Best and Worst of TV News 2014: TV Markets

The best and worst TV markets in 2014.

The Best:

Pittsburgh

OK first off, the weather isn't exactly great in Pittsburgh this time of year, but if you want competition, this is the market.

Pittsburgh is one of the most competitive markets in the country. Each station is within a few rating points of each other and the ratings leader often flip flops from book to book.

There is a lot of news in the Burgh and it is a sports town where the sportscasts actually matter and are not  throw away like in many other markets.

The Burgh is not the most exciting place to live, but with great history, awesome food and fanatical sports fans, you could do a lot worse.

The cost of living is reasonable and the stations are owned by CBS, Hearst and Cox, so you have strong TV groups fighting it out for number one. 

The Worst:

Toledo

Come on....it's Toledo.

If you don't work at WTVG then you are pretty much at a dog station in a dog market.

But you do have the Mud Hens. 

By the way, St. Louis came in a very close second. 

Next up best/worst station ownership group.

Best and Worst of TV News 2014: Station PR Person

I know you all know who is the worst when it comes to PR people at a TV station. To be honest, FTVLive doesn't not deal with many station's PR people. Let's face it most of them are going to lie or tell you half truths and they are all going to try and spin the story to their favor.

While other websites live and die by the press release, FTVLive likes to use our sources on the inside to get the real story. But, sometimes we have to deal with the PR folks and here is the best and the worst.

The Best:

Dana Klinghoffer - Fox News

There is no doubt that FTVLive is critical of Fox News, especially when it comes to their biggest on air idiot Howard Kurtz. But, no matter what we write about FNC, good or bad, Fox News PR person Dana Klinghoffer is always available to answer our questions.

Dana does her job well and gives us the facts we need without trying to spin the story so much. Yes, her job is to get good pub for Fox News, but she is fair with us every time we call. 

There is no doubt that Dana is not always happy with what FTVLive has to write about Fox News, but she stays professional and is a pleasure to deal with.

And really, that is all you can ask for.

The Worst: 

Terri Hernandez Rosales - KNBC

Back in October of 2013, Terri Hernandez Rosales promised to callback FTVLive in just 2 minutes. Here we are over a year later and we have yet to receive that call.

Unprofessional is all we can say.

Next hour we tell you the best and worst TV markets to work in. 

Best and Worst of TV News 2014: News Director

It's time to see who is the Best and Worst in 2014 as TV News Director.

The Best:

Patti Dennis - KUSA

Patti Dennis has been in TV news for 30 years and is considered one of the best when it comes to managing a newsroom.

In 2014, Dennis was bumped up the food chain at Gannett and is now in charge on recruiting for the Gannett stations.

And while we are sure she will do well in that role, there is no doubt that she was great as a News Director.

The Worst:

Bill Pohovey - WPLG

Just a very mean person that plays favorites and can't come up with an original idea if it smacked him dead in the face.

Tune in next hour to see the best station PR person. 

Best and Worst of TV News 2014: News Set

Time to see which station has the best and the worst news set in the business.

The Best:

KTVA - Anchorage 

You might think that the best news set is in a huge market at an O&O where an unlimited budget can buy you a set that is second to none.

But you would be wrong.

The best news set is in the tiny market of Anchorage, Alaska and KTVA. The stations set looks better than anything the networks have.

The set was designed and built by Devlin Design Group and it is gorgeous. You can see more of the set at this link.

The Worst:

WTLV - Jacksonville

We will be honest, none of the stations ion Jacksonville have very good news sets and all of them are in desperate need of upgrades.

WJXT set looks very washed out, but WTLV's is no doubt the worst in the market. The shot blocking is not good and the Gannett station's set looks like it is still stuck in the late 90's

Log on next hour for the B&W News Director

Best and Worst of TV News 2014: TV News People on Twitter

We kick of FTVLive's Best and Worst of TV News 2014 with a look at Twitter. We are going to to tell you who is a great follow and who isn't worth the click.

The Best: 

Gary Vosot - @GaryVosot

This parody account of a TV News Reporter is a must follow. Gary might be funny with his tweets, but what makes them funny is just how true they are.

The best is when Mr. Vosot gets on a roll giving TV newsies tips about the business.

If you aren't following Gary Vosot...what the hell is wrong with you?

The Worst:

Brian Williams - @BWilliams

BrWi has been on Twitter since August of 2010 and has tweeted exactly zero times.

The NBC Anchor doesn't get or doesn't want to get social media and even though he has never sent a single tweet, BriWi has over 200 thousand followers on Twitter.

WTF?

Log on next hour when we tell you who has the best and worst news set in the business.

FTVLive's Best and Worst of TV News.... 2014 Edition

We end the year with one last day of FTVLive special coverage and wrap it up with the best and the worst in TV news for 2014.

TV news had many bright spots and bright people in 2014 and more than a few duds as well.

