Posts Tagged ‘O-Town Alumni’

O-Town news from out of town

June 14th, 2010

Doug Kammerer (left), Melissa Ross and Mike Brooks on Fox 35's Good Day Orlando show.

Some quick out-of-town news with Orlando connections …

Former WOFL-Fox 35 meteorologist Doug Kammerer — who was part of the team that launched the station’s first morning show, Good Day Orlando  – is making news in the nation’s capital. He’s been named the new chief met at NBC O&O WRC-4. The Washington Post reports, “The hiring of Kammerer suggests management at NBC-4 prioritized injecting youth into its evening news team of veterans Jim Vance, Doreen Gentzler, and Dan Hellie [the former WFTV-Channel 9 sports anchor]. Kammerer just celebrated his 35th birthday last month which will make him the youngest chief meteorologist in the D.C. area by a long shot. He is young enough to be  [departing weatherman] Bob Ryan’s son … and younger than any of the meteorologists at NBC-4 who will be under him.” …

Cox’s Charlotte dupolopy — WSOC-ABC 9 and WAXN-TV 64 — is taking a page out of its Orlando sister stations’ playbook. Just as WFTV launched an expanded Eyewitness News This Morning show on WRDQ-TV 27  from 7 to 9 a.m. weekdays, WSOC will now do the same in Charlotte on WAXN. The Charlotte Observer reports, “WSOC has two sister stations in Orlando, also owned by Atlanta-based Cox, that use the same model — two hours of early news on the network affiliate, then another two hours on the independent station. It has proven successful, says Joe Pomilla, WSOC vice president.”

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Posted in Orlando TV, WFTV-9, WOFL-35

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Former WESH anchor Walker stands up to BP

June 14th, 2010

You may remember Scott Walker, the former WESH 2 Sunrise anchor who left O-Town to anchor at Hearst sister station WDSU-NBC 6 in New Orleans. He’s been out on the front lines of the oil spill — and he’s been trying to do his job reporting from the beaches where BP workers are cleaning up oil. Only problem is BP doesn’t want Walker there. This video clip of Walker’s attempt to talk to BP workers has made the rounds, even earning him a mention on Huffington Post.

Walker, an avid Tweeter, posted earlier on Twitter, “I’m getting e-mails and tweets from all over the U.S. after this video. Thanks to everyone sending kind words.”

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Posted in Anchors, Orlando TV, WESH-2

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Birthday time for WESH, WRBW

June 13th, 2010

Some quick notes from the news that is television …

Happy birthday, WESH. Channel 2 turned 54 years old on Friday. The station went on the air June 11, 1956, from Daytona Beach. Some fun facts about WESH: It was the 19th television station in Florida. … It wasn’t the only NBC affiliate in Central Florida when it went on the air. It shared NBC with WDBO-Channel 6 because most folks outside of Volusia County could not receive WESH, which was broadcasting on a 300-foot tower in Daytona at the time. On November 5, 1957 — the day WESH  activated a new 1,000-foot tower in Orange City — it got the NBC affiliation all to itself. … Of the Big 4 network affiliates in Orlando, WESH is the only station with its original call letters. Check out our WESH history page for more information. …

Fox-owned WRBW-My 65 celebrated its sweet 16  birthday on June 4. It went on the air as independent Rainbow 65 in 1994.  …

I’ve been traveling a lot lately and came across some familiar faces on TV. In Chicago, former WKMG sports anchor Ryan Baker is now at WBBM-CBS 2 as the main sports guy at the CBS O&O. In Norfolk/Virginia Beach, former WESH morning anchor Tom Schaad is the main anchor at WAVY-NBC 10. …

Eboni Deon has joined WFTV as Channel 9′s new weekend meteorologist. She previously worked at CNN International and The Weather Channel — which could explain why she has admirers from across the globe on her Facebook Fan Page. She replaces Ben Smith, who moved from Channel 9 to WHNT-CBS 19 in Huntsville, Ala. (And WHNT is also the home of former WESH meteorologist Dan Sattefield.) …

I don’t write much about Central Florida News 13 — since I can’t get it on my home TV — but the cable station says it will launch a new website soon. “More video. Easier to Use. More of What YOU Want,” is how News 13 is describing its new cfnews13.com page. Stay turned.

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Posted in Anchors, Orlando TV, WESH-2, WFTV-9, WOFL-35, Weather

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Former O-Town anchor: What’s his name?

May 28th, 2010

Clayton Morris

Former Daily Buzz anchor Clayton Morris has moved on to bigger and better things from his Orlando morning show days, now working with Fox News Channel’s Fox & Friends show.

But the Fox suits apparently weren’t laughing on Friday when Morris played a joke in a video.

During the Fox Flash video segment for FoxNews.com, Morris introduced himself as Fox anchor Steve Doocy. He concluded the video segment — you guessed it — by again identifying himself as Doocy.

Was this a case of just reading what was on the teleprompter and not thinking? Apparently not. TVNewser.com reports, “apparently Morris was not reading from a TelePrompTer but was making a ‘hilarious’ joke. What a laugh riot.”

The HuffingtonPost reported that the Fox suits were not laughing: “A Fox News insider says, ‘It was wishful thinking on Morris’ part, and executives didn’t find it amusing.’ ”

Maybe Morris will be back in O-Town soon? Check out the video from FoxNews.com below:

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Posted in Anchors, Orlando TV

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Former Orlando anchor Rondinaro: ‘I’m a budget cut’

April 27th, 2010
Steve Rondinaro

Steve Rondinaro

Former longtime Orlando anchor Steve Rondinaro has a new assignment: finding a job.

Rondinaro, the former WESH and WFTV anchor who in 2007 became the lead anchor and managing editor for WWAY-ABC 3 in Wilmington, N.C., was dropped by the station earlier this month. 

“By now you may have noticed that I’m no longer doing the evening news on WWAY. April 8 was my last night on television. I’m a budget cut,” Rondinaro wrote in an article for the Wilmington Star News. “It’s business. I’m simply another in an ongoing series of budget cuts at Channel 3. Like our local governments and about every other media business, revenue is down at WWAY, too. My contract was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“The writing was on the wall several months ago. With the ax having officially fallen, I’m now part of a huge news story that I had been reporting on. I’ll be in the next round of unemployment numbers. I’m not happy about that, but I’m not ashamed either. I’m now in the same boat as a lot of you. It’s one scary boat.”

Read his full story here.

Check out his RondoWorks.com website here.

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Posted in Anchors, Orlando TV, WESH-2, WFTV-9

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