Headed to Charlotte

/

A couple of Reporters are moving into the Charlotte TV news scene.

Casey Wood is joining WSOC as a morning Reporter in April. Wood was most recently with the CBS affiliate in Waco, Texas.

Yoojin Cho is joining Time Warner Cable News this week as a General Assignment Reporter from the NBC affiliate in Springfield, Mass.

Also, former WBTV Reporter Sarah Batista, who left the station to start a production business named Stories to Inspire, has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for an inspirational documentary she plans,

“She Flew the Coop,” is about women like her who left the security of the workaday world to pursue their dream careers. 

So far she has raised $3800 of the $25,000 that she's looking for.

H/T Charlotte Observer

Fox Sports Reporter Wants to be the Next Kim Kardashian

/

Hey Reporters, have to ever posted a photo of you on the news set and got over 5,000 likes on Instagram?

We know one Sports Reporter that blows up social media every time she posts a picture. 

Meet Jimena Sanchez, a 30-year-old Sports Reporter for Fox Deportes, the Latin American division of Fox Sports. 

Sanchez  has been building up a storm on social media with her sexy pictures and selfies. Fans are calling her the “Mexican Kim Kardashian.”

How big is she on social media?

She has more than 954,000 followers on Twitter, more than 352,000 on Instagram and more than 1 million Facebook likes on her official page. And she is loving it.

“I really like the attention and the support of my fans is important to me,” she said.

No word if she is a good Reporter or not, by the woman does know how top work social media.

NLRB Rejects CNN's Latest Appeal of Wrongly Fired Workers

/

CNN has lost another round in their not to hire back workers that they wrongfully terminated 12 years ago.

The NLRB has rejected the news network’s latest appeal in the case that began in 2003, when CNN decided to get rid of some 300 unionized technicians in its New York and Washington, D.C., bureaus and replace them with non-union workers. The union workers had been employed under a NABET-CWA contract through a subcontracting company called Team Video Services. But when CNN ended its relationship with the subcontractor, it rehired about 200 of the TVS workers – and another 100 new hires – without benefit of a union contract. The union then filed a complaint with the NLRB, charging CNN with unfair labor practices. The NLRB agreed and, finding that an “anti-union animus” had motivated its reorganization plan, ordered the network to rehire about 100 of the fired workers and to compensate the other 200 who’d been rehired for their lost union wages and benefits.

CNN appealed, but an administrative law judge upheld the ruling in 2008. CNN appealed again, and this week the NLRB denied the network’s motion for reconsideration, ruling that CNN had been the workers’ joint employee and therefore was bound by the terms of the union’s contract with TVS.

“This company has dragged its feet every step of the way,” said CWA President Larry Cohen. “But after more than a decade of delays, CNN is finally running out of options. It’s time for CNN to follow the law and end the enormous damage to these employees and their families.”

  CNN has dragged this one so long, that some of the workers wrongfully terminated  have died before they could be rehired.

Which might exactly be CNN's plan as they continue to drag it out. 

H/T Deadline 

Evening News Wars: NBC and ABC both Claim Victories

/

If you want to know who is winning the evening news ratings race, don't look for a straight answer from NBC or ABC News.

NBC wrote in a press release: “NBC Nightly News” was America’s most-watched evening newscast for the week of March 16-20, 2015, according to Nielsen Media Research data.  The NBC broadcast was #1 in total viewers and the younger demo A18-49, and came within a margin of 6,000 viewers A25-54.

In their press release, ABC wrote:

ABC News’ “World News Tonight with David Muir” ranked No. 1 in Adults 25-54 (1.941 million) during the week of March 16, 2015, based on Live +Same Day Data from Nielsen Media Research. Winning back-to-back weeks in the key adult news demo, “World News Tonight” beat “NBC Nightly News” (1.935 million) by 6,000 news demo viewers to post its 12th Adults 25-54 victory of the season.

ABC then added this: 

NOTE: *NBC’s stated averages now include both its 6:30 p.m. E.T. airings and re-broadcasts on some stations between the hours of 2-4 a.m. E.T. NBC News has not publicly stated the markets in which the re-airs occur nor how many additional viewers they are claiming as a result.

