Hopes Fade for BriWi's Return to NBC

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The leaks from NBC and Brian Williams' Agent and friends continue and depending on which you believe, BriLie is for sure headed back, or he has no chance of returning. 

The LA Times weighs in from the Left Coast, saying that hopes of Williams return are fading.

They write, speculation that Williams is a goner heated up last weekend after several reports based on unnamed sources said NBC's review found numerous situations in which the anchor publicly embellished statements about his reporting. Some competitors even suggested that NBC was behind the leaks as a pressure tactic to get Williams to resign and let the network reduce or get out of its contractual obligation to pay him more than $50 million over the next five years.

But NBC News Chairman Andy Lack still hasn't given up on the idea of bringing Williams back. Lack is also in no rush to decide, according to executives close to NBC News who were not authorized to speak publicly.

As NBC News president in the 1990s, Lack groomed Williams to be the successor to Tom Brokaw and remains close friends with him.

"If there is a path back, he is going to want to find it," one of the executives said.

NBC declined to comment.

The chatter among members of the TV news industry — many of whom were in Washington, D.C., this weekend for the annual White House Correspondents' Assn. dinner — was that it was difficult to see that path. "If there was, don't you think we'd be hearing about it by now?" an NBC News veteran said.

One possible scenario is that Lack vouches for Williams because of their long relationship, puts him back in the anchor chair but strips him of his managing editor title. Lack would then assure the public that he would keep a close watch on Williams. However, no one is betting on that happening.

Lack does have to be mindful of his bosses at NBC parent Comcast Corp., who have little patience for sustained bad news and are not afraid to cut their losses. Comcast demonstrated that last week when the cable giant decided to kill its proposed $54-billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable amid heavy criticism from consumer advocates.

However, there is no truth to reports that suggested NBC wanted to get the Williams issue resolved before upfront ad sales for the 2015-16 season begin next week, people in the industry said.

The Times echoes what FTVLive has said in the past, there is not a lot of support for Williams from the rank and file and that those same people really like Lester Holt. 

Stay tuned....

Bounced Traffic Reporter says she Didn't Have a Chance Against the Young Girls

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Dallas Traffic Reporter Tammy Dombeck is out of a job again and she says it was because the station was looking for someone younger for the job. 

Dombeck has been freelancing at KTVT in Dallas as the Traffic Reporter, until the station told her that her services were no longer needed. 

 Dombeck posted on Facebook, “it is with great disappointment that I write this post to you today, CBSDFW has decided not to hire me for the Morning Traffic Position.”

She thought she was going to have the chance to say goodbye, but station management told her not to come to work yesterday and she was done. 

“All the girls they auditioned for this job were in their 20s,” Dombeck told the Ft. Worth Star Telegram. “I didn’t have a chance. Frustrating.”

The station has not yet named a permanent morning Traffic Reporter, but if Dombeck is to be believed, look for it to be a young chippy. 

We're betting the chippy won't be paid too well either.

Just saying.... 

Homeless Sex Offenders is the Flavor of the May Book

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With the May ratings book here, stations are trying to figure out what story to scare viewers with this time.

The ebola that were we all supposed to be dead from by now has pretty much gone away here in the US. No shark attacks to latch onto. West Nile Virus is really hot anymore. So where are station turning to scare up some ratings?

Homeless sex offenders.

WJAX (Jacksonville) did an "exclusive" investigation and found that homeless sex offenders live right in the Jacksonville area.

"The family friendly Jacksonville Beach Pier is listed as the address of a sexual predator, the most violent kind of offender. Action News found dozens of sexual predators and offenders registering with the state and listing public places as their address," WJAX says.

Head up north to Milwaukee and WISN also has an "exclusive" report on homeless sex offenders. Their investigation shows that state is moving sex offenders around to different homes in Milwaukee every 3 days. 

It appears other stations have the homeless sex offender story on their schedule for later in the month.

Don't worry though, the weather will soon be turning hot and it will be time for the kids left in hot cars story to come out.

Expect that one in the July book. 

We love ratings. 

Like We Said....

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FTVLive FIRST tipped you off 2 days ago that an ex-employee at Al Jazeera would be filing a lawsuit against the network.

We wrote, "The lawsuit complaints will be explicit and explosive..."

Yesterday, Matthew Luke who was fired from AJA earlier this year filed the suit against the network complaining of a hostile work environment and claiming a manager made “discriminatory, anti-Semitic and anti-American remarks.”

Luke's attorney claims that when his client reported the biased and discriminatory conduct of a high-level newsroom executive, Luke was fired from his job. 

Two days ago, FTVLive wrote, Word is that Al Jazeera America CEO Ehab Al-Shihabi was just "summoned" to Doha headquarters amidst rumors he will be fired.  Many in the Newsroom are hoping for his dismissal, with one VP openly wishing for the CEO's death.  Expectation/hope his top deputy, President Kate O'Brian will also get the axe.  

Luke is seeking damages for $15 million against AJA and his lawsuit seems to already be making waves through the network.

Shortly after the lawsuits was filed, AJA's VP of human resources Diana Lee and the executiveVP of communications, Dawn Bridges both resigned.

They could be the first of many that will be losing their job at the struggling network. 

Stay tuned.... 

 

Raycom News Director Bounced During May Sweeps

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Most companies wait until after the book to send the News Director packing.

But, sources tell FTVLive that Raycom has already pink slipped WTOC (Savannah) News Director Jan Smith as the book is just getting started. 

Smith was kicked the curb after 5 years in the ND job. She was bumped up in January 2010 for the Assistant News Director gig.

No word on why she was bounced, but a newsroom staffer confirms to FTVLive that Smith is gone from the building. 

For now her bio remains of the station's website, but we're sure it won't last long now that FTVLive has posted the story.

