Carolina Anchor to Return Tonight for Last Goodbye

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On January 26th, FTVLive told you that longtime WTVD (Raleigh Durham) Anchor Larry Stogner shocked viewers when he told them he is retiring.

He said that he was suffering from ALS and that was his reason for his sudden retirement. 

Stogner took two weeks off and returns to the air tonight to say his final goodbye. 

He’ll get a sendoff befitting his long career and give his loyal viewers a more formal goodbye.

It’s a sudden and bittersweet ending to an unusual career for a television newsman who went all over the world for stories but always came back home.

In January he was diagnosed with ALS, a decease for which there is no cure. The next day, Stogner told his WTVD family, and two days later, he shared it on live TV, saying he would be retiring.

He had planned to work three more years, but at 68, now says, “I’ve worked long enough. It’s time to get on with living.” He plans to go to movies and out to dinner and travel with his wife, Bobbi, and spend time with their six grown children.

It's a sad ending to a great career and the viewers of WTVD will miss him. 

He reflected on his career to the Raleigh News and Observer:

Hear retiring WTVD anchorman Larry Stogner respond to a question about the difference he's made in the community. After 35 years with the station, he recently announced his retirement after he was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). His farewell broadcast will be Friday evening, Feb. 6, 2015.

H/T Raleigh News Observer 

Out The Door in O-Town

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While the Feb book is in full swing, Orlando's News 13 has parted ways with one of their longtime Weather Anchors.

Longtime meteorologist Dave Cocchiarella left the station on Wednesday and no one is saying as to why? 

Cocchiarella did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

But News 13 owner Bright House released a statement yesterday afternoon saying: "Dave Cocchiarella chose to no longer be with News 13. We wish him the best in his future endeavors."

His bio has been scrubbed from the station's website. 

What happened? Several industry observers theorized that Cocchiarella wasn't getting the chief meteorologist's job to succeed Jeff Day and decided to clear out.

Cocchiarella had been with the station for 16 years. 

H/T Orlando Sentinel 

Nexstar Proving NBC Programming to Lubbock Viewers

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Yesterday, FTVLive told you that a small plane had crashed into KCBD's tower and knocked the station off the air.

Viewers could turn to the other station's in town for their news, but how the hell are they going to watch, "The Voice"?

Enter Nexstar Broadcasting, owner and operator of KAMR in Amarillo. Nexstar is providing temporary NBC programming to viewers in the absence of KCBD being off the air. 

Satellite and cable providers across the Lubbock television market were simulcasting the feed from Amarillo or Midland/Odessa.

KCBD is currently broadcasting local news programming from the Lubbock Independent School District's television center.

Locally produced programming from KCBD is being broadcast on the LISD-TV cable channel and on their normally assigned cable channels. All other NBC programming is originating from either KAMR or KWES.  

The station is also broadcasting local programming over the internet from their sister station, WSFA in Montgomery, Alabama. 

H/T EverythingLubbock.com

Funny...No One Else Covered That Story

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WRGT Fox 45 (Dayton, OH) had a big story on their newscast this morning. According to the station a plane crashed into and SUV in New York City. Now, you would think that a plane crashing into a car in New York would be kind of a big story. Yet, Fox 45 was the only one to report that news.

We're guessing they were talking about the train crash that happened. Either that or Brian Williams is writing their scripts for them.

Brian Williams: I Thought I was Going to Die

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Brian Williams carried out his lie for 12 years before being caught and admitting to it.

The RPG might not have hit him or the helicopter he was riding in, but his credibility has taken a direct hit. 

Williams said he misremembered the incident in 2003, where he claimed the military chopper he was riding in, was hit by an RPG.

Back in 2013, Williams told actor Alec Baldwin on his radio show that he briefly thought he was going to die.

"I guess I do say to myself and to others — ‘I’ve got this’ — and I don’t know where that unbridled confidence comes from,” Williams told Baldwin, trying to describe where he gets his thirst for action and challenge.

“And I’ve done some ridiculously stupid things under that banner, like being in a helicopter I had no business being in in Iraq with rounds coming into the airframe,” Williams said.

“Did you think you would die?” Baldwin asked.

“Briefly, sure,” Williams said.

You can listen to the interview here (jump to the 53:00 minute mark for the best part):

Motown Station Says Clickbait Headline was a Mistake

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When a Taiwanese driver's dash cam caught the crash of TransAsia Airways plane as it clips a taxi before dropping into water alongside a highway, it surly did not need to be hyped. 

