Is Milwaukee now the Orlando connection?

WESH on Tuesday announced the hiring of Barbara Maushard as its new news director, replacing Ed Trauschke. Maushard comes to O-Town via WESH's Hearst-Argyle sister station in Milwaukee, WISN-TV.

Beer Town is the same place where Fox 35 news director Bob Clinkingbeard arrived, from Fox O&O WITI just more than a year ago. It was under Clinkingbeard's leadership that WOFL launched its 5 p.m. newscast earlier this year, which bumped WESH's 5 p.m. show to fourth place -- likely contributing to the arrival of his former Milwaukee colleague at Channel 2.

Maushard was with WISN for six years, and under her leadership the station achieved "extraordinary ratings growth, launched 7-1/2 hours of local programming and was honored with both the Peabody and Edward R. Murrow national awards," according to a WESH news release. Prior to working Milwaukee, Maushard was a manager at H-A stations in Fort Smith, Ark. and Kansas City, Mo. She also previously worked in news at WCMH in Columbus, Ohio, WMAR in Baltimore and WHOI in Peoria, Ill.

Said WESH GM Bill Bauman: "Barb Maushard is one of the most highly regarded news directors in the country because of her tremendous leadership skills. She has a history of success because she has a passion for news. She is the right person at the right time to lead the WESH newsroom, and we are all excited that she has accepted this challenge."

Said Maushard: "This is a remarkable opportunity. Orlando is a highly competitive TV news market, and Bill's leadership has earned WESH its reputation as an outstanding television station. I look forward to partnering with him to best serve the information needs of our Central Florida communities."

Posted on Wednesday, August 23, 2006 at 7:48 AM

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They changed the set. They changed the anchors. So it appeared to be only a matter of time before WESH changed the news director.

Ed Trauschke, a veteran O-Town reporter who became news director at Channel 2 four years ago, worked his last day at the station on Friday. WESH GM Bill Bauman told the Orlando Business Journal that a new news director has been hired and will be announced shortly.

WESH, which about five years ago seemed poised to overtake WFTV as the market's news leader, has seen its ratings fortunes drop over the past several years. Its news is No. 3 in all time periods except mornings. And NBC's primetime lineup falling to No. 4 in the ratings hasn't helped matters.

In February, WESH unveiled a splashy new set -- hoping to gain some new viewers who would be watching NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics in Italy. Turns out those became the lowest-rated Winter Olympics -- so not a lot of new eyeballs saw the new WESH news digs.

Then came the personnel changes at WESH. Miami anchor Martha Sugalski was brought in to anchor at 11 p.m. and help start a new 4 p.m. newscast, which began just last week. The station lost a core group of veteran anchors who opted to retire or leave, including meteorologist Dave Marsh, reporter Bill Shafer and sports anchor Buddy Pittman (who's last day is this weekend).

Whoever the new news director is, he or she has a tough task ahead. WESH was edged by Fox 35's new 5 p.m. newscast in the July sweeps, placing it an unprecedented No. 4 in news in that time period. But Bauman told OBJ that the new 4 p.m. show and anchor moves are already improving ratings.

Posted on Tuesday, August 22, 2006 at 7:16 AM

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They've sorted out the anchor assignments at WKMG, a Local 6 source says. You'll see two phases of moves.

Lauren Rowe will return from her maternity leave in September to her former anchor assignments in the evening, but only for a month. Also in September, the noon and 4 p.m. newscasts -- which have been done with solo anchors -- will be getting co-anchors. Marla Weech will co-anchor the noon (with Jacquie Sosa) and 4 p.m (with Rowe) .

Then, in October when Rowe moves to the mornings and Weech moves to evenings, there's another big switch of anchor chairs. Jacqueline London will anchor four (four!) newscasts.

When the dust settles in October, we're told this will be your new Local 6 anchor line-up:

5-7 a.m. -- Lauren Rowe and Jacquie Sosa
Noon -- Jacquie Sosa and Marla Weech
4 p.m. -- Jacqueline London and Marla Weech
5 p.m. -- Bob Frier and Jacqueline London
5:30 p.m. -- Marla Weech
6 p.m. -- Bob Frier and Jacqueline London
11 p.m. -- Bob Frier and Jacqueline London

**UPDATE: Our source was apparently right. The Orlando Sentinel reports WKMG's announcement of its new anchor assignments.

