Orlando CBS affiliate WKMG presented its much-hyped report of “uncovered evidence” in the case against Casey Anthony Tuesday night.

The piece was reported by Tony Pipitone, a veteran investigative reporter who has covered the Anthony story for WKMG since it broke. Pipitone’s report focuses on computer evidence “showing Anthony researched how to kill with poison and suffocation on the same on the same afternoon her daughter, Caylee, was killed by poison and suffocation.” Anthony was found not guilty in June 2011.

The Orlando Sentinel‘s Hal Boedeker, who saw the report before it aired Tuesday night, reports Pipitone’s investigation began while he was reading Jose Baez‘s book over the summer. Boedeker calls the report a “bombshell”:

In reporting, the glory is in the details, and Pipitone supplies them. Pipitone, one of the best reporters in town, reminds you that investigative reporting requires digging. Read more

Charles Greene, the attorney for Casey Anthony, has filed notice he wants to depose Kathi Belich, a reporter for the Orlando ABC affiliate WFTV, and Michelle Meredith, a reporter for the Orlando NBC affiliate WESH, in a defamation suit against Anthony.

Anthony is being sued for defamation by Zenaida Gonzalez who claims her reputation was ruined when Anthony blamed the disappearance of her daughter, Caylee, on a nanny named Zenaida Gonzalez. Read more

Today is the one-year anniversary of Casey Anthony‘s acquittal in the death of her daughter, Caylee. Anthony’s attorney, Jose Baez, has just released a book about the case, which was the subject of intense coverage in the Orlando market. The Orlando Sentinel‘s Hal Boedeker breaks down the details:

Early in the book, he blasts WFTV-Channel 9 as “the worst tabloid channel” and “a channel so inflammatory it was just a notch below ‘Nancy Grace.’”

Baez rips WKMG-Channel 6’s Tony Pipitone for being presumptuous in suggesting that Baez work on an insanity defense for Anthony. Baez blasts Michelle Meredith of WESH-Channel 2 for asking “a ridiculous and inflammatory question.” Read more

Adam Longo is leaving Orlando for Phoenix.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that Longo, who worked at Orlando CBS-affiliate WKMG before joining cable station Central Florida News 13 in 2009, has accepted a job at KPHO in Phoenix as a weekend evening anchor and weekday reporter.

His first day at KPHO is set for August 27th.

Longo, who spent a good chunk of his time in Orlando covering the Casey Anthony saga, was let go at WKMG in 2009, after a year and half there, when the station issued a round of layoffs. A few months later, he landed a weekend anchor job at News 13. Read more

Dennis Welsh, general manager of Fox owned-and-operated WOFL in Orlando, talked to the Orlando Sentinel ahead of the fall television season, which officially begins today. Among the topics Welsh discussed: the most challenging newscast, some upcoming personnel changes and how the Casey Anthony case defined the station’s approach to news:

I think that it showcased our unique style and approach to local news. We’re trying to bring conversation back to local news. We’re moving in a different direction from the other stations and kind of covering what we find interesting each day. We do cover all of the local news. You might not see us lead with a murder in a bad part of town. We’ll be delving more into issues. You’re more likely to see a discussion about holding the government accountable. We’re trying to be more relevant than the tired ’80s model of local news.  Read more

WKMG reporter Tony Pipitone, who is a veteran crime reporter at the Orlando CBS affiliate, took an interesting look back at the media frenzy surrounding the Casey Anthony trial in an interview with WPEC reporter Peter Schaller that aired last night.

“Right from the beginning you had a photogenic mother, a beautiful daughter who was missing,” Pipitone told Schaller, who traveled to Orlando from West Palm Beach for the interview. “A mystery unfolding in real time. With this allegation hanging over the whole thing, a mother killing her child, how could you not find that compelling?”

Pipitone and Schaller paged through an archive of files relating to the Casey Anthony case that is “thousands of pages,” which includes a collection of tabloid headlines that Pipitone felt a responsibility to debunk. Watch video of the interview after the jump. Read more

“Only WFTV was there to capture who was believed to be Casey running into a building, covering her head with a blanket,” the Orlando ABC-affiliate exclaimed on Tuesday, posting raw aerial video of a woman believed to be Casey Anthony running from a single-engine passenger plane to a building at the Orlando Executive Airport.

WFTV’s Steve Barrett reported live at the airport this morning, saying that either Anthony “was really getting off that plane when we videotaped this yesterday or the plane’s now being used in an elaborate deception.”

After her release early Sunday morning, Anthony boarded a plane owned by her former attorney Todd Macaluso. Macaluso’s plane returned to the Orlando Executive Airport on Tuesday and video of a woman wearing similar clothes to what Anthony wore when she was released from jail was captured by WFTV’s news helicopter. Read more

At an hour when viewers are usually asleep, WFTV averaged 58,866 viewers between 12 a.m. and 1 a.m. on Sunday night, as Casey Anthony walked out of an Orange County jail at 12:09 a.m. WFTV has been the clear winner in Orlando during the trial’s most public moments, including when the not-guilty verdict was handed down.

“It will sound like boasting, but in truth, it’s simple,” WFTV news director Bob Jordan told TVSpy in an email. “WFTV is the market’s #1 news operation, and in ‘big story’ situations, we ordinarily do quite well. Our coverage was well planned and we devoted significant resources to covering the story. Viewers notice that.”

WOFL, which began special coverage earlier and stayed on the air later than the other Orlando stations, averaged 42,426 viewers between 12 a.m. – 1 a.m. WESH and WKMG averaged 32,988 viewers and 16,542 viewers, respectively.

See all the station averages after the jump.

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Shortly after midnight on Sunday, Casey Anthony was released from jail. The Orlando stations, which have followed the case for the better part of three years, were ready. All five stations in the market started coverage in primetime Saturday night and stayed on the air well past midnight, when Anthony allegedly boarded a jet at a local airport and took off for a still-unknown destination.

Fox O&O WOFL went on the air the earliest and stayed on the latest, with Keith Landry and Tracey Jacim anchoring coverage from 10 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.

WESH stayed in regular programming until a few minutes before Anthony was released from jail. The NBC affiliate broke in to “Saturday Night Live” with coverage anchored by Cara Moore. WESH went back into regular programming at 1 a.m.

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All five Orlando local stations are planning extended coverage this weekend for the release of Casey Anthony from jail, which is slated to happen at an unknown time on Sunday, July 17.

WOFL, WFTV and WKMG will all prepare for a potential release in the middle of the night, starting their coverage during the Saturday late evening broadcasts and going through midnight. All three stations will stay on the air at least 90 minutes and possibly longer as news warrants.

WESH will present live updates during primetime on Saturday and will have extended Anthony coverage on its evening broadcasts. Unlike the other three stations, WESH did not make a minimum time commitment for overnight coverage, but The Orlando Sentinel reported that regular programming will be interrupted for Anthony’s release.

Central Florida News 13 also plans live coverage of Anthony’s release from jail when it happens, supplemented by live hourly reports throughout the weekend.