Welcome to East Coast TV News MAY 20,
2005 (<|>)
— ECTVN has the latest headlines, including FIRST with Wilson settlement
— Top News: On air F-word gets Big Apple reporter fired, salacious trial
"What the f*** is your problem, man?"
-- WCBS-2 reporter Arthur Chi'en, later fired, to radio-promoting live shot hijackers
-- WCBS-2 reporter Arthur Chi'en, later fired, to radio-promoting live shot hijackers
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Chris Earl
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Want more information on the Wilson-Akre story lawsuit? They have their own website.
WCBS reporter fired for uttering on-air profanity
WCBS-2 reporter Arthur Chi'en was
fired yesterday after cursing out a man who hijacked his
morning live shot for a radio stunt. Chi'en was introducing his 6 a.m.
story when two hecklers walked up, waving
a sign promoting a satellite radio show. After keeping his calm
while the men appeared behind him for about 10 seconds, but before Ch.
2 rolled his packaged report, Chi'en turned ar
ound and told the guys off. "What the f*** is your problem, man?" Chi'en said, his remarks going out over
the air. The men behind him had a sign promoting shock jocks
Opie and Anthony, who used to work for WNEW-FM and are staging these stunts regularly in their "Assault on the Media." Chi'en, formerly with WFXT-25 (Boston) and New York 1, had logged less than two years at Ch. 2 when his
biography was pulled from the station website Friday. He has reported on the tsunami disaster and
recently emceed an Asian organization gala with Ch. 2 anchor Cindy Hsu.(Note: There is online video of the debacle, first linked by dcrtv.com. Contains foul language. ECTVN is not responsible for the content of outside links.)
Trial involving ex-anchor creating stir in Louisville
A lawsuit pitting two former media
personalities who were once romantic acquaintances against each other
is the talk
of the town 
in Louisville. Former WDRB-41 morning
co-host Darcie Divita was expected to take
the stand Friday in her suit against radio talk show host John
Ziegler, who was fired two years ago from
WHAS-AM after making embarrassing on-air comments about her.
Ziegler said Divita had breast implants, did not wear underwear, and
"was well kept down there," among
other comments. He also called Divita's co-host and Divita "the
dork and the devil." Ziegler testified this week that a Clear Channel
boss told him to back off Divita for fear of losing advertising from
Ch. 41, the Courier-Journal reported. He also spoke badly of
California, according to the C-J, where he moved for a new radio
gig: "I hate where I live. I don't feel like L.A. is American."
Among the witnesses Wednesday was WHAS-11 morning anchor Rachel Platt,
who said she found Ziegler's comments "insulting" to women, a C-J
report said.
BACK
TO TOPin Louisville. Former WDRB-41 morning
co-host Darcie Divita was expected to take
the stand Friday in her suit against radio talk show host John
Ziegler, who was fired two years ago from
WHAS-AM after making embarrassing on-air comments about her.
Ziegler said Divita had breast implants, did not wear underwear, and
"was well kept down there," among
other comments. He also called Divita's co-host and Divita "the
dork and the devil." Ziegler testified this week that a Clear Channel
boss told him to back off Divita for fear of losing advertising from
Ch. 41, the Courier-Journal reported. He also spoke badly of
California, according to the C-J, where he moved for a new radio
gig: "I hate where I live. I don't feel like L.A. is American."
Among the witnesses Wednesday was WHAS-11 morning anchor Rachel Platt,
who said she found Ziegler's comments "insulting" to women, a C-J
report said.Report: Wilson-Akre pay $150k settlement to Fox
After
seven years of empassioned litigation, investigative reporter Steve
Wilson and his wife and colleague Jane Akre will
go home in the red for suing their former station, WTVT-13, for
what they said was the 
station's
unjustified censorship of facts in one of their
investigations, according to the Detroit Free Press. The couple settled
the whistleblower case this week, paying some $150,000 to Fox, the
newspaper reported. They had claimed Fox-owned Ch. 13
buckled under corporate pressure from hormone maker Monsanto, trying to
sanitize their story that reported possible cancer links in one of
their products designed to make cows give more milk. More recently, the
duo also filed a challenge to the renewal of the Tampa station's
license by the FCC. The Free Press reports Wilson continues to have a
Florida connection, commuting to a $1.3 million home in the northern
part of the state on the weekends from his job in Michigan.
