New anchor and future news anchor

Posted on by
Reply

Central Florida News 13 is getting a new morning anchor starting Monday. Lisa Bell will be the 5 to 10 a.m. anchor with meteorologist Jeff Day, Orlando Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedeker reports. Bell comes to CFN13 from WEAR-ABC 3 in Pensacola. "Her talent and level of commitment make her the perfect person for this role at News 13," station GM Robin Smythe said of Bell.

Meanwhile, Katie Trexler is someone you may see on one of Orlando’s stations soon. She’s the morning and midday anchor at Denver’s KMGH-ABC 7, but she’s relocating to Orlando, according to the Rocky Mountain News. Trexler’s husband recently received a sweet gig from an O-Town company, so the family is heading East. Trexler, the mother of twin 4-year-olds, says she plans to take some time off before deciding whether to get back into TV here.

Continue reading →

Thief gets into WFTV, steals from employees

Posted on by
Reply

Looks like WKMG’s new "Catch A Criminal" feature could have a new subject — the guy who robbed workers at WFTV this week.

According to Channel 9′s Web site, the station’s security cameras caught the thief trying to get into a locked employee entrance around 9:45 a.m. — during regular business hours. "Then he walked around the building, past the live vans to the back, where he slipped in a side door. He walked inside and stole debit cards from five WFTV employees," the story said. Those employees later saw thousands of dollars worth of charges on their debit cards.

Police think the man may be the same person who got into the Orlando Sentinel’s building and stole from employees there. Police said almost every large office building in downtown Orlando has been targeted by thieves, who have gotten away with cash, credit cards and even computers — all the time posing as workers or visitors in the buildings.

Continue reading →

WESH extends Wendy Chioji’s contract

Posted on by
Reply

WESH has extended the contract of longtime anchor Wendy Chioji, according to NewsBlues.com . No word on contract details. Her solo-anchored WESH 2 News at 6 p.m. newscast was up 10 percent from a year ago in the February sweeps. Chioji has been with the station since 1988, as a reporter, weekend anchor and then lead anchor. To salute Wendy on her new deal, here’s a clip of her closing out the weekend news back in 1990, plus a 2 News promo from 17 years ago.

>> Click here to watch WESH weekend news close.

Continue reading →

Catching up: Lots of “new” news to report

Posted on by
Reply

Dang, a lot of stuff has been going on since I took my spring break …

NEW BABY: Central Florida’s largest team of broadcast meteorologists just got larger. WESH’s Leslie Hudson gave birth to Avery Vy Russell last week. She was born at 7:26 a.m. on Wednesday and weighed in at 6 pounds, 12 ounces. You can find a couple of pics here. Congrats!

NEW TRAFFIC GUY: Ryan Harper of Metro Networks is the new morning traffic guy at WOFL-Fox 35. He replaces Ken Smith, who after nearly 3 years of flying in the chopper for WOFL, has flown west. Insiders say Smith landed a gig with top-rated KLAS in Las Vegas. He reportedly starts in April.

Continue reading →

Former WESH ND lands in Little Rock

Posted on by
Reply

Ed Trauschke, whose four-year run as news director at WESH ended in August, has landed in Little Rock, Ark. The Arkansas TV News blog reports that Clear Channel’s WLRT-Fox 16 has hired Trauschke as its new ND. He replaces Michael Fabrac, who left the station in Nielsen market No. 57 in August. Trauschke was a longtime reporter for O-Town’s Channel 6 before becoming WESH’s ND.

Continue reading →

Local 6′s cookie caper: Here’s the tape

Posted on by
Reply

I had a post Wednesday about listening to Local 6′s 6 p.m. show on my car radio Tuesday and hearing a bizarre exchange between anchors Bob Frier and Jacqueline London. During a report about Girl Scout cookies, London got smacked with a box of cookies. It was all an accident and left everyone laughing — and no one injured. I had several people provide copies of the video, and you can click here to see what happened.

Now, don’t think Frier is a cookie monster. It was an accident, albeit a funny one. He said in an e-mail that the mishap was "a shoe-in to headline this year’s blooper tape." He continued, "I’ve made co-anchors laugh with ad-libs before but nothing like THAT has happened to me … I think what stands out about it is that Jackie laughed so hard. She’s such a pro… and takes great care to always be professional on the air… to have her dissolve into tears of laughter was what made it so funny for me."

London said, "I just couldn’t believe it happened, and that I couldn’t stop laughing. I love sitting next to Bob and that definitely hasn’t changed. I just may wear a helmet from now on. Just kidding!"

Continue reading →