| Stories from
Summer 2004 |
Critical
Comments | WESH
storm coverage slammed
 Sept. 15 --
Jim Clark,
editor and publisher of Orlando
Magazine, has some harsh words
for WESH's coverage of Hurricane
Charley. In the latest issue of
the magazine, he takes
NewsChannel 2 to task for
responding slowly to the change
in Charley's path, odd storm
reports and strange positioning
of reporters. "WESH general
manager Bill Bauman and news
directior Ed Trauschke are two of
the best in the business,"
Clark writes. "They are
seasoned pros who both know the
news business inside out. So,
what could have happened -- what
went wrong? Our theory is that as
the storm churned into the Gulf
of Mexico, the two were kidnapped
by aliens and taken to a distant
planet. At the same time, a group
of elementary school students
were touring the station and the
decision was made to put them in
charge of the coverage. But to
state that as fact would leave us
wide open to a libel suit by the
elementary school students. We
can hear their attorney, Johnny
Cochran, telling them, 'Kids you
must sue if they blame you for
the mess at 2.' " Clark goes
on to praise WFTV's coverage,
singling out news director Bob
Jordan and, of course, Tom Terry.
The column is headlined "Tom
Terrific." It's not yet
posted on OrlandoMagazine.com,
but here are some scanned-in
pages of Clark's column if you
want an early peek (before you go
to the newstand and purchase a
print copy).
>> Jim Clark's
"Orlando Magazine"
column Page 1 and Page 2 |
Mark
in the Morning | 6 hires
McEwen's co-anchor
 Sept. 14 --
When former
CBS morning guy Mark McEwen
finally makes his debut on WKMG,
his co-anchor will be Jacquie
Sosa, NewsBlues.com reports. Sosa, from
Post-Newsweek sister station
WPLG, anchored the morning
show at Miami's Local 10 before
leaving the station briefly for
medical reasons, then returning
to anchor weekend nights. She has
been with the station for 5
years. Sosa is a UM grad (double
majored in journalism and
political science) who got her
start in Terre Haute, Ind., where
she was the anchor and producer
of a morning show from 1998-99.
She is scheduled to start at
Local 6 on Oct. 4, anchoring the
morning and noon shows with
McEwen and then filing medical
reports for the later shows.
McEwen, meanwhile, was originally
scheduled to start on Sept. 16,
but that date is likely being
pushed back. |
Storm
Analysis | It's a
tale of two Toms
  Sept. 12 --
If you want
to start an argument in Central
Florida these days, you don't
need to mention politics or
religion. Just say "Tom
Terry." Granted, this is
only from my observance of
friends, neighbors and
co-workers, but back-to-back
storms have moved the WFTV
meteorologist to near icon
status. There are those (me
included) who appreciate Terry's
expertise and they way he tracks
storms. Others say his
"doom-and-gloom"
attitude turns them off. I've
seen this argument about Terry
repeated almost a dozen times
this past week with different
people. For every person who says
Terry is too dramatic with his
weather presentation, another
will pop up to defend him. In the
middle of Hurricane Frances, I
witnessed one woman complaining
about Terry -- then complaining
when someone changed the channel
off Terry's coverage. "Yes,
it's addictive," she
conceded of WFTV's storm
coverage. Basically, there seems
to be two weather camps emerging
from our Charley and Frances
experiences. You have the Tom
Terry camp ... and the Tom
Sorrells camp. WKMG's
meteorologist is the anti-Terry,
according to the folks I'm
around. They say they like his
calmness and his reporting. They
say his Frances forecast for
Orlando was more accurate than
Terry's. And Sorrells' "Talk
to Tom" segments during
Frances reinforced the perception
that he's a friendly,
knowledgeable guy. (That WKMG has
finally given its mets some
decent weather tools to use --
the new VIPIR software --
certainly helps Sorrells'
credibility, too.) Surprisingly,
storm coverage on WESH -- long
thought of as the market's
weather leader -- hasn't caused
much of a buzz. One guy told me,
"I watched NBC Nightly News
for 20 minutes and knew more
about the hurricane than I did
from watching WESH for the past
10 hours." His household has
switched over to Terry and WFTV
for future storms, he said. Even
WOFL-Fox 35, which has the
disadvantage of being the newest
news department in town and
without as many resources as the
Big 3 stations, earned more
discussion for its coverage than
WESH. Glenn Richards' and Jim Van
Fleet's reports were mentioned by
a couple of people. I'm not sure
if they were watching Fox 35 all
time, but they did seem to be
checking them out. What does all
this mean? That's hard to say.
WFTV is already the top-rated
news in town in all but two time
periods -- noon and 11 p.m. Will
Terry's popularity help
Eyewitness News overcome a weak
ABC prime time and move to the
top spot at 11? Or will the
emergence of Sorrells as the
"Terry alternative"
keep WKMG as No. 1? And is WESH
losing out as a player in storm
coverage? We'll all have to wait
and watch. |
Storm
Watch | Not all
weather centers are the same
 Sept. 12 --
We've gone
through two storms in the past
three weeks, so we all have had
an up-close and personal look at
the area stations'
weathercasting. Though I really
am not brand loyal to any station
in town, I did end up watching
more of WFTV for both storms --
and I've been trying to figure
out why. Yes, there's Tom Terry,
who is a thorough professional
and obviously gets excited about
the weather. But there's more. I
think one reason I kept going
back to WFTV was that new Severe
Weather Center. Now, a news
director once told me no one
watches the news because of the
set, but I would disagree a bit
in this case. It's not so much
the look of the Channel 9 weather
set, but it's configuration. You
can see the six or seven other
people working right along with
Terry. When you see Terry, Tom
Sorrells, Dave Marsh or Glenn
Richards up in front of a chroma
wall, they may be the only ones
in front of the camera, but they
have producers or others working
with them behind the scenes.
