Tipsters say look for Pete Caggiano to be the new meteorologist on the staff of Central Florida News 13. Caggiano was the weekend meteorologist at Gainesville’s WCJB-ABC 20 from 2004 until May of this year. …
Speaking of weather, have you noticed that WKMG-Local 6 has added Christian radio station Z-88.3 as its 7-day forecast sponsor? I’m surprised that it’s taken this long for an O-Town station to sell its sponsorship of its forecast.
Some O-Town folks are on the move in this TGIF report:
Denise Cullen, former sports director at Central Florida News 13, has joined the Orlando Predators as their new director of communications. “Working for Orlando’s only professional football team is another step up in my career. I can’t imagine a better job,” Cullen said in a news release. Cullen made her mark in Orlando TV, working her way up from sports intern at WFTV-Channel 9 to being the first female to head a sports department at an Orlando station. Cullen has been an avid football fan ever since she can remember and at one point had dreams of playing in the NFL. She said, “I told my parents I wanted to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers and wear #88 just like Lyn Swann. If only I were taller!”
Meanwhile, Danielle Bellini, longtime traffic reporter at Channel 2, signed off at the end of the WESH’s 6 a.m. broadcast. Her replacement, Kimberly Williams, started with the 7 a.m. WESH 2 News on CW18.
And, from a tipster but not confirmed, longtime feature reporter Candice Coleman will be leaving Local 6. She’s been with the station since 2001, and I’ve always found her “Out There” reports to be a hoot.
The tragic crash of two news choppers of Phoenix has O-Town stations excercising a little more caution when they are covering news from the air. "Anytime something happens in the industry involving equipment like this, we think it’s very important to apply some due diligence, review our procedures, to make sure our safety practices are the best they can be," Central Florida News 13 GM and VP Robin Smythe told the Orlando Sentiel. Read the full story about local TV pilots coordinate their moves here.
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.
I told you awhile back that CFN turned on its new outdoors screen and news zipper across its new home in downtown Orlando. Well, finally, here are some pictures. It’s pretty cool.
I put up a post Thursday morning about a big NASA announcement that Central Florida News 13 was promoting on its web site. "An Exclusive E.T. Scoop for CFN 13?," I asked in the headline. It was indeed a scoop — just a wrong one. And it ignited a series of events that crashed 13′s web site and had others writing about the station’s misinterpretation of a space agency press release.