Andy's Now In Charge

Although Andy Lack has been spending a lot of time at 30 Rock, today is his official first day back in charge of NBC News.

Lack returns to the Peacock Network as chairman of NBC News and speculation is rife about his first moves as he battles to restore the news division’s tarnished credibility.

Page Six writes that he faces the unenviable task of cleaning up the lingering mess over Brian Williams’ suspension at “Nightly News,” tackling MSNBC’s disastrous ratings, plus how to get the flagship “Today” back on top, and to maneuver “Meet the Press” out of third place in the Sunday current affairs shows.

Insiders said both NBC News President Deborah Turness and MSNBC President Phil Griffin — who both report to Lack — are vulnerable, with one saying, “Lack is going to clean house.” However, other reports have suggested that Turness and Griffin have developed a good relationship with Lack well before he took over the big job at NBC News.

Meanwhile, on the talent side, the speculation is that, despite Lack’s warm relationship with Williams, he may not return to the “Nightly News” anchor chair. This comes after exhaustive focus-group polling done by NBC staffers during his absence, while Lester Holt has done a solid job standing in for the disgraced newsman and maintaining the show’s ratings.

MSNBC is facing a huge overhaul, its daytime lineup will be shaken up to focus on hard news, amid internal NBC gossip that Al Sharpton may be shuffled to a later night or weekend slot.

And at “Today,” which is still battling to claw back its ratings after falling second to ABC’s “Good Morning America,” there’s rumors that exec producer Don Nash could be under threat. Another source said, “Noah Oppenheim [who was recently recruited as ‘Today’s’ SVP and executive-in-charge] is running the show and calling all of the shots, leaving Nash as a lame duck.”

Reps for NBC and MSNBC declined to comment.

Grieving Mom Confronts WABC News Boss

A difficult moment at the memorial for WABC Reporter Lisa Colagrossi.

Colagrossi's grieving mother confronted WABC News Director Camille Edwards at Colagrossi's memorial and said, “You worked my daughter to death.”

 As FTVLive told you, Colagrossi died after a brain hemorrhage on assignment for the station. 

The emotional scene between Lois Colagrossi and famously tough WABC news director Edwards happened at Lisa’s memorial on March 23 according to Page Six. 

Witnesses said Edwards approached Lisa’s heartbroken mom for a hug as Lois stood with family to greet mourners. But Lois refused her embrace, saying, “You are the reason I am standing in this church.”

According to multiple sources at the memorial, Edwards responded by describing what a hard worker Lisa was, and how everyone at the station was proud of her work ethic.

But Lisa’s mother added, “I am talking about how you worked my daughter to death.” Witnesses said others overheard the exchange, and Edwards was discreetly ushered away.

Another source said Lisa, along with other WABC reporters, was put under a “tremendous amount” of pressure. She would commute into Manhattan daily as early as 2 a.m., complete her last shoot around lunchtime, and then be in the office working more stories in the afternoon. The source said, “Camille is a bully and will target people she doesn’t like, most often women. Lisa’s colleagues applaud Lisa’s mom for standing up to Camille.”

The Colagrossi family disputed any hard feelings and said in a statement, “We are extremely thankful and blessed by all the support from Camille and the entire ABC family. Lisa always chose to work the overnight shift because it allowed her to spend the most time with her family.”

WABC added, “Camille is a tireless and compassionate champion for everyone who works here. Under her watch, we’re fortunate to have more women in leadership positions than ever before. Our thoughts and prayers are with Lisa’s family at this sad time.”

Longtime Met is Out the Door in Montgomery

Sources tell FTVLive that longtime WSFA Chief Meteorologist Rich Thomas is no longer with the station.

Thomas had been at the station going on 34 years and now is gone, his bio scrubbed from the station's website.

Sources say Thomas returned from a vacation, worked for just a day or two and was then out the door. 

No word on what happened and of course the station isn't talking. They did post this to the station's Facebook page, "We want to thank Rich for his 33 years of service to WSFA and our viewers. We wish Rich the very best in his future endeavors."

