Calm Down Piers!

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Speaking of Piers Morgan....

The newspaper hack that so badly wants to be back on TV, will appear on the Rachel Ray show on Thursday. The show was pre-taped and it appears that Piers has his panties in a knot over the LeBron James touching Princess Kate. 

In a segment, Morgan was furious about James' gesture after the Cavaliers-Nets game Monday night. Prince William and his wife had attended the game.

"You do not put your arm around the future queen of England!" Morgan lectured. "You do not touch a member of the royal family unless they ask you to touch them or extend their hand. LeBron James, you may call yourself King James -- you are not a real king. Prince William is going to be my king, that was his wife -- hands off the duchess…. Do not touch the royals! They are immortal creatures. If they extend a hand, you gently touch it and say hello. You do not put your sweaty arm, after a game of basketball, around a member of the royal family."

It seems that Piers is more upset about this than Kate was.

Who's the diva now Piers?

H/T Orlando Sentinel 

CBS Bumps Up Kim Godwin

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Kim Godwin, who has worked in local newsrooms coast to coast, has been bumped up the food chain at CBS News. 

The network has named Godwin Senior Broadcast Producer of the CBS EVENING NEWS.

The appointment is effective immediately. In this role, Godwin will report to Steve Capus, Executive Producer of the CBS EVENING NEWS  and Executive Editor of CBS News.

“Kim is an accomplished executive and proven leader who has performed brilliantly at the CBS EVENING NEWS for seven years and has successfully run many newsrooms across the country,” Capus said. “Kim is principled, dedicated and respected. She has helped shape some of the most important broadcasts of the CBS EVENING NEWS. I am delighted to have her as a partner as we continue to evolve the broadcast.

“The CBS EVENING NEWS is my professional home. I am honored to work alongside Steve, Scott and the team of dedicated journalists who are focused on continuing to strengthen the broadcast,” Godwin said. “We have made enormous strides together, and I look forward to many more years of growth and achievement.”

CNN Heroes was a Villain in the Ratings

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On Sunday, after heavy promotion, CNN finally aired its annual 'CNN Heroes' special and it flopped in the ratings.

You would think that something the network puts so much time, money and promotion into would be a ratings hit.

But, according to Nielsen, Heroes  performed poorly in the ratings, especially the demos. It was up in the demos compared to the last Heroes that CNN aired, but down compared to CNN's regular programing. 

How bad was it?

The show didn't even beat a rerun of Huckabee and Hannity specials on Fox News.

The heavily promoted program delivered a mere 509,000 in total viewers with only 158,000 in the key 25-54 demo.  Compared to the timeslot in 2014, CNN’s demo viewership dropped double-digits- down 16% while FNC’s programming was up 34% in the same timeslot. 

 Ouch!

Here's your Chance to be Interviewed By Larry King

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Larry King was on CNN for like 135 years before being kicked to the curb and replaced by Piers Morgan, who only last like 10 minutes.

King interviewed thousands of people, but he never landed that one big interview. 

You! Yes....you.

This is your chance to sit down with the King and have him ask you some softball questions, just like he did all those years at CNN. 

If you're in Chicago, head over to the Museum of Broadcast Communications and get interviewed by Larry King.

It's really just a virtual interview and they edit it together to make it look real (well, to be honest, it doesn't even look very real). 

Now you can so the same thing in iMovie but then the Chicago Museum doesn't get to shake you down for a few bucks.

Maybe next year the museum will do the same thing with Piers Morgan. Maybe not....

Anyway, this is what your sit-down with Larry King will look like:

Uploaded by MBC CHICAGO on 2014-11-30.

This is Why you Might get Laid Off Next Year

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TV ad sales continue to drop like a rock and it doesn't look like it will be getting much better. 

TV sales chiefs hoping to rebound from a horrible 2014 see next year as looking even worse.

A host of forecasters, including typically bullish CBS, admit the US TV ad market saw tepid growth in 2014. Magna Global ad group suggests a decline in TV ad revenue in 2015.

