What The Hell is He Doing There?

When NBC hosted the tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center, the network worried about protestors that were mad about the grand jury decision not to charge a NY Police Officer in the death of Eric Garner. 

Security was tight all around 30 Rock.

But, in the end, NBC got photobombed by one of their own.

Sources tell FTVLive that during the live tree lighting, NBC's head of broadcast operations, John Wallace somehow weaseled his way onto the podium and was front and center when they flipped the switch to light the tree. 

Wallace got himself between Matt Lauer, Al Roker, Savannah Guthrie and the other stars to basically photobomb the tree lighting. 

Tongues  are wagging at 30 Rock, wondering what the hell?

MSNBC's Rev. Al Not Done Seeking the Limelight

It appears that MSNBC's Rev. Al Sharpton is not done seeking the limelight and trying to get his face on camera.

Calling state grand jury systems broken, Sharpton announced a national march on Washington next weekend to protest the lack of indictments against cops in New York City and Ferguson.

While he's in Washington, maybe he can stop by the Treasury Department and pay the millions he owes in back taxes.

Just saying.... 

Chicago Station Hires Fired Weather Channel EP

Back in October, FTVLive told you that The Weather Channel has parted ways with Scott Warren Senior EP of AMHQ.

AMHQ with Sam Champion has been a ratings flop and Warren was shown the door.

Well, now Warren is headed to local news and the ratings aren't any better. WFLD in Chicago announced that they have hired Warren as the Executive Producer of their 9PM newscast.

The newscast is in dead last in the ratings, so for Warren it will be familiar territory.

Then again, I'm not sure Jim Cantore, The American Bald Ego himself could help the Fox O&O. 

Warren starts at the station in a couple of weeks. 

Forget the News...Peter Pan is on

It was a busy news day in Minneapolis yesterday.

There were protests across the Twin Cites, one of which shutdown part of I-35 for a couple hours.

There was also  a controversial high school league meeting about transgender athletes.

KARE 11 tweeted a couple of times about these big stories, but the station seemed much more into Peter Pan which was airing on their station.

In fact, news took a back seat to Peter and the live production. 

And while we're sure no one will admit to it, we're betting that some sort of mandate was emailed out, asking station employees to tweet about the show as well. Watching the Twitter stream, you could see KARE Anchors, Reporters, Producers and even Sports people tweeting about the show. 

A final Tweet asked viewers what play they would like to see next. Like KARE has any say in that matter? 

We can understand promotion, but it just seemed like a lot of effort for a show that KARE really had nothing to do with.

Just saying...

That Guy Really Looks Familiar

WDKY in Lexington ran a story about a couple of escaped inmates. Take a look at the video and tell me that second inmate doesn't look exactly like John Wayne?

Plus with that eye patch on, he shouldn't be too hard to find.

Kentucky cops searching for fugitive John Wayne.

Albany Station Names New News Director

WRGB (Albany,NY) has named Stephan Richards as the station's new News Director.

Richards most recently held the position of news director at WHEC in Rochester, NY and according to the WRGB website, Richards starts next week. 

 "I'm honored to join the CBS 6 news team. The station has a long and rich history of serving the upstate New York communities.  I am eager to continue such excellence in reporting the news to viewers in the Capital Region”, Richards stated today.

“We are fortunate to have a person of Steve’s professionalism and range of experience joining our management team” said WRBG GM Vincent Nelson. “I am confident that Steve will be a solid leader and coach for our news team, and I look forward to working with him as we continue to grow our audience across all screens, and build the news station of the future here at CBS 6.” 

KSTP Owner Stands by Station's Racist Report

Back during November ratings, last place KSTP tried to drum up some ratings by claiming that the Minneapolis Mayor was throwing down gang signs in a picture. 

The story didn't go over too well and the station was called out for their racist report.

But, instead of backing off, the station doubled down and continued to try and justify what can only be called their awful reporting.

Now, KSTP owner Stanley Hubbard is taking it up a notch and standing by his low rated station. 

Hubbard penned a five-page letter defending his station's reporting of the story. 

The Minnesota Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (MNSPJ) said the news report, dubbed #pointergate on Twitter and mocked nationwide, was deeply flawed and called for the station to apologize to the Mayor. 

Hubbard responded with the rebuttal letter in which he said MNSPJ should have investigated the situation more thoroughly before criticizing the news station.

"We do not make editorial decisions based upon popular opinion, Twitter trends or potential social media backlash. We recognize our obligation to our community to report the news responsibly, and that's what we did," Hubbard wrote.

Hubbard took up 5 pages to basically say that he stands by the station's story and that everyone on the Internet are idiots. 

H/T Minneapolis Business Journal 

Anchor Waits Until After the Book to Announce he Had Cancer

Big props to WVIT (Hartford) Anchor Gerry Brooks.

Gerry has undergone surgery for Prostate cancer, it was something he knew he has had for quite a while and easily could have brought up during the November book (which is the time most Anchors announce they have cancer).

But in a Facebook post, Brooks said, "I didn't want to play this for ratings points in November."

Which means Gerry is a very reputable guy, or he reads a lot of FTVLive.com. We're going to go with both on that.

Here's his Facebook post:

Hanging it Up in Roanoke

Longtime WSLS Anchor Karen McNew is leaving TV News for....yep you guessed it....PR.

McNew spent over 16 years at the station, is leaving for for a communications position with a local clinic.

She posted the news to her Facebook page:

“I have accepted the position of Senior Communications Consultant for Carilion Clinic. I have enjoyed my 16 1/2 years with WSLS 10. However, I am thrilled to be part of the Carilion Clinic mission of health and wellness through quality patient care and community programs!

