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Barbara West interview with Joe Biden gets national attention
Barbara West's interview with Joe Biden for Eyewitness News is now getting national attention.
The Orlando Sentinel blog post about the controversial interview is the No. 1 link on DrudgeReport.com right now on Saturday night. The Internet is abuzz about the interview.
"Barbara West" is the No. 7 most searched term on Google right now, too.
In case you're catching up, Barbara West interviewed Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden via satellite this week. She asked tough questions -- but where they too tough? Did they have the right tone? People have all sorts of opinions on that.
Longtime O-Town anchor Marla Weech is being laid off from WKMG as the slowing economy starts to takes its toll at Local 6.
"I'm being laid off," she told Orlando Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedeker on Friday. "It's tough economic times. My position is being eliminated. My heart goes out to anyone who's losing a job."
Weech has been an anchor on Orlando TV since the early 1980s, first at Channel 6, then for more than 20 years at WFTV-Channel 9. She left WFTV in Sept. 2005 after being bumped to the 10 p.m. newscast on sister station WRDQ-Channe 27. She returned to Channel 6 in 2006.
Weech is the latest high-profile anchor to leave the air. Wendy Chioji departed WESH-Channel 2 in May after more than 20 years.
Chioji decided to leave the business, which -- like all media -- is facing a tough economic climate. In a memo to the Channel 6 staff explaining Weech's anchor position being eliminated, GM Henry Maldonado warned, "The position being eliminated will not be the only measure we will have to take. But for now, everyone affected by these changes has already been informed."
Are you ready for your digital TV test? On Wednesday night, 11 O-Town TV stations will simulate the end of analog broadcasting and go dark to let viewers know if they're ready for the digital TV age to begin.
Here's how it will work: At 7:59 p.m., these local television stations -- WESH-NBC 2, WKMG-CBS 6, WFTV-ABC 9, WCEU-PBS 15, WKCF-CW 18, WMFE-PBS 24, WVEN-Univision 26, WRDQ-Independent 27, WOTF-Telefutura 43, WTGL-Independent 45 and WBCC-PBS 68 -- will first alert viewers and explain how the test will work. Each station will then simulate the termination of analog broadcasting by removing the video signal that feeds the analog transmitter for 10 seconds causing the screen to go dark.
On each participating station's digital broadcasts, and on cable and satellite systems that receive direct feeds from the station, the station will notify viewers that they have successfully passed the test. At the conclusion of each test, stations will notify viewers that if their screen went blank they need to take corrective action -- such as getting a digital TV converter box for their analog sets.
Also, during the test broadcasts, each station will provide a toll-free telephone number and Web site for additional DTV transition assistance.
This is the first of three tests the area stations are uniting to perform. Noticeably absent from the test are Orlando's two Fox-owned TV stations -- WOFL-Fox 35 and WRBW-MyNetworkTV 65.
The local stations will switch off their analog signals for good on Feb. 17, 2009.
Anchor/reporter Raoul Martinez, who has been at WESH for about six years, is leaving the station. His last day will be Sunday, according to Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedeker. Martinez performed a number of roles at WESH during his tenure, including being an early-evening anchor, morning anchor for WESH's news show on WKCF-CW18 and most recently weekend anchor. ...
Zach Klein signed off this week as sports director at WFTV-Channel 9. He had been with the station since 2003 and is jumping to Cox flagship WSB in Atlanta. His replacement is Phil Burton from Boston's CN8. ....
Speaking of WFTV, the station changed programming on its digital 9.2 subchannel. It used to be full-screen, live weather radar, which was very handy during our summer thunderstorms. Now, the station has shrunk the presentation from 16:9 to 4:3 and is adding weather forecasts and traffic reports to a rotation that also includes the live Doppler. If I wanted all that, I'd sit through WESH's boring WeatherPlus. I'd rather have just the Doppler, thank you. ...
Former WKMG reporter Trace Gallagher continues to move up at Fox News Channel. This week he became co-anchor of FNC's Live Desk. Of course, the most famous Channel 6 alum at Fox News Channel is still Shepard Smith. Click here for video.
