CategoryTV News

Anytime there’s a big story like the shooting in Tucson – you can’t help but glue yourself to the TV to watch the latest developments. For me, it’s like an all day event despite little information that is reported. But when it’s in your backyard – it’s surreal. I shopped at the Safeway where the shooting occurred. I lived less than a mile away. So to see...

Not really. But Brian Monahan and I are holding down the fort at WFTV tonight (Sunday). Brian is our new meteorologist from WINK-TV in Fort Myers. If you have a chance to tune in tonight, we’ll be on Channel 27 for Eyewitness News at 10:00 and then over on Channel 9 for Eyewitness News at 11:00. I also told him about my recent discovery of Doorstep Delivery. This is an ingenious website...

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Enjoy the turkey, the stuffing, cranberries, mashed potatoes and gravy and all the tasty beverages. And when the tryptophan kicks in and you’re quietly napping on the couch, flip on Channel 9 or 27 and join us for another action packed half-hour of central Florida news.
We’ll be there. (:

There are rumors circulating that there’s a new Keurig coffee machine in the newsroom. This is important for two reasons: 1. Coffee dispensed with the push of a button is not only low-stress, it’s genius (especially when the coffee tastes good). 2. News employees with access to good, free and quick coffee are happy employees. Happiness in a news setting is worth every cent. I work...

A sketch artist always seems to be a good career move. There will always be criminals. There will always be people trying to identify the criminals. What I find so interesting is the different styles and artistic abilities of each artist. It makes for some wild representations of the criminal. Central Florida sketch artists are pretty good for the most part. We have had a rash of stories recently...

I just wrote an entry about some of the most bizarre stories we cover in Orlando. And here we go again. This was a story makes the list for sure (as reported on our WFTV-TV website): A police dashboard-cam and taser-cam video has been released showing a West Melbourne police officer chasing down a naked jogger wearing swimming goggles and nothing else. The officer had to use his taser to get him...

Here’s a Tucson viewer with an idea. I’ve already started seeing some stations do this type of thing. I rarely watch the local news any more unless I tape it so I can scan through commercials and news stories that have zero interest for me. Here is a tip to KVOA, KOLD, KGUN and KMSB News. Who wants to take over and stay at number #1? Take a page from ESPN’s SportsCenter...

It was quite interesting for me to move from anchoring the morning news in Tucson, Arizona  to the evening news in Orlando, Florida. Perhaps one of the biggest changes I’ve noticed was the news itself. Some of the content in the scripts I proofread before newscasts is oftentimes hard to believe. But it’s real. An ‘anchor lede’ is the first sentence leading into an...

Here is a pretty snappy email from a Lieutenant Colonel in Tucson, Arizona in response to a recent forecast: How about forecasting the actual weather and not this misinformation in the daily star of NO CHANCE OF RAIN. YOU IDIOTS OWE ME A CAR WASH AND IT IS AN $85,000 DOLLAR CAR. I can’t believe you people. I went through this with (omitted) some years ago. The hell with the airport, we got...

This place was jammed on Wednesday. WFTV hosted a debate for the Florida Senate race between Congressman Kendrick Meek (D), Governor Charlie Crist (I) and Marco Rubio (R). Each candidate held little back as they volleyed shots back and forth and teamed up on poll-leader Rubio. It’s bound to be a riveting race. ABC’s Good Morning America co-anchor George Stephanopoulos was lead...