Rod Gramer, a veteran journalist who most recently served as executive news director at KGW in Portland, OR, has been named vice president and general manager of Bay News 9, the 24-hour Tampa Bay news channel owned by Bright House Networks.

“Rod runs one of the best local news shops in the country,” said Elliott Wiser, Bright House’s vice president of local programming, referring to KGW, which won five regional Edward R. Murrow Awards this year. “He is highly regarded in the business and we are excited to have him join our team.”

Gramer began his career with the Idaho Statesman in Boise and eventually went on to become executive news director of Boise’s KTVB, a position that he held for 10 years before landing at KGW.

He is set to join Bay News 9 on July 11th.

Marla Weech, who the Orlando Sentinel once called the grande dame of Orlando TV, has landed at Central Florida News 13, a cable-based news station serving central Florida. She’s set to make her on-air debut with the Bright House-owned station next month.

Weech, a native Floridian and a graduate of the University of Central Florida, has over two decades of experience anchoring in the Orlando market.

She spent most of her career with ABC-affiliate WFTV before moving on to CBS-affiliate WKMG, where she anchored the station’s noon, 4, and 5:50 p.m. newscasts.

Weech was eventually laid off by WKMG in the summer of 2008 in a move that was blamed on “tough economic times.”  Read more