Columbus

“It’s the time we all knew would come but didn’t want to think about,” WBNS anchor Jerry Revish told viewers during the CBS-affiliate’s 11 p.m. newscast on Wednesday. “It’s time to say ‘thank you’ one last time to Andrea Cambern for her service to 10TV and Central Ohio.”

Last October, Cambern announced that she would be leaving WBNS after more than 20 years behind the anchor desk. With the May book coming to an end, she bid farewell to her longtime home this week. Read more

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Chief meteorologist Jerry Martz has left WSYX to join Weather Central, an independent weather data and graphics supplier.

Martz joined WSYX, the ABC-affiliate in Columbus, in 2006. Martz will be based in Pittsburgh, where he spent nine years as a meteorologist at ABC-affiliate WTAE prior to joining WSYX.

“After 6 1/2 years, my last day at WSYX,” Martz wrote on Facebook last week. “Going to miss a lot about the biz, but looking forward to what lies ahead!”

Sinclair Broadcast Group has reportedly inked a shared services agreement to manage Columbus CW-affiliate WWHO, which would give the company a virtual triopoly in the market.

Sinclair owns ABC-affiliate WSYX and manages Fox-affiliate WTTE for Cunningham Broadcasting.

While WSYX and WTTE currently operate out of the same building, Sinclair CFO David Amy told Broadcasting & Cable that there were no immediate plans to move WWHO’s operations into the same complex. Read more

Last October, longtime WBNS anchor Andrea Cambern announced that she would be stepping down from the anchor desk in May.  And now the Columbus CBS-affiliate has announced who will be taking her place alongside Jerry Revish, on the station’s main anchor team.

Kristyn Hartman, a general assignment reporter with Chicago’s WBBM for the past seven years, is joining WBNS and will take over for Cambern at the beginning of June.

“Kristyn embodies everything that was important to us in our search for a new anchor,” WBNS president and general manager Tom Griesdorn said, in announcing the move.  “An affinity for local news, a desire to impact change in her community, and a personality that will be a leader in our newsroom and a delight for our viewers.” Read more

A man accused of animal cruelty was not happy to see Dave Detling when the WSYX reporter showed up on his property last week.

When Detling attempted to ask Shane Dykes about a humane society investigation into the abuse of horses on the property, Dykes bore down on him, grabbing his collar with both hands and shoving him to the ground.

“What part of ‘Get out of my [expletive] yard’ don’t you understand?” the man shouted at Detling as he shoved him (video inside).

“I go deep for my stories and I’m always polite,” Detling wrote on his Facebook page on Saturday, linking to the story. Read more

WCMH was knocked off the air Tuesday afternoon due to a power outage, leaving viewers in Columbus unable to watch the NBC-affiliate over-the-air or on DirecTV for nearly 18 hours.

Around 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, WCMH experienced a power outage at its transmitter but the station wasn’t able to get the local power company, AEP, to fully assess the damage until 8:30 p.m.  And repair work didn’t begin until 10:15.

WCMH alerted viewers about the power outage on its website as well as via Facebook and Twitter, although the station initially received conflicting estimates from the power company about when power would actually be restored. Read more

NBC-affiliates across Ohio are partnering to present a statewide debate centered on Issue 2, a controversial state referendum up for repeal. The debate will be moderated by NBC News political director Chuck Todd and broadcast from Columbus on Tuesday, October 25th.

The debate will be carried by WLWT Cincinnati, WKYC Cleveland, WCMH Columbus, WDTN Dayton, WLIO Lima, WNWO Toledo, WTOV Wheeling-Steubenville, WFMJ Youngstown, and WHIZ Zanesville. It will also be streamed live on each of the stations’ websites. Read more

Veteran meteorologist Kurt Schmitz has settled his lawsuit with WTVM, the ABC-affiliate in Columbus, GA, and is set to resume forecasting this weekend for rival station WRBL, the CBS-affiliate in the market.

Schmitz was cut loose at WTVM in April after 22 years. He called his departure “sudden and unexpected” at the time, noting he had recently signed a contract renewal that lasted through 2014. In June, Schmitz filed a lawsuit against WTVM, accusing the station, and general manager Lee Brantley, of terminating him with the knowledge that his opportunities in Columbus “would be very limited due to several factors,” according to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.

The terms of the settlement are protected by a confidentiality agreement, but Schmitz has been released from his non-compete clause — he will be permitted to join WRBL, where he will work Sunday nights and occasional other shifts. Read more