Posted on Friday, August 18, 2006 at 7:22 AM

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WFTV has hired Joel Davis, news director at ABC O&O KFSN in Fresno, Calif., to be managing editor of Eyewitness News.

WFTV News Director Bob Jordan announced the hiring Wednesday. Davis has 20 years of experience in front of and behind the camera and has worked at several top stations on the news desk, as a photographer, a reporter, an anchor and at his last two stops as news director.

In the five years Davis has been at KFSN, he won five Emmys and three Edward R. Murrow awards as "Best Newscast".

"What Joel brings to our newsroom is the experience of leading a dominant, market leading news department, which is similar in many respects to what we have built at Channel 9," Jordan said in a news release. "That's what we have here at WFTV, and I am confident that he will be a great addition to our management team."

Davis begins at WFTV on Sept. 11.

Posted on Thursday, August 17, 2006 at 7:30 AM

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A Local 6 insider says look for Marla Weech (right) to take over as anchor of WKMG's 4 p.m. newscast -- which "in a few short weeks" should be expanding to an hour to match WESH's 4 p.m. start-up.

Lauren Rowe, who has anchored Local 6's 30-minute newscast at 4 p.m. since it started in early 2005, is moving to the station's morning newscast. Our insider suggests that Weech -- who first filled in on the morning news for Mark McEwen then moved to the evenings to fill in for Rowe when she went on maternity leave -- will also get Rowe's 5 p.m. anchor seat.

That would leave Jacqueline London anchoring at 5:30 plus the 6 and 11 p.m. shows with Bob Frier.

Speaking of McEwen, station GM Henry Maldonado did an editorial Monday night explaining McEwen's new role at the station as he recovers from his stroke and announcing Rowe's move to the morning shift.

"Mark is healthy. And you will be seeing him soon on WKMG. But, I have decided that he will not be anchoring in the near future," Maldonado said. "Mark still needs to focus on his recovery and the daily pressure of an anchoring schedule is not something we need to demand of him right now. However, you will see him as the spokesman of a year-long series on health."

And on Rowe replacing McEwen in the mornings, Maldonado said: "It is impossible for me to imagine some stranger from out of town sitting in for him. So, I have asked our friend Lauren Rowe to do us the honor of co-anchoring that newscast."

You can read the transcript from Maldonado's editorial on Local6.com.

Posted on Tuesday, August 15, 2006 at 10:41 PM

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It's time to play musical anchor chairs at WKMG. Former 4, 5 and 6 p.m. anchor Lauren Rowe is moving to the morning shift when she returns from maternity leave in October.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that she'll join Jacquie Sosa as co-anchor of the Local 6 First News on Oct. 4. Rowe replaces Mark McEwen, who has been recovering from a stroke for almost a year. McEwen will remain with the station, doing public service spots, some reporting and quarterly specials.

So, what happens to Rowe's anchor spots in the evening? WKMG GM Henry Maldonado said he hopes former WFTV anchor Marla Weech -- who filled in on the morning shift for McEwen and then in the evening for Rowe -- will play a major role. Also likely seeing some sort of new role is anchor Jacqueline London, who has been the 5:30 and 11 p.m. anchor with Bob Frier.

Rowe, a new mother, said the switch works for her since she can be home by 9 a.m. to be with her daughter. But she also summed up that it's all about business: "It's about where you serve your station best. And where they, frankly, can make the most money off of you."

Posted on at 7:34 AM

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Add this to the list of recent high-profile departures from WESH: the weekend noon news.

Channel 2 has dumped its noon newscasts on Saturdays and Sundays. The station still produces morning news on the weekends, with Joe Oliver anchoring.

Speaking of WESH news, the station started its new 4 p.m. news last Thursday -- days ahead of its scheduled Monday start -- to cover the foiled terrorist plot overseas. For those keeping track, here's a recap of the new anchor assignments that came from adding the new newscast.