BACK
TO TOPstation's
unjustified censorship of facts in one of their
investigations, according to the Detroit Free Press. The couple settled
the whistleblower case this week, paying some $150,000 to Fox, the
newspaper reported. They had claimed Fox-owned Ch. 13
buckled under corporate pressure from hormone maker Monsanto, trying to
sanitize their story that reported possible cancer links in one of
their products designed to make cows give more milk. More recently, the
duo also filed a challenge to the renewal of the Tampa station's
license by the FCC. The Free Press reports Wilson continues to have a
Florida connection, commuting to a $1.3 million home in the northern
part of the state on the weekends from his job in Michigan. Wilson: "I'm the guy out in front who won't stop"
After
suing his station in Florida, investigative reporter Steve Wilson said
publicly that he was surprised to land his current job at WXYZ-7, but
he has not used this new opportunity to fly under the
radar. In a three-part story with four sidebars in Friday's Free Press,
the newspaper catalogues Wilson's career, including his sometimes
turbulent three years in Detroit, where he has been on testy ground
with local politicians after confronting Detroit's mayor about his
wife's use of an SUV and cornering area cops with alleged prostitutes
in Costa Rica. On the occassion of another physical confrontation with
the mayor's bodyguards while trying to get in a question, Wilson
summarized his reporting philosophy to reporter Shawn Windsor this way:
"I'm the guy out in front who won't stop. Did you see that weenie from
Channel 4 [WDIV]? He asked one question and stopped. There's nothing
that will be more effective than showing that mob scene on television
with those thugs. They kick you when you can. They sucker punch you
when they can. Do I do that all for great film? No! I think people
deserve answers and I think we ought to demand them."WPXI criticized for tough story, new station plan
A
lawyer for a Pittsburgh judge barred from the bench for five
years says WPXI-11 unfairly
focused the media spotlight on his client, according to the
Post-Gazette. A Pennsylvania disciplinary court made the
ruling 
on
Wednesday, leading Moira Harrington's lawyer
to question the original Ch. 11 report that landed her in hot water.
"She's endured the most intensive TV campaign," Tom Ceraso told the
P-G. The station captured Moira Harrington,
who used to spend part of her bench time on the traffic court, on video
putting other people's
tickets on her car repeatedly so she would not get one. But last
week, Ch. 11 reporter Rick Earle was feted with one
of the local press club's Golden
Quill Awards for the piece. Meanwhile, the NBC affiliate continues
to face opposition from Sumner Hill residents who do not want a new
studio facility built in their backyard. Ch. 11 agreed to keep using
its current Television Hill tower when it moves to the new site, but
locals are still objecting to a helipad and lighted signs.
on
Wednesday, leading Moira Harrington's lawyer
to question the original Ch. 11 report that landed her in hot water.
"She's endured the most intensive TV campaign," Tom Ceraso told the
P-G. The station captured Moira Harrington,
who used to spend part of her bench time on the traffic court, on video
putting other people's
tickets on her car repeatedly so she would not get one. But last
week, Ch. 11 reporter Rick Earle was feted with one
of the local press club's Golden
Quill Awards for the piece. Meanwhile, the NBC affiliate continues
to face opposition from Sumner Hill residents who do not want a new
studio facility built in their backyard. Ch. 11 agreed to keep using
its current Television Hill tower when it moves to the new site, but
locals are still objecting to a helipad and lighted signs.News Flashes: Wilmington host dead; morning war
Media insiders and viewers in
Wilmington, N.C., are remembering
a local personality found dead in his home Wednesday, possibly
of a heart attack. Wayne Bradley, 53, hosted "Cape Fear Now" on
cable and was a DJ on WUIN-FM. The
battle of the morning programs is at its closest
in a decade. Nielsen ratings show NBC's "Today," at 5.64 million
viewers last week, continues to lose ground to ABC's "Good Morning
America," at 5.60 million, the AP reported.
Kansas City is getting
new Spanish-language news, but don't expect network quality. The
boss at Univision outlet KUKC-LP tells the Star there will be two
reporters for the newscast, which will be anchored from Davenport, Iowa. A
retransmission dispute between Sinclair Broadcasting and Dish Network
could force Syracuse stations WSYT-68 (Fox) and WNYS-43 (WB) off
the satellite carrier June 1, the Post-Standard reported. Ch. 68
airs WTVH-5's 10 p.m. news.
KSTP-5's Joe Schmit says he does
not regret his move to news anchor from sports at the third-place
station. "I've enjoyed the m
ove;
it's been a professional challenge and I'm happy I made it," Schmit
told the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
WFRV-5 will celebrate 50
years on the air Saturday, the Green Bay News-Chronicle reports.
Ch. 5 has been with ABC, CBS, NBC, and Dumont, and, co-owned with
WCCO-4 (Minneapolis) since the '80s, was bought by CBS in 1993.