May 27, 2005 -- WKMG is getting a new news director ... albeit temporarily. According to NewsBlues.com, Post-Newsweek's President Allan Frank wants his news directors to rotate around the company's stations for a couple of weeks to see what it's like to work somewhere else. So, Local 6 ND Skip Valet is going to WDIV-NBC 4 in Detroit. Bill Pohovey of WPLG-ABC 10 in Miami is taking Valet's spot at WKMG. Among the other P-N switches: Jim Boyle of KSAT-ABC 12 in San Antonio goes to WJXT-Ind. 4 in Jacksonville; WJXT's Mo Ruddy goes to KSAT; WDIV's Neil Goldstein goes to Houston's KPRC-NBC 2; and KPRC's Nancy Shafran goes to WPLG. ...

||| In keeping with my pledge to the Nielsen Media Research folks, I'm not reporting any sweeps ratings until I get a clarification of the company's policy. Others are reporting ratings news, however. Here's a link to the Orlando Sentinel's story about national and local ratings. And inside Mike Bianchi's Sports column is an interesting note about WESH's 6 p.m. news ratings. ...

||| Also from NewsBlues: Baton Rouge WBRZ executive producer Stephanie Moffett has been hired by WESH. ...

||| Orlando's own national morning show, The Daily Buzz, is saying aloha -- as in hello, Hawaii. Starting Monday, CBS affiliate KGMB in Honolulu will start carrying the show from 5-7 a.m. each weekday. It's the Buzz's first appearance on a CBS affiliate.

||| If you're looking for something different to watch tonight (and just to reassure yourself that there are other jobs in TV besides news), you might want to tune into the History Channel at 9 p.m. Former WFTV sportscaster Paul Budline is the writer for "The Rescue," a story of a daring and dangerous WWII operation to rescue US missionaries and civilians trapped in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation.

||| I guessed right. WESH is running ads on TV and on its website saying its new Weather Plus set will debut on June 1. The station is promising a new look, new technology and a new website. WESH's weather partnership with the Orlando Sentinel is ending, and that means the end of OrlandoWeather.com. A quick check of registered internet names found wesh2weatherplus.com has been taken. Hmmmm, think that might be the new weather website?

May 26, 2005 -- With two -- count 'em, two -- staff meetings scheduled for Friday at WOFL, the Fox 35 crew has been busy speculating what the big announcement would be. An American Idol vote recount? Nope, just the naming of a new news director. TV and print sources say Bob Clinkingbeard will be introduced as the new ND at Fox 35 on Friday. Clinkingbeard comes from Fox O&O sister WITI in Milwaukee, where he has been news director for seven years. In that role he helped expand the station's news to 43-1/2 hours each week. His resume includes stints as assistant news director at WUSA in Washington as well as being EP at Post-Newsweek's WDIV in Detroit. Clinkingbeard replaces John Sears, who parted ways with the station back in January. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Clinkingbeard starts at Fox 35 on June 13... OK, just thought it was a bit bizarre: Fox 35 led off its Wednesday night newscast with a report about a rabid fox. Maybe it was just me.

||| A belated congratulations goes out to WFTV's Todd Ulrich and Gerry Mendiburt, who won first place for business reporting in the Society of Professional Journalists' annual Green Eyeshade Awards. Ulrich and Mendiburt won for a report titled, “Secrets Under the Hood.” They were the only Central Florida TV journalists to place in the contest, whose winners were announced May 15. In the radio portion of the contest, Pat Duggins, Scott Kim and Bud Lowell of WMFE-FM won second place in the documentary division for “Columbia Remembered…Atlantis, Go for Launch.” Here's a list of all the winners.