Weekday noon news: Gail Paschall-Brown
Weekday 4 p.m. news: Jim Payne and Martha Sugalski
Weekday 5 p.m. news: Wendy Chioji and Raoul Martinez
Weekday 6 p.m. news: Jim Payne and Wendy Chioji
Weekday 11 p.m. news: Wendy Chioji and Martha Sugalski
Weekend morning news: Joe Oliver
Weekend 6 and 11 p.m. news: Eryka Washington

Also -- somehow in the shuffle -- meteorologist Amy Sweezey has moved to Sunday evenings. She previously replaced former chief met Dave Marsh on the Monday-Friday 6 and 11 p.m. shows. Looks like WFTV isn't the only station trying out different weather folks in different slots.

Posted on Sunday, August 13, 2006 at 11:11 PM

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Get ready to see a lot of different folks standing in WFTV's Severe Weather Center in the morning.

With meterologist Joe Smith's decision to return to college, the station plans to try out two newcomers and a veteran for its morning news weather gig, the Sentinel's Hal Boedeker blogs.

The contenders:

• Arch Kennedy. Arrived at WFTV two years ago this past Sunday to help out with Hurricane Charley coverage. Has been the weekend weather guy since but has been filling in on the morning shift since Smith departed.
• Brian Shields. Arrived at WFTV last week from the ABC station in Huntington, W.Va.
• Julie Watkins. Arrived at WFTV this weekend after working in Richmond, Va., and in Jacksonville.

"We’ll look for the best fit for our morning audience amongst those three players," WFTV GM Shawn Bartelt told the Sentinel. "We're taking a couple of weeks to make sure we put the right people in the right places."

You may be wondering about a former morning weatherman who has been working at WFTV, Mike O'Lenick. His name is not being mentioned for the morning gig. And since his bio has never been added to the WFTV site, it's looking more and more like he was just helping fill in until the two new hires arrived. (But you can still find his bio on WESH's website.)

Posted on at 10:54 PM

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WESH, which planned to start its new 4 p.m. newscast on Monday, will instead start it today so it can give extensive coverage to the foiled air terror plot.

Details at OrlandoSentinel.com.

Posted on Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 12:51 PM

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The rumors were true. WOFL is expanding its early evening news to seven days a week -- starting this weekend.

The station has started airing promos for the new weekend edition of Fox at 5. The ads show current weekend 10 p.m. anchors Keith Landry and Laverne McGee with meteorologist Kristi Powers. The promos also promise early sports, presumably with Thomas Forester.

The weekday Fox at 5 news began in March of this year and has been battling (and sometimes beating) WESH's 5 p.m. news. This new weekend show will be the first 5 p.m. news on Saturdays and Sundays in Central Florida. But with its early hour and Fox's sports properties it will likely be pre-empted a lot on Sundays during NFL and NASCAR season.

Still unanswered: Is Fox 35's posting for a new "p.m. anchor" for this show? From the promos it looks like the regular weekend crew is handling the new early shift. I still say -- though I don't have any confirmation -- that Fox is planning an 11 p.m. weekday newscast, probably to launch once American Idol returns.

Posted on Wednesday, August 9, 2006 at 11:09 PM

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Channel 9's Severe Weather Center is starting to get crowded. We told you earlier this week about Brian Shields, the latest addition to the WFTV weather department. Well, there's another addition on the way.

WFTV says that meteorologist Julie Watkins will be joining Channel 9's weather staff next week. She previously worked for Jacksonville's First Coast News, the Gannett duopoly of WTLV (NBC-12) and WJXX (ABC-25).

In addition to forecasting the weather, she apparently can dance. Watkins won first place in Jacksonville in a "Dancing With the Stars" competition in September 2005. Also in that competition was First Coast News colleague and former WOFL morning anchor Melissa Ross.

Posted on at 10:52 PM

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Some early week notes for you ...

WFTV looks to be beefing up its weather staff with a new meteorologist in the house. His name is Brian Shields, and he's working part of the weekend shift. He comes to Channel 9 from WCHS-TV, the ABC affiliate in Charleston-Huntington, W.Va. Is WCHS the new pipeline to O-Town? That station is also where WESH meteorologist Tony Mainolfi worked before landing in Orlando. It's been pointed out that at WFTV.com Shields' bio has been added to the site, but a bio for former WESHer Mike O'Lennick has not. ...