WFTV's new weather center lets
viewers see the folks who are
backing up Terry. He interacts
with them, and that gives viewers
(or at least me) a little more
confidence that WFTV is doing all
it can to report storm coverage
as quickly and as thoroughly as
possible. No offense to WESH or
WOFL, but when you see WFTV's
huge weather center with its
different work stations, then
flip the channel to see Richards
or Mike O'Lenick sitting next to
a single PC that looks no
different from the one on my
desk, you can understand why some
folks put more credibility in
Channel 9's coverage. I know WKMG
is getting ready for a set
refresh -- and investing in a
WFTV-style weather center is an
idea they should consider. |
Frances
Memories | Some
stuff that stood out
 Sept. 12 --
Finally,
some stuff that stood out to me
during the hours (and hours) of
Hurricane Frances coverage. ...
WKMG's Bob Frier
had the best line of the whole
hurricane, when -- seemingly a
bit exasperated -- he said the
best word to describe the
relentless, slow-moving Frances
was "obnoxious." Amen!
... Early on in its Saturday
coverage, Fox 35 had a reporter
-- Trei Johnson,
I think -- on the beach. She
noted the wind was uncovering
turtle nests and blowing the eggs
across the beach. Very concerned,
she asked the anchors if there
was anything she could do. Fox
got an expert who said to cover
the nests back up -- but then the
anchors cautioned Trei and the
public not to go out and try to
do that. ... If I'm not mistaken,
I think this is the same Fox
reporter who was almost hit by a
falling tree during coverage. I
heard one of them had a close
call. ... Rather than riding out
this storm out at our damaged
home, I took the family to work
with me. We were staying at the
downtown Marriott, since it was
close to the office. We were
awakened about 6:30 a.m. Sunday
by the hotel staff to tell us to
evacuate to the main ball room
because the side of the building
was crumbling off. Turns out it
wasn't that big of a deal
safety-wise, but we braved the
winds and headed the two blocks
over the office after that. ...
The Marriott seemed a popular
choice for the media. Besides
Orlando Sentinel employees
staying there, there were vans
for WFTV and Atlanta's WSB in the
parking lot. ... I bet I wasn't
alone in worrying that WESH's two
very, very pregnant
meteorologists -- Leslie
Hudson and Amy
Sweezey -- were going to
go into labor any minute during
storm coverage. Fortunately they
didn't, and both did fine jobs
with their reporting. ... I only
got to see a few minutes of
Central Florida News 13's
coverage -- when I was out at a
restaurant on Monday night. I
looked up and saw former Channel
6 weathercaster Pat
Michaels on the screen.
I thought maybe they hired him to
help in storm covearge, but
turned out he was there as a
spokesman for a local
organization. ... At one point
during WFTV's coverage, Tom
Terry mentioned that the
power had just gone out in his
neighborhood, but that it was OK.
He had a generator, and he told
all his neighbors to head over to
his house. "Help yourself to
whatever you need," he said,
prompting laughter and concern
from anchors Martie Salt
and Bob Opsahl.
Realizing what he just said,
Terry quickly added, "Just
leave the big-screen TV."
... How many times do you read
about a weatherman being compared
to a rock star? That's just what
the Orlando Sentinel did with
Terry -- in an editorial, no
less! -- in praising
WFTV's coverage and that of the
other stations, too. ... And in
my neighborhood, someone has a
sign up that says
"Hurricanes Suck." I'm
still not sure whether the
neighbor dislikes the weather or
the University of Miami. Guess
that means things might finally
be getting back to normal. |
Remembering
Charlie | Florida's
1st TV meteorologist
 Sept. 13 -- Before the current
TV weather Toms, before even Dave
Marsh, there was Charles Stump.
He was the first television
meteorologist in Florida, was the
No. 2 entry on our Central
Florida Golden 50 list, and he
was the subject of this week's
Florida Flashback column in the
Orange section of Sunday's Orlando
Sentinel. Writer Joy Wallace
Dickinson draws parallels between
Stump and some of his successors:
"When Tom Terry,
chief meteorologist of
WFTV-Channel 9, recently
predicted Hurricane Charley's
path in advance of other
forecasters, Barbara Stump was
reminded of her husband during
monster Hurricane Donna in 1960.
'He had just come to Orlando,'
Barbara Stump recalled, to begin
work at WESH. She and their
children were still in Tampa,
getting ready to move to Central
Florida. The weather bureau says
Donna's going west and won't hit
Orlando, Charlie Stump told his
wife in a phone call, but he felt
certain that wasn't the case. 'He
stuck to his guns,' Barbara Stump
recalls, and he correctly
predicted Donna's path. It helped
make his reputation."