Work 34 years at the station and get a couple of line send off on Facebook. 

WSFA GM Eric Duncan took the usual GM coward way out by saying he had no comment and that it was a "personnel matter."

Just once, I wish a station would be honest with the viewers.

Just once. 

Pushed Out in Chicago

WMAQ  has parted ways with Wayne Johnson, their twice-weekly lifestyle segment contributor. Johnson had been with the station for nine years. 

Johnson first gained notoriety in April 2004. That year, NBC Television's "Today" show held a national contest to find "Today's Domestic Diva." Over 3,000 women sent in videos of themselves working in the kitchen and around the house, trying to win the contest. However, it was Johnson, the lone male contestant, that won. 

He parlayed that into a longtime gig at WMAQ but the station has now dumped him.  

He broke the news on Facebook:

"Today marks the 11 year anniversary of my Today Show experience and, sadly, my departure from WMAQ NBC 5. Got a call yesterday from the news director saying they are moving in a different direction and my segments wouldn't be needed anymore in their current form. Bittersweet day." 

H/T Chicagoland Radio and Media

Man Knocks Woman to the Ground During Live Shot

You know you're watching New York News when you see something like this.

WNYW Reporter Stacey Delikat was doing a live report on Friday morning when something curious happened behind her.

A man walking along 7th. Ave. in front of Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan appears to have elbowed a woman walking in the opposite direction.

The woman, who was wearing a green apron, possibly from Starbucks, was knocked down.

The man then put out his arm almost as if to imply he was sorry. The crew at the scene with Delikat say the man walked away. 

The woman got up and left the scene, too.

Only in the Big Apple my friends, only in the Big Apple.

Let's go to the video:

New York News

H/T WNYW

Another On Air Proposal

Any reader of FTVLive knows how much we hate those on air marriage proposals.

But, this one is different.

A Michigan State fan interrupted CBS Sports reporter Allie LaForce during a live broadcast on Saturday to, well, propose marriage.

LaForce is already married and the fan tried to fake giving her a ring, by using the ring she already had.

Let's go to the video:

Hours before the Final Four matchups, a Michigan State fan interrupts CBS Sports Network reporter Allie LaForce to propose to her.

WTF?!

A TV network in Australia had a telethon over the weekend to raise money for a children's hospital. 

The network helped raise a lot of money and even Hugh G. Rection gave up $32.38 of his hard earned cash to help the cause.

How did they not catch that?

SNL Mocks CNN's Reenactments

SNL took some well deserved shots at CNN and their use of reenactments. Still not sure if the skit was funnier than actually watching CNN.

Watch and see what you think?

If you're tired of CNN's overuse of re-enactments, this weekend's edition of "Saturday Night Live" was for you. The weekly comedy show parodied the liberal news network's overly dramatic dependence on fake portrayals of real-live events, to hilarious effect.

Chris Wallace Says Sorry for the Fat Joke

Fox News host Chris Wallace was dishing up some humble pie after he made a fat joke about singer Kelly Clarkson.

Wallace is the latest to rip on the "American Idol" winner during what was supposed to be a political radio show Saturday.

While a guest on the "The Mike Gallagher Show," the two men were talking about fat-shaming and soon enough the host brought up Clarkson's name.

"Have you seen Kelly Clarkson? You know the singer, Kelly Clarkson? Holy cow, did she blow up," Gallagher said

Wallace looked as if he was defending the artist by replying, "Really? Do we want to talk about some of your friends? Kelly Clarkson's got a lovely voice."

But added, "She could stay off the deep dish pizza for a little while."

Wallace issued an apology on Sunday for the comments.

"I sincerely apologize to Kelly Clarkson for my offensive comment. I admire her remarkable talent and that should have been the focus of any discussion about her."

H/T NY Daily News

Former Cleveland Reporter is Dead

Former WEWS reporter Alan DePetro has died. 

