Florida News Center

(edited from RickGevers.com) – WCTV News Director Triston Sanders has left the Tallahassee station, to become the Assistant ND for WWL-TV in New Orleans, LA. She’s been ND there for just over two years and had served as the EP before that. She first joined the station as an anchor/reporter, had worked for WINK-TV in Ft. Myers, and had interned for WCTV while attending Florida State University. (edited from RickGevers.com)

So far there is no word on who will replace Sanders at WCTV. Stay tuned to Florida News Center for the latest.

(from WCTV.tv) – For seven years the name Elton Gumbel has gone hand in hand with WCTV Sports. But he’s passing off the baton — taking his final lap — shooting his last shot — and sliding in at home plate.
Today we say goodbye and good luck to our beloved EG.

“We all know that Elton is smart and smooth but what you may not know about Elton is he’s really funny.”
WCTV Anchors and Reporters had a lot to say about Elton….Cont….

(from MediaPost.com) – Gray Television released preliminary figures for the second quarter showing revenues will be up about 6%, stripping out dollars from political spending and retransmission consent. Total revenues are projected to increase 24% to $95 million.

The company was helped by about $13 million in political spending as its three Wisconsin stations benefited from special recall elections in the state.

The political dollars sucking up inventory did lead to lesser increases in both local (1%) and national (7%) ad dollars than expected….Cont….

Florida News Center has been on vacation for the past ten days….here is some of what we missed…

Entravision Revenue up 8% in 1Q – (including Tampa’s WVEA and Orlando’s WVEN)

LIN 1Q Revenue Climbs 15% – (including Mobile/Pesacola’s WALA)

Scripps 1Q Same-Station TV Revenue up 12% – (including West Palm Beach’s WPTV and Tampa’s WFTS)

Post-Newsweek Stations 1Q Revenue up 13% – (including Orlando’s WKMG, Miami’s WPLG, Jacksonville’s WJXT)

CBS TV Stations Post 2% 1Q Revenue Gain – (including Miami’s WFOR)

Sinclair Revenue Rises 23% in 1Q – (including West Palm Beach’s WPEC/WTVX/WWHB/MyTV 15, Tampa’s WTTA, Tallahassee’s WTWC and Pensacola’s WEAR/WFGX)

Comcast’s NBC Broadcast TV Revenue Up 37% – (including Miami’s WTVJ)

Gray Reports 16% Boost In 1Q Revenue – (including Panama City’s WJHG and Tallahassee’s WCTV)

(from WCTV.tv) – CBS News legend Mike Wallace passed away on Saturday April 7th at the age of 93. His grandson, WCTV Eyewitness News Reporter Eames Yates, showed a never before seen interview with the news legend.

CBS News legend Mike Wallace won 21 Emmy’s. He was on television for more than 60 years. He was also the grandfather of WCTV’s Eyewitness News Reporter Eames Yates.

6 years ago Yates sat down with him for a candid interview. WCTV broadcast it for the first time ever….Cont….

(edited from TampaBay.com) – Sheena Parveen, a St. Petersburg native who has worked as a weather forecaster at Tampa Fox affiliate WTVT-Ch. 13 on weekend mornings for the past two years, will leave the station Sunday headed for job at WCAU-TV NBC 10 in Philadelphia.

Parveen, 25, known as Sheena Parveen Samanipour while growing up locally, declined to confirm which station she will work for in Philadelphia, saying she expects to reveal more details later this week.

A spokeswoman for WTVT confirmed that Parveen’s last day on air at WTVT will be Sunday….Cont….

//hattip to FTVLive and NewsBlues

10/26/11 – UPDATE – WJHG-TV officials have contacted Florida News Center to set us straight on our story below. Apparently the rumors swirling around the panhandle about a $600k settlement, were (as we reported and expected) just rumors.