Do You Want to Have Lunch With Jeff Zucker?

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How would you like to have lunch with CNN President Jeff Zucker? 

You can and you can do so for a bargain.

There is an auction for lunch with the Zuck on Charity Buzz right now. The lunch is valued at $10,000 bucks, but is currently selling for just 20% of that at $2000.

The auction says that, "The lucky winner will have lunch with President of CNN Worldwide, Jeff Zucker, at Porterhouse Steak inside the Time Warner Center in NYC!"

Guess if you're a vegan, you might not want to bid. 

If you don't think $2000 is a deal, check out what hanging out with Apple CEO Tim Cook went for? It was valued at $100,000 and sold for $200,000. 

That makes lunch with Zucker look cheap.

We're guessing that the current bid of 2 Grand is coming from Brian Williams.

Just saying.... 

Staff Fed Up at Al Jazeera America and Want Out NOW!

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When Al Jazeera America launched, many thought it was holy grail when it came to TV Journalism.

Now people are saying "holy shit" and they want out in the worst way.

When AJA launched, many pitched themselves to work there. It seemed like a company with an unlimited budget and a thirst to do "real" news.

Those same people feel like they were lied to and are now looking to get out.

FTVLive told you yesterday about how bad it is inside AJA and since then we have been contacted by others on the inside that paint even a worse picture.

"The temperament of employees is manipulated by changing schedules less than 24 hours in advance with no direct contact by supervisors.  In one week we are assured that our jobs are safe, the following week there are layoffs," says one AJA staffer to FTVLive. 

  A new procedure of employee reviews took a persons "self-review" and berated them for all the good they thought they had done.  Managers were asked to pick their favorites for a bonus check and required to make-up reasons why other employees were not good at their jobs.  Yes, many employees had blatant lies on their reviews.

Even security at AJA has changed dramatically since the launch. 

"Security was solid and a metal detector used at launch 2013.  By the third month of 2014, the detector was removed, security staff reduced to one person, and the entrance doors were broken.  The sense of any security at work was gone and the psychological toll has only grown," a n AJA insider says.

Many inside are not happy and want to leave.

One staffer thinks that having AJA on his resume is hurting his future employment chances. 

There is no doubt that many inside are not happy and are scared of the bosses. 

B-More Stations Go Wall to Wall to Riot Coverage

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The ratings gods are giving the Baltimore stations plenty of news coverage for the may book.

All the B-More affiliates dumped programing yesterday afternoon and went wall to wall with the protests that got out of hand. 

WBAL and WJZ did excellent in their coverage of the unrest. Both stations used savvy Reporters and Photographers to cover story and were often live at many different scenes and from the air.

WMAR showed why the station is a dog in the ratings. Most of their coverage was bases from the studio. when the station showed aerials they were from WJLA's (DC) chopper.

Just how bad was WMAR's coverage?

In a WJZ live shot from the City's Emergency Command Center for the Mayor's press conference, you could see six big screen monitors behind the podium.  Three monitors have traffic camera feed. 

The other three are tuned to WJZ, WBAL and WBFF. 

No WMAR. Very telling indeed. 

Speaking of WBFF, Sinclair is bringing in people from some of their other stations to help the station in their coverage. 

CNN relied heavily on both WBAL and WJX's choppers for their coverage. In fact the network was sending out tweets claiming it was "CNN Video," when clearly it was coming from WBAL.

Report: Andy Lack Wants BriWi Back

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He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not.

While it appears that many at NBC are more than happy to see Brian Williams stay away from 30 Rock for good, the NY Daily News says that one person wants him back.

And it happens to be new NBC News boss Andy Lack.

The Daily News writes that Lack is looking for a way to put Brian Williams back behind the "Nightly News" desk, sources tell the Daily News — and Williams has told confidants he won't leave the network unless he's fired.

"Andy believes viewers want him (Williams) back," the source said. "The feeling is that (Williams') problem seems to be more with the media and other reporters than his viewers — if Andy can figure out a way to get him back on the air he will do it."

Lack, a long-time Williams pal, returned to NBC in early March, and as chairman of NBC News will have the final say over the anchor's fate. He and Williams go back a long way — he served as the president of the news division from 1993 to 2003 and had a hand at positioning Williams for the "Nightly News" position in the first place.

He will not make a decision about Williams' fate until the network's internal probe is complete, a source familiar with the investigation said.

Word of Lack's continuing support for the embattled anchor comes amid reports that NBC News executives hope to force his resignation by leaking damaging details from its ongoing internal investigation into Williams.

Despite the investigation and pressure to resign, Williams has been digging in.

"It's been Brian's position all along that he will not resign," a source close to Williams said. "If he leaves it will not be his decision."

The will he stay or will he go game continues. 

Ummmmm.....

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If you're the Senior White House Correspondent at CNN, you might not want to tweet a picture of  you and longtime Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin on the red carpet.

For the few of you that don't know, when Abedin is not Jim Acosta's date, she is married to Anthony "sexting" Wiener and she is a central figure in the Clinton email scandal. 

It is not a picture I would have recommended posting.

Just saying.... 

Fox Business Finally Confirms FTVLive Story on Don Imus

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FTVLive FIRST told you the news that Don Imus was going to sign off from the Fox Business Network in late May.

FTVLive put in a call to Fox, which was never returned. It was clear that Fox Business was caught off guard and did not want the story out there without their spin on it. 

So what is the spin? 

FBN told some other media outlets that Imus would be spending the summer at his recently purchased ranch in Texas — which, unlike his previous ranch in New Mexico, has no remote television studio facilities.

Therefore he is leaving the TV side and staying on the radio. 

FTVLive does not completely buy this story and Fox's very slow response time is one of the main reasons why. 

We can't say for sure, because Fox Business never got around to calling us back.