Tag Archives: News 13

Lisa Bell joins WKMG, Jayme King to Fox 35 and Jim Van Fleet starts job

Posted on by
1

Lisa BellSome personnel moves for a couple of Orlando TV news stations …

Former News 13 morning anchor Lisa Bell is coming back to Orlando TV news. In January, she’ll be a reporter and occasional anchor on WKMG-Local 6.  “She will report for the 5, 6 and 7 p.m. news and fill in as anchor wherever we need her,” WKMG General Manager Skip Valet told Orlando Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedeker. After working at the cable news station for four years, Bell left News 13 during the summer — and many viewers wondered what happened to her. Turns out she was just “on the beach.” …

Fox 35 has hired a new morning meteorologist to replace Jim Van Fleet. Jayme King is expected to join WOFL sometime early next year. He comes from Fox-owned sister station KSAZ in Phoenix. The Orlando Sentinel reports that King is a South Florida native whose weather experience included a first-hand encounter with Hurricane Andrew. …

Meanwhile, Jim Van Fleet began his new job in Tampa on Monday as chief meteorologist at WTSP-CBS 10. The station welcomed Van Fleet by inviting viewers to post questions for the new weather guy on Facebook, and he answered some of them during the 5 and 6 p.m. telecasts.

Jim Van Fleet offers one of his first forecasts at the new chief meteorologist at WTSP.

Orlando TV news anchor Scott Harris passes away

Posted on by
Reply

Scott Harris helped get News 13 on the air when he joined the news station in 1997. Photo courtesy of CFNews 13

Word came this morning that longtime Orlando TV news anchor Scott Harris had passed away. He was 64 and had been battling kidney cancer.

“Scott died peacefully this morning at Hospice of the Comforter,” News 13 General Manager Robin Smythe told the Orlando Sentinel.

Harris, whose real name was Vincent McGough, started at WESH-Channel 2 in 1977 and spent time at WCPX-Channel 6 and WDBO-AM 580 before moving to Central Florida News 13 for the past 13 years.

In addition to the Orlando Sentinel article, here are other remembrances of Harris…

 

Veteran Orlando TV news anchor Scott Harris in hospice care

Posted on by
1

Scott HarrisAnchor/reporter Scott Harris, a familiar face to Orlando TV news watchers since the 1970s, is now in hospice care.

David Waters, Harris’ former colleague at Central Florida News 13, posted this update Saturday on Facebook: “For friends of Scott Harris, stop by if you are up to it. His family is moved by all the people who love him. It is time to mention it like this since a few people hadn’t heard he was in hospice, and have raced to be with him.”

Orlando Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedeker reports that Harris has been battling kidney cancer.

Harris spent his entire career in Florida and is widely regarded for his political knowledge, coverage of the space program and great sense of humor. In the 1970s and ’80s at WESH 2, he co-anchored the evening news with Wayne Bennett and later Carol Granstrom. He also worked as a reporter for WCPX-Channel 6 before joining Central Florida News 13 for its launch in 1997. He was at News 13 until March of this year, when he stopped anchoring. Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell had a great post in March about Harris’ changing role.

Our thoughts — and those of countless others — are with Harris and his family.

Scott Harris from his anchoring day at WESH -- with Wayne Bennett in this 1978 advertisement, then with Dave Marsh, Don Gould and Carol Granstrom in 1982.

News 13 to start mornings with Marla Weech

Posted on by
Reply

Central Florida News 13 announced Monday that Orlando TV news veteran Marla Weech is now the anchor for Your Morning News.

Weech, who has been on Orlando TV since the 1980s on channels 6 and 9, joined News 13 earlier this year.

“I can’t think of a better person than Marla to help Central Florida start their day,” News 13 VP/GM Robin said in a news release. “Marla is smart, she’s talented, she’s warm, and she truly cares about our community and our viewers.”

Said Weech: “I’m excited to be greeting Central Florida every morning. It’s also wonderful to be part of a team of journalists who work around the clock to make sure our viewers have the very latest news. We’re going to make sure they have all the news, weather, and traffic information they need to get their day started right.”

News 13: Viewers alerted station about ‘finger’ guy

Posted on by
1

Court TV cameras capture a local restaurant worker flipping a bird in court during the Casey Anthony trial.

Central Florida News 13 says it was its viewers who first noticed Matthew Bartlett’s “middle finger of affection” — as Judge Belvin Perry called it — during the Casey Anthony trial.

Bartlett, the 28-year-old restaurant server, admitted in court that he flipped a bird at prosecutor Jeff Ashton. But Ashton didn’t see the incident — and just about everyone else missed it to. Except News 13, which notified the court.

“Our viewers first brought it to our attention,” News 13 general manager Robin Smythe told Orlando Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedeker. “It was offensive to them. We took a look at it. If we were going to provide live coverage, it’s obscene behavior. Our viewers did not like this. We got a lot of calls.”

As to why News 13 alerted the court: “We have a responsibility,” Smythe said. “It was not an effort to be a tattletale. We have an obligation to keep it clean, and we’re going to do that for our viewers.”

Perry found Bartlett in contempt of court and sentenced him to six days in jail.

Casey Anthony trial TV turns R-rated with finger, F-bombs

Posted on by
Reply

WFTV anchor Greg Warmoth and legal expert Bill Sheaffer watch a replay of a 28-year-old restaurant worker flipping a bird at prosecutor Jeff Ashton.

If the Casey Anthony trial were a motion picture, the action over the past two days would earn an R rating.

Unlike Wednesday, there were no F-bombs spoken on Thursday — but the bird was the word. A local restaurant server flipped a bird at prosecutor Jeff Ashton. If you weren’t looking, you probably would have missed it — but Central Florida News 13 did not. According to the Orlando Sentinel, News 13 brought the “finger” incident to the court’s attention — and that’s what started a chain of events that led to the 28-year-old man being found in contempt of court and sentenced to six days in the county jail. Interesting that at least in its online story, News 13 doesn’t mention its involvement in the incident.

During court on Wednesday, the F-word went out over the Orlando TV airwaves twice — once when Casey Anthony’s father, George, was on the stand being questioned by the defense. Later, defense attorney Jose Baez dropped another F-bomb — this time while quoting a deposition given by George Anthony. While the courts have apparently ruled that the Federal Communications Commission can no longer fine stations for so-called “fleeting explatives,” Orlando’s TV news channels took note. WESH 2 posted a on-screen warning: “May Contain Offensive Language.” WOFL-Fox 35 appeared to start using a delay with its coverage.

WESH coverage carries a warning to views about language after the F-word was spoken twice in court on Thursday.