WRDQ beats WOFL at 10 -- but the gap was not as large as this WRDQ graphic would make it appear on first glance

Catching up on some Orlando TV News after taking a short blogging break…

Yes, it’s really true. For the first time since its launch in 2002, WRDQ’s 10 p.m. newscast knocked off the No. 1 early-late news in town: Fox 35 News at 10. According to a WRDQ news release, Eyewitness News at Ten won the time period with adults 25-54 Monday through Friday in the August ratings period. TV27 delivered 1,113 more adults than Fox 35, despite having a lower-rated lead-in. TV27 grew 136 percent off its Oprah rerun lead-in while WOFL lost 33 percent of its lead-in audience. “The tremendous growth Eyewitness News at Ten has shown in August is a testament to TV27’s dedication to provide viewers with a quality fast-paced newscast,” said WFTV/WRDQ GM Shawn Bartelt. “I’m excited to see this trend continue for our Eyewitness News brand.” …

And after being dethroned in July as the morning news king by WESH, WFTV was back on top in August. From 5-7 a.m., Channel 9’s Eyewitness News Daybreak pulled in 20,538 adults 25-45. WESH 2’s Sunrise was No. 2 with 14,440, followed closely by Local 6’s Morning News with 14,180 and Fox 35 Morning News with 12,250. …

WFTV won all the news time periods in August, including the iconic 6 p.m. time period where it had 49,042 adults 25-54, followed by WESH (29,152), WKMG (14,665) and WOFL (11,775) …

A new Twitter site is posting Orlando TV ratings daily.OrlandoRatings has the scoop. The numbers look legit, but analyze at your own risk.

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.”

What exactly did Jordan post on his Twitter account? Here’s what he wrote:

• “Breaking News! Florida Hospital confirms Orlando’s first diagnosed case of swine flu. Details at WFTV.com and on Eyewitness News at Noon”
• Then, a few minutes later, he added: “UPDATE: Orlando Swine flu patient is Mexican tourist who visited Walt Disney World.”

that he was going to Twitter with an attitude. Some examples:

Orlando Sentinel blogger Hal Boedeker contacted Jordan, and the longtime news director defended his decision to pass along the information via Twitter. He said it came in an email from Hauck.

“It was from a credible source,” Jordan told Boedeker. “It wasn’t the janitor at Florida Hospital opining. It was someone of stature.”

Hauck later issued a news release: “I regret that an unofficial e-mail I sent to a friend has been taken out of context.” He also added, “I regret my strong choice of words.”

But why was WESH so quick to wag a finger at Jordan? Again, it’s probably has to do with Twitter.

Jordan recently joined Twitter, and told his followers

• “WESH falls flat with Casey story. WFTV late news beats WESH and WKMG combined!“
• “WKMG had “hashmarks” at 530P Friday. “Hashmarks” means NO MEASURABLE audience!”
• “Almost NO local news in today’s Orlando Sentinel. We’re down to Sunday-only service. Might as well drop that, too! (landfill-friendly move).”
• “Looking at overnights from Sunday: “hashmark-hell” for KMG’s am news; ‘60-Minutes’ did a measly .9 rating adults 25-54! Good luck, Skip!”

Those Tweets about the competition didn’t please the folks at WESH, WKMG — or Jordan’s boss, WFTV GM Shawn Bartelt. She told the Orlando Sentinel: “There’s not going to be so much of that going forward. That won’t be the main thrust. Everyone has an Achilles’ heel. We all live in a glass house.”

Still, considering everything that happened today with Orlando’s short-lived swine flu scare, I like this Tweet by Jordan from Monday night: “Chill, people. More people will die from falling down stairs today than from swine flu. Big media scare, people. (wash your hands anyway)”

Good advice — let’s all wash out hands.

New Nielsen “people meters” data show — and parties at both stations acknowledge — a tight, two-station race between WFTV and WESH for the title of Central Florida’s news leader.

According to Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedeker, WFTV averaged 48,000 viewers to WESH’s 46,400 at 6 p.m. in the news-coveted 25-to-54 age group. For the demo at 11, WFTV had 43,200 to WESH’s 37,500.

Here’s the amazing part: Among viewers ages 18-to-49, WESH is the No. 1 station at 5, 5:30 and 6 p.m. — 30,000 viewers for WESH to 29,000 for WFTV.

“It’s a two-station race,” WFTV GM Shawn Bartelt told the Sentinel.

WESH GM Jim Carter agreed: “Based on the ratings I see, it’s a two-station race, and closer than it’s been in a long time. We were No. 2 at 11, just slightly behind WFTV. The rest of the time periods, we’re right there with them. The horse heads are next to one other. They’re neck and neck.”

WFTV still leads in the overall household ratings — 128,800 homes to WESH’s 100,100 at 6 p.m. But the demo results are a bit startling and perhaps indicate a shift in Central Florida’s viewing habits.

Read the full story here.

WRDQ announced Friday that the Buzz is moving to TV 27 from WKCF-CW 18 starting May 28. According to the press release, "TV27 is taking The Daily Buzz back to the roots of where the show previously aired, and enjoyed its largest audience, at 6 a.m. Monday through Friday leading into Eyewitness News This Morning. A second hour will be tape-delayed and presented at 10:30 a.m."

The Buzz has been sort of a red-headed stepchild at CW18 after the station was acquired by WESH parent Hearst-Argyle. WESH expanded its morning news to CW18, bumping the Buzz to 9 a.m.-noon and running the show on a three-hour delay.

"The Daily Buzz has created a distinct brand that fills a void in the morning. It’s the perfect lead in to Eyewitness News This Morning, which will continue to air from 7-8:30 a.m.," said Shawn Bartelt, General Manager for WFTV/ WRDQ. "We recognize that there has been a longing in the community for The Daily Buzz to return to its original time period, and we are excited to give the audience what they are looking for."

As we reported earlier, The Buzz is currently broadcasting from the Disney-MGM Studios until its new broadcast facility at Full Sail is completed.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, the civil suit by Dr. Thomas Trevisani alleges that Channel 9 aired reports in 2002, 2003 and 2004 that contained false and defamatory statements. Reported the Sentinel: "The lawsuit cites examples of ‘defamatory statements’ in which WFTV reported that Trevisani knew and allowed ‘unscrupulous behavior’ by his clinic employees, and that a "felon" and "two ex-cons" were doing physical exams and prescribing surgery at his clinic."

WFTV Vice President and General Manager Shawn Bartelt issued a statement that said: "The news reports at issue regarding Dr. Trevisani were fair and accurate accounts of matters of public concern. WFTV stands behind the content of its stories."