Some notes to start off the new week…
WFTV has lost its distinction as having Florida’s only HD newscast. Scripps-owned WFTS-ABC 28 started airing its news in HD on July 28, and sister station WPTV-NBC 5 in West Palm Beach became the first South Florida station to take the HD plunge last week. …
I recently asked if anyone had any info on the cryptic e-mail I received about big changes coming to WESH. A former WESH insider says the word is it’s contract renewal time for some of the station’s biggest names — and who knows if all of them will still be with WESH once negotiations end. Stay tuned …
Speaking for WESH, some folks who have already left the station are starting their version of MySpace for the Baby Boomer set. Marc Middleton, Bill Shafer and Andrea Coudriet Batchelor are behind the venture. You’ll recall, they all set up a consulting business after leaving WESH — showing there really is life after TV. Click here to read more about the Web venture. …
Former Channel 6 video guru Ken Shuba, who was also Broadcast Operations Manger for the City of Orlando, is back in TV news. He’s now working at WESH. …
Finally, I know my summer break was rather extensive, but did I really miss all of these people leaving — Chris Egert, Laverne McGee, Trei Johnson, Lee Goldberg, Julie Watkins, Arch Kennedy, Joe Oliver and … am I missing anyone else? If so, add their names as a comment to this post.