DePetro worked at WEWS (Cleveland) for nearly 25 years. Before that, he worked at Youngstown’s WKBN, coming to Cleveland in 1968 to work at WKBF.  He also became news director at WKBF in 1970.

He was at WEWS from 1975 to about 1999.

DePetro had a lot of pride for Cleveland. He even had aired a segment called DePetro's Cleveland, where he and photographer Brian Archer shot a "Building Cleveland" series profiling Cleveland architecture and history -- one building a week for 52 weeks.

DePetro would also write letters to CEOs of national brands (even a small Seattle company Starbucks) to tout the virtues of Cleveland to get then to open here  - Nordstrom’s and Ritz-Carlton, too - and they came.

He never forgot his Youngstown roots. When he saw how shabby his Youngstown East High School marching band uniforms were, he started a fundraising drive and got them new uniforms.

DePetro was 81 years old.

H/T WEWS

Shuffling the Managers Around at Scripps

Now that Scripps has gobbled up the Journal stations, the company is moving managers around, because that's what you do I guess.

Here are the people and how their role is changing:

Debbie Turner is the new vice president of TV operations for Scripps. She joined Scripps from her prior position as executive vice president overseeing the Journal Broadcast Group with additional responsibilities as the vice president and general manager for WTVF in Nashville, Tennessee. She will oversee the operations of all 33 Scripps TV stations. Turner will have two offices, splitting time between Nashville and Cincinnati.

Ed Fernandez is vice president and divisional general manager for Scripps. He will relinquish his responsibilities as general manager for WXYZ in Detroit in order to take on new corporate oversight of multiple Scripps markets. He will remain based in Detroit.

Steve Wasserman also is vice president and divisional general manager for Scripps. Steve will no longer serve as general manager of WPTV in West Palm Beach, Florida. He is responsible for operations at multiple Scripps stations across the U.S., while continuing to be based in West Palm Beach.

These three leaders are taking on larger roles in the strategy and execution of the entire TV division. As a result of these promotions, Scripps has appointed three new general managers serving Nashville, Detroit and West Palm Beach.

 Lyn Plantinga is the new vice president and general manager for WTVF. It is the top-rated station in the market and one of the top three CBS affiliates in the country. She helped develop NewsChannel 5’s nationally acclaimed investigative unit, which recently won its second Peabody Award. Plantinga’s television experience includes successful management efforts in both news and sales.

 Mike Murri is the new vice president and general manager for WXYZ and WMYD in Detroit. WXYZ, the ABC affiliate, is an award-winning station that plays a pivotal role in the resurgence of the city. WMYD is a MYNetwork affiliate. In more than 30 years with the station, Murri has worked as an account executive, local sales manager, director of sales and station manager. In his role as station manager, Murri oversaw the launch of 17 hours of news each week on WMYD. WXYZ won Station of the Year from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters in 2014. He is a graduate of Oakland University and serves on the ABC Sales Advisory Committee. 

 Lloyd Bucher is the new vice president and general manager for WPTV. The NBC affiliate has been the West Palm Beach market leader since the day it signed on and is one of the highest rated stations in Florida. Bucher has served as station manager of WPTV since 2012. His prior experiences are in sales management in West Palm Beach, Miami and Philadelphia. He earned a Juris Doctor from Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware. He serves on numerous boards in the industry and his West Palm community.                                                        

“As we look to define Scripps as a local media company that supports platforms and devices beyond TV, Lyn, Mike and Lloyd are progressive leaders who represent the modern view of what it means to run a market-leading media organization,” said Brian Lawlor, senior vice president of the Scripps Broadcast division.“ They each understand the intersection of media consumption in a TV, mobile and social world and will guide their local brands to continued media leadership in each of these great cities.”

Bounced NY Reporter Exploring Legal Action

FTVLive FIRST told you back in February that longtime WABC Reporter Sarah Wallace was pushed out at the station.

Now, it appears that Wallace is looking into legal action against the station. 

Page Six says that Wallace is gearing up for a bruising legal battle with WABC.

