(from OrlandoSentinel.com) – WKMG-Channel 6 anchor Laura Diaz said farewell to viewers this morning. She’s leaving the business.
But the business goes on, and come Monday morning, WKMG viewers will see a new anchor team.
Matt Austin is joining the station from KOKH in Oklahoma City. He replaces Erick Weber, who left the station to take a morning anchor job at New England Cable News in Boston….Cont….
(from OrlandoSentinel.com) – Laura Diaz will say farewell as a morning anchor at WKMG-Channel 6 on Friday morning.
Diaz, 28, has been at the CBS affiliate nearly four years. She was born in Orlando, grew up here, attended the University of Central Florida and graduated from the University of Florida.
She told General Manager Skip Valet she wanted out late last week. “This is totally Laura’s decision. I’ve spent the past week trying to talk her out of it,” Valet said. “I could say you’ve got a contract. But Laura and I are friends. I believe she wants to try something different.”….Cont….
(from OrlandoSentinel.com) - (photo c/o JeffHawkins.com) – So how does WKMG-Ch. 6 anchor Laura Diaz feel about sharing her wedding pictures on the station’s website?
“In my job, you’re a public figure,” she says. “I’m used to sharing some of my personal life with the public. It goes with the job.”
She and Mike Oliver, a website builder, married Oct. 15 at Casa Feliz in Winter Park. A year’s planning went into the big day, and the couple prepared with dance lessons.
“I think my favorite photo is the one at the very ending of the dance, when Mike is dipping me really low on his knee,” Diaz said. “We practiced for six months on that first dance. We practiced two or three times a week. Every time I look at that shot, I remember the relief that came over me.”….Cont….
(from OrlandoSentinel.com) - WKMG-Ch. 6 anchor Laura Diaz read the apology during a delayed 6 p.m. newscast Friday.
After a report on soldiers returning from Afghanistan, Diaz acknowledged that the station erred earlier in the day by interrupting President Barack Obama’s news conference.
“We want to take a moment to acknowledge a mistake we made today during the president’s news conference,” Diaz said. “While the president was speaking a commercial suddenly aired. Well, this was a technical error. And we thank the people who saw what happened and called us here at the station or sent us an e-mail. And we regret the mistake.”….Cont….
(from OrlandoSentinel.com) – Mike Garofalo married last month. Garofalo married Sasha Andrade, a reporter at WPLG-TV in Miami. They met 4 and a half years ago when they were working at the same station in Albuquerque. “She’s a phenomenal reporter,” Garofalo says. “We’re working on getting her here.” She could work anywhere in town, he adds. “She does have some friends that are at other stations. She’s pretty well-connected. We hope something will pop.” Living in different cities is nothing new for the couple. Andrade has been working in Miami for two years. Garofalo joined CBS affiliate WKMG in December. “It’s not fun, but we’ve made it work,” Garofalo says.
Laura Diaz is engaged. Diaz got engaged a month ago to a WKMG colleague she identifies only as Mike. “He’s in sales,” Diaz says. “He’s in the other world, what we call the dark side.” She plans to marry Oct. 22 next year. “I wanted a year not to stress out about the planning,” she says. “I figured a year from now.” Diaz is enjoying her new role as a morning anchor. “I love the morning,” she says. “It’s a perfect shift for me.” She made a fleeting reference on the air to her engagement. Colleagues asked what she had done that weekend, and she revealed her news. “It was a quick mention,” she says. “It’s my personal life, so I’m sure the viewers could care less. They want the news.”
(from OrlandoSentinel.com) – WKMG’s committed to a new strategy to pull out of a difficult period in a tough economy. Orlando?s CBS affiliate is banking on promoting a rearranged team ? especially its personalities. General Manager Skip Valet said a shift in anchorwomen, which started last month as an experiment, already has paid off. ?We?re moving out of the test phase,? Valet said. ?We?re getting very good results. I think the broadcasts are certainly improving. The ratings are definitely improving. We?re going to continue the course.? Lauren Rowe (pictured) will remain at 11 p.m. while Laura Diaz takes her slot in early morning. Jacqueline London continues at 6 p.m. In August, the station?s news shows ran third ? behind WFTV-Channel 9 and WESH-Channel 2 ? at 6 a.m., 6 and 11 p.m. in the 25-to-54 age group that?s most important to advertisers. But WKMG trumpets improvement in that age group, especially women…..Cont……
(OrlandoSentinel.com) – Changes in the work schedule have surprised the staff at WKMG-Channel 6. Lauren Rowe (right #1), who has helped the station stay competitive in the morning, is shifting to 11 p.m. Jacqueline London (right #2), who has had the 11 p.m. role, remains the anchor on the hourlong 6 p.m. newscast. Laura Diaz (right #3) is working the morning shift opposite Erick Weber….Cont….
