As KTUU marks its 60th year on the air, the NBC affiliate is building a new studio in downtown Anchorage.

“This is a major milestone for Channel 2,” president and general manager Andy MacLeod said in a statement. “As we celebrate our 60th Anniversary this year, there is no better time to look toward the future. This 40,000-square-foot facility is an investment in Alaska, and it will give us the unparalleled ability to grow and develop content across all media platforms long into the future.”

Neeser Construction will build the new facility, which will a block and a half away from the station’s current studio and newstroom.

Kris Anderson, anchor for Memphis CBS affiliate WREG, couldn’t go far enough on his vacation to get away from breaking news.

Anderson was vacationing with his family on the Carnival cruise ship Dream when the ship had problems with one of its generators on its final stop in St. Maarten. Anderson told WREG both he and his family are doing fine.

He’s been giving the station regular updates on what’s been going on with the down on its luck cruise liner. “Most of the folks who I talk to, in fact 90 to 95 percent of the people I talk to, are enjoying it,” Anderson told WREG. He added most passengers are soaking up the sun and the extra time they get to spend on the Caribbean island. Read more

KTUU, the NBC affiliate in Anchorage, has fired reporter Dan Fiorruci for “inappropriate online communications,” general manager Andy MacLeod said in a statement Tuesday.

“Late Friday, Channel 2 was made aware of inappropriate online communications allegedly involving one of our employees, Daniel Fiorucci,” the statement reads. “We immediately notified Anchorage police so they could investigate the matter. Channel 2 immediately ended Mr. Fiorucci’s employment.”

The Anchorage Daily News has more details on Fiorucci’s exit:

The firing came after a website that describes itself as being dedicated to “teaching child predators a lesson” posted a transcript that purports to be a conversation between Fiorucci and someone posing as a 14-year-old girl. The conversation includes sexual banter. Read more

Four weeks after his dismissal from WMTV in Madison, meteorologist David George has announced he is joining KTUU in Anchorage.

George begins as the morning meteorologist at the NBC-affiliated KTUU on October 7.

“KTUU’s employees were very gracious, and Channel 2′s management has done everything imaginable to make me feel excited about this career move,” George told TVSpy via email.

George was let go from WMTV in August after 15 years at the Madison NBC affiliate. Read more

KTUU morning anchor Todd Walker is leaving Anchorage for a reporter/MMJ job at KUSA in Denver. His first day is set for August 6th.

“I’ve watched KUSA from afar for years, I’m incredibly excited to join the team,” Walker said.

A graduate of the University of Alaska Anchorage, Walker got his start at Anchorage NBC-affiliate KTUU before moving on to KTVA, the market’s CBS-affiliate. Walker returned to KTUU in 2010 and, since then, he has been anchoring the station’s top-rated morning newscast.

Longtime KTUU anchor Maria Downey is speaking out her recent medical procedure.

Downey’s family convinced her to see a doctor last month after she experienced severe chest pains, the result of a clogged artery. She had a stent procedure and was back on the air at KTUU within a week, according to the Anchorage Daily News.

Downey, who joined the Anchorage NBC-affiliate in 1985, said that hers is a cautionary tale.

“I prefer to do the interviewing,” she said. “I feel real nervous being interviewed. But as moms and women, we look out for everybody else … It’s more important that we respond to these signals so we have more time to spend together.”

KTVA, the CBS-affiliate in Anchorage, is canceling the weekday morning and weekend newscasts, resulting in the layoffs of staffers “across several departments,” according to a station statement. The changes are effective immediately.

“These changes will allow us to address the market’s programming requirements as we continue to invest and expand into a local high definition station that truly reflects the needs of our viewers and our advertisers,” said KTVA general manager Jerry Bever said.

While the exact number of staffers laid off is unknown, Bever said he did not anticipate future staff reduction. Staffers cut yesterday included weeknight anchor Dave Stroh, who joined KTVA in 1995. Read more

Tracy Sabo, a 19-year veteran of CNN, has been named news director at KTUU, the Anchorage NBC-affiliate announced this week.

Most recently based in Dallas, Sabo produced both domestic and international coverage for CNN.  She also worked as a national assignment editor and spent time as a CNN radio anchor at the network’s Atlanta headquarters.

“Channel 2 News has a tremendous reputation, both inside and outside Alaska for its comprehensive news coverage,” Sabo said. “KTUU’s newsgathering style parallels my work at CNN in many ways, and I look forward to advancing and enhancing the great tradition of news excellence at [KTUU].” Read more

The above video shows a young Sarah Palin (then Sarah Heath) reporting on a college basketball game for KTUU that involved Glen Rice, her alleged former lover.

The much-ballyhooed new Palin biography, “The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin,” claims that she hooked up with Rice, then a junior at the University of Michigan, while covering a 1987 college basketball tournament for the Anchorage NBC-affiliate. Read more

Tom Lindner, who was let go by KARE in April after 15 years as the station’s VP of News, has landed at Anchorage’s KTUU, where he will serve as interim news director.

Schurz Communications executive Kerry Oslund announced the move on Twitter, saying, “One of the USA’s top ND’s, Tom Lindner, joins Schurz Comm. Inc. for interim assignment at KTUU-Alaska’s #1 news org. Welcome to SCI Tom.”

Lindner updated his employment status on his Facebook page last night to read “KTUU Interim News Director.”  The update sparked an outpouring of support from friends and colleagues, including longtime KARE reporter Boyd Huppert, who delivered the station’s on-air farewell to Lindner in April. Read more