Cincinnati

Since anchor Ben Swann joined WXIX two years ago, he has played a major part in the Fox-affiliate’s “balanced” approach to news. In his regular “Reality Check” segments, Swann dissects major news stories to give viewers a fresh perspective on the headlines.

As Republican presidential hopefuls have duked it out over the past few months, Swann’s “Reality Check” videos have gained a national following, largely because of his repeated coverage (and defense) of Ron Paul.

Washington Post media blogger Erik Wemple posted an in-depth look at Swann’s ideological ties to the constitutionalist candidate this week, pointing out that, as the anchor has analyzed Paul’s candidacy, he has gained a national following, especially among Paul supporters. Read more

Cincinnati CBS-affiliate WKRC has named Katie Clavey as the station’s first reporter specializing in online and social media coverage.

“Katie will be working with all aspects of our social media platforms, as well as reporting on-air about online trends and social media topics into ‘Good Morning Cincinnati,’ as well as our other newscasts,” news director Kirk Varner wrote in a memo to staffers obtained by the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Clavey joins WKRC from the Cincinnati Enquirer, where she is the calendar editor of the entertainment guide. For the past year, she has contributed to the weekend morning newscasts on WLWT, the Fox-affiliate in Cincinnati.

When news spread on Thursday that longtime WCPO news director Bob Morford was leaving the station, it was difficult to overlook the fact that the announcement of Morford’s departure came less than a day after the station suffered a major technical meltdown during its 11 p.m. newscast.

In reality, though, there is no connection between the two events.

“My departure has absolutely nothing to do with [the technical mishap],” Morford told TVSpy this morning.  “It’s my bad fortune that that happened the day before I made the announcement.”

Morford said that he had decided to leave the station in December and had a handful of conversations with GM Steve Thaxton about it over his holiday vacation.  It just so happened that Morford’s first day back in the office came right after the newscast meltdown. Read more

Bob Morford is leaving WCPO after more than a decade as the station’s news director.

This afternoon Morford told the WCPO newsroom that he will leave the ABC-affiliate after February sweeps, according to Cincinnati.com.

The announcement comes a day after the station suffered a major technical meltdown during its 11 p.m. newscast.  On Wednesday, WCPO’s automated production system reportedly crashed just before 11 p.m. and the station didn’t start the newscast until 11:08, and was unable to air video until 11:18.

TVSpy is still awaiting comment from Morford about his planned departure.

There are some changes to the weather team at Cincinnati ABC-affiliate WCPO, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Cyndee O’Quinn (pictured), who started at WCPO in 2002, has left the station in search of a position as a communications expert, news director Bob Morford said in a note to staff obtained by the Enquirer.

“As many of you know, meteorologists are often in demand for a wide variety of businesses outside television and yes, the hours are often a whole lot better!” Morford wrote. He added that O’Quinn may still appear on WCPO as a freelancer occasionally.

She will be replaced on the weekend morning newscasts by Sarah Walters, who made her debut this weekend. She joins WCPO from KNXV in Phoenix.

Cincinnati Fox-affiliate WXIX had to do its morning newscast with limited power this morning after an area power outage knocked out much of the station’s electricity.

The outage hit the station around 5:10 a.m., shortly after the newscast began, and power wasn’t restored until right after the show had ended.

“This should be interest[ing],” WXIX anchor Sheila Gray tweeted this morning, “doing our newscast with limited power, no computers, and very little light in studio.” Read more

Kyla Woods started this week as a traffic reporter and general assignment reporter for Cincinnati NBC-affiliate WLWT.

Woods was most recently a freelance traffic reporter at WRTV, the ABC-affiliate in Indianapolis. She has previously worked as a traffic and features reporter for WXIN, the Indianapolis Fox-affiliate.

WLWT creative services director Pete Salkowski told the Cincinnati Enquirer that Woods will also be a station ambassador for local events in addition to her duties as a reporter.

“I feel right at home in my new role at WLWT and I couldn’t have asked for a better station or community to join,” Woods said in a statement. “I look forward to preparing our viewers for their daily commute, and I’m grateful to be part of a team that’s leading the way – every day.”

Brandon Hamilton, a traffic reporter at Cincinnati NBC-affiliate WLWT, is moving to Phoenix. He has been hired as a special assignment reporter for ABC-affiliate KNXV.

“I just needed more opportunity overall,” Hamilton told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “General assignment reporting and hard news isn’t what I want to do. In the long run I want to get into hosting, but Phoenix is giving me the opportunity to be a special assignment reporter and let my creativity shine, therefore I will get some more hosting-like experience.”

Hamilton has been at WLWT since 2008. His last day at the station will be November 23.

“If my girlfriend is watching, I love you. Please don’t break up with me,” Frank Marzullo pleaded as he adjusted his outfit on the WXIX newscast this morning.

Marzullo is nearing the end of “Dare Frank” week on WXIX, the Cincinnati Fox-affiliate. Each morning for seven days, the station has picked a viewer-submitted dare for the meteorologist to tackle, such as driving a race car and feeding a Komodo dragon. This morning’s task, however, involved significantly more practice … and significantly less clothing (video inside). Read more

Cincinnati native Scott Dimmich, who is the morning meteorologist at WEHT in Evansville, is headed home. He will join WKRC next month as the weekend meteorologist.

Dimmich, who joined WEHT in 2009, said his last day will be November 4. “It’s tough to leave my colleagues and friends in the Tri-State, but I’m looking forward to taking what I’ve learned back to my hometown,” he told Ohio media blogger Jake Newkirk.

Dimmich joins WKRC a month after the departure of Jeff Creighton, who left the Cincinnati CBS-affiliate last month after inking a deal with rival station WXIX.