Moving from Reporter to Anchor

WRAL Reporter Kevin Holmes is moving down in markets, but he's jumping to the anchor desk. 

After three years with WRAL, Holmes is leaving to become the new anchor at WJCL/WTGS, the ABC/FOX station in Savannah, Ga.

His last day will be Sunday. Holmes came to WRAL in 2010 and spent time on the morning news. He then transitioned to the evening newscasts.

"It’s been a pleasure to watch Kevin grow as a journalist here," said WRAL news director Rick Gall. "I’m sure his creativity in writing and delivering stories caught the attention of those hiring at WJCL/WTGS-TV in Savannah. Moving to the anchor desk is a big step for Kevin, and we wish him great success as his career unfolds."

Holmes previously worked as a reporter at WPTY-TV in Memphis, Tenn., and at WJRT-TV in Flint, Mich. He graduated from Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Ill., with a Bachelor of Arts in communications in 2003.

“While I have truly enjoyed my time here, this is an opportunity and a challenge I’m eager to accept," Holmes said. "Since I arrived here at WRAL in 2010, this environment and the good people around me have helped me grow as a journalist and as a man. For that, I will forever be thankful and indebted."

H/T WRAL

New Lows for New Day

CNN's new morning show New Day is faltering in the ratings and the network is making all kinds of excuses as to why.

The bottom line is the show is having it's worst week ever since signing on the air.  

An interview with Prince William was a bust in the ratings. On Tuesday the show dipped below 60,000 viewers in the demo. 

Inside CNN, the excuses are flying as to why the show is not attracting viewers? Word is that the suits are already talking about retooling parts of the show. 

Today, New Day is hoping to pull out of the ratings tailspin. Anchor Chris Cuomo will have a sit down with President Obama.

We'll see if it helps.  

It's Now a Dead Truck not a Live Truck

WPVI's (Philly) Chuck Purnell was in one of the station's live trucks early this morning when it broke down. 

It broke down right across the street from the station. In the picture above, you see the truck on the right and the station on the left.  

TGIF! 

Miami GM is Out

SoFlo sources tell FTVLive that Dave Boylan has resigned as GM of WPLG.

Boyland has been at the station since 2003. 

Prior to coming to South Florida, he had been the general manager of the Fox owned stations in Los Angeles, Tampa and Greensboro. He has also held management positions at the NBC station in Cleveland.

FNC has Start Date for Hasselbeck

We now know when we will see Elisabeth Hasselbeck make her debut on “Fox & Friends.”

The former 'The View' host will be seen on the revapmed Fox and Friends on September 16th.  

Hasselbeck is replacing Gretchen Carlson. Carlson is moving to her own show later in the day.  

Hasselbeck is one of the few FNC Anchors not to tweet that she never heard of Brian Lewis. 

Come on Elisabeth, you better get with the program before Sept. 16th.  

Bumped of The Food Chain in Chicago

Our man Robert Feder  tells us that Dan Ponce, son of one Chicago news anchor and brother of another, will now have an anchor chair of his own.

After three years as a general assignment reporter at WGN-Channel 9, Ponce has been promoted to Monday-through-Friday morning news anchor at the Tribune Broadcasting station. Starting Sept. 3, he'll anchor "WGN Morning News" alongside Erin McElroy from 4 to 6 a.m. weekdays. The move coincides with the expansion of the broadcast to six hours — airing from 4 to 10 a.m.

"News, music and humor — there's only one newscast in the city where I can do all three," Ponce said after signing a new long-term deal with the station Thursday. (Terms were not disclosed.) "I'm thrilled to be joining Chicago's most popular morning TV team. It's going to be a big adjustment waking up that early, but anchoring with Erin McElroy every day will make it well worth it."

Moonves: When Time Warner Cable is ready, we’ll be there.

Here is the internal memo that Les Moonves sent out to the staff at CBS over the Time Warner blackout:  

I am pleased to inform you that today we signed a three-year content carriage agreement with Verizon for its FiOS systems across the country. This important deal was reached swiftly and amicably in just a few days after our conversations began. In it, we achieve fair value for our over-the-air rights, while preserving our streaming rights as well. CBS content will be available to 100% of all Verizon FiOS customers, and we will grow as they do. Our CBS Sports Network will be available on a broader tier, which will add millions of subscribers to that growing business. In short, this is a great deal for CBS and for Verizon, which has 5 million subscribers, the majority in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas.   

Those cities may seem familiar to you as you follow our situation with Time Warner Cable. They cover almost precisely the same territory, but Verizon has more subscribers in those markets, where we are now blacked out by that cable company for going on three full weeks now.  You should know that Time Warner Cable has been offered almost exactly the same deal for CBS carriage to which Verizon has agreed.

I cannot describe to you the frustration I feel at the way these negotiations have gone. Never in my most pessimistic moments did I ever think that they would have lasted this long and have been so difficult. In many aspects of the deal, Time Warner Cable is demanding different terms than any other company in the business. I am frankly mystified by what appears to be a lack of urgency to resolve this matter for their customers.

Still, we’ll keep talking. Today’s announcement makes clear, however, if there was ever any doubt, that we are prepared to move decisively and thoughtfully to achieve a good conclusion for all parties involved in these kinds of negotiations. When Time Warner Cable is ready, we’ll be there.