KOAT in Albuquerque, N.M., has kicked off an interesting summer experiment. It's expanded its late newscast to an hour. That's not so unusual for a Fox affiliate or independent station, but it is unusual for an ABC affiliate. KOAT is delaying Nightline by a half hour to have an hourlong late show. OK, so what's the Orlando connection? Former Fox 35 anchor Shelly Ribando is one of the anchors on the hourlong experiment. If it works in New Mexico, I wonder how many other stations may jump at the chance to wring some more money out of news? Of course, KOAT's newscast runs from 10-11 p.m. -- which even with the time zone consideration is a lot different than having a local newscast from 11 p.m. to midnight. Click here to see a video with Ribando explaining the decision for the expanded show. (Final footnote: KOAT is owned by WESH parent Hearst-Argyle.)
The spin: WESH-TV today announced continued growth and momentum in key time periods from May '07. In early morning, WESH 2 News Sunrise (6 - 7 a.m.) maintains its strong No. 2 position and Today (7 – 9 a.m.) continues to grow in popularity with Central Florida viewers, increasing its audience by 11,000 households. In addition to mornings, the growth continues in early evening news, where WESH 2 News at 5 and WESH 2 News at 6 with Wendy Chioji both saw greater ratings increases from May than any other early evening newscasts in Central Florida.
The quote: "In May we saw significant growth for WESH 2 News over the previous year. It's now very gratifying to see that viewers are continuing that vote of confidence and helping us build on that momentum." -- VP and Station Manager Bob Fein.
From WFTV-Channel 9 press release ... The spin: Eyewitness News continued to dominate the ratings for local news viewing in most news time periods. From Eyewitness News Daybreak at 5AM all the way through to the late news at 11PM, Channel 9 Eyewitness News reaches more local news viewers than any other station, in some cases, more viewers than our competition combined.
The quote: "Every day in every newscast our team covers local news like no one else can. From our experienced reporters to our talented photographers and editors, we know how to deliver a newscast that Central Florida viewers have told us they want." -- News Director Bob Jordan
From WRDQ-Channel 27 press release ... The spin: This November, Central Florida's TV27 delivered its best rating period ever. Among the station's biggest successes in November are Eyewitness News This Morning, According to Jim, Oprah and Eyewitness News at Ten, which, for the first time, is in a virtual tie for first place with WOFL. Eyewitness News This Morning is the only local 7AM newscast to grow audience share book to book. Less than a year after its launch, Eyewitness News This Morning has grown from 1,345 households to an astonishing 12,562 households, making it Central Florida’s No. 2 local morning newscast in its time period.
"The enormous growth Eyewitness News has shown this November is a testament to TV27's dedication to provide viewers with quality local newscasts. I am very proud of our Eyewitness News team and this extraordinary rating period motivates us to continue the trend." -- VP and GM Shawn Bartelt
The November ratings for Orlando showed another dominating performance by WFTV's Eyewitness News. By my count, WFTV has now been the No. 1 newscast at 6 p.m. for 29 years. And the Channel 9 juggernaut seems to be getting even stronger.
According to WFTV, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., more than 50 percent of the homes watching news in Central Florida are turned to Channel 9. Its lead over No. 2 Local 6 is more than 78,000 households at 5 p.m. -- and the lead grows to 94,914 more households at 6 p.m.
Channel 9 is nearly as dominant in the morning. Its two-hour Daybreak has 49 percent of the news-watching audience -- nearly 37,000 more homes than No. 2 WKMG, nearly 40,000 homes more than No. 3 WESH and nearly 58,000 homes more than No. 4 Fox. 35.
WOFL was down across the board, but the shocker the WFTV-produced news on WRDQ-Channel 27 nearly tying Fox 35 at 10 p.m. WOFL was down 23 percent from Nov. 2006. The good news for Fox 35 is that its numbers are sure to jump shortly with the return of American Idol.
In the morning, the WFTV-produced news on WRDQ moved into No. 2 behind Fox 35 in November ahead of WESH's news on WKCF-CW 18.
The November sweeps brought us original episodes of our favorite shows, but the ratings results for the O-Town news looked more like another rerun.
Based on information provided in news releases by WFTV and WESH, Channel 9 once again dominated the local news scene in a ratings period that saw most everyone dropping a bit from a year ago. Here's how the stations rank in the news time periods:
5 a.m. -- WFTV-Ch. 9, WKMG-Ch. 6, WESH-Ch. 2 and WOFL-Ch. 35. Local 6 displaces WESH 2 News at No. 2, but everyone was down in share
6 a.m. -- WFTV-Ch. 9, WESH-Ch. 2, WKMG-Ch. 6 and WOFL-Ch. 35. WESH barely hangs on to the No. 2 spot, dropping a full rating point and 3 share points from 2006. WKMG was up in rating and share.
