One Month In, Tips Needed More Than Ever

Well, here we are, a scant month into this blog. It seems for me an impossible task, because I’m trying to recreate something I thought was revolutionary so many years ago.

And I’ve managed to fill the digital pages of this blog for four weeks now, thanks to other blog sites and the assistance of you, the reader (and possibly, a local news enthusiast).

But now, I need more help from you. I’m going to unveil a Facebook page this week to try and get more interest in the blog. Most importantly, if you work in the industry, we need your input, your inside info. As always, your identity will be kept confidential unless otherwise expressed.

Because of you, this blog is growing. And I thank you for that. But we can do so much more. And I want to accomplish much over the course of this next month.

Here’s to February!

Fox Photog Attacked During Interview

Photographer Mike Moore (Courtesy FOX13)

A photographer for WHBQ, Memphis, Tenn.’s FOX affiliate has been released from the hospital after being jumped by several students at a gas station in the city.

From FOX13’s website:

Mike Moore, a multiple Emmy Award Winning Photographer and Special Projects Producer, was attacked while he and FOX13 reporter Lauren Johnson were doing an interview about boys and teen pregnancy.

Two teenagers have been charged with simple assault and vandalism. The kids were enrolled at an alternative school in downtown Memphis, one that specializes in “behavioral issues,” according to the news story.

Moore kept rolling, though, and captured some of the altercation on tape. Video after the jump…

WDAM Airs Abuse Video After Supreme Court Lifts Ban

WDAM-TV

The Mississippi Supreme Court has lifted an injunction which banned Hattiesburg-Laurel market television station WDAM from airing a video that allegedly shows abuse within a juvenile detention facility.

After the ruling, WDAM says it aired the footage Thursday night.

From WLBT-TV:

A former detention center employee provided WDAM with more than two hours of video showing alleged abuse involving at least four inmates. Youth Court Judge Mike McPhail barred the station from airing the tapes claiming it would jeopardize the teen’s privacy.

Weekend Weatherwoman Shake-up at Mississippi TV Station?

Current WCBI Logo

We’ve gotten a few tips over the last few days (and thank you for those) that Alexandra St. Pe  has already started as a weekend meteorologist for WCBI, the CBS affiliate for the Columbus-Tupelo-West Point-Houston market in Mississippi.

This has been confirmed by her LinkedIn profile, though no official mention has been made on WCBI’s website, nor the news team listings.

It would appear she’s replacing current weekend met Courtney Cooper. No reason was given for Cooper’s departure, and I’m not sure if Cooper’s even still on-air (because I live in Louisiana).

According to Pe’s Twitter profile (@stpeweather) , she’s already begun on-air work for the station (from a profile picture posted to the social networking page).

If you have any more tips on this, please let us know!

KTAL Hires New News Director in Wake of Three-Week Vacancy

Current KTAL logo

Well, that didn’t take long.

The blog Arkansas TV News is reporting Chris Huston will be starting as KTAL’s news director next month.

The hire comes three weeks after Willy Walker was fired January 4 for undisclosed reasons.

Huston had previously been the news director at KIDK until a shared services agreement spelled management layoffs at the Pocatello-Idaho Falls CBS affiliate.

From MediaJobsDaily.com:

KIDK Channel 3 in Idaho Falls is entering into a shared services agreement with its competitor, the ABC affiliate KIFI, reports TVNewsCheck.

That means in English: 27 of KIDK’s 43 employees will be out of work.

KIDK General Manager Jim Wareham and News Director Chris Huston are both getting the axe [as well], presumably because one station doesn’t need two sheriffs, if you’ll permit the mixed metaphor.

Huston begins at KTAL on February 7, according to the blog.

Everything You Wanted To Know About Florida’s Broadcast Television Markets

The Sunshine State certainly has its share of TV stations/personnel. Along with California and Texas, it has more media markets than any other state in the U.S.: ten in all.

