tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36975312011-08-17T01:38:41.431-04:00East Coast TV News - NewsThe news section of East Coast TV News reports on American television news happenings, with a focus on local news stations in the eastern United States. Updated most weekday mornings.ECTVNnoreply@blogger.comBlogger261100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1146110544899683432006-04-26T23:58:00.000-04:002006-04-27T00:02:27.040-04:00Tony Snow named Bush press secretaryFormer "Fox News Sunday" host Tony Snow has been named President Bush's spokesman.ECTVNnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1145937724209952182006-04-25T00:01:00.000-04:002006-04-25T00:39:49.900-04:00Carolinas station owner deadCy Bahakel, who parlayed a sports radio job in college into a small media empire, has died. Bahakel was the owner of Fox affiliate WCCB/Ch. 18 in Charlotte and a group of smaller TV stations in the south. An Alabama native, he first got into broadcasting calling games while in law school at the University of Alabama, according to the Charlotte Observer. His side job ECTVNnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1145639869400714972006-04-21T13:16:00.000-04:002006-04-21T13:17:49.596-04:00Chicago icon Walter Jacobson firedLongtime Chicago newsman Walter Jacobson will reportedly step down at WFLD/Ch. 32 in less than two weeks' time after the station did not renew his contract. In 2004, Jacobson was relieved of his 11-year anchor duties at 9 p.m. following a well-publicized drunk driving arrest. Before joining Ch. 32, Jacobson enjoyed a long career at WBBM/Ch. 2 during which he and ECTVNnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1145553168766222572006-04-20T13:08:00.000-04:002006-04-21T17:19:07.133-04:00WGRZ to air news on Buffalo WB affiliateBuffalo NBC affiliate WGRZ/Ch. 2 is starting a sports-heavy weekday 10 p.m. news half-hour tonight on the city's current WB affiliate, WNYO/Ch. 49. "10 at 10" will be anchored in rotation by one of Ch. 2's main anchors and devote half of its time to "Sports Zone." This move comes three weeks after Ch. 49 shuttered its own small news department, one of thoseECTVNnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1145505600845869062006-04-19T23:59:00.000-04:002006-04-20T00:00:01.066-04:00Schieffer commentary planned for Couric castEven when Katie Couric takes over the "CBS Evening News" in the fall, current anchor Bob Schieffer will likely stick around for some cameo appearances on the reformatted broadcast. Schieffer, who has garnered lots of praise pinch-hitting for Dan Rather for the past year, has reportedly been offered a twice-a-week commentary slot on the Couric "Evening ECTVNnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1145418845191564912006-04-18T23:50:00.000-04:002006-04-18T23:55:52.930-04:00TVSpy.com founder Don Fitzpatrick deadDon Fitzpatrick, a TV news agent who started the website TVSpy.com, has died. Fitzpatrick developed an online community for the TV news business starting from the very early days of computers, with his e-mail newsletter Rumorville in the late 1980s. The newsletter provided gossip and newspaper articles about the industry and later was renamed Shoptalk and ECTVNnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1145325155681873192006-04-17T21:46:00.000-04:002006-04-17T21:54:59.050-04:00Prescription change for CBS flagshipStaffers at WCBS/Ch. 2 are greeting the new week in the midst of a shakeup: the station fired its news director on Friday and today is premiering new anchor teams and an updated on-air look. Dianne Doctor, with Ch. 2 for three-and-a-half years, presided over the hiring of several reporters from WNBC/Ch. 4 and the implementation of a harder-edged newscast with ECTVNnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1144991328314538942006-04-14T01:08:00.000-04:002006-04-14T01:08:56.413-04:00WCBS-TV changing look, anchors on MondayWCBS/Ch. 2 is preparing to debut its seventh new look and 11 p.m. news anchor combination in the nearly ten years since its headline-grabbing mass firing of seven anchors and reporters. On Monday, Ch. 2 is set to premiere its new anchor teams, featuring Dana Tyler and Jim Rosenfield as lead anchors, and a retooled graphics and set. Current noon anchor CindyECTVNnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1144941124075496102006-04-13T11:11:00.000-04:002006-04-13T11:20:08.150-04:00Oprah returns to BaltimoreTalk show queen Oprah Winfrey made a visit