7 a.m. local news -- WOFL-Ch. 35, WRDQ-Ch. 27, WKCF-Ch. 18. The shocker is that the WFTV-produced morning news on WRDQ jumped to No. 2 ahead of the WESH-produced show on WKCF. Overall WRDQ's ratings in the time period are up 800 percent from a year ago.
Noon -- WKMG-Ch. 6, WFTV-Ch. 9, WESH-Ch. 2. Even without Bob Barker, WKMG edges WFTV for the top spot at noon. WESH drops year over year.
5 p.m., 5:30 and 6 p.m. -- WFTV-Ch. 9, WKMG-Ch. 6, WESH-Ch. 2, WOFL-Ch. 35. WFTV, as usual, dominates the early evening and tops the combined audience of its three competitors. Everyone is down in the time periods from a year ago except WFTV at 6, which increased slightly.
10 p.m. -- WOFL-Ch. 35 and WRDQ-Ch. 27. Another shocker -- Fox 35, which used to have a huge lead at 10, holds on to No. 1 by the skin of its teeth. The WFTV-produced news on WRDQ was up 23 percent year over year, while Fox 35 was down 23 percent.
11 p.m. -- WFTV-Ch. 9, WKMG-Ch. 6 and WESH-Ch. 2. Channel 9 and Local 6 both saw growth at 11 o'clock while WESH lost some audience.
It's been a tough week to be a television journalist in Orlando. A Fox 35 reporter was arrested earlier this week, then on Wednesday night a WFTV live truck struck and killed a dog that was being walked by its owner.
NewsBlues.com reports that "the small breed dog, being walked by its owner on one of those long, retractable leashes, suddenly ran into the street near downtown Orlando about 6:30 Wednesday night and was hit (and killed) by a WFTV-9-ABC live truck. A station photographer, at the wheel, said he was unable to avoid hitting the dog."
WFTV news director Bob Jordan came upon the accident scene on his way to dinner. "As a dog lover, it was quite troubling," Jordan told NewsBlues.
Cynthia Demos, the latest anchor or reporter to depart WFTV, says the reason is simple: "When you work at Channel 9, other stations recruit you," Demos said. "They know if you can work for Bob Jordan and succeed, you must be good at your job." The Orlando Sentinel reports on how WFTV has become a feeder station for larger markets. Read all about it here. ...
Over at WESH, the latest to leave the station is meteorologist Leslie Hudson, who won't be coming back from maternity leave. So, why are so many folks leaving Channel 2? GM Bill Baumananswers here. ...
Have you noticed the new traffic graphics on WFTV's Eyewitness News in the morning? It's the new 3D "Beat the Traffic" system from a Campbell, Calif., company. You can read more about the system here. ...
LATV, the Latin-themed programming that WKMG runs on its 6.2 digital subchannel, has a new fall lineup. Among the new shows: the animated "Homies," based on the worldwide figurine phenomenon created by Dave Gonzales. Read about that here.
We all know how competitive weather is around here -- i.e. my Doppler is bigger than your Doppler. So, I thought it was interesting that WFTV brought in chief met Tom Terry and WKMG brought in chief met Tom Sorrells on Sunday to cover Hurricane Dean. WESH and WOFL stayed with their regular weekend forecasters. ....
Also, WFTV has sent morning meteorologist Brian Shields to Cancun to cover the approach of Hurricane Dean. ...
Now confirmed ... features reporter Candice Coleman is indeed leaving Local 6. That's too bad. As our local newscasts continue to focus on crime, cars running into houses and dogs biting people, the type of feature stories Coleman reported certainly helped the story mix and gave a nice respite from the relentless pounding drumbeat of "breaking news." ...
WFTV has lost its distinction as having Florida's only HD newscast. Scripps-owned WFTS-ABC 28 started airing its news in HD on July 28, and sister station WPTV-NBC 5 in West Palm Beach became the first South Florida station to take the HD plunge last week. ...