We're now less than a week away from WESH's new 4 p.m. newscast, which launches Monday. What's going to be on the new hourlong show? That's what Channel 2 wants to know. On its website, the station has been asking visitors to submit questions they want answered about our community. It will be for a segment called "You Asked for It." ...

I noted last week that WOFL has posted a job opening for a "P.M. anchor." In my speculation that it might be for a new 11 p.m. newscast, I made mention that I thought there might be some "tension" between Fox 35's 10 p.m. anchors. Anchor Cale Ramaker e-mailed me to say the anchors got a good laugh about that line and there's no tension at all. They're strong friends, he said. So that settles that. As for the anchor position, some posters on the TV Talk Forum message board say the anchor position is a new early evening weekend newscast. Others, meanwhile, have pointed out out that Fox 35 is always posting positions and never filling them. So, stay tuned to see what happens next. ...

It's the political season, and WESH plans to host a series of debates as we head to Election Day. Among the most notable debates: NBC News' Tim Russert will moderate a Nov. 1 debate between Florida's Democratic and Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate, and MSNBC's Chris Matthews will moderate the Oct. 30 debate between the two final candidates for Florida's governor. Channel 2 is also promising 10 minutes of daily political coverage on its newscasts up to Nov. 7, Election Day.

Posted on Monday, August 7, 2006 at 9:22 PM

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WOFL is advertising for a "P.M. anchor" on its website. It's sort of a vague job description, so let's try to be Sherlock Holmes and try narrow down the possibilities.

Fox has two P.M. newscasts -- Fox at 5 and Fox 35 News at 10. Let's start there.

Fox at 5, anchored by Amy Kaufeldt, has been doing very, very well in the ratings for such a new newscast. So, it's likely not Amy.

Fox 35 News at 10, anchored by Cale Ramaker and Shelly Ribando, also has been doing well in the ratings. But to this viewer there often seems to be some tension between the co-anchors. Could be one of them is ready for a change? [Note: See update on Aug. 7]

And a final possibility: Fox 35 does not have an 11 p.m. newscast, but other Fox owned-and-operated stations have been adding them. The 11 p.m. newcasts, often called The Edge or News Edge (as it is at WTVT in Tampa) usually have different anchors from the stations' existing 10 p.m. newscasts. Is WOFL about to dump Geraldo at 11 and start its own late newscast to go head to head to WFTV, WKMG and WESH?

Posted on Thursday, August 3, 2006 at 2:44 PM

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This and that for a Thursday morning:

WESH gave longtime chief meteorologist Dave Marsh a touching send-off on Monday. Anchor Jim Payne wrote and produced the Marsh bio piece, and the always-steady weatherman seemed sincerely moved by all the attention being paid to his departure. He broke up several times during his farewell. Hal Boedeker notes on his Orlando Sentinel TV blog that viewers tuned in to see Marsh's finale -- about 41 percent more than were watching the station's 6 p.m. news during July. ...

If you missed Dave's finale, WESH posted a clip of his final forecast and the long goodbye. Click here to watch it. ...

So, who's the chief met at Channel 2 now that Marsh is gone? Don't expect an announcement too soon. We're hearing that weeknight met Amy Sweezey (who returned from maternity leave on Monday just as Marsh was departing) and morning met Tony Mainolfi are the co-top dogs for now. ...

Mentioned on the TV Talk Forum message board: True or false -- WESH has a hiring freeze? ...

Orlando Sentinel sports columnist Mike Bianchi wrote a nice farewell to WESH sports guy Buddy Pittman in Wednesday's Sentinel. Wrote Bianchi: "Buddy is as much a part of our culture as the grits on his Denny's plate. We grew up with him. He covered our games when we played high school football. He took us to the races in Daytona, and when those cars started spinning 'round and 'round, he'd twang joyfully, 'Hold on, this is an E-ticket ride!' And he showed us Magic highlights -- and lowlights -- and he did it without being caustic or cynical." Check out the full column on OrlandoSentinel.com. ...

No offense, but I'm sick of writing about WESH. (Can't WOFL bring Geraldo to town to get into a bar fight or something?) I'm declaring a 24-hour "no WESH postings" period starting (pause, wait for it) now. ...

