Tag Archives: WESH-2

Recent RogerSimmons.com Orlando TV News reports involving WESH-Channel 2, the NBC affiliate for Central Florida. The station calls its newscasts WESH 2 News.

6 scratches Lewis from sports lineup

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WKMG main sports anchor Todd Lewis will be leaving Local 6 at the end of March, when his contract with the station expires. It is not being renewed.

Local 6 GM Henry Maldonado told the Sentinel’s Scott Maxwell that the decision to part ways with Lewis was mutual. Others say the move was not that unexpected. Still, Lewis hopes to remain in the area.

"I love Central Florida," Lewis told Maxwell. "So I’m going to make every effort to keep my life here."

Who will replace Lewis has yet to be announced. The logical choice would seem to be No. 2 sports guy Lee Goldberg. He was bypassed for the top sports job 3 years ago when Ryan Baker left. At that time, the station decided to bring Lewis back to the sports desk after he had been moved to mornings as news anchor.

Lewis’ replacement will join a growing list of new sports directors in Central Florida. WFTV (Zack Klein in for Dan Hellie) and WESH (Guy Rawlings in for Pat Clarke) have also changed their main sports guys within the past several months.

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Assessing WESH’s changes

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This week began with the anchors and weather personnel at WESH taking on their new news assignments. So far: Wendy Chioji is walking a lot, Tony Mainolfi isn’t sleeping a lot but the ratings look good.

The re-named, solo-anchored "WESH 2 News at 6 with Wendy Chioji" is definitely different from the other early-evening newscasts on the station — and the ones on the other stations, too. (Watch a clip of the first show here) The stories are a bit longer, and nightly interview segment with Chijoi is something that seems worthwhile. Chioji also is now standing while delivering the news, walking about the studio for the weather segment with Mainolfi and the sports segment with newcomer Guy Rawlings. If WESH was going for distinguishing this newscast from its others, it’s succeeded.

Mainolfi, though, is losing sleep over the changes. He’s been reassigned from the morning newscasts to the 6 and 11 p.m. shows — but his morning replacement hasn’t arrived yet. So, when Mainolfi finishes the 11 p.m. show, he basically takes a nap at a nearby hotel then returns to the studio for the 5-7 a.m. morning news and then the 7-9 shift on CW 18 . Fortunately for Mainolfi, new morning weather guy Jason Brewer starts on Feb. 12.

WESH insiders have been happy with the ratings for the revamped shows so far this week. The station says this is its long-term plan, so we’ll see how things fare during the sweeps.

And, speaking of WESH, former assistant ND Anzio Williams has been bumped up the Hearst-Argyle chain. After WESH, Williams became the news director at H-A’s WDSU in New Orleans — leading the station’s Hurricane Katrina coverage there and later in Orlando when the station temporarily moved its ops here. Now, Williams is going to be the ND at KCRA-NBC 3 in Sacramento.

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Going solo with Chioji — Will it work?

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Is Wendy Chioji becoming the Katie Couric of Orlando?

She will be the first woman to solo anchor a 6 p.m. newscast in Orlando when WESH’s anchor reassignments take effect Jan. 29. Channel 2 hopes to make "WESH 2 News at 6 with Wendy Chioji" a showcase for one of the area’s veteran anchors.

"She is our most trusted and recognized anchor: she can get interviews others can’t," said WESH ND Barbara Maushard. "Wendy will put her years of reporting experience and community connections to work to present viewers with a one-of-a-kind newscast."

Said Chioji: "This is an opportunity few journalists ever get. I look forward to bringing Central Florida viewers important stories they won’t see anywhere else … and do it in a unique and different way."

The new format reminds us of an earlier era in television when anchors used to have their names as part of their newscast titles — as Chioji will at WESH. (Anyone remember "The Ralph Rennick Report" on WTVJ or "Wayne Farris and the News" on WCKT in Miami?)

So, WESH goes back to the past for its 6 p.m. news. Will the future bring more viewers to WESH, or will Chioji’s new newscast end up in the same ranking as Couric’s in the evening news ratings?

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Changes also in weather at WESH

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Perhaps overlooked in the shakeup of WESH’s anchors are the changes taking place in the WESH WeatherPlus storm center.

Morning vet Tony Mainolfi is getting the prime evening newscasts, with Amy Sweezey shifting to the noon and 4 p.m. shows. Since longtime chief meteorologist Dave Marsh left in 2006, no one on WESH’s weather team was given his former title. Could this be a sign that Mainolfi will get Marsh’s old title now that he has Marsh’s old shows?

And, the WESH has added a fifth meteorologist to its staff to replace Mainolfi in the morning. The new met is Jason Brewer (right), who comes to WESH from Houston’s KPRC-NBC 2. Brewer has been doing the weekend weather at the Houston station since May 2006. Previous to that he was the chief met at KOSA in Odessa, Texas, and also worked at WTVD-ABC 11 in Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

"Weather is one of the biggest reasons why our viewers watch local news. Therefore, our commitment to weather coverage will continue to expand," said WESH ND Barbara Maushard. "By adding Jason to our team, we will be able to offer our viewers even more team coverage of Central Florida weather on-air, on-line and on our digital weather channel, WESH 2 Weather Plus."

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Chioji confirms WESH anchor shakeup

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WESH’s Wendy Chioji confirms the station’s reassignment of its anchors, including her role as solo anchor at 6 p.m. "I’m going to have a lot of creative control. I just love that," she told the Orlando Sentinel’s Hal Boedeker about the 6 p.m. newscast. Chioji says she will have a say in the story lineup for the revamped 6 p.m. show, which will also offer longer stories and more issue reports.

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WESH prepares to swap anchors

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Expect a complete makeover of Channel 2′s anchor assignments shortly, according to a WESH insider. Included will be a solo anchor shift at 6 p.m. for Wendy Chioji, a return to the 11 p.m. show by Jim Payne and a more prominent evening role for morning weather guy Tony Mainolfi.

I haven’t received confirmation yet, but here’s what the insider says the new assignments are:
  • 4-5 p.m. — Martha Sugalski and Chioji anchor
  • 5-6 p.m. — Payne and Sugalski anchor
  • 6-6:30 p.m. — Chioji anchors solo
  • 11-11:35 p.m. — Payne and Sugalski anchor
Payne and Sugalski have been anchoring the 4 p.m. show, Chioji and Raoul Martinez have been doing the the 5 p.m. with Payne and Chioji at 6 p.m. and Sugalski and Chioji at 11.

The anchor reassignments are due in some part to the hasty assignment of Martinez to anchor WESH’s new 7-9 a.m. newscast on CW18 with Eryka Washington.

What Mainolfi’s move to evenings mean for meteorologist Amy Sweezey remains to be seen.

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