I recently asked if anyone had any info on the cryptic e-mail I received about big changes coming to WESH. A former WESH insider says the word is it's contract renewal time for some of the station's biggest names -- and who knows if all of them will still be with WESH once negotiations end. Stay tuned ...
Speaking for WESH, some folks who have already left the station are starting their version of MySpace for the Baby Boomer set. Marc Middleton, Bill Shafer and Andrea CoudrietBatchelor are behind the venture. You'll recall, they all set up a consulting business after leaving WESH -- showing there really is life after TV. Click here to read more about the Web venture. ...
Former Channel 6 video guru Ken Shuba, who was also Broadcast Operations Manger for the City of Orlando, is back in TV news. He's now working at WESH. ...
Finally, I know my summer break was rather extensive, but did I really miss all of these people leaving -- Chris Egert, Laverne McGee, Trei Johnson, Lee Goldberg, Julie Watkins, Arch Kennedy, Joe Oliver and ... am I missing anyone else? If so, add their names as a comment to this post.
There are a lot of re-runs in the summer ... and also in the O-Town ratings competition. WFTV-Channel 9's Eyewitness News was again the top choice for Central Floridians. WFTV was No. 1 from 5-7 a.m., from 5-6:30 p.m. and at 11 p.m., according to the Orlando Sentinel's TV Guy.
In the 6 p.m. competition, WFTV had 141,000 homes to 61,00o for WKMG-Local 6 News and 57,000 for WESH 2 News.
At 11 p.m., Eyewitness News wast No. 1 with 98,000 homes followed by Local 6 at 76,000 and WESH at 64,000. The Sentinel's TV Guy says in that late-night timeslot, WKMG was down 11,000 from a year ago, WESH was up by 28,000 and WFTV was up by 4,000.
WESH was up across the board, actually. In a press release, Channel 2 said it was the only local broadcast station to see growth in all weekday newscasts. "We saw significant growth in both households and adult viewers in May, and it's gratifying to see it continuing in July. It's clear we are building some solid momentum," said station President and General Manager Bill Bauman. High points for WESH: up 96 percent at 4 p.m. from a year ago, up 27 percent at 5 p.m., up 16 percent at 5:30, up 10 percent at 6 p.m. and up 13 percent at 11 p.m.
WESH was also eager to point out that its morning news on sister station WKCF-CW 18 from 7 to 9 a.m. is drawing 13 percent more viewers than The Daily Buzz did in the timeslot a year ago. Of course, now the Buzz is over on WRDQ-Channel 27, but it appears before and after WFTV's morning news its sister station.
All the stations in town picked up on the story about a 9-year-old boy who called 911 when his mother fell unconscious on the floor. But when area stations showed the "first meeting" between the Alex Swee and 911 dispatcher Matt Nicotra -- it was actually staged for two local stations who showed up late.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, "crews from WESH-Channel 2 and WFTV-Channel 9 were on time to film the exchange of hugs when Alex and his mom met Nicotra for the first time. But WOFL-Channel 35 showed up late and asked the three to do it all over again so they could tape it. Then in the middle of the second 'first' meeting, a WKMG-Channel 6 crew arrived and asked the three, 'Can you do it one more time?' "
The paper wryly pointed out, "The 'first' meeting ended up taking almost as long as the six-minute 911 call between Alex and Nicotra."
Anchor-reporter Chris Egertfrom WRDQ/WFTV is heading to the Pacific Northwest. NewsBlues.com reports that Egert is going to become the weekend news anchor at Cox sister station KIRO-CBS 7 in Seattle. It's a jump up the market ladder for Egert, from O-Town's No. 19 to Seattle's No. 13. Egert, who arrived in Orlando in 2002, anchors the weekday Eyewitness News at 10 on WRDQ-Ch. 27 and is a fill-in anchor and reporter on WFTV-Channel 9.
But what kind of station will Egert be heading to? Talk on the TVSpy.com Watercooler is that KIRO's affiliation with CBS is up, and that the Eye Net may want to move its programming over to the station it owns in the market, KSTW-CW 11. It happened before in the 1990s, when CBS took its affiliation from KIRO and moved it to KSTW, only to move it back again a few years later.
