Gannett to Pull the Plug on Texas News Channel

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16 years after launching, Texas Cable News (TXCN) is shutting down operations.

The round the clock news station will cease operations on April 1. 

The decision to discontinue the cable channel was made during meetings between TXCN owner Gannett Co. Inc. and various cable outlets.

The channel launched with great fanfare in 1999, but by 2004, cutbacks had knocked TXCN in not much more than a replay service. The channel aired replays news broadcasts from Gannett's network of Texas TV stations, including WFAA in Dallas-Fort Worth; KHOU in Houston; KVUE in Austin; and KENS in San Antonio.

The station did offer weather updates and some original sports show, but those are going away when the channel dies. 

New Anchor Hire in DC

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WBZ (Boston) Anchor Jonathan Elias is hopping on the DC shuttle and headed to WJLA.

Elias joined WBZ from KNXV in Phoenix where he served as the main anchor for five years. Prior to Phoenix, Elias was the main anchor at KCBS in Los Angeles, CA. 

In Boston, Elias anchored the 6PM with Paula Ebben, and they co-anchor WBZ-TV News at 10PM on sister-station WSBK.

He has been at the Boston station since 2007. 

Going into Consulting

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They old saying in TV news is that those that can do...do...those that can't become consultants.

The last time we heard from Josh Eure he was about to leave his Assistant News Director job at KPNX in Phoenix and  become the News Director at WHAS in Louisville.

Then after reports surfaced of a prior arrest (although all charges were dropped and Eure was cleared), WHAS rescinded the offer.

Now, Eure has announced that he is starting EureMedia, which he describes as a NYC-based media consulting agency focusing on talent development, multimedia production and media coaching.

“Making the right connections is only half of the challenge” says Eure. “Knowing how to deliver a story and make a strong connection on camera requires a very unique set of skills. Our experience in the News and Media industry affords us the means to help new talent develop a clear understanding of the business, the connections and nuances of how to come across like a news professional. ”

Sweeping Up in Austin

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Austin TV stations relied on stories on dirty restaurants, deadbeat landlords and even an interview with a death-row inmate to get viewers to tune in during the February “sweeps” period.

In the end, KXAN and KVUE came out on top, according to the latest Nielsen ratings.

ABC affiliate KVUE led the way mornings and at 10 p.m., while NBC affiliate KXAN was No. 1 middays and at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.

KVUE has been a dominant force in the mornings for several years now, but the margin of victory was a bit narrower this time around. At 4:30 a.m., for example, the station essentially tied with Fox-owned KTBC.

Middays, KXAN took first place, edging out KVUE. KTBC was a close third. Barely 1,000 households separated the three stations.

KXAN continued to lead at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. in February, with its news team once again drawing a larger audience than the second- and third-place stations combined.

With an estimated 46,675 households tuned in, “KXAN News at 6” was the city’s most-watched newscast last month, regardless of time period.

In the late news race, KTBC was, as usual, the frontrunner at 9 p.m., while KVUE was No. 1 at 10 p.m.

Austin 360 has a complete breakdown of the numbers

New GM named in Denver

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While Scripps has been busy the last few days laying people off at their station's across the country, they laid down the ax long enough to make a hire.

Former KTVK News Director Brad Remington was named the new GM at KMGH in Denver. 

“Denver is a high-profile market in the company, and Brad possesses the unique combination of management style, editorial judgment and knowledge of the local area to serve the community and to meet the needs of advertisers,” said Steve Wasserman, vice president and divisional general manager for Scripps. “Brad has the right entrepreneurial spirit and understanding of the changing habits of consumers to drive KMGH in the right direction for our news products across multiple platforms and customized sales solutions for area businesses.” 

Remington has two prior stints in Denver. In 2006 he was news director at KDVR, the FOX affiliate. In less than three years he significantly grew the ratings for the 9 p.m. newscast. The station also earned critical acclaim with both an Emmy Award and Associated Press award two years in a row for Best Evening Newscast. He spent seven years at KMGH as managing editor from 1989-1996.

Andy Lack Quits Current Job to Head to NBC

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Well, it's not like you needed it, but here is one more sign that Andy Lack is headed to NBC.

Today, the Broadcasting Board of Governors, where Andrew Lack has worked just since January, has announced his departure.

As FTVLive has reported, Lack is headed to NBC News and try and get the grounded Peacock flying again.

As FTVLive FIRST reported, it is expected that NBC will announce Lack's hiring by the end of the week.

Stay tuned.... 

O'Reilly Continues to Pull High Ratings

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There is no doubt that controversy wells.

While Fox News host Bill O'Reilly is being questioned on a number of stories from his past, his ratings have been going up.

The O’Reilly Factor had all four telecasts of the week among the top 20, with the top one ranking at #9. 

O’Reilly anchored Monday thru Thurs last week (he was off Friday).  For those four days, he averaged 3,106,000 in total viewers and 597,000 in the demo.  That demo rating was up almost 40% from the same time last year.

