Our friends at FTVLive.com report that Tallahassee’s WCTV has named Executive Producer Triston Sanders as their new News Director. She has been executive producer for the past two years at WCTV. She replaces Mike Smith, who left WCTV after 2o years to take over as General Manager at Dothan, AL sister station WTVY. Stay tuned for further updates.
Sources in Tallahassee tell Florida News Center of the latest comings, goings and changes in local TV.
WCTV morning anchor Shonda Knight leaves her duties on the “Good Morning Show.” She leaves the moring time slot to become a Executive Producer in the newsroom. She will continue to anchor the noon show.
WTXL morning anchor Lenita Wesson has signed off from her duties on “Sunrise.” She is leaving the station to focus on being a full time mother. She gave birth to her first child this past January. Abbey Phillips moves from her weekend anchoring duties to take over Wesson’s seat on “Sunrise.”
Mike Highsmith joins WTXL as the new weekend anchor/reporter. She comes from Toldeo, OH’s WTOL-TV. She fills the vacantcy left open by Marco Villarreal, who left for Las Vegas earlier this year.
Greg Angel joins WTXL as a reporter. He comes from duopoly WPBN/WTOM in Traverse City, MI.
Our friends at NewsBlues.com report that WCTV news director Mike Smith has been promoted to general manager at Gray Televison sister station, WTVY (Dothan, AL). Smith has been with the Tallahassee station for the past twenty years. So far there’s no word on who will replace Smith as News Director at WCTV. Stay tuned…
(edited from WPTV.com) - A former WCTV meteorologist and current WFOR weather producer was charged Wednesday with several prescription drug charges, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.
Michael Koolick, 25, of the 3100 block of Southwest Sunset Trace Circle, Palm City, was charged with four counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, trafficking hydrocodone and attempting to obtain a controlled substance by fraud. He was being held at the Martin County Jail in lieu of $75,000 bail….Cont….
(edited from TelevisionBroadcast.com) – Gray Television (owners of Tallahassee’s WCTV & Panama City’s WJHG) today warned that it would likely fall out of leverage compliance at the end of the month as it issued preliminary results for 4Q and full-year 2009.
“Based upon our financial projections as of the date of this press release, we do not expect to be in compliance with our leverage ratio as of March 31, 2010,” when Gray’s allowed leverage ratio drops from 8.75x to 7x.“We have commenced discussions with lenders under the senior credit facility to seek certain modifications to the terms of that credit facility, including the leverage ratio covenant,” Gray said.….Cont….
Sources tell Florida News Center that WCTV weekend meteorologist Maria Chung (right #1) has left the Tallahassee station. Her last broadcast was on 3/10. No reason was given for her departure. Chung has been replaced by Nate Harrington (right #2), who joined the station in early March this year. Stay tuned for further information.
Sources tell Florida News Center that WCTV weekend meteorologist Sheena Samanipour is leaving the Tallahassee station to join Tampa’s WTVT. So far there’s no word on where in the 
massive schedule of WTVT newscats that she will fall into (we are guessing the spot left open by the retiring Howard Shapiro). Samainpour joined WCTV in 2008 after graduating from Florida State University with a degree in Meteorology. Stay tuned for further information.
By the way…if you were curious…”in her free time Sheena likes to fish, work out and visit the beach.” (c/o of her bio on WCTV.com)
See Sheena in action c/o YouTube.