Officials tell Florida News Center “that the station settled the case for $40,000, all of which will go to Ms. Craven’s attorneys to cover a portion of their fees and expenses.” However, no further information was given on the allegations contained in the sexual harassment suit.

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10/9/11 – Florida News Center has learned that a settlement has been reached in the sexual harassment suit filed by meteorologist Stacey Sawyer (Craven) against her former employer, Panama City’s WJHG-TV and its owner Gray Television. While official court papers, filed back in August, do not disclose the official settlement amount, rumors swirling around the panhandle say that the settlement number is upwards of $600,000 plus (refer to 10/26/11 update above).

As Florida News Center reported back in February 2011, former WJHG morning/noon meteorologist Stacey Sawyer (Craven) alleged that former Chief Meteorologist Jason Kelley (right) sent a full-frontal nude photograph of himself and made multiple suggestive, verbal and physical sexual advances towards her over a two year time period. Legal documentation stated that Sawyer (Craven) complied with Gray’s sexual harassment policy and reported Kelley’s advances multiple times to WJHG-TV management (including  then News Director Tom Lewis, GM Kurt Molander and WCTV-TV GM Nick Waller). The lawsuit further alleged that WJHG-TV/Gray Television subjected her to “unlawful sexual harassment, retaliated against her, and discriminated against her based on her pregnancy,” in the lawsuit submitted to United States District Court.

READ OUR FULL STORY AND ALL OF THE DETAILS FROM 2/2011 HERE

Stay tuned to Florida News Center for any further details.

the station settled the case for $40,000, all of which will go to Ms. Craven’s attorneys to cover a portion of their fees and expenses.

Florida News Center has learned that Tallahassee’s WCTV is being sued by the owner of a now defunct children’s fun center (Ollie Wallie’s). The owner claims that WCTV, its station manager and reporters Candyce Sweat and Jerry Askin defamed the station by spreading incorrect information about his business.

The suit states that a parent of  child at the fun center claimed that a fun center staff member inappropriately touched their child. The day after the report was filed with Tallahassee Police, WCTV reporter Candyce Sweat told people outside of the center that a child had been sexually assaulted there and asked the people what they thought. Sweat’s story ran that night on WCTV with reports titled, “Play time turns into crime time” and “Assault at Ollie Wallie’s.”

Later that week, the suit claims that, WCTV reporter Jerry Askin returned to the fun center and continued to approach people in the parking lot, looking for reactions to the “sexual assault.” WCTV reported multiple times on air, on Facebook and on Twitter, than an assault had occurred at the fun center.

However, the Tallahassee Police Department investigation states that no crime or sexual assault occurred at the fun center and no charges were filed. Read the rest of this entry →

(from TVNewsCheck.com) – Gray Television Inc (owners of Tallahassee’s WCTV and Panama City’s WJHG). today announced preliminary results for the three-month period ended June 30 that exceeded the company’s estimates made in May. It will release its actual numbers on Aug. 8.

On a preliminary basis, total revenue is expected to increase $600,000, or 1%, to $76.2 million for the second quarter of 2011 compared to the second quarter of 2010 due primarily to increased local and Internet advertising and retransmission consent revenue, partially offset by decreased national and political advertising revenue….Cont….

(from TVNewsCheck.com) – Gray Television Inc. today announced results from operations for the three month period ended March 31, reporting that revenue decreased 1% from the year-earlier quarter to $69.7 million from $70.5 million.

The company said that the decrease was primarily due to decreased national and political advertising revenue, partially offset by increased local and internet advertising revenue and retransmission consent revenue. Political advertising revenue decreased due to decreased advertising from political candidates and special interest groups in the “off year” of the two year election cycle.

Net advertising revenue associated with the broadcast of the 2011 Super Bowl on its one primary Fox-affiliated channel and four secondary Fox channels approximated $200,000, which was a decrease from its approximated $900,000 earned in 2010 in connection with the broadcast of the 2010 Super Bowl on its 17 CBS affiliates….Cont….