It's all about the spin. 

CBS's Lara Logan Back in the Hospital

/

CBS Correspondent Lara Logan is back in the hospital for the second time in a month.

Breibart.com reports that  Logan is back in the hospital in Washington, D.C., due to years-long complications stemming from the brutal sexual assault she endured in Egypt while covering the Arab Spring in early 2011, several sources close to her—including one family friend who went on the record—confirmed to Breitbart News on Monday evening.

A 60 Minutes spokesman also confirmed to Breitbart News late Monday that Logan was in fact hospitalized.

“Very few people know how stoic and incredibly tough this lady is. In spite of everything she’s had to face in the last two years, people have no idea the physical suffering she has been enduring due to the brutal sexual assault she encountered in Egypt during the Arab Spring while reporting for 60 Minutes,”  Ed Butowsky, a close friend and confidante of Lara and her family, told Breitbart News. “I’ve been in and around this business and people don’t understand how hard reporters work and how much time they put in. Lara, above all of it, has been doing it for four years since this brutal attack and suffering in every way, shape or form. Maybe it’s time for people to realize these people are human beings.”

“We were sorry to hear this morning that Lara was readmitted to the hospital,” the 60 Minutes spokesman added in an email. “We wish her a speedy recovery.”

Butowsky said that Logan has been going in and out of the hospital for the last few years since returning after the brutal attack in Egypt, all while continuing reporting from the most dangerous places on earth and raising her family. Logan has two children. Specifically, Butowsky said, she has been in the hospital at least four times this year alone.

Butowsky said that Logan is in a hospital in the Washington area and asked that, to protect her privacy, the name of the specific hospital not be released until Logan is back out.

CBS News ReUps News Prez David Rhodes till 2019

/

CBS News President David Rhodes has signed on for 4 more years at Black Rock.

CBS CEO Leslie Moonves announced a new contract agreement with Rhodes that extends his employment through February 2019. Rhodes has been President of CBS News since 2011.

“CBS News is experiencing division-wide growth,” said Moonves. “David’s exceptional news judgment and competitive acumen has had a great impact so far, and we look forward to continued growth on all our news broadcasts as we move forward.”

Rhodes is responsible for CBS News broadcasts and its global newsgathering. His emphasis on hard news and original reporting is evident across all platforms, including television, CBS News Radio and CBSNews.com. He also spearheaded the launch of CBSN, a joint effort between CBS News and CBS Interactive to create the first digital streaming news network. 

Rhodes started his career in 1996 as a Production Assistant at the newly launched Fox News Channel, where he eventually became Vice President of News. While there, he managed coverage of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, three presidential elections, and natural weather disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina. He also was the Assignment Manager on the Fox News desk the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.

Moonves concluded, “I’m delighted that CBS News will remain under the leadership of one of the most accomplished young executives in the television news industry for many years to come.”

Twin Cities Station Hires Sports Guy to Anchor News

/

KARE (Minneapolis) has named Cory Hepola as the morning Anchor at the station.

Hepola will anchor the 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., Monday through Friday broadcasts of KARE 11 Sunrise, alongside current co-anchor Kim Insley.

Hepola has spent his tv career working in sports, he comes to the Twin Cities from Comcast Sportsnet in Houston, TX where he was a sports anchor, host, and reporter. 

"As a kid, I'd fall asleep imagining myself as a journalist in Minneapolis. I followed my TV dream to stations in North Dakota, Washington DC, Montana, New York, and Texas. All of these experiences helped prepare me for this -- my dream job -- at KARE 11. My family and I are thrilled to be coming home to the state we love, surrounded by the people we love," Hepola said. 

Prior to Comcast Sportsnet, Hepola spent 10 years working at stations around the country, including KVUE (Austin) and  WROC in Rochester, NY. 

"Cory is a team player with a dynamic and energetic style for our morning audience," said News Director Jane Helmke. "He is a dedicated, creative journalist and hometown guy who can't wait to get started and contribute to his community."

Moving the Sports Guy to News Anchor

/

In Johnstown, PA another Sports Anchor is moving over to the news side of the building (do you see a trend among these sports people leaving for news?)