“Our model shows that TV viewing has already dropped to 85 percent of total video viewing in the US.

Online streaming has reached a 15 percent market share, well above the 10 percent share often reported,” analyst Doug Mitchelson — who is busy this week interviewing media titans at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference — said in a report Monday.

Mitchelson is pencilling in video streaming to have a 35 percent share of the market by 2020.
Analysts note while odd-numbered years have typically lower ad revenue since they don’t have the Olympics and national elections to buoy them, 2015 has the lowest ad revenue outlook since the 2009 recession.

In 2014, TV stations netted $66.654 billion, a 4.8 percent uptick on 2013. That’s about half what forecasters suggested at the start of the year. Magna predicts there’ll be a fall of 1.4 percent to $65.706 billion next year before a rebound of 4.7 percent in 2016.

In other words, keep the resume up to date and your agent's phone number on speed dial. 

H/T NY Post

Another Out the Door at CNN

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It seems that there just about aren't any "old timers" left at CNN anymore. FTVLive told you last week that CNN original Candy Crowley was leaving the one time cable news network, now reality channel.

Now word comes that Parisa Khosravi, Senior Vice President for CNN Worldwide, in charge of Global Relations is hitting the bricks.

Khosravi, is the first ever CNN ambassador, responsible for leading CNN's key international editorial relationships, coverage and securing access for CNN journalists around the world. She believed in CNN Founder Ted Turner, but now she's ready to move on.

Here is the internal email she sent to her co-workers at CNN:

To my dear CNN family in every corner of the world, we have covered and made history together.  I will cherish it all.

I joined CNN because of Ted's commitment to international news and have had the honor of being part of helping build CNN to a global news power house.

The front row seat to every major news event for nearly three decades has been awesome and humbling.

I now want to change gears and go after some new opportunities and will be retiring from CNN in the weeks ahead.

My deepest appreciation to Ted Turner for creating our amazing CNN and allowing us, present and past CNNers to have such an incredible journey covering our world.

Wherever you are and whatever story you are covering, be safe!
Parisa

Notice she made no mention of Jeff Zucker in her goodbye memo. Sometimes it's words that are NOT written that tell you the story.

Just saying.... 

"I Can't Report!"

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Reporters covering "I can't Breathe!" protests are finding out they can't report. 

While protests continue to pop up around the country against the grand jury's decision not to indict the NY Police Officer that killed Eric Garner, the media is getting caught in the middle.

The Society of Professional Journalists says that at protests in Berkeley, CA, the police were hitting members of the media with batons. 

The SPJ wrote in a letter to Mayor Tom Bates and Police Chief Michael K. Meehan, saying that several journalists were struck with police batons during the unrest while clearly displaying press credentials and, in some cases, verbally identifying themselves as members of the media. In one instance, a photographer was allegedly hit on the head with a baton, which, according to the SPJ, "can constitute deadly force and is only justifiable under extremely limited circumstances."

"We are sure that you agree attacks on journalists are entirely unacceptable," the letter read. "Reporters are on scene to report the news as it happens. They are not participants in the protests. Under no circumstances should members of the press be subject to such gratuitous and potentially deadly police violence."

The organization said they condemned the actions of the officers in the "strongest terms possible," and urged Mayor Bates and Chief Meehan to make sure all police "respect the constitutional rights of the press."

H/T HuffPo 

Each Ad, Anchor seems less and less interested

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FTVLive has been telling you how each month WMTW (Maine) Morning Anchor Erin Ovalle keeps popping up in ads in Maine Magazine.

And while the station seems to have no problem with their News Anchor also appearing in ads, Ovalle seems to be less and less interested in each months ad.

This month, she just looks like she just wants to get the shoot over with ASAP. And while Erin seems bored, check out the guy in the photo with her. He's really not into it. 

Here's her ad for this month: 

Former Weather Channel Staffers Finding New Homes in Local News

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While The Weather Channel has been cutting staff and doing a lot less weather than when they started, former staffers are finding new gigs in local news.

