Montgomery Station Gives Mark Bullock Coveted Evening Anchor Spot

Mark Bullock (Courtesy: WSFA)

Longtime broadcast journalist Mark Bullock has been promoted to evening anchor for WSFA, the NBC affiliate in Montgomery, Ala.

Bullock will anchor the 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts for the station.

Montgomery Evening Anchor To Retire After 35 Years In The Business

Bob Howell (Courtesy: WSFA)

He’s been a mainstay in Montgomery, Ala., homes since the mid-1970s. But on June 1, longtime WSFA news anchor Bob Howell will retire.

An article on WSFA’s website states Howell started at the Montgomery-Selma NBC affiliate in 1976, anchoring the 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts, as well as foreign assignments in England, France and Kuwait. After leaving the station in 1998, Howell returned six years later to the evening anchor slot.

Montgomery Sports Director Leaving WNCF

Adam Bagni (Courtesy: WNCF)

WNCF sports director/anchor Adam Bagni will not be re-signing, despite being offered a contract extension from the Montgomery ABC affiliate.

In a staff email obtained by Montgomery TV and Radio, a local blog, Bagni says it’s not a decision he took lightly, but added the decision was in his best interest.

From the blog:

“As great as everyone has been to be in Montgomery, I just feel like it’s time to move on. I’ve accomplished pretty much everything I can at ABC 32 – two national championships, sports director, awards – I just feel like it’s time to fully devote myself to what’s next,” he said.

At this time, he is not sure where he will end up next. “It’s always a bit scary when you don’t know what your future holds, but it’s time to close this chapter of my life and move on to what’s next,” Bagni said.

Bagni had been with ABC 32 since February 2008. Though he’s leaving, he says he’s not leaving the business. Stay tuned.

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.