Category Archives: Orlando TV

The latest news on Orlando television from RogerSimmons.com | Orlando TV News

Switching channels: New faces on TV

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Some new and familiar faces in new places on TV …

Nancy Alvarez, former member of the Problem Solvers investigations unit at WKMG-Local 6, is returning to Central Florida. She’s the new weekend anchor at WFTV, according to Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedeker. She left Local 6 in 2007 to work at WBBH-NBC 2 in Fort Myers. …

Scott Rates, WKMG’s top news photog, is heading to WFTV-Channel 9, reports NewsBlues.com. Rates, who also reports, edits, and runs the live truck, starts at Eyewitness News next week. …

Former WFTV reporter Jamison Uhler is heading back to the Sunshine State — to become an anchor at WFTS-ABC 26 in Tampa. According to the Tampa Tribune,  Uhler, 34, currently an anchor/reporter at NBC O&O WCAU-10 in Philadelphia, has been hired to co-anchor WFTS’ 5  and 11 p.m. newscasts. …

And finally, Nicole Pesecky has joined WKMG as a GA. She previously was at KCBD-NBC 11 in Lubbock, Texas.

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WKMG’s summit and other news to note

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Here’s the latest Orlando TV News …

WKMG’s much-discussed mandatory “newsroom summit” is now history … but what happened? According to some folks who were there, it wasn’t nearly as draconian as anticipated. “It was a lot of uproar over nothing,” a Local 6  staffer told the Orlando Sentinel. “It was really fun, helpful. Everyone walked out feeling better about their jobs. It was a positive thing. People left with an appreciation for what others do.” Basically, as I predicted, it was more of a corporate team-building exercise. The staff met to discuss ways to improve improve TV news, and workers switched duties to experience how others do their jobs. Did you attend and have a different view? Then email me by clicking the “Contact Us” link at the top of the page. …

Speaking of the summit, remember last week when MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann named WKMG news director Steve Hyvonen one of his “Worst Persons in the World”? Turns out there may be more of a backstory there. According to TVNewser.com, Hyvonen used to work as a news manager at MSNBC dayside in the early 2000s, but not with Olbermann. As Olbermann ended his segment by telling Local 6 staffers to write down Hyvonen’s name as a newsroom “battery drainer,” he added cryptically, “That was for the staff here.” Click here to watch the segment again. …

Switching over to Fox 35:  Saturday’s Fox 35 News at 10 started about an hour late — due to Fox’s 4 p.m. baseball game going into the 20th inning! Yes, the game lasted nearly 7 hours, with the New York Mets finally beating the host St. Louis Cardinals 2-1. Imagine if the game had started in prime time? Also, I noticed that in place of usual weekend anchors Keith Landry and Talitha Vickers, WOFL had Tom Johnson and Tracy Jacim anchoring on Saturday and Sunday. Is that something new, or were they just filling in? …

Finally, former WOFL reporter Erin Logan has been fired from her anchor-reporter job at WNDU-NBC 16 in South Bend, Ind. She was dismissed after being arrested following a domestic dispute involving a former NFL player. Click here to read more from the South Bend Tribune. She was at Fox 35 in 2005-06.

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Wonder why Bob Opsahl never left Orlando?

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Bob Opsahl

WFTV Eyewitness News anchorman Bob Ospahl opens up about his long career in Orlando in an interview with Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedeker.

For example, has Opsahl ever considered leaving Channel 9 and Orlando for a job in a larger market?

Said Opsahl, “Like most folks in TV news, I had early visions of advancing to the so-called ‘Big Time,’ moving to larger markets, and possibly even the network someday. And I did have some offers over the years. But a few things kept me from making those moves. First, I love Orlando. It’s been home base for me since 1968. And most of my family members live here, too. Second, I wasn’t convinced that any success here would necessarily translate to another market. And third, I grew up in an Air Force family, where moving was a way of life. Many times when my Dad got transferred I would have to leave all my friends behind and start over again in another state. So, the opportunity to finally put down roots, and stay in one place was very appealing to me.

“And here’s a fun fact: When I started at Channel 9, in 1978, the Orlando market was the 43rd largest in the country. Now, it’s 19th. So, I did move to a much bigger market, and I didn’t have to leave town.”

Click here for the full Q&A with Opsahl.

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40 years ago today: Apollo 13 video

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Central Florida has always paid special attention to the space program, which is to be expected considering all of the NASA workers within the region. This year marks the 40th anniversary of one of the space program’s “highlights” — the safe return of the Apollo 13 astronauts after an accident occurred aboard their craft en route to the Moon. If you were in Orlando 40 years ago today and watching WDBO-Channel 6, here’s what you would have seen: CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite reporting about the accident.

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WKMG’s Steve Hyvonen makes MSNBC’s worst list

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If you watch MSNBC, no doubt you’re familiar with Keith Obermann’s “Countdown” show. And one of its big features is the “Worst Person in the World” segment. Olbermann put WKMG-Channel 6 news director Steve Hyvonen on his list of “Worst Person in the World” for Local 6′s upcoming newsroom summit. Ouch. Olbermann’s advice to Local 6 workers, who have been told to write down the names of three “battery drainers” in the newsroom: “Write out three names: Steve Hyvonen, Steve Hyvonen and Steve Hyvonen.”

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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No retirement plans yet for WFTV’s Bob Opsahl

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Bob Opsahl

There’s been a lot of speculation about vetran anchor Bob Opsahl’s future at WFTV. News director Bob Jordan has hinted at pending retirement for his star newsman, and that talk ramped up after new weekend anchor Josh Benson was hired.

Well, what about Bob? He set the record straight on Monday with Orlando Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedeker. Asked about talk that he may retire next year, Opsahl said, “For now, I can take that only one step further: I won’t be retiring next year either.”

So, that would keep Central Florida’s longest tenured anchor on Eyewitness News through 2011. Opsahl started at Channel 9 back in 1978. Wow — that’s a looong time.

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