Mississippi Morning Met Headed For Huntsville

Jennifer Watson (Courtesy: WTVA-TV)

After three years at WTVA-TV in the Tupelo-Columbus-West Point-Houston market, morning meteorologist Jennifer Watson will soon begin work as a meteorologist at WHNT-TV in Huntsville, Ala., according to an insider at the CBS affiliate.

Watson first began working at the Tupelo NBC affiliate in 2009 as a weekend meteorologist. The farewell article on WTVA’s website states she got bumped up to mornings a year later. But who will fill her shoes?

One Huntsville Station Loses A Reporter, Another Gets A New Meteorologist

Eric Sollman (Courtesy: WAFF)

Huntsville news personality Eric Sollman will soon be moving from Huntsville, Ala., to Tampa, Fla.

TVNewser reports the current general assignment reporter and 4 p.m. anchor for NBC affiliate WAFF will be joining the staff of cable  news television station Bay News 9.

Sollman had been with WAFF since 2006.

Exclusive: Former Huntsville Chief Met Discusses Move to Maryland, Part Two

Dan Satterfield (Courtesy: WHNT)

Today, we continue the South TV News interview with former WHNT-TV chief meteorologist Dan Satterfield and his new job at WBOC-TV in Salisbury, Md., which begins next month.

Satterfield was gracious enough to let me ask him several questions about his new venture and his approach to meteorology after 32+ years in the field.

Part Two of our interview continues after the jump.

Exclusive: Former Huntsville Chief Met Discusses Move to Maryland, Part One

Dan Satterfield (Courtesy: WHNT)

As many local news blogs (including us) reported earlier this month, former WHNT chief meteorologist Dan Satterfield will soon be starting at WBOC, a CBS affiliate in the Salisbury, Md., market.

Many of you had questions regarding Satterfield’s move and his departure from WHNT in December 2011.

A few days ago, I conducted an impromptu interview with the 32-year weather veteran to try and get some answers to these unknowns. This will be the first of two parts; the second will hit in the next few days.

Former Alabama Meteorologist Snags Maryland Job at CBS Affiliate

Dan Satterfield (Courtesy: WHNT)

Dan Satterfield will be the new chief meteorologist at CBS affiliate WBOC in Salisbury, M.D., according to multiple sources, including TVNewser.

Satterfield left WHNT in Huntsville, Ala., in December 2011. He had been with the station for 17 years.

Video Looks Back on Deadly 2011 Tornadoes, Showcases Broadcasters’ Perspectives

Tuscaloosa EF5 Tornado (Courtesy: FOX 6)

The deadly tornadoes that swept through Alabama and Missouri in 2011 also made many meteorologists in those areas local heroes because of their reporting during those disasters.

A recently-posted video, produced by students from the University of Oklahoma and the University of Alabama, not only looks back on those intensely devastating days, but also shows how local television and radio stations helped so many get to safety.

The full seven-minute montage is after the jump.

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.