ABC Affiliates

Dawn Dugle is out as news director at KHBS-KHOG, after just over two years with the Hearst-owned station in Fort Smith-Fayetville.

KHBS-KHOG vice president and general manager Brian Sather confirmed Dugle’s departure with TVSpy but declined to elaborate on the nature of her exit.

Dugle was named ND at KHBS-KHOG at the beginning of 2010, after working as assistant ND for 18 months at WAPT, Hearst’s station in Jackson, MS.  Before WAPT, Dugle worked as an executive producer at KEYE in Austin and a news producer at WTVT in Tampa.

No word yet on who will replace Dugle at KHBS-KHOG.

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ABC’s David Muir brought his “Made in America” series on the road yesterday, hosting an event at the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce with WPVI anchor Brian Taff.

Muir, the weekend anchor of “ABC World News,” joined Taff, who anchors the 4 p.m. newscast on the ABC O&O, to talk about the series, which showcases American manufacturing and the ordinary things that can be done to create jobs in the U.S.

Muir and Taff talked about two Pennsylvania-based companies — Nth Solutions and Sun and Earth — that are expanding their workforces. Read more

Michelle Esteban, a reporter and fill-in anchor at KOMO for over a decade, has been promoted to weekend anchor at the Seattle ABC-affiliate.

A longtime member of KOMO’s investigative team, Esteban began anchoring the station’s weekend morning newscasts at the beginning of the year, and recently moved to the weekend 5, 6, and 11 p.m. newscasts.

“It feels like I’m Cinderella and the slipper fits perfectly,” Esteban said about the move.  “KOMO is a great station with a long history.  It’s a privilege to be here, to be partnered with a super talented co-anchor, John Discepolo, and an ever-supportive crew.” Read more

Now, when ABC O&Os tell viewers to “wake up with us,” they won’t necessarily be referring to watching their morning newscasts.

ABC is now rolling out an iPhone alarm clock app for its station group, beginning today with KTRK in Houston.  In addition to serving as an alarm clock, the free app features local weather and news, and also offers users the ability to wake up to the voice of their favorite local news personality.

Viewers in Houston can now wake up to the voices of KTRK’s morning team, including Tom Koch, Sharron Melton, Casey Curry, Don Nelson, as well as the station’s breaking news music. Read more

The entire season of “Dancing with the Stars” came down to this: two couples remained and host Tom Bergeron promised to announce the winner live after just one more commercial break.

Viewers in Fresno were on the edge of their seats, but then KFSN went and ruined everything.

Seconds after viewers saw finalist Donald Driver nervously awaiting the results, the ABC O&O aired footage of him triumphantly raising the mirror ball trophy during its 11 p.m. newscast tease. Read more

In the wake of Krista Fogelsong‘s departure from WBND, the South Bend ABC-affiliate is shuffling its anchor lineup.

Weekend anchor Brian Dorman will take over as evening anchor until a replacement for Fogelsong is named. When the station names someone permanent for the 6, 7 and 11 p.m. newscasts, Dorman will take over as morning co-anchor alongside Keitha Nelson.

Multimedia journalist Emily Pritchard will be promoted to the weekend anchor desk beginning Saturday.

“Brian and Emily are a pair of journalists who have worked tirelessly over the past 18 months and are very deserving of these promotions,” WBND news director Aaron Ramey told TVSpy in an email.

“Love ABC Primetime? We do too.”

That’s the message behind #liveonkomo, the ambitious new Twitter initiative from Seattle ABC-affiliate KOMO aimed at boosting primetime ratings by promoting social media interaction among viewers, as well as the station’s on-air talent.

KOMO launched #liveonkomo with the season premiere of “The Bachelorette” earlier this month and Kristi Waite, KOMO’s digital strategist, says that the station plans to promote top ABC shows through the upcoming 2012-13 season, using the model established by the “Bachelorette” debut. Read more

Longtime KTRK anchor Dave Ward, who was out for more than a month earlier this year after breaking his hip in a fall minutes before a newscast, has a bold prediction: “They’ll probably carry me out of here feet first.”

“KTRK-TV is like my home, I’ve been here so long,” Ward told TVNewsCheck recently. “I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t come into work every day. I still feel like I contribute to the newscast and they seem to want me here.”

Ward joined KTRK in 1966 and has been anchoring the station’s 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts since 1968. Read more

ABC today made official what was reported several weeks ago: the new extension of “Good Morning America” will debut on July 9th and run for nine weeks on most ABC stations.

“Good Afternoon America” will be hosted by Josh Elliott and Lara Spencer, with the rest of the “GMA” team making occasional appearances on the show, which will air at 2 p.m. ET.

As TVNewser notes, “GAA” will essentially serve as summer filler but, if it performs well, it has a shot at becoming a permanent part of the daytime schedule. Read more

After 20 years working at KXTV in Sacramento, anchor-reporter Sharon Ito is stepping away from the news business to focus on raising the 11-year-old daughter she has with her husband, KXTV reporter George Warren.

Ito, who grew up in the Sacramento area, first started with KXTV in 1985 as a reporter and producer.  After leaving KXTV in 1990 for a job at KCAL in Los Angeles, she returned to the ABC-affiliate in 1996.

“It’s been wonderful being a part of the News10 family all these years,” Ito said in a statement.   “But of course, closest to my heart is raising our 11-year-old daughter here in Sacramento, the place I love.  It’s so true, there are stages in life and a break just feels right.” Read more