On Monday night, O’Reilly again pulled some big numbers. The Factor had 3.2 million viewers and 571,000 in the demo according to Nielsen.

Cable News Anchors Pop up in Hillary Clinton Attack Ad

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The Republican National Committee acted quick to get out a Hillary Clinton attack ad and they have cable news to thank.  

Less than 24 hours after the news broke that Clinton possibly violated federal law by exclusively using a private email account during her tenure as Secretary of State, the RNC released a new ad attacking Clinton.

The spot features nothing more than a series of news clips about the revelation that have aired since Monday night. Featured in the ad are Fox News’ Martha MacCallum, but also CNN’s Chris Cuomo and MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell and others.

Here is the ad:

http://www.GOP.com

H/T Mediaite

Wichita Anchor is Arrested

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Sources tell FTVLive that KSNW Weekend Anchor Brian Miller was arrested yesterday.

Brian Miller, who has been at the station for just over a year was busted by cops for Destruction of Property and Domestic Violence.

Miller came to KSNW in January 2014 from Green Bay. 

The station says they are currently investigating the circumstances of Miller's arrest and that Miller will not appear on air during that investigation. 

In other words, there will soon be a Weekend Anchor job open at the station. 

Interestingly, Miller was hired to replace Anchor Justin Kraemer, who was fired after saying, "let's get the fuck out of here" on the air at the end of a newscast. 

KSNW might want to hire Vince DeMentri as their next Weekend Anchor. Seems like he's a perfect fit.

Just saying.... 

Back Off!

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A Pennsylvania station was told to back off from a nest of bald eagles.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission fined a local birdwatcher and gave warnings to a WGAL (Lancaster) News Crew for interfering with a York County eagle nest.

Karen Lippy pleaded guilty to interfering with the nest and paid a $234 fine, according to court documents filed Feb. 27 with Magisterial District Judge Thomas Reilly.

The WGAL employees each received two warnings, one for interfering with the nest and another for disturbance of wildlife. The Game Commision declined to name the members of the news crew.

Lippy said she took the camera crew too close to the nesting bald eagles while filming a segment for WGAL in February. The disturbance caused one of the birds to leave the nest for a time, and an egg unattended in freezing weather, she said.

"I said from the beginning it was my fault," said Lippy, a member of the York Audubon Society.

Federal law requires birdwatchers to stay at least 660 feet away from an eagle nest, Lau said.

A crew member was about 200 feet away from the nest, Lippy said.

WGAL news director Dan O'Donnell was not immediately available for comment, but station officials previously denied the crew got anywhere near the tree.

 H/T The Evening Sun

More Scripps Layoffs

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FTVLive FIRST told you about layoffs going down at Scripps stations and while the company has admitted to "some layoffs" they have tried to downplay it.

FTVLive told you that the ax had swung at KNXV in Phoenix and  KMGH in Denver. Yesterday, staff was kicked to the curb at KGTV in San Diego, WEWS in Cleveland and WFTS in Tampa.

At WEWS, the Creative Services Director, several PA’s and the GM’s assistant are reportedly among those laid off yesterday.

At WFTS, the station’s Chief Engineer, a manager and several producers were pink slipped. 

FTVLive also reported FIRST and EXCLUSIVELY that Scripps will be hiring "Digital Content" people to run at least some of their TV newsrooms. It is more than likely going to first start at KNXV and move on from there. 

Stay tuned.... 

Who You Calling "Fat Ass"?

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Word is that a KNXV (Phoenix) Reporter was caught on a live mic making the comment "fat ass' about a woman walking by the live shot.

The station was covering the latest round in the Jodi Arias murder trial, when a woman walked by the courthouse live shot and the Reporter said "fat ass." The Reporter did not know the mic was hot (hello? Journalism 101) and some viewers took to social media to voice their displeasure with the comment:

If Looks Could Kill

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When a KTVI (St. Louis) Anchor tossed to his co-anchor, he called her the "Hamburglar" because of the stripped top she was wearing.

I'm not going to say that she didn't like the comment, but if looks could kill, that guy would be 6 feet under right now.

Let's go to the video:

Lol So Wrong: News Anchor Didn't Know How To React To This! News Anchor Didn't Know How To React To This! news anchor gets called the hamburglar news Wow this news anchor, she didn't know how to react! She just gave him the DEATH STARE!!!

Andy Lack Could Help BriWi Keep his Job

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FTVLive told you that former NBC News boss Andy Lack is headed back to the Peacock and the announcement could happen before the end of the week.

That is potentially very good news for NBC Anchor Brian Williams.

Lack was responsible for grooming Williams to take over the anchor chair on "NBC Nightly News" from Tom Brokaw and while it is not a guarantee that BriWi will get his job back, it makes the odds better. 

"They are great friends," said another former colleague of both men to the LA Times. "Brian Williams thanks Andy for getting the chair."

It is expected that Lack will replace NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Pat Fili-Krushel, who is set to take another corporate role.

Sources tell FTVLive that suits have been meeting with Fili-Krushel to talk about her new role at the company. 

Stay tuned....