May 25, 2005 -- The weather changes keep coming on WESH. First, Channel 2 replaced local weather legend Dave Marsh with Amy Sweezey on its evening newscasts. Now, it's replacing Marsh's Super Doppler Storm Center with something called the "WESH Weather Plus Super Dooper Stormplex." OK, we made up the "super dooper stormplex" part, but we're told that Weather Plus -- borrowing from WESH's new 24/7 digital weather channel -- will likely be part of the new name for the new weather center. It's being built now -- at a frantic pace, insiders say -- and could be quite large. A set used for coverage of the Iraq War has been cleared to allow extra space for the new weather area. So, when might you see the new Weather Plus center on WESH? Well ... we're guessing June 1, the start of hurricane season. ...

||| Worth noting: Since August, when WFTV's hurricane season coverage ignited its latest round of Central Florida newscast dominance, all three of the station's competitors (WOFL, WKMG, WESH) have refurbished or built new weather sets. Think it will make a difference this year? ...

||| It looks like WKMG ran out of stories for its May viewership push. On Tuesday's 11 p.m. show, Local 6 recycled Miami sister station WPLG's interview with former SoFla weatherman Bill Kamal. He talked about being busted for soliciting sex from someone he thought was a minor. The WPLG interview with Kamal earlier this month was big news in Miami, but how many people in Central Florida have even heard of this guy?

May 23, 2005 -- WESH 2 News says it has scored a huge scoop. It's promoting an interview with the mystery girl who was at the center of a huge child porn investigation that gained notice across the nation and in Canada. WESH plans to air its interview on Tuesday night. ... Speaking of WESH, have you noticed the changes to the station's newscasts since it ditched the NewsChannel 2 moniker? In addition to investing in a Jib camera for those sky shots of the anchor desk (and new WESH 2 doormat-type rug in front of it), there seems to be a lot more energy and a better on-air look. ... Meanwhile, strong story on WFTV's Eyewitness News on Monday night exposing how the Orange County Sheriff's Office wasted taxpayers money by abandoning thousands of dollars in old office furniture. Included was an ambush interview with Sheriff Kevin Beary. ...

||| UPDATED: Chris Trenkmann, who has been with Local 6 since 2002, has posted his resume and a video clip on Medialine.com's Talent Showcase seeking an anchor-reporter position. In addition to his work at WKMG, Trenkmann has also been in the newsrooms of Central Florida News 13 and WDBO radio during his O-Town career. We wish him well. ...

||| As you may have read on the TV Talk Forum message board, attorneys for Nielsen Media Research have been in contact with me regarding the posting of audience information on the message board and on these news pages. (They sent me a letter; I responded today.) I have agreed that there should be no postings containing their protected research material on the TV Talk Forum. If such information is posted, it will be deleted, and I will terminate your user account. Meanwhile, I am awaiting clarification of some issues regarding news reporting of audience measurement on these news pages. I thank you for your patience and your cooperation regarding this matter. ...

||| I was away on business last week, attending a weeklong seminar in Reston, Va. Included among our classes was a trip to the fascinating Freedom Forum in Arlington, just outside Washington, D.C. We engaged in a very lively, informative discussion about First Amendment issues with, among others, USA Today founder Al Neuharth and current USA Today editor Ken Paulson. No matter how cynical or grizzled you might be, it was hard not to be inspired talking about our Bill of Rights while also gazing out the windows at a majestic panorama that included the Washington Monument, the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials and the U.S. Capitol. (See above.) Wow. The Freedom Forum also runs Newseum, the world's first museum devoted to news gathering. Unfortunately, it is temporarily closed while its new six-level, 215,000-square-foot home is being built on Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the Capitol. We were shown a tape previewing the new museum's design and exhibits, and I'm eager to return when it's completed in 2007. It will be a hit with anyone who watches, reads or produces news.

