An Exclusive E.T. Scoop for CFN 13?

Saw this posted on Central Florida News 13′s web site this morning. Sounds pretty big, but there’s no mention of it on OrlandoSentinel.com, CNN.com, Space.com or any of the other local station’s web sites. So, is this a scoop by 13?

Big NASA Announcement Today
NASA is planning to make a huge announcement today, about possible life in our own solar system.
Exact details of what we can expect to hear have not been released. We do know that evidence has been found that could point to life relatively close to the earth.
Official word is expected this afternoon at 2 p.m. We’ll have complete coverage of today’s big news when it is released. Tune to News 13 for the complete story.

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CFN 13 Goes Up on the Big Screen

Central Florida News 13 flipped the switch this week on its big, outdoor TV on Orange Avenue. The monster monitor now shows CFN 13′s programming to those driving by on the street, walking by the building or stopping by one of Wall Street Plaza’s fine drinking establishments.

The station also turned on its multi-colored ticker, which runs across the front and side of its new headquarters in the Wachovia building.

It all looks very cool. For a split second, you might think you’re in New York City’s Times Square — until you realize it’s 80 degrees in March, there’s no Diane Sawyer or Charles Gibson hanging around, and the Statue of Liberty down the street is only 6 feet tall.

By the way, if you haven’t seen CFN 13′s toney new digs, see the station tour on their web site.

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CW Signs Up 18 — Plus Other Stuff

It’s been a newsy couple of days so far this week …

The new CW Network signed up its first round of affiliates on Wednesday, and among the group of five was Orlando’s WKCF-Channel 18. The future former home of the WB network will now be the place where the CW calls home in Central Florida. WKCF won out over independent WRDQ-Channel 27. I’m not sure how strong of a contender Channel 27 was for CW affiliation, but a couple of insiders said the station sure was interested. Emmis-owned WKCF is still up for sale, by the way, and CW affiliation should help those prospects. The other new netlet this fall, Fox-owned My Network TV, will end up on Fox-owned WRBW-Channel 65, currently home to UPN. Read the full story.

Marc Middleton ended a 20-something-year career at WESH on Tuesday, signing off after the noon news. Middleton came to WESH initially as its sports director back in the early 1980s. He later swapped places with then-morning anchor Bill Shaffer. As reported earlier, Middleton is teaming up with former Channel 2 anchor Andrea Coudriet in starting a media relations company.

Reynolds Wolf, former morning meteorologist at WKMG-Channel 6, is joining CNN as a new weathercaster. After leaving O-Town, Wolf was at KMOV in St. Louis. He starts Monday. Here’s more info.

Central Florida News 13 is getting a full-time Tallahassee bureau. Station owner Bright House Networks said the bureau, working out of FSU station WFSU-Channel 11 (PBS), will feed stories to CFN 13 as well as sister station Bay News 9 in Tampa. "What happens in Tallahassee on a daily basis affects all of us living in Florida," Elliott Wiser, vice president of news programming for Bright House Networks Florida Group, told the Orlando Sentinel.

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CFN 13 Ready for its Big Screen Debut

As part of its move to new downtown digs in December, Central Florida News 13 promised to make its presence known in its new neighborhood. And it’s already starting to do so.

The station has erected a big screen — 10-feet-by-10-feet, or maybe 12-by-12 — on the side of the Wachovia building facing Orange Avenue and directly across from popular Wall Street Plaza. As of yesterday, no one had pushed the "on" button, but that should come soon. And it looks like it will be pretty cool.

As reported earlier, the station also plans to create an electronic headline crawl on the other side of the building on Central Avenue.

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