November 22nd, 2009
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As if the long, strange saga of infamous “tot mom” Casey Anthony could not get any stranger … it does, of course. This time it involves attorneys Orlando TV stations are using as legal experts to help analyze the case.
It started Thursday, when Anthony’s defense attorneys filed motions that meter reader Roy Kronk — who discovered Caylee Anthony’s body — should be considered a suspect in the death of the toddler. WFTV-Channel 9 legal analyst Bill Sheaffer criticized the move, calling it “an all-time low on a grand scale.” But Richard Hornsby — who is providing analysis to WESH-2 as well as other local stations – disagreed saying it was a “significant and credible” defense and “has a high likelihood of success.”
But Hornsby didn’t stop there in his analysis. He decided to analyze the analysis of WFTV’s Sheaffer.
Hornsby wrote on his blog, “I was flabbergasted when WFTV-ABC ‘legal analyst’ William ‘Bill’ Sheaffer said: I deem these tactics as despicable’ and then ‘blasted’ Mr. Baez on his blog (Does Casey’s Defense Have No Sense Of Decency?), local news, and web video footage for WFTV-ABC. … The very conviction with which Mr. Sheaffer blasts the Anthony Defense on the Motion makes me question when he last opened up one of those law books he is always sitting in front of.”
Hornsby also criticized WFTV reporter Kathi Belich. He wrote, “I think it is time that someone puts WFTV-ABC reporter Kathi Belich and her sidekick Mr. Sheaffer to task for their Pro-Prosecution pandering to the anti-Anthony sentiment, rather than providing objective analysis of the legal issues in the case so that the Central Florida community can have an informed understanding of the legal issues in this case.”
You can’t make this stuff up, folks.
Click here to read Hornsby’s blog, click here to read Sheaffer’s blog and click here to read Orlando Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedker’s take on this.
November 22nd, 2009
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Some quick updates …
Former WKMG-Local 6 anchor Bob Frier, who recently signed with WOFL-Fox 35, will make his debut on his new station Dec. 14, according to station promos. Still no word on how the anchor duties at Fox 35 are going to be shuffled with Frier’s arrival. But it’s great that he will be back on TV — and may make the difference in pushing Fox 35 permanently ahead of WKMG in the early evening time slots where they square off. …
Holiday cheer, courtesy of Central Florida’s News Leader: When the City of Orlando said it would not have a Christmas tree this year due to budget cuts, WFTV-Channel 9 repsonded. According to the Orlando Sentinel, “A 31-foot blue spruce was donated by Warren Brown and Co., a tree farm, and the $6,800 cost of transporting it from North Carolina and installing it is being paid by AirTran Airways and WFTV.” Channel 9 is also a sponsor of the holiday Light Up UCF event. …
What will WFTV do when Oprah Winfrey ends her talk show in 2011? It’s probably too early to tell, but according to Broadcasting & Cable, most ABC O&O’s which air Oprah already know what they’re doing – more news. “According to many sources, executives at the ABC stations that serve as Oprah’s key station group have long said they will fill the time slots by expanding their local news. The ABC stations remain strong–even in today’s tough environment–and are news leaders,” B&C reported So, don’t be surprised to see WFTV’s Eyewitness News starting at 4 p.m. come September 2011. That’s still a long way off, and lots of things could happen, but that’s my bet. …
They’re hearing wedding bells over at WKMG. Local 6 evening anchor Mike Garofalo got hitched, and morning anchor Laura Diaz got engaged. Orlando Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedeker reports that Garofalo married Sasha Andrade, a reporter at Post-Newsweek sister station WPLG-Local 10 in Miami. Boedeker says Diaz got engaged a month ago “to a WKMG colleague she identifies only as Mike.” Diaz told Boedeker, ”He’s in sales. He’s in the other world, what we call the dark side.”
October 12th, 2009
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New WOFL ND Jeff Zeller appears to be wasting no time making changes at Fox 35.
A pair of anchors — newcomer Sonni Abatta and veteran Amy Kaufeldt — will be swapping roles. Orlando Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedeker reports Kaufeldt will become Cale Ramaker’s co-anchor on the Fox 35 10 p.m. news as well as continue as the 5 p.m. co-anchor. Abatta will move off the late anchor desk to join the 9 a.m. hour of “Good Day” while continuing to be the 6 p.m. anchor with Ramaker.
The changes are scheduled to begin on Monday.
October 11th, 2009
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Some interesting news, considering WKMG’s schedule shuffle that replaced its early evening newscasts with Dr. Phil …
Local 6’s Post-Newsweek sister station, KPRC in Houston, has yanked Dr. Phil from its schedule — replacing the doc’s show with another doc — Dr. Oz.