Orlando Sentinel sports columnist Jerry Greene reports that new WKMG sports anchor David Pingalore has been "delayed" in leaving Cleveland for his new O-Town gig. That has led to a further diminishing of the declining sports product on Local 6. For example, at 11 p.m. Tuesday night there was no sports anchor again -- news anchor Bob Frier did a brief sports recap. And on the night the first major-league baseball game was played in Central Florida between the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Texas Rangers, WKMG showed highlights of a Devil Rays-Blue Jays game while Frier did the voice over. (Wow.) By contrast, WESH had sports guy Guy Rawlings anchoring from Disney's Wide World of Sports stadium -- with actual highlights of the Rays and Rangers. ...
Orlando's male TV anchors/reporters are competing this week for the coveted title of Orlando TV's Hunkiest Hunk. It's the 16th year for the contest, sponsored by the always entertaining Scott and Erica Morning Show on Mix 105.1 (WOMX-FM). The guys have been calling into to solicit listener votes. Early leaders this week have included WKMG's Frier and Larry Mowry, WESH's Jim Payne, WFTV's Chris Egert and Brian Shields and WOFL's Jim Van Fleet and Tom Johnson. In fact, WOFL closed out its morning news on Tuesday by posting a graphic of its candidates and urging viewers to vote for them. The voting continues through Friday.
A South Florida tipster says that former WESH anchor Shannon Horimay be headed back to the Sunshine State. According to the tip, Hori is on the list of possible replacements for anchor Maggie Rodriguez at CBS O&O WFOR in Miami. Rodriguez is leaving to anchor the Saturday Early Show on the network. Hori left WESH in 2004 for her current home, CBS O&O KTVT in Dallas. ...
The voting begins today for the finalists for WKMG traffic reporter job. But, if you've been listening closely to the rules on Local 6, your voting means practically nothing. Station management will make the decision on who to hire ... but they will "consider" the voting when making the decision. So, if you still want to vote, go for it. ...
Internet Broadcasting Systems, which runs the Web sites for WKMG, WFTV and WESH in Orlando and more than 70 other stations nationwide, is moving its headquarters to St. Paul, Minn. Here's the full story.
O-Town sports radio talker Dan Sileo is expanding into television. He reports that he's going to Tampa to join the 11 p.m. NewsEdge newscast at Fox O&O WTVT-Channel 13. Sileo's morning show on WQTM-740 AM also airs in Tampa, and it's is adding Jacksonville to its simulcast network on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, I forgot to note last week the sad state of sports in O-Town. When your Orlando Magic traveled to Detroit to play the Pistons in their playoff series, the only local video crews covering the team in Motown were from WFTV-Channel 9 and OrlandoSentinel.com. WESH, WKMG and WOFL all stayed home. Wow, how things have changed from the old Shaq days, huh?
Finally, Sunday's NHL double-overtime playoff game on NBC meant the scheduled special on Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro got iced. WESH reports that "Barbaro: A Nation's Horse" will now air on CNBC on Friday at 9 p.m. and midnight.
Sentinel TV critic Hal Boedeker slams WKMG-Local 6 for its sweeps kickoff: a staged home burglary on Thursday's 11 p.m. news. Boedeker wrote in his blog, "This tired stunt was a shameless bid to inject drama into the newscast" and "I'm expecting better from WKMG. Viewers are, too, after the Guetzloe Files." Read the full post here. ...
WKMG was the only one of the local stations to have its main weeknight anchor team working the 11 p.m. shift Sunday night. ...
According to the electronic program guide on my TV, WOFL-Fox 35 ditched the second half-hour of its Friday 10 p.m. news to air a "Does it Work?" special. Stations do this so they can drop low-rated quarter or half hours from their sweeps ratings average. I would have thought WOFL's news numbers would be sky high thanks to American Idol. Not sure why the station needs to "code out" part of their newscasts now. ...
WFTV's sweeps offering Monday night is anchor/reporter Chris Egert's look at dirty supermarkets. ...
While WOFL and WKMG debuted new sets, graphics and music to start sweeps, WESH got into the makeover act and redid its anchor intros. Click the links to view video and frame grabs showing the changes at WKMG , and the changes at WOFL, and the new anchor intro at WESH.
> If case you've been living under a rock, WKMG is having tryouts for its new traffic reporter. Hal Boedeker of the Sentinel blogs about the finalists.
> Hey, forget traffic reporting -- maybe you should be a network correspondent? The South Florida chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists is presenting a seminar on Saturday in Miami called, "How to Break into Network News ... and Stay There." Susan Candiotti of CNN and Mark Potter of NBC will be on hand to provide the skinny. Click here for information.