Congratulations to our great negotiating team on this terrific agreement with Verizon, and thanks to you all, as always, for your support.

Leslie

WCBS Back on Time Warner....But....

WCBS is returning to Time Warner Cable in New York City, but just for a short time. 

The two sides agreed  agreed to suspend the blackout of the Eye in Gotham — but only long enough to air debates among candidates in two of New York City’s political races.

The New York City Campaign Finance Board announced Wednesday that the companies agreed to air WCBS-sponsored debates despite their ongoing retransmission-consent dispute, which is in its third week.

Tonight, Time Warner Cable will air debate on WCBS among candidates in the Democratic primary election for comptroller from 7 to 8 p.m., after which the Eye will go dark again. If there’s no final deal by next week, cable op will air Republican primary mayoral debate Wednesday, Aug. 28, from 7 to 8 p.m.

“We are very pleased that these two institutions have chosen to look past their differences and provide all New Yorkers the best opportunity to see these important debates,” CFB chairman Father Joseph Parkes said in a statement.

H/T Variety 

Out the Door in LA

Word is that KCBS morning anchor Sibila Vargas has quietly left the Los Angeles
station. 

Her bio has been stripped from the station's website and rumors say she's headed to the Big Apple.  

Left Coast sources tell FTVLive that Vargas is headed to WNBC in New York. This would be the second anchor to head to 30 Rock. KCBS anchor Rob Schmitt, who also recently left to go to WNBC.

But the question is, where would Vargas fit in at WNBC?  

With veteran Darlene Rodriguez in the mornings, and Shiba Russell having replaced Sue Simmons last year, where is Vargas fitting in?

Also, can a station really have a Shiba and a Sibila on the same staff? 

Stay tuned for the answers to these very important questions.  

The ABC O&O Layoffs Have Started

Yesterday, FTVLive told you that Disney was planning a big round of layoffs at their owned and operated stations. 

The cuts started yesterday and are expected to be wrapped up by Friday. 

So, if you work at an ABC O&O, you might want to call in sick for the next few days.  

Word is that at least 10 people were pink slipped at KTRK in Houston yesterday. We also hear that a number of staffers were called to the corner office at WTVD in Raleigh- Durham.

Along with those markets cuts are expected to go down at the ABC O&O's in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Fresno.

Stay low.  

It's a Girl

Weekend Today show anchor Jenna Wolfe gave birth last night to a baby girl.

Wolfe and her partner NBC News correspondent Stephanie Gosk are said to be very happy. 

He Looks Familiar

KTVX in Salt Lake City has hired a new anchor, but it is someone viewers have seen before.

Don Hudson, who anchored The station's morning show "Good Morning, Utah" and then KTVX's 5 p.m. newscast before leaving the station in September 2012, is returning as the main anchor.

He'll do the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts alongside Kim Fischer starting next week.

Let's cue up the obligatory soundbites.

"I have lived all over the country during my 24 years in television news, but coming back to work in Utah is like coming back home," says Hudson. "I'm excited about working at ABC4 Utah again and working for the people of Utah. I truly love that my job is to gather important information and have always felt it was a responsibility and a privilege to share it with our viewers."

"Having Don back is a big win for Utah news viewers," says George Severson, ABC4 Utah and CW30 News Director. "He's a great journalist with depth and a solid understanding of the interests, issues and stories that matter most to Utahns."

From SoCal to Philly

Fox Philly's WTXF has named a new anchor for their morning show.

Chris Murphy will co-anchor of the early edition of Good Day Philadelphia, which airs at the ungodly hours from 4:25 to 6 a.m.

Murphy comes to the Fox O&O from KGTV in San Diego, where he was the weekend anchor.

Out The Door In Miami

Longtime WSVN Reporter Derek Hayward has left the station and his bio has been pulled from the station's website.

WSVN is not commenting on Hayward's departure and Hayward is only saying that "the timing was right."

Word is that contract talks for a renewal did not go well and suddenly the Reporter that has been at the station since 1991 is out the door. 

“I leave with absolutely nothing but the highest regard for WSVN,” Hayward said to Gossip Extra. “They’ve treated me wonderfully in the course of the past two decades.”

We get the feeling, he may have made that comment through gritted teeth. 

Stay tuned...  

Interesting....

It seems that Fox News is doing their best to downplay Brian Lewis's role at the cable news channel. 

Greta Van Susteren wrote on her blog "The Greta Wire" "No one inside Fox ever talked about Brian as the #2 or the force behind Roger or the success of Fox News Channel. If he was the #2 at Fox News and and largely responsible for its success, that is a Fox News Alert to this prime time anchor of 11 1/2 years! Frankly, I don’t think I could pick Brian out of a line up!"

Earlier Fox News's Rick Sanchez posted this tweet.

Interesting that two employees are saying basically the same thing and trying to downplay Lewis' role at Fox News. 

By the way, in 2006, Fox News boss Roger Ailes had this to say about Brian Lewis "Brian is one of the best corporate communications professionals in the business. He has met with unparalleled success in helping to build and maintain the integrity of the Fox News brand from its infancy."

Now all the sudden, no one at FNC has ever even heard of the guy. 

The Fox machine at work.