WESH Sunrise reporter Shannon FitzPatrick signed off Wednesday morning. She’s leaving the TV biz to pursue a career in real estate and marketing. (I’d like to have a dollar for every TV person who has gone into real estate, but I digress.) FitzPatrick started at WESH in 1998 and moved…
Category: WFTV-9
Doctor Files Suit Against WFTV
Attorneys for a Winter Park plastic surgeon have filed a defamation suit against WFTV-Channel 9 for a series of reports the station ran about the doctor. According to the Orlando Sentinel, the civil suit by Dr. Thomas Trevisani alleges that Channel 9 aired reports in 2002, 2003 and 2004 that…
Reporters Shouldn’t Play in Traffic
Some news nuggets for you … >> While watching WFTV’s Eyewitness News on Monday night, I was more concerned about the safety of reporter Jodie Fleischer than what she was reporting. For a story about a plan to relieve traffic woes on the Turnpike and U.S. 192, Fleisher did a…
It’s Spring Break Time in O-Town
Spring time: I’m taking a few days off from work this week, and I’m not alone. It’s spring break time but for many O-Town anchors. Just flipping around the dial last night, I discovered these anchors are also taking time off this week: WFTV — Bob Opsahl, Martie Salt, Tom…
It’s Nearly A Clean Sweep for WFTV
As the dust from the February ratings period settles, it’s become clear there’s no stopping the WFTV juggernaut. Channel 9 was No. 1 in six of the seven daily newscasts, with only WKMG’s noon news preventing a clean sweep by WFTV. The real race is for No. 2 in O-Town,…
9’s New GM Comes From Charlotte
Shawn Bartelt, director of sales for Cox’s stations in Charlotte, N.C. (WSOC and WAXN) will succeed Bill Hoffman as vice president and general manager of Orlando’s WFTV and WRDQ. According to a press release, Bartelt joined Cox in 2000 as director of sales at WSOC and WAXN. She began her…
WFTV, WRDQ lose GM to Atlanta
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…
Changes at WFTV
WFTV weekend anchor Jorge Estevez is leaving Channel 9 to become the weekday morning anchor at CBS O&O WFOR in Miami, according to NewsBlues.com. Estevez has been with WFTV since 2001. Also, former WFTV general assignment reporter Jamison Uhler has moved to the Philadelphia area and joined NBC O&O WCAU…
News That Won’t Slow You Down
Some quick hits for you today: >> WESH starts its Olympic coverage tonight with the debut of its nightly preview show, The O-Zone. News anchor Wendy Chioji and sports director Pat Clarke host the show from Universal Orlando. It airs at 7:30 p.m. >> In the past week, KABC in…
Former WFTV Reporter Aids Search
Former WFTV reporter Scott Thuman, who left Orlando in December to take a job at WJLA in Washington, D.C., is back in O-Town to help with the search for missing Jennifer Kesse, NewsBlues.com reports. Thuman has reportedly taken a leave of absence from WJLA to oversee media inquiries into the…