Hartford-New Haven

An industrious Connecticut state worker made a surprise cameo on WTIC‘s morning newscast Thursday.  As traffic reporter Rachel Lutzker was set to update viewers on commuting conditions, a worker started to meticulously clean a highway traffic camera (video above).

“In all of the years I have done this, I have never seen this in my entire life,” Lutzker said.

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Hallie Jackson is leaving WFSB, the CBS-affiliate in Hartford, to join Hearst Television’s Washington, DC bureau.

Jackson, the station’s weekend evening anchor, joined WFSB in 2008. Her last day will be May 13, according to The Laurel.

“Definitely sad to leave my WFSB family, but excited for a new adventure in Washington, DC,” Jackson wrote on Facebook. “Starting mid-May, you’ll find me in the mornings on 30 Hearst-owned stations across the country, from Boston to Hawaii.”

Hena Daniels has returned to WFSB after a two-year run with WGCL in Atlanta.

Daniels first joined the Hartford CBS-affiliate in 2005, working as a general assignment reporter before becoming a weekend anchor in 2008. She left in 2010 for a reporting job at WGCL (both WFSB and WGCL are owned by Meredith).

Daniels had been filling in at the WGCL anchor desk recently but she says that the offer of a full-time anchor spot is what persuaded her to return to WFSB.

“I’m thrilled to be back,” Daniels told TVSpy today via email. Read more

Jeff Valin has been hired at WTNH, the ABC-affiliate in Hartford-New Haven, according to the New Haven Register.

The new role is a return to Hartford for Valin, who was a reporter at Fox-affiliate WTIC from 2008-10. He was most recently an anchor-reporter at WGGB, the ABC-affiliate in Springfield, MA.

Valin will be the weekend morning anchor at WTNH. He debuted this weekend.

Reporters Todd Piro and Audrey Washington (pictured) are joining WVIT, the NBC O&O in Hartford, later this month.

Piro joins WVIT from KPSP in Palm Springs, where he is the weekday morning anchor. Prior to his television career, he was a litigation lawyer and recruitment coordinator for Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, a law firm in Los Angeles.

Washington has been a reporter at WJAR in Providence for the past two years. She has also worked at WSYR in Syracuse and WITN in Greenville.

In a statement, WVIT president and general manager David Doebler said he was “thrilled to add Todd and Audrey to our award-winning news team.” Read more

Jennifer Bosworth is leaving Hartford Fox-affiliate WTIC to join Back9Network, a golf channel started by her husband, the Hartford Courant reports.

Since September, Bosworth has been the station’s weekend anchor. She joined WTIC as a general assignment reporter in 2007. Her last day will be Friday, she announced yesterday on Twitter.

“Overwhelmed,” Bosworth wrote. “Thank you everyone for all your well wishes!”

Bosworth will continue to work in Hartford on special projects, including writing for Hartford Magazine.

After two years as a reporter at WVIT, Brynn Gingras is leaving the NBC O&O in Hartford.

“It’s been a privilege to report the news in my home state and I thank you for your support and feedback over the past 2 years,” she wrote on Facebook. “I am moving to NYC and staying in television.”

WVIT general manager David Doebler told the New Haven Register that Gingras is leaving for “positive personal reasons.”

“She has done a great job for us and she will be missed,” he said.

WFSB announced this week that it is teaming up with local newspaper the Norwich Bulletin in an effort to bring viewers more news coverage from eastern Connecticut.

“Working together, we will only strengthen our commitment to our viewers and the towns in that region,” WFSB vice president and general manager Klarn DePalma said.  “Both of our staffs have a commitment to providing Norwich and neighboring communities with the best news, weather and sports coverage possible.”

The partnership, which will take effect sometime in March, will have WFSB and Bulletin staffers appearing on each other’s platforms. Read more

After 28 years at WFSB, anchor Al Terzi said goodbye to the Hartford CBS-affiliate on Friday.

WFSB played a video tribute to Terzi’s career during its evening newscasts on Friday before bidding farewell to the longtime anchor.

“You’ve always been a professional. You’ve always been a gentleman. You’ve always been a friend,” anchor Denise D’Ascenzo told Terzi. “And I’ll cherish my time that I’ve worked with you.”

Terzi, who most recently anchored WFSB’s 5 and 5:30 p.m. newscasts, first joined the station in the summer of 1968. After jobs at a couple of other stations, he returned to WFSB in 1993. Read more

A WVIT news crew was covering a shooting in New Haven on Monday afternoon when bullets just missed their news van.

Following a robbery at a local convenience store, where thieves fired two shots into the ceiling as they stole roughly $300, the WVIT news crew was sitting in a marked news van near the store when shots were fired in their direction.

WVIT reported on Monday that at least four shots were fired and the news crew saw a man aiming a gun about a block away from them. One of the shots hit a nearby car, but no one was hurt in the incident. Read more