Florida News Center

Here are some of the stories that we missed during vacation:

(from TVSpy.com) - George Spencer is joining NBC-owned WCAU in Philadelphia as a general assignment reporter next month.

Spencer moves to Philadelphia from Orlando, where he has been an anchor and reporter at ABC affiliate WFTV since 2008. Prior to that, he held the same role at News 12 The Bronx in New York City.

“George is a dynamic journalist,” WCAU vice president of news Anzio Williams said in a statement….Cont….

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) – April ratings underscore just how tight the race for Central Florida viewers has become and how the competition is challenging longtime leader WFTV-Ch 9.

The numbers in this story, unless otherwise noted, reflect viewers in the 25-to-54 age group, which is most important to news advertisers.

In the April ratings period that ended Wednesday, WESH-Channel 2 and WOFL-Channel 35 overtook WFTV in the 5 p.m. half-hour. (But WFTV was ahead of WOFL at 5:30.)

WESH was tops at 5 and 5:30 and came close to WFTV at 6. WESH was also reaching the most 25-to-54 viewers with its 4 p.m. newscast….Cont….

(from TVNewsCheck.com) – Orlando is a real Mickey Mouse place. Except when it comes to local TV news.

Then it’s a real dog-eat-dog fight for ratings supremacy between heavy hitters like Cox Media Group, Post-Newsweek, Hearst and Fox.

The top dog is Cox’s ABC affiliate WFTV. In November 2012, WFTV boasted a 40% share of the market’s news broadcasts (adults 25-54, Mon.-Sun., 5 a.m.-11:30 p.m.), says Bob St. Charles, who’s been the creative services director at the station since 2002. “It’s been the overall news leader … in every daypart since 2004,” St. Charles says.

Each station brings a distinctive marketing approach to the battle, says  Hal Boedeker, longtime TV writer for the Orlando Sentinel.

“WFTV stresses that it has connected with viewers by having everyday people on camera,” he says. “WESH [the Hearst-owned NBC affiliate] plays up a magazine poll as the market’s best….Cont….

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(from OrlandoSentinel.com) – When WKMG-Channel 6 says journalism runs in the genes of its latest hire, the station is not exaggerating. Justin Warmoth (right #1) is the son of WFTV-Channel 9 anchor Greg Warmoth (right #2).

Starting Monday, Justin will be the newest reporter/mobile journalist at WKMG.

“I have great respect for Greg Warmoth,” WKMG General Manager Skip Valet said. “Clearly Justin has grown up with a solid broadcaster as a role model. Justin’s intelligence, energy and ability earned him this opportunity.”

Greg Warmoth said he has trained and coached Justin, 22, about the TV business. “I’ve worked at WFTV 27 years,” Greg said. “He’s grown up in the business. He was a sports intern at WFTV.”….Cont….

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) – The Orlando Police Department went into great detail Wednesday in blasting WFTV-Channel 9’s “irresponsible reporting” about a female shooting victim at Middlebrook Farms apartment complex.

Sgt. Jim Young, spokesman for the department, ripped the ABC affiliate in an email for implying that the police had wrongly identified the victim and for incorrectly stating that she had a criminal past.

Young asked WFTV to produce a correction and apologize on the air to “demonstrate some degree of compassion for victims and their families.”

The victims in the case were identified as Khoy Williams, 24, and Jonathan Cook, 17, both of Kissimmee. They were pronounced dead at the scene….Cont….

(from the OrlandoSentinel.com) – You won’t be seeing reporter Drew Petrimoulx on WFTV-Channel 9 anymore. He and the ABC affiliate parted company last week. He started part time at the station in 2010 and went full time in 2011. Petrimoulx said he had several new opportunities in the works and didn’t want to discuss his next move until it’s finalized….Cont…..

(from the OrlandoSentinel.com) – The new faces in news at WFTV-Channel 9 include:

*Marisa Mendelson, who will join the ABC affiliate in April, news director Matt Parcell said Tuesday. Mendelson is coming from KOKH in Oklahoma City, where she is an investigative reporter. Mendelson, a University of Central Florida grad, previously worked in Fort Myers.

*Deneige Broom, who joined WFTV Sunday and will be working mornings. Broom, a Seminole County native, had been a reporter and weekend morning anchor at WCTV in Tallahassee. She covered sports while attending Florida State University.

*Investigative reporter Christopher Heath, who came aboard last month. He had worked as a reporter at WLWT in Cincinnati; as an anchor at WKEF/WRGT in Dayton, Ohio; and as a reporter and anchor at KENS in San Antonio and KWTX in Waco, Texas.

*Karla Ray, who started at WFTV in October and works as a general assignment reporter. She had been an investigative reporter in Fort Myers and worked at KELO in South Dakota.

*Anthony DiLorenzo, who started as a general assignment reporter last month. He had been working for the Tribune station in Hartford, FoxCT, for the past two years and also for the Fox O&O station, Fox25, for the past six months. He is engaged to WKMG-Channel 6 reporter Kala Rama. (from the OrlandoSentinel.com)

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) - WFTV-Channel 9 was easily the big winner in the November ratings race.

In December, WFTV was the main victor, but some contests were mighty tight. WESH-Channel 2 came on strong in the early evening, and WKMG-Channel 6 was right behind WFTV in the 5 a.m. half-hour.

The stations concentrate on the 25-to-54 age group, which is most important to news advertisers. In that count at 11 p.m. Monday-Friday, WFTV averaged 27,300 viewers to WKMG’s 23,700, WESH’s 22,900 and WOFL-Channel 35’s 12,800. In a Monday-Sunday count, WFTV was the leader, but WESH edged WKMG by just 100 viewers….Cont….

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) – A reporter on WOFL-Channel 35 will be familiar to many Central Florida viewers: It’s Mary Nguyen, formerly of WFTV-Channel 9.

Nguyen is free-lancing for Fox-owned WOFL and hasn’t been hired, a station spokeswoman said….Cont….

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) – WFTV-Channel 9 has hired a new weekend meteorologist. George Waldenberger will join the ABC affiliate Jan. 16.

He is coming to Orlando from KSHB, the NBC affiliate in Kansas City. Waldenberger, a certified meteorologist, also has worked in Tulsa and Sioux City. He has degrees in geological engineering and geology from the University of Wisconsin and a master’s degree in atmospheric and oceanic sciences from UCLA….Cont….

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) - The folks at WFTV-Channel 9 can start spreading the news:  They were the big winners in the November ratings period known as sweeps.

WFTV said it had won every news time slot in the 25-to-54 age group, which is most crucial to news advertisers. The ratings period ended Wednesday.

WFTV General Manager Shawn Bartelt said the November news competition was fierce because of Hurricane Sandy and tight election results in Florida. But she added, “Our news product is unequalled in Central Florida. That is our promise and we intend to keep it.”….Cont….