May 11, 2005 -- Still catching up on the news ... Denise Cullen, sports anchor at Central Florida News 13, made history last week. That's when she was named sports director at the 24-hour cable news station, making her the first woman to hold such a post in Central Florida TV. A UCF grad, Cullen has been with CFN 13 since April 2002. She previously worked for Sunshine Network and for the Orlando Sentinel High School Sports
show. ...

||| Gee, it's almost hurricane season again (groan!), but if you just can't quite remember what it was like to weather three storms last summer, WOFL has something for you. It has teamed with the Orlando Science Center to present "Season of Fury," an inside look at the devastating hurricane season with Fox 35 chief met Glenn Richards. The film, which opened in March, is shown on the Science Center's big screen Tuesdays through Thursdays at 3 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 3 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. ...

||| And speaking of hurricanes (groan, again!), WFTV is going to offer the Severe Weather Center 9 Hurricane Safety Fair. The event, June 10-12 at Osceola Heritage Park Exhibition Hall in Kissimmee, will include safety and weather presentations from Eyewitness News chief met Tom Terry. And on the first day of the event, WFTV will be presenting the funds generated by the sale of the station's Eyewitness to History: Hurricane Season 2004 DVD to the Red Cross, the Second Harvest Food Bank and the SPCA. (Yes, those of you obsessed with the DVD can finally find out how much money the sales generated! Oh, God ... here comes another thread on the forum, I just know it!). ...

||| For those of you who read Orlando Magazine, make sure to vote in the current issue's "Best of Central Florida" contest. The best local website category is back, so if you think of a website you visit or like -- hint, hint -- be sure to vote for it.

May 10, 2005 -- Emmis on Tuesday put its TV stations up for sale, a decision that will have a big impact here in Central Florida. First, WKCF-WB18 is owned by Emmis. Not only is it the top WB affiliate in the nation, it's also the centralcasting hub for five of Emmis' stations. Second, Emmis owns a 50 percent stake in The Daily Buzz, which is produced at WB18. Will Emmis want to continue owning part of the show if it's getting out of the TV biz? There are sure to be some anxious days and nights at the WB Lake Mary studios while this all sorts out. ...

||| Cathy Weeden, VP and General Manager of Sun Sports, has a new added responsibility -- running former rival Fox Sports Net Florida, too. The announcement was made Tuesday by Fox Sports Networks. The move was expected after News Corp.'s recent acquisition of FSN Florida. (Always found it odd how Fox owned Orlando-based Sun Sports but not namesake FSN Florida.) Sun Sports reaches 6.1 million subscribers, and FSN Florida reaches 5.1 million. Anyway ... now that the two channels' management is being consolidated into one group ... are you following me here? ... isn't it just a matter of time before the two channels turn into just one? And which one would you expect, uh, the sun to set on, hmmm?

||| Things seem a bit unsettled at News Corp.'s other O-Town property. WOFL insiders tell us that on the first day of sweeps sat truck guru Bob Tweed gave notice that he was jumping to WFTV, and highly regarded photog Drew Hanson also gave his notice. We're told there are five or so people with contracts expiring in the next several months who are wondering when their talks might start. But who would they talk to? Still no news on a new news director for Fox 35.

||| Sure, it was a couple of weeks back, but I still am not exactly sure what to make of WESH 2 News adding its new south Orange weather cam at the ChampionsGate development. In touting the new camera during its noon and early evening newscasts, the station spent considerable time showcasing the new hotel at the development, too. Was that part of the deal for getting the camera location? ... I guess I shouldn't be shocked since WKMG has the "SunTrust cam" downtown and the "Rinker" Port Canaveral cam.

||| Speaking of sponsorships, while watching Local 6's Big Picture Weather Wednesday (yes, my life is that exciting) last week, I was a bit surprised to see car dealer David Maus participating in the show. He did some weather question taped on the news set. To me that seemed to be crossing the line a little bit, but I guess that's the age we're living in.

||| WESH didn't waste any time replacing Dave Marsh with Amy Sweezey on the web ... yet, doesn't it look like everyone scooted away from the new nighttime weathercaster?

||| You can talk all you want about WFTV chief met Tom Terry being Mr. Doom and Gloom, but now WKMG chief met Tom Sorrells keeps asking, "Are you in the Safe Zone?" Yeah, that's comforting.