Carter Evans has been named a Los Angeles-based correspondent at CBS News, TVNewser reports.

Evans has been working as a freelance correspondent for the network and for KCBS, the CBS O&O in Los Angeles, in recent months. Earlier this month, he was caught in the crossfire of the Christopher Dorner shootout in Big Bear.

In a memo to staffers announcing the news, CBS News president David Rhodes cited Evans’ reporting on the Dorner story, noting “he always seems to be working when no one else is around.”

Evans is married to former KTTV entertainment reporter Courtney Friel.

John North, longtime political reporter for Los Angeles ABC owned station KABC, has announced he is retiring at the end of this week.

The news came to KABC staffers last week in an email from vice president and news director Cheryl Fair which said in part, “As you know, John has been at the center of our coverage on some of the biggest stories – from his terrific work during the OJ Simpson saga which he covered almost every day for over two years – to being front and center for most of our local and national political coverage.”

Fair went on to call North, “one of those reporters who helped define Eyewitness News.”  She then added, “We and the viewers have appreciated John’s contributions to Eyewitness News through the years and we wish him well in this next chapter of his life.” Read more

A FOX spokesperson has confirmed with TVSpy longtime KTTV reporter Al Naipo is leaving the FOX owned station in Los Angeles.

Naipo, the Orange County bureau chief, announced the news to KTTV staffers in an email acquired by LA Observed. In the email, he was unclear on why he was leaving or what his future plans might be,

“After nearly 20 years here at KTTV, I’ll be leaving next month to pursue that next step in my career. At this point, I’ve yet to identify that specific path.”

He also gives no clear date for his departure saying only his last day will be before March 11 and he’ll have a more specific date in a few days.

To see the LA Observed piece with the email, click here. Or view a copy of the email after the jump. Read more

Anyone who works in the TV industry knows that relocation from one market to another is just another part of the job description. KTTV’s new entertainment reporter Julie Chang, in a profile by Daily News Los Angeles, shows how she furnished her new home without draining her bank account.

When Chang recently made the trek from New York to Los Angeles after being hired as the entertainment anchor and reporter for FOX owned KTTV, she decided it would be cheaper to start over rather than paying the high cost of shipping furniture from coast to coast.

While TVSpy is aware the numbers in Chang’s budget would be six months of salary for many new reporters or anchors in smaller markets, the article has some good ideas for finding deals on furnishings.

Chang gave local designer Hillary Thomas and her team a budget of $10,000 to $15,000 with clippings from magazines along with pictures of her old smaller space in New York.  The designer came up with a plan to find furnishings from flea markets, estate sales and discount retailers like Ikea, Cost Plus World Markets, etsy.com and overstock.com, that would fill the space with high-end style at a low-end rate. Read more

Since taking over as president and general manager of KNBC in October 2011, Steve Carlston has been a busy man.

Carlston says the many changes under his watch at the NBC-owned station in Los Angeles have resulted in a significant improvement in the station’s “corporate culture.” He cites Comcast’s investment in local programming, as well as the leadership of NBC Universal president Steve Burke and NBC Owned Stations president Valari Staab.

“It’s hard to describe in a word, but it’s a better place to feel part of a team, it’s a more competitive environment than it’s ever been,” Carlston tells TVSpy. “They believe we can be the news leader again.”

If the changes at the station over the past eighteen months are any indication, Carlston clearly believes it, too. He has hired a new news director and assistant news director, strengthened the station’s investigative reporting team and expanded the weekend and midday newscasts.

Read more

Entertainment reporter Courtney Friel is leaving KTTV, the Fox O&O in Los Angeles. A station spokesperson told TVSpy that Friel’s contract was not renewed.

Friel joined KTTV in 2011 after four years as a New York bureau reporter at Fox News Channel.

Anchor Carlos Amezcua told viewers of her departure last night on KTTV’s 10 p.m. newscast, an announcement that seemed to surprise even Friel.

“Well, tomorrow is my last day here at Fox 11,” Friel said. “I didn’t know we were making that announcement, but I guess we are. I am leaving, unfortunately. But I’ll be around, so don’t worry.”

Friel is married to CBS reporter Carter Evans, who was caught in the crossfire of the Christopher Dorner shootout while reporting from Big Bear earlier this week.

>Update: Our sister site, FishbowlLA, interviews Friel about her departure.

Tuesday’s coverage Christopher Dorner standoff and shootout gave stations in Los Angeles a big ratings boost for February sweeps. Local stations at least doubled their usual viewership, according to the Los Angeles Times:

KABC-TV led the way, with 708,000 viewers, followed by KCBS (680,000 with a KCAL simulcast), KTLA (259,000), KNBC (221,000) and KTTV (169,000). KCBS said it was the station’s highest-rated 5 p.m. newscast since at least 2004 and was nearly five times the previous average so far this month.

The Times reports that ratings fell considerably when the local stations cut away from the Dorner standoff for President Obama’s State of the Union address.

KCBS-KCAL reporter Michele Gile allegedly had an odd brush with the mother of Christopher Dorner at an Orange County bar during yesterday’s deadly stand off.

Gile walked into La Capilla Mexican Restaurant in the Los Angeles suburb of La Palma around 3:30 p.m. She was in the area to do a report on Dorner’s mother who lives nearby.

Gile began talking to two women at the bar who were drinking wine and eating chips and salsa while watching breaking news coverage of the stand-off on TV. Read more

The San Bernadino County Sheriff’s Office asked the press to stop tweeting updates on the manhunt for Christopher Dorner Tuesday evening, saying the updates were “hindering officer safety.” Two CBS-owned stations — KCBS in Los Angeles and KPIX in San Francisco — complied with the request.

Per @sbcountyda request we are complying and will not tweet updates on #Dorner search. Watch #live coverage on #KCAL9, #CBS2, @cbsla.com

— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) February 12, 2013

Jim Romenesko has the memo from KPIX director of operations Jim Parker:

It sounds like there is concern that Dorner may be monitoring Twitter for information as he as holed up in a cabin at Big Bear.

After consulting with CBS Local VP Andy Lindenauer, we will going forward for now “tweet our coverage – but not details as to what’s happening.”

When the search for Dorner began last week, the LAPD asked stations to not show the “tactical movements” of police officers, citing a concern for their safety.

Despite breaking news in their backyard, local stations in Los Angeles pivoted away from coverage of the Christopher Dorner manhunt to broadcast President Barack Obama‘s State of the Union address Tuesday evening.

CBS O&O KCBS, NBC O&O KNBC, ABC O&O KABC and Fox O&O KTTV all switched from wall-to-wall Dorner coverage to State of the Union coverage provided by their respective affiliated networks around 6pmPT. Dorner and police engaged in a shootout in Big Bear shortly after 4pmPT Tuesday afternoon. The cabin he the ex-L.A. cop was believed to be hiding in went up in flames later in the evening.

• Related, TVNewser: Dorner Cornered, California Manhunt Pushes Up Against State of the Union Coverage

CW affiliate KTLA and independent station KCAL were the only stations to stay in coverage of the Dorner search. Dorner is believed to be dead inside the cabin.