• At the top of the list, Tampa-St. Petersburg (Sarasota), ranked #13 from this year’s Nielsen compilation. Stations include:  WFLA (NBC), WTSP (CBS), WTVT (FOX), WFTS (ABC) and Bay News 9 (IND). Both WTVT and WFLA compete heavily for the number one newscast in the Tampa market. All major affiliates have high-definition newscasts.
• Second in line: Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, at 16th. Stations include: WFOR (CBS), WTVJ (NBC), WSVN (FOX), WPLG (ABC) and WSFL (CW). All major affiliates’ newscasts are broadcast in high definition.
• The state’s third Top 25-rated market is Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, at #18. Stations in this market include: WESH (NBC), WKMG (CBS), WFTV (ABC), WRDQ (IND), WOFL (FOX) and Central Florida News 13 (IND). Though heated, WFTV typically wins the ratings war in central Florida. Only WKMG’s newscasts are not in high definition, instead broadcasting in 16:9 standard definition.
• West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce is #38 on the list, according to Nielsen. Stations in this market include: WPTV (NBC), WPEC (CBS), WPBF (ABC), WFLX (FOX), WTVX (CW) and WTCN (MyTV). WPTV regularly wins the ratings war as the highest-rated station in the market.  All stations air newscasts in high definition.
• Jacksonville follows the list at #48, the fifth Top 50 market in the state of Florida. Stations here include: WJXT (independent), WTLV (NBC), WCWJ (CW), WJXX (ABC), WAWS (FOX) and WTEV (CBS).  WJXT has consistently been first in the ratings war since 2008. All stations have newscasts in high definition.
• Next on the list is a market that is shared with south Alabama: Mobile-Pensacola (Ft. Walton Beach). The hyphenated market ranks 59th among Nielsen markets nationwide. Stations include: WEAR (ABC), WKRG (CBS), WALA (FOX), WPMI (NBC) WFGX (MyTV) and WFNA (CW). All stations air newscasts in high definition.
• Slide down three spots, and you come to Ft. Myers-Naples, #62. Stations in this market include: WINK (CBS), WBBH (NBC), WZVN (ABC), WFTX (FOX) and WXCW (CW). WINK has been the dominant ratings leader in the area for decades. Only WFTX does not air newscasts in high definition.
• Tallahassee-Thomasville shares its market with southeastern Georgia. It’s market No. 106, according to Nielsen statistics. Stations in this market include: WCTV (CBS), WSWG (MyTV), WTLF (CW), WTXL (ABC), WTWC (NBC) and WTLH (FOX). WCTV, WSWG and WTXL broadcast newscasts in high definition.
• Panama City comes in at No. 154 in the Nielsen rankings. Stations here include: WTVY (CBS), WJHG (NBC), WMBB (ABC) and WPGX (FOX). WTVY leads the ratings war because of a larger coverage area. None of the stations in this market airs high-definition newscasts; WJHG airs newscasts in 16:9 enhanced standard definition.
• Gainesville is the last market in Florida, at #162. Stations include: WNBW (NBC), WCJB (ABC), WMYG (MyTV), WOGX (FOX) and WGFL (CBS). WCJB leads the market in ratings. WCJB, WNBW, WGFL and WMYG have newscasts airing in high-definition; all of the newscasts are produced by the Independent News Network based in Davenport, Iowa.

(Above updated February 1, 2015)

That covers another one of several states we’ll be covering. If you work for one of these affiliates and have news about new hires, on-air graphic updates, HD overhauls, or anything that would be of interest to this local news blog, please let us know.. I’m not necessarily talking about station gossip, but that works, too. If someone uttered a profane word on-air, for example, that’d be something. Station sales, downsizing, things like that are also newsworthy. You can do so anonymously, of course, but have to prove you work for the station in question for credibility purposes by sending us an email to southtvnewser@gmail.com.

What’s a Former News Anchor to Do Next? Commercials!

Dwight Lauderdale in an AvMed commercial (Courtesy SFLTV)

Though it’s a little-known fact that those who don’t make it in broadcasting within their first three years usually delve into the public relations/sales/marketing fields as a rebound, SFLTV has an interesting take on what some former news anchors in Florida are doing.

“A reader, several actually, noticed that several former news anchors are now doing television ads that air locally. Since about October 2010 former WPLG lead anchorman Dwight Lauderdale has been the spokesperson for Avmed Medicare. SFLTV readers are now reporting they have seen former WTVJ lead anchor Tony Segreto and former WPLG anchor/reporter Dianne Magnum doing TV commercials, too.”

Guess it’s never too soon to look for other opportunities once the broadcasting world hands you lemons.