Dickinson also noted Stump's
low-key style and down-home
accent. "His greeting, 'Good
evening, everyone' -- rendered by
one columnist as 'Good
Eve'nin' Ever-wonn' --
became part of the local lexicon.
>> Click to
read the Florida Flashback column
on Charles Stump |
I
Hate Sequels | Here
comes Frances
 Sept. 3 -- Here we go again ...
Central Florida is bracing for
Hurricane Frances. It's unfreakinbelieveable.
All the area stations are gearing
up. WESH was first in going
wall-to-wall, doing so since
Thursday. If Charley was a
dress-rehearsal, all the area
media outlets are really ready
this time. WESH is advertising
that it is importing three more
weather experts to join its staff
of five meteorologists and adding
reporters from sister stations.
WKMG is bringing back the VIPIR
storm-tracking and forecasting
software it used during Charley
(until the power went out). At
WFTV, chief met Tom Terry is
promising new weathercasting
software to pinpoint the
hurricane's path and conditions
down to street level. WFTV has
also started streaming its
coverage on its website. And
WOFL-Fox 35 -- which believes it
may have been the first to call
the change in Charley's course --
hasn't gone to 24-hour coverage
yet (at 9 p.m.) but is providing
regular updates and specials. In
watching all the coverage the
past few days, I have found the
actions of the National Hurricane
Center interesting. Because of
all the criticism it received for
missing Charley's track, just
about all releases or interviews
from the NHC have been mentioning
that the exact track isn't
important because the storm is so
large. That may have been a
direct result of the Orlando
stations touting their
forecasting abilities after
Charley. Here at
RogerSimmons.com, we have all the
windows boarded up, and on the
lovely blue tarp that's covering
our roof, we've added lumber,
hoping that it will keep the
temporary shield in place.
Everyone stay tuned and stay
safe. |
Getting
Caught Up | Here's
what's been going on
 Aug. 30 -- Time to play
catch-up on all the various TV
happenings in the past two weeks.
... We're told by CFN 13 insiders
that meteorologist Dave
Cochirella was one of
the post-Charley casualties. He
was up in a tree trying to saw
off a limb when the tree
collapsed. He was lucky to escape
with only a broken foot, but it
could have been much worse if the
tree had fallen the other way.
... WKMG made it official that
former CBS anchor Mark
McEwen will join the
station on Sept. 16. He'll anchor
the morning and noon shows. ...
And there will be some shuffling
of anchor duties at WKMG.
NewsBlues.com reported that
current noon and 5:30 anchor Jacqueline
London will start
anchoring the 11 p.m. show with Bob
Frier, moving Lauren
Rowe to a new, yet-to-be
announced 4 p.m. newscast. ...
More WKMG: morning and noon
weatherman Reynolds Wolf reportedly
is not having his contract
renewed as the station revamps
its lineup. And anchor Gerald
Reznick, who was taken
off weekends and moved to the
morning show, is back on weekends
now. ... During Hurricane Charley
coverage, the weather graphics on
WKMG looked a little different.
The station was using VIPIR
software from Baron
Services. Some say it was an
emergency tryout, other says
Local 6 has purchased the
software. We'll see. ... Two big
events for Local 6 reporter Kim
Dean: She's leaving the
station to join "Inside
Edition," and she recently
became engaged to former Fox 35
sports guy Penn
Holderness. They both
heading to New York. Congrats! |
Charley
Chronicles | Special
recaps storm coverage
 Aug. 30 -- We were one of the
fortunate few who kept their
power during Charley, so I was
able to set the VCR to record
Central Florida's hurricane
coverage. I've added a special
Charley section to the site
featuring more than 70 frame
grabs from area coverage and some
video clips from WFTV and WKMG
during the storm. It's at rogersimmons.com/tv/charley. Or click on the
"Hurricane Charley: a look
back" graphic at the top
right. |
Boo
Charley | On the
road to recovery
 Aug. 27 -- What do get when you
joke about a hurricane? You get
the punch line. A big part of
what was left of Charley's eye
came right over my Waterford
Lakes neighborhood and house two
weeks ago. Since then I've been
busy cutting down fallen trees,
boarding up a broken window,
attempting to get my fence back
up, working to collect all the
shingles and paper that flew off
my house, and trying (but not
succeeding) to repair my damaged
and leaking roof. And, during the
same time, it was the busiest two
weeks of the year at my job. But
things have quieted down, and now
I'll be posting items again.
About the only thing I didn't
lose during the hurricane was
power, so I have lots of images
and stories from O-Town's Charley
coverage that will be up by
Monday. Thanks to all of you who
inquired about what was up with
me, and thanks to all of you who
were part of the hurricane
coverage. You performed a great
public service! |
A
Mighty Wind | Here
comes Charley
Aug. 12 -- Hurricane Charley is
sure stirring things up in
Central Florida. All the local
stations are expected to start
wall-to-wall coverage on Friday.
... We're told that WESH is
thinking of shifting NBC's
coverage of the Athens Olympics
opening ceremony on Friday night
to WOPX-Pax 56 so it can stay
with news coverage. Pax 56 isn't
available to satellite
subscribers on DirecTV or Dish
Network, so get those rabbit ears
out if you've got a dish. ...
