Category Archives: WFTV-9

Who’s calling people, asking them to watch WFTV?

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Interesting item posted on WFTV.com this morning…

“WFTV has received several reports of Lake County residents receiving automated phone calls encouraging them to watch a story that aired Thursday night on Eyewitness News.

“The story involved a Mount Dora doctor who posted signs on his office door asking people who support President Barack Obama’s health care plan to seek care elsewhere. The doctor is performing a non-FDA-approved procedure overseas; he is not doing anything illegal.

“Thursday afternoon, calls began to go out regarding the story. WFTV did not originate or participate in the calls. However, WFTV is investigating. If you got a call, please send an email to WFTV.”

Not sure what this is all about, but I suspect we’ll be hearing more soon. Sure looks like some political group may be involved.

WFTV’s Eyewitness News tops April’s ratings race

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April’s ratings are over. The May sweeps have begun. And Orlando TV stations are searching (and researching) for viewers.

First, back to April. WFTV-Channel 9′s Eyewitness News was once again the king of the hill in the morning, at noon, in the evening and at night. WESH 2 News was No. 2 most of the time. WKMG-Local 6 and WOFL-Fox 35 battled it out at the bottom in most news time periods.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that in the advertiser-coveted 25-54 age group, WFTV was tops at 11 p.m.  Monday-Friday with 39,400 viewers. WKMG’s 26,000 edged out WESH with 25,500, and WOFL was the choice of 14,400. WESH and WKMG swapped positions in the Monday-Sunday tally.

For more on the April ratings, click here.

Meanwhile, a tipster reports that one O-Town station is apparently conducting telephone research, focusing a lot on their morning show competition. In addition to asking about viewer tastes when it comes to news, researchers wanted participants to rate all of the morning talent on Channels 2, 6 and 9. Interesting.

Former Orlando anchor Rondinaro: ‘I’m a budget cut’

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Steve Rondinaro

Steve Rondinaro

Former longtime Orlando anchor Steve Rondinaro has a new assignment: finding a job.

Rondinaro, the former WESH and WFTV anchor who in 2007 became the lead anchor and managing editor for WWAY-ABC 3 in Wilmington, N.C., was dropped by the station earlier this month. 

“By now you may have noticed that I’m no longer doing the evening news on WWAY. April 8 was my last night on television. I’m a budget cut,” Rondinaro wrote in an article for the Wilmington Star News. “It’s business. I’m simply another in an ongoing series of budget cuts at Channel 3. Like our local governments and about every other media business, revenue is down at WWAY, too. My contract was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“The writing was on the wall several months ago. With the ax having officially fallen, I’m now part of a huge news story that I had been reporting on. I’ll be in the next round of unemployment numbers. I’m not happy about that, but I’m not ashamed either. I’m now in the same boat as a lot of you. It’s one scary boat.”

Read his full story here.

Check out his RondoWorks.com website here.

Sam Champion’s underwater forecast at Epcot

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We told you yesterday about Good Morning America weatherman Sam Champion’s plans to give his forecast underwater at Epcot for Earth Day. And that’s just what he did. It’s one part cool, one part distracting. Until you have to listen to someone giving a weather forecast in scuba suit, you don’t realize how much a person has to breath when they talk. If you missed it, here’s video from ABC 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.

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.