Awkward Magic moment becomes TV news in Orlando

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from orlandosentinel.com

Uh, awkward.

That’s perhaps the best way  to describe what happened Thursday at Amway Center when Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy — confirming a report by WKMG sports anchor David “Ping” Pingalore — said Dwight Howard asked the team to fire him. Van Gundy had just finished telling the assembled reporters that management told him Howard wanted him fired, when Howard walked up and put his arm around the coach.

Unaware of what Van Gundy had just told the media, Howard asked, “Is Dave Ping here today, the guy who started this BS?” Van Gundy then excused himself and left Howard to fend off questions. Watch the raw video from OrlandoSentinel.com

Channels 2 and 6 both led off their 6 p.m. newscasts with the less-than-Magic moment. “Ping” wasn’t in attendance for Van Gundy’s comments, but tweeted that he was eager to see Dwight after Thursday night’s Magic-Knicks game — a game the lackluster Orlando team lost by 16 points. Stay tuned — this saga isn’t over yet.

Jorge Estevez returning to WFTV-WRDQ anchor desk

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from http://www.youtube.com/user/esteveztv

The changes keep coming at Channel 9, and there’s a familiar face returning to town. WFTV announced this week that former anchor Jorge Estevez will be back on the Eyewitness News anchor desk starting June 4.

Estevez left WFTV in 2006 for CBS O&O WFOR-4 in Miami. He’s coming back to Orlando to report for WFTV but also anchor on sister station WRDQ-27 with Vanessa Welch at 6:30 p.m. and Martie Salt at 10 p.m. He’s replacing Josh Benson, who will be leaving WFTV-WRDQ after veteran Greg Warmoth was elevated as “heir apparent” for Bob Opsahl’s anchor chair.

Video of Estevez’s most recent audition at WFTV appeared to accidentally make its way onto the Internet and was indexed by Google earlier this week. Oops. But that’s OK.

Estevez is already going out of his way to ingratiate himself to his new co-anchors, sending them flowers — based on a picture posted on Twitter on Thursday.

Orlando TV news anchors in the news

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Some updates for you on some former Orlando TV newsers who are making news …

Mike Garofalo, who left Local 6 back in September 2010 to be closer to his reporter wife in Miami, has landed back on the anchor desk. TVSpy.com reports that he joined  WOAI-NBC 4 in San Antonio as morning anchor.  Garofalo arrived at WKMG in December 2008 from KOAT-ABC 7 in Albuquerque. He’s likely best remembered here as the man who replaced longtime popular anchor Bob Frier on Channel 6′s anchor desk. …

Popular former WFTV anchor Chris Egert, who left Channel 9 in 2007 to head to Cox sister station KIRO-CBS 7 in Seattle, is heading to Minneapolis. NewsBlues.com reports that Egert is making the move to care for his ailing father. On Thursday, Egert posted on his Facebook page that his last day as morning anchor at KIRO is Friday, and that he’ll start at  KSTP-ABC 5 in Minneapolis on April 26. …

If you were watching the cable or national networks’ coverage of this week’s Texas tornadoes, you might have spotted a couple of former Orlando newsers. Former WKMG morning meteorologist Larry Mowry was doing storm coverage on KTVT-CBS 11 in Continue reading →

Back to blogging … why I love Orlando TV news

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Yes, I’m back blogging about Orlando TV news.

What’s the deal, you ask? I’ve been very busy with my real job and also took some vacation time. Plus, it was good to take a blogging break.

But now it’s back to chronicling the news that comes across your Orlando TV sets. Here’s one prime reason why I love to blog about Orlando TV news — and from one of the most entertaining Orlando news anchors on Twitter… Where else does this stuff happen?

Jim Van Fleet: I wasn’t dissing Fox 35 or Orlando in interview

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from MyFoxOrlando.com

Former WOFL-Fox 35 morning meteorologist Jim Van Fleet is settling into his new role as chief met at Tampa’s WTSP-CBS 10. However, he’s still a bit unsettled by reaction to an interview he gave — and he wants to set the record straight.

This all began with an early December blog post by St. Petersburg Times TV writer Eric Deggans, who talked to Van Fleet about his new job at WTSP. Here’s what Deggans wrote:  “I’m actually here … and allowed to be on air,” joked Van Fleet, referring to the contract issues which kept him from appearing on WTSP until his agreement with Orlando Fox station WOFL-TV fully expired. “That was Triple A, and now I’m ready for the majors.”

It was that last statement that some inferred as a possible dig at his old station and/or Orlando. Van Fleet says that’s not the case.

In an email to us, Van Fleet wrote: “Yes, I was joking about actually being allowed to go on air finally. That was a little frustrating that Fox 35 would not let me just move on and go to the next chapter, but in a way the fact that they held on for as long as they could, and as tightly as they could, I do take that as a compliment.”

What about the minor-league comment?

“NO – I did not mean Orlando was Triple A and Tampa was the majors,” Van Fleet explained. “What I meant was I felt like since I was going from morning meteorologist back into the chief meteorologist role, well, that was like being ‘called up’ into the majors. So any misunderstanding … misquote … if I didn’t speak it clearly … whatever it is, if anyone took the way I did NOT mean it I just wanted to apologize as that is not what I said … or meant!!”

Van Fleet also said once he heard how his remarks were being interpreted by some, he was upset.

“My heart sank when I read this online because I think anyone who has taken the time to get to know me knows that I don’t put people down or make remarks like that,” Van Fleet wrote in his email. “So I hope this helps you understand where my intentions where and how I truly feel about Central Florida, and those feelings will never change.”

Read our original post about the interview here. (Note: Jim’s email arrived on Dec. 29, but I’ve been swamped and was not able to post until today.)

Bob Baxa, Greg Warmoth involved in changes at WFTV-Channel 9

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There are some changes in roles taking place at market-leader WFTV-Channel 9.

First, longtime morning traffic guy Bob Baxa is no longer reporting for the station. He’s been replaced by Racquel Asa. “He did a good job for us. I was very happy with Bob’s performance,” WFTV news director Bob Jordan told Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedeker. “He had been here the better part of 10 years. We wanted to do something different.” Baxa wasn’t actually a WFTV employee; he worked for traffic-data provider Metro Networks. Asa, who comes to Orlando from WSYR-ABC 9 in Syracuse, N.Y., is a WFTV employee and will also report for later newscasts, too.

Meanwhile, Eyewitness News Daybreak anchor Greg Warmoth is getting some additional duties at WFTV. He’s been tapped as the interim moderator of Channel 9′s public affairs show, Central Florida Spotlight. He replaces Craig Patrick. “Craig has family in Tampa. His old station, WTVT, offered him a job to come back. It was a family motivated decision,”  WFTV General Manager Shawn Bartelt told the Orlando Sentinel. “He’s a great guy, and we were lucky to have him when we did.”