WFTV has been running a lot --
and I mean a lot -- of
promos for its new severe weather
center. Guess it's a good time
for that. ... WFTV has brought in
a new meteorologist, Arch Kennedy
from Cox sister station WSB in
Atlanta. He did some tag-team
weather in the early evening and
handled the 10 p.m. WFTV-produced
show on WRDQ-Channel 27. ... Good
thing Channel 9 has backups for
chief met Tom Terry. He was
already losing his voice early
Thursday evening. Yikes. ... A reminder
that you can always track the
weather in East Orlando here at RogerSimmons.com/weather. Click on
"live weather" up on
the top left. |
Sweeping
Up | WFTV,
WKMG have strong July
 Aug. 9 -- Sure, a lot of
viewers and anchors were on
vacation, but there were some
interesting results from the
recent July sweeps. WFTV again
dominated, winning five of seven
daily newscasts. And Eyewitness
News won every newscast during
the sweeps at 5, 5:30 and 6 p.m. "The
headline here is that for the
first time in years Eyewitness
News pitched the perfect game in
the most watched time period for
local news," said WFTV VP
and GM Bill Hoffman in a news
release. WFTV, which has been in
third place at 11 p.m. for the
past few sweeps, moved up to No.
2 behind WKMG. |
Just
Nuggets | Some
summer stuff
 Aug. 9 -- Some
nuggets for you: WESH is getting
into the Olympic spirit already,
sending morning anchor Marc
Middleton to Athens to
send back reports. WESH has also
planted the NBC Olympic logo on
the front of its anchor desk. ...
WESH says new weekend anchor Sally
Schulze will be Wendy
Chioji's primary backup
on the weekday evening newscasts.
... The Daily Buzz
finally moved to the WB18 studios
in Lake Mary last week. Fans of
the show are reportedly a little
upset that the move has brought a
more serious tone to the morning
program. ... Kim Dean
-- selected best female TV news
personality by Orlando Weekly --
was reportedly testing on the
anchor desk with Mark
McEwen at WKMG recently.
... Sad news from NewsBlues.com about Janeen
Lopez, the CFN 13 intern who
died in an early-morning crash on
the Florida's Turnpike in July.
On the same day 22-year-old Lopez
died, her parents found a message
on her telephone answering
machine, inviting her to
interview for a job at CNN. |
Networking
| McEwen to
join WKMG
 Aug. 5 -- Mark
McEwen, the former CBS morning
anchor and weatherman, has
reached a deal to join WKMG,
according to NewsBlues.com. Local 6
insiders tell us that McEwen will
likely be anchoring the station's
third-rated morning news show
with a new co-anchor, yet to be
determined. We're told official
annoucement of McEwen's hire
could come as early as today
during a station staff meeting.
McEwen left CBS in October 2002,
after 16 years in morning
television. ... In other news,
with the July sweeps ending, WOFL
anchor Brad Stephens signed off
on Thursday night. Fox 35 sources
tell us that Stephens will stay
in the area and look for work
outside the TV business. Fox 35
weekend anchor Glenn Pearson and
reporter Keith Landry will fill
in for Stephens on the 10 p.m.
news until a replacement is
found. |
Vacation
Nuggets | While I
was away ...
 Aug. 4 -- After a
visit with the relatives in
Western North Carolina, we're
back with some news nuggets. ...
The July sweeps -- sort of the Rodney
Dangerfield of sweeps --
end today. Fox 35 had some
thoughtful, well-researched
reports during the sweeps,
including one on the prosecution
of rapes in Central Florida and
one on home prices across the
area. But just as WOFL seems to
settled down, it will be losing
anchor Brad Stephens this
month. ... WESH has promoted
weekend morning anchor/reporter Raul
Martinez to co-anchor of
its weekday 5:30 p.m. newscast.
Martinez, who becomes the first
Hispanic weeknight anchor on any
of Central Florida's big four
stations, will initially team
with Wendy Chioji
on the 5:30 show. Said WESH GM Bill
Bauman: "Raoul is
one of our up-and-coming young
journalists who has extraordinary
presentation skills. We're happy
we've come to an agreement to
move him into this important new
job." ... Also at WESH, Sally
Schulze is a new weekend
anchor, joining Channel 2 from
KIRO in Seattle. ... WFTV morning
anchor/reporter Greg
Warmoth got a new gig
recently. According to Scott
Maxwell of the Orlando
Sentinel, Warmoth
filled in as a caddy on a soggy
Sunday for friend and PGA player Chris
DiMarco during a
tournament. |
Digital
News | 9 to air
24/7 news channel
 July 24 -- WFTV-Channel
9 has signed up to carry ABC's
new 24-hour digital news channel,
ABC News Now. Beginning at noon
on Monday and running through
Election Day on Nov. 2, WFTV and
ABC will provide a 24/7 news
service transmitted over WFTV-DT.
The vision for informal and
unharnessed news reporting that
is not regularly offered through
traditional broadcast outlets.
This includes live events and
major breaking news around the
world, as well as hourly updates.