The video was amazing and disheartening at the same time.

But, WXYZ decided to use the video for some clickbait to their website. They posted this on Facebook:

There is no doubt that they didn't need the, "You've got to see this!" to be added and now WXYZ says that it was a mistake.

Talking to Deadline Detroit, WXYZ's New Media Director, Seth Myers says, "The Facebook post you highlighted was terribly worded. You're right on that. We felt the same way. We spoke with the producer who wrote it and -- as you noted -- chose some more appropriate wording pretty quickly."

 The headline was changed to "Terrifying!" the "You've got to see this!" was deleted.  No explanation or apology was posted.

BriWi Caught in a Lie

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It was a good thing that NBC's Brian Williams was sitting behind a desk last week while anchoring Nightly News, because it hid the fact that his pants were on fire while recalling a trip he made to Iraq in 2003.

BriWi told a lie and now that he's been caught, he has admitted it.

Here is how Williams reported the story just last week:

Post by NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.

Williams is now recanting his claims that he was on board a helicopter forced down in 2003 during the invasion of Iraq.

The claim has been widely cited and Williams repeated it on the air on Friday's broadcast. But, crew members from the Chinook helicopter that was hit by rockets and small arms fire told Stars and Stripes that Williams was not near that helicopter or two others flying in formation that were struck. According to the news organization, Williams arrived in the area about an hour after.

Williams told Stars and Stripes in an interview that he did not remember the events correctly and he misspoke.

Wait a minute! If you were in a helicopter that hit by an RPG, I would think you would remember that.

Fact is, Williams tried to embellish a story and got caught. Not really something you want from your main network Anchor.

One other thing, when Williams was in Iraq in 2003, he surely wasn't the only person from NBC News. Others from NBC had to be traveling with the Anchor. Which means, while this story of BriWi being shot down  has been told several times over the years, no one from Williams crew that day spoke up to say. that is NOT what happened."

So it appears that the lie goes deeper than just Williams. 

This all comes as NBC News was once again pulling away from ABC in the evening news ratings. It remains to be seen if BriWi's lie will hurt him ratings wise. And while it turns out that Williams was not shot down in a helicopter in Iraq, there is no doubt that his credibility took a direct hit.

Here's Williams saying he was sorry on Nightly News last night:

NBC's Brian Williams Addresses Iraq RPG Helicopter Story

H/T USA Today

Signing Off from CBS News

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CBS News Correspondent Bob Orr, who as far as we know, was not shot down in a military helicopter, will retire from on Friday after 40-plus years in the business.

For someone who dreamed of handling baseball play-by-play (“I wanted to replace Bob Prince as the voice of the Pittsburgh Pirates”), Bob Orr built an impressive career out of covering much-weightier subjects.

Orr has been employed by CBS — based in Washington, D.C. — since 1993, first as the transportation correspondent and later as the reporter for justice and homeland security. His beats have had him covering, among other stories, many plane crashes as well as the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001.

“When I got into the TV business in 1973, I did the math and saw there were seven or eight news jobs for every sports job — so I thought I would be better-served doing news,” Orr, 61, said recently by phone.

Still, upon his graduation from Bethany in 1975, he didn’t expect to turn news reporting into a long-term career.

“I guess, once you’re in something,” he said, “inertia plays a role.”

Yes it does Bob, yes it does.

H/T Columbus Dispatch

Bruce Jenner Will Not be Paid for ABC Interview

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ABC News and Bruce Jenner want you to know, that the Olympic gold medalist will not be paid for his upcoming interview with Diane Sawyer.

Jenner will sit down with DiSy and talk about his transitioning into a woman.

The NY Daily News says that Jenner was sensitive about being seen as “cashing in” on his journey to womanhood, and doesn’t want to be accused of exploiting his story for cash, a network insider confirms.

Jenner spoke directly to longtime friend Sawyer, who assured her pal she would handle his interview “delicately” and that he would be taken seriously by the public.

“She called him directly; there was absolutely no payment whatsoever,” says the DN source. “Diane has handled (it) from top to bottom, and the interview may air in two or three parts instead of one special.”

Another source assures the paper that Jenner took no money and that ABC didn’t pay, because everyone wanted the interview to be “clean.” Sawyer and Jenner will meet over a period of a few days, we’re told, to capture his full story. Jenner is expected to hand over a trove of photos and videos at no charge for ABC to air.

He might use some of Sawyer's make up though.