Broadcasting and Cable writes that when Don Pratt, WCBD Charleston VP and general manager, was searching for a new news director, one candidate’s credentials stood out. Besides the more traditional station experience, including majormarket producing stints and an assistant news director post at WLOS Asheville, Brian Luhn had been a producer at The Weather Channel. In a coastal market prone to hurricanes and tornadoes, such experience was undeniably attractive.

“The No. 1 thing viewers want from their stations here is weather,” says Pratt. “Brian was out in the field; he knew and understood how to go about deploying crews successfully and safely. That was tremendously important.”

Luhn is one of a handful of Weather Channel alums who have landed in key management positions at TV stations of late. On November 10, Weather Channel VP of live programming Jennifer Rigby was named news director at WXIA-WATL Atlanta. In September, Jesse Hamilton shifted from executive producer of primetime at Weather to exec producer at WLS Chicago. Jennifer Graves, WLS VP and news director, called him a “whiz” at showcasing, breaking coverage and social media.

Going back further, Helen Swenson, former Weather Channel senior VP of live programming, moved to general manager at LIN Media’s WIAT Birmingham in late 2013 (FIRST reported by FTVLive).

The moves indicate the important role weather news continues to play for local TV viewers. While they can receive weather updates from any number of national outlets, a substantial number still prefers to get them from veteran meteorologists in their market. “It’s still the local station people who give you perspective that other people don’t, that your app doesn’t,” says Laura Clark, senior VP at consulting firm Frank N. Magid Associates. “There’s a lot of value in people who live in the community and know which way the weather goes.”

Des Moines Station Hires New Weather Anchor

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Speaking of weather....

Des Moines KCCI will have a new meteorologist beginning next month.

The station announced they have hired Meteorologist Jason Sydejko as the weekend evening and noon forecaster. 

"Jason is a strong meteorologist with a personality our viewers are going to enjoy getting to know," KCCI 8 News Director Dave Busiek said in the news release.

"Covering Iowa weather is the most important thing we do at KCCI," Busiek said.

So in other words, if you don't work in the weather department at KCCI, you ain't jack shit. 

Just saying....

That Was Quick

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Back in May, WZZM Anchor Derek Francis said he was leaving the business to go into PR.

Across the street, WXMI announced they hired a new news anchor and I'm betting you can all guess who it is?

Yep...Derek Francis.

Obviously Francis figured out that PR is just as boring as everyone says it is and is coming back to TV news. 

“I took a brief step away from the industry, by choice, and my time away gave me an even greater appreciation for it and FOX 17," Francis said. "This station is really making waves in the West Michigan market, and I’m thrilled to be a part of this team.”

"Given the fact that Derek has a history and a following in West Michigan with morning news viewers, his primary spot will be FOX 17 Morning News on the weekends," Blanton said. "But we also plan on Derek having a significant role anchoring FOX 17 Morning News during the week and FOX 17 News at 4, 5 and 6 p.m. as needed."

H/T The Grand Rapids Press 

When is a Chlorine Gas Attack Funny?

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There was  chlorine gas outbreak at a Furry convention that sent 19 to the hospital in Chicago. 

MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski had no clue what a "Furry" was (either did we)  and when she finds out, she loses it.

It was a bit awkward to say the least.

Let's All Watch Mika Brzezinski Learn What a Furry Is Some days, god's bounty is plentiful. Le context. Watch below, via MSNBC:

By the way, can someone at Fox News point Eric Bolling to Wikipedia? 

President Obama Does Colbert

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As Stephen Colbert gets ready to sign off from the Colbert Report and take over for David Letterman on CBS, he is pulling out the big guns.

Last night he pulled out the biggest gun of all:

Stephen Colbert brought his show to D.C. tonight, but it got hijacked by President Obama, who delivered his "DECREE" in place of Colbert's "WORD" segment. And just to give you some idea how it played out, Obama opened by saying, "I, Stephen Colbert, have never cared for our president."