to Baltimore on Monday, sparking a small media frenzy in the town where she once worked. On an invitation from Richard Sher, her former co-host on WJZ/Ch. 13's "People Are Talking" from 1978 to 1983, Winfrey spoke at a scholarship fundraiser for a local Jewish private school, delivering a stinging criticism of the city public ECTVNnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1144819611196187592006-04-12T00:59:00.000-04:002006-04-12T01:26:51.500-04:00Lauer becomes NBC's $13 million manAfter playing second fiddle to Katie Couric for the past nine years, "Today" co-host Matt Lauer has signed a new contract that pays him to be the show's top biller through 2011. Lauer will make at least $13 million a year on the morning program under the terms of his new three-year deal, according to the New York Times. His new co-host, Meredith Vieira, will ECTVNnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1144738650603571962006-04-11T02:45:00.000-04:002006-04-11T02:57:36.830-04:00Allentown station unveils new setWFMZ/Ch. 69, the independent news station in Allentown, Pa., began broadcasting from a high-tech new two-floor studio set on Monday. The main news desk and a small sports platform are both set on casters and can be rotated by releasing small brakes. The set, designed by Devlin Design Group, also has a second-story weather office and traffic area. To accomodate theECTVNnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1144687933616682352006-04-10T12:43:00.000-04:002006-04-10T12:52:14.296-04:00JC pulls up anchor at WUSAThe first female news anchor in the Washington area is leaving her signature newscast. JC Hayward, a 34-year veteran of WUSA/Ch. 9, anchored her last 5 p.m. newscast on Friday. She is adding the title vice president for media outreach and will continue as noon anchor and feature reporter of "JC & Friends." "I will be going to churches and schools and communities and ECTVNnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1144387516709167862006-04-07T01:10:00.000-04:002006-04-07T01:40:04.233-04:00WCBS-TV confirms Abrams, Hsu demotionsWith reports of WCBS/Ch. 2's impending anchor changes circulating around town, Ch. 2 has confirmed the news in a press release on its website. The move pairs down the line-up on the flagship CBS station's weekday newscasts to 6 anchors from 8. And with Mary Calvi joining Roz Abrams for the 5 p.m. news, New Yorkers will see three all-female news anchor teams ECTVNnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1144382215349941292006-04-06T23:24:00.000-04:002006-04-07T01:39:28.073-04:00It's official: Vieira joins "Today"The second-biggest secret in network news became public and official today. Meredith Vieira has signed with NBC and will begin as "Today" co-host in September. Vieira appeared with Matt Lauer, Al Roker, Ann Curry, and network head honcho and former "Today" boss Jeff Zucker at a press conference to announce the news. She also broke the news on the daytime talk ECTVNnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1144293587611392722006-04-05T23:19:00.000-04:002006-04-07T01:37:07.536-04:00Katie Couric moving to CBS News"Today" show anchor Katie Couric today formally announced she will be leaving NBC. Calling it "the worst-kept secret in America" and saying she is looking forward to a new challenge, Couric made the rumors official: she is jumping networks to anchor the "CBS Evening News." She will also be featured on "60 Minutes." Today marked Couric's fifteenth year as an anchor ECTVNnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1125745601862985022005-09-03T07:05:00.000-04:002005-09-03T07:10:21.543-04:00 New Orleans stations struggle to broadcast After Hurricane Katrina hit this week, many local broadcasters were caught in the unusual situation of reporting from outside their market to an uncertain audience, if they could go on at all, while dealing with the effects of the storm on their own homes and families. While station owners ECTVNnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1125386668939959362005-08-30T03:01:00.000-04:002005-08-30T03:29:42.763-04:00Reports: WWL, CNN trucks broken in hurricane In addition to reporting the news of Hurricane Katrina, CNN was making headlines itself after its so-called "Hurricane One" truck, which debuted only last month, was severely damaged in its second outing. A large piece of fence struck the van after it had pulled into a hotel parking lot in Gulfport, Miss., at the height of the storm, according to ECTVNnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1125381908896211892005-08-30T01:43:00.000-04:002005-08-30T03:50:47.380-04:00Katrina damages second Gulf Coast TV station Mobile station WPMI-15 was knocked off the air Monday in the wake of Hurricane Katrina as the storm's devastating effects on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and New Orleans made news nationwide. The NBC affiliate reported that lightning was to blame for a generator fire that stopped the station from broadcasting.ECTVNnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1125370817754777252005-08-29T22:53:00.000-04:002005-08-29T23:00:17.766-04:00Hurricane Briefs: WLOX latest; stranded with pols WLOX-13 reported Monday evening that all staff was safe "despite serious damage to the physical facilities." On Ch. 13's website, webmaster Renee Johnson described Monday morning: "We are now moving into the older section of the building. A huge chunk of our roof just ripped off the newsroom. Ironically, it's right over most of our ECTVNnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1125352723814494062005-08-29T17:56:00.000-04:002005-08-29T23:02:03.883-04:00 Katrina damage forces station off the air Hurricane Katrina damaged the roof of the WLOX-13 studios, allowing water inside and forcing the ABC affiliate off the air Monday afternoon, according to the station website. Though Ch. 13 is located only a few thousand feet from the Gulf of Mexico, it was not storm surge but wind and rain that appeared ECTVNnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1125308016330815262005-08-29T05:32:00.000-04:002005-08-29T23:02:54.393-04:00 New Orleans stations in high gear for Katrina Staffers at New Orleans station WWL-4 were among the thousands of people who hit the road Sunday as Hurricane Katrina beared down on the southeast. The CBS affiliate left studios in the historic French Quarter neighborhood of the low-lying city for Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge as the massive ECTVNnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1123713526365067742005-08-10T18:29:00.000-04:002005-08-10T18:38:46.373-04:00 ABC to keep Jennings name for now, air special Two days after the death of Peter Jennings, his name remained on the broadcast he defined for the past quarter-century as the network prepared a special retrospective Tuesday. The network is retaining the name "ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings" for the "foreseeable future," according to ECTVNnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1123501230625097882005-08-08T07:39:00.000-04:002005-08-08T07:40:30.633-04:00ABC News anchor Peter Jennings dead at 67 Four months after being diagnosed with lung cancer, ABC News icon Peter Jennings has succumbed to the disease. Jennings was with family at the time of his death in his New York home on Sunday night. Jennings was still in his twenties when he reluctantly assumed the ABC network anchor chair in 1965, just months ECTVNnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1121981189560934332005-07-21T16:50:00.000-04:002005-07-21T17:29:18.230-04:00 Developing Story: NBC reporter roughed up by guards NBC reporter Andrea Mitchell was grabbed by Sudanese bodyguards earlier today when she lobbed questions at the president of the violence-plagued country. She was pulled from the room where President Omar el-Bashir was posing for pictures with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and released ECTVNnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1121882592207467602005-07-20T14:01:00.000-04:002005-07-20T14:03:12.236-04:00 Blog: Weatherman fired for shoving match WSVN-7 weekend meteorologist Tom Johnston has been fired after a dispute with another weatherman at the station, a Florida media weblog is reporting. Johnston got into a fight with weathercaster Jonathan Novack over vacation time, allegedly grabbing Novack by the neck in the weather office, according to whatECTVNnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3697531.post-1120152426377044142005-06-30T13:26:00.000-04:002005-06-30T13:33:31.216-04:00 Baseball player attacks KDFW photographer An angry Texas Rangers pitcher shoved a local news photographer Wednesday, knocking his camera to the ground and then kicking it while warning other cameramen to back off. KDFW-4 photographer Larry Rodriguez was treated and released from the hospital after Kenny Rogers went off on him, pushing his camera offECTVNnoreply@blogger.com3