Birds, Words, Pics + TV
Blast from the Past focuses today on WFTV-Channel 9 and ABC.
This ad is from February 1969, promoting the ratings-challenged news on ABC and Channel 9. Frank Reynolds was the anchor of the “ABC Evening News.” Ray Reuster — who would later have a long career with the Daytona Beach News-Journal — was at the helm of the “Channel 9 News.” (Yep, there really was a time when there wasn’t Eyewitness News on WFTV.)
The November ratings for Orlando showed another dominating performance by WFTV’s Eyewitness News. By my count, WFTV has now been the No. 1 newscast at 6 p.m. for 29 years. And the Channel 9 juggernaut seems to be getting even stronger. According to WFTV, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., more…
WFTV and WRDQ General Manager Bill Hoffman is leaving Orlando to become GM at Cox-owned flagship WSB in Atlanta. It was under Hoffman’s tenure that stability returned to WFTV, including the re-hiring of news director Bob Jordan and the return of Eyewitness News to ratings dominance across the board. Hoffman…
Continuing our Blast from the Past series of newspaper ads for Orlando TV stations, today we roll back the clock to 1968. Here’s an advertisement that appeared for CBS’ Sunday night lineup on WDBO-Channel 6. “Channel 6 has the look of a winner,” was the Orlando station’s slogan — and…