After more than 51 years at WTVC, Marcia Kling has announced her retirement from the Chattanooga ABC affiliate.

“Unlike the Energizer Bunny, I never intended going on and on …  So, when my work day ends on Thursday, May 30, I will leave the station for the last time,” Kling wrote in an email to WTVC staff. “The decision to do so has not been easy … and largely because of all of you.”

Kling, who is known as “Miss Marcia,” joined the station in 1962. During her tenure with the station, she has hosted and developed educational program and served as the station’s director of community affairs. Most recently, she has been a contributor to “This N That,” WTVC’s local talk show.

“Miss Marcia will tell you she hasn’t worked one day in those years because she has been doing what she loves,” WTVC general manager Mike Costa said in a statement. “We love Miss Marcia and will miss her gracious presence in the building and on our air.”

Alan DeFlorio is joining KSTP-KSTC in Minneapolis-St. Paul as local sales manager. His first day will be May 20.

DeFlorio comes from WJCL-WTGS in Savannah. He has also worked at WMBF in Myrtle Beach, WHNS in Greenville and WMTV in Madison.

“We are excited to bring Alan to the team. His experience speaks for itself and I’m confident the stations will benefit from all he has to offer,” KSTP-KSTC director of sales Ray Mirabella said in a statement.

Senerey De Los Santos is joining Santa Barbara ABC affiliate KEYT as weekend sports anchor and weekday MMJ.

KEYT news director Jim Lemon told TVSpy, “I’m thrilled to have her joining the team here at NewsChannel 3.”

De Los Santos comes to KEYT from Fresno NBC affiliate KSEE. She started her career at KSEE as an sports intern in 2006. She was named the weekend sports anchor in 2010.

After almost 25 years with Granite Broadcasting, WKBW general manager Bill Ransom will retire next month.

“He has been a positive voice for our company, the broadcasting profession and Buffalo, and will be truly missed,” Granite COO Duane Lammers said in a statement. “We wish him all the best in the next chapter of his life.”

Ransom has been general manager of the Buffalo ABC affiliate since 1995. Prior to that, he was the general sales manager of WPTA, Granite’s ABC affiliate in Fort Wayne, Ind.

“I am truly grateful to have had the privilege of working with Granite’s talented and committed team members, and am honored to have led our Buffalo station, WKBW, for the last 18 years,” Ransom said in a statement.

This week, ABC will become the first major broadcaster unveil an app that allows users in New York and Philadelphia to live-stream local programming. Content from WABC and WPVI will be available first, with plans to introduce it in other markets later this year, The New York Times‘ Brian Stelter reports:

ABC, a unit of the Walt Disney Company, said the live stream would be available in the other six cities where it owns stations sometime this summer. It is also in talks with the companies that own ABC’s more than 200 affiliates to make the “live” button work in their markets.

ABC finished the first of its affiliate deals, with Hearst Television, on Sunday afternoon; it said the live streams would work in Hearst’s 13 markets, including Boston and Pittsburgh, in the coming months.

The app is also a way for ABC to get ahead of Aereo, the streaming television service that allows subscribers to watch over-the-air programming on Internet-connected devices. Anne Sweeney, the president of the Disney-ABC Television Group, told The New York Times that plans for ABC’s app were in place before Aereo was launched.

WEWS, the Cleveland ABC affiliate that first interviewed Charles Ramsey, the neighbor who helped rescue the kidnapped Cleveland women, is apologizing to viewers for reporting on Ramsey’s criminal past.

TO OUR READERS & FOLLOWERS: We heard you. Wednesday night, we made a poor judgment call in posting a story about Charles Ramsey’s criminal record and how he’s since reformed. While the story was factually sound, the timing of it and publication of such information was not in good taste, and we regret it. Your comments prompted us to quickly remove the story from our website and Facebook page, but we know we can’t erase what we’ve already done. Ramsey is a hero for his actions, and we recognize that. Thank you so much for your feedback.

The station posted the apology on its Facebook page. As of this writing, 54,278 1,866 people had liked the post. But one commenter replied,

You realize that by posting this you’re basically telling all of Facebook that Charles Ramsey has a criminal background – Again.

[Broadcasting & Cable]

A Fort Lauderdale man has been arrested after threatening WPLG reporter Ross Palombo and photographer Shane Walker and then destroying some of their equipment while they were setting up for a live shot.

The incident was caught on camera as the man, later identified as Louis Dominic Paolino III, at first threatens the Miami ABC affiliate’s crew by saying, “I’m gonna ask you to take that camera off me once.” When Palombo asks the man, “Are you threatening me?” the man replies, “I am promising you that I will rip that thing off your shoulder so quick and beat you down with it.”

Palombo and Walker were covering a story about a man who had allegedly failed to pay his taxes on time. While Walker was rolling, Paolino unplugged one of the crew’s lights and took it inside his house.  He then cut the cord to a second light and broke the bulb to the light with his knife. The arrest report says Paulino pointed the knife at Walker, “threatening to cut his throat.” Read more

Bill Proctor, investigative reporter for Detroit ABC affiliate WXYZ, is retiring after 33 years in broadcasting.

In a tribute to Proctor in the Detroit News, a co-worker described Proctor as having, “The gravitas of Ed Bradley and the coolness of James Bond. He’s just so steady. There will be bullets flying all over the place, but nothing flusters the guy.”

The Detroit News has more details on Proctor’s career. Click here to view. The News said Proctor plans to devote his time to a non-profit focused on vindicating unjustly convicted prisoners called Proving Innocence. Read more

We reported yesterday about Charles Ramsey‘s interview with Cleveland ABC affiliate WEWS.

That interview with the man who helped free the first Cleveland kidnap victim has been making the social media rounds and has already been autotuned a few times. So it was only a matter of time until Taiwanese animation house Next Media Animation gave it their own special treatment. Watch and learn.

New Orleans ABC affiliate WGNO has hired Bill Wood as a reporter and promoted Vanessa Bolano (pictured) to weekend anchor.

Wood, who is known as “Wild” Bill Wood, will be a reporter for the stations 5 and 6 p.m. “News With a Twist” newscasts. He comes to New Orleans from Fort Myers, where he worked at WFTX as host of the Fox affiliate’s morning show. Bolano, who joined WGNO in 2009, will anchor of the 5 and 10 p.m. weekend newscasts.

“Wild Bill and Vanessa are great storytellers,” news director Rick Erbach said in a statement.” It’s fun watching them craft and polish a story throughout the day.”