Megan Coleman (left) has been named the evening co-anchor the for Syracuse NBC affiliate WSTM.  Coleman steps into the empty anchor chair left by retiring Jackie Robinson. Lisa Spitz (right), who is currently the noon anchor, will take on the morning anchor duties vacated by Coleman on “Today in Central New York.”

Coleman was also named News Content Manager for the CNY Central Media Group that includes television stations WSTM, WTVH and WSTQ.

“I have the privilege to work with the best news team in Central New York,” says Coleman, who will begin her new duties Monday. “In addition to my anchoring responsibilities, I am particularly excited about my added role as News Content Manager, as it clearly serves to address the changing ways in which our viewers want and get their news.” Read more

Newport Television and Verizon reached a new retrans agreement over the weekend, just in time for FiOS subscribers in Albany to watch the Giants-Packers game on Sunday afternoon.

Unable to reach a new deal with Verizon last week, Newport pulled three of its stations from the fiber optic cable system: WSYR in Syracuse, WXXA in Albany, and WHP in Harrisburg.

“We appreciate our viewers’ patience and understanding during this situation,” Newport said in a statement posted on the stations’ websites on Sunday, announcing the new deal.

Terms of the deal have not been released.

The Newport Television-owned stations in Syracuse, Harrisburg, and Albany have been pulled from Verizon FiOS as the company was unable to reach a new retrans agreement with the cable provider before yesterday’s midnight deadline.

According to Newport executive Michael DiPasquale, the company has been “working diligently to reach a resolution in this matter.”

Newport’s previous retrans agreement with Verizon expired at 11:59 p.m. last night, leaving FiOS customers without WSYR in Syracuse, WXXA in Albany, and WHP in Harrisburg. Read more

Three stations owned by Newport Television–WSYR in Syracuse, WXXA in Albany, and WHP in Harrisburg–may be dropped from Verizon FiOS tonight as the station group stares down a deadline for retrans negotiations with the cable provider.

Newport’s current retrans contract with Verizon FiOS expires at midnight, tonight.

“We are currently working to reach a new agreement with Verizon FiOS TV,” reads a statement posted on the websites of Newport-owned stations affected by the negotiations. “However based on the current status of those discussions, we do not believe Verizon FiOS TV will be carrying [Newport stations after January 12th.”

Newport, which was founded in 2007, owns dozens of stations across the country but only three of its stations are carried on Verizon’s fiber optic cable service.

WSYR has chosen Rob Cartwright to lead its news team.

Cartwright, who most recently worked as assistant news director at KDAF in Dallas-Fort Worth, is set to join the Syracuse ABC-affiliate as its new news director early next year.

In announcing the hiring, WSYR vice president and general manager Theresa Underwood said Cartwright  “will add a new dimension to our staff and management team.”

Underwood recently appointed WSYR staffers Roger Mirabito to assistant ND and Jessica Purchiaroni to executive producer. Read more

WSYR anchor James Gaddis appeared to be getting some shut eye at the top of the ABC-affiliate’s 11 p.m. newscast last Sunday.  As cameras went live, Gaddis was seen sitting at the anchor desk with his eyes closed until being startled into action (video above). To be fair, maybe he was meditating?

As the YouTube user who uploaded the video notes, “The pilot of ‘Pan Am,’ which just aired, must have put him to sleep.”

The other shoe has dropped in the newsroom sex scandal at Syracuse’s WSYR as reporter Jennifer Lewke resigned this week, following the departure two weeks ago of news director Jim Tortora, her alleged lover.

According to CNYRadio, WSYR general manager Theresa Underwood sent the following email to staff on Thursday:

Please be advised that I have accepted the resignation of Jennifer Lewke. We wish Jennifer the best of luck in the future.

The alleged affair between Tortora and Lewke was reportedly brought to light when Tortora’s daughter sent a message to WSYR staff from his email account announcing: “Jim Tortora and Jennifer Lewke are having an affair.”

Lewke had been with WSYR for nearly six years and served as the ABC-affiliate’s “consumer investigator.” Her resignation comes at the close of May sweeps.

Following the abrupt resignation of WSYR news director Jim Tortora, there have been whispers that Tortora was romantically involved with a WSYR reporter and now it appears that it was indeed an affair that led to his departure.

According to NewsBlues, WSYR staffers received an email last week that stated: “Jim Tortora and Jennifer Lewke are having an affair.”

Lewke (right), WSYR’s consumer investigator, is still with the station.

While Lewke and Tortora have been unavailable for comment, NewsBlues says that station employees believe that Tortora’s daughter sent the email using his account. Read more

James Tortora has resigned as news director at WSYR after more than a decade with the station.

The Syracuse ABC-affiliate confirmed Tortora’s departure to The Post-Standard this week, but general manager Theresa Underwood would not comment beyond saying, “We really wish him well in his future. We wish him very much success.”

According to CNY Radio, Underwood sent an email memo to staff on Monday afternoon, announcing Tortura’s resignation and wishing him well in the future.  Assignment editor Roger Mirabito has been appointed interim news director as WSYR searches for Tortora’s successor.

WSYR perennially finished at the top of the local ratings heap during Tortora’s tenure, leaving some to wonder if there’s more to his departure than the performance of WSYR’s news team. There are rumors floating around that a personal issue may have led to his resignation but so far TVSpy has not been able to confirm anything. If you know more, shoot us an email at tvspy@mediabistro.com.

Syracuse’s WSYR introduced a new on-air talent lineup on Monday morning as part of a major image overhaul that includes a revamped logo and a brand-new, HD-optimized studio.

Earlier this month, WSYR announced that it would begin broadcasting its newscasts in HD and on Monday it became the first station in central New York to do so.

Tanja Babich, who has been with WSYR since 2007, began her new role as weekday morning anchor alongside Dan Cummings (above, right). Most recently, Babich was co-hosting the station’s daytime lifestyle show “Bridge Street.”

Christie Casciano moved from mornings to nights, where she joins Ron Wood for WSYR’s 11 p.m. newscast. She has also taken over anchoring duties for the station’s 10 p.m. newscast, which is broadcast on WSYR’s digital sub-channel.

“The changes solidify the anchor teams from sun up to sundown,” said Theresa Underwood, WSYR’s vice president and general manager. Read more