She starts her new gig January 5th. 

Anchor to Ring Bell for 24 Hours

Sweeps might be over, but the stunts just keep on coming. 

WQAD (Quad Cities) Anchor Jason Fechner started ringing a bell for the Salvation Army at 6AM this morning, he won't stop until 6AM tomorrow.

Fechner is used to doing marathon sessions, he kayaked for 12 straight hours for cancer research. He has run hundreds of miles for local causes, danced and sang for cures, and waited tables for nearly every nonprofit on the local map.  

Now he'll ring the bell.

"I did some Salvation Army bell-ringing recently for one hour, and the lady I relieved at 11 a.m., was still out there ringing when I drove past the store at 7 p.m.,'' said Fechner. "I thought about the commitment she was making and the hours she was out there and thought about ringing 12 hours. I had already kayaked 12 hours, which was hard by the way. The next logical step was 24 hours.''

Logical?

Ummmm ok?

H/T QCOnline

Sin City Station Hires New News Director

Back on November 21st, FTVLive FIRST told you that KSNV News Director Craig Hume was leaving the station.

Now, we can tell you that Hume's position is being filled with Mark Neerman. 

This will be Neerman's second stint in Sin City, he was previously the ND at KVVU.

"I left WHAS to launch the start-up indarramedia.com. To the surprise of no one who knows me, I missed news. I couldn’t have been more impressed with Sinclair’s plans for the future," Neerman tells FTVLive.

I could make a comment about that quote, but hey, the guy hasn't even started the job yet.

So we'll let this one slide by...this time. 

Jeff Zucker Wants Robin Meade in New York

Yesterday, HLN in Atlanta had an all hand on deck meeting that was headed by Albie Hecht, but the real big guy, Jeff Zucker was there as well.

The two tried to explain to the staff that HLN is not for sale. Although, HLN was this/close to being sold to Vice Media earlier this year.

According to insiders, most of the meeting was bullshit, with a bunch of stuff said that "no one believes."

Zucker did a Q&A with staffers for about 45 minutes and pointed out the fact that HLN's Morning Express does better than New Day, with a lot less resources.

According to CNN Commentary, Zucker then said, “There’s nobody better in morning TV than Robin Meade.” Not sure how the Anchors at New Day are going to take that statement?

What wasn't said in the meeting and has not been talked about is that Jeff Zucker has offered Robin Meade basically a blank check to come to New York.

Sources say that Zucker wants Meade to join New Day and save the show from failure. Before CNN revamped the morning show, FTVLive suggested to Zucker that he should move Meade over to CNN. Now, it appears that Jeff Zucker is realizing that our suggestion was a good one. 

The problem is that Meade does not want to move from Atlanta and she has firmly planted her heals in the A-T-L.

Her singing career has taken off and to be honest, Meade could leave TV news altogether and be fine. Next week, Meade is being showcased a Vegas casino for 10 days. 

That has not stopped Zucker from doing all he can to bring Meade to the Big Apple.

Stay tuned.... 

Protestors Try to Disrupt Rockefeller Tree Lighting

There were plenty of worried faces inside 30 Rock yesterday evening.

When word came down that a grand jury had failed to indict the police officer that killed Eric Garner by using a choke hold, protests started springing up all over New York City.

From Grand Central Station to the Brooklyn Bridge, protestors were making their voice heard and they had also set their sights on NBC's Christmas Tree lighting that was to be broadcast live. 

"We need to bring awareness to the injustice of what's going on in America," said Bronx resident Celeste Valentine. "You can't go on lighting a tree like that's OK, like everything's OK." 

Young children and families gathered at Rockefeller Center for the tree lighting as protestors shouted "Fuck your tree!" nearby.  Police in their protective gear blanketed the area along with protestors.

But, the show went on with few problems and the suits at NBC were able to breathe a huge sigh of relief. 

Merry Christmas! 

Couple Mocks Choking Death Behind Live Shot

WPIX Reporter Allison Kaden was doing a report from the Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting and about the protests.

A couple got in the shot behind Kaden and mocked the death of Eric Garner's by jokingly miming a chokehold behind the Reporter. 

Let's go to the video: 

At least no one yelled "fuck her right in the pussy."

Just saying... 

BriWi Loses Top Billing Williams Tonight

Brian Williams will not be the top Williams at NBC tonight and we're betting that he is just fine with that.

Tonight, daughter Allison Williams, the 26-year-old daughter of the NBC Nightly News Anchor plays the title role in Peter Pan.

The popular play will be broadcast live on NBC and Allison is the star. Williams will play Peter, the motherless boy who refuses to grow up, with a British accent.

Williams, heretofore best known as Marnie Michaels on HBO’s "Girls," is a Yale grad and a classically trained singer.

Break a leg Allison!

Pushed Out in Tampa?

Longtime Tampa Weather Anchor Wayne Shattuck is leaving WFTS.

The word is that Shattuck is "retiring" at the end of the year from the station but, sources say that   Shattuck did not have his contract renewed and is being pushed out. 

WFTS is not talking, however, a meteorologist position has been posted on the company's website. 

Shattuck was one of the original anchors who came to WFTS as the station was creating a new news department in December of 1994 and has remained with the station since. He was originally chief meteorologist, but was bumped to the morning show, in favor of fellow meteorologist Denis Phillips.

Now, it appears he's being bumped again...this time out the door. 

Stay tuned....

H/T Florida News Center