ABC Affiliates

Evening anchor Barbara Smith signed off from KTVX last night after 21 years at the Salt Lake City ABC-affiliate.

“A big thank you to all of you for sharing my life, and for making me a part of yours,” Smith said in an emotional goodbye on her last newscast Sunday evening.

Smith, who has also worked as a weekend anchor, morning anchor and reporter during her time at KTVX, is joining the University of Utah. Watch her goodbye inside… Read more

Justin Robinson has left KMBC, the ABC-affiliate in Kansas City, Bottom Line Communications reports.

Robinson was a weekday morning reporter for KMBC. He joined the station in 2008 from WANE, the CBS-affiliate in Fort Wayne, IN.

Robinson’s last day on air was April 20. Bottom Line reports his future plans are not known.

Reno ABC-affiliate KOLO has apologized after a promo on Monday evening’s newscast implied that gay marriage is a “sin.”

“Historically, Nevada has made a living off of sin — quickie divorces, prostitution, gambling,” anchor Sarah Johns said as footage of same-sex weddings aired (video above). “What’s one more sin added to the list if it will improve our economy?”

The promotional spot sparked discussion on the KOLO Facebook page. Read more

WXYZ reporter Val Clark is set to retire after more than 30 years with the Detroit ABC-affiliate.

Earlier this week, Clark was honored by the Detroit City Council for her work at the station. She will step away from WXYZ, where she has worked since 1980, this summer.

“I personally feel that she has carried the flag for the spirit of Detroit for the past thirty years,” WXYZ anchor Diana Lewis said during a recent newscast. “So I’m happy to see city council members recognizing her for all she has done.”

Clark joined WXYZ as a news writer. She was eventually promoted to producer and has spent the better part of her career working as a general assignment reporter for the staion. Read more

WLNE‘s Doreen Scanlon has been absent from the morning anchor desk at the Providence ABC-affiliate for five weeks.

“I am on a short medical leave but hope to be back with you all in the mornings soon,” Scanlon wrote on Facebook earlier this month.

On the evening newscast last night, WLNE revealed that Scanlon has been absent because she is suffering from hyperemesis, a condition of pregnancy that causes near-constant nausea. She has been on bed rest since last month.

WLNE reporter Shannon O’Brien, who interviewed Scanlon, said the station has been flooded with calls and emails from viewers inquiring about the morning anchor. Watch video of the interview inside… Read more

WFAA evening anchor Gloria Campos has signed a new contract that will take her off the 6 p.m. newscast beginning this fall, Dallas media blogger Ed Bark reports.

Campos has worked at the Dallas ABC-affiliate since 1984. She currently anchors the 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts with John McCaa. Under the terms of her new contract, which continues through February 14, she will anchor only the 10 p.m. newscast, along with “filling in where needed and doing special reports,” according to Bark.

WFAA has not announced yet announced Campos’ replacement anchor at 6 p.m. The changes will take place in September.

Sabrina Santucci has joined WTVO-WQRF in Rockford, IL.

Santucci will be a weekend anchor and weekday reporter at WTVO, the ABC-affiliate. She comes from WCIA, the CBS-affiliate in Champaign, IL, where she was the producer of the morning newscast.

Santucci is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She started at WTVO-WQRF last month.

Manuel Bojorquez, a general assignment reporter at WSB in Atlanta, is joining CBS News.

Bojorquez has worked at the Atlanta ABC-affiliate since 2006. In 2011, he won the NATAS Southeast Emmy for Live Reporting. While he was a general assignment reporter at KNXV in Phoenix, he won two Associated Press Awards for live reporting of Arizona wildfires.

Bojorquez began his television career at KESQ in Palm Springs. He will be a Dallas-based correspondent for CBS News.

Meteorologist Stephanie Roberts has parted ways with WFTS, Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Roberts has been the morning meteorologist at the Tampa ABC-affiliate since 2008. She has not been on the air since May 3. Weekend meteorologist Wayne Shattuck has been filling in for her on the morning newscast this week.

“Other than confirming that Ms. Roberts is no longer an employee of WFTS, we have no further comment at this time,” Roberts’ attorney said. Read more

WRTV now has what no other station in Indianapolis has: a permanent street-level studio.

The ABC-affiliate announced today plans to open a permanent, glass-enclosed studio in downtown Indianapolis.

The space, located on Monument Circle in the center of the city, is in the Emmis Communications building, the home of local news/talk radio station WIBC.  Last November, WRTV and WIBC launched a news-gathering partnership.

“We are very pleased to take our partnership with WIBC to the next level,” WRTV vice president and general manager Larry Blackerby said, announcing the plans for the studio. Read more