Dang, a lot of stuff has been going on since I took my spring break …
NEW BABY: Central Florida’s largest team of broadcast meteorologists just got larger. WESH’s Leslie Hudson gave birth to Avery Vy Russell last week. She was born at 7:26 a.m. on Wednesday and weighed in at 6 pounds, 12 ounces. You can find a couple of pics here. Congrats!
NEW TRAFFIC GUY: Ryan Harper of Metro Networks is the new morning traffic guy at WOFL-Fox 35. He replaces Ken Smith, who after nearly 3 years of flying in the chopper for WOFL, has flown west. Insiders say Smith landed a gig with top-rated KLAS in Las Vegas. He reportedly starts in April.
NEW ND: Sean McNamara has been hired as the new news director at Central Florida News 13, according to NewsBlues.com. McNamara comes from Syracuse, where he has been director of marketing for WSTM-NBC 3 and was previously the news director at News 10 Now in Syracuse. He starts March 28.
NEW SHOW: WESH is picking up Hearst-Argyle’s new prime-time talk-show special, Conversations with Carlos Watson. The first of four quarterly specials will air tonight with Watson — described as "an emerging television personality" — interviewing Sen. Hillary Clinton, music entrepreneur Sean "Diddy" Combs, handicapped Olympic medalist and Rhodes scholar Bonnie St. John and NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon.
NEW HARDWARE: Congrats to WESH 2 reporter Greg Fox, who picked up a Cronkite Award from the University of Southern Cal’s Annenberg School of Communication. Fox was honored for his coverage of the 2006 political campaigns. According to the Annenberg School, Fox was recognized for "excellent journalistic analysis and helping voters evaluate what candidates say." Judges praised Fox’s "Truth Tests," including one that "went beyond sound bites to show the profound impact religion can have on a race."