New Orleans

Blake Hanson has joined WDSU, the NBC-affiliate in New Orleans.

Hanson comes from KOMU in Columbia, MO, where he has been a reporter, morning fill-in anchor and producer since 2008. During his time in Columbia, he also reported for Newsy.com and several local radio stations.

Hanson will be a reporter for WDSU’s morning newscast. His first day at the station is today.

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WWL has named Doug Mouton sports director.  Mouton has worked as a reporter for the New Orleans CBS-affiliate since 2006, serving as the station’s Northshore Bureau Chief.

“Doug’s knowledge of sports, his contacts, and experience give our organization a great individual to lead our coverage in this area,” WWL news director Bill Siegel said, announcing the appointment.

Joining Mouton in the WWL sports department will be former Saints player Darren Sharper.  Sharper, who spent 15 years in the NFL and was a member of the Saints’ 2010 Super Bowl championship team, will provide weekly Saints analysis during the football season. Read more

Christina Leavenworth, the morning traffic reporter at WWL, is leaving the New Orleans CBS-affiliate to return to her home state of Florida.

“New Orleans completely grabbed me in every way possible and I completely claim NOLA as my adopted home,” she wrote on Facebook this morning. “However, I’m moving back home to Pensacola. I accepted an anchor/reporter position.”

Leavenworth joined WWL in April 2011 from WALA, the NBC-affiliate in Mobile-Pensacola, where she was responsible for starting the station’s Florida bureau.

Sula Kim is joining WDSU, the NBC-affiliate in New Orleans, as a morning anchor.

She will be paired with Randi Rousseau, who currently anchors solo in the mornings. Kim will join the station after the May ratings period.

“Mornings are special in New Orleans, and we think she’s a truly special person … and a tremendous addition to our news team,” WDSU news director Jonathan Shelley said in a statement.

Kim has worked at WVEC, the ABC-affiliate in Norfolk, VA, since 2005. She is currently the station’s weekend evening anchor.

Beginning Monday, the morning newscast on New Orleans CBS-affiliate WWL will begin at 4:30 a.m.

“We know there is an audience that wants information earlier in the morning, and we felt this was the right time to start serving that group of viewers,” news director Bill Siegel told the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

The extra half-hour will be anchored by Mike Hoss, with meteorologist Laura Buchtel and traffic reporter Christina Leavenworth. Melanie Hebert will co-anchor when she joins the station this Summer.

Local police officers decided to fire back at WVUE reporter Lee Zurik following his investigation into voter fraud that involved some sheriff’s deputies.

After Zurik’s investigation, WVUE discovered police officers were using his photo as a target during firearm training.

The sheriff responsible for the officers involved told WVUE that Zurik was one of “four or five” people to be targeted during recent firearm training. The sheriff apologized but did not take any disciplinary action against the officers who took aim at Zurik’s photo. Read more

Bryan Salmond is joining WWL, the CBS-affiliate in New Orleans, as weekend sports anchor.

Salmond joins WWL from Oregon, where he is the regional sports director for KEZI in Eugene and KDRV in Medford. His first day at WWL will be in mid-March.

He will anchor weekend sportscasts at WWL, according to a statement announcing his hire. He will also appear on “Fourth Down on Four” and “Fourth Down Friday,” WWL’s weekly sports shows, as well as contributing to other sports coverage on air and online.

After 21 years at New Orleans ABC-affiliate WGNO, outdoors reporter Don Dubuc is joining rival WWL, the market’s CBS-affiliate, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

Dubuc, who worked without a contract at WGNO, told the Times-Picayune the move is “a natural fit for several reasons.”

“I want to concentrate on the culture of fishing and hunting here,” he said. “It’s very much a part of our ingrained heritage and culture down here.”

Dubuc will make his WWL debut tomorrow. He will be joined for his first report on the 6 p.m. newscast by the reporter he is replacing: Frank Davis, who retired from WWL last year.

Dish Network subscribers in New Orleans lost access to WVUE, the Fox-affiliate in New Orleans, earlier this week, after the two parties could not reach a retransmission consent agreement by the January 31 deadline.

Dish Network said that WVUE, which is owned by Louisiana Media, is asking for affiliate fee increases as much as 300%. David Schull, senior vice president of programming at Dish, said in a statement that WVUE is being “unreasonable in its demands.”

WVUE addressed the disagreement in a statement on the station website, saying negotiations continue “in order to reach a fair agreement and to restore Dish’s carriage of WVUE.”

When he announced his plans to retire as WWL sports director earlier this month, Jim Henderson said that he would retire following a Super Bowl appearance this year by his beloved Saints.

With the Saints out of Sunday’s Super Bowl game, Henderson is bidding farewell to WWL today.

Henderson, who has been with the CBS-affiliate since 1978, will work the station’s 5, 6, and 10 p.m. newscasts this evening, before heading off into semi-retirement (he will continue working as the Saints play-by-play radio announcer).

WWL will honor Henderson tonight, taking a look back at his long tenure at the station. Read more