Mike Lewis has been named vice president and general manage of KTBC, the Fox O&O in Austin. His appointment is effective immediately.

Lewis joins KTBC from another Fox O&O, KRIV in Houston, where he has been the vice president and general sales manager for four years.

“Mike has done a stellar job in leading our Houston sales team,” Fox Television stations CEO Jack Abernethy said in a statement. “His extensive knowledge of the broadcast industry and strategic approach to our business make him the ideal choice as we look to maintain and grow KTBC’s position in the Austin market.”

Lewis replaces Mark Rodman, who joined Fox O&O KSAZ in Phoenix as general manager last month.

Noelle Newton, an anchor and crime reporter for Austin ABC-affiliate KVUE, is joining rival station KTBC.

Newton began her career as an intern at Fox owned-and-operated KTBC. She will contribute to the 5 and 9 p.m. newscasts as a general assignment reporter beginning on December 5.

“As a native Texan, she brings a wealth of knowledge about the area and will be a great asset to our station,” Pam Vaught, KTBC vice president and news director, said in a statement.

Longtime KEYE anchor Fred Cantu, who many in the Austin area know simply as “Uncle Fred,” is now working in the hardware department of a local Home Depot following his exit from the CBS-Telemundo station last December.

“People think about this as a step down, but I don’t think of it that way,” Cantu said in a recent interview with the Austin American-Statesman. “I think of it as part of the ride. Some people end at the top. It’s just that some people think the roller coaster always goes up. And who knows, the roller coaster may go up again. And as long as I’m still on the ride, I’m happy.” Read more

Mark Rodman has been named general manager of KSAZ, the Fox owned-and-operated station in Phoenix.

Rodman joins KSAZ from KTBC, the Fox O&O in Austin, where he has been the general manager since 2008. He will report to Fox Television Stations CEO Jack Abernethy in his new role, which is effective immediately.

Prior to joining KTBC, Rodman held positions as both the local and national sales managers at KTVX in Salt Lake City. He began his career in television as a reporter and producer at WPTA in Fort Wayne, IN.

Rodman replaces Pat Nevin, who left KSAZ in August to become general manager of KFMB, the CBS-affiliate San Diego.

A familiar face has returned to Austin CBS-affiliate KEYE: Fred Cantu, who left the station in December, is filling in as morning anchor on an interim basis, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

Cantu was with KEYE for eight years before he left. During his time at the station, he served a variety of different roles, including morning and evening anchor. He was also the anchor for the station’s Telemundo newscasts, which air on a digital subchannel of KEYE.

Prior to joining KEYE, Cantu was an anchor for KTBC and KVUE, both in Austin. The veteran anchor replaces Erika Gonzalez, who shared the news of her departure on Twitter last week.

To many local news viewers, nothing is more important than the weather — and in Texas, where a statewide drought has been plaguing the residents, viewers are watching closely for any sign of relief.

The Austin American-Statesmen profiles four meteorologists in the Austin market  — Scott Fisher (pictured) of KTBC, Mark Murray of KVUE, Troy Kimmel of KEYE and Jim Spencer of KXAN. The four of them agree: there’s no end in sight, and that fact alone makes forecasting close to impossible.

“I agonize over two or three degrees, because I want to be right 100 percent of the time,” Fisher said. All the meteorologists say they begin to prepare their forecasts hours before they go on the air — looking at maps, analyzing data and thinking of new ways to tell viewers that the weather will likely be hot and dry, again. (“Someone brought in a thesaurus the other day, and I said, ‘Hey, can I borrow that?’” Murray recalled.) Read more

Reporter-anchor Craig Lucie has left Orlando’s WESH for a weekend anchor spot at WSB in Atlanta. His final broadcast was last night’s 11 p.m. news.

“As a native Floridian, I am going to miss Orlando and the amazing people I have met along the way,” Lucie told The Orlando Sentinel in an email. “I have interviewed thousands of Central Floridians during my time here, and I want to thank each and every one of them for their help on our stories.”

The Orlando market has been busy this summer with the Casey Anthony trial and the shuttle launch. “It has been a fun ride getting to cover some of the biggest and wildest stories this nation has ever seen,” Lucie said.

Lucie has been at WESH, Orlando’s NBC affiliate, since 2007. He was previously a reporter at KZTV in Corpus Christie and KTBC in Austin.