Some quick thoughts on recent Orlando TV News: Put me down as not a fan of WFTV’s revamped weather channel, 9.2. Sure, Severe Weather Center 9 has forecasts, temperatures and a radar — but just give me the radar. The former 9.2 had the live WFTV radar almost 24-7 —…
WKMG’s ‘Newsroom Summit’ causing a stir
By now you have likely heard about the upcoming WKMG Newsroom Summit — the station’s mandatory all-day meeting on Saturday, April 17, to discuss “what makes bad TV news,” and who are the “battery chargers” and “battery drainers” at Local 6. One person who emailed me about the meeting had…
Early-bird WESH adds 4:30 a.m. newscast
WESH on Tuesday began airing an additional half hour of morning news, starting at 4:30 a.m. “We are always looking for opportunities to serve the local news and weather needs of our viewers at times that are both convenient and valuable to them,” WESH GM Jim Carter said in a news release….
On Fox 35: ‘Former Vice President’ Sarah Palin
Came across this on YouTube. It’s a report that aired on Fox 35 News at 10 over the weekend — an account from the Tea Party tour out West. In it, the reporter refers to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as “former vice president Sarah Palin.” Of course, he meant…
It’s spring, so time for Fox 35’s hawk
While not quite as famous as the swallows returning to San Juan Capistrano, the folks at WOFL-Fox 35 have their own spring tradition: the return of the big, bad mama hawk. It started several years ago, when the mama hawk decided to take up residence in a tree outside the…
Has WFTV found Bob Opsahl’s replacement?
Come July, you’ll see a new face weekends on the WFTV Eyewitness News anchor desk. But could he ultimately be Bob Opshal’s replacement? The newcomer is Josh Benson, who is currently morning anchor at KVOA-NBC 4 in Tucson, Ariz. According to AZBiz.com, Benson will be leaving Arizona at the end…
Space shuttle Challenger anniversary: Video from 1986
Today, Jan. 28, marks the 24th anniversary of space shuttle Challenger’s explosion during liftoff. Just like the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks years later, the Challenger accident was one of those “where where you when it happened” moments in our history. Besides being national news, the shuttle accident as big news locally. The…
Weather forecast for WFTV: More Tom Terry
You may watch him or you may not — but you most certainly know about WFTV chief meterologist Tom Terry. The man who helped Central Floridians “hunker down” during the historic hurricane season of 2004 is going to be with Channel 9 through at least another six storm seasons. Sentinel TV…
WESH’s Claire Metz recovering after crash
Veteran WESH 2 News reporter Claire Metz gives Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedeker an update on her condition. She and her videographer were injured last week when a car slammed into the side of a WESH live truck in Daytona Beach. “I have four broken ribs and a broken, displaced clavicle,” Metz…
Nancy Grace is coming to Orlando
Nancy Grace, the caustic and controversial HLN talk show host, will be coming to Orlando … in the fall of 2010. Her new syndicated show, “Swift Justice with Nancy Grace,” has been cleared for 90 percent of the country, including O-Town. The show is being distributed by CBS Television Distribution….