Network sources say Wallace was unfairly treated by her boss Camille Edwards, who is so famously tough she has been nicknamed “Camevil” by staff in the New York newsroom.

ABC insiders say the 59-year-old Wallace was pushed out after 30 years by WABC news director Edwards, who staffers believe targeted Wallace because of her age.

One insider said: “There are plenty of male journalists who have been there just as long and who don’t have the awards Sarah Wallace has. But Camille was hostile to Sarah, they butted heads, and Sarah was forced out in late February.”

The source added, “Camille Edwards is so tough that her nickname at WABC is ‘Camevil.’ Newsroom morale is at a huge low following Sarah’s departure.”
Wallace has since hired top New York attorney Joe Tacopina, who declined to comment to Page Six on Thursday night.

Wallace’s colleagues are said to be devastated by her abrupt departure. Reporter Jim Dolan sent an e-mail to staff saying, “Sarah . . . is the best local news reporter I’ve ever known . . . We lost a giant when Sarah walked out the door today . . . Sarah did what we are supposed to do, what we don’t do enough. And she did it every day.”

A rep for “Eyewitness News” and Edwards didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Stay tuned....

Threats Made Against Reporter who Interviewed Pizza Shop Owner

When WBND Reporter Alyssa Marino went into Indiana pizza shop, she did not expect to be doing an interview that would go viral.

Marino was getting reaction to the highly controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which allows Indiana businesses to claim religious exemptions from discrimination suits. She stopped by Memories Pizza for a sound bite.

“If a gay couple came in and wanted us to provide pizzas for their wedding, we would have to say no,” Crystal O’Connor, owner of Memories Pizza to Marino. 

That quote went viral and both the pizza place and Marino have become targets on social media.

@alyssa_marino nice reporting on the nice pizza people…youll get yours girlfriend…what goes around comes around
— brent martini (@ChromeFox1000) 

@alyssa_marino @webmarc Just walked in my ass, can it lady, if something happens to these people. blood is on your hands.
— An American Veteran (@AmericanVet3)

“I just walked into their shop and asked how they feel,” Marino said, adding that the shop had never been asked to cater a same-sex wedding. “I don’t think anyone was really aware the attention this would get at the time of the interview. They just spoke their mind.”

The pizza shop has closed their doors temporarily and Marino is getting threats for simply asking a question. 

It's a story that has brought out the nut jobs on both sides of the issue and brought Marino a lot more attention than she was expecting when she walked into Memories Pizza.

This will be a memory for a longtime for Marino, that you can bet on. 

You Won't be Seeing that on the Old Resume Reel

Last night, WTLV (Jacksonville) had one of those newscasts that you just want to forget. It was a Producer's worst nightmare.

They lead story included team coverage with two Reporters live. They throw to the first Reporter and he can't hear a thing and just stands there before walking out of frame. They comeback to the studio and throw it to the second Reporter, I think you can guess what happened?

Let's go to the video:

WTLV had a nightmare start to their newscast

Anchor No Longer Going to Play Peoria

After 4 decades, WEEK (Peoria) Anchor Tom McIntyre says you can stick a fork in him.

He's done. 

Of course he'll officially step down at the end of the May book.

McIntyre's exit follows that Bob Larson, who retired across the street at WMBD last November after racking up 43 years with the station. McIntyre will have logged 42 years at Channel 25 when he steps away from the anchor desk in May.

“I do know the first story I did for WEEK-TV. It was in July of 1973, which was the steamboat race between the Julia Belle Swain and the Delta Queen,” said McIntyre.

A lot has changed in the TV news business since he started. “Our deadline back when film was king was 4 p.m. in the afternoon. Film had to be developed, rough-edited, hard-spliced and stories put in order on a single reel. Now a newscast can be started while stories are still being edited. When I began in the business, going far out of town and getting the story back for the 6 p.m. news was a major event. With laptops and computer editing and WiFi, it’s not really a big deal,” he said.

His last day will be May 21st.