"We are excited to be the
first station in the area to
offer a second tier of live news
and information programming to
Central Florida," said Bill
Hoffman, WFTV's vice president
and GM. In Central Florida,
viewers will be able to view ABC
News Now on WFTV's secondary
digital channel. This
service will only be available to
viewers who have digital
over-the-air receivers or cable
subscribers with high definition
digital packages. Over the
air WFTV-DT broadcasts its
secondary signal on Channel 9-2;
on Brighthouse digital the
programming will be shown on
Channel 1091. Thirty-five other
ABC affiliates have already
signed up to carry the service,
and more are expected to do so
before Monday. Meanwhile, WESH
and NBC are teaming up to offer a
local weather and entertainment
digital channel later this
year. |
Blasts
from the Past | WESH and
WTVJ
 July 23 -- It's been
awhile since I've posted some
cool video clips, so here are a
couple. There's an interesting
NewsCenter 2 Weekend clip from
1986. When I first saw the clip,
I didn't remember this opening at
all. It's kind of interesting to
note the different NBC peacocks
in the promo and the station ID.
And it must have been a slow news
day in O-Town, with the top story
being the annual Christmas
concert at Epcot. The other clip
is from WTVJ in Miami and also
involves the peacock. It's a clip
from New Year's Eve 1988, when
the former longtime CBS affiliate
was becoming an NBC O&O. WTVJ
used to be Channel 4, but is now
Channel 6 -- but that's a very
long story to explain.
>> Click to see
WESH NewsCenter 2 from 1986
>> Click to see
WTVJ News 4 from 1988 |
High
Tech Hijinks | Robots
arrive at WKMG
 July 23 -- "Danger!
Danger Will Robinson! The robots
have arrived at Local 6." A
shipment of new robotic camera
platforms showed up at Local 6
last week, prompting a lot of
questions from production folks
and not a lot of answers from
management. We're told that the
robots will have a big impact at
WKMG. The high-tech wonders will
reportedly kill half of the
station's part-time production
jobs by the end of the year.
Sounds like someone should call
Will Smith. |
Mark
in the Morning | McEwen
talks to WKMG
July 19 -- The former
Big 3 morning anchor who is
reportedly talking with WKMG
about a job is Mark McEwen,
according to NewsBlues.com. McEwen, who
has family in Central Florida,
has been angling for a morning
news anchor and feature reporting
gig with the station, the website
said. He left CBS in October
2002, after 16 years in morning
television as a weather,
entertainment, and occasional
news reporter/anchor. NewsBlues
also reports that WFTV anchor
Greg Warmoth thinks a move to
WKMG is unlikely, but if he did
go he would have to sit out a
one-year non-compete clause. |
On
the Move? | Sources
say 6 wants Warmoth
 July 17 -- WKMG is
talking with longtime
WFTV-Channel 9 anchor Greg
Warmoth. According to insiders at
both WFTV and WKMG who asked not
to be identified, Warmoth is
reportedly being courted to
anchor Channel 6's third-place
morning news show. Warmoth has
been at Channel 9 since 1986 and
has anchored the top-rated
Eyewitness News Daybreak show
since '92. Landing Warmoth would
be a huge coup for WKMG and
likely a big boost for its
morning newscast. Although
Warmoth might not be able to
appear on WKMG until January
because of the non-complete
clause in his current deal, the
negotiations show just how
serious Local 6 is about boosting
its news ratings. Another sign:
According to two sources, the
station has also been in talks
with a former anchor from one of
the Big 3 network morning shows. |
Movin'
On Up | MSNBC
puts Rehberger in primetime
 July 14 -- Bud
Hedinger didn't make the cut at
MSNBC, but another former Central
Florida anchor has done it.
Milissa Rehberger, the former Fox
35 News at 10 anchor whose
contract wasn't renewed last
year, has been named anchor for
MSNBC's primetime news updates.
Since December, the talented
Rehberger has been serving as a
freelance anchor and reporter for
the cable network. At the news
channel, she replaces Christy
Musumeci, whose contract was not
renewed. Rehberger's former
co-anchor at WOFL, Brad Stephens,
also did not have his contract
renewed and is expected to leave
the station early next month.
Looking at Fox' 35s track so far
record, Stephens will probably
end up replacing Dan Rather! |
Intern
dies | Lopez
killed in car crash
 July 12 -- Janeen
Daniella Lopez, who was an intern
with Central Florida News 13, was
killed last week in a crash on
Florida's Turnpike. A Delray
Beach woman ended up traveling on
the wrong side of the road and
hit Lopez's car head-on, killing
both women instantly. Lopez
graduated from UCF on April 30
with a bachelor's degree in
political science. "She
really was one of the best
interns we had," Jennifer
Cook, the station's executive
producer, told the South
Florida Sun-Sentinel. "We
were hoping to hire her at some
point, to be honest. She was
really good." |
Weather
Monster | The
65-foot weather center
July
8 -- Channel 6 has
"Big Picture Weather,"
but Channel 9 could start
branding there's "Biggest
Picture Weather." Earlier
this week the station debuted its
new Severe Weather Center -- a
mammoth set that is actually
larger than the news desk set and
the previous weather set --
combined. We're told it's about
65 feet long, counting the set
and the chroma wall. That's a
monster. And in the middle is a
72-inch monitor to display WFTV's
live radar. A couple of
interesting items: Don't expect
to see anyone sitting down on the
job in the new weather center.