I have yet to confirm this, but I've been told by a couple of folks that the website you're reading at this very moment is no longer the top choice of Orlando Magazine readers. After "winning" the top spot last year, it's rumored that RogerSimmons.com has slipped to No. 3 in the "Best of Orlando" balloting. Well, there's always next year. ...

From the "we're-trying-harder-now" department, the alleged No. 3 most popular website of Orlando Magazine readers set a record in July with more than 111,000 page views. That's small when compared to other more established and commercial sites but still big to me. Thanks to all of you who visited.

Posted on at 12:31 AM

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Despite all the recent movements and speculation to the contrary, it doesn't appear WESH is in the midst of purging all reporters or anchors who might have a touch of gray in their hair.

I've heard from several sources that the most recent veteran WESHers who have left or are leaving the station -- Dave Marsh, Buddy Pittman and Bill Shafer -- chose the exit door on their own. In Marsh's case, after 37 years, retirement must look good. In the case of longtimers Pittman and Shafer, they're getting what they must deem better jobs by joining (it's rumored) the consulting firm of former Channel 2 anchors Marc Middleton and Andrea Coudriet.

If anything, the big story isn't so much WESH losing veterans -- maybe the story is what has prompted the still-new Middleton Coudriet Media Group to suddenly need to expand by picking off some veteran TV talent from Channel 2? It sure looks like it must be one of the area's most successful start-up companies.

Granted, the recent departures don't look good for WESH, which did have a "youth movement" last fall when it moved Claire Metz and Middleton off its morning newscast. But WESH -- which had more market veterans than any other station -- was bound to lose some old-timers eventually. Still, who would have thought three of its biggest vets would leave within a three-week period?

Some questions I have (which I'll answer with my best guesses): Is WESH upset that it's being raided by former employees? Perhaps. Is it upset to now have some slots open for younger reporters/anchors with most likely lower salaries? Probably not.

Posted on at 12:16 AM

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WFTV-Channel 9 won every news time period in the recently completed July sweeps.

Based on information provided by WFTV in a news release, Eyewitness News was No. 1 at 5 a.m., 6 a.m., noon, 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.

WKMG's Local 6 News was No. 2 behind WFTV in all the local news periods except 6 a.m., when WESH 2 News finished No. 2. And, WESH and WOFL's Fox at 5 tied for third at 5 p.m.

From 5 to 6 p.m., WFTV says that 50 percent of the households watching news in Central Florida were tuned to Eyewitness News. Channel 9's lead over No. 2 Local 6 during that period was 58,403 households.

At 6 p.m., WFTV drew 51 percent of the households and outperformed the combined audiences of WKMG and WESH by more than 18,000 households.

In addition to the news time periods, WFTV also is the most-watched station in Central Florida in all time periods from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m.

"News viewers in Central Florida now have more choices when it comes to who they watch for local news and weather," said new WFTV GM and VP Shawn Bartelt in the news release. "The fact that month after month WFTV continues to deliver more viewers than our competition tells us that local viewers trust and depend on our coverage, and that is a responsibility we take very seriously. We are committed to remaining Central Florida's News Leader."

Posted on Wednesday, August 2, 2006 at 11:40 PM

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Bill Shafer, who has been with WESH for the past 25 years serving in variety of roles including reporter, anchor and even sports director, is leaving Channel 2, station sources said.

Shafer's departure was announced to the WESH staff Tuesday afternoon. Shafer started as a sports photog at the station. He was the "good news" reporter when the station had that franchise, he was an anchor of the afternoon magazine show "Discover Orlando," he was anchor of its successor called "NewsChannel 2: A Closer Look," he was a morning news anchor and he was even sports director, replacing Marc Middleton and serving until being replaced by Pat Clarke.

We're told Shafer's last day at WESH will be in mid-August. He reportedly will be joining some other former WESH staffers -- including Buddy Pittman, Middleton and Andrea Coudriet -- with a consulting firm.

For those keeping track, WESH is losing nearly 90 years of local broadcast experience with the departure this month of longtime chief meteorologist Dave Marsh (37 years), the retirement announcement of weekend sports anchor Pittman (27 years) and now the impending departure of Shafer (25 years).

Posted on Tuesday, August 1, 2006 at 6:11 PM

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