WJAC says that Tim Rigby is moving over to anchor the morning newscast for the station. 

“It’s exciting to have Tim return to our news team,” News Director Jim Platzer said. “He is well-known in the community and brings vast experience and knowledge of this market to our morning team.”

Rigby began his career at WJAC in 1981 as a reporter and weekend sports anchor. Shortly after joining the station, Rigby moved to the 11 p.m. weekday newscast and served as the station’s sports director until Nov. 10, 2011.

“I’m looking forward to coming back to do what I love to do,” Rigby said.

Rigby starts his new assignment tomorrow. 

H/T Gant Daily 

Bill O'Reilly to Stop By Letterman's Show Tonight

/

Fox News host Bill O'Reilly will stop by the CBS Late Show tonight to answer all the claims that have been made about him embellishing his reporting career.

We're kidding. O'Reilly will be on to promote "Killing Jesus," the National Geographic Channel movie of his best seller.

Letterman is this/close to calling it quits and this very well could be O'Reilly's last appearance on the CBS Late Show. Maybe, just maybe, Letterman will have the stones to ask O'Reilly about the controversy over the way he is claimed to have embellished his reporting career.

We're betting that it won't happen, but Letterman has shown in the past that he is willing to poke papa bear a bit.

Maganed to Tivo this gem from O'Reilly History

Interesting note, NBC's Brian Williams was scheduled to be on Letterman the same week it was revealed that he lied about his coverage in Iraq. 

Williams canceled his appearance. 

CNN Reporter Banned from Killing Jesus Premiere

/

Speaking of Bill O'Reilly....

CNN Reporter Tom Kludt claims that the National Geographic Channel blocked him from attending a premiere because the journalist has covered the ongoing scandal surrounding Fox News host Bill O'Reilly. 

 

National Geographic Channel confirmed to Business Insider that Kludt would not be allowed into the event. However, Chris Albert, senior vice president of communications at the channel, said the slight was simply because the premiere needed to cut one reporter due to space issues.

Kludt calls BS on that statement: 

I've never covered a red carpet before, so I'm a little bummed," Kludt said. 

Roanoke Station to Pay Big Bucks for Airing Porn

/

With the Internet around, hardly anyone pays for porn anymore.

But, one Roanoke station is about to pay up big for showing porn. 

The FCC hit WDBJ with a $325,000 fine "for apparently broadcasting extremely graphic and explicit sexual content, specifically a video image of a hand stroking an erect penis" during a newscast.

The images popped up in a story about an "ex-porn star" who had joined a local rescue squad.

In introducing the actress turned community helper, the station showed a page from an adult website featuring the woman. On the right side of the page were a series of boxes, one of which showed the "indecent" images.

"Although the box does not show the entire body or face of the apparently nude male depicted, the image shows a hand moving up and down the length of the shaft of the erect penis.

Which means WDBJ just paid for the most expensive hand job in history. You would think with call letters like wdBJ it would have been something else.

Just saying.... 

H/T TVNewsCheck 

Moth lays Eggs in DC Reporter's Ear During Live Shot

/

WTTG Reporter Bob Barnard was going live from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, when a African Moon Moth landed on his ear. 

The green moth was on his ear for most of the live shot, and after it flew off, Barnard found it had left two eggs behind.

Hey at least the moth didn't yell FHRITP.

Just saying....

Let's go to the video:

Naked News Anchor Spotted Meeting with Atlanta News Director

/

Word is that Sharon Reed was spotted having dinner with WGCL News Director Larry Perrett at an Atlanta restaurant. 

You may remember that Reed made headlines when she took her clothes off for a story about an artist that was doing a photo shoot in Cleveland. Reed was an Anchor at Cleveland's WOIO at the time. 

Rumors flying inside WGCL is that Reed could be replacing main Anchor Stephany Fisher. Fisher Anchors the 4,5,6 and 11PM newscasts and has been with the station since 2003.

Word is that if WGCL hires Reed, should would at least replace Fisher on some of the newscasts, if not all.

Reed currently works at KMOV in St. Louis. Both KMOV and WGCL are owned by Meredith. 

Stay tuned.....