> So, we've reached another sweeps and still WFTV (and little sister WRDQ) are the only O-Town stations broadcasting the news in HD? What Central Florida station will be next? WESH's sister, KCRA-NBC 3 in Sacramento, started HD news recently -- using the same exact set WESH has now. WFTV seems to be setting the standard for the Cox chain, as its little sister in Charlotte, WSOC-ABC 9, started its HD broadcasts last week. The new sets at WKMG and WOFL look like they're HD ready. OK, after saying all that, I'm putting my money on WESH for the fall.
> Stan Knott, the GM at Fox's O-Town dupoly of WOFL-Fox 35 and WRWB-My65, likes having the Magic on his station, says the Orlando Sentinel's Jerry Greene. Of course, like just about everything in primetime on My65, the Magic are getting canceled, too.
> Do you like Family Guy? If so, you'll be excited that you'll be seeing more of it on WOFL-Fox 35. The station has signed on to carry re-runs of the cartoon comedy starting in the fall.
Here's your Monday memo -- some quick hits to start the week ...
> WKMG's traffic reporter tryout stunt is today from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Local 6 studios on John Young Parkway. During First News, WKMG reported that one woman was already in line by 4 a.m. (Why?) In addition to not needing any experience, from the guidelines posted on the Loca6.com, it sounds like WKMG is really just looking for a prop comic. For example, from the station's FAQs: "What should I wear? Whatever you feel projects your personality. Can I bring props? Yes! Anything that help us understand who you are trying to sell." Maybe WKMG is secretly hoping to hire Gallagher to do traffic in the mornings?
> Former WFTV weather producer and now WPBF-ABC 25 meteorologist Eric Burriswas filling in with the weather on WESH Weather Plus over the weekend. Both WESH and WPBF are owned by Hearst-Argyle. Folks who saw him and e-mailed me gave the Orlando native a big thumbs-up.
> We told you last week about how a WFTV crew was pushed around by an angry businessman in Ocala, and how WFTV planned to file an incident report with the Marion County Sheriff's Office. The station apparently did, according to the Ocala Star-Banner.
> An interesting and admirable experiment in TV news is taking place down in Southwest Florida. WFTX-Fox 4 in Fort Myers is creating a "Viewer Bill of Rights" for its news coverage. Among the items in the "Bill of Rights," is the Right to Responsible Newscasts and Promotions: "Fox 4 will keep it real. While our presentation style will be conversational, we will avoid sensationalism. We will deliver the content that we promise. We will explain our values, but will not indulge in empty bragging." I assume that also includes not indulging in a no-experience-needed traffic reporter tryout during sweeps?
WFTV Eyewitness News reporter Tim Wetzel and his cameraman got roughed up a little during a confrontation with a Marion County businessman on Thursday.
The news crew was at Hercules Fence to do a story about what the company had on its sign outside. Every week, the fencing firm apparently puts what it thinks is a funny saying on its sign. This week's "joke" offended a lot of folks: "What has 4 wheels and flies? A dead cripple in a wheelchair."
Marion residents contacted Channel 9 to say they were upset about the joke on the sign, and they said that despite their complaints, the company wasn't doing anything about it. When the Channel 9 crew arrived at the company to ask about the sign, a man there pushed Wetzel and his cameraman out the door. Click here to watch video of the confrontation.
WFTV says it filed an incident report with the Marion County Sheriff's Office over the confrontation.
Steve Rondinaro, who spent 10 years on the anchor desk in O-Town, is back reporting the news. He's the new lead anchor and managing editor for WWAY-ABC 3 in Wilmington, N.C.
Rondinaro was the main anchor at WESH from 1986 to 1995, when he stunned co-workers with a decision to leave Central Florida and move to the quiet mountains of North Carolina. He and his wife bought a bed and breakfast, but also he kept his hand in broadcasting by acquiring a tiny radio station. That led to the creation of Rondinaro Broadcasting, which would later add an FM station and another AM station.
Rondinaro returned to Orlando in 1999 -- this time at WFTV -- to anchor for a year before again returning to the mountains. He eventually sold off his radio stations and bought a local TV station, WLNN (known as Mountain Television).
"Bland newscasts [that] lack a distinctive style."
