WVEC, the ABC affiliate for Hampton Roads, VA, will air a one-hour special devoted to explaining the impact of Sequestration on the area.

“This is a complicated and important issue,” Doug Wieder, WVEC executive news director told TVNewsCheck. “Our award-winning military reporter Mike Gooding has been at the forefront of this story for weeks, and we see this as a natural extension of our commitment to our viewers.”

The “sequester” is the name of the mandatory federal budget cuts scheduled to go into effect March 1.  The cuts will be triggered if Congress and President Obama cannot agree on a plan to reduce the nation’s deficit by $1.2 trillion over the next ten years. The economy in the Hampton Roads market relies heavily on the defense industry, one of the targets of the mandated cuts. Read more

Doug Wieder has been promoted to executive news director at WVEC, the ABC affiliate in Norfolk, Va.

Wieder has been interim news director since Rich Lebenson left WVEC in October. Prior to that, Wieder spent five years as executive producer.

“Doug had the ultimate ‘on-the-job’ interview, and passed with flying colors,” WVEC president and general manager Brad Ramsey said in a statement. “We have seen tremendous momentum under Doug’s leadership, thanks to his deep commitment to growing our people and improving our content every single day.  Together we are incredibly excited about the future of 13News.”

Wieder, formally an investigative reporter, has also worked at WRIC in Richmond, WDEF in Chattanooga and WGXA in Macon, Ga. His promotion is effective immediately.