After eight years at WBRE in Scranton, Joe Holden is joining WPXI in Pittsburgh, according to the Times Leader.

Holden, a member of WBRE’s investigative team, will sign off from the station on June 27. He begins in Pittsburgh July 1.

“I like talking with people. I love telling their stories, and I really have a special place in my heart for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area. … There’s something really unique about this place, and that’s what’s kept me here nearly eight years,” Holden told the Times Leader.

WNEP, the ABC affiliate in Scranton, is refusing to air an ad for Dunder Mifflin (video above) during the Oscars on Sunday, “most likely because the fictional brand is too connected to rival network NBC,” AdWeek reports:

A de-fictionalized version of [NBC's "The Office"] paper brand has been sold in real life since 2011 by Staples-owned Quill.com, thanks to a licensing partnership with NBCUniversal. A Quill.com representative tells Adweek that WNEP won’t air the Dunder Mifflin ad “apparently because of the brand’s NBC ties”. WNEP declined to comment on whether it had rejected the ad, citing corporate policy.

Dunder Mifflin aired a similar ad during the Super Bowl on WYOU, Scranton’s CBS affiliate.

If you’re planning on watching the Super Bowl in Scranton this weekend, you’ll see a commercial that the rest of the country won’t.

Paper company Dunder Mifflin is airing a 30-second spot (watch it below) only in the Scranton-Wilkes Barre market, on CBS affiliate WYOU. The Dunder Mifflin brand name was made famous as the fictional company in NBC’s “The Office,” which takes place in Scranton. Staples manufactures a line of paper with the Dunder Mifflin name under license from NBC’s parent company, Comcast.

The one-market ad buy is similar to a tactic used by Old Milwaukee beer last year. The ad, featuring Will Ferrell, aired only on KNOP in North Platte, Neb.

To watch more of this year’s Super Bowl ads, visit our sister site, AgencySpy.

Scranton ABC affiliate WNEP offered a candid look at a story that hit very close to home on Wednesday’s evening newscast (video above).

“This is a very difficult night for us here at the news station,” anchor Scott Schaffer said. “We learned this afternoon that Mark Kandel, the husband of Newswatch 16′s Marisa Burke, was arrested on charges of sex abuse involving a minor.” Read more

WNEP anchor Jon Meyer remembered being the first reporter on the scene of the crash of Flight 93 on September 11, 2001.  Speaking this weekend at a memorial service at the Shanksville, PA field where the plane went down, the anchor for the ABC affiliate in Scranton, shared his memories of that day with a large crowd that included victims’ families, according to the Citizens’ Voice.

 ”My first words were, ‘The only way to describe this scene is haunting,’” Meyer recalled Monday. “I could hear it in my voice all these years later, knowing I stood right next to where so many people died.”

Meyer said, at the time he was a 24-year old reporter working for WJAC in Johnstown.

Read more

Scranton ABC-affiliate WNEP is opening a Wyoming Valley newsroom next month.

The high-definition broadcast facility will be located in Wilkes-Barre, and will be the home base for coverage of the Wyoming Valley, WNEP said in a statement. The station has two other newsrooms, located in the Poconos and in Central Pennsylvania.

“WNEP is committed to covering the news from across our entire viewing area,” WNEP president and general manager Chuck Morgan said in a statement. “We believe the addition of a permanent  newsroom in Wilkes-Barre will enable us to deliver even better news coverage to this very important part of our market.”

WNEP had some unexpected visitors during its 11 p.m. newscast on Monday.

Just before meteorologist Kurt Aaron was to appear live from the station’s weather backyard on Monday night, four bears (one mother and three cubs) descended on the outdoor space.

“I ran like I stole something,” Aaron said during the newscast, after seeking safety indoors. “No offense, but I don’t want to be doing the weather with four bears.” Video inside… Read more

WBRE-WYOU in Scranton debuted a new, high-definition set and two new newscasts this week.

Nexstar announced in February that it would be investing significantly in its Scranton duopoly ahead of the switch. The station was outfitted with new HD cameras, a redesigned studio, enhanced forecasting and weather presentation tools, and upgrades for master control.

The debut of the new set corresponds with the launch of noon and 7 p.m. newscasts on WYOU this week. [Via Newscast Studio]

James DePury has been named news director at WBRE, the NBC-affiliate in Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Nexstar Broadcasting announced today.

DePury was most recently the 11 p.m. producer at WGAL, the NBC-affiliate in Lancaster, PA. Prior to that, he was news director at WPMT, the Fox-affiliate in the same market.

“He brings a creative and fresh approach to our operations, intimate knowledge of the region, the state of Pennsylvania and paramount focus to the concerns and issues our viewers face every day,” WBRE VP-GM Robert Bee said in a statement. Read more

Starting in April, newscasts on WBRE-WYOU, Nexstar’s Scranton duopoly, will be in high definition, the company announced today.

The HD newscasts will launch following “significant investments” in the studio and and production equipment, according to a Nexstar statement. The station was outfitted with new HD cameras, a redesigned studio, enhanced forecasting and weather presentation tools and HD upgrades for master control operations.

CBS-affiliate WYOU will also get two additional newscasts, at noon and 7 p.m. on weekdays, as part of the expansion. In a statement, Nexstar said the changes demonstrate “unwavering dedication to delivering an exceptional experience.”