Hattiesburg Gets New ABC Affiliate

The Hattiesburg-Laurel market has a new channel on the dial, thanks to an agreement with Raycom Media and ABC.

The new affiliate will be carried on a subchannel of WDAM, the NBC affiliate for the market.

Columbus, Chattanooga Among Stations To Use Rentrak Ratings System

Two stations in the South TV News area will soon be receiving an alternative to Nielsen for its ratings information.

Morris Network, Inc., has signed a deal with Rentrak Corp. to provide daily ratings that it says is more dependable than the diary method Nielsen’s used for years.

South Florida Native Becomes Newest North Mississippi Reporter

Jennifer Ortega (Courtesy: Official Site)

West Palm Beach, Fla., native Jennifer Ortega has been hired by CBS affiliate WCBI-TV as the station’s newest reporter.

She fills the spot left open when former reporter Joe Barnes jumped markets and stared reporting for WLBT-TV in Jackson, Miss.

Former Meridian Met Heads To Oregon For New Job

Megan Parry (Courtesy: Facebook)

Megan Parry, who’s worked as the weekend weather girl at WTOK-TV in Meridian, Miss., started a new job this month, trading the South for the West Coast.

Parry is now the new morning meteorologist at KDRV-TV in Medford, Ore, according to the station’s Facebook fan page.

$3 Million Buy For North Mississippi Station Could Keep Entire Market “All In The Family”

WXVT-TV

WXVT-TV, the CBS affiliate for the Greenwood-Greenville market in Mississippi, will soon have a new owner, according to federal filings and pending FCC approval. And that owner’s family would control every station in that market if approved.

Is that legal? Apparently it could be.

Tennessee, Mississippi Stations Get New News Directors

WBBJ-TV Logo

Jackson, Tenn., ABC affiliate WBBJ-TV has tapped Keith Baker to be the news director there.

Industry firm Rick Gevers reports Baker has roots in the area and comes from WCTI-TV in New Bern, N.C., where he served as assistant news director. Baker also has major market experience in Tampa and Pittsburgh.

Former North Mississippi Reporter Snags Jackson Weekend Gig

Joe Barnes (Courtesy: Twitter)

Joe Barnes, former reporter for CBS affiliate WCBI-TV in the Columbus-Tupelo-West Point-Houston market, has recently been hired at the Magnolia State’s flagship station in Jackson.

Barnes started working at NBC affiliate WLBT-TV last month. Insiders tell South TV News his shift includes weekends and anchoring duties on Sundays.

News Director Out at Mississippi Station?

Russ Geller (Courtesy: Twitter)

It’s usually not a vote of confidence when a job posting is listed for someone still working at a television station.

And while that happens at stations across the U.S. anyway because news directors need to fill that position before a reporter’s contract runs out, it usually doesn’t happen to the man in charge.

Lawsuit Against Mississippi Anchorman Dismissed

Howard Ballou (Courtesy: WLBT-TV)

A lawsuit filed by the estate of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. against a Jackson, Miss., anchor has been dismissed by the judge.

The Washington Post reports the lawsuit, filed in September in U.S. District Court in Jackson, targeted WLBT-TV anchor and reporter Howard Ballou.

The suit alleges Ballou, who works for the NBC affiliate in Jackson, kept documents belonging to King.

Mississippi TV Station Gets New Chief Meteorologist

Keith Gibson (Courtesy: WCBI-TV)

Keith Gibson, former chief meteorologist at FOX affiliate KEVN in Rapid City, S.D., is now the new chief meteorologist for WCBI-TV, the CBS affiliate for the Columbus-Tupelo-West Point-Houston market.

Gibson’s career has taken him through both Dakotas and the Mississippi Delta, where he once worked at WABG, an ABC affiliate.

Gibson replaces Rob Smith, who’s been at the station for 18 years. A Facebook update on the station’s weather page states Smith is leaving to “concentrate on his studies” as he returns to school, but Smith will be around to fill in from time to time.