Florida News Center

(from 8NewsNow.com) – KLAS-TV news director Ron Comings announced today a new morning anchor lineup for 8 News NOW.

Cale Ramaker will be co-anchoring with Shauna Khorrami beginning July 30, 2012 on the 8 News NOW morning newscasts from 4 to 7 am on Channel 8, KLAS-TV. Cale and Shauna will be joining 8 News NOW weather anchor, Sherry Swensk, and the traffic team of Brian Loftus and Ken Smith.

Comings commented, “This is an exciting time for us at 8 News NOW. We are thrilled to welcome two new anchors to our morning newscasts. Las Vegans will have a fresh new alternative to help get their mornings off to a great start. We are adding a new level of viewer benefit to morning viewing with new ‘8 On Your Side’ consumer reports and a renewed commitment to fixing what’s wrong on our roadways in ‘What’s Driving You Crazy’ reports, plus a look at what’s right about our schools in ‘What’s Cool at School.’”

Ramaker is a seasoned anchor and comes to Las Vegas after seven years at WOFL-TV in Orlando, FL. He also earned experience at KSTP-TV in St. Paul/Minneapolis; WSYM-TV, Lansing, Michigan; and WHO-TV in Des Moines, Iowa….Cont….

Our friends at NewsBlues.com report that Cale Ramaker has left Orlando’s WOFL. No explanation was given, but tipsters report that after anchoring the 6 pm newscast, Ramaker “cleaned out his desk and walked out.” Insiders further tell NewsBlues that his contract was not renewed.

Ramaker joined WOFL in 2005 from WHO-TV in Des Moines, IA. Rumor has it that he is headed to San Diego. Ramaker tweeted earlier this week that was was “ready for this to be done with. Excited, actually.”

So far there is no word on Ramaker’s replacement. Stay tuned for any further news.

Our friends at NewsBlues.com report that former WKMG main anchor Bob Frier, who was let go from the station back in February, will be taking main anchor position from Cale Ramaker over at WOFL. The official announcement is due as early as today. So far, there’s no word on what position Ramaker will take at the station. However, sources say that he’s slowly on his way out. Stay tuned for further developements.

…as NewsBlues.com first reported Monday….(from OrlandoSentinel.com) – It’s never a good sign when an anchor or a meteorologist loses a time slot, especially in rough economic times. Stations are trying to shed high-priced talent to cut costs. We learned that lesson with Bob Frier (right #1), the former WKMG anchor. He lost the 6 p.m. time slot when Mike Garofalo arrived late last year, and that was the tipoff that WKMG was easing out Frier. Frier left the station in February. Recent moves by WKMG suggest that chief meteorologist Tom Sorrells (right #2) and anchor Jacqueline London (right #3) may not be on the air much longer. London and Sorrells are on the new, hour-long 6 p.m. news, but they are no longer on at 11 p.m. — thus the speculation. Here’s the tricky part: We don’t know how their contracts are structured. Appearances could be deceiving. There’s widespread speculation that the well-liked Frier will land at WOFL. Has a contract been signed? When could he reach the air? No definitive news on that front. But there’s more speculation that Frier’s arrival could mean that WOFL’s Cale Ramaker (left) is on the way out. Not true, several knowledgeable sources tell me. The anchor gossip is interesting, but until a station or the anchor tells us what’s up, it’s just talk.

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) – Fox-owned WOFL is shifting two anchors in key positions. Starting next Monday, Amy Kaufeldt will return as Cale Ramaker’s co-anchor at 10 p.m. She will continue as an anchor at 5 p.m., but she will no longer appear on “Good Day,” a station spokeswoman said. Kaufeldt had gone to the mornings last month to help launch “Good Day,” which expanded the station’s news to the 9 a.m. hour. Sonni Abatta will continue to co-anchor with Ramaker at 6 p.m. She will contribute to the 10 and 11 p.m. newscasts. In July, she joined the station from Pittsburgh as a co-anchor at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. Ramaker will remain the solo anchor at 11.