FTVLive will highlight the highs and the lows for the past year. Best and worst News Director, Twitter follow, News Set, Station PR person, Market to work in and much more.

Starting in the 9 AM hour, we will give you the best and the worst tv people to follow on Twitter.

Log on as the countdown starts. 

Well.... That Didn't Work Too Well

It amazes us that TV stations and networks keep trying this, even though it fails each and every time.

Fox and Friends asked Twitter users what stuff from 2014 they were "over."

That asked Twitter to use the #hasgtag "OverIt2014"

It went about as well as you expected:

Maybe TV stations and networks need to be "OverIt" when it comes to trying to engage viewers on social media with stupid stuff like this.

Just saying....

H/T Gawker

2014 Goes Down as the Year CNN Stopped Doing News

As FTVLive told you a few days ago, Fox News wins the cable news ratings for the 13th consecutive year.

CNN and MSNBC were both down with MSNBC down over 20% in the demo alone. CNN had it's worst Primetime ratings ever.

CNN's Brian Stelter believes that networks like his need to do less news and focus more on Films and Documentaries to grow an audience:

We could not disagree more.

Stelter's first part of his tweet is dead on, "news conquers all" and we would argue that doing TV news correctly will bring in viewers more than documentaries on gay cowboys or fish.

There is no doubt that in his tweet, Stelter is just parroting his boss Jeff Zucker, something that many insiders say he does quite often.

We say do news correctly and not missing plane and Don Lemon crap and you can get the viewers back.

News conquers all when it is done correctly. We truly believe that.

Just saying....

Spend New Year's Day in Jail with MSNBC

A number of people are going to party to hard going into 2015 and will end up spending their first day of the New Year behind bars.

If you want to join them, but don't really feel like getting arrested, then just switch over to MSNBC New Year's Day.

While other stations will be carrying parades and football, MSNBC will be airing the very cheery show "Lockup" all day long.

Nothing like starting 2015 with some feel good television. 

H/T Johnny Dollar

2014 a Bad One for CNBC

FTVLive has been telling you all year that ratings wise, this has been an awful year for CNBC.

While the stock market surged to record numbers in 2014, CNBC's ratings dipped for the 6th year in a row.

In addition to the network being down for the 6th straight year, their core business programming is having record lows across the board. Most notably, the 3-5p hour, which used to be occupied by Maria Bartiromo, is down 17% in total viewers and down 8% in the demo for the 3-4p hour – and down 13% in total viewers and down 3% in the demo for the 4pm hour when compared to last year.

According to Nielsen,  CNBC delivered its lowest rated year since 1995 with P2+ and delivered its lowest rated year since 1992 in the demo for Business Day.

A couple more lowlights:

Squawk Box delivered its lowest rated year ever with P2+ and A25-54
Squawk on the Street delivered its lowest rated year ever with P2+ and A25-54
Fast Money/Halftime Report delivered its lowest rated year ever with P2+ and A25-54
Power Lunch delivered its lowest rated year ever with P2+ and A25-54
Street Signs delivered its lowest rated year ever with P2+ and A25-54

It was not a good year for NBC's cable properties. MSNBC also suffered a dismal year in the ratings.

It's a Slow News Week

Fox 5 in New York broke out the tarantula for some nice morning television during your breakfast hour.

Watch as the spider crawls up the male Anchor's arm, you can see him starting to freak. Then when "Jungle Bob" puts the giant bug on the female Anchor's boobs.

If this doesn't win an Emmy, I don't know what will:

From a Cuban Rock iguana to a tarantula, Jungle Bob brought along some of the creatures from his Reptile World to the Good Day New York Studios. Co-host Theresa Priolo played (or maybe prayed) along as the tarantula made a temporary home on her.

The 8 Best and Worst People in TV News in 2014 - No. 1

The list has reached No. 1 and although it has taken us 8 hours to get here, it was well worth the wait.

So let's see who is the best of the best and the worst of the worst for 2014.

The Best:

Dave Benton - Anchor WCIA 

WCIA (Champaign, IL) Anchor Dave Benton is going to die soon and yet he still comes to work at the station and does his job.

Back in September, Benton told viewers that his brain cancer has returned and it is too big to be operated on.

He then told them he only had about 6 months to live. 

And while most people would chuck going to work, Benton shows up to anchor the news and continue doing his job.

The man is brave as can be and easily tops FTVLive's list as the best of the best.

The Worst:

Howard Kurtz - Fox News

Love him or hate him you can not deny that Fox News boss Roger Ailes is very good at what he does. The man has lead FNC to the top of the ratings for 13 straight years and he knows how to bring in the viewers.

But, just to prove that even the great ones make mistakes, you have to look no further than Howard Kurtz.

The facts challenged media reporter that makes Rush Limbaugh look like a liberal tops the list as the worst of the worst. Kurtz is awful at his job and plays favorites so much that he has permanent brown marks on his nose.

