Florida News Center

(from TampaBay.com) – Tampa NBC affiliate WFLA-Ch. 8 will debut an hourlong newscast at 11 a.m. beginning Monday, re-establishing a program which was discontinued in 2009.

The broadcast will feature WFLA’s morning personalities, including news anchors Gayle Guyardo and Rod Carter, along with forecaster Leigh Spann. The new broadcast will replace infomercials, which had been airing in the timeslot.

News director Don North said reviving the 11 a.m. newscast was something the station has been discussing for months and didn’t require a new hire to implement….Cont….

(from TBO.com) – Cue-up the “Welcome Back, Kotter” theme song, Gayle Guyardo returns to the morning shift on WFLA, Channel 8, beginning Monday.

She will be teamed with co-anchor Rod Carter, meteorologist Leigh Spann, traffic reporter Leslee Lacey and daily news reporter Chip Osowski.

“It feels really good to be coming back,” says Guyardo. “I really missed the day to day action of breaking news. I missed my Channel 8 family and I missed the viewers.”

Guyardo, who had worked at News Channel 8 for nearly 17 years, left in March to launch a talk/marketing show.

Her “Access Gayle,” produced by Clearwater-based infomercial mogul Kevin Harrington, showcased entrepreneurs and new products.

Guyardo says she was rundown and tired when she left WFLA. “I slept a lot during the first three months,” she says. “I probably just needed a long vacation.”

She says that while she enjoyed the direct marketing world and learned a lot from Harrington, her heart is in journalism….Cont….

(from TampaBay.com) – A new raft of changes are coming to the morning crew at Tampa NBC affiliate WFLA-Ch. 8, who will say goodbye to traffic reporter Alicia Roberts just days after starting a new, 4:30 a.m. newscast.

Roberts, who has worked at WFLA since 2006, said she will be leaving the station Sept. 30 to pursue new career opportunities. The station decided to scale back the traffic reporting position to a part-time job and she was reaching the end of a one-year deal, so the timing worked for all involved, Roberts added.

Her departure will come just after the planned Sept. 20 start of a new 4:30 a.m. newscast, featuring anchor Rod Carter and forecaster Leigh Spann. WFLA will push the Early Today show up to 4 a.m., dropping the syndicated program 1st Business….Cont….

(from TBO.com) – Meteorologist Leigh Spann will join the “News Channel 8 Today” weekday morning newscasts beginning March 15. WFLA, Channel 8, News Director Don North made the announcement today. Spann replaces meteorologist Jen Hill who has decided to leave the station. She has said that she and her husband plan to move to the West Coast to be closer to her parents. “Leigh has experience on the morning show and has filled in many times,” North said. “We’re in good shape because of her experience. She starts the same day that Rod Carter becomes the morning anchor so there will be familiar faces on the newscast.” Carter, who worked at News Channel 8 for seven years before becoming an anchor in Birmingham, Ala, is coming back to replace Gayle Guyardo. Guyardo is leaving to become a syndicated talk show/infomerical host. Spann, 30, joined WFLA in 2007 and has been the weekend meteorologist on the 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts….Cont….