Tag Archives: Bob Jordan

WESH blames WFTV’s Jordan for swine flu report

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Reports of swine flu in Orlando are raising the temperatures of some folks running the local news stations.

On Tuesday, WFTV-Channel 9 reported that there was a confirmed case of swine flu in Orlando. The report turned out to be false. WFTV blamed the error on an email it received from a doctor at Florida Hospital; WESH-Channel 2 blamed WFTV News Director Bob Jordan.

“Hospital Denies Report of Swine Flu in Orlando” was the headline on WESH.com. The report detailed a news conference at Florida Hospital about the incident. Channel 2 reported: “The news conference was held in response to a media report that a tourist from Mexico who was at the Disney attractions had swine flu. The report, first posted on the WFTV news director’s Twitter account at 10:35 a.m., quoted an e-mail sent by Florida Hospital’s chief medical officer Dr. Loran Hauck.”

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Hori welcomes twins; see WFTV video from 1978

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A couple of quick items to start off the new year …

Congrats to former WESH anchor Shannon Hori, now at WFOR-CBS 4 in Miami. Last week she welcomed twin boys, Colt and Cade. “The best Christmas present ever,” Hori told the Miami Herald. The boys are the first children for Hori, 36, and husband Kendall Cogan, 42. who owns Firehouse Subs franchises. Click here to read more. …

Believe it or not, apparently it wasn’t “all Caylee coverage, all the time” for at least one local station in 2008. WOFL’s Web site, MyFoxOrlando.com, listed its top 10 stories on the site for 2008. Here are the top five:

  1. Girl called racist for wearing Palin T-shirt;
  2. City vehicles painted with anti-Obama sayings; 
  3. Student who took religious icon getting death threats;
  4. Florida teens confront Fox 35 after mom’s arrest;
  5. Car wash mom pleads no contest.

Not sure what that lists says about MyFoxOrlando’s visitors. You can see the full list by clicking here. …

And finally, here’s a trip down video lane: Part of WFTV’s Eyewitness News from 1978, complete with anchor Bob Jordan, weatherman Burd Bullock and sports with Mike James (now of NewsBlues.com fame.) There’s also a credit roll at the end of the show … see if you recognize any of the names.

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Cabrera leaves WESH, Garofalo and Longo come to town

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It’s been a good, long while since I’ve blogged about anything. Buy my resolution for 2009 is to write more — so I’m getting an early start. Here’s some of the stuff that’s been going on recently in O-Town’s TV Land …

Meteorologist Ivan Cabrera has left WESH. Cabrera’s agent, Rob Jordan, told Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedeker, “He signed a confidentiality agreement and is not commenting. It was all very amicable.” According to Boedeker, WESH space reporter Dan Billow — who has a meteorology degree — may be helping out with the weather now that Channel 2 is down to just four mets. Cabrera had been with WESH since May 2006, but what’s next for him? Well, he is doing voiceover work. He has a Web site where you can hear some of his samples.

Is Bob Frier getting pushed out at WKMG? We hope not, but it sure looks suspicious over at Local 6. The station has brought in Mike Garofalo from KOAT in Albuquerque to anchor the 4 and 6 p.m. newscasts with Jacqueline London. Frier will now co-anchor the 5 and 11 p.m. shows with London, and Garofalo will report for the 11 p.m. show. There is an O-Town connection with Garofalo. Back in New Mexico, working with Garofalo at KOAT was former WOFL-Fox 35 anchor Shelly Ribando.

Do you realize that as we head into 2009, the only news director who started 2008 with an O-Town station and is finishing the year is WFTV’s Bob Jordan? Bob Longo at WESH is the newest ND in town, coming from WTAE in Pittsburgh to replace Barb Maushard, who took a corporate job with Hearst-Argyle. WOFL-Fox 35 brought in Gavin Maliska in November to replace Bob Clinkingbeard, and in February WKMG hired Steve Hyvonen from WEWS in Cleveland in replace Susan Forbes.

 

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Video vault: Eyewitness News from 1984

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As any avid visitor to this site knows, I love news and old news video. I came across some new “old” video that I hope you’ll enjoy too. Here’s a WFTV Eyewitness News promo from nearly 25 years ago — 1984. It features then-Channel 9 anchor Bob Jordan (now the station’s news director — again), anchor Martie Salt (before she left Channel 9 to go to Tampa), iconic weatherman Danny Treanor and anchor Bob Opsahl. Just after the promo is another with Salt, then a middle-of-the-night news update from anchor Ted Russell.

 

 

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Obama campaign shuts out WFTV after West interviews Biden

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Supposedly unhappy with how WFTV anchor Barbara West conducted an inteview with Democrate VP candidate Joe Biden, the Barack Obama campaign has told Channel 9 not to expect any more interviews through the duration of the presidential race.

NewsBlues.com reports that what so offended the Obama campaign was when West asked Biden if “spread the wealth” was really just another way of saying “socialism.” Ouch.

Here’s the note the Obama campaign reportedly sent to WFTV:

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Welch to anchor WRDQ’s 10 p.m. news

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 WFTV is promoting reporter Vanessa Welch to co-anchor of its 10 p.m. newscast on WRDQ.

“She’s one of the best I’ve ever worked with,” WFTV News Director Bob Jordan told Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedeker. “She’s our best enterprising reporter. When I think, over the years, of the people who have gone on to network jobs, she’s of that caliber. She’s got a big future.”

Welch joined WFTV in February 2007, coming to the station after stints at stations in Midland-Odessa, Texas, and in Raleigh, N.C.

Now, WFTV has big plans for Welch. Jordan told Boedeker that Welch just signed a 4-year deal with the station. She will co-anchor the 10 p.m. news with Darrell Greene and continue to report  two or three days a week, too.

Welch replaces Cynthia Demos, who left the WRDQ newscast nearly a year ago to jump to Miami’s CBS O&O, WFOR-4. Martie Salt has been filling in with Greene on the show since Demos departed.

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