Category Archives: WFTV-9

Casey Anthony: WESH analyst blasts WFTV analyst

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tvnotesAs 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.

Bob Frier returns to air December 14 on Fox 35

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bobfrier-woflSome 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.”

O-Town Tweeters make news, plus other notes

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twitter2Some quick notes for midweek:

TVNewsCheck.com is noting how Twitter has become popular in TV newsrooms, and it called upon two of O-Town’s top TV Tweeters to explain the craze. ”I thought the social networking sites were strictly a phenomenon of teenagers and young kids. I thought it was meaningless chatter, but it’s not,” WFTV News Director Bob Jordan told the site.  “It’s now the primary way a lot of people communicate, share and obtain information. Not to be in that space would be just the dumbest thing anyone could do, if you’re in the communications business.” WESH ND Bob Longo – another Twitter fan and occasional target of Jordan’s Tweets — told TVNewsCheck,  “I like it for a few reasons: It’s a little bit town crier, a little bit police scanner and another news monitor on the assignment desk wall.” You can read the full story here. …

Former WKMG anchor Bob Frier is back on the air. You can catch him in the mornings this week filling in for vacationing Erica Lee on Mix 105.1 FM’s Scott and Erica Show. As you are probably aware, Frier and DJ Scott McKenzie are part of the band Simulcast. It’s good to hear Bob again. Maybe radio is in his future? That’s what happened to former Channel 6 anchor Leslye Gayle when the station dropped her — she popped up on Magic 107.7 and has been doing mornings there since. …

Fox 35 is gearing up for next week’s launch of its expanded morning news. The 8:30 to 10 a.m. segment is being branded as “Good Day.” Amy Kaufeldt, Heidi Hatch, Jacquie Sosa and Christine van Blokland will helm the show. Promos have started airing. You can check one out below:

Information sharing creates new problems for TV

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tvnotesYou may have heard about the latest blowup between O-Town stations. This one involved WFTV’s video inteview with religious runaway Fathima Rafqa Bary.

Channel 9′s exclusive video was posted on YouTube.com — then WESH and WOFL broadcast portions of the clip obtained from the video-sharing Web site. Neither station credited WFTV with the interview.

“You can’t steal someone else’s work and pass it off as your own,” WFTV News Director Bob Jordan told Orlando Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedeker. “They will make a fair-use claim under the copyright law. But this is pretty transparent theft. They knew it was our work. They could have acknowledged that it was WFTV’s work.”

It reminded me of the recent Walt Disney World monorail accident. WKMG obtained exclusive video shot minutes after the accident by a tourist, but the video was quickly posted on YouTube. After other TV stations and Web sites aired the video from YouTube, Local 6 ND Steve Hyvonen sent emails to all O-Town media outlets, warning them to respect the station’s exclusive or face legal action.

On the Web, aggregation is an accepted form of sharing information. Web sites — like this one — typically summarize information, pull out a couple of paragraphs or quotes for context, then link directly to the source of the material so readers can see the full report on the originating site

This works well on the Web — sending traffic from aggreator sites to the originator sites. But this doesn’t work on television — where no station wants to credit its competitors on air.

As Jordan told Boedeker, “There are some things we as journalists should be talking about. The new rules of engagement are being driven by new technology. But fundamental is ownership of original work product.”

Without American Idol, Fox 35 falls behind WRDQ

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WRDQ beats WOFL at 10 -- but the gap was not as large as this WRDQ graphic would make it appear on first glance

WRDQ beats WOFL at 10 -- but the gap was not as large as this WRDQ graphic would make it appear on first glance

Catching up on some Orlando TV News after taking a short blogging break…

Yes, it’s really true. For the first time since its launch in 2002, WRDQ’s 10 p.m. newscast knocked off the No. 1 early-late news in town: Fox 35 News at 10. According to a WRDQ news release, Eyewitness News at Ten won the time period with adults 25-54 Monday through Friday in the August ratings period. TV27 delivered 1,113 more adults than Fox 35, despite having a lower-rated lead-in. TV27 grew 136 percent off its Oprah rerun lead-in while WOFL lost 33 percent of its lead-in audience. “The tremendous growth Eyewitness News at Ten has shown in August is a testament to TV27′s dedication to provide viewers with a quality fast-paced newscast,” said WFTV/WRDQ GM Shawn Bartelt. “I’m excited to see this trend continue for our Eyewitness News brand.” …

And after being dethroned in July as the morning news king by WESH, WFTV was back on top in August. From 5-7 a.m., Channel 9′s Eyewitness News Daybreak pulled in 20,538 adults 25-45. WESH 2′s Sunrise was No. 2 with 14,440, followed closely by Local 6′s Morning News with 14,180 and Fox 35 Morning News with 12,250. …

WFTV won all the news time periods in August, including the iconic 6 p.m. time period where it had 49,042 adults 25-54, followed by WESH (29,152), WKMG (14,665) and WOFL (11,775) …

A new Twitter site is posting Orlando TV ratings daily.OrlandoRatings has the scoop. The numbers look legit, but analyze at your own risk.

WFTV’s West back in news with Biden visit

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bidenWith Vice President Joe Biden due to visit Orlando on Wednesday, Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedeker revived the discussion about WFTV anchor Barbara West’s controversial interview with Biden during the 2008 campaign. Boedeker asked WFTV News Director Bob Jordan if West would cover Biden’s visit for Eyewitness News. 

“Just for old time’s sake? That’s a great idea,” Jordan told Boedeker with a laugh. Turning serious, Jordan said, “I saw a brief e-mail that he’s coming. I haven’t discussed how we’ll cover him. We certainly will cover him.”

One of the issues that West sparred with Biden in her interview was health care. On Monday night at a town hall meeting by Rep. Alan Grayson to discuss President Obama’s hot-button health care plan, West’s husband was on hand. According to Orlando Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell, who was live blogging from the event: “Wade West, husband of WFTV anchor Barbara West, just stormed out, yelling ‘Shame on all of us!’ at the entire room.  West was reacting to Grayson saying he wasn’t going to be able to take questions from everyone – and complaining about the number of Democrats front-ended loaded into the forum.”

After the jump, why one local TV web site has closed, plus more notes

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