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.
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.
Ashley Conroy (Courtesy: WLBT)
A tipster from WLOX, ABC affiliate from the Biloxi-Gulfport, Miss. market, tells us that statewide reporter Ashley Conroy will be leaving to pursue a job in Las Vegas.
The person, who asked to be kept anonymous, says Conroy’s last day was today.
She was hired by WLBT-TV, the NBC affiliate in Jackson, in December 2009, according to her station bio. Her reports were used statewide by WLOX and five other stations.
According to the email forwarded to South TV News, WLBT is already looking for a replacement.
A job posting for statewide reporter on WLBT’s website confirms the forwarded news tip.
As for where Conroy goes from here, the email says she’s headed back to her hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada, but doesn’t indicate what she’s going to be doing there.
Conroy covered stories of statewide interest for the NBC affiliate and several other stations.
Got more details? Let us know!
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.
Our third state on the list doesn’t have any Top 50 markets (as defined by Nielsen) but still has several smaller ones statewide.
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.
South TV News 