That's how Orlando Sentinel TV Critic Hal Boedeker characterizes WESH 2 News. It was part of a Sunday feature on the state of the city's newscasts. He says top-rated WFTV "delivers fast-paced Eyewitness News with businesslike determination," and WKMG "has hit on a formula of offering reports that make viewers switch away from WFTV or stay up at 11."
> Traffic reporter needed, no experience necessary. That's the help-wanted ad WKMG is placing -- seeking you, me or anyone else who wants to try traffic reporting to replace Secily Wilson on Local 6 First News. "We'll know what we're looking for when we see it," WKMG ND Susan Forbes told the Sentinel. "They'll be given a script. Each person gets about a minute. We'll narrow it down and see what we find." A la American Idol, viewers will be invited to vote on the on-air performances, although the vote is meaningless for the most part. The auditions will be April 23 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at WKMG's studios at 4466 John Young Parkway. But really -- don't get me started on what it says about your news department when its reduced to pulling a stunt like.
> Some real O-Town broadcast journalists WITH experience have been recognized in the 2007 Society of Professional Journalists' Sunshine State Awards. Finalists for this year's contest were revealed over the weekend. Winners will be announced May 19. Among the local finalists:
Deadline Reporting: Erik von Ancken and Alfred Mason, WKMG, "Firestorm Closes In"
Sports Feature/Commentary: Scott A. Fais and Neil Petagno, Central Florida News 13, "Grand Slam Colin"
Criminal Justice Reporting: Tony Pipitone, Darran Caudle, Tim Arnheim and Brent Singleton, WKMG, "Cheerleaders Betrayed"
Political/Government Reporting: Tony Pipitone, Darran Caudle, Scott Noland and Tim Arnhein, WKMG, "Toll Agency Troubles"
> WKMG Problem Solver Mike Holfeld appears on the Dr. Phil show tonight on Local 6 to talk about the case of former Lockheed engineer Allison Quets, who kidnapped her birth twins from their adoptive parents. Not familar with the story? Click here for what Holfeld reported back in February.
> The Don Imus saga had a profound effect on Orlando broadcasting. The Sentinel's Scott Maxwell reports that a on-air discussion of the New York curmudgeon's racist comments led to one local radio personality storming out of the studio, quickly followed by another -- which left the station scrambling to fill the dead air with a "best of show." Who's involved? Read all about it here.
> Local stations are required by the FCC to file annual reports on how well they do hiring minorities. These Equal Employment Opportunity reports have been posted on the area stations' Web sites. Are they doing enough to try to hire minorities? Read the reports for yourself here on WESH/WKCF and WKMG (2007 reports), and WFTV/WRDQ and WOFL (2006 reports).
WFTV-Channel 9 and the Orlando Sentinel have expanded their weather partnership.
Channel 9 is now providing video of its forecasts several times a day for OrlandoSentinel.com. The two O-Town media entities have been weather partners for several years, teaming up on an annual hurricane guide and participating with a daily weather page in the Sentinel.
This new video venture is an unusual partnership in that WFTV and OrlandoSentinel.com are competitors on the Web. But both sides benefit, with OrlandoSentinel.com getting the latest weather information from meteorologists at the area's top-rated station, and WFTV's weather staff getting that much more exposure though another media outlet.
Some familiar faces are leaving and some new faces are arriving at Central Florida's top-rated Eyewitness News. Here's the rundown:
> Weekend evening meteorologist Arch Kennedy has been named the new chief met at WZTV-Fox 17 in Nashville. He went on air for the first time at WFTV on Aug. 13, 2004 -- the day Hurricane Charley hit Central Florida. The station will fill Kennedy's position and is currently looking for a replacement.
> Jodie Fleischer has been hired selected as a general assignment reporter by Atlanta's WSB-ABC 2, the Cox sister station to WFTV.
> Josh Einiger is now reporting for WNBC-4 in New York. (Note: Earlier I mistakenly wrote that state Sen. Gary Siplin made Einiger a local legend by repeating "I love you Josh. I love you Josh" during an interview. The Siplin interview was with former WFTV reporter Josh Wilson, who now works for FEMA. Sorry about that.) And former weekend Daybreak anchor Christina Arangio has been hired by WTEN-ABC 10 in Albany, N.Y., as its new 11 p.m. news anchor.
