Florida News Center

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) -WKMG-Channel 6 anchor Lauren Rowe had wonderful news for Easter: She won’t need more surgery after a tumor was removed from her thyroid last week.

“Everything is good, the tumor was benign, we’re done,” Rowe said today.

She should return to the CBS affiliate on Tuesday, and look for an update during the 6 p.m. newscast.

“I’m sure I’ll mention it and that we should be able to move forward,” Rowe said. “The scar is pretty big. We’ll talk a little bit about it.”….Cont….

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) – How is WKMG-Channel 6 anchor Lauren Rowe doing?

She called in during the 7 o’clock news tonight to chat with fellow anchor Gaard Swanson. Rowe had surgery on Tuesday to remove a tumor from her thyroid. She went home Wednesday.

“The surgery went very well,” Rowe said. “They saw the tumor very clearly. They were able to get it out. They still have to determine whether it’s malignant or benign. We should probably know by Friday or Monday. If it’s benign, then we’re all done, and I just have this small scar and we’ll be finished. If it is malignant, they’ll have to go back in and take the rest of my thyroid. But for now, I actually feel pretty good. As you can hear, I sound pretty OK.”….Cont….

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) -WKMG anchor Lauren Rowe came out of surgery an hour ago, WKMG-Channel 6 General Manager Skip Valet told me at 6 tonight.

“Everything went well,” Valet said. “She is expected to go home tomorrow.”

Doctors had found a tumor on her thyroid. “There’s something growing that shouldn’t be there,” Rowe, 39, told The Orlando Sentinel last week. “They have to remove the tumor to know if it’s malignant or benign. They will remove the tumor and half of the thyroid.”….Cont….

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) – WKMG-Channel 6 anchor Lauren Rowe will have surgery Tuesday after doctors found a tumor on her thyroid.

“There’s something growing that shouldn’t be there,” Rowe, 39, said today. “They have to remove the tumor to know if it’s malignant or benign. They will remove the tumor and half of the thyroid.”

She will anchor through Monday at the CBS affiliate, and her “Flashpoint” this weekend focuses on the Casey Anthony case.

“We think I’ll be gone at least a week,” Rowe said. “As long as everything goes well, I hope to be back within a week.”….Cont….

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) – WKMG-Channel 6 anchor Lauren Rowe does a pretty efficient promotional job for her new co-anchor, Gaard Swanson. He debuts at 6 and 11 p.m. Thursday on the CBS affiliate.

“He’s an entrepreneur, he’s a business owner, he’s a father of four, he’s a journalist,” Rowe said. “I had no question whatsoever whether he had the chops to do this job,”

She was impressed by his skills when they read together during his audition. I’ve done a separate interview with Swanson, but Rowe was there during the chat.

“It was very exciting to sit next to someone I found fascinating personally,” she said. “Gaard’s depth was immediately apparent. It won’t take long for people to know that this guy has leadership, skills, intelligence. We can’t have enough leaders in that newsroom. We all need to innovate.”

Swanson’s diverse background includes renovating homes, owning a coffee business and hosting an HGTV show, “Generation Renovation.” A particular passion of Swanson’s is setting up a project — MyTribeTV.com – to help Native Americans….Cont….

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) – Personnel news from CBS affiliate WKMG-Channel 6: Energetic morning reporter J.R. Stone is leaving the station Jan. 27. He said he is finalizing plans to work in television in another market.

In an e-mail, Stone wrote: “While it is unfortunate that management and I could not reach an agreement to renew my contract and keep me at Local 6, I have enjoyed the staff and viewers here in Orlando immensely. I’ve had the opportunity to cover both news and sports, including such memorable stories as the Magic and their quest for a championship.”

News director Steve Hyvonen praised Stone. “He’s done a good job,” Hyvonen said. “He’s been a versatile reporter and photographer. He’s a hard-working, positive person to be around. He’ll be successful.”

Starting Monday, WKMG will rearrange its early evening news lineup. The 6 p.m. news will become a half-hour telecast. The “CBS Evening News With Katie Couric” will return to the 6:30 p.m. time slot from 7 p.m. And WKMG will start a 7 p.m. newscast with Lauren Rowe as solo anchor…..Cont….

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) – WKMG-Channel 6 anchor Lauren Rowe has been picked Mother of the Year by Orlando Family Magazine.

The free publication started just last month, and it is being mailed to the Southwest and Downtown Orlando areas as well as Winter Park. Editor Margie Sloane said the magazine plans to feature Rowe on the cover of its May issue for Mother’s Day.

How did the magazine choose Rowe? “Being new kid on the block, we wanted to get a celebrity in the community,” Sloane said. “We wanted someone who had some name recognition and balanced her parenting and work life. We’ve watched Lauren. I think a lot of mothers can identify with her.”

Rowe announced the honor on TV Wednesday night….Cont….

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) - WKMG-Channel 6 anchor Lauren Rowe defends that wacky “Next 6 Nights” spot that promoted her station’s 11 p.m. news. The CBS affiliate ran the promo frequently during the Super Bowl. “I’m acting,” Rowe said. “The moment I read it I started giggling. It’s very much the way I am. It was almost a parody of myself. It was part of the shtick.” Of course, some people think it’s all wrong for journalists to act. What does she say to that criticism? “It’s the Super Bowl. The commercials in the Super Bowl are a show in themselves,” she said. “They’re supposed to be a little over the top. Even Tim Tebow’s commercial had a funny side to it. What we were trying to do was get people’s attention with an over-the-top, humorous commercial.”….Cont….

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) - How has the “Next 6 Nights” promotional campaign done for WKMG-Channel 6? “It’s a gigantic success,” WKMG General Manager Skip Valet said today. Anchor Lauren Rowe unveiled the promotional strategy during the Super Bowl. It was an interesting spot, with Rowe pretending to go off script during a scripted spot. That approach could start a debate: Is it right for a journalist to act? But WKMG is happy with the results. Rowe asked for e-mails from readers. She has received 700 and answered 300, Valet said. The station asked for reader suggestions. “They really like that we’ve asked them to join our conversation,” Valet said. “It’s an opportunity to discuss our news coverage.” Valet said the ratings payoff has been “terrific” and described WKMG as neck and neck with WFTV-Channel 9 at 11 o’clock in the 25-to-54 age group….Cont….

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) - Is a newscast the right place for a station to brag about its ratings? Maybe not, but that’s what WKMG-Channel 6 did last night in unveiling its “Next 6 Nights” promotional campaign. Anchor Lauren Rowe provided more detail about the promos that aired during the Super Bowl. She told viewers: “We invite you to watch our newscast over the next six nights. We know not everyone watches news all  of the time. If you have not watched us in a while, we think we’re worth a second look. In fact, you may not know it: Local 6 news at 11 is the most-watched news in Central Florida.” And, yes, WKMG did have the most-watched news at 11 p.m., according to the January ratings released last week. The CBS lineup is a big help to any affiliate at 11, and WKMG wanted to catch the attention of the Super Bowl audience.

Did that strategy work? Rowe invited viewers to write her with their observations about the newscast at lauren@local6.com. And she said last night that she had received about 150 e-mails so far.