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— Headlines from the TV news industry in
the northeast U.S.
and across the country.
— Today: New simplified look and
updated headlines.
— Top News: Anchor away in New
York, TV group for sale?
"I will miss the people but not the daily
routines and the deadline stresses." - Nate Custer,
retiring
after 39 years at WTKR-3
— WPIX FIRES LYNNE
WHITE FROM "WB11 MORNING NEWS"
Longtime morning news
anchor Lynne White has been fired from New York's WPIX-11. White, with
the "WB11 Morning News" since its origin nearly five years ago, was
reportedly let go after Friday morning's newscast and will therefore
not be able to say goodbye to her viewers. Before switching to Ch. 11,
White was the "Good Day New York" news reader and early anchor at
WNYW-5, where she worked for over a decade. White is set to be replaced
by Sukanya Krishnan, a former "Morning News" contributor and WCBS-2
reporter who most recently fronted the short-lived daytime show "Home
Delivery." According to the
News and the Post, the
station declined to renew White's contract, though White said the
non-compete clause in her contract has been waived and she is looking
for another job.
— MARKET WATCHERS:
WIS OWNER COULD GO UP FOR SALE
Liberty Corporation,
the owner of 15 TV stations concentrated in the Southeast, is a prime
target for sale, Ben
Werner reports in today's The State. 
The company, whose properties
include WIS-10 in Columbia, WAVE-3 in Louisville, WTOL-11 in Toledo,
and WWAY-3 in Wilmington, N.C., will release its fourth quarter results
on Wednesday and could discuss the possibility of a future sale.
Industry watchers say the company is not growing and is in good
financial shape, which could make it attractive to potential buyers
like Media General and Raycom. An interesting sidenote from the story:
Liberty's chiarman and CEO Hayne Hipp apparently made $880,000 in 2003.
— NATE CUSTER
RETIRES AFTER 39 YEARS AT WTKR-TV
Veteran Virginia reporter Nate
Custer, 63, is calling it quits at WTKR-3 in Norfolk. Custer, who joined the station in 1966 when it was still WTAR, covers the Newport News area as the station's
Peninsula reporter and also worked the state politics beat for more
than two decades. He tells
the Daily Press he has seen a shift in emphasis in the business
from meetings to crime stories and traffic accidents. Custer, set to
leave Tuesday, is the last of the old guard on-air at the third-ranked
CBS affiliate — anchor Ed Hughes, who
started at Ch. 3 the year after Custer, died
of cancer last April at age 66.
— WBTV PRODUCER
ACCUSED OF COPYING FROM SUNDAY PAPER
A Charlotte WBTV-3 producer has reportedly been fired for stealing part
of a script from the local newspaper, Mark
Washburn of the Observer reported. Two out of three sentences in a
voice-over story during last Monday's evening news apparently came
directly from one of the Sunday sections of the Observer. The producer,
who was not identified in reports, was apparently dismissed.
— TECHNICAL
DIFFICULTIES SCUTTLE COLORADO NEWSCAST
A computer problem
forced the early evening newscast to be cancelled Thursday at KREX-5 in
Grand Junction, Colo. The CBS affiliate had a "massive computer
failure" and missed airing its regular 5:30 p.m. newscast, according
to the Daily Sentinel. The station was back up and running at 10
p.m.
— REPORTER NEARLY
GETS IN FIGHT WITH CONTROVERSIAL PROFESSOR
A Denver reporter scuffled with a controversial University of Colorado
professor during a confrontational interview on Thursday, his station KCNC-4
reported. Ch. 4's Raj Chohan had a heated exchange with Ward
Churchill, who is under fire for comparing World Trade Center victims
to Nazis, about a piece of art by Churchill that appears to be a copy.
The station reports Churchill took a swing at Chohan while alleging
that the station's cameraman touched him on the arm. The incident
recalls the story of Eric Flack, a Lousville WAVE-3 investigative
reporter who was put
in a chokehold Feb. 14 by an interview subject.