Here’s what Broadcasting and Cable reported: KPRC decided to remove Dr. Phil from its schedule due to disappointment with sliding ratings and disagreement over the show’s content, said Post-Newsweek President Alan Frank. The station is continuing to pay the show’s license fees, although it is not airing the show’s national commercials, which are sold by CTD and provide additional income to the syndicator. “It’s out of desperation that I did this,” said Frank, who said he’s personally met with show star and executive producer Dr. Phil McGraw to try and get his concerns resolved. “I did everything but stand on my head to get [CBS’] attention over the years.”
And in Detroit, B&C says another Post-Newsweek station – WDIV — is airing Dr. Oz at 3 p.m. — and has seen its 4 p.m. news ratings improve by 33 percent compared to last year.
The irony is that even if WKMG wanted to replace Dr. Phil with Dr. Oz, it can’t. Hearst-Argyle’s O-Town duopoly of WESH and WKCF locked up Dr. Oz in this market. If anything, looks like it was – at the very least — a good defensive move by WESH.
October 11th, 2009
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Back from a Fall break from blogging. Here’s what been going on …
New WESH 2 Sunrise anchor Jason Guy doesn’t officially start his new gig until Monday, but he’s been trying out the Channel 2 anchor desk. He co-anchored the Friday noon news with his Sunrise co-anchor Syan Rhodes, and he was spotted on the Saturday 11 p.m. news with Aixa Diaz. Guy, whose broadcasting career includes a stint as a contestant on CBS’ Big Brother, answered questions from Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedeker. On how the Big Brother experienced shaped him, Guy said, “I had a rare experience in reality. I was genuinely who I am. And I went in there and I said, ‘Even if I don’t win, I want to keep my integrity.’ It helped me figure out where I was heading in life. I started working in reality-television production after the show. I got hired by an executive producer of Big Brother. I did well with that one and kept getting hired.” Read the Sentinel Q&A with Guy here. …
For anyone watching WKMG over the past couple of months, this probably comes as no surprise. The station has installed meteorologist Troy Bridges as the 11 p.m. weather guy, with chief meteorologist Tom Sorrells staying on the 6-7 p.m. news. For several months, Bridges and Sorrells have been sharing weather duties in the evenings — which at least to me has seemed awkward. I hope I’m wrong, but I’m not alone in thinking that Local 6 seems to be easing out Sorrells in favor of Bridges. It may be part of a cost-cutting move. As you recall WKMG laid off 20 people in May and canceled its 4, 5 and 5:30 p.m. newscasts. …
One of those laid off in the Local 6 May purge was reporter Kimberly Houk. She’s back working again — now on weekend assignments for WESH 2. …
Gavin Maliska’s stint as news director at WOFL-Fox 35 didn’t even last a year. He was shown the door last month. and now GM Stan Knott has elevated Jeff Zeller to ND from assistant news director. For those keeping score, Zeller replaces Maliska, who replaced Bob Clinkingbeard, who replaced John Sears, who replaced Lena Sadiwskyj. In all, Zeller is Fox 35’s fifth news director in six years. Broadcasting and Cable says that before he joined WOFL 3-1/2 years ago, Zeller spent six years at WPXI in Pittsburgh – first as an executive producer and then as a managing editor/senior executive producer — and two years at WHIO in Dayton, Ohio.
September 9th, 2009
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The debut of O-Town’s newest Spanish-language offering has been pushed to Sept. 14.
Back in July, WESH-2, WKCF-CW 18 and parent Hearst Television announced a partnership with Liberman Broadcasting to offer its Estrella TV to Central Florida viewers on WKCF’s digital sub-channel 18.3. The original start date was sometime in in mid-August; now Estrella will go live on Monday.
According to Broadcasting and Cable, Orlando is one of 17 markets nationally where Estrella is launching. Among the other Florida markets are Miami, on Sunbeam’s WSVN-Fox 7, and West Palm Beach, on Hearst’s WPBF-ABC 25
Estrella is giving partnering stations an opportunity to cash in with Hispanic-targeted advertising. According to B&C, “The affiliate model sees the stations keep 40 percent of the commercial inventory, according to Liberman, with Estrella retaining the other 60 percent. Stations will have the opportunity to put local touches on the programming lineup, such as a Spanish-language newscast produced by station talent to air on Estrella.”
Said WESH/WKCF GM Jim Carter in a news release: “We are always looking for ways to better serve our large and growing Hispanic population, and with LBI’s Spanish-language broadcast experience reaching back to the 70’s, we know we’ve found the right partner.”
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