Said WFTV News Director Bob Jordan in a news release: "We're very proud of the great work that these individuals contributed to Eyewitness News over the past few years."
“We look at it as a blessing and a curse,” said WFTV/WRDQ GM Shawn Bartelt in a news release. "Part of what comes with being a strong market leader in news is that other companies and stations across the county look at your talent first. The plus is that the most talented individuals available are also interested in coming to work for a strong station.”
Among the new faces at WFTV:
> Weekend Daybreak Anchor and reporter Elizabeth Artz, who won several Associated Press Awards while at WVTM-NBC 13 in Birmingham, Ala.
> Reporter Vanessa Welch, who comes WTVD-ABC 11 in Raleigh, N.C. She was recently nominated for an Emmy for breaking news coverage and spent considerable time covering the John Edwards presidential campaign.
> Volusia County reporter Jason Allen, who comes to Central Florida from WBAY-ABC 2 in Green Bay, Wisc.
> Reporter Eric Rasmussen, who won an Edward R. Murrow Award and comes ABC O&O KFSN-30 in Fresno, Calif.
> Reporter Jeff Deal, who comes to WFTV from Albuquerque, N.M.
> And Andrea Conklin, who joins the Channel 9 team from the Texas border near Houston.
-- The Internet sex sting in Polk County that resulted in the arrests of 28 men -- including three Disney workers and one technician for Local 6 -- was widely reported on local TV news. But the way the stations reported it varied greatly. Video on WKMG's Local6.com site shows the station did not try to downplay its employee's arrest. Actually, it's the Disney connection that's downplayed in my opinion. It's obviously an embarrassing incident, but WKMG made the right call in not trying to hide the arrest of one of its own. WESH.com video shows Channel 2 focused on the three Disney workers. Video on WFTV.com shows Eyewitness News reported the Disney workers and the WKMG worker in its package. A co-worker told me she thought WFTV was overplaying the WKMG's worker's connection to the sting, but based on the video here I would have to disagree.
-- Apparently a lot of folks in Central Florida think it's great to be a Florida Gator! Monday night's NCAA basketball championship on WKMG was watched in 294,000 local households, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The semifinal game against UCLA on Saturday drew an impressive 214,000 homes on Local 6.
-- Interesting discussion topic I'll throw out for you all. If you were having a charity event or other public function, what Orlando TV anchor would you want the most to be the guest speaker? Somehow, a colleague ended up in a discussion about this, and he said hands-down it's WESH's Wendy Chioji. She's been here a long time, folks here know her and she's living a great story after successfully battling cancer. Can't disagree with that. Any others you would put high on your list and why? You can leave comments below.
WFTV is initiating a campaign to encourage volunteerism to help with area problems. "Through the efforts of on-air spots, special programs and online information we will ask Central Florida residents to do just one thing and make a difference by volunteering," according to a WFTV press release.
The focus for year one of the campaign is Central Florida's youth. Channel 9's Eyewitness News will partner with the station's WFTV 9 Family Connection to produce news stories and four specials that focus on how the area is dealing with the problems faced by youth and what solutions exist.
The campaign begins tonight at 7:30 with the first half-hour special designed to build awareness of what the issues are and what people can do to part of the solution.
WFTV 9 Family Connection has already enlisted local leaders and celebrities to help in getting the word out. Among those involved are Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts from Good Morning America, the Orlando Magic, Arnold Palmer, Elisabeth Hasselbeck of The View and Dancing with the Stars' Joey Fatone.
Channel 9 plans to distribute tens of thousands of dollars to local individuals or groups to go out and "pay it forward" and make a difference in the lives of Central Florida's youth.
The Florida Gators are in college basketball's national championship game -- again. WKMG-Channel 6 will air CBS' coverage of the game against Ohio State tonight starting at 9.
WFTV-Channel 9 has sent a handful of people to the Georgia Dome and will air a pre-game special on the Gators tonight at 7:30. "Gators: Go for the Glory" will have sports anchors Zach Klein and Jenny Dunn -- who both hosted Sunday's Sports Night on 9 highlight show live from Atlanta.
News anchor Cynthia Demos will kick off WFTV's Gators coverage with live reports from Atlanta this morning on Eyewitness News Daybreak.
Barbara West's interview with Joe Biden for Eyewitness News is now getting national attention.