The set is constructed with all
the severe weather computers
easily accessible in front of a
standing weather anchor. And,
since the new weather center is
on left side of the studio, the
sports and weather folks have
changed seats. Now, WFTV is the
only station in town with weather
anchors on the left and sports
anchors on the right. Not sure if
that means anything, but I bet
some consultant could tell it
does. We wonder if the new
weather center will prompt other
stations to redo their
forecasting setups. Fox 35 is
supposed to be getting a new set
this summer, and we hear WKMG is
talking about remodeling its set
soon.
|
Better
Late Than Never | Golden 50
is finally here
 July 7 -- I wish I could blame
it on technical difficulties, but
the real problem I had compiling
Central Florida Television's
Golden 50 list was deciding who I
had to leave off. It was really
tough! So, I'm a couple of days
late, but I hope you'll take a
minute or two to scroll through
50 years of Orlando TV. I tried
to include a good mix of
old-timers who you may not know
and long-timers who are still on
the air today. If you come across
an error or some incorrect
information, please let me know
and I'll fix it as soon as
possible. In the coming days,
I'll be expanding the Golden 50
area to include a Central Florida
TV timeline and some other
goodies. And, as always, if you
have some old tape or film of
Orlando TV, please let me know.
Meanwhile, Channel 6 has really
started its 50th anniversary
celebration. The station aired
five short features about its
history during Sunday's Fireworks
at the Fountain telecast. And
WKMG has started using its 50th
anniverary logo for station IDs.
We even hear Ben Aycrigg -- No. 1
on our Golden 50 list -- will be
back on Channel 6 Thursday.
>> Click to see
Central Florida Television'
Golden 50 list |
It's
a landslide! | Area
stations dominate state awards
June
29 -- Although
it happened earlier this month,
the Society of Professional
Journalists' Sunshine State
Awards are noteworthy. Central
Florida's station won first place
in EVERY category --
overshadowing the larger markets
of Miami and Tampa/St. Pete.
Deadline Reporting: WFTV for its
shuttle coverage; Feature
Reporting: Stephanie Gailhard of
the Villages' VNN cable channel;
Sports Feature/Commentary: WFTV's
Dan Hellie, Shane Whitehead and
Justin Whitman; Investigative
Reporting: WKMG's Tony Pipitone
and Darran Caudle; Criminal
Justice Reporting: Mike Holfeld,
Joe W. Morrison, Jr., and Brent
Singleton; Consumer Reporting:
WFTV's Todd Ulrich, China Kirby
and Gerry Mendiburt;
International/War/National
Security Reporting: WFTV's Scott
Thuman; WFTV-TV; Education
Reporting: WKMG's Tony Pipitone,
Darran Caudle, Tim Arnheim and
Brent Singleton; Social Policy
Reporting: WKMG's Joe W. Morrison
Jr., Brent Singleton and Tim
Arnheim; Public Affairs Program:
WFTV's Matt Parcell, Bruce Wiley,
Barbara West and Margaret Norman;
and Newscast: WESH's Leslie
Walden and Paige Harrison for the
5 and 6 p.m. shows. |
Anchor
on the move? | Deal may
be close
 UPDATE June
25 -- I
inadvertently set off a firestorm
of guessing with my Tuesday post
about a longtime local anchor who
may be getting ready to jump
across town to another station. I
still haven't been able to
confirm it -- and that may be
because negotiations are still
ongoing. I'm told it's
"thisclose" to being
done, however. So, the waiting
will have to continue for a
little bit more. News
Nuggets | TV here,
TV there and radio air
 June 25 -- Some quick
news nuggets (to take you mind
off the anchor question): Central
Florida News 13 is welcoming
three new members to its on-air
staff. News anchor Wendy
Allen joins
meteorologist Danny
Treanor on weekend
mornings. The UCF grad comes from
WLOV in Tupelo, Miss. Nancy
Gay is the new health
and fitness reporter. She comes
from WTXL in Panama City and
replaces Carolyn Scofield,
who is moving to a GA role. And Greg
Watson, a 20-year vet of
TV, is another new GA reporter.
He comes from WFOR, the CBS
O&O in Miami. ... Someone saw
this on TVSpy.com
and sent it along this morning:
Former WFTV reporter Cynthia
Vega, now at WFAA in
Dallas, was struck by a car
driven by a Dallas police
officer. She reportedly has a
broken foot. ... Former WFTV
sports director Gary
Cohl's role in radio
continues to grow. Starting
Monday, WORL-660 AM will convert
to all-sports (660 The Fan), and
Cohl will host a 5-7 p.m.
weeknight sports show,
"Primetime with Gary Cohl
and Friends." Congrats.
