Both Abbattista and Grahl come from Fox O&Os. Abbattista, who will begin on April 29, was previously the local sales manager at Fox-owned WTTG in Washington, D.C. He has also worked at a previous Fox O&O, WBRC in Birmingham, as general sales manager.

“Jay has a proven track record of success, having worked in a variety of sales positions across many markets,” VP-GM Karen Adams said in a statement. “His drive and passion made him the ideal candidate; I am delighted to welcome him to our team.”

Grahl, who begins on April 22, has been the vice president finance for Fox’s Detroit O&O, WJBK, since 2008.

“My family and I are very excited to be moving to the Charlotte community; I can’t wait to begin working with the team at our duopoly stations,” Grahl said.

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Dubberly, who is currently a sports reporter at the station, has worked at WBRC for the past 16 years. He replaces Rick Journey, who announced his departure from the television business in April. Dubberly officially takes over on July 23.

“When this door came open, I wasn’t sure it would be the right fit for me,” Dubberly said in a statement. “But after filling in for Rick [Journey] for a couple of days, I just realized it was almost like my next calling.”

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WBRC

“For some time I have thought about using the skills and contacts developed through a career in journalism to enter a new stage of my life,” he said in a statement. “I am blessed to have those opportunities before me.”

Journey has worked at the Birmingham Fox-affiliate for 20 years, and has been the morning anchor for the past 13 years. His last day at the anchor desk will be June 29, but he will continue to contribute to WBRC on television and online, according to a station statement.

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“Follow along with this,” Jimmy Kimmel told his audience on Thursday night, “because you’re about to see a man dig himself into hole, after hole, after hole.”

Kimmel couldn’t contain his laughter as he played a video of veteran WBRC weathercaster Mickey Ferguson having an awkward exchange with two young girls outside of a Walgreens (video above).

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Steve Crocker

Over the past couple of years, Raycom Media has urged its stations, including Birmingham’s WBRC, to develop unique local programming. Crocker has long wanted to run his own production company, according The Birmingham News, and this was his chance.

The Birmingham News reports:

He formed Crocker Productions and spent nearly a year working with producers at Birmingham’s Crewsouth on a show focused on teaching teenagers the skills needed to succeed in various careers. The result is “You Can Do This.”

“You Can Do This” debuted this past weekend. The first episode profiled staffers at the Birmingham Zoo, including interviews with the veterinary staff.

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NECN

The move comes in the wake of NECN’s aggressive reinvention of its morning news programming.  The station launched a new 7 a.m. morning show on Monday that offers local news during a time slot when most stations are running network morning shows.

Edwards has been working as a reporter-anchor for NECN since 2005.  Daly is a 30-year veteran of TV news.  He’s made stops at Providence’s WPRI and Hartford’s WFSB, among other stations.

“Latoyia is a familiar face to NECN viewers, and we are excited to pair her with John, who has 30 years of experience as a reporter and anchor,” said Bill Bridgen, NECN’s general manager and executive vice president.

Edwards and Daly are succeeding the team of Beth Shelburne and R.D. Sahl.  Shelburne left NECN last year to join Birmingham’s WBRC.  Sahl, who has been an evening anchor for NECN since 1997, officially signed off last Thursday. He will continue on with the station as a contributor. continued…

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