Kurtz gets ratings, but as Ailes once said about Anchor Paula Zahn even a "dead raccoon" could pull numbers on Fox News.

As we said even the great ones make mistakes and Howard Kurtz is Roger Ailes mistake.

Congrats Howie! You are officially the Worst of the Worst.  

Idiot Throws Rock through Phoenix Station's Studio Window

KPNX Anchor Lin Sue Cooney was anchoring the 6PM newscast last night in Phoenix, when some idiot runs behind her and throws a rock through the studio window.

You can see by the below photo, the rock did quite a bit of damage to the glass.

BREAKING! B-More News Crew Fired after "Let's Kill a Cop" Story

FIRST on FTVLive!

Back on December 22nd, FTVLive told you about Sinclair owned WBBF's story that was misleadingly edited to make it sound like protesters were calling on people to “kill a cop.”

“At this rally in Washington, D.C. participants chanted, ‘We won’t stop, we can’t stop, so kill a cop,’” WBFF’s Melinda Roeder said during her report.

It was pointed out that wasn't what the protestors were saying and the clip was wildly taken out of context.

The station apologized for the story, but now sources tell FTVLive that firings have happened at the station as fallout from the story.

Sources tell FTVLive that both the Reporter and the Photographer that did the story have been let go.

Insiders say that the story idea came directly from News Director Mike Tomko.  "It was found by him, assigned by him and ultimately proofed by him," says a station insider to FTVLive. 

Insiders tell FTVLive that Tomko did get a 1 day suspension and a Producer who texted the Tomko that night saying he was uncomfortable with the story got suspended 2 days.

So, it appears that the ND got a slap on the wrist while others we penalized much more harshly.

Word is that WBFF GM Bill Fanshawe held a newsroom meeting to explain discipline handed out. 

Sources say that when one Photographer asked a question, the GM refused to answer it.  Instead, he offered to schedule a private meeting with the Photog.

The 8 Best and Worst People in TV News in 2014 - No. 2

We are almost at the top of the list as we move to No. 2 on the Top 8 people in TV news for 2014.

The Best:

FTVLive Readers - All over the World

I am still blown away how great the people are that read this website. I get emails everyday from people saying how much they enjoy FTVLive and how they feel we are the only true independent website that tells it like it is. 

I'm also shocked at how many people read FTVLive that are not in the business at all. Viewers seem to enjoy this site as much as people inside the TV game.

But... what is best is how you guys support the site. People donate to this site to help keep the servers running and it blows me away how cool they are. Assignment Editors and Photographers in small markets that can't be making much more than $15,000 a year, still find it in their hearts to send a few bucks our way. Network VP's send us hundreds of dollars at a time. When my computer was on its last legs, FTVLive readers pitched in and help buy us a new one. Again everyone from small market people to Network Anchors help give us get a new iMac that should keep FTVLive online for the next 5 years +.

You guys really are the best and that's why you deserve to be on this list. 

Thanks for everything.

The Worst: 

Don Lemon - CNN

I know that many of you were betting the house that Don Lemon would come in at the top of the list and he almost did. But, Lemon lands in the No. 2 spot.....but there  is no question No. 1 when it comes to bad reporting.

Don Lemon gives TV reporting a bad name and it trickles down to every TV Reporter working in news Today. When Lemon pulls off one of his bone headed stunts it makes him look bad, but gives the entire industry a black eye.

CNN's Jeff Zucker loves the fact that Lemon creates controversy and doesn't seem to care that people are laughing at him. If Don Lemon pulls these antics anywhere else but CNN, he would clearly be fired. 

Just saying.....

Log on next hour to see who tops the list of the best and worst for 2014.  

The Best and Worst and Worst People in TV News for 2014 - No. 3

We are in the home stretch and down to the final 3.

The Best:

Robin Meade - HLN

OK admit it, you knew she was going to be on this list somewhere.

I have said it before and I will say it again, Robin Meade is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Yes, she is gorgeous, but even if Robin looked like the female version of Wolf Blitzer, you can bet she would still be nice.

When Meade talks to someone you can tell she is really interested in what that person is saying. Back in her days as a local morning Anchor she was nice as can be and now that she has her own show on HLN, she hasn't changed a bit.

Rocking Robin comes in at No. 3 on our list.

The Worst:

Jeff Zucker - CNN
Phil Griffin - MSNBC

Zucker and Griffin come in tied at the No. 4 spot.

Both have basically ruined their cable news stations and they are responsible for us having to watch Don Lemon, Chris Matthews, Chris Cuomo and Al Sharpton, among others.

It will be interesting to see which one loses his job first? But we are betting one of the two will be gone by this same time next year.

Hopefully both.

Just saying.....

Come back here next hour to  see the final 4 people making the list.