|
On
the cover | Holfeld
helps launch new mag
 June 22 -- When you
launch a new magazine, you always
want a very recognizable face on
the cover. For the new Seminole
Magazine, that person is WKMG
Problem Solver Mike Holfeld. Mike
and his wife, Lisa, will appear
on the cover of the debut issue
in August as prominent Seminole
County residents. The cover story
focuses on Holfeld's thoughts
about living in Seminole County
(he's been there since 1999), the
county's schools (he has two
children attending school there)
and the laws that he helped
change as a member of Channel 6's
investigative unit. |
That's
It For Sports | Maderer
leaving 13 anchor desk
 June 17 -- Jason
Maderer, sports director at
Central Florida News 13, is
leaving the local cable news
channel. We're told that Maderer,
an all-around good guy, is
getting out of the the TV biz to
join the Central Florida Sports
Commission, working in Volusia
County. Maderer, who grew up in
Central Florida and graduated
from UCF, has been at CFN 13 for
a little more than a year. When
hired in May 2003, he became the
station's third sports director
in eight months. We're also told
by station insiders that backup
sports anchors Matt O'Conner and
Denise Cullen will likely be
considered for the top sports
job. |
Hot
Mic | WESH
apologizes for on-air profanity
 June 17 -- A
"no-no" got on the air
at WESH during Tuesday's 5 p.m.
newscast, prompting the station
to issue a quick apology to
viewers. Apparently, there was a
problem bringing up the right
microphone for meteorologist Mike
O'Lenick. One mic that was
working caught the director
saying, "God dammit. Turn
the mic on!" Within 15
minutes of the incident,
NewsChannel 2's anchors were
apolgizing for the incident. In
addition to being embarrassed,
the station could face action
from an overzealous FCC. As
WESH's news partner, the Orlando
Sentinel, reported: Broadcasters
are dealing with heightened
concerns about indecency since
Janet Jackson flashed her breast
at the Super Bowl and the Federal
Communications Commission put
more scrutiny on the industry.
WESH GM Bill Bauman said his
colleagues have wondered how the
controversy might affect news.
"We've discussed whether
you're covering a fire and a
fireman, under stress, swears,
are you in violation?" he
said. "This makes the
mistake more egregious. It was a
member of our staff." |
Tower
of Terror | TV tower
fell 31 years ago
 June 17 -- I've been
so focused on compiling the
Golden 50 list that I missed
noting another significant date
in Central Florida TV history.
June 8 was the anniversary of the
1973 TV tower collapse that
killed two people and shook up
Orlando TV. When the 1,500-foot
tower -- the tallest structure in
Florida at the time -- fell near
Bithlo, it knocked Channels 6, 9
and 24 off the air, as well as
radio stations WDIZ-FM (now known
as Big 100) and WDBO-FM (now
K92FM). Channels 6 and 24 had old
towers available and were able to
resume broadcasting, although at
significantly reduced power.
Channel 9, on the other hand, was
dark until a phone company tower
could be secured. It would be
nearly three years before the
stations returned to their full
signal strength. In the meantime,
WESH -- with the best remaining
signal -- emerged as the area's
dominant news station, replacing
WDBO and WFTV. It would take five
years for WFTV to overtake WESH
as Central Florida's News Leader.
Oh, and did I mention that the
day the tower fell President
Nixon was in town to address the
graduating class at what is now
UCF? So, what story do you lead
with? If you're off the air, I
guess the question is moot. |
Buzzard's
Luck | Bird
grounds Metro chopper
 June 14 -- Metro
Traffic's chopper had to make an
emergency landing last week after
a turkey buzzard crashed into its
windshield, NewsBlues reports.
The Robinson R44 helicopter is
used as Chopper 13 for CFN 13 (it
has a CFN logo on the outside)
and Sky Fox for Fox 35 (with a
WOFL logo on the inside). It went
down near DeLand and had to be
hauled away on a trailer. No one
was injured in the crash. Metro
Traffic flew in another chopper
from South Florida so the
stations wouldn't be birdless.
(Insert your own jokes about the
stations and the buzzard, if you
feel inclined.) |
News
Nuggets | Hot,
crispy and just 99 cents
 June 14 -- Another
order of news nuggets ...We're
told that WESH
scored a nice scoop on Saturday
night. While all area stations
reported about an American
being kidnapped in Saudi
Arabia, WESH was the only one to
connect the dots to his family in
Brevard County. ... From the
"where are they now"
file, we find that former Fox 35
couple Donald and Janice
Jones are back on the
air together (sorta) at WNCN-NBC
17 in Raleigh. Janice, former
chief met at Fox 35, has the same
role in at WNCN. Donald, former
weekend anchor at WOFL, has
joined WNCN as a morning anchor
after a stint as Mr. Mom with the
couple's new son. "He'll go
to sleep watching my wife [on TV]
and wake up watching me,"
Donald told NewsBlues. ... And
don't forget to make your
nominations or discuss others for
our Golden 50 list
of the top Orlando TV people of
the past 50 years. Just visit the
Orlando
TV Times forum.
We'll post the list July 1. |
Tasered
live! | Sheriff
Beary puts on a show at 6
Stun gun
goes off |
Beary goes down |
WESH shows off EKG |
June 3 -- It was
sort of like Fear Factor meets
the 6 o'clock news. There --
live, local and leading off the 6
p.m. shows for both WKMG-Channel
6 and WFTV-Channel 9 -- was
Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary
standing before reporters and
allowing himself to be tasered
live on TV. The stunt was part of
Beary's campaign to defend the
weapon, which his deputies and
other police officers use to
subdue "bad guys"
temporarily with 50,000 volts of
electricity. But since 2002, five
people have died in police
custody in Central Florida after
being hit with the tasers -- and
three of those deaths involved
people who were tasered by
Beary's deputies. This week a
42-year-old man died after being
stunned with a taser by Orlando
police officers. In his TV
demonstration, Beary went down
quickly after being jolted but
jumped back up and declared he
was fine. And if you didn't
believe him, all you had to do
was wait a few minutes and turn
over to WESH-Channel 2. The
station didn't do the taser story
until five minutes into its 6
p.m. show, but its report had a
twist. WESH medical reporter Dr.
