Former Fox 35 morning meteorologist Jim Van Fleet has a new gig on the high seas. He’s the chief meteorologist for Royal Caribbean Cruises – the cruise industry’s first such position.
Weather
Longtime Orlando broadcaster Mike Burger retiring
After spending 40 years in broadcasting — a good many of those years here in Central Florida on the radio and on Channel 6 — Mike Burger is calling it quits. The current weatherman at Dallas’ KTVT-CBS 11 has opted out of the final 19 months of a newly signed contact. “I found myself looking…
More house cleaning at Local 6: Eric Wilson out?
It’s been a wild summer at WKMG-Local 6. And apparently it’s not over. The big shocker: longtime anchor Jacqueline London was let go, as was longtime reporter Donald Forbes. Now comes word that a relative newcomer is gone too. FTVLive.com is reporting that Local 6 morning meteorologist Eric Wilson “was given his walking papers.” According…
Birthday time for WESH, WRBW
Some quick notes from the news that is television … Happy birthday, WESH. Channel 2 turned 54 years old on Friday. The station went on the air June 11, 1956, from Daytona Beach. Some fun facts about WESH: It was the 19th television station in Florida. … It wasn’t the only NBC affiliate in Central…
Sabrina Fein leaves Fox 35; WESH adds more Aixa Diaz
A couple of changes to report on the local news scene… WOFL-Fox 35 meteorologist/traffic reporter Sabrina Fein — declared by some to be the “hottest” woman on Orlando TV — has left O-Town. Posting on her Facebook fan page on May 19, Fein wrote, “For all of you that are wondering and asking, I have…
Why meteorologists shouldn’t have telestrators
This picture (pointed out by former O-Town anchor Scott Walker on his Twitter feed) is from Nashville’s WTVF-CBS 5. It was snapped by a viewer during the station’s coverage of severe weather on Saturday and posted on the Facebook group, “I survived the Great Nashville Monsoon of May 1st.” I think this graphically illustrates why…
Hurricane Charley: Orlando stations remember anniversary with special, Red Cross telethon
Thursday will mark the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Charley’s surprising and destructive visit to Orlando. Orlando’s TV stations performed a great public service on Aug. 13, 2004 — dismissing the official National Hurricane Center track for the storm and correctly predicting the hurricane was headed to Orlando, not to Tampa. The stations gave residents extra…
WOFL promises new $1.5M radar will be most powerful in state
WOFL-Fox 35 is upping the ante in the area’s Doppler competition, announcing plans to build a $1.5 million Dual Polarization radar it says will be more powerful than all the other radars in the market combined. The announcement of the new radar system — dubbed “Guardian” — was made during WOFL’s Fox at 5 newscast…
These Fox 35 reporters aren’t singing in the rain
If you live in Central Florida, chances are you’ve been caught in an unexpected thunderstorm. You know what it’s like — the weather is fine one minute, and the next it’s time to start building an ark. That’s situation a couple of reporters for Central Florida’s self-proclaimed “Weather Authority” experienced on Monday night. Just before…
WFTV disputes WESH has most accurate weather forecast
Who has the most accurate weather forecast in Orlando? WESH says it does and that it has the certification to prove it. Top-rated WFTV says that’s baloney. WESH recently dropped its WeatherPlus branding for its newscasts and started using WeatheRate’s seal for Orlando’s most accurate weather forecast. But what, you may ask, is WeatheRate? According…