RogerSimmons.com Orlando TV News

Archive for the ‘WKCF-18’ category

Here’s the Buzz: 18 Ready to Join Morning Competition

November 13th, 2003

Nov. 13 – WKCF-WB 18 hasn’t been a player in the local news battle since canceling its “Original 10 O’Clock News” in Sept. 2002. That’s about to change. According to WB insiders, the station will pick up the nationally syndicated three-hour morning show, “The Daily Buzz,” starting in January. But wait, there’s more. Sometime in the spring, we’re told WKCF plans to localize the broadcast and is looking to start construction on offices, a green room and a control room at its Lake Mary headquarters. While no firm date has been set for the local production of “Daily Buzz,” there’s talk that WKCF could be adding at least 30 employees to its staff for the broadcast, including on-air talent. “The Daily Buzz”, running from 6 to 9 a.m., is a show geared toward the younger audiences most WB stations target. It’s now on more than 100 stations nationally. And its arrival in Orlando is sure to shake things up in the mornings.

No comments »

Posted in Orlando TV, WKCF-18

‘Goodnight and God bless you’: Bud Hedinger signs off from WKCF news

September 13th, 2002

Sept. 13 – Thanking the many loyal viewers of his program, classy Bud Hedinger signed off Friday night on the final edition of “The Original 10:00 News” on WKCF-Channel 18. In a mid-newscast good-bye, lasting more than 2 minutes and 30 seconds, Bud explained that the show was being replaced on WB18 by Seinfeld reruns.

He noted with obvious pride that the newscast — produced with WB18 first by Channel 6 and now Channel 2 — has always been competitive, finishing “first or tied for first in three out of the last four rating periods.”

While acknowledging the coincidence of his show ending on unlucky Friday the 13th, Bud said he considered himself “to be one the of luckiest guys around.” With his wife and one of his daughters in the studio, and with Bud getting a little choked up at the end, Hedinger said he and his family love Central Florida and hope to continue living here.

Still, in recent interviews with the Orlando Sentinel and the Orlando Business Journal, Hedinger said that with no job offers right now, he’s not sure if he will be able to stay in the area. That would be a big loss for Orlando TV. (Skip, Bob, Ed — are you listening, er, reading?)

At the end of the show, Bud had a final good-bye, telling viewers, “We’re glad you’ve been with us. Goodnight, and God bless you.”

Watch Bud’s goodbye message to viewers (Note: This is 2 minutes, 36 seconds)

Watch Bud’s final signoff to end the newscast

No comments »

Posted in Orlando TV, WKCF-18

Tags: Bud Hedinger WKCF-18

An Original: History of Orlando’s 1st 10:00 News

September 9th, 2002

Sept. 9 – With “The Original 10:00 News” with Bud Hedinger on WKCF-Channel 18 fading to black, it seems as good a time as any to look back at the history of the groundbreaking newscast. When it went on the air on May 28, 1990, the show was called “The 10 O’clock Report,” and you couldn’t watch it unless you had cable.

WKMG-Channel 6 (then known as WCPX) wanted to expand its third-place newscast’s presence and make an extra buck, so it created a news show to sell to area cable companies. CableVision (now Time Warner) ran the newscast — with anchor Glenn Rinker, weathercaster Pam Kister (now Brady) and sports guy Mike Storms — on its public access channel.

The show found a niche audience for not-so-late-night news. In June 1991, to reach more viewers (and to make more money), the show moved over to Orlando newcomer WKCF-Channel 68, which would become channel 18.

Bud’s association with the show came in October 1993, when he returned to Central Florida at WCPX after leaving WFTV in 1989 in a contract dispute. When he was bumped as WCPX’s main anchor in March 1995, he was moved over to anchor the “The 10:00 News” newscast permanently. WCPX (and then WKMG) continued to produce the show until last year, when WESH-Channel 2 took it over.

But Bud remained the constant for the newscast, which now fades to black and into Orlando’s TV Times.