Guetzloe’s supporter strikes back at WKMG

Local 6 has been riding Tony Pipitone’s "The Guetzloe Files" as its showcase sweeps series this month. Now, a supporter of the political consultant is trying to get back at the station.

She has created a Web site called www.boycottlocal6.com. The domain name was registered on Feb. 18. The woman who created it, Cheryl, said she’s trying to set it up and encouraged me to talk to Doug Guetzloe.

On the site, there are links to other sites that discuss invasion of privacy by the media. Also included is a message board, including a message by Guetzloe himself. Posted on Feb. 25, Guetzloe writes, "The Tony Pipitone attacks have continued unabated with misinformation; distortions fake information; innuendo; clever editing and down right lies." Guetzloe encourages his supporters to e-mail Local 6 in support of him.

The site, while called boycottlocal6.com, doesn’t really come out and ask people to boycott the station. It also plays up that Guetzloe is going to sue the station for invasion of privacy, but it doesn’t mention any possible slander suits over the content of Pipitone’s reports on the political gadfly.

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Local 6 wins appeal to air Guetzloe files

A week later than planned, WKMG on Monday night was able to air a report relating to "The Guetzloe Files." Those are the documents that once belonged to political consultant Doug Guetzloe – files handed over to Local 6′s Tony Pipitone from a man who bought them from a storage facility after Guetzloe didn’t pay his bill. Guetzloe went to court to block the story — and succeeded until WKMG won an appeal on Monday. So, after all the hub-bub, what did the files show? That Guetzloe accepted money from Casselberry strip clubs to try to keep anti-strip club commissioners from being elected in the city. Guetzloe has denied ever accepting such money — but Pipitone produced the canceled checks to prove it and an interview with a strip club owner who confirmed the whole thing. More to come, we’re told. …

6 may not get to show Guetzloe’s files

If you’ve watched Channel 6 during the past two weeks, you couldn’t have missed the promos for Tony Pipitone’s report about what’s in the personal files of political activist Doug Guetzloe.

Since the station obtained the files, it’s been the most-hyped sweeps story — and it’s supposed to air on Monday’s 11 p.m. newscast. But it may not happen.

An Orange County judge is barring the station from airing any of the material it obtained from the personal files of Guetzloe, according to the Orlando Sentinel. WKMG plans to appeal the decision. "I’m confident we’ll prevail, and I’m confident the First Amendment will prevail," Local 6 GM Henry Maldonado said.

So, will the report air? You’ll have to tune in at 11 — which is just what WKMG wanted all along, files or no files.

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6 fights subpoena, plus other stuff

Attorneys for Local 6 filed a motion on Monday to quash a subpoena seeking the Doug Guetzloe files from Problem Solvers reporter Tony Pipitone. WKMG GM Henry Maldonado said the station is fighting the subpoena to "protect our right to investigate." More from the Orlando Sentinel

>> Southeast Polk County TV viewers will be keeping WFTV-Channel 9 and WKMG-Local 6 on their cable systems. Comcast Cable wanted to drop the two Orlando stations to free up space for new digital channels. According to the Lakeland Ledger, the company argued that 85 percent of the programming on the two Orlando stations is duplicated by the Tampa stations that are required to be on the Polk cable system. …

>> Orlando’s WFTV tied for No. 8 nationally among ABC affiliates with the top prime-time ratings for 18-34-year-olds in the November sweeps. Channel 9 had a 5.7 ratings average, tying it with Cox sister station WSOC in Charlotte, N.C. Hearst-Argyle’s WISN in Milwaukee, WMBC in Kansas City and WOCO in Oklahoma City tied for No. 1 with a 7.9 rating. Details here

>> A tipster says Fox 35 freelancer Julie Kim has landed a full-time job at Fox’s WTFX in Philadelphia.

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6′s Pipitone gets Guetzloe’s files

Just when it seems the strange saga of political consultant Doug Guetzloe can’t get any more bizarre, it does.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that WKMG-Local 6 investigative reporter Tony Pipitone has obtained boxes of Guetzloe’s personal and business files, and Guetzloe isn’t too happy about it.

According to the Sentinel, "the records were being kept in a leased storage unit, and when Guetzloe apparently failed to pay his $55 monthly storage fee, the owner of the unit exercised his right to put the contents up for public auction late last year. A man paid $10 for the entire collection — and once he realized what he had purchased, he contacted Pipitone."

Guetzloe said he told Pipitone: "That’s dirty, dirty stuff . . . I can’t believe you involved yourself in something so underhanded and so sleazy."

WKMG GM Henry Maldonado defended the station’s ownership of the files. He also told the Sentinel, "We have been examining the documents — including copies of checks, invoices, memos and other materials dating back decades — to determine what they contain. We usually do not comment on developing stories."

What he didn’t say but probably wanted to: "Just wait until the February sweeps to see what we’ve uncovered!"

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WKMG Dominates AP Awards

WKMG was the big winner when the 2006 Florida Associated Press Broadcasters awards were presented on Saturday night. Local 6 News won both first- and second-place awards in the Best TV Newscast and Individual Achievement categories, plus a first place in spot news.

The Jan. 11, 2005, WKMG newscast — featuring exclusive video of a fatal plane crash on Dubsdread Golf Course — was voted best newscast, edging another WKMG newscast from Aug. 2. Sky 6 pilot Dan McCarthy and photojournalist Chris Miller won the spot news category with the aerial video of the Dubsdread crash.

In the Individual Achievement competition, Tony Pipitone took first place with a composite of live, investigative and feature reports, while Local 6′s Erik von Ancken won the second-place award.

WFTV received a first-place award in Hard News Feature for Berndt Petersen’s "Lake County Cold Case." Channel 9 also picked up second-place awards for Sportscast, Public Affairs and Best Overall.

WESH received one award, for a Marc Rice photo essay with Kathy Marsh titled "The Chicken Man."

Orlando’s stations were competing in the AP’s large-market division, that also includes stations from Miami and Tampa.

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