Mississippi TV Station Fights for Right to Show Abuse Video

WDAM-TV

More than thirty news and media organizations are petitioning the Mississippi Supreme Court to let them file legal papers in support of WDAM-TV in Hattiesburg, saying that station should be allowed to air video it obtained showing alleged abuse at a local juvenile detention center.

The Associated Press says the motion was filed Thursday in Jackson. The Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the matter.

It all started January 13, when WDAM asked the state Supreme Court to lift an injunction on the video ordered by Youth Court Judge Mike McPhail. McPhail said the station failed to provide sufficient evidence that showing the video was a necessity.

Everything You Wanted To Know About Alabama’s Broadcast Television Markets

It is true: if you’re a sports anchor-wannabe, a job in Alabama could be your goal, and there’s plenty of diversity among media markets to choose from. Where else can you cover the self-proclaimed king of SEC football?

• Birmingham (Anniston/Tuscaloosa) is the state’s biggest market, at #43. Stations include: WBRC (FOX), WVTM (NBC), WTTO (CW), WIAT (CBS), WBMA-LP (ABC) and WABM (MyTV). WBRC claims ratings dominance here, but given it’s a FOX affiliate (and its newscasts are on one hour earlier than the other affiliates), that’s a difficult pill to swallow. No clear winner here. All stations provide their newscasts in high definition.
• Next on the list is a market that is shared with the Florida panhandle: Mobile-Pensacola (Ft. Walton). The hyphenated market ranks 59th among Nielsen markets nationwide. Stations include: WEAR (ABC), WKRG (CBS), WALA (FOX), WPMI (NBC) WFGX (MyTV) and WFNA (CW). All stations air newscasts in high definition.
• The third top-100 station in the state, Huntsville-Decatur (Florence), is another hyphenated market, coming in at No. 79. Stations include: WHDF (CW), WHNT (CBS), WAAY (ABC), WAFF (NBC) and WZDX (FOX). All news-producing stations provide newscasts in high definition.
• Montgomery-Selma is the next station in Alabama, comprising the capital city. It’s ranked #121 among Nielsen media markets. Stations include: WAKA (CBS), WSFA (NBC), WCOV (FOX), WBMM (CW) and WNCF (ABC). WSFA has been the market leader for decades. All stations air newscasts in high definition.
• Another market that straddles state borders is the Columbus, GA (Opelika, AL) DMA, market #126. Interestingly enough, it also straddles the CST and EST time zones. Stations include: WRBL (CBS), WTVM (ABC), WLTZ (NBC) and WXTX (FOX). WTVM is the ratings leader in this market. All stations broadcast newscasts in HD.
• Dothan rounds out the Alabama markets, at #173. Stations include: WTVY (CBS), WDHN (ABC) and WDFX (FOX). WTVY is the ratings leader. Only WDHN does not air newscasts in HD.

(Above was updated February 1, 2015)

That covers another one of several states we’ll be covering. If you work for one of these affiliates and have news about new hires, on-air graphic updates, HD overhauls, or anything that would be of interest to this local news blog, please let us know.. I’m not necessarily talking about station gossip, but that works, too. If someone uttered a profane word on-air, for example, that’d be something. Station sales, downsizing, things like that are also newsworthy. You can do so anonymously, of course, but have to prove you work for the station in question for credibility purposes by sending us an email to southtvnewser@gmail.com.

Former Memphis Photog Recalls Strike, Brush with MLK

Shelton Robinson

Motivations run aplenty in the television journalism world. Some want to be part of history; others want to make their own.

Still others find themselves in the middle of situations that escalate beyond their control. Such is the case of former television news photographer Shelton Robinson, who at the time worked for WREC-TV (now WREG). In a recent issue of the Tri-State Defender, he recalls a painful encounter while filming a sanitation workers’ strike:

I was using a Bell & Howell, 16mm hand camera powered by a wind-up spring. When all hell broke loose, I was filming the two groups of people, marchers and those charged with upholding the law, in a bloody fight with neither side ceding ground. One particular conflict was happening right in front of me so I swung my camera in that direction. This involved four police officers whaling on one marcher who was shielding his head with his hands. Off to my right an officer named Wilkinson was being led to an ambulance, blood streaming down the side of his face. When I turned my camera back towards the first melee, a Shelby County sheriff’s deputy was passing in front of me and I noticed his nametag had a strip of black tape over it, blocking his name and his face visor was pulled down.