Todd Husty put an EKG monitor on
Beary before his stunning -- and
showed off the results during
Channel 2's story. It was all
very, very bizarre. By the way,
at least one station reported
that Beary refuses to say whether
he owns stock in Taser
International, the company that
produces the controversial
stun-gun weapons.
 See Beary
get tasered on WFTV's Eyewitness
News
>> How
WESH, WFTV, WKMG and the Orlando
Sentinel covered it
|
50
Years of TV | Your help
needed with a golden list
 June 3 -- Thursday
was a big day in Central Florida.
It was 50 years ago, on June 3,
1954, that television began here.
It was only a test-pattern
broadcast, but it was the start
of what would become WDBO-TV
Channel 6 -- the first television
station in the state covering the
east coast between Miami and
Jacksonville. The
"real" anniversary of
Central Florida TV comes in a few
weeks, on July 1. That's the day
back in '54 when WDBO-TV
officially began regular
programming. To mark the big
anniversary (or anniversaries),
I'm announcing the creation of Central
Florida TV's Golden 50 --
a list of 50 people whose
television work made an impact
here during the past 50 years.
I've already solicited
recommendations from some
industry folks and longtime
Central Floridians for this local
TV hall of fame, and now's your
chance to become involved, too!
I've created a thread in the Orlando
TV Times forum
where you can nominate folks for
the list. Keep in mind that
hundreds of people have worked in
local TV over the past 50 years,
so someone is going to have to be
pretty special to make this list.
Central Florida TV's Golden 50
will be posted on July 1 -- along
with mini profiles on why each
person made the list. Thanks in
advance for your help with this
project! |
Traffic
And Weather Together | Sans
pictures
 June 2 -- If you've
noticed there aren't as many
traffic shots during WFTV's
morning news shows, you're right.
The station is no longer able to
show video from the numerous
Department of Transportation
cameras positioned along Central
Florida's roadways. The reason? A
while back, the DOT told area
stations that it would stop
delivering the pictures via an
analog signal, and they needed to
switch to a new digital setup.
WESH and WKMG made the
time-consuming and costly switch;
WFTV didn't and was caught off
guard last week when the DOT
pulled the plug on its analog
delivery. Insiders at one
competing station report that
WFTV reps were frantically
calling them asking for help (and
politely told, "uh, that's
your problem"). For now,
WFTV's morning shows are relying
on traffic pictures from the
station's downtown tower cam,
Metro Traffic's helicopter and,
as was the case Tuesday, parking
a live truck in the median along
a busy road and using the mast
cam.
UPDATE: As of
Thursday, WFTV had restored
access to the DOT cameras. |
All
Local | CFN 13
cleaning house
June 2 -- The May
Sweeps took on another meaning at
Central Florida News 13.
According to news channel
insiders, at least seven people
left or were asked to leave the
station by the end of last month.
And, from what we're hearing from
multiple sources, the changing of
the guard isn't over yet. Among
the more higher-profile
departures from the channel:
reporter Patrick Pegues, who had
been with CFN 13 since its
launch, meteorologist Christine
Lehman and reporter Shannon
Butler. According to one of the
sources, the situation is
"absolutely brutal ...
morale is at rock bottom." |
Leftover
Nuggets | Wrapped
in the New York Times
June 2 -- Some
leftover news nuggets from the
holiday weekend ... Former WFTV
reporter James Ford
and his new wife, Claire
Riccardi, were featured
in the weddings/ celebrations
pages of Sunday's New York Times
-- probably a much greater
accomplishment than market
jumping from No. 20 Orlando to
No. 1 New York. Ford, 37, now
working at Fox flagship WNYW-Ch.
5, and his bride were married at
City Hall last week. Riccardi,
35, is the coordinator of high
school programs at the Museum of
Television and Radio in New York.
Congrats. ... The Daily
Buzz keeps creeping into
Central Florida. WB18 started
carrying all three hours of the
morning show on Tuesday. The
whole Buzz gang moves to the
show's new home at the WKCF
studios in July. ... With Local
6 News backtracking a
bit in the early evening ratings,
I have to wonder if Dr.
Phil will be called to
fix the problem. Stations in
Philly and Tampa have perked up
their news ratings by moving Dr.
Phil to 5 p.m. and sandwiching
his show with newscasts at 4 and
6 p.m. Since it's getting very
little lead-in help for its No.
3-rated 5 p.m. show, why
shouldn't WKMG give the Dr. Phil
prescription a try? ... Added a
couple of new links over on the
right side. One is for the
excellent Central Florida
Radio history site. The
other is Big Easy TV,
insider news from New Orleans.
... Downtown last week, I saw a
live truck for TV Azteca,
Channel 21. That's
W21AU, a low-power station.
Anyone ever seen their news, and
if they have a live truck, what
about Univision 26?
... Did you know, at last count,
there are at least 32 TV
stations on the air in
Central Florida? How many
remember when it used to be only
2, 6 and 9? |
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