numbered, sources close to NBC News say she has the support of her bosses and that the network is sticking to its quality mandate.

Despite its ratings decline, “Today” is expected to bring in record profits this year. The profits, sources said, are, in part, the result of Turness’ embrace of sponsored segments.

And let's be honest, the networks care a lot more about profits, than they do ratings. 

H/T NY Post