Pushing You Over the Hump
/Our friends at Devlin Design Group are helping you get over the Wednesday hump:
Out the Door in Columbia and Headed to B-More
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Word out of WLTX in Columbia SC is that Weather Anchor Amy Aaronson has left the station after 3 years and is headed to Baltimore.
Aaronson is going to WBFF, the Sinclair station in B-More to be the Weekend Weather Anchor.
Her fiancé across the street, WOLO Photographer Eric Ferris is headed with her to Baltimore and will look for a Shooter job in the area.
Aaronson will be replaced by former WJTV Weather Anchor Efren Afante. But, don't tell anyone about that yet.
WLTX has yet to make that announcement and we don't want to spoil it for them.
OK?
Newspaper Guy Comes to the Dark Side
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By the most part, Newspaper people have often thumbed their noses at TV people. But, now that the newspaper industry is dying, many are changing their outlook on the electronic media.
You see more and more newspaper people taking jobs in TV news.
Another example?
Longtime print guy Phil Trexler is one of northeast Ohio's best reporters, having covered crime and courts for the Akron Beacon Journal for the past 16 years (and the News-Herald for seven years before that). Earlier this month,
Trexler left the ABJ to become an Executive Producer for WKYC, teaming up with Cleveland TV news legend "The Investigator," Tom Meyer.
So what does he think about his move to the dark side?
"It was foreign to me too, to some degree. Initially, I didn't think there was a chance that I would make the transition. It was never anything that I really considered in the past, but looking into the future -- five, ten years down the road -- I thought that this would present a lot of great opportunities. We're doing the same type of journalism, just in a different format, a different frame. On the website, we're all doing the same whether it's print or TV or radio -- you still have a website. But I think us in print have this sort of arrogance when it comes to TV news, that we in print to do it better and with more depth. But it was eye opening when I came here to see the amount of work that goes in to producing just a two to three minute news piece. I spent way more time doing the story we ran Monday on state spending -- spent way more time on that than I had on a news story in print. There's a lot of components that go into producing TV news segments. A lot of what we're doing here is the same as what I was doing in print, but a lot of it is way different."
The print people are learning, it's taking time, but they're learning.
H/T CleveScene.com
New Toys
/Either KVII (Amarillo) is getting a fleet of new live trucks, or the old ones are getting repossessed:
Sweeping up in Jacksonville
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You may remember that Cox blew up their Anchor team at WJAX in Jacksonville. The station basically fired or reassigned every one of their Anchors.
If you look at the numbers for the May book, the move seemed to be a smart one for the evening newscasts, not so much at 11PM.
Independent WJXT continues to be the 800 pound gorilla of the market. The station handily beats the others in the news numbers. But, in the evening newscast WJAX has moved up to number 2 at 5 and 5:30PM with WTLV coming in second at 6PM.
“It really underscores all the changes we’ve made here in the past 12 months,” said General Manager Jim Zerwekh. “The viewers have come to like and accept and appreciate the changes we made."
At 11PM it's a different story. WJAX is down 25% and WTLV is up almost 23% in late news. Again, WJXT is on top of the heap.
WJAX is happy to see that their Anchor blow up did not blow up in their face. Viewers seem to be catching on an liking the stations new look. But, the drop in late news numbers has to be a concern.
Oopsy!
/Some Journalists were covering the story of a self parking car made by Volvo.
A look at the video, shows that all did not goes as planned.
Ouch!
Illinois Anchor Loses Cancer Fight
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Some sad news to bring you.
WCIA (Champaign, IL) Anchor Dave Benton has lost his fight with brain cancer.
Last September, Benton told viewers that his brain cancer had returned and it is too big to be operated on.
He knew he did not have long to live and yet he continued to anchor the news.
Last year, FTVLive named him number 1 on our list of best people in TV news.
Sadly, although it was expected, Benton lost his cancer fight.
And although it won't be long that we will forget how Dave Benton died, many of us will never forget how the guy lived.
A class act from beginning to end.
Ummmmm...About That Live Shot
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About that live shot?
I think they are going to miss slot. Just saying.....
WLKY's live truck was dead in the middle of the road after cops say a Ford sedan ran a red light and slammed right into the news truck.
EMS took two WLKY employees to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries. The driver of the Ford was not hurt.
But he did make the newscast.
Guess it's the Thought that Counts
/KTTV (LA) Reporter Gina Silva wanted to thank Veterans yesterday on social media.
She did that, she just didn't get the holiday quite right. In was Memorial Day yesterday Gina, not Veterans Day.
But hey, you heart was in the right spot:
Ummmmm....
/Wikipedia describes the word gyp or gypped this way:
"Gyp is a pejorative and sometimes offensive word for cheating or swindling."
Someone might want to pass along that information KHQ.
Just saying....
Crossing the Street in Connecticut
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Last week, FTVLive FIRST told you that WVIT NBC Connecticut Reporter Amanda Raus is gone from the station.
Raus joined WVIT in April 2007 as a General Assignment Reporter, coming from from WSHM in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Well, it looks like she doesn't have to call the movers for her next job.
Sources tell FTVLive that Raus is crossing the street to WTIC.
Now we know why she left WVIT so quickly.
Lights Out
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Houston stations are busy this morning will wall to wall coverage of historic flooding in the area. Stations have been on the air for hours with their coverage of of the rain that just won't stop.
While crews are out in the pouring rain trying to get the story, the Anchors are sitting back in a nice dry studio pitching from one live camera to the next.
But, Mother Nature had a surprise for KPRC Anchors Bill Balleza and Dominique Sachse. A lightning strike knocked out the studio lights and left the Anchors in the dark (insert your own joke here).
Let's go to the video:
KGO Cuts Ties With Producer After Tweets
/A Freelance Producer for KGO in San Francisco has lost his gig after sending out tweets about how maybe the police should fire real bullets at protesters.
Freelance producer Carlos La Roche sent out this tweet about protestors demonstrating the recent acquittal of a police officer in Cleveland:
KGO followed up with these tweets:
H/T Mediate
Looking to By a House in Miami? Call Fired WCBS Anchor Rob Morrison
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FTVLive FIRST told you that fired WCBS Anchor Rob Morrison was spotted interviewing at WGCL in Atlanta.
Well, if he doesn't get that job, it looks like he has a fallback plan.
It appears that Morrison has gotent his real estate license and has set up shop in Miami.
His ex-wife, Ashley, that he was arrested for assaulting back in Connecticut is now working at WSVN in Miami.
It seems Rob has moved closer to the ex and is now also in SoFlo. Morrison has been working the past month for Keyes Company as a Real Estate Agent.
We don't know how good Morrison is at selling houses, but we know for fact he's not afraid to work the phone.
Geraldo Puts House Up for Sale
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We're not sure in Rob Morrison is the listing agent, but Fox News showoff Geraldo Rivera has put his riverfront compound in Edgewater, N.J., up for sale.
Geraldo is asking $3.75 million and a naked selfie for the place.
The two-residence compound is part of a discreet and little-known cooperative-style enclave cleaved to the steep bank of the Hudson River just below the George Washington Bridge.
Although it does appear that one of the houses was acquired in 1998 for $350,000, property records aren’t explicit about exactly when or how much Rivera paid for either the two homes that are being sold together even though they’re separated by a narrow lane.
Gerado recently bought a $5.6 million condo in a full-service Manhattan highrise where he already own a slightly smaller unit on a lower floor.
H/T Variety
On the Mend
/FTVLive spies spotted hard working Dylan Dreyer doing weather on NBC News with her arm in a cast.
It appears that the hardest working Weather Anchor had recently had surgery after falling on some ice back while covering winter storms.
She, along with help from MSNBC Anchor Thomas Roberts, took to Twitter and used some high tech graphics to explain what happened:
Get well soon Dylan!
