Florida News Center

Sarasota 24hour news outlet, SNN broadcast a story last week about the Zika virus. The story detailed how communication between counties, the state and local media was not always on the same page. In the (video below) SNN multimedia journalist Jason Raven included an interview with competition for feedback about the communications issues. Raven interviewed WWSB medical reporter Alix Redmonde for the “media’s” take on the story.

While this is not unheard of, we here at Florida News Center find this odd and a tad unconventional. Why would one highlight the competition for story, instead of just using another reporter from SNN for the story? Kudos on a good story, but why another outlet? Read the rest of this entry →

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UPDATE: Sources confirm to Florida News Center that indeed, Van Fleet’s contract was not renewed and that he and the station have parted ways. So there there is no word on who will replace him as the new Chief Met. Stay tuned.

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FTVLive reports that WTSP Chief Meteorologist Jim Van Fleet is out at the Tampa station.

The website says that station GM “Bob Clickingbeard escorted Van Fleet out the door” Wednesday afternoon and his bio was quickly removed from the station’s website. There was no reason given for Van Fleet’s departure.

As Florida News Center reported, he joined WTSP in 2011, after ten years at WOFL in Orlando. Read the rest of this entry →

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Orlando’s WOFL has unveiled a new anchor lineup for all newscasts.

Current lead anchor Bob Frier (left) will move to the morning shift, to co-anchor with Amy Kaufeldt. LuAnne Sorrell will stay evening co-anchor along side the newly signed lead anchor Charles Billi (right #1). They will anchor evening newscasts at 5, 10 and 11 p.m.

Danielle Knox (right 2) joins the station to anchor the early morning shift 7-10a.m., along side Ryan Elijah.

Billi joins WOFL from Tampa, where he was most recently working as VP for a PR firm. He was anchor/reporter at WTSP and anchor at WSVN in Miami before that. Knox comes to WOFL from anchor/reporter at Miami’s WSVN. She worked on Lifetime Television and in Atlanta and other station’s in Miami before that.

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(edited from WFLA.com) – An American Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Tampa International Airport early Tuesday. Passengers say it was due to a malfunction with landing gear.

WFLA Daytime host Jerry Penacoli was on board the plane. He says passengers were told to brace as if they would crash land. Flight attendants showed passengers how to properly brace for landing. As the flight came down, the flight attendants kept screaming “Brace! Brace! Brace!” and passengers were all screaming, Penacoli explained. Penacoli says he and those around him were saying their goodbyes to each other. And miraculously the pilot landed the plane safely. Read the rest of this entry →

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Cory Pippin has joined Mobile/Pensacola’s WPMI as general assignment reporter.

Pippin comes from the same position at West Palm Beach’s WPEC.

Before WPEC he worked at WLKY in Louisville, KY and at WALA in Mobile/Pensacola. Read the rest of this entry →

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