Detroit

After a series of missteps and false starts, Detroit independent station WADL has decided to scrap its 9 p.m. newscast.

“WADL is moving in a new direction, and the news programming will not be a part of its new format,” CEO Kevin Adell announced this week. “I want to personally thank everyone who helped us test the ‘News@9′ segment.”

In January, WADL launched a 9 p.m. newscast produced in partnership with Journal Register Newspapers and began building out a local news operation. But the station’s shot at local news quickly became mired in controversy and in-fighting. Read more

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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

 

WJBK, the Fox O&O in Detroit, is paying tribute to Dale Pegg, a photographer who has worked at the station for 42 years (video above).

“I wouldn’t do anything else,” Pegg said. “I’ve met a lot of wonderful people, on and off camera. It’s been a good career. But it’s time for me to move on.”

WJBK meteorologist Jessica Starr wasn’t on weather duty Tuesday morning so she decided to wear a green dress on-air. Starr couldn’t pass up the opportunity, though, to step in front of the weather green screen and turn invisible.

The move confused morning anchor Jason Carr, who apparently doesn’t understand the finer points of chroma key (video above). It just doesn’t work that way…

Bill Gallagher celebrated his final day with WJBK on Friday, bidding farewell to the station that his been his home for the past 27 years. The Fox O&O marked his retirement with a video tribute to his storied career (above).

“In nearly three decades in Detroit, he brought down crooked council members, covered countless tragedies, and traveled the world to document history,” anchor Murray Feldman says, narrating the tribute.

The producers at Detroit CW-affiliate WKBD had a little fun with anchor Syma Chowdhry yesterday morning.

Chowdhry was reporting a story about a cow-kissing event when a photoshopped picture of her kissing a cow appeared in an over-the-shoulder graphic. “I did not kiss a cow!” she exclaimed.

“That cow looks a little disturbed, in that picture,” weather anchor Jill Washburn remarked.

“No it doesn’t,” Chowdhry said. “It’s smiling on the inside.” Video after the jump… Read more

After a tumultuous couple of weeks in which the station abruptly fired its president and news director, WADL announced today that Joelle Lukasiewicz, wife of station owner Kevin Adell, had been named news director.

Lukasiewicz, who once worked as a reporter at Detroit’s WXYZ and WDIV, currently hosts WADL’s “Motor City Movie Night,” which airs every Saturday.

A WADL spokesperson told TVSpy today that the station considered “a lot of people” for the job but Lukasiewicz was chosen because she has “a strong connection” to the market. Read more

Hired as news director at WADL, Matt Stevens took extra precautions when meeting with station management on the day he was terminated because he feared he “might never be seen again.”

In a recent post on his personal blog, Stevens provides a detailed account of his dealings with WADL, the station’s temporary president Kevin O’Brien, the station’s owner Kevin Adell, and the station’s GM Matt Uhl.

In a series of events recently publicized by station press releases, WADL fired O’Brien and then fired Stevens.

Stevens says he was so concerned about his safety on the day of his termination that he had his wife secretly videotape his meeting with station management, “just in case they decided to recreate the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa.” Read more

After 23 years at WXYZ, sports director Don Shane has announced his retirement from the Detroit ABC-affiliate.

On yesterday’s 6 p.m. newscast, Shane called his tenure at WXYZ “the best 23 years of my professional life.”

“I wanted to thank everyone — at this television station, for one, and everybody out there who watched us faithfully each night from wherever, your living room, your dining room, your family room, your kitchen,” Shane said.

Shane’s final sportscast was on last night’s 11 p.m. newscast. He will return to the station on March 20 for a “formal goodbye.” Watch video of Shane’s retirement announcement inside… Read more

After his very public termination as a WADL consultant, Kevin O’Brien is firing back at the independent station and its owner Kevin Adell.

Today an attorney representing O’Brien circulated a press release defending him against the “defamatory” press release WADL sent out last week announcing his dismissal.

In firing O’Brien, WADL cited his use of company equipment to “obtain a deal with the San Jose Sharks” as the reason for his termination. O’Brien denies trying to land a deal with the NHL team, and contends that he was fired because he disagreed with Adell about how to discipline an employee for excessive use of a company vehicle. Read more