Catching Up... (Part 2: November 2009)
BOB KENDRICK joins WSYX-TV/WTTE-TV in Columbus, Ohio as the weeknight 5,6,10 and 11pm main Anchor from CHEK-TV in Victoria, British Columbia.
LOURDES DUARTE has been promoted to Monday-Friday 5pm Anchor/Reporter at WGN-TV in her hometown of Chicago.
Chicago Anchor-Reporter Moves to Rival Station
Chicago Tribune
Anna Davlantes, who bolted WMAQ-Ch. 5 this summer after nine years, has joined WFLD-Ch. 32 as a contributing anchor and reporter for the Fox-owned station's 9 p.m. news.
Davlantes left Channel 5 on July 30, having failed to agree on a contract renewal. Until Nov. 1, she was prohibited from negotiating with anyone else. Although she remained tight-lipped about her destination, she never wavered in her belief she would land somewhere as soon as she was allowed.
Her Channel 32 debut is set for Monday, two days before the end of the November ratings period.
WFLD Vice President and General Manager Mike Renda, who has indicated his long-term goal is to launch a late afternoon-early evening newscast, said in an interview three weeks ago that improving the performance of Channel 32's 9 p.m. newscast fronted by Jeff Goldblatt and Robin Robinson was his first priority. More...
In Chicago, Anchor Reunion Boosts WBBM's Ratings
Chicago Sun-Times
The overnight Nielsen ratings for the much-ballyhooed Friday night reunion of legendary anchors Walter Jacobson and Bill Kurtis at WBBM-Channel 2 were not through the roof, but they were impressive nonetheless.
Long a distant third to WMAQ-Channel 5 and the dominant WLS-Channel 7 in the flagship 10 p.m. newscast ratings, WBBM, with a 7.3 overnight rating Friday, managed to pull within a ratings point of WLS, which scored a 8.3 for the night for its 10 p.m. newscast.
WBBM, however, trounced WMAQ, which could do no better than a 3.7 rating.
WBBM management insisted from the moment they announced the reunion that it would be a one-night-only arrangement, while current solo anchor Rob Johnson was off. But the strong ratings may force WBBM to rethink its stance. More...
Anchor Tracy Forner Returning to Indianapolis
The Grand Rapids Press
Tracy Forner will leave his morning anchor duties at WXMI-TV (Channel 17) to head back to Indianapolis. His last day will be Nov. 25.
Forner, formerly of WXIN, joined Fox 17 in August 2008 after a six-year stint at the Fox affiliate in Indianapolis. Before that, he worked at WZZM-TV (Channel 13), WLHT-FM (95.7) and WLAV-FM (96.9.)
"It's a simple matter of not wanting to be away from my family anymore," said Forner, whose wife, Elizabeth, and three young children still live in the Indianapolis area. "As hard as we tried to sell our home and find comparable work for my wife here, it wasn't happening.
"We were fully committed to coming back and being a part of West Michigan again. Now my only focus is for my family to no longer be apart. There will always be opportunities for me to work, but my children only grow up once, and I refuse to miss any more of that."
WXMI news director Tim Dye is looking for a replacement for Forner, he said. More...
Fort Wayne Anchor Pleads Guilty to Drunk Driving
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
A Fort Wayne morning TV news anchor pleaded guilty this week to a drunken-driving charge.
Mary Collins Frank of WPTA-TV was given a suspended jail sentence of 60 days and her license was suspended for 90 days, according to court records.
She was arrested at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 31 after police received a call about someone driving an SUV erratically near Getz Road and West Jefferson Boulevard.
Police measured her blood-alcohol level between 0.13 percent and 0.15 percent, nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent, according to a police report.
Frank told police she hadn't consumed alcohol, giving different explanations for the blood-alcohol level. More...
ELIZABETH ERWIN moves up 29 markets to multi-media journalist at KPHO in Phoenix from multi-media journalist at WWMT in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
JOE LePAGE returns to the anchor desk and does so as morning anchor at WLFI in his hometown of Lafayette, Indiana from freelance reporter KSLA in Shreveport, LA.
SARA CELI moves to morning show Breaking News anchor/reporter at WXIX in Cincinnati from reporter.
ANDY CUNNINGHAM moves to reporter at KABB in San Antonio, Texas from reporter at WKYT in Lexington, Kentucky.
JESSICA WHEELER moves from anchor at Freedom Broadcasting owned WLAJ-TV in Lansing, Michigan to reporter at Freedom Broadcasting owned WWMT-TV in Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Broadcasters Meet With FCC On Spectrum
TVNewsCheck
Broadcasters have begun making their opposition to the FCC's cash-for-spectrum plan known in visits with FCC officials.
Last Friday, a contingent including Hearst Television CEO David Barrett and several Washington broadcast reps met with Blair Levin and other members of his Broadband Task Force, which floated the plan with broadcasters last month.
The day before, newly installed NAB President Gordon Smith met with all the FCC commissioners except for Chairman Julius Genachowski.
The plan calls for broadcasters to swap most of their spectrum for a share of the proceeds that would come from the auctioning of the spectrum to wireless broadband providers. TV stations would keep just enough bandwidth to continue broadcasting a single SD channel.
According to the ex parte notice disclosing the meeting, the Barrett group argued against reallocating broadcast spectrum. More...
Anchor Back on the Air at Lexington's WKYT
Lexington Herald-Leader
Longtime anchor Barbara Bailey is back on the air at CBS affiliate WKYT (Channel 27).
Since early August, Bailey had been on leave because of health issues with family members, primarily her mother, who is now doing better.
"As soon as you get that phone call that there's been an accident, your life changes," Bailey said.
She had asked to go to part-time status before she went on leave, seeking a change in responsibilities.
"Sometimes these things work out for the best," Bailey said. "This really works much better for my family situation right now. Gosh, I'm even catching up on my sleep."
Bailey normally woke up between 3 and 3:30 a.m. for the 5 to 7 a.m. newscasts, which now have Stacy Ellison joining Bill Bryant. Bailey will co-anchor the noon and 12:30 p.m. newscasts with Bryant and contribute "Better Living" segments at 5 p.m. about health, education and consumer news. More...
Lexington Anchor Returns to 10 O'Clock
Lexington Herald-Leader
A familiar face returns this week to the Fox-56 10 o'clock News.
Jennifer Palumbo will once again co-anchor the news with Marvin Bartlett, returning to the position she held from 1997 to 2002.
Since 2007, Palumbo has been on the Fox-56 Morning Edition at 7 a.m. She was lured back by WDKY for the show after leaving television in 2005 to spend more time with her family.
"I have loved everything about the morning show except for the 4:30 a.m. alarm going off," she said last week. "I have never been a morning person, and never will be, so the night shift is better suited for me."
Palumbo has been working part-time, which allows her to spend time with her husband and two children, ages 3 and 4.
"With TV ... there are no family-friendly shifts, but by working part-time, I've been able to strike a